Interface '99: Teaching

Interface '99

Materials
12lbs of materials. Firm Foundations - Flavor of Culture cookbook - Notebooks for language and culture study - Tok Pisin books - Pidgin Bible - 3-inch notebook chockfull of tips/practical know-how - Maps - Time-line charts

Learning the Language
We learned Pidgin (known as Tok Pisin) which is the trade language in PNG. I had difficulty with some of the phonetics. Here, Malek, our language helper is observing us practice a dialogue. "Rausim" meaning "get rid off" and "long long" meaning "crazy" were my favorite Pidgin words. I learned a few Iwam tribal words too.

To ensure accuracy, New Tribes Mission missionaries spend 3-8 years learning the people's "heart language" before presenting the message. Otherwise, tribal people often simply group the gospel message together with their ancestor stories.

Missionaries must create an alphabet for the language then teach literacy in order to communicate effectively. Sometimes, they must create words for love, faith, God etc.

Chronological Teaching
After mastering the tribal language, the missionaries present God's message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The message begins with Adam and ends with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The response? Some tribes break into spontaneous mass rejoicing when they realize their sins have been forgiven. Some don't accept the message. But those who believe describe the gospel as consistent, logical, or since they do not have a word for "logical", describe it like "a well-proportioned tree, with firm roots and flourishing branches."

Missionary Training Center
Here is where PNG nationals are trained to become missionaries to their own people. It's a bit more difficult for them because they do not have the background knowledge to learn a different language and culture quickly. But this work is essential because a successful missionary should not have a foreign (non-native) successor.


	Materials 12lbs of materials. Firm Foundations - Flavor of Culture cookbook - Notebooks for language and culture study - Tok Pisin books - Pidgin Bible - 3-inch notebook chockfull of tips/practical know-how - Maps - Time-line charts
	Learning the Language We learned Pidgin (known as Tok Pisin) which is the trade language in PNG. I had difficulty with some of the phonetics. Here, Malek, our language helper is observing us practice a dialogue. "Rausim" meaning "get rid off" and "long long" meaning "crazy" were my favorite Pidgin words. I learned a few Iwam tribal words too. To ensure accuracy, New Tribes Mission missionaries spend 3-8 years learning the people's "heart language" before presenting the message. Otherwise, tribal people often simply group the gospel message together with their ancestor stories. Missionaries must create an alphabet for the language then teach literacy in order to communicate effectively. Sometimes, they must create words for love, faith, God etc.
	Chronological Teaching After mastering the tribal language, the missionaries present God's message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The message begins with Adam and ends with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The response? Some tribes break into spontaneous mass rejoicing when they realize their sins have been forgiven. Some don't accept the message. But those who believe describe the gospel as consistent, logical, or since they do not have a word for "logical", describe it like "a well-proportioned tree, with firm roots and flourishing branches."
	Missionary Training Center Here is where PNG nationals are trained to become missionaries to their own people. It's a bit more difficult for them because they do not have the background knowledge to learn a different language and culture quickly. But this work is essential because a successful missionary should not have a foreign (non-native) successor.