Many friends have written asking questions about what the
food is like and what we eat. Food…though often overlooked…is a huge part of our cultural understanding as human beings. This is something I had
not thought of until we moved to PNG.
The experience of leisurely strolling through the aisles of Trader Joe’s
and being able to find any ingredient I might need is VERY different from what
I currently engage in. Living on station means
that I go to “town”…Mt. Hagen...once a month and stock up on 4 weeks’ worth of
groceries. Yes…this is as challenging as
it sounds. In order to make sure we have
everything we need and don’t run out of anything, I plan all of our dinners for
the entire month, and purchase what is required based on my meal
plan/recipes. Luckily, to supplement my
monthly excursion to town, there is a street market, “rot bung,” near the station
that has local produce. When I find
myself frustrated with the lack of so many ingredients/seasonings/etc, I am reminded of just how BLESSED we are to be serving in one of
the most beautiful places on earth and am encouraged by the fact that God will always provide!
“Olsem na mi tokim yupela, yupela i no ken tingting planti
long laip bilong yupela na tok, ‘Bai yumi kaikai wanem samting? Bai yumi dring
wanem samting?’ Na yupela i no ken tingting planti long bodi bilong yupela na
tok, ‘Bai yumi pasim wanem laplap?’ Ating laip em i winim kaikai, na bodi em i
winim ol laplap samting. Yupela lukim
ol pisin. Ol i no save planim kaikai, na ol i no save bungim na putim long haus
kaikai. Tasol Papa bilong yupela i stap long heven em i save givim kaikai long
ol. Ating yupela i no winim tru ol pisin, a? Na sapos
wanpela bilong yupela i wok long tingting planti long rot bilong i stap gut,
ating dispela pasin bilong tingting planti bai i skruim liklik hap taim moa
long laip bilong en? I no inap tru. - Matyu 6:25-27 (Pidgin)
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life
more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in
barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? Can
any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? – Matthew 6:25-27
Below are some pictures of my adventures with the local fare.
Cooking dinner by emergency lamp when the power had gone out.
He is awesome!
The lemons are from our neighbor's tree across the street!
Thank you Peterson's!
< ...The PNG version of spinach.
The bounty from my trip to the rot bung...
A neighbor tending his banana tree in our backyard.
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