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

Letters IV - Jul. 31, 2000 to Feb. 23, 2001
Letters I | Letters II | Letters III | Letters IV

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, July 31, 2000

AN EXCITING DAY

Hello from the land of the unexpected,

To preface this story for some of you, I want to mention that with all this water around, I have been trying to find a way to get a boat of some sort. Recently I learned that I could get a dugout canoe for a less than reasonable price (about 15 US dollars). So, I passed on the message to 'make it so'. I presume that this boat is in process and . . .

An interesting thing happened on the way to getting a boat.

We have regularly had some thieves coming and stealing or attempting to steal food from the students' food cupboard.  They would come at night, usually after a sports day so the students would be sure to be sleeping well, and climb up on the roof and peel back the roofing tin, climb in, get the food and go.  What does this have to do with a boat?  Well, let me just tell you . . .

Turns out these raskals tried again.  Our students were up at 4 am chasing them. ( It is a good thing they did not catch them because I think they would have killed them).  BUT they left their boat behind; well actually they left OUR boat behind.  Yep, the school had a boat that was borrowed from some Sisters and it had been stolen.  Now it has, shall we say, been returned. It's a little, 8' jon boat.  Of course, it used to have a small motor on it which is not there, but we did get a couple of paddles with the deal.

Soon we will have two boats.  Ahh, what a life . . .

By the way the thieves were caught the next day, and we are still working out the "peace" agreements.  The day this all happened was interesting because I found myself starting classes with a bit of crisis intervention.  The students were quite angry, but they have calmed a bit.  Initially, (and perhaps still) many were not satisfied with the process of dealing with these thieves.

The first step was to have them apologize to the students. This struck me as a dangerous thing to bring these four young guys in front of 120+ angry students.  The village council was also present, and it was unprecedented that they should turn in 'their own' to face the consequences.  Some students acknowledged that it was a brave thing for them to do.  And many recognized our attempt at a Christian, and peaceful resolution.  Rather than send in the police (who can be as violent as the raskals), we discussed the matter with the village council.

Later, a monetary compensation is to be given to the school.  The police will be present for this and may act if the compensation demand is not met.  We'll see.  You can pray with us on this one.

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, October 3, 2000

Have I got a great excuse for being out of touch! The satelite part of our phone that connects us to the phone company was stolen! I have finally made my way to the business center in Madang where they have some public access to a phone line. We have been trying to get a new something -- anything! But,

Telecom PNG is bankrupt (or close to it), so they can't get new equipment. We are attempting to get some equipment from another company (though it's expensive) but we cannot get Telecom to cooperate by giving us the frequencies available that would determine the model of the new radio transmitter. (Can't help the competition you know) Aaargh!

To make our lack of communication even greater, it so happens that our high frequency radio went out a couple of weeks before the theft of our telephone. We tried to send it to one place and (when it finally got there) they told us they could not repair it -- a parts thing. So, we had it sent on to Port Moresby (bigger and better repair shops there!) Well, as we sat in Madang expecting that our radio was being repaired, we discovered it was actually sitting in Mendi waiting to find someone who was going on to Moresby. When it did reach Moresby, same story, no-can-do. After waiting and considering we did decide to invest in a new radio. It is here. It is hooked up. It works! And now we are at least able to communicate with Mendi where the Vice-province has its headquarters and thus keep in touch with the goings on of the other Capuchins of the Vice-province. There is a way to use the radio to make phone calls, but we have not got that far yet.

And hey, Happy feast of St. Francis to you all. We are having a non-class day and the students are preparing a mumu for it (digging pits, heating rocks, cooking beef, vegetables and kaukau in the pits). The coastal students are working on this project, and it's quite a  project! They started working on it yesterday, they butchered the cow today and will cook it all night and all day tomorrow. It will be quite a feast! This evening since we did not have a formal transitus celebration, a couple of us got together for an hour of meditation to honor Francis' death. I enjoy praying with my brothers.

Relative to the feast day, I was surprised about a week and a half ago when Bill Talentino, our guardian, suggested that we have a guest speaker give the homily for St. Francis day. Sounded good to me. "Would you be willing to do that Jerry?" I didn't quite expect this, but I am excited for the opportunity. I think I'll say something about how Francis reflected the Son in his life -- and we should too. When Jesus comes to us with all the gifts he offers, we should not hold on to them, like a black hole, but let them go out from us like the light from the moon that lights the darkness or the light reflected in a rainbow that brings beauty to the earth. . . . Something like that.

We've been watching the Olympics. We got a lot of Australian team coverage. We have access to two stations that carried the games and between the two we got to see pretty much. I was excited because the Indonesian station covered the soccer matches pretty well. (If I have not mentioned it before, soccer is my favorite sport). Watching the games was a nice way to connect with the community here. We all had at least some interest in the Olympics.

