by John Algate
Supporting the MAF was one of the many non-medical duties that fell Jessie’s way as roles and responsibilities changed over time.
My new responsibilities are varied and time consuming. I now have the two-way radio in my house and this often necessitates me being ‘on the air’ at 5.30 or 6 am with weather reports for the pilots, on at 7 am for the MAF roll call, meeting all planes, checking the load and seeing it off again.
As we (Karubaga) are one of the few stations which usually has reasonable weather most of the time the pilots often use this as an alternative if they can’t reach their destination. They often just ‘drop in’ to sit and wait until the weather clears elsewhere. Tonight we have a pilot weathered in because he couldn’t make it back to Sentani through the bad weather. He will be off as soon as it is light at 5.15 am in the morning. (June 1972)
Although medical evacuations saved many lives they were not without their complications.
Just recently a station many miles away called up on the two-way radio to say a man had been hit by a large falling rock. He needed urgent medical attention - could they get some help. He had been carried into the station on an improvised stretcher made from two small trees with vine slung across them. Not a very comfortable trip for a man in agony. On reaching the station, they called for help and very soon a MAF pilot was heading towards Tangma.
On arrival the pilot discovered that the relatives had decided that maybe he shouldn’t go after all, in case we used witchcraft at the hospital. After glancing at the patient, the pilot decided that he would die if he wasn’t given medical help immediately. With this in mind he argued with the relatives and explained that the personnel at the hospital wanted to help them, not practice sorcery on their friend.
After much talk the pilot took off with the patient and two relatives on board. Because of the delay in leaving it was now getting late and the light was rapidly fading. With the disappearance of the sun we lit huge bonfires along the sides and at the top and bottom of the strip to guide the little Cessna in to land. The operation began and three-and-a-half hours and a few dozen sutures later the patient was taken to one of the little huts adjoining the hospital - much more alive. The damage was extensive and the pilot’s estimation of the injury was correct. He would have died without help. Today he is up walking around with the aid of a stick and his face one huge smile. No sorcerer witchcraft involved. Just a team of Christian workers wanting to show the love of God through their skill. (1976)
The small mission hospital had limited resources and sometimes MAF pilots found themselves in the middle of the medical emergency, not just on the periphery flying planes.
What are one of the things a MAF pilot dislikes intensely? What would you think? Yes, someone having a baby in the plane when they are in the air and there is no hostess to take care of the emergency. Usually a frantic call from the air – ‘She’s having it up here! What do I do?’ This has happened to our pilots twice in the past couple of weeks. (1976)
I have taught the pilots how to give injections as I cannot always go along on all the shuttles. They weren’t too keen to start, but as they have seen results of their help in this way they have realised how important it is to the local people on the outposts. I have made a little pack to carry in each plane (penicillin and syringe) and they take them wherever they go. One day Bill (a MAF pilot) came and said he had given an injection to a man whose foot was half eaten away and he could even see all the bones exposed. (March 1979)
Clouds were the pilot’s great enemy, but even cloudless skies could, in the midst of drought, bring problems.
Our dry season which usually lasts for three weeks has lingered for three months. Because of the very dry weather the people are very busy burning off garden areas. In some places bush fires are raging out of control. The smoke haze has made it difficult and dangerous for the pilots. Some have had to be grounded because of poor visibility. It has to be at least three miles. Pressures begin to build up as they try and crowd too much into the good flying days. They have lost four planes over the past year. (October 1982)
I came back Friday from my week at Sela Valley. The weather has been terrible for this time of year. It was very foggy and it took us 45 minutes to get there instead of the usual 10 minutes as the pilot got lost and we were in the wrong valley. We then had to do a lot of twisting, turning and spiralling to get out. It was like going up a fast lift. I was sure that we would be plastered on the mountainside. I was glad to get out on the ground. Our guardian angels were sure working overtime. (March 1985)
Jessie was in Soba for three days in April 1984 for a mini conference with all 12 missionaries from the Eastern Highland stations.
The second day we were saddened to hear that one of the MAF planes had crashed on take-off in Wamena. The pilot has had bad injuries both internal and to the head. The passengers were better off. One had a broken leg and one cuts, and the other had nothing at all which was a miracle. They have asked for nurses to go and help with his nursing care. They have two nurses on day and two on night duty, so that means a lot of people.
In a later letter she provided an update.
The pilot badly injured in the crash has been evacuated to an intensive care unit in Townsville. The latest we have heard is that he is starting to wake up but he has a shattered hip which is going to be a real problem to fix. The two lots of parents have come out to be with him in Townsville. (June 1984)
MAF wasn’t the only air operator in West Papua. Both government and private airlines flew commuter planes to the large airstrips like Wamena.
Yesterday we were shocked when we heard that an Indonesian plane had crashed at an interior station because of fog. It had 20 passengers on board. Fortunately it was a mission station where there was a doctor and hospital. Three people died and the rest were injured – four bad with injuries, spinal etc. They flew in a government doctor and operated on the injured. I am not sure where they put all the people as the hospital doesn’t have that many beds. (August 1985)
Just this week a Catholic plane went down and is still missing. (March 1986)
Despite the risks of flying, the small planes and helicopters of the MAF were always a vital part of the mission’s efforts to deliver services throughout West Papua. Jessie was no exception and spent countless hours making short hops around the mountain villages.
