Realistic Expectations: Things to expect in coming to PNG

1. PNG is a very “missionized” country. You will see a sign getting off the plane in Hoskins that says “Jesus is Lord over West New Britain.” You will see people wearing “I love Jesus” and “God bless PNG” shirts/hats. You will see crosses decorating yards or church tops. Please don’t be fooled. These people have no idea what true Christianity is all about. They are completely without the truth of the Gospel in their language. Specifically, some PNG people are very religious. Many tribal people in PNG simply mix together a number of different religions.

2. The people of PNG may seem more advanced than you are expecting. Most people have a tribal name and a Western name. When introducing themselves to a Westerner, they will use their Western name, like Francis, John, or Angelica. They may be wearing a t-shirt and shorts and may even know a bit of English. This does not make them any less tribal or any closer to the truth of the Gospel! They are still desperately lost and need to hear the truth in their own tribal language. Please don’t think that because they’re not wearing face paint, they don’t still need to be reached.

3. The mission base may surprise you with all that it offers – hot and cold running water, reliable electricity, comfortable furniture and a lot of Western foods. Also, the house that in Bom may not be what you are expecting. In fact, it will seem like a mansion compared to what the PNG people are living in. Whether our house is rougher or nicer than what you had expected, please understand that we have been training and planning for this day for years. We have carefully weighed the pros and cons of how big our house is, what it will have in it, etc. Our goal is to live as simply as possible while making life as efficient and comfortable as possible so that we can spend the majority of our time in ministry rather than hauling water or trying to work by flashlight. If our goal was to live just like the people live, we could do that. But we would never fulfill the urgency of our task, which is to bring them the truth of God’s Word as quickly and effectively as possible. To minister efficiently, we need a lot of these “conveniences”.

A List of Do’s and Don’ts for you as a team:

We hope that this list does not seem burdensome or confusing. Please keep in mind that the PNG culture is extremely different from US culture. Every action that you guys do as a team will be watched closely by Patpatar friends, and things done now could affect the future of the Patpatar church. We know that none of you would intentionally do something inappropriate or potentially damaging, but we hope that with this list you will have some guidelines for knowing how to best have a good impact on our people while fitting into their culture.