Wasfamili

'Was' is a Tok Pisin word that means "watch or care for." A 'wasfamili' then is a family who watches over someone, perhaps an adopted child.

Two weeks ago I met my 'wasfamili' when they came here for dinner, and this past week I went to their house.

Around 5:30 pm, one of my younger 'was' sisters Kristina came to POC to walk my partner Julie and I to their home. After twenty minutes of walking on a gravel road and then some small paths through the bush, we arrived at their home, a one-room building with woven bamboo walls and a roof made of leaves.

The whole family was there waiting for us to arrive: 'papa' Ninto, 'mama' Matah, and their children Joshua, Nelson, Nick, and Matah. Kristina was there too and another daughter Alvina arrived later because she had been off working in the garden.

We all sat on the veranda and chatted in Tok Pisin for awhile. After dark, Matah had the kids heat up the dinner she had prepared earlier, boiled sweet potatoes and greens, tinned meat, and cooking bananas prepared in coconut oil. She served this alongside the food we'd brought for them from POC, beef stew and steamed rice.

As Papua New Guineans only eat once or twice a day, they are very hungry by dinner time and the portions they eat are huge! Julie and I were both given a very large portion too, and eating slowly, we managed to eat it all.

After dinner we continued to talk about various topics, like their family, their pigs, and the way land is passed from generation to generation. The children enjoyed looking at the pictures in the Air Niugini in-flight magazine I'd brought along. Later, we all had tea and then Ninto and Matah walked us back to POC.

Building relationships with Papua New Guineans is an essential part of my ministry, and my 'wasfamili' experience will help me both to build relationships now as well as prepare for future relationships by having a better understanding of PNG life and culture.