On
the weekend of July 20 - 21, 2019, Fr Bernard (Fr Bennet) the parish priest of
The Village of Vavua celebrated his 6th Anniversary of his ordination as a
priest and I was honored to be invited to join him on his special day. I was
also invited to dance with the Mommas Group from the Diocese of Kimbe. What an
honor.
On Friday night, we met at Momma Helens
house in Section 15 in Kimbe where I was shown the dance routines and we
practiced together. We ate a delicious fish dinner made with greens and coconut
milk and cooked over an open fire. Yum!
We then proceeded to another Mommas home
where we, once again, practiced the dances and the songs we would sing on Sunday.
There were between 20-25 of us and it was so much fun to be part of this
event.
Saturday, I waited the entire day for
transportation, something that is a true problem here in PNG. I finally got on
the last truck traveling to Vavua. One group went in the morning, another in
the afternoon and my group didn’t leave till 8 pm. We basically traveled at
night and made it to Vavua in 3 hours. The ride was slow due to the many
potholes and the truck itself was loaded with people riding in the back. We
were warmly greeted at 11 pm by Fr Bennet.
On Sunday, I dressed in my Mommas
meri-blouse and was dressed by the Mommas group in my PNG ‘jewelry’. In other
words, leaves, flowers and face paint. I felt honored and accepted by this
group. We danced up the isle during offertory and sang songs for half of the
liturgy. After mass, I was invited to sit on the stage and was wonderfully
overwhelmed as I watched the various communities of his parish preparing
themselves for their dance, song and gift presentations for Fr Bennet’s
Anniversary. The communities were marching and practicing in various places
around the church and spilling out to the roadway. The songs, the colors, the
pageantry taking place spoke to the popularity of Fr Bennet and how he makes a
difference in their lives. He is very well liked and it showed.
Each community took their turn at their
presentations and finally it was my turn to dance with the Mommas of the
Diocese of Kimbe. We sang him two songs and then danced two dances. How fun!! I
loved it!
After the dance, there was just enough
time to go swimming in the ocean and I did just that. I was joined by a few
pikininis (children) from the village and the water was warm and inviting. But
too soon, transportation was available to take us home- back to Kimbe. We said
our final congratulations and good byes to Fr Bennet and off we went. This
time, it took two in a half hours to get home.
A few other notes:
My Director, Janice England, visited Maria
and I here in Kimbe. It was nice to see her and to receive a few goodies from
home. We thank her for her visit.
After his two month holiday, Bishop Bill
returns to Kimbe. Hopefully, the cathedral will begin to be built now that he
is finally home here in Kimbe.
Please pray for me as I continue my mission
here in Kimbe. Please pray for the Sisters of Caritas as well as the staff and
students. I will also be praying for you.
In
July we had a two week break, but couldn’t go anywhere because of a volcano
that erupted in the village of Ulamona- about 2-3 hours away and it played
havoc here in Kimbe where we got showered with ash - everything had to be
cleaned. The people of Ulamona had to be evacuated and we felt the aftermath
here in Kumbe. Fr Gabriel, our parish priest here in Kimbe grew up in
Ulamona and has been back and forth assisting his own family as they face this
tragedy. Please pray for the village of Ulamona and the surrounding area as
they continue to recover.
Feel free to leave
comments. Have a wonderful day... until next time... God bless.
