Monthly Archives: March 2015

We thought it would be fun to share some of the things we see here from time to time that are relatively “normal” (for PNG), but might not be normal for those back in the USA.

In the United States, we pride ourselves in diversity, yes we all speak the same language (with variances), and we have a melting pot of different races spread throughout the continent. Here in PNG, if you do NOT have dark skin, expect everyone to give you a good long glance, you are the abnormal one, so they look.

When you are walking into town or walking through the village it is not uncommon to see a lady carrying a bag (bilum “bee-loom”). In America, this is normal, we call it a “purse” and it holds too much makeup, tissues, credit cards, and money, among other things. It is not only how the PNG women carry the bag (on their head) that is different, but also what is found inside…like groceries…many times a baby. Yep, seeing a baby inside a bag is quite normal here. It can be quite comical (to us) as we walk by a tree and there are some ladies sitting underneath a tree and you see several babies asleep inside string bags hanging from the tree. We are still getting used to this one 🙂

Amilia Carrying Russell in her Bilum

Make sure you always clean up everything, everywhere. PNG is in no short supply of ants, yes, ants. There is not a day that goes by we don’t see ants on our counters, in our kitchen sink, in our bathroom toiletries, sometimes our food, and it is always fun finding ants in your sealed cereal bag, extra protein! You always feel like something is crawling on you. Ants are everywhere!

When you live here in Madang, everyone stops and appreciates the wind. It is quite humid here so every little breeze is greatly appreciated and we thank God for a break from the humidity; the breeze is as close to air conditioning as you get.

Almost everyone has a garden here. There are markets but it is a common practice to have your own garden. We do not have our own house yet so we do not have a garden. Garden produce is the Papua New Guineans main source of food. Everyone looks at us like we are weird since we do not have our own garden.

When you go to the produce market, there are no refrigerated sections; all produce is on the ground with bugs near by and dogs walking about. This is one of the many reasons why you must wash your produce with bleach.

Nicole Buying Greens at the Market

While you are in the market, do not be surprised if you see giant larvae for sale, the locals love them. We can’t bring ourselves to try them…if someone offers one to us, we will do it (for the sake of the Gospel), but we will not volitionally bring this upon ourselves.

“Binatang” or Larvae…Yum?

Talk about going to the market; make sure you drive on the right side of the road, which is the left side. The driver is on the right side and all the switches are reversed, so it takes a little getting use to. One of our friends drove and they forgot they were on the right side of the road (which is the wrong side here), luckily no one was coming on the other side.

The language Tok Pisin has a lot of interesting things about it. It is a very descriptive language: in English we call water coming from underneath the ground a “spring”. In most cases we would say, “that is a spring, or this is spring water”. In Tok Pisin you would literally say, “that non-salt water is non-salt water that comes from inside the ground”. The word they use is a prefix that can denote cold, or clean, or water to wash with or drinking water, or water that comes from a river or lake, or is simply NOT salt water (and they might give the direction of where it is going). Short simple sentences alleviates most ambiguity, it is rather nice. The major thing we find that is hard in terms of ambiguity is the use of prepositions. They basically use one prepositional word for almost everything. Which if you are having a lengthy conversation or having multiple discourses it can be a bit unclear. Other than that, expect to hear many words like: pela, pla, bilong, blo, planti, lukim, tok, and long; you will hear them everywhere and in every context! Seth jokes a lot with the locals about that, they all laugh together.

With some exceptions in the US, you will typically find people who are reserved and mostly keep to themselves. Here in PNG, people are always ready and wanting to help. They always want to help us learn their language and they love teaching. Hospitality and giving up your time for another is common, you can pretty much walk up to a persons house at almost anytime of day, and they will stop what they are doing and talk to you. Being with someone and talking with someone is a huge lifestyle here in PNG. In America, we value alone time and solitude, but here in PNG all things come to a stop if a stranger walks by, maybe they want to just sit down and talk, maybe it is to get away from the sun for a period of time and or maybe it is to drink a coconut.

There are a lot of things we are still getting use to, like not holding one another’s hand in public (men and women do not touch in public), but it is common to hold a member of the same sex’s hand; it is a sign of friendship. Some other things we are getting use to is ladies walk in front of the men when in town for security purposes, cooking from scratch, no microwaves, the power going out regularly, keeping track of the data we use on our phone/internet, always swatting flies and mosquitoes, always taking prophylaxis for malaria, walking most everywhere and much more. All in all everything in our life is new except for each other. Though many things here are different from what we are use to, God is allowing us to have joy and appreciation with most things (we don’t-and probably never will-like the bugs) here in PNG. At the end of each day, we know God brought us here and He has given us a love for the people and the work He is doing here in PNG. Hope you enjoyed reading some of the differences; we will share more another time.

