Monday, April 11, 2016

Memories from Papua New Guinea



Recently, we talked to this couple who served as Lay Mission-Helpers in Papau New Guinea from 1974-77 and still to this day remember the people, the laughter and the hope:

“Forty years ago, where we were had no telephone and electricity was only 12 hours a day. So we could use our fridge during the daytime, but at night we couldn’t open it for fear of food spoiling.  Airmail letters would take about two weeks to come to us, and about two weeks to the recipient. So, if the grandparents asked a question about one of the children, it was a month before they heard the reply. We soon learned not to bother them with stories of falls and scraped knees, because they would worry about the kids all that time!

Sometimes the lessons came from misunderstandings in English. We worked with the Bishop of Aitape, and he had requested that four Poor Clare Sisters come to establish a monastery. Their purpose was to pray for the various endeavors of the missionaries in the diocese. At one social event, I brought my newborn son, and one of the Poor Clare Sisters from Britain asked if she could nurse my baby! I was taken aback, but learned that “nurse” in British English means to hold and cuddle the baby. We quickly realized that we spoke American English.

But we had many experiences where language didn’t matter. My husband worked as an airplane mechanic, and one time the children and I went with him to one of the highland villages. These people had never seen a European woman or young children. Because of what they had not seen, they believed that Europeans appeared on earth fully grown. When we arrived, people gathered around us in a huge circle, and they noticed right away that I had a baby who was fussing. Now I didn’t speak their language, and they didn’t speak mine, not even pidgin English, but two women approached me and motioned to me, and to the baby, and back and me, and led me to a place in the shade to nurse the baby. I was so impressed that they made this huge leap from a belief that Europeans don’t have babies to me needing to feed the baby. Every single village had its own language and culture, but looking back I am amazed at the oneness of humanity.

The camaraderie that we saw amongst the missionaries was amazing. In our area there were Franciscans, the Poor Clares and us. On Friday nights we would celebrate Mass and then get together afterward for a meal and fellowship. It was wonderful to feel part of a team.”

 “I worked as an airplane mechanic, and we serviced quite a large area.  Our planes flew every day, though as a good witness we tried not to fly on Sundays.
One of the most interesting things for me was that I worked more on things other than airplanes. Mechanics were so few and far between. For example, one of the mission stations generators hadn’t worked in five years. They worked by kerosene lamps. I was able to get enough information and parts and fixed it one weekend. In a few hours, I was able to improve their lives. Another time a Sister sent me her lawnmower and a bag of parts because she couldn’t figure out how to put it back together again!

One day I got a call from the hospital that their X-ray machine was down, and I was able to fix it temporarily until we could order the right part.  Every time I went by the hospital, the Sister doctor who ran the place would ask me to lend a hand. They always needed more hands, holding patients, etc. Even from a mechanic!

I’ll never forget one of the most important calls of my life. One Easter, a carbonate artillery shell left over from World War II blew up under the camp fire of a bunch of high school boys and shredded threw them. We received a call that three boys would need to be flown to the main airport, and I was asked turn the plane into an ambulance carrier. By the time they arrived, I had modified it to fit three stretchers, and the boys were able to make it to the hospital. It was very rewarding to be able to help.”

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