This past week I went by helicopter to another valley to do DPT (triple antigen) vaccinations. The first time ever for these people. I went to three villages and did 250 children so it was a hectic morning. At the last village they were preparing a feast but the pilot said that unless I planned to stay the night we would have to leave because the weather was deteriorating. We all got strapped in and down came the fog! We sat and waited and waited and wondered if we would be able to sneak between the trees and the fog. I was glad to get home that day as I had not gone prepared to spend the night. Shortly after I returned to Korupun the fog moved in so I was glad the helicopter had got away before it settled in for the afternoon. (September 1986)
Several weeks ago we were all shocked when we heard the MAF Twin Otter plane had crashed, killing a very experienced pilot and seven passengers on landing at one of the interior airstrips. He was circling to come in to land when he crashed and it is still uncertain why he crashed. We have a lot of new pilots who are just learning the ropes. Our foggy season is just beginning and this is always a hard time as the weather is so changeable. (June 1987)
Aviation was a high priority and MAF mechanics and pilots needed a diverse set of skills to keep planes flying, and surprisingly, so did Jessie.
I didn’t expect to be spending Saturday afternoon putting a patch on the windsock, but I did. The high winds had blown the pole down, bending the frame and so out came my trusty old treadle sewing machine. I was glad it would sew the heavy material. We had a pilot and his wife and family for the weekend, so he kindly put the frame back together for me and the windsock is now flying gaily in the breeze. (February 1990)
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br /> In March Sue (Trenier) and I went across to the Sela Valley to celebrate the reopening and dedication of the new airstrip. It is more then two years since the big landslide demolished the mission houses and covered the airstrip with tons of mud.
The people have worked tirelessly by themselves to clear the rubble and mud. They have done an excellent job. When we landed there were hundreds of excited people lining the sides of the airstrip. When we stopped at the end of the runway, swarms of people surrounded the plane, and hugged and greeted us. Two groups of people detached themselves from the crowd. They were dressed up in their feathers and nose bones. They began to sing and dance around the plane. We were taken to an area they had set up especially for the occasion and had put up benches under the tarpaulin (to keep off the sun and rain) for us to sit on during the proceedings. When all the speeches etc. were finished they had a ceremony of cutting the ribbon to reopen the airstrip. The ribbon, Kimyal style, was a long piece of green bark stretched across the airstrip, which they proceeded to cut with a long bush knife instead of scissors. (June 1993)
Several weeks ago there was another celebration in the Dagi Valley which is a nine-hour walk from Korupun. The people have been working hard on rebuilding the airstrip there for the past 12 months. It was finally approved by MAF and the first landing safely passed. They had planned a big feast with government officials coming in for the dedication. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. They had already killed the pigs before they realised the plane couldn’t land because of the fog. They had the feast without the special guests. The actual ceremony was held the next day when the weather cleared. (August 1995)
Danger was an ever present fact of life for pilots and while villagers worked hard to keep their airstrips open, the pilots struggled just as hard to keep planes in the air.
Please pray for the MAF as their planes had several incidents in the past month which could have been fatal - one when his engine blew up but was able to land in a small clearing in the jungle; another, when he lost power on take-off; another, when the brakes couldn’t hold on a wet strip; and yet another, when he lost power trying to cross a high mountain range. MAF is our lifeline and they need your prayer and support. (August 1993)
Just two weeks ago one of the MAF planes gave a mayday call when he had engine failure. He was high above the clouds so he couldn’t see anything until he broke through the overcast and by then he was close to the jungle with nowhere to land, He thought he saw a glint of water out of the corner of his eye so he banked sharply and there in front of him was a straight stretch of water, the only straight stretch for miles in that winding river. He landed safely in the river. Because of the dry spell the river was only three feet deep instead of the usual six feet, and it had a sandy bottom. A real miracle. (September 1996)
Last week we all got a shock when we heard the MAF helicopter ‘fell out of the sky’ from 50 feet. We are praising the Lord that neither of the two pilots were injured but the helicopter is very ill indeed and may not recover! It rolled as it landed. This has added extra strain on MAF resources for relief flying. (January 1998)
The missions were a small, tight-knit group. Even after Jessie returned to Australia she was kept up to date with their activities, including moments of shared sadness.
Six weeks ago we were all saddened to hear that one of the Heli Mission helicopters (Swiss Mission) was missing in bad weather. He was subsequently found to have crashed into a deep ravine near Soba, which is one of the airstrips in the Eastern Highlands. This has had a tremendous impact on the whole mission family up there as they are such a close knit community and rely on, and care for each other. Neil Roesler, the pilot, had grown up in Irian Jaya as a Mission Kid and it was his dream to one day go back and fly to help the missionaries continue their work. Sadly that only happened four months before the accident. This is the first fatal accident they have had in 10 years and it has affected all the pilots and their wives as well as the missionaries. (November 2004)
It was indeed a small, close and very personal network of mission people. Helicopter mechanic/engineer, Joel Henson, was the first on the scene and was lowered to the crash site from the helicopter. It was his job to inspect the site and take the initial photographs of the crash. Joel had grown up with Neil at Sentani International School and was devastated by Neil’s death, as were the many Mission Kids around the world who had been influenced by Neil’s life. Such were the close bonds that developed between the small teams of expatriate missionaries and their families.
