Wednesday – August 6
 |
| The humble chapel at Konda Maloba, Sumba Tengah |
Last Sunday, August 3, I joined
the mass in the Stasi Konda Maloba which was an hour and a half away from the
parish church. We had the company of several youth of the parish and one
family. The place was towards the south of the island and hence going to the
sea. Indeed, the humble chapel was on top of a hill and below it was the beach.
From the location of the chapel the stunning ocean unfolded before my eyes.
This part of the island is the south, thus, I was facing the vast Indian Ocean
where the infamous Malaysian Plane was reportedly lost. Anyway, we passed
meadows where cows and horses enjoyed the green field. Apart from that were the
burned hills and small forests which gave a cool breeze as well as a friendly
view of the monkeys on the trees.
Upon reaching the breath-taking view of the blue ocean, I was fascinated
by the beauty of this Island. As soon as we arrived, we climbed on the hill to
reach their humble chapel and there a humble number of 8 people were waiting
for the priest to begin the Sunday mass. The mass began yet I was disturbed for
being so excited to go down and go to the beach.
And after the mass, I just suppressed a bit my excitement and talked
first with the local people. There was an old lady in the congregation and
since she was smiling at me I began to talk to her. I asked her name as I would
usually begin my conversation. But then I just received a silent smile from
her. I thought she could not able to hear and speak (deaf and dumb). Then, one
of the youth from the parish noticed me and told me that she did not understand
Bahasa Indonesia. Certainly, I was so surprised that she couldn’t understand
the language then I remembered that the people here have their own language
very much different from Bahasa Indonesia. The children actually learn Bahasa
Indonesia in school and so they are able to communicate with me. However, those
older people and those people who do not have the access of education could not
speak the national language of their country. |
| The enticing beach at Konda Maloba |
But then, I was also wondering,
how could she understand the Sunday Eucharist when it was in Bahasa Indonesia.
Most probably, that experience would be like what we had in the church before.
The mass was in Latin but the people could not understand. No wonder, during
the mass those 3 young girls and we coming from the parish were the people who
responded during the mass responses. Then, I thought of the Guru Agama
(Religion Teacher/Catechist) who actually has more encounter with them and the
person who continually teaches the people about the Church and the Catholic
faith. Definitely, the lay people who are the locals themselves have a very
great role in the local Church especially in this kind of situation. The
priests here although they are from this island but come from the different
parts of the island. This means that they too have their own language which is
very much different from the rest of the languages in the island of Sumba.
There are at least six languages here in the island. The lay leaders who serve
as teachers and liaisons of the people and the parish take a crucial role in
bringing the Gospel to their own people.
Anyway, after that short
conversation and realization we went down from the hills to go finally to the
beach which extremely beckoning me to come. And it was MANTAP! SANGAT INDAH!
(Excellent! Very beautiful!). It was fascinating and indeed breath-taking with
a blue sea, a white sand and a clean beach. At first I was having doubts
whether to come to the water or not because it was really hot. I was at first
taking resting under the shades from the nearby trees. Yet, my companions just
went there directly. And suddenly jumped into the water. And I was really
feeling jealous. Quickly, there was something that really moved me to come to
the water and that was just the natural beauty of the place. Next, I found
myself swimming and still wearing my long pants not minding the cold trip I
would have later.
No comments:
Post a Comment