Jessie's House of Needles

by John Algate

  Robert Wick says the Dutch authorities were so impressed with the progress missionaries were making they even allowed some missionary wives to enter the Baliem Valley months before a government post was established there.

  In some ways little changed when authority was transferred from the Dutch to Indonesia in 1963. The missions still bore the brunt of responsibility for providing services in the highlands. They continued to press into new and unreached regions well ahead of the government, opening up the frontiers to Christianity and western influence. What changed most with the transition from Dutch to Indonesian control was the official attitude to the missions. The government controlled visas and its Indonesian bureaucrats were ever ready to exercise that control. It was the ban on missionary visas that originally frustrated Jessie’s efforts to work in West Papua. It was only after the failed 30 September communist coup in 1965 that her visa finally came through. Visa issues and work permits were a recurring theme in Jessie’s life and letters and a recurring concern for all missionaries working in the province.

  Some of you have probably heard … that there is a big problem regarding my work permit renewal. In July I was given 10 days to leave the country. When the people heard the news I might have to leave they were very upset and all the churches began to pray. You can imagine how excited they all were when the papers finally came through with four days to the deadline. The Government has a policy now that 10 years should be sufficient for missionaries to accomplish their work and I have had twice that amount. (September 1986)

  Bureaucratic demands intruded into many aspects of mission life.

  We have just heard that there are new regulations … and we now have to have our station name painted on something so that a plane flying overhead can see it. Letters have to be two metres long. So Elinor has had fun trying to get someone to do it. (March 1985)

  But visas and permits were the most constant irritant.

  I hoped to give you more definite word regarding my furlough plans by now, but the wheels of government offices grind slowly, especially in the election year. My work permit has still not returned from Jakarta. In the meanwhile we have had some startling news that 14 of our missionaries have had their visas cancelled. (March 1987)

  We are praising the Lord for my work permit which arrived two weeks ago. But because of the new regulations we now have to wait five weeks before we can leave…. We are thrilled that other crises regarding visas for us have been settled for the time being. Irian Jaya has been ruled a special area, needing missionaries. (June 1987).

  Last week my extension came through. Unexpectedly my work permit also came through. For the past 10 years my work permit has always been six months late. Now I had two options and I had to decide what to do. Either leave with my extension that week or wait another month for my work permit to be processed. So far none of the missionaries who had their papers stamped ‘non-renewable’ have had to leave and a number have had their visas renewed. Please continue to pray that the Lord will overrule in this situation. (January 1988)

  The elections went off here without any incidents, but of course the votes are still not completely counted. Do pray for the future of this country. On my return, I heard that there had been another government edict regarding visas for pilots and nurses. Those who have been here for more than five years could lose their visa next year. This will include Sue and myself, plus a lot of senior MAF pilots. MAF is hoping to get an audience with the governor and appeal. (August 1999)

  So much had changed since Jessie first touched down in West Papua in 1966, but sometimes it seemed much remained the same.

  There is still no word on the renewal of our visas. So I guess no news is good news. Keep praying for the situation. We are praising the Lord that even though the pilots have lost their visas they have been able to get new ones almost immediately. But we have heard that one of the Dutch missions has lost a number of visas with no new ones being available. (March 2000)

  20. To baptise or not to baptise

  It has been a time of real rejoicing in these last few weeks as several of the churches have had baptisms.

  Baptism is a fundamental rite of the Christian church, yet it caused much soul-searching among the missionaries of West Papua. How much knowledge, training and understanding should Nationals have of Christianity before they were accepted for baptism? Were they fully aware what it meant to be a Christian? How much of the traditional religions, superstitions and practices could be retained while still professing to be a Christian? These were all vexing questions and the different missions and missionaries often reached different answers to the common problems.

  We have seen the clash of cultures elsewhere in Jessie’s writings. It had a direct impact on her own medical work. Time and time again local people shied away from western medicine that could cure them in favour of traditional medicine, local practices, beliefs and customs – often with deadly consequences. Traditional justice, payback and family responsibilities were other issues that also weighed heavily on the lives and consciences of newly-Christian people. Christian conversion and baptism also divided communities.

  Some men from another area tried to interrupt and disrupt a service. Why, we don’t know, but we assume that they had relatives that were being baptised and they didn’t approve. The service continued in an orderly way despite threats and insolence from the armed and feathered men. Do pray for these men from the Lugwa, who are so much against the Gospel, and also for these newly baptised believers that they may not be intimidated in any way but may stay firm to the Lord. The people of Lugwa are just three days walk away from here and are related to the Grand Valley Dani folk who are very much opposed to the Gospel, mainly because their chiefs have forbidden them to listen in case they lose control over their people. (April 1971)

  To baptise or not to baptise was a question that was never fully resolved during Jessie’s time in West Papua. These excerpts from her letters show the tension and anxiety that so often accompanied the ritual of baptism among the Kimyal and other West Papuan communities.

  In March there will be baptisms in two of our more distant villages, two to three days walk. We are hoping to go by helicopter as I am sure I will conk out half way. We will stay overnight to attend the feast and then the baptisms the following day. Approximately 50 people will be baptised. Do pray for the participants as they publicly announce their faith in the Lord and their complete break from the evil spirits. This is a very special day for them and a big decision to completely trust the Lord. Many of these outer areas are still very active in their spirit worship. (March 1986)

  We were greatly encouraged in July when 50 people from Korupun and nearby villages were baptised. It has been a long time since anyone from here was baptised because in the past there was a lot of misunderstanding about baptism. Some thought you couldn’t be a Christian unless you were baptised. After much prayer and discussion the pastor decided that they would make people wait until they showed by their lives and actions that they were different and that everyone knew that they were changed. (October 1991)

  Baptism though, is central to the Christian message, and a cause for celebration among most Christian communities. So it was in Korupun when church elders agreed to a mass baptism. Jessie joined the celebration and later shared the colour, excitement and sense of ceremony with her prayer network.

  The shouting and the tumult have died down since all the people have returned home after the excitement of the long awaited baptisms. Pre-baptism fever coloured everything for days before the event.

  All the candidates had to be questioned re their faith and when they accepted the Lord. Some became very nervous and ran away. With 214 people to be checked, it took some time for the elders from the four churches involved to sift through them all. For various reasons it must be nearly 10 years since they had a baptism right here in Korupun. The day before the actual baptisms they had a big celebration feast. At least 2000 people were present. All the wood and hundreds of rocks ha
d to be gathered and brought to the feasting place the day before in readiness for an early start the next morning (4 am). A pond had to be dug and prepared in a little stream nearby. All this was done to the accompaniment of singing, chanting and shouting. The singing went on through most of the night.

  We were woken before dawn on the feast day. The hillside was like an anthill. Everyone had a job to do, some bringing in the grass, ferns and banana leaves to line the food pits, while others dig the pits and cut up pigs; the women to make blood and sausages from the intestines; the men to build frames to hold the wood where the rocks would rest, while the fire heats them up underneath. Such a bountiful supply of food.

  Most of the clinic workers walked in (from their villages). The trails are very dangerous at present because of the heavy rains. My house was like Grand Central Station with everyone coming in to talk, drink tea and eat biscuits, replace their medicine supplies and enjoy the company of others. One of my midwives braved the slippery trail. She was excited to see me. It must be 12 months since I last saw her. I was warmly welcomed, hugged and chucked under the chin. In the midst of all this, the helicopter came in and out several times taking supplies to some of our far away villages where we are building new clinics. All in all it was organised chaos.

  The day dawned bright and clear – in fact a little too bright as we all got sunburnt after sitting for hours in the hot sun. The church leaders had done a wonderful job of organising the whole day. They had all the participants in line and numbered. Each person was called by name when their turn came as were the elders who would baptise them. Hours of work behind the scenes. The pastor gave an excellent word on what the valley here was like before the Gospel came and what a change had come since the people have turned to the Lord and stopped fighting and practising witchcraft.

  Seven elders, including Orin, were in the water at the one time. Because the water was so cold they alternated every 15 minutes with other groups of men. It was exciting to see some really old people taking part along with a good mixture of all ages. In between each group being baptised about 10 teenagers sang along with their guitars. After the ceremony was over, all the newly baptised folk, plus all the other baptised believers had a communion service together on the airstrip. That swelled the group to about 700 which is nearly 50 per cent of the population of the valley here. (March 1999)

  The Bible records many of the conflicts and divisions of the early Christian Church. Not surprising then that human feelings and frailties also came into play in the Papuan highlands.

  During the last six months one of the close-by villages decided they would break-off from the main Korupun Church. They had sent several young men out to Bible School (who were not recommended by the church) and when they returned they were very unhappy because they were not given the job of pastor, amongst other grievances. Pray for the village of Maningmog, and particularly those who wish to split the church. This is our most heathen village, where most of the relatives of an old witch doctor live. Do pray for this conflict and that the elders will have wisdom to deal with it.

  A couple of weeks ago, in this same village (Maningmog) a woman delivered a baby at 3 am one morning. She had a haemorrhage and died. They didn’t call me, which is sad, but I guess it was all of a sudden. The baby was doing fine until someone in the village had a dream that the mother came back and asked why they were feeding her baby. She said it belonged to her and she had come back for it. They stopped feeding it and he died. I was upset. The Lord reminded me that it is His church and He is building it. We are just the caretakers. (October 1999)

  21. Aches, pains and emergencies

  February and the nut season has started again. February, March are very busy for the clinic with many accidents from machetes and falls from fragile branches.

  I had a call to come down to the clinic, this fellow had been climbing the tree to cut off the large nuts when he fell on his head, dripping blood he covered his head with a banana leaf and walked an hour to the clinic. His skull was split wide open, broken nose and numerous cuts and bruises. I stitched him up and asked if he had pain and he said, ‘just a slight headache!’ I guess they have hard skulls and are tough.

