Pari

June 29, 2010


The next morning we explored the town of Kundiawa. We did some shopping for food and supplies for staying in the village. People everywhere, always staring, following, and wanting us to buy their stuff. I would say six of one of their stores could fit inside one of our Wal-Mart’s. There were few choices of each item, unlike Wal-mart, where you have 20+ choices of shampoo. They are very crowded, stuff is sometimes piled high, and their seemed to be a somewhat random organization. If we entered a store ten or more people would follow making the place even more crowded. They all wanted to see what we would buy. When checking out at one of the stores the cashier gave me her cell phone number and I gave her my address because she asked if I would be her pen pal.

We then made our way back to the hotel to check out, load up our stuff, and head up the mountain 5,000 ft to Pari village. Every child we passed excitedly waved to us and some even chased after our trucks for a few feet. We made a couple stops along the way to enjoy the scenery and take pictures. During one of these times a group of about three or four ladies came running up to us waving a digital camera in the air. They asked if we would take a picture with them, it was quite hilarious. The truck ride was quite enjoyable, bouncing along the rugged mountain roads with no seat belts.

It was about an hour and a half when we finally arrived in the village to meet the Pfantz’s family of 20 years. Everyone was so happy to see them. It had been two years since they left after the dedication of the New Testament. Most of the women were crying and holding onto Dunc, Mary, and Levi. After awhile they hugged all of us. After the tears stopped flowing, we moved into our temporary home. It was the home that belonged to the Pfantz’s after they had lived there around four years. It contained three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, laundry room, study, and a bathroom (with a shower and toilet!). The guys were given bush house to sleep in that belongs to mama and papa. Once settled, Emily, Megan, and I headed to Mama Wimai and Papa Peter’s house to help prepare for dinner. We did our best to talk with them, but most of the time was spent listening to the family talk to each other. All of our meals were cooked over a fire and it almost always included sweet potatoes.

After dinner the evening was spent sharing our observations of the culture on our first day, what our impressions were, we also had devotion time, singing, and praying. Before heading to bed we went out and enjoyed the night sky, which contained more stars than anyone in American or a highly polluted place could even imagine.