7. Missions in West Papua
This past month has seen us farewell five Dani teacher/evangelists plus one clinic worker who are now in the Sela Valley. Do pray for these workers as they learn the language and get close to the people. (March 1974)
Portuguese sailors first sighted the coast of West Papua in 1511. Later Spanish, English and Dutch adventurers also showed interest though not enough to colonise this inhospitable land with its malarial swamps, fierce local tribes and no obvious commercial opportunities. In 1828 the Dutch finally claimed sovereignty but were reluctant to take administrative responsibility for the land they claimed. Instead, in 1855 it was Christian missionaries who made the first serious moves to engage with people, hoping to harvest souls where their governments had refused to plant the seeds of settlement. They arrived on the north coast, enjoying modest success converting locals to Christianity, but their reach was limited to the coastal fringes. It wasn’t until 1938 that C&MA finally obtained permission to spread the Gospel to the interior and a year later established its first inland base at Enarotali in the Paniai Lakes area. Soon after, World War II intervened, forcing the mission to abandon its evangelising work and flee ahead of the advancing Japanese.
With war ended the missionaries regrouped and returned to West Papua, eager to extend their reach further and further afield. But the Dutch Government remained reluctant to allow such expansion into areas where they had no administrative control or power to protect the advancing missionaries.
The missions’ eyes were set on the Baliem Valley in the Central Highlands but without official approval they could only make occasional excursions to look - but not walk - into the valley nor communicate with the Dani people living there. That changed suddenly in late 1952 when the ban was lifted although it wasn’t until May 1953 that the local governor also gave his consent. The Baliem Valley was still marked ‘uncontrolled’ on Dutch maps and the government made it patently clear it was not responsible for the missionaries or their safety and they would enter at their own risk – which they did.
When The Gospel Messenger and its human cargo made the first significant contact with the Dani people by outsiders, it started something of a gold rush among the evangelical protestant missions. Of course, the rich rewards they sought were ‘unreached’ converts, not mineral wealth.
In Peace Child Don Richardson describes the scene in 1955 as Ebenezer G. Vine, the elderly secretary of the Philadelphia Council of the RBMU, rose to address the student body of the Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta Canada. Mr Vine informed the packed auditorium of the RMBU’s decision to enter this last great frontier for Christian outreach and laid out the challenge confronting them:
‘You may be called upon to make the first advance into the midst of entire tribes that have never known any kind of government control, where people are a law unto themselves and where savagery is a way of life…You will encounter customs and beliefs which will baffle you, but which must be understood if you are to succeed.’
Mr Vine’s message touched a chord with many of those present including Don and his wife Carol, John Dekker, Phil and Phyllis Masters and a young Winnie Frost, all of whom were later to become friends and colleagues of Jessie and share many adventures, triumphs and tragedies with her.
While each of the Protestant missions was independent, they eagerly cooperated in this exciting and dangerous venture. Three of them, the Australia-Pacific Christian Mission (APCM), the Australian Baptist Missionary
Society (ABMS) and the RMBU formed a team to establish a new joint-base on Lake Archbold to act as their beachhead. RMBU was assigned the Swart Valley and established its first mission station at Karubaga in 1957. In Torches of Joy, John Dekker writes of “the unique teamwork among the nine evangelical missions comprising ‘The Mission Fellowship’.” He elaborated:
‘The Mission Fellowship had 180 western couples and single missionaries working at 40 mission stations scattered throughout the interior and coastal regions. Each mission concentrated its efforts in a given area, avoiding competition or overlapping, and cooperated in opening new areas in Bible translation… The missions joined hands in developing a Bible vocational school and shared personnel as needs arose – a school nurse, a book keeper, a cook for the annual conference.’
Jessie was a multi-skilled missionary nurse who included cooking among her many talents and may have been one of the cooks John Dekker was referring to.
I went out to help cook at the Baptist/APCM conference. We fed between 60 to 75 people each meal, so it kept us hopping. Then on the last day we had a wedding to cater for two APCM missionaries who were to be married. Julie, the other cook, decorated the cake and it looked lovely. Our icing sugar up here always comes like a solid brick. We have to pound it first with a rock, then with a rolling pin and finally with a sieve. It is quite a process. One of the assistants who was helping us in the kitchen was working on this for us. Somehow in the several days it took to get it to a place of being useable some salt got mixed up with the icing sugar. It was the same consistency. The cake looked beautiful but it was awful. Poor Julie felt terrible, but the bride never noticed. A good reminder to us to be sweet all through, not just on the outside. (August 1991)
The Roman Catholic Church was also active in West Papua – often in direct competition with the evangelical missions. Though much of the time the relationship was courteous, tensions would flare on occasions and Jessie did voice some concerns about Catholic theology and rivalry.