Letters from Bro. Jerry Wintz, O.F.M.Cap.

These letters begin with Bro. Jerry Wintz's arrival in Papua New Guinea as a new missionary in September of 1999. They are in chronological order to allow readers to discover Papua New Guinea along with Bro. Jerry. New letters will be added from time to time. The ones that are already here are dated 1999 Sept. 19, Oct. 20, Oct. 31, Nov. 1, Nov. 12, Nov. 15, Nov. 16, Nov. 26, Dec. 28, Dec. 30; 2000 Jan. 3, Jan. 11-12, Jan. 18, Jan. 21, Feb. 8, Mar 22, Apr. 26, June 26, July 31, Oct. 3, Nov. 14, Dec. 15, Dec. 31, 2001 Jan. 20, Feb. 23.

from Mendi, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 19, 1999:

Hello from Mendi,

I arrived here yesterday (Sep. 19) after a week and a few days in Port Moresby. I am doing well, not experiencing great anxiety. This is definitely a different place though. I happened to be in Moresby for the celebration of PNG's 24th year of independence. Lots of local culture including food and dances. It is about a 5 day celebration that is combined with the Hiri Muale festival. Hiri Muale celebrates the beginning of trade on the other side of the island. The Lakatoi boats would carry clay pots around to be traded for food. So a major part of the events on Saturday was the arrival of a couple of Lakatoi boats constructed for this occasion.

The religious communities, localized around the seminary in Bomana (Port Moresby), had a special Mass to celebrate independence day. Just before Mass was a flag raising (where the flag was accidentally hung upside down). The Eucharist was mostly in pidgin so I understood only some of it. The music caught my attention, lots of songs with harmony beautiful. I was also able to sing the pidgin songs because they were a bit slower than when spoken.

I had a nice stay at Capuchin College. The friars were welcoming and eager to teach me a little pidgin when I would ask. I even remember some of the phrases. I will begin practicing more now that I am in the highlands. I will be spending my first few months in Pangia which is where they have the novitiate (with 2 novices now). I will probably do some work around the house as well as visit some of the out-stations where the friars do their ministry. There is not certainty about what I will do beyond that, but I spoke with ALLEN [WASIECKO] and he was suggesting the minor seminary in Madang. He was mentioning the need for someone to oversee the physical upkeep of the buildings. Perhaps with this, there would be some teaching and spiritual directing. We'll see. In the mean time I will spend a few days here in Mendi; settle in, get a drivers permit, write some letters. I think I have covered most of the highlights since Australia. Thank you for your prayers.

Peace, Jerry

from Mendi, Papua New Guinea, Oct. 20, 1999:

Hello all,

I am back in Mendi to visit with MALACHY [McBRIDE] (I am also eager to use the phone!). Turns out he and CYRIL [REPKO ] are classmates so I just came with Cyril who is guardian and novice director in Pangia. So I am having my second novitiate. There have been a couple days of having cabin-fever which inspired me to find some tasks to do in order to take a break from studying pidgin. Sometimes the task draws me right into practicing the language, either by passing people in the street or working with someone else. This is much more interesting than reading a generic grammar book all the time. I figured I would attempt to address some of your questions I have been asked about PNG (some of it you may have heard before). Food-wise, you read about sweet potatoes and pork, and it is true that both are common but, of course there's more: tinmit--tin meat--[spam]--mm-mm-good (ha). There is canned Mackerel which is quite fishy tasting, but that's OK because I like fish. It is when it talks back after eating it that I do not care for. We do have these foods, but I am teasing to this point because there are some really good foods here, especially the fresh fruits--bananas, pineapple, another apple-like thing, passion fruit, mango, papaya. The hotdogs/sausages aren't too good, but the beef here is alright. Lots of "greens" that I'm sure are good for me. The kaukau [cowcow]--sweet potato is probably the best potato I have ever had! It is a white potato and is wonderful when baked and then smothered in margarine/butter. enough food talk.

I am learning Pidgin [tok pisin]. Already I can recognize a lot of what I hear, though the locals speak pretty fast. I am even able to talk a little bit about a number of things, but I would not admit to being able to have a conversation. The friars here have recommended that I speak with the little children (pikinini), but they are mostly still afraid of me. They stand around and stare in silence until one steps or gets pushed a little too close, then they run back a few feet laughing or giggling. Eventually I will be able to talk with them enough to, hopefully, relieve them of their fear or timidity. The hardest thing about pidgin is recognizing it. Most of the words are english or a variation, but the hardest part is forgetting everything I have learned about "bad" english. For instance; yumi go is quickly pronounced 'you me go' [let's go] and that's "bad" english, but good pidgin. But, I am slowly learning to forget.

My first week here was in the 'lowlands', the coast. That is where Port Moresby is located. Then I spent a week in Mendi, in the S. Highlands [about a mile high]. Now I am in Pangia which is also about a mile high. I am living in a highland swamp area, but not like south'n USA swamp. It rains a lot and the plateau catches it. Most of it dries during a sunny day then gets wet again with the afternoon/evening/night rains. Oh, and when we have a thunderstorm it is not just seen or heard, it is felt! The thunder booms through your body and the ground trembles, wow! I love it! But it puts the power out pretty readily too, oh well. In talking with the vice-provincial, it looks as if I am likely to be stationed in Madang which is on the north coast. The possible work includes teaching high school seminary students, spiritual direction, and overseeing the repair of the buildings. Supposedly the school is right near the ocean--"so close you can spit into the water."

Animals: I have not seen any dangerous animals yet, but the birds are interesting. I have seen the bird of paradise [kumul] but not a full-fledged one. There are also a couple of parrots that come by here, but they are hard to see also because they are usually in the tops of the trees. Another bird that is a bit more visible is what the local friars call "willie wagtail" 'cause that's what it does. They are a black and white bird about the size of a mockingbird. It goes around catching insects and singing like a child playing a slide whistle up and down. I saw something like a possum, but brown and much more appealling to look at. Let's see, ...a small rat, a black lizard (which supposedly has a venomous bite), cows, pigs, dogs, cats, and finallly, I have heard the flapping wings of a flying fox [large fruit bat] at night. While I was in Mendi I went to a seminar on inculturation. It was part of a larger workshop that I could not attend. One of the questions for small group discussion had to do with what I appreciate about my culture. It was hard to answer at first because many of the things I thought of, I could see here. Eventually one thing did stand out, and the more I think about it, the more I appreciate it and that is my education. Here it is a good thing to reach a high school level, and that is not even on par with the States. I have been blessed and I knew this, but now I notice it even more. The people here are not unintelligent, but they lack the experience and knowledge base that leads to a good education. Part of the problem is what they call the wontok system. A wontok is someone from your line, your tribe. In the past, if someone was lacking food they would recieve food from their wontok, but now, with some development, jobs are given out the same way. The person in charge of whatever will give the jobs to his wontok's whether they are skilled or not. This system is affecting the school system as well and they are ending up with teachers who cannot teach or simply do not come in because they will not lose the job anyway. One of the challenges that I see in PNG is for the country to think more globally, heck, even just nationally!

Speaking of development, this is not a very developed country. Most of the roads are not good. And when they do get something good, they do not plan for its upkeep. An example of this kind of thinking comes in a general story about the owner of a business. First, it is not one person who owns the business, but his village. So, he has this wonderful store of goods of which he sells some, but when his village needs something he gives it. Soon he has no more and may restock, but will not have as much, and so on till the store is empty and vacant. The store is not a resource for everyone as much as a monument to show how much his village has, or has had. Also, you can see that relationship is the important thing, not material goods. In one way this story is positive. The people here still have the fighting instinct, and for a village to show its power through the building of a store rather than killing or burning in the next village is a much safer way to 'fight'. Another example is that in Mendi they are building a (one and only) seven story building. This just happens to be one story more that the neighboring village. So their one-upmanship seems to be feeding development in some areas.

Wow, this is getting long, but I want to say one thing about the government and corruption. The government is only 24 years old and the country has, until recently, developed quite quickly. The government seems to be exceptionally corrupt and my early theory is that they don't know how to handle the power they have been given; how to direct it toward the buiding of a country. This ties in again with the wontok system as well. I kind of cringe when I hear that other countries are going to give millions in money to aide PNG because of my expectation of its being wasted. It is a country rich in gold, oil and natural gas, but, they are still in debt. I suppose that in my three years here I will see, notice and think about much more. Right now, I am hearing a call (as it begins to take form) to offer what I can to bring unity to this country by inviting those I meet to live as the one body of Christ. God only knows what shape this will finally take. I ask your prayers.

Know that my prayers and love are with you. Peace, Jerry

from Pangia, Papua New Guinea, Oct. 31, 1999:

Something new today; went to an out-station with Br. Cyril [Repko]. It was about a one hour drive on the more-than-bumpy Pangia road. We stopped the car in Tindua, then walked about an hour on a hard-packed, but slippery, clay road. It was downhill into Lembo and, of course, uphill out. It was not so bad as Cyril had made it out to be. He expected that I would be winded by the top of the hill on the return trip. Actually, I was kind of surprised myself that I handled the walking alright and this leads me to notice why this trip was nice for a couple reasons. First, I got some much needed exercise, although I am getting more as I learn more pidgin. The more I "get" the language, the less afraid I am to go where I might meet someone and have to talk with them. This leads into the second reason that today's trip was good. I actually had something of a conversation with the local catechist! Thisis especially one of the reasons that I went- to practice my pidgin because there would not be so many english speakers around. Some of the kids knew english, but even they did not know too much. I was wishing I had my camera because the village at the top (antap) was fascinating with its grass-roofed huts lining the roadway and people standing in doorways and along the road ready to greet us. I could see smoke pouring out the windows and doors of some of the huts. They have fire pits, usually in the middle, and no chimney or flu. Some roofs are black with the smoke that has passed through the grass of the roof. I have learned that the soot of the fire helps seal the roof. I am not sure that this is a sufficient payoff for all the smoke they must be breathing. It is no wonder that there are so many, literally, snot-nosed kids (kus nus pikinini) running around.

from Pangia, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 1, 1999:

Another day, another drop of rain. I almost went fishing on Sat (Oct 30), but the clouds were threatening all day. Of course, it did not rain till late in the afternoon, but who could have guessed. I look forward to trying at some point because rainbow trout have been introduced to the rivers here. Fresh trout would be a great treat! Plus, it's about a 30 minute walk to the river; some more exercise.

Today I did some car repair on the Suzuki. There were a few extra rattles after returning from Lembo. Cyril [Repko] and I found them and repaired what we could.

So, to continue my Lembo story, the church was nice, simple and small. It had grass mat floors and walls, and a tin roof (which got very loud as it began to rain right after mass). It was very open as there were no seats. My body ain't used to that sittin' on the floor stuff: I think it took more out of me than the walking. There were not too many people there and more than half were youth! There happens to be 3 or 4 other (protestant) churches in the area. The one we passed on the way out had even fewer people at their service.

Lembo is another beautiful place! It sits in a kind of bowl with hills and mtns surrounding it. I thought the air would be more still than it was, but there was a refreshing breeze blowing. Everything is green after plenty of rain: for this year we are at about 220 inches, and Cyril added up the 9 years he's been here (in Pangia) and found that he has been doused with about 135'feet of water!! We've averaged about one inch a day this month. Of course, this has caused the road to get worse even in just the five weeks that I've been here.

from Pangia, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 12, 1999:

Lots happening! Took a 5-day bush trip--lots of hiking, a bit of rain, some practice of Pidgin, and some more hiking. CYRIL [REPKO] was asked to come to the youth rally that was happening in Laiyapu to celebrate Mass on Fri the 5th. He hesitated, but finally decided to go. He invited me to go along because there aren't many chances to see Wiliame (wil-ee-a'-may). The roads are crummy which makes it quite a trek.

First, at 7 am., we drove for about an hour to the top of a mtn where we were dropped off at our Church in Takaru then started our walk. The drive was not too bad except for an iffy bridge. The driver was confident, but Cyril and I were not. The bridge was a couple of logs across a swift river and this did not seem like a good crossing for a moist morning. Well, he made it over, but the tires did slide off at the end.

Cyril likes to start walking and stop when he gets there. Actually he does not like walking at all. We had a strong 4 hour walk skirting mud-holes and using caution on slippery hills. I carried my pack about 3/4 of the way then a couple of guys from Wiliame met us and took our packs. You should see the way people carry things here; no problem. They have some strong heads and shoulders.

The last leg of this trip took us through a swamp (tais). We definitely needed our guides for this part of the trip. The swamp was mud, water, grass and a log trail to follow-that is if you can find it. All of our worry is based on getting our shoes dirty and/or wet. These guys don't wear shoes, so it's no problem, again. They walked ahead finding the submerged logs or the more solid mud where we could walk. Then they walked beside us as a prop against falling when we walked the logs. I wish I was less tender-footed so as to walk barefoot myself. The swamp was a shortcut that took about a half hour and cut off as much again from our trip. Finally, Wiliame, where, as I entered the village, a man shook my hand and offered me a Coke--nice!

from Pangia, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 15, 1999:

Wow! Two days to my first birthday--in PNG that is! And Christmas is near to a month away but I do not have much sense of it. The weather here is in the 80's usually--sun in the morn and early afternoon, then rain and so far this month is averaging one inch plus a day with some of it coming within short amounts of time. I am away from the "retail" christmas also which probably makes a big difference. One way they ask about age here is "Hamas krismas" you have; soon I'll be able to say I have wanpela krismas.

Back to my story: Thursday of our trip we hung out in Wiliame. CYRIL [REPKO] was expecting to be a little more busy than he was with confessions. Some people came by to bring us some food which is good since we had only brought some basic foodstuff. In the afternoon I pumped rainwater that had been collected in a very large tank on the ground. There was a smaller resevoir on the roof. Over the time we stayed, I cranked about 1200 times. Not a hard task, but a bit tedious.

Friday morning we headed to Laiyapu where the youth rally was happening. Lots of mud and some boot-soaking water holes; we were quite the mess after our two hour trip. While sitting down a bit and drinking a lot the youth began to gather for mass. There were lots of young people (200-300) and throughout the mass they had processions in native dress and language (entrance, Gospel, offertory, and closing). Lots of music and singing too; they had a little Honda generator supporting some amplifiers for the guitars.

I had to laugh when I saw the altar. It was set up nicely, with two large umbrellas shading the area. But the umbrellas happened to have advertising for Cambridge cigarettes: I thought, "Today's Mass; brought to you by Cambridge..." After Mass we had a bit of rice with our fish soup before hitting the trail again. Another couple of hours and wet shoes later we were back in Wiliame, but not before the rains came. About the last half hour of our trip was quite a wet one. Saturday then, was some more sitting around the house mostly reading novels of which I finished two. Sunday we were up early again to head to Kerapali for Mass. Another 2 hour walk led us to a relatively small church (sios) but full up. Here Coke and Pepsi were equally represented with bottles used as vases. It was a nice liturgy as the people had a lot of energy for participation. After Mass we spent some time with Joe Walo, who was with the Caps for a time. Turns out he was in Victoria [Kansas] when I was there as a novice. He recognized me first, it took me a few minutes, but I did recall his brief visit.

from Pangia, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 16, 1999:

Hmmm, over 24 hours without rain, and the evening was clear enough, for a bit, to see the half moon and notice that some stars do twinkle. I was hoping to see a Flying Fox, but no such luck. Sometimes the beauty of this place hits me head-on and I have to praise God for his goodness and beauty....like tonight. I have had another thought popping up as well; sometimes when I am doing a daily task like brushing my teeth or combing my hair, I realize at the same time that I am not in the States. This is difficult to describe, but it is a sensation of being halfway around the world and things are still normal--sometimes. Recently, I have had similar experiences with the language--it is different, but normal. At the same time I question if I want to stay here for more than three years... Yea, a little homesick. Well, that last thought brought a tear to my eye and blocked my thoughts. I think of you all often, and you are in my prayers. There was one weekend (actually last weekend) when I was feeling some cabin fever and was wishing I could call a friend to see about going out and doing something. Else-wise I have not been sleeping well and trying to make up for it in the mornings. I have been doing some work around the place to keep from napping in the afternoon as well. I do not feel too stressed, but I know it is present and taking its toll.

