11/8/1977,
I am half way through my two months stay in Nacemaki Village after my course in the Fijian language. The villagers are very welcoming and friendly. I eat with different families every day. I swim, go to the gardens occasionally and I have visited the koro makawa (earlier site of the village). Best of all, I have the opportunity to say Mass in Fijian every evening and to preach at Mass on Sundays.
Almost every night I can join a yaqona session and do my best to share in the talanoa (story telling). But there is one tevoro (devil) here. He loