My Summer Vacation Part 3: Rabaul

Debbie and I went to Rabaul after Christmas on the Chimbu Passenger Ship. The ship was dirty and I think that is where I got bitten by a bed bug. More on that in the next section of my summer vacation.  

Fr Paul picked us up and took us to the MSC Sisters Convent in Vunapope, the Archdiocese of Rabaul. The Sisters were very hospitable and Fr Paul showed us around Rabaul. We went to the market. We visited Rakunai, the place made famous by Blessed Peter Torot, his martyrdom came when the Japanese killed him for doing the work for the church. PNG wants to make him a saint of PNG. We also passed the Don Bosco School, visited seminary schools for the women and the men. Their locations seemed rather isolated, but self contained and peaceful. 

St. Bartholomew

The day we were to leave Rabaul, we got to the airport at 6 am and remained there till 5 pm that night only to find out our flight was canceled and we were only on standby for the next morning. What a boring long day at the airport. That night, being one of Debbie’s last in PNG, we took Fr Paul to dinner at a resort down the street from the Archdiocese.

Then, we had another big ordeal at the airport that morning.  The airlines confirmed our flight for Sunday! (The day was Thursday) Debbie is leaving the next day (Friday) for America,  so there was no way that was okay! Even up to the very last minute- we were told they did all they could do, but couldn’t get us on the full flight. Almost panicking, I asked to see the supervisor who said the same thing. At that point, I was literally begging- asking if anyone could give up their seats or we can pay extra or anything to get us back to Kimbe. She finally saw one possibility and we had two seats on that plane!! What an ordeal. Then they were scrambling to get our seats, make our tickets and told us our luggage we wanted checked would now be carried on. All in all, we made it back to Kimbe.    Debbie’s last night was celebrated with the Caritas Sisters who prepared a delicious dinner for us. The Bishop joined us and the Sisters that last night. Debbie sadly did make her flight the next day for the US. Sr. Sara took her to the airport that morning. I felt the prayers of everyone working at that moment. Thanks and Praise be to God!! 🙏🙏

This is the end of Part 3 of how I spent my summer vacation.  Stay tuned for Part 4 when I tell you about my Missionary Seminar in Goroka in January. 

Thank you for your prayers and support and I, in return, pray for you as well. 

Please comment, I’d love to hear from you. Thank you and God bless. 

My Summer Vacation Part 2: Christmas and Vavua

Christmas in Kimbe

Debbie and I spent Christmas in Kimbe. We walked to all the stores, went to the market, ate at the Apple Mango Cafe and the Llamo as she discovered my home in Kimbe. 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we went to the temporary site for the Mass held at a large Government Building while the new cathedral was being built. It unfortunately rained on Christmas Eve, but the choir was beautiful and plenty of people showed up. Christmas Day, Debbie and I helped the Bishop make Steak Diane, mashed potatoes and salad with real lettuce from the Highlands for about 14 or so guests. The Caritas Sisters brought cake and ice cream for dessert. The company was wonderful, the food delicious and it was a nice Christmas Day. 

‘My’ village of Vavua:

Debbie and I along with Sr Bernadette were met by Fr Bernard, an African Priest who resides in the parish of Vavua. We drove past Valoka and continued on the potholed road to the village of Vavua where we were met by a group of children and a few adults who welcomed us with song, a welcome sign, headdresses, warm hearts and smiles. Adorable! 

We attended the evening mass where Fr Bernard told the villagers about my mission. Then he told his village to make us part of them. And they did just that! The village escorted us to a house cry - a woman’s husband died on Christmas Day. For a house cry, they set up a special tent where relatives keep the widow and family company as they go through the grieving process. We were escorted into the tent. I was asked to introduce myself and then one of the village women led everyone in that tent into a song in their village language (not pidgin). I loved her, she kept the people in the tent lively and well entertained. We were offered some leaves made in a special way (delicious) and some tea. We were made to feel right at home during a sad occasion. It’s not something often experienced by outsiders. 

