PNG | - Part 2

Cultural Documentation

Sam Smucker August 26, 2014 August 23, 2017About Papua New Guinea

Much of a person’s unique cultural identity is tied up in their language Papua New Guinea has over 820 languages making it home to almost 12% of the world’s languages. However, some of these languages are dying at an alarming rate. These languages range from a few speakers or one…

Travelling to Arop and Back

Sam Smucker August 17, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Work

The pavement ends on the West Coast road 21 miles (35 km) out of Wewak. We pulled into Arop 132 miles (220 km), 37 water crossings, 35 bridges, and 7 hours later. People pay to have this kind of adventure. I get to do it as part of my job.…

Faith vs Depression, Which Wins?

Sam Smucker August 8, 2014 August 23, 2017Moments of Reflection

As I’ve been reflecting on my recent experiences, I’ve been contemplating on what determines if faith or depression will ultimately triumph. I’ve thought about other people who have pulled through difficult circumstances like a man I met last year named Johnson. Johnson is a Papua New Guinean who lives in…

This Was Not My Plan!

Sam Smucker March 21, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Lives

I’ve enjoyed spending the last 8 days in Ukarumpa which means that I spend extra time seeing my son Nathanael who is boarding here for 9th grade. We normally only see him during school breaks. After 8 days of board meetings in Ukarumpa, we were finally done! I arrived home…

Trip to Yabru

Sam Smucker March 16, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Work

On the 24th of February I arrived in Yabru after a 1.5 hour plane ride, a 1 hour hike, and a 2 hour canoe ride. Over the next two weeks I would spend 5 days in a canoe, 3 days hiking, and visit 14 villages in 4 different languages to…

Trip to Sandaun

Sam Smucker February 28, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Work

For the next two weeks, I will be traveling to Sandaun province and traveling to set up the next Oral Bible Storytelling (OBS) workshop. What will the next two weeks look like? To be honest, there are a lot of things that are unknown. I will get on a plane…

To Give or Not to Give

Sam Smucker February 21, 2014 August 23, 2017Moments of Reflection

Last Sunday when I was in church, I watched as a cute little two year old girl wandered to the front of the small church. Smiling and glancing back to her mom for approval, she continued to the front where two buckets labeled “tithe” and “offerings” sat on a low…

Week in Review – Oral Bible Storytelling Workshop

Sam Smucker February 17, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Work

The last two weeks have been spent running an Oral Bible Storytelling (OBS) workshop here in Wewak. We had nineteen people representing seven different language groups and seven Papua New Guinean trainers. This is the first of four workshops for this group. The students learned the story of God creating…

Death and Sanguma in Paradise

Sam Smucker January 30, 2014 August 23, 2017About Papua New Guinea

The sky was just starting to get light when I heard the wailing next door. The death wail is fairly distinctive and instantly I knew someone had just died. Soon after that, someone inside the house started yelling, “Jesus, send her back” for the next 5 minutes. It wasn’t too…

Trip to Tau

Sam Smucker January 24, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Work

It was just starting to get light when I took off on my motorcycle at 6:00 am down the Sepik Highway. The Sepik Highway is the main road through the mountains all the way to Sandaun province. It starts as a good two lane road which eventually sprouts potholes like…

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