Boiling Coconut Milk to Make Oil

Seth Scraping the Coconuts

Cathy & Family Teaching us How to Making Coconut Oil From Scratch

Your feet to the unreached in PNG, Seth & Nicole Stokes

 P.S. We have now talked to a handful of people via Skype and FaceTime, feel free to call anytime. If you have Apples products: iMessage/text us at nicolestokes22@gmail.com. We also have received our first American letter a little bit ago; thank you uncle John and Aunt Di! Funny story: Seth was talking with his mom on Skype while we were ay a friends house (a national), and he let his mom talk to them briefly… afterwards our friends were tickled that they got to talk to Seth’s mom and talk to someone in the U.S. for the first time. It is the little things that make people smile.

How Will They Hear?

We have seen some amazing things this done a lot of things putting more than 10 hours a day into language learning; that is a lot for the human brain, and considering it is only light outside for 11-12 hours. We are trying to get this language quickly! We have been given motivation that shakes the soul. We have been in various events and settings, from going about the village, to town, to Bible studies not in our native tongue, and much more!

We were greeted by our language helpers (Joshua and Amilia) when we came back from orientation and they said things like “we are happy to see you…we want to teach you our language…come on over and talk with us anytime”, the translation is not a one-to-one ratio but the message and heart is clear. They want us to learn their language, and they want to help us.

While we were walking in the village I (Seth) was talking to a man, he told me he wants to help me learn Tok Pisin (the national/trade language). He said he wants me to speak his language and to teach me the “right” way (talk straight) to speak. It is a funny saying in Tok Pisin, because everyone says the same thing, it is encouraging. But this is where it turned…he said he has helped many people learn his language, but just when they become proficient in Tok Pisin they leave. He said he loves hearing about the Bible, and wants me to learn his language so I can share about God’s truths…if that is not motivation, I do not know what is? To have a moment of transparency, we looked at Tok Pisin as the gateway to the tribe, once we get there, we can get to where we ought to be, but that is far from the truth. God brought us here at this time to seek His will for not just our tribal work, but to impact the people HE is placing before us right here in Madang. Pray we learn well, so we can share the Message of Christ with these people soon!

We want to share one more amazing experience with you. When we were at the base in Goroka (Lapilo) going through orientation, we were able to observe some “translation checks”. What an amazing and detailed process! The Bible translator first has to submit a “back to English” translation for the checker. A checker is typically a person who has translated a good-bit of if not all of the New Testament into a tribal language. The checker then reads and prepares several questions regarding the discourse analysis and the apparent grammar idiosyncrasies. You can translate word for a word, but just because it is a word within a group of words does not mean it conveys the accurate meaning to the audience. Example: five stones grabbed smooth David. This is a poor example, but it does show the difference in meaning. It is a familiar Bible event, but we would better understand the sentence if it were written: “David grabbed five smooth stones”. From there, there is something that is natural for foreigners to have…presuppositions. Who is David? Where did he come from? Why is he getting stones? Why five? Why do they have to be smooth? When did David do this? Where did he put the stones? Among many other questions that could be given, but that is why we must ask and think through as many things as we can. We have found this to be true in Tok Pisin. We keep looking for words like “for” or “because” but they do not exist on a word for word translation, the same meaning is there, but the exact words are non-existent.

After the checker goes through the back to English process, they move to an indigenous person reading the passage for comprehension. Next, there is another indigenous person listening and then regurgitating what was read. Another person shares their opinions on the text and repeats what the other two people had said (all three people are different ages and genders, the more broad the spectrum the better the testing can be). After that, there are several things done through the national language, and other testing’s of the translations accuracy. After fluidity and comprehension is checked, you move on to the next verse. We were able to listen to 12 verses being checked, this took almost an hour! There was a lot of work that went into the translation before it was even checked; all in all it is a thorough and tedious process. But when it is done, there is such a joy; it is amazing to see a people receive a passage of scripture in their own language and be able to understand it, truly there is no greater thing! The joy of being the first to ever hear parts of God’s Word in your own language, when so many have had it for decades, centuries, even millennia, truly there can be no greater joy. Be excited! Many tribes are getting translations finished and checked right now while you are reading this blog post.