  As the only qualified medical worker in Korupun Jessie dealt with the full range of health needs, from primary health care for babies and breast feeding mothers to the more dramatic accidents, health problems and medical emergencies that were part and parcel of highland life.

  Elinor and I went off to one of our furthest villages last week by helicopter. I had a clinic for all those who needed it and then gave the injections for those with goitre problems. The high rainfall here washes the iodine out of the soil and this causes deficient children (cretins) so an injection every four years can stop this. We had eight inches of rain in the past two days. (August 1980)

  Last week they brought a little two-year-old into the clinic who had a very bad burn on his foot. It was a very strange place so I asked what had happened. Apparently the little sister who was looking after him whilst the mother was in the gardens got exasperated with him because he kept getting into mischief and wouldn’t do what she said, so to teach him a lesson in behaviour she dumped him in the fire. (January 1982)

  This afternoon a fellow walked for two hours from the next valley. He had chopped off his thumb. In spite of a makeshift bandage he had haemorrhaged badly and was very weak. I was amazed he had managed to walk so far. He even brought the thumb but the time lapse was too great so I pulled the skin across to stop the bleeding but think it will take a long time to heal. Another fellow had split his big toe down the centre. It required a lot of suturing but he will not stop walking on it!

  Yesterday the people came rushing up to tell me they were carrying in a girl who had fallen the night before. Apparently she had been out helping her father trap possums in the moonlight. They didn’t miss her for two hours. Then the older sister had a dream that her sister had had an accident. She woke up and went looking for her. They found she had fallen off the path on the edge of the river, head first into some rocks. When they picked her up they thought she was dead. They carried her back to the house and the father started praying for her. When they realised she was alive they carried her in for seven hours. She was not responding well. We called the doctor but he thought just observe her. Orin Kidd and the pastor came and prayed over her and her family prayed all night. This morning she is much better, a miracle as she had fallen at least 10 feet onto her head!

  This past week the Government gave me a lot of deworming pills so I decided to dose everyone up at the same time. The worms cause malnutrition and respiratory problems. So hopefully it will help. We went from village to village and treated more than 1000 people.

  I have been tube feeding premature babies too tired to suck, three-hourly. The mothers bring them to me. Last night one mother came knocking on my door saying the baby was choking and couldn’t breathe. He had inhaled some vomit. I sucked out what I could, quickly did some artificial respiration, gave some adrenaline and an inhalation and he started to improve and is now doing fine again. She curled up on my lounge room floor for the night. Then we all got a bit of sleep. (1986)

  This past week Dr David Gee came to visit the Kidds. I was glad when he offered to amputate the toe of a man who had been bitten by a centipede and was beginning to go gangrene. (I wasn’t looking forward to doing it). The smell was very high. The men in his hut told him to go and live in the forest because of the smell. He was delighted to be rid of his toe. A few days later I did some skin grafts on the stump.

  One morning I woke up to hear a lady wailing on my front door step. She told me her child was close to death as he was badly burnt. I went down to the village to check it out and sure enough there was a 10 year-old boy crouched by his hut. Apparently he and two of his friends had been out on the mountain hunting possums. They were sleeping in an old draughty garden house. Because it was very cold they built a big fire and went off to sleep. They woke up to find a blazing roof cavin
g in on them. Two had minor burns but one was a real mess from his head to his waist on the left side. It took us an hour each day to do his dressing. (August 1995)

  This week they spent six days carrying a 15 year-old girl in obstructed labour over the trail using a rice bag secured at each corner with a pole. Ten men took it in turns to carry her over the mountain. We all prayed for the rain to hold off, which it did for about five minutes and then it bucketed down. By then it was too late for a plane and as I sedated her I was afraid she would rupture her uterus. We spoke to the doctor at 7am and they were able to divert a plane to pick her up. We hear she had an assisted delivery but the baby was dead. Fortunately the girl is OK but will no doubt take some time to recover. These emergencies are exhausting. (1996)

  A little kid arrived at the door and said they had carried a lass from the next valley on a stretcher. She had had a baby three weeks ago and the placenta (after birth) had not come. She was given penicillin but that was not sufficient so she started to bleed, and they thought she would die. She was so anaemic she really needed a blood transfusion. After some medication she stopped bleeding, so hopefully we can get her back on her feet. She is just a young girl and the baby is doing fine. I checked her this evening and she is improving for which I am thankful. (February 2000)

  22. The ‘death’ month

  The people call August the ‘death’ month because so many babies die of the flu.

  The ever increasing contact with the outside world and more regular movement of people around the highlands greatly increased the risk of infectious diseases and epidemics. But the arrival of the missionaries also brought with it modern means to combat such diseases and for the first time in the highlands, people had some defence against infection. Immunisation programs were always a priority because vaccinations changed the dynamics in the battle against infectious diseases.