Languages and Religion

Languages:

Over 800 tribal languages are spoken. English serves as the language of education so I could speak my native tongue with many people. I also became fairly fluent in the common trade language Melanesian Pidgin. Thankfully Melanesian Pidgin has a lot of roots in English so it wasn’t too difficult to pick up. I never did get very far past common social greetings in the local tribal language of Enga.

Religion:

66-95% claim Christianity with the rest declaring indigenous beliefs. However, even among those who claim Christianity, animism still exists in their belief structure and the concept of grace is hard to grasp. While in PNG, I attended and taught Sunday School at the chapel on the Immanuel Lutheran Hospital complex. It is part of the Gutnius Lutheran Church of PNG.