Teaching is going alright. I'm sure I lack some enthusiasm in this area which does not benefit the students all the time. They are very receptive and forgiving; thank goodness. I am finding that I do not have enough time left in the year to really cover all that "should" be covered so I am searching for ways to cut corners. In other words, what will be interesting to them, yet be helpful to them in their future seminary studies? I am giving the 12's a test on Monday on some of the prophets. Many of them could use to do well. I think their energy is ebbing as we get closer to the end. (Nov 10 = last day of classes; 14th = graduation).

I have begun a gardening/landscaping job between our house and the water. I call this my recreational work since it is not a high priority project. Also I work on it only when I would have done some other kind of recreation; golf, tennis, run etc. I think it is a good project for my mind and my body. It feeds my imagination and sense of creativity as I determine how to rearrange the orchid beds or move/remove this or that bush. It is also a project with a lot of digging and working in the dirt. It is a refreshing project and good exercise. I like it.

Well, I'll wrap things up here. Thank you for all your prayers and letters. I pray that you will be especially blest on the feast of Francis to see the beauty in you and around you.

Peace,
Jerry

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, 14 Nov. 2000

Howdy from St. Fidelis College,

Well, our school year has ended and students have been saying their goodbyes. The staff, too, have been saying farewells as we are losing four of our lay volunteers. Today is graduation day. Many family members have come to celebrate with the students. Our classrooms, after being emptied of desks and chairs, have become dorms for the family members. We had yet another mumu last night in honor of the graduates and it is there that I began to realize the great number of people gathered here. During the past couple of days they have been scattered roundabout and so the numbers made no great impression on me, but the gathering last night was impressive. I am looking forward to our gathering for the graduation Mass and ceremonies. I believe it will be a great celebration.

We had a little scare here yesterday. I received a phone call (yes, we have a phone again - same number) late in the morning and Ron, one of our lay volunteers, was saying that there had been an accident. He and Frs BILL [TALENTINO], DUNSTAN [JONES] and DOMINIC [MCGUINESS] had finished their business in Madang and were heading back when the accident occurred. Basically, a large truck was making a right turn (like a left turn in the States) and they went around him on the shoulder of the road. In the mean time a truck was making a right turn and our bus crashed into the side of her truck. Everyone was shaken, but their were, thank God, only minor injuries. Frs Dominic and Dunstan went to the hospital for cuts and bruises. Dunstan received four stitches over his left eye. Dominic had some cuts on his arm. Bill got a little whiplash, and Ron complained about a sore shoulder. I got to thinking about this, and had this been worse to the extreme, I would have been the only friar left here at Kap. In the end though, all are recovering. So, there is no cancellation of graduation to be replaced with a hauskrai (pre-funeral mourning).

Graduation is in an hour. I'll return to write about it.

Part of graduation is the "changing of the guard", therefore the grade 11 was in charge of the liturgy; music, processions, and such. The Mass was nice. We had the bishop of Kundiawa (in the Simbu province) Henk Te Maarssen as the main celebrant. Basically in his homily he invited students to not follow the example of many in the country who are simply out to get whatever they can from others, but rather they should give their own good example to the country. The music was good and the processions, accompanied by garamut and guitars, went well. We celebrated outdoors where the weather cooperated perfectly which is good because there were really too many people for any indoor space we had. Someone commented that this was the biggest graduation he had experienced here - many priests and vocation directors as well as family members.

Then came the sad goodbyes. I was primed by the closing song "Friends" which brought me to think of family and friends back in the States. This thinking, combined with the students sincere hugs and handshakes, brought tears to my eyes in the end. So, here's to thinking of you.

Here's the latest on the canoe. I can't really remember what I last mentioned about this. It has been more than just a few months since the canoe project was to begin. The canoe chopper (I've learned his name is Kupam) did begin a canoe at the time that I asked for one, but he made for someone else. I went recently to meet him as I would like to see the work in progress. He said he would give a toksave (announcement/notice) as to when he was working -- I have not heard from him. I'm eager to try some fishing away from shore (where I tend to lose a good number of hooks and weights). I think I would find some bigger fish out there too. I suppose I'm learning patience, but it doesn't feel like it.

So, there's some news from Kap. Let's keep praying for one another.


Another day in PNG

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, 15 Dec. 2000

Hi again from Kap,

We've been on Christmas break here for about a month. I've been able to catch up on some maintenance stuff. Except for the painting, the computer-room (soon to be called the Madang room) renovations are complete. The basic plan was to get an air-conditioner installed, but this required some other things to be done as well. First, there were no electrical outlets in the room. We have been using an extension cord poked through the wall. I ran two lines, one for the computers and one for the A/C. Secondly, the top of all the exterior exposed walls is open-air with screening but no windows . We decided to close these areas because of the inefficiency when combined with air-conditioning(ahem). All of the rooms here have louvered windows on the rest of the wall -- all the way to the floor. We kind of live in a glass house with each room having two exterior walls. Louvers do not seal well, so we removed them and sealed the openings. The lower window spaces were boarded up while the mid section now has clear glass panes (for which Fr BILL [TALENTINO] made curtains with material that says "I love Madang"). We now are hoping that this cuts down on computer repairs

Project 2: I was not accurate when I said each room has two exterior walls. Some have only one. Our chapel for example is basically half of a normal bedroom. The other half is divided in half again; a bathroom and a storage room. This setup made for a warm chapel because no air moved through it. So, in the upper part of the wall between the storeroom and the chapel, I cut a 3 ft square whole. The climate has improved considerably.

The next major project will be the convent. I made quite a list of things that could use to be done. We want to have it ready for the sisters who are coming from the Philippines to be part of our teaching staff. We learned recently that their work permits were completed -- a big step toward actually getting them here.

No canoe yet.

I have recently received a few bruises on my right leg. Recently, I went down to the jetty to do some fishing. While I was setting my gear down, one of the slats shifted and I fell between them up to my knee. So, just below my knee are two bruises. The next day I thought I'd try some more fishing. I was more careful to keep my feet directly on the boards. I was walking across, and the whole board disappeared beneath me. I fell through to my hip with this one. Now I have what seems to be a softball buried in my right hip. I can walk fine, but in some chairs I have to sit a little crooked.

I guess I am officially oriented to the farm life at Kap. Some cows got out, so I chased them back into the paddock. Along the way I gained some helpers. Before herding them all up, I found where they had broken through the fence. Mending the fence filled the rest of the day. A former student is doing some work for us during the break and he had been on the paddock crew before -- which came in handy because he knew where we could cut some new posts. We cut the posts before lunch, then after a little siesta we completed the fence repairs. It so happens that right where we were working there was a coconut tree full-up with young coconuts (called kulau). These are the ones that have the sweet juice for drinking. Not only that, but its trunk was more than halfway gone at the base. We just had to cut it down or it might have fallen on our new fence work. We had set the posts, but not attached the barbed wire when we cut the tree down; good thing because it fell right across the fence. There was a little extra work, but it came with a refreshing drink.

The weather here is confusing when it comes to holidays. It is Advent -- Christmas on the way -- but it doesn't "feel" like it. There is no cold weather tripping off my seasonal sensors. The only real indicator is the prayer book that we use as a community. I see Christmas trees and I hear the music in the stores, but this doesn't move me because it just does not fit, and I wander how the national people celebrate Christmas without such "european" influences.

Well, em inup long nau (enough for now),

Peace,

Br Jerry Wintz O.F.M.Cap. brjw@dg.com.pg

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, 31 Dec. 2000

Api Krismas long olgeta,

I hope your Christmas season is fruitful for you -- as it was for Mary. Had some good Christmas happenings here in PNG. Friday before Christmas we set up a little, plastic tree (which is falling apart -- almost Peanuts style). We also strung some lights around our common room. Simple decor, but somehow it put me in the spirit of the season. Part of the event included a conversation with Harry, one of our postulants who is visiting Madang till his novitiate starts. I was describing different ways that I have celebrated Christmas in the past: remembering caroling, cutting a fresh Christmas tree, hot chocolate, egg nog, snow and with it sled riding, friends, family, friars, etc. This reminiscing worked for me as we sat under our newly strung lights.

I have been looking for God during this advent. I do not seem to have the same relationship with him as I had before. That is uncomfortable, but makes for a good advent experience. So it is that I went with some longing and expectation to the Christmas vigil. Father Dominic celebrated Mass for another congregation, but Fr. Bill and our ancillary staff and I went to the Cathedral in Madang. Bishop Benedict celebrated the liturgy (all in Pidgin, of course). The liturgy was nice, and simple, but what really struck me were the carols throughout the liturgy. I enjoyed singing them -- simple as that. The Manger scene was interesting also. They had Jesus arriving via the ocean, with Mary and Joseph, on a canoe.

After the vigil we went home to open Christmas gifts. Ron and Mary Stock - volunteers who were with us last year - sent some nice gifts to us through the mail -- and they arrived!! This added a nice touch to my Christmas experience.

Earlier in the month, the owner of one of the local stores where we buy a lot our groceries and such for the school gave us a ham and a couple of bottles of Australian wine. I offered to prepare the ham on Christmas day. I served it up with some scalloped potatoes and a combination of fresh string beans and mushrooms. It all turned out to be pretty darn good! This added to our celebration of Christmas.

