A Missionary's Best Friend

During my four weeks of living in a Papua New Guinean village, I discovered that there are several things that could be considered a missionary’s best friend. High on the list (which is not exhaustive by any means!) are: 

• Mosquito repellant, aka missionary perfume: the higher the DEET, the better. RID is the brand of choice, being the most readily available, although its efficacy is hotly debated among my colleagues and I. (Personally, I think it attracts more mosquitos than it repels…)

Here We Go Waswas

For the uninitiated, waswas is Tok Pisin for bathing. Now, you may be wondering why a whole blog post is dedicated to waswas…well, for starters, there is no electricity in the village; therefore there is no pump and no shower. There is, however, running water—in the truest sense of the word—a river. Every day we gather our things and go down to the river to waswas. So, for your reading pleasure, here are 30 steps to a successful waswas experience!

Where I Belong

Home…this word evokes a lot of emotion in us. We see a picture in our minds of a certain building, a place, or maybe a group of people. Where is home for you? Is it where you grew up? Or maybe it’s where you’re living now. Do you feel more “at home” when you’re with a certain group of people, even if you’re away from the actual building you call home?

Now We Go Wokabaut

One of the “big” deals of Pacific Orientation Course (POC) is the two day/overnight hike. Basically you hike out from POC until you arrive at the village you’ll be staying overnight in, then the next morning after breakfast, you hike out and catch a Public Motor Vehicle (PMV) back to POC. Well, that’s the short story, anyway.

Village Living

Wednesday was the day we’ve been anxiously awaiting...when we found out where we will spend our four weeks of village living! We got to see some pictures of our house and wasfemili (host family) and get a feel for our new “home.” The village allocation team (made of an ex-pat and three or four Papua New Guinean men) were very excited to make the announcement and show us pictures.

What's in a Bilum?

Before I tell you what’s in a bilum, it would probably be helpful to know…what is a bilum?! A bilum is a bag made from plastic string, yarn, or natural fibers (like from a tree or something similar).

Two of my bilums; the one
on the left is made of string
and the other is yarn.

The women work on these bags in the evenings while they stori (talk) or even while they’re walking to market! (Yes, I have seen a woman working on a bilum while walking along the road!) They come in various sizes, from small enough to only fit a water bottle, to big enough to carry gallons and gallons of water in small Coke bottles, all their produce coming and going to the market, and even their babies!

One of the babies taking
a nap in a bilum.

The women carry their bilums on their head, with the load resting on their back. Mothers give their daughters bilums with only a little weight in them, then gradually add more weight, in order to strengthen their neck muscles. It's totally normal for men to carry a bilum, too. They generally carry it around their neck, hanging in front or over one shoulder, cross-body style.

The Gecko in the Window

I’ve been sick and quarantined to my room all week, so I’ve had lots of quality time with just me and the gecko in my window. I haven’t been able to go hiking or swimming this week, since I’m supposed to be resting, so I thought I would introduce you to some of the characters that hang around the Pacific Orientation Course (POC) campus.