Rejoice, God is faithfully building His church and preparing hearts, pray for missionaries to come to PNG. There is a great decline in missions and sadly, the attrition percentage rate is growing. The church needs to step its game up and separate its people for missions, send them (Acts 13:1-3), and partner with them to reach the lost for Christ. There is too much work to be done and too much opposition to give the Devil and the world another foothold. We need to step away from entertainment, pleasure, and excuses and answer the call for people to hear the Truth of Jesus Christ. I do not know of another place in the world where there are so many people asking for God’s eternal Word, pray we can answer the call to here in PNG before another religion does and sways the masses to an eternal separation from the one true God. Hell is real, and our time here on earth is short, let’s get busy for our King.

Your feet in to the unreached in PNG, Seth & Nicole Stokes

*Make sure to follow our Instagram to see more pictures of our journey here in PNG!

Instagram: Get_Stoked_For_PNG 

We have been rushed through many different things these past 4 weeks; we arrived into the country later than expected, we had a week of modules, we spent over 2 weeks at our main base to get acquainted and know our co-workers and our support staff, and now we “officially start” language learning…or do we? We have a few more modules to better understand the language/culture and then it is language and culture learning full-force!

We were blessed for the past 2 weeks and enjoyed NOT sweating. The base we were at for orientation in Goroka (Lapilo) has a beautiful climate, warm and yet cool. We did not need fans over our bed when we slept, that was a nice. Now we are back in Madang (sea level) it is always hot and continuously humid, it is almost impossible to keep your shirt dry. We left for just 2 weeks and we found mold on a backpack, a book, and a couple of other items that were in drawers; that is humidity to the fullest!

Tok Pisin is the national language; English and other Indo-European languages heavily influence it. Understanding basic nouns and verbs is pretty easy for any English-speaking individual. But just because something is similar does not mean they are the same. Take for example the name “Seth”, fairly simple, one vowel and a consonant cluster, basically just one syllable… simple right? Well, in Tok Pisin they do not have the “Se” sound in their language, they have a “Sh”. They also do not have the theta sound or the “th” sound, but they do have a “t”. So, when we go out and share our names in the village they say “Shet” instead of “Seth”, and half the time the vowel sound changes, so what we thought was an “easy” word in a language that is so similar to our own, it actually comes out and sounds more like a profane word in our English language (which in Tok Pisin is not an actual word they use). That is the beauty of language for you, it is too late we wish Seth would have introduced himself as “Isaac” (his middle name), but the name has spread already throughout the village, so now we go around just correcting vowel glides when people say Seth’s name 🙂

Thought that would be a fun and interesting tale to share, so a name is not so simple and a shirt is never dry here in Madang. Please contact us anytime! We are getting use the Internet here, and sometimes it is non-present, but we will get back to you asap! Feel free to iMessage us at nicolestokes22@gmail.com any time! We love you all and covet your prayers!

 Your feet to the unreached in PNG, Seth & Nicole Stokes

Amelia One of Our Language Helpers

Our Ride to Goroka

Hey everyone!

Sorry this is a bit late, we are still learning how to manage our time and how to best use the Internet/Data here. We have officially been here for a month! We would love to hear from you. Our contact info is in the Newsletter below. We love and appreciate you all!

Your feet to the unreached in PNG,

Seth & Nicole Stokes

February-Newsletter 2015

Hiking With A View

Learning About NTM in PNG

This past week has been yet another unexpected week; this week has been used to be yet another validation and affirmation that God brought us to PNG (Papua New Guinea). NTM (New Tribes Mission) PNG works entirely different than that of all other fields, this field is the largest field in which NTM has missionaries. With such a large team, they have been forced to develop and grow several bases and build up their infrastructure (NTM has been in PNG since 1950!). God distinctly brought us to PNG rather than another field as we were studying and reading HIS Word. We saw the pattern of Paul and Barnabas being sent out by the church of Antioch and how He used the church to direct their sent-ones, we too had our home church leadership direct us in “where” to go and serve. Our hearts were greatly encouraged when our church leadership chose PNG because we knew that the team and infrastructure here in PNG was amazing.

For the past week we have been at the main base in Lapilo (Goroka), where there are a multitude of support workers, it is overwhelming. The main purpose of us being here at the Lapilo base is for us to learn how NTM PNG operates and functions. So many welcoming people, all understanding and loving (and great cooks too 😉 ). We have really felt so cared for by so many people from those who do our paperwork, set up our internet, purchase supplies, language consultants, medical needs, even people who are willing to come into our tribe to help build our house, staff at the boarding school for 7-12^th grade (Lord willing when we have kids), and a plethora of other roles that help get us and keep us in the tribe. We truly see the Body of Christ working, as it ought to, no one looking at the situation as if being a part of the Great Commission were an option. All hands on deck, everyone doing their job to the best of their ability unto God, and all of them looking at us as church planters saying they are encouraged by us, and they are doing their job so we can be free to do our job to the best of our ability, they are rooting for us and want us to succeed. What a great team to be a part of!