One thing that Fr Bernard wanted was for me (and Maria when she arrived) to adopt his village as my own. When others say “I’m going to my village for break, I can say that I’m going to my village of Vavua too.” It was nice to be so warmly welcomed.  

That night, we should have taken advantage of the calm ocean and beautiful night to go swimming, but we had a big day planned for the next day. We had plans to go on a dingy to an island close by, go swimming and fishing and just have a wonderful lazy day. But the weather had other plans. Due to a volcano eruption in Indonesia and a small tsunami, the waves were too rough and it was raining too hard. Shucks!! So we spent the day inside with warm conversation, good food and rain falling outside from all directions. We traveled back to Kimbe the next day. 

To be continued...

My Summer Vacation Part 1: Highlands

Hello everyone.  It might be winter in the northern hemisphere, but it was summer here in PNG and school was finally out, Christmas was coming and my twin sister, Debbie, was coming to visit.  

I left Kimbe on Dec 16, 2018, to meet Debbie in Port Moresby (POM). I arrived and was met by Fr Jonathan- a Capuchin. We stayed at the Capuchin College for two nights. We met Debbie off her international flight from Brisbane and the US and returned to the Capuchin College. 

December 17, we met Mel (my old principal) and two of her family members who showed us around POM. We went to the Vision City Mall, the Waterfront Mall where the grocery store had just about everything that we don’t have here in Kimbe. We visited the PNG Art and Cultural Museum that was being renovated when I arrived last March. It had representations and exhibits from all provinces and it gave us a real sense of the PNG culture and history. We ended our day having lunch at the Airway Hotel overlooking the airport. 

December 19-22: Highlands 

Debbie and I took off to Mt Hagen where we were picked up by Sr Lilian a Notre Dame Sister who housed us at her convent while we were visiting the Highlands. The Highlands are given a bad reputation, but we found the people friendly and willing to help when they can. 

Judith, a mother of one of the brightest students in my Grade 9, picked us up and we took a round trip to Mendi. The countryside was beautiful with round huts (different type of huts than the ones found in Kimbe). The villages are made of several of these round huts and were charming- making me want to explore, but the trip was long and we still had a ways to go. 

We had the opportunity to meet Bishop Don, the Bishop of Mendi while in POM at the Capuchin College. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to meet him. We did stop by to see his cathedral in Mendi; hopefully our new cathedral, when renovated, will also be a much nicer place to worship. 

Mendi was like many PNG cities, crowded with people going to and from the market. I believe the ride through the countryside was the true highlight. Another highlight was being interviewed on Sr Lilian’s Trinity radio station out of Mt Hagen. Debbie and I were interviewed about my mission, how I came to be in PNG and life in general. I felt honored to be put on radio. 

We had an opportunity to attend a family wedding, a relation to Judith. It was to begin at 10 am, but once again, it was PNG time and finally by around 12:30, the wedding began. The church was crowded, and to Debbie and I, it was a typical wedding, but what we didn’t realize is that it was the first time the bride and groom kissed in public in a church wedding. Everyone clapped and the bride and groom were a bit embarrassed. Something so normal for us was something new to PNG. Cute.  

Our last day in the Highlands was a long drive from Mt Hagen to Lae. Like every other road outside of POM, potholes were just part of the journey making a long trip a few hours longer. The slow ride was beautiful through Mt Hagen, then through the Shimbu Mountains. The scenery was beautiful and again, we passed several hut villages along the way. People walked on the road and that along with the potholes made the journey much slower. We made it to Goroka right as the sun was going down and had a brief tour. Then it was the long ride to Lae, in the dark and then it began to rain. That trip seemed to take a lot longer than expected. All in all, the entire trip that day to Lae was about a 13 hour trip. We stayed that night in a hotel next to the airport for an early flight the next morning. We were met in Kimbe by Bishop Bill.

To be continued...