By:  Fr. Thomas Gier, SOLT

A young Pilipino Missionary Group Starts from Scratch in Papua New Guinea.
Twenty years ago the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity arrived in the Philippines. It has grown and prospered and has many seminarians and priest who are now going on mission out from the Philippines. Fr. Thomas Patrick Gier has led a group of Filipino priest to start from scratch a new mission in Papua New Guinea. With Fr. Tom is Fr. Gene Barbacena and Fr. Ferdie Samar. Also With them two Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity seminarians: Alvin Cayetano and Rey Grava. Here Fr. Tom tells one of their adventures.

Tribal Feud
One morning when returning to our mission by car from the town of Goroko we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a tribal war. The place was Chavaw in the province of Chimbu. There are different tribes living in either side of the mountain stream which goes down under a stream which goes down under a bridge. A woman had been killed and her body thrown over the bridge. One tribe to whom the woman belonged accused the other tribe of murder. As we were waiting on highway, men came screaming down the mountain road toward the bridge from both directions. All the men from both tribes were tearing the galvanized roofing off the nearby houses to use these sheets as shields against arrows. Many old man came with their bows and arrows and spears past us.

War Correspondent!
A boy came rushing also. Of course, we were in danger because the two tribes were only interested in fighting each other. I asked two strong warriors passing if  I could take their pictures and they seemed delighted. I posed with them and they showed me how to fire the arrows. Their bows have a bamboo string and the arrows (all of hard wood) are not groove as an ordinary arrow would be... the objects seems to be to rain arrows down on your foes by shooting them high in air. You could not really aim at anyone with their bows and arrows unless you were very close.

Palticks and Pugakangs
There was another man watching us at the side with his coat wrapped around something. After the two left, he asked me if I took a picture of the men with their bows and arrows. I thought he was unhappy, but he was not. He said that he could show me something else to take a picture of. As Fr. Ferdie Samar was with me, he invited Ferdie just over a ridge where no one could see them. Then he unwrapped his home-made gun and proudly asked me to take his picture with Ferdie. Memories of Palticks and Pugakang at home in the Philippines.

I Prayed for Peace
While all this was going on, the tribes were firing arrows at each other and one could hear all the arrows striking the G.I. sheets, I really wanted to see the battle, but instead I felt it more important to return to my car and pray for peace between the warring tribes. Just then, we heard shots fired...I found out that these were probably shots in the air by the police who had just arrived. We could hear the spectators who watched the fight from a distance with theirs Ows! and Ahs! Just like it was a sport event! Next the police fired tire gas and the wind must have been coming toward us as all of us got it. After an hour or so, a truce was reached and we were still very mad at each other.

I am a Nun
One of our sisters here at the S.V.D. station where we have been stationed, was supposed to pick up the Mother General of her order who was flying into Mt. Hagen. This nun who is a nurse, was called to administer to a dying man just when she was to leave for our nearby airport, so she sent the handy man working at the convent to pick up the Italian nun. The driver obediently went to the airport where he approached the only nun who came off the plane. He asked her: “Yu Mother Lourdes” (in his best Pidgin English). She replied yes. Then, again in Pidgin, he replied: “Me kissim yu” (meaning in Pidgin...I will pick you up) She replied: “No you are not going to kiss me... I’m a nun!” Such in life in the mission!

Melpa Language
I give my sermon on Sundays in Pidgin English. Then, one of the church leaders translates it into Melpa with loud voice and many emotions. For every sentence I utter in the sermon, he translates into Melpa with ten sentences! My sermon does not loose anything in the translation...it gains ten-fold! Now my question is this... What is the translator saying in the other nine sentences in Melpa after he translate my one sentence into Melpa? If you know any Melpa experts (a language spoken by one-hundred thousand people just in our Mt. Hagen area), send them over so I can figure out what is being said!

Reconciliation
We will be in Holy Week in just one week. We have something special planned at our Ulga parish. In the past two years, over seventy tribal members (of our Ulga tribe and the Kulga tribe across the river) have killed each other; plus crops and houses have been burned, pigs killed etc. But there has been peace here for almost a year now and the leaders have broken the bows and arrows in reconciliation ceremony. To solidify that truce, we will have tribal leaders and their followers going in procession with crosses all throughout our two tribal areas, camping out along the trail sites in the mountains and singing God’s praises all the way. The processions will end on Easter day at the site of the bloodiest of the fighting two years ago. A beautiful tribute to man’s real desire to bring Christ into their lives and love and forgive as He did.