20190619

Dear all,

Peace be with you. May your faith through trials be purified by God.

各位代禱勇士，收信平安！

願神使您的信心經過試驗，比精金更加寶貴。

Thank you for your interceding. I have been gradually catching up my working schedule. Last week I finished making all the bags. This week I shall put my effort in making blouses that I have owed. And next week, I am supposed to make clothes that Kellen and I shall need in PNG. My skin is so sensitive that clothes available in PNG course me freckles. In PNG, as missionaries, we had better wear traditional PNG blouses that cover our knees and will not show our shapes.

感謝您的關心代禱，Sandy的工作進度已經漸漸改進。上星期把所有該做的包包都做完了。這個星期要好好來做積欠的女上衣。順利的話下星期可以專心做我和Kellen在新幾內亞要穿的衣服。(因為我皮膚不好，只能穿純棉。穿新幾內亞買的衣服布料會長痱子。)在新幾內亞我們最好穿傳統的女士外出服裝，比較容易獲得認同與接納。不可以露出腰部及臀部的形狀，而且要把膝蓋蓋住。

The best school for making disciples

Last week it was exciting to hear from our PNG friend that there will be a conference and crusade held in Yamuk where Kellen and used to serve in PNG in 2011-2017. The news from the tribal villages makes me feel at home. Let me talk to you more about something in the tribal villages. Yamuk and Yagiap that is 2 hours walking distance further are both tribal villages in PNG. And they have also been good schools where God made us disciples of Jesus.

《最好的門訓學校》

上星期很高興接到新幾內亞朋友傳來的消息：我們在2011年到2017年參與服事的部落雅慕克將於七月4-7日舉辦事工研討會及佈道會。部落裡的消息讓我感覺好親切。請容許我跟您分享一些部落裡的事情。新幾內亞的雅慕克以及往內陸兩小時腳程的雅紀亞雖是很原始的部落，卻是這幾年來神給我們的生命學校。部落裡的生活讓我更能體會聖經的教導。

How to say thank you

We can be misguided by our very limited recognition in what we think things should be like. For example, we might think saying “thank you” is something that everyone should be cultivate to do in life. Well, in the language of Yamuk and Yagiap there is not a specific wording for “thank you”. For expressing gratitude to someone, we would compliment him by saying “Good man/woman, you.”

《如何說謝謝》

我們認為本該如此的事情，其實只是侷限在我們狹隘的認知當中。譬如，我們認為說聲謝謝是很正常的事。然而，在我們的族語裡面沒有「謝謝」這個字眼。要表達謝意的時候，就稱讚對方說「好女人，妳。」或者「好男人，你。」這個語言的語法和希伯來文蠻類似的。

How can one be a good person

In Yamuk and Yagiap, one can easily gain compliments. When people see me cooking, washing dishes, even going to the pond for a good soak, they would say to me, “Atma takwa ngin” which means “good woman, you.” And of course I would say the same words to those whom I see walking towards the jungle with their bush knives, carrying water, going to the market…. General speaking, a good man/woman means someone who works hard or is kind to others.

Let me show off: Atma takwa ngin=good woman you; Atma tu mn=good man you. Ha-ha!

《如何當個好人》

在這裡，要獲得稱讚非常容易。人們看到我生火煮菜、烤西谷餅、洗盤子、要走到池塘洗澡、晾衣服、收衣服……，都會稱讚我說「好女人，妳。」當然，我看到有人拿著開山刀朝林子裡走去、幫小孩洗澡、餵奶、編袋子、提水、上市場……，我也會這樣稱讚別人。總得來說，好男人或好女人就是勤奮的人和慷慨的人。

Missionaries' "Lydia" in the jungle

Who I complimented the most and gave me the most compliment was Titus’ wife, Christina. In Yamuk, Titus’ family took the responsibility of taking care of missionaries. They often came to our house in and made sure we had sufficient sago, water and fire wood. And they gave us fish nearly every week. In the midnight, when they heard something wrong from our house, they would immediately came with their torches, checking through around our house. Titus and Christina were our “Lydia” in Yamuk. And Lawrence’s family and his sisters in Yagiap. In the jungle, Christina was the first one to show me friendship: while I was in the market, wondering what was inside a sago nugget, Christina took a sago worm out of her sago nugget with her fingers and pushed the worm into my mouth. What she did meant I had become a true friend of her.

《叢林裡的呂底亞》

我最常稱讚的人也最常稱讚我的人是提多的太太克莉絲堤娜。在雅慕克，提多一家人是主要照顧宣教士的家庭。他們夫妻常常來我們住的地方，看看我們的西谷粉、柴火、用水是否需要補充，又幾乎每個星期給我們魚。三更半夜聽到我們住的地方有不尋常的聲音時，夫妻倆就開著手電筒在我們屋子周圍巡一巡。提多與克莉絲堤娜就是我們在雅慕克的呂底亞。而在雅紀亞，勞倫斯的家人及他的眾姐姐們扮演這個角色。在部落裡克莉絲堤娜是第一個讓我知道什麼是朋友的人：我去逛市場的時候，很好奇地看著我從來沒看過的西谷粉年糕，想知道裡面包的是什麼餡。克莉絲堤娜用手指頭把她西谷粉年糕裡的一條西谷樹蟲挖出來，塞到我的嘴巴裡。這代表她把我當做自己人啦。

