Update from Week 2 & 3 from the Pacific Orientation Course

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Monin olgeta pren bilong mi! (Good morning my friends!)

This is the third week of my training here at the Pacific Orientation Course. I had meant to send you an update since my last post but things have been very busy here and it took me longer than expected to let you know what's going on. We've been learning great things; both head knowledge and practical hands-on knowledge. Since I last wrote I've been learning a lot of Tok Pisin (as you can see above). We get to have language lessons almost every weekday morning and the national staff here are eager to help us and encourage us to talk a lot and try things out. Their constant encouragement to toktok planti (talk a lot) helps me feel safe to practice and they're such amazing and patient teachers. I'm really enjoying that. This week we had the chance to learn some traditional skills from them like making fire fans, bilums (woven bags), rice baskets, woven walls for houses and roofing materials. It was incredible and so fun! 

We've also been learning about their culture and how to live in a Melanesian context. On week 2 I met my Wasfemili (as we call it in Tok Pisin) who will be my PNG hosts while at Nobnob (the community I'm living in now). I got to have dinner with them on week 2 here at the POC center and this week I was able to go have dinner with them in their house. Next week I'll have the opportunity to spend the night with my Wasfemili with the other single gal who will be with me for village living. We're very excited to be working together and to have the privilege to spend time with our Wasfemili. 

On a similar note, the last two weeks we've learned how to build an outdoor kitchen, how to build a kitchen fire and have started learning how to cook over it since that's how we'll cook our food when we go to live in the village. I am excited about what God is doing in me and my village living partner and even more excited about building friendships with the wonderful Papua New Guineans we have the privilege to work and live with! 

Please continue to pray for me:
Praise: my body is starting to adjust a bit better to the heat (I thought around 70 was chilly the other morning).
Pray: there are a lot of wonderful bacteria going around so please pray for my continued health and strength and for healing for my fellow students

Christ Follower,
Megan

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