In the Throes of Melanesian Pidgin Language Study
What is entailed in learning a second (and eventually a third) language? Our days center around going out to the surrounding PNG villages and immersing ourselves in the sounds of the language. We go each day with a goal of what we want to learn, and then spend time sitting and talking with people who have the patience and fortitude to repeat things over... and over... and over... for us to learn them. Then we trek back to our house with our written notes and recordings where we study and listen to them over... and over... and over. Are you getting the picture? We are thrilled as we see our ability to communicate with our new friends expanding, yet at times it is exhausting to venture out, find people willing to talk and think of things to talk about in a language and culture that is still fairly new to us. Your prayers for diligence and endurance are greatly appreciated.
So What is This "Bush Orientation"?
In our updated prayer requests, we've mentioned this strange event enigmatically referred to as "Bush Orientation." On August 4th, we will fly by bush plane to the remote tribal village of Gergering. This is a village in which a missionary has planted a church (essentially what our long term goal is to do in another tribal location). The vast majority of the people in Gergering are believers. Our time there (5 weeks) will accomplish several things. First, it will get us used to the isolation of being in a remote jungle location for an extended period of time. Second, we'll be able to continue our language study with more remote people in order to learn the in's and out's of "backwoods" Melanesian Pidgin. And finally (my personal favorite) we'll actually get to spend time with a people group that has been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and really see what a thriving tribal church looks like. If our goal is to one day do this, the experience of seeing the finished picture will be invaluable.
Now while Adam and I are both really looking forward to this time, the preparations involved are a bit daunting. Imagine having to prepare 36 breakfasts, lunches and dinners entirely from scratch. (Sorry, no boxed breakfast cereals or Hamburger Helper available!) Now imagine that each of the ingredients needed for each of those meals, along with everything else you'll want for 5 weeks, has to be purchased, boxed, and flown in at the beginning of your time there. No emergency runs to Super Wal-Mart if we're low on milk! No McDonald's if I don't feel like cooking!
That in a nutshell is what is new in our end of the world. I believe we forgot to mention that due to the wonders of modern technology, we will still be connected to email during our bush orientation. So drop us a line - we'd love to hear from you!
