Heather Turek Just another weblog 
This is Carol, our language helper. She is teaching us Tok Pisin (Pigin English), the trade language. Most people speak Tok Pisin but it isn’t the heart language of over 850 language groups represented in PNG. Carol’s heart language is Benabena
Using special techniques to learn Tok Pisin is part of the Interface program. Interface is a college level course that touches on why NTM exists and how to plant a church in a cross-cultural setting.
The program gives students a chance to understand what is involved in tribal church planting. I like to call it "missionary 101".
Mornings are spent in classes taught by experienced missionaries on why NTM does what we do, how we go about doing it (like linguistics, literacy, how we teach the Bible chronologically, etc.), and also who NTM is.
Afternoons are spent with the local tribal folks. The Benabena people live near the Interface campus and the students spend time with them, trying out some of their linguistics training, and interacting with them.
Interestingly this people group just recently heard the Gospel for the first time, and they have a new baby church!
There is also time to spend with the missionaries… learning from them and talking one on one with them about their ministries.
This program completely rocks! To learn more and apply: www.ntm.org/missiontrips