One more event; we were invited to the SVD brothers' house on Tuesday for a Christmas gathering. Really I had forgotten about it till the others here were getting ready to leave. Sometimes gatherings with strangers can be stressful for me, but I found this gathering to be quite nice. Again, another simple event; snacks, drinks, saying happy Christmas, and.....more ham. One of the brothers had an organ set up and he gathered us around and we sang some Christmas songs together by the tree and the crib scene. (This reminds me of a time when I was a youngster holding hands with my two sisters and my brother facing the tree singing Christmas songs -- so cute, eh.). The meal was a feast and I met a sister of St. Therese who was two days younger than I. She was on the cooking crew -- fine job! And in true PNG style, the power went out for about 10 minutes, until someone cranked up the generator.

So, api krismas, gen na api niu yia

Peace, Jerry

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, 20 Jan. 2001

Hellow, again!

All of the teaching staff have arrived. A lay volunteer Lolita Jardaleza.......arrived on Tuesday the 16th. Fr. Roger White, O.F.M.Cap., arrived on the 17th. We only learned of his being assigned here a couple of days before his arrival. Two Franciscan Apostolic Sisters arrived from the Philippines on Thursday the 18th. Sisters Ofelia and Agnes will be teaching here. They arrived with Mother Agnes and Sister Merlinda. Merlinda has been in Port Moresby working for the Nuncio. There was talk of her returning to the U.S. They have a community in Connecticut, and, I was surprised to learn that they have a community in Peoria, MO -- pretty close to home. There is also a Holy Spirit sister by the name of Mary Linda who will be teaching grade 12 math for the first term. She will commute from Divine Word University in Madang and work with us three mornings a week. There is another sister who is available to continue her work through the second and third terms (I think her name is Josepha). So, it looks like we will have seven on our teaching staff who will live here at Kap and two others commuting; nine altogether.

Looks like I won't be teaching this year. I will have a chance to focus on maintenance which will include making sure the student and ancillary staff crews are working. Indeed maintenance is what we've been up to here. We just completed the convent on the morning of the 16th (just before Lolita's arrival) and there is really more that needs to be done. (As a matter of fact I already had to replace a ceiling fan in one of the Sister's rooms). In the mean time I have been playing catch-up on grass cutting. Our ancillary staff member (Michael) who is our grass cutter, is on vacation. I don't mind driving the tractor around campus -- it's a bit tricky to start though. We have had to use our Dyna to pull it so we could pop start it. After doing this a couple of frustrating times, I learned to park on a steeper hill.

Outside of work there are a lot of things I'm thinking about (I won't write about them all here .... you're welcome). I am feeling more comfortable here as the days go by. Some stress relief comes with knowing that I won't have to teach. I have been reflecting on my initial teaching experience and find that I like being in the classroom with the students; lecturing is not a problem. Preparation is a good bit of work, but ultimately not too bad because I am able to review the material that I am teaching as well as learn some new stuff. At this point, the down side of teaching for me is having to present stuff in a manner that the student can remember it; in particular, for a test. I don't like giving (and correcting) tests. I think this is why I like retreat work. I can do the parts of teaching that I like without the part I do not care for so much. I am checking into some possibilities for doing some retreat work and counseling since the demands of teaching are not there. I like to do maintenance work, but I think this alone will not satisfy what I feel God has called me to in terms of ministry.

I have been here over a year now (September).I sometimes wonder how long I will be here.Some days it crosses my mind that I do not have to stay beyond my initial three year commitment. Mostly I am planning on six years altogether. But, who knows, maybe I will come to see this as home for me, thus becoming a "lifer".

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I am remembering you.

Peace, Jerry

from Kap, Papua New Guinea, 23 Feb. 2001

Hello everyone,

I have certainly been quite busy the past couple of weeks. Some mechanical work has taken up much of my time. Our old, small tractor died recently; -- this is one we let the students use -- with a bad water pump. I replaced some hoses before discovering the leaking pump. Anyway, I'll spare you the details. I have had to do some extra tractor driving during the student work periods while also trying to repair the other tractor as well as the "slasher" mower for cutting most of the campus grass. I open a cupboard for one item and all the others that are packed in there fall out as well. The slasher is a good example; I could not simply sharpen the blades because I find that one need replacing; I could not simply loosen the bolt to remove the blade because there is a welded pin; I could not simply replace the pin with a bolt (tho in the end it was the only option) because of an unusually cut hole and -- and many other projects are similar.

I am going on retreat next week, leaving Sunday the 25th . I am directing three short retreats within the span of a week. I will be making some effort to let the maintenance behind. Please pray for us this week.

Well, it is talent night here at Kap and I am going to go see what kind of things the students have cooked up for us.

Brother Jerry Wintz, O.F.M.Cap.