In Yamuk, when having the desire for fish, women would have to carry their produces and walk a 4-hour-long round trip to the market to trade for fish. And in Yagiap 8-hour-long. Duties for men are hunting, battling, house building, land cultivating, cutting down sago trunks and making decisions for communities. And women have to do all the other works. Therefore, women would carry heavy goods to the market and make their business there. Men go to the market too. But they would carry nothing and they don’t sit down to make business. What men would do in the market is just talk to the other men. For someone like me from a society where feminism is a big issue, women here are ill-treated. They work day and night, feeding the entire family, doing all the chores and looking after their children. Men go hunting in the midnight that I don’t see, and I can never go so far to see they cultivate the land. Therefore, I often say “Good woman, you.” But I rarely say “Good man, you.” Especially, Christian often gave me my favorite banana-leaf-wrapped fish and barbecued sago worms. They are the two best dishes in the world. So I shall never stop saying “Good woman, you.” to her.

在雅慕克如果要吃魚，女人就必須在星期二、四早上，把村子裡的椰子、西谷粉等等農產品揹著，走路來回四個小時換魚回來吃。住雅紀亞的女人就得走八個小時。部落裡男人的工作是打獵、打仗、蓋房子、墾地、砍倒西谷樹、討論部落大事。其他的大小事都是女人的工作。所以在以物易物市場上換東西及在一般的市場賣東西的事都是女人做的。男人也去市場，但是他們不揹東西去，而是去那裡交換部落間的消息，或是找其他男人討論「大事」。對來自女性主義濃厚的社會的我而言，總是覺得部落裡的女性很吃虧呀！她們從早忙到晚，支撐一家的溫飽、負責所有的雜務跟小孩的看護。男人打獵都在晚上、他們墾地我也看不到，因此我常說「好女人，妳。」，很少說「好男人，你。」。尤其，克莉絲堤娜常常給我們我最愛吃的蕉葉烤魚和串烤西谷樹蟲。這兩樣東西是全世界最好吃的美食。我只能不斷地說「好女人，妳。」

A truly wise person

One day, as Christina and I were talking about going to the market. I felt very sorry for women and said, “Women have to carry such a heavy load to the market but men go with nothing. And men don’t help with the business. They just stand there and talk to the other men....”

As I was on and on, Christina said, “Yeah. I always tell Titus to leave the business to me and go and do the talking with all the other men there.”

I can never forget the big smile on her face while she said this. She was totally soaking herself in her happiness and her love to her husband. To her, her husband is so adorable that all her hard work is worthwhile as long as all the other men are willing to listen to what her husband would like to say. ---This was really something out of my mind!!!

《真正有智慧的人》

有一天，我和克莉絲堤娜聊到上市場的事。我很心疼女性地說，女人要揹那麼重的東西去市場，男人空手去，也不會幫忙賣，只是站在市場裡和其他男人聊天。當我滔滔不絕地說著時，克莉絲堤娜卻說：「是啊！我跟提多說：『你是男人。市場的工作就交給我。你好好地去和男士們聊天。』」我永遠都不能忘記，她說這話的時候，臉上洋溢著非常幸福、非常陶醉的笑容。只要她的丈夫在市場裡講話是其他男人願意聽的，她所有的辛勞都不白費，因為她的老公值得她崇拜。這對我來說是多麼不可思議呀！

Her smile of happiness reminded me of the ideal woman in Proverb 31, especially verse 23 “Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.” ---What I saw and heard was what the Bible verse means!!! --- I had had difficulties in figuring out what Proverb 31 means and thought that was something impossible. God through Christina’s happiness made me comprehend that a wise person is to establish others’ success as well as self-achievement. This was how God taught me the Bible in the swampy jungle.

然而，她幸福的笑容讓我想起箴言31章裡才德的婦人。尤其是23節「他丈夫在城門口與本地的長老同坐，為眾人所認識。」….原來如此…以前我讀不懂箴言31章，覺得那是不可能的事情。神卻用克莉絲堤娜的幸福笑容讓我讀懂了「做好自己、成全對方」才是有智慧的人。在這個石器時代生活的沼澤叢林裡，神用這種方法讓我讀懂聖經。

Culture observation and cross-cultural communication are very big issues for missionaries. God locates us in the mission fields not for us to change their cultures but to find out God’s love and to deliver God’s Words in their very cultures. May the lesson God allowed me to learn from Christina make you find out how much I need your prayers. Please pray for me that God make me always humble myself to learn in the mission field and grateful for everyone and everything.

文化的觀察以及跨文化溝通是宣教士的重要課題。神把宣教士放在禾場並不是要改變當地的文化，而是要在禾場的文化裡面看見神的愛、傳遞神的話語。我把神透過克莉絲堤娜讓我學到的寶貴功課與您分享，請大家為我禱告，求神使我在禾場裡常存謙卑的心學習，對周遭的人、事、物常存感恩的心。

All for Him

願神得榮耀

主內末肢

Sandy

2019/06/19