PNG | - Part 3

Week in review

Sam Smucker January 22, 2014 August 23, 2017Our Lives

Contrary to the amount of writing I’ve done lately, there has been a lot happening. Our son Nathanael has spent the last 5 weeks with us but leaves this week for Ukarumpa where he will continue his 9th grade education. Christmas and New years was a good time of family…

Lost Oppertunities

Sam Smucker November 25, 2013 August 23, 2017Moments of Reflection

If I had to characterize Saturday morning, I would have to say it was a morning of lost opportunities. My son played in the provincial soccer tournament on Friday and their team reached the final playoff game. Unfortunately, there was no time to play the game so the final was…

I Can’t Pray

Sam Smucker November 6, 2013 August 23, 2017Our Work

“I’m sorry, but I can’t pray for you”, I told my friend. My friend and his dad called me and told me their story. A large some of money was missing from their bilum (string bag). They wanted me to pray that they could find out who took the money.…

Week in Review – Nov 3, 2013

Sam Smucker November 3, 2013 August 23, 2017Our Lives

We went to the ocean today. My wife (Deb) was standing in the ocean when a big wave hit her and relieved her of her glasses. We spent the next half hour looking for them but were unable to find them. The closest place to get glasses from where we…

Culture – Extra Food at the Market

Sam Smucker October 31, 2013 August 23, 2017Cultural Insights

The last cultural question was why someone entertained you on the veranda instead of inviting you into their home. For most PNG people, a house is only to store things in, to sleep in at night, and in some places where you eat. Outside is where you live. The veranda…

Surprises

Sam Smucker October 28, 2013 August 23, 2017About Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is called “The land of the unexpected”. There are many ways that this is true! When my son went to wash, he found this big spider in the bathroom. I’m not really sure what kind of spider it is, though it looks like a tarantula to me.…

Timeline

Sam Smucker September 22, 2013 August 23, 2017Our Work

This week I brought out the Adam’s Chart of History. It is 25′ long and 2′ tall and it shows the genealogies depicted in the Bible as well as the ebb and flow of nations. This was intensely interesting to the Papua New Guineans here and I spent 6 hours…

Oral Bible Storying Workshop

Sam Smucker September 15, 2013 August 23, 2017Our Work

“We had someone come through our village and preach that Eve and the snake slept together and that is how sin came into the world. Because I had memorized the story from Genesis 3 I knew that sin came into the world because Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate…

Culture – Sign of Grief

Sam Smucker September 11, 2013 August 23, 2017Cultural Insights

The last cultural question was about the traditional greeting in Papua New Guinea. With over 800 languages and cultures in PNG there is bound to be different greetings, but the most common one is “Where are you going?” or its relative “Where are you coming from?”. I’ve spent many hours…

We’re Not Coming

Sam Smucker September 8, 2013 August 23, 2017Our Work

How do you go somewhere and convince people that you aren’t coming? Last week we went to the Tau villages which are part of the Kwanga language. All three Tau villages and both Kubiwat villages came to our meeting convinced we were announcing where we would be building a house…

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