Vagaries

Now we know in part because we see in part…

In PNG, if you feel like something is crawling on you, it probably is.

Taking my shoes off yesterday revealed 11 leeches in various stages of dining. We all have a few (or more) flea bites, have had to shower with the lice shampoo lately (Only the boys and I look good bald), and have been battling sugar ants who seem to like to nest in our houses. In truth we are experiencing only part of what our Pal friends deal with on a regular basis – and even that takes some getting used to.

Speaking of things that take getting used to; the more time we spend with our friends, the more we are able to understand about their thinking and how they view life and relationship. We have recently begun to be able to distinguish the actions of a caring husband from an uncaring husband (hint: a caring husband takes the baby but still allows his wife to blaze the trail while carrying the 60+ pounds of food and tobacco up the mountain from the garden).

We still have so much to learn. There are hours and hours of stories that we will be listening to over the next couple of months that will help us understand the thinking behind the actions that we see. Please pray for wisdom as we try to understand and make note of the many details of the stories that we hear. The understanding that we are gaining is going to help us write appropriate Bible lessons that answer the Pal people’s deepest questions.

Sharing photos on the phone; these guys love to look at all of the places in Pal that I have been.

Figurate this!

Much of what we are learning requires clarification. Imagine for a moment that you are trying to learn English from three friends. One is from Mississippi, one from Boston, and one from San Diego. You might end up sounding like this:

Dude, I just got here.

I pahked thah cah

Owa yonda long ’bout

Thah cah pahk

This side of the Five.

Thus it is that I spend many hours feeling like an optometrist hunting for the right prescription… “Is it better with this accent... or with this accent… one…or….two..?” It is critical that we understand the sounds that the Pal people are making so that we can accurately determine a proper alphabet for them. You can pray for us in this tedious work  - our Pal friends get pretty bored by it (needing hot tea to stay awake while we do it…) – we need consistent helpers who are quickly able to understand and respond to our questions (and quick minds to take in what they are saying.)

Well, that is about it for now. We are always thankful for your great care for us.

Nate for the family

Posted via email from PNG Time