Job Openings

            Speaking of jobs and opportunities, the NTM base here in PNG is always looking for workers, anyone who can come for several weeks, to 3 months, or even longer, there is always a void ready to be filled for anyone who wants to come and give aid. There are infinite options in administration and secretarial, construction, maintenance, teachers for the school, nurses, and SO MUCH MORE! If you are interested please contact us and we will direct you. God is able to use any of you and your gifts to build His kingdom here in PNG, no matter how much time you may or may not have.

NTM Lapilo Base

In 5 Days We have Our 1 month Anniversary in PNG!

            We have been tremendously blessed meeting many of our co-workers, all ready to impart wisdom and encouragement, and to give us the tools to succeed. It has been great to see “how” we get our visas, what it looks like to pack supplies as they get sent to various tribal works, and to hear the expectations from the field leadership. We have a couple more meetings and modules this week to finish it all off. Then we get back to our house in Madang, we start right back into national language learning (NCLA). Because of the meetings here at Lapilo, we have only been able to put 5-7 days of actual language learning in, and we have our first language evaluation at the end March. On a side note, Seth was given the opportunity to administer an I.V. and practice on one of the nurses here at the base, he was not as smooth as a professional, but was able to do it! That is a skill we hope we never have to use.

Madang From The Plane

So Much Work, So Few Hands

While we were on deputation, we shared with several people of how 14 tribes are ready and waiting for the Gospel. This was and is a true statement, but it still does not share the gravity of reality. The field here is truly ready for the harvest, many more tribes are ready for the Gospel. There are so many tribes that they cannot keep track of them all, 14 is just the number of tribes they can support as an organization, if there were more support workers who come, they could do more! Tribe after tribe, ready, and waiting, so the question has to be…who will be the ones to reach them? Who will be their missionary? Where are the missionaries to answer the call? There are fewer and fewer missionaries worldwide, missions as a whole for long-term missionaries is decreasing. Short-term trips are increasing. Pray that both young and old people will take the call of missions seriously and reach these people with the Gospel (the innumerable tribes here in PNG), before commercialism and Satan blind them and ensnare them more and make them resistant to the Gospel.

Right now, there are many tribes ASKING for missionaries; pray we can answer the call. For the time being, God has allowed PNG to be wide open and we can get 5-year visas, what more could you ask for? A people who are hungry, freedom to preach, long term visas (we literally get to walk through the PNG citizen line at the airport), and a well established organization…truly we are without excuse before our Lord to answer this call to missions.

Pray:

• Praise we received all of our bags and nothing was missing!!!!
• Pray/Praise for the many tribes right now that are getting translations worked on here in PNG, we personally got to see over 5 people who are currently doing translation and have a maturing church. This is so exciting! People who have never heard the deep truths of scripture for the first time, seeing things connect and understood in their own language. It was such an encouraging thing to see eyes and hearts light up hearing things that they can understand!
• Pray for the visa process for NTM PNG as an organization happening THIS WEDNESDAY; we have yet to have problems getting visas, but it is always a very thorough and stressful time going through the process, showing 3 years worth of information to affirm NTM’s purpose in PNG.
• Pray for our language check at the end of March, we want to keep progressing.
• Pray for us to have wisdom as to which region we should pursue, so that we can answer the call of one tribe to give them the Gospel.
• Pray for us as a couple, we see this time has been used by God to strengthen our relationship, but we do not want to be deceived and miss an opportunity to grow with one another and grow closer to our Lord and Savior.
• Pray for veteran missionaries in PNG the Stewarts, Mrs. Stewart has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and has not been given long to live, they have two young children.
• Pray for more missionaries to be raised up: missions to-date has a 47% attrition rate of those who leave by their first 5-year term, less than 30% of them have been for health reasons. A sad statistic that we learned as we looked at all the works here in PNG, that with all the tribal works that have been done and are being done here in PNG, only a handful of teams (typically 3 families per team) have stayed together from start to finish. Truly we wrestle not against flesh and blood, pray for us, other missionaries you know, and anyone who is going through training and heading to the field, they desperately need you prayers.

Your feet in PNG to the unreached, Seth and Nicole Stokes