I just finished rebuilding a screen for the chapel and started making a new door for one of the school rooms. I think every piece of wood I have worked with here has been warped which makes it especially hard to rip (cut lengthwise). I cut up an old car hood the other day to make a sliding door for our back porch. There is a cat here that just had kittens and we are trying to protect them from the local dogs. Even so, on the day after giving birth she carried her four kits to the garden.

We left them there a couple of days and did not feed mama. We then got her attention with some food and, in the mean time, went and collected the pikinini bringing them back to the place we had set up on the porch. Then she got some mackerel. Later in the day she took one of the kits back to the garden, but we immediately brought it back. She/they have remained on the porch since...eating healthily. You cat-lovers probably appreciate this story. But, now the bad cat news.

Mama's been sick since before I arrived with some kind of cancer or something that has progressively been eating away her nose. She does not appear to be in pain, but sometimes her nose seems to irritate her. She goes into big sneezing fits when she drinks milk. Sometimes when I pet her and she begins purring, it will be followed with a sneeze. Well, after she rears the kits to a point where we can take care of them, we will put her to sleep. It is sad to see her in this state, but we want the kittens to survive also. I think her body knows it is not well because she had four kittens whereas in the past she has had litters of two.

I'll write more later.

from Pangia, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 26, 1999:

Last Sunday I was roused from Lotu (Sunday worship, but not Mass--a big Communion service) and was given a note that CYRIL [REPKO] had run out of gas. He was on his way to Mendi for some meetings. He wanted me to bring some diesel. All was a frenzy for a bit because there seemed to be some urgency, so NEIL [BLUE] (one of the novices) helped me find and fill containers with both petrol and diesel since I could not remember what the red Hilux required (even tho it was in the note). That done, I thought to look at the Suzuki's gauge and found it to be low. So, I turned the car around and added a few liters. Then I was on my way with Isaac who is a local man who usually goes with Cyril on his bush trips. He was also the guy who brought the note: turns out he walked/ran about 6 miles (by road) in about an hour. He worked hard to get that note to me.

I think it took a good 45 minutes to get to Kalane. When we arrived, Isaac, in his slurred Pidgin said I should go to Lotu. I told him I would stay here (Kalane) for a bit. He was referring to the Mass that was in progress there. So, for the feast of Christ the King, I started with Lotu and ended with Mass. And guess what: Cyril had plenty fuel, the gauge was stuck. We added the fuel and when the tank topped off we realized he was OK on fuel. He was happy about this, actually, because he (and I) were thinking someone had stolen the fuel. It was good to find that we were mistaken about this.

In the meantime the fuel leaked all over the Suzuki. My raincoat now has the sweet smell of diesel even though I used a lot of soap and washed it a good number of times. I also made some attempt at cleaning the car. I parked it on a hill near a small stream of water and brought some detergent with me. I pulled all the floor plugs and kept filling and refilling a five gallon bucket with water, mixing in the soap, and dousing the inside of the car. It didn't help much. So, the car also has the sweet smell of diesel. But considering all this, I enjoyed the drive.

When I have gotten out on some of the backroads (which really they all are) I have seen some beautiful places. Sometime I might even remember my camera! Looking forward to this coming Sunday. Cyril asked me to drive him partway to the place he is going this weekend. I have come to enjoy driving. I think this might be partly because it is a chance to get out a bit. But it is also 4 wheel drive country, and I like driving on this terrain. A lot of energy is used for driving though because I have to pay attention to the road as well as hang on while the car bounces around. I am finding, too, that it is easier to drive than be a passenger.

Two friars (TIMOTHY [KALAWAI] and ALOIS [EKAPE]) have arrived for a retreat here in preparation for final profession. Cyril is leading it and it is a completely silent and isolated kind of experience. They do not get to talk, and they even take their meals in their rooms. I suppose liturgical prayer is the only place we will hear them. They'll do this for a week: pretty intense!

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