Archbishop John Wong and his priests of St Michael Parish Penampang with Kg Tiku’s villagers after the Eucharistic Celebration June 6
By JJ (Soccom Penampang)
June 10 2022
TIKU, Buayan – KK prelate, Archbishop John Wong made sure his pastoral care does not miss out the people in the outback of Buayan.
On Jun 6, he made yet another pastoral visit to Kg Tiku, one of the remotest outstations in Buayan zone, which comes under the care of Penampang parish.
The isolated village is only accessible by 4×4 off-road vehicles which could endure the unsurfaced roads from the starting point at the end of asphalt road at Timpangoh Laut for a stretch of about 10km.
This stretch does not only become a more treacherous muddy terrain in wet weather, but also requires crossing two small rivers along the way and negotiating many sharp curves while going through the numerous uphills and downhills.
An impressive crowd of 300 people, equivalent to about one third of its Catholic population, was gathered for the occasion. To the village people, a visit by the Archbishop is always a meaningful community celebration.
Archbishop John Wong arrived in Kg Tiku
This time round, the Archbishop blessed and officially opened the newly completed hostel dubbed ‘the mission house’ while visiting the Chapel of Mary Mother of Ecclesia.
Mission House will be used for visiting priests and other church communities, especially when the visits are hampered by the unpredictable weather conditions.
Archbishop Wong celebrated Mass, which was also broadcasted live through the St Michael’s website YouTube channel. The Mass was concelebrated by St Michael’s parish priest Fr Wilfred Atin, and assistant priests Fathers Gilbert Marcus, Lawrence Kim and Andrew Kim.
The event, which was planned as a three-in-one, also marked the official changing of the chapel name from Mary Mother of God to Mary Mother of Ecclesia, as well as changing the date of its patronal feast day to coincide with the new name.
The third reason for the people to celebrate was their first-ever celebration of the prelate’s birthday with him in person, which happened to fall on Jun 6, all in all making it for them a triple joy celebration.
Triple celebration
“I am so happy and surprised by the participation of the young people here … I hope that you will continue to preserve the spirit, your tradition and culture, and through it to know your identity,” commented the Archbishop after Mass.
He was referring to the welcoming traditional gong beating by the young people, while observing their use of the mother tongue as their main communication.
The Archbishop has always encouraged the local community to provide a good example, especially to the younger generation, to preserve their culture for the future generations by maintaining their mother tongue.
At the same time, he commended the community, with the guidance of their parish committee, for their hard work that made the mission house a reality.
Fr Atin also spoke during the event, thanking the government for their grant, and individual contributors to enable the building of the mission house. He acknowledged the presence of St Michael’s parish pastoral and finance committee, the parish social communications committee, the parish youth service team (TPBP), the Penampang MH 4×4 Club and other first-time visitors to this memorable occasion.
Before adjourning to the feasting and fellowship at the open camp erected between the chapel and the mission house, the parish Caritas committee invited the Archbishop to lead them into a symbolic planting of trees to mark the occasion.
Tree planting
Head of Buayan zone Catholic Community leader, 58-year old catechist Julius Bolusi spoke of the meaningful and joyful multiple celebration, especially in the presence of the simple and approachable head of the KK Archdiocese, Archbishop Wong.
He explained about the uniqueness of the community livelihood here, made up of mostly scattered homes, and the daily lifestyle of economic activities hugely affected by the environment and hilly landscape.
He informed the visitors that the population here is around 1000 people for the entire Buayan zone, many of whom are active churchgoers.
He was echoed by Women’s League member Rita Gambil, 50, who was grateful to the parish mission for erecting the Chapel of Mary Mother of Ecclesia at Kg Tiku as she recalled her hardship of the weekly trudging of the hour-long journey to St Paul II Chapel at Buayan.
Youth representative, Rosnita Jastah Mozes, 22, who is still studying at Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) Kampus Kent, Tuaran shared her excitement on seeing the big crowd of community members and visitors, a rare happening here.
She encouraged her fellow youth to not forget their roots, that one day they must come back and serve the people and the church here. A strong advocate of cultural identity and mother tongue, she simply reminded them with a famous Kadazandusun quote “Atagak Boros Atagak Tinaru” (Where a loss of mother tongue also means a loss of identity too).
Sadly, the celebration had to be cut short at around 2.00 pm, especially for the visitors when the sky began to gather heavy clouds, coupled with a warning by the 4×4 veterans to move out to avoid any unexpected obstacles along the way back that might be caused by the rain.
True to the prediction, when the rain caught up with those heading for home, their adventure already began with slippery trails during the 1km trek back to the convoy site. In their encounter with treacherous road conditions, the skills of the off-road drivers and crews saved the day as the whole convoy finally arrived safely at their urban destination, with only minor damages sustained by their vehicles
Meanwhile, hats off to Fr Atin, who ably handled the parish mission 4×4 himself, and brought Archbishop Wong and seminarian Bradley Belly back home safely. Everyone was accounted for as they reached the starting point at St Michael’s compound before departing for their own home.
