Thanks for continuing to pray for us here in Amdu. Our break out in town was very refreshing. Our flight back was delayed but uneventful which is always a good thing when you’re dealing with a small, single engine plane and the vast, swamp jungle we have to fly over to get here. Uneventful is perfect!
Team Happenings Since we returned Benjamin has set up his “office” in our co-workers dining room. Bart and Emily Allen are on furlough and having a great time with their families. For now, their empty home provides an excellent place for Benjamin to meet with language helpers. We are at a place in our language learning where more concentrated time with individuals is very helpful.
During these times you can control the flow of language coming at you a little bit better. In the village it’s like trying to drink from a fire hose as everyone happily talks to you at once. Meeting one on one with somebody at least diminishes the amount of language; we’re still trying to help the Amdu to speak a little more slowly. Their attempts to accommodate us usually result in them whispering to us, but not speaking any slower. FUNNY!!
Becoming Amdu Marriage has been one of the most talked about subjects this past month. Three young couples have gotten married recently but of course it didn’t involve a white dress, a bridal shower or church bells. Marriage in Amdu seems more like a business merger to us outsiders. It involves, for the most part, a lot of negotiating over payment for the bride and little to no ceremony for the time being.
We have also watched a number of “court” cases being dealt with. Settling a dispute in Amdu is more focused on exchange than proving guilt. From our perspective a court hearing is to find someone guilty and meet out a sentence. In Amdu if you are in court in the first place it is because you are both guilty and the process is really to determine how the two parties can reconcile their differences. That is why exchange is so important; it shows that reconciliation has happened.
In the case we were observing recently each party exchanged 100 Kina (about 180 dollars.) They literally handed each other the same amount of money. In many cases the traditional items of value are still exchanged, like string bags called bee-lums, bow and arrows, axes and machetes. While we struggle to see the point of an equal exchange of 100 Kina, from the Amdu perspective it is full of meaning and appropriateness.
We are scrambling to create boxes in our brains for all this information. Becoming Amdu means working hard to see the world through Amdu eyes! In doing so we’ll be able to bring the Gospel message in the clarity that is required for them to understand and believe. Thank you for praying for our brains and our tongues!
Amdu Media We have a few more short videos for you to watch. Click on the links below or copy them into your internet explorer address bar. There are a few more being posted so you can return to the vime.com site to see more in the coming weeks.
Our goal in all of this is to make our Amdu experience and the ministry we are involved in more accessible to you. It’s very hard to encapsulate what we are experiencing even on camera but with sights and sounds hopefully you are growing more attached to what God is doing in Amdu! Your attachment is so important because it leads to that essential partnership in prayer and giving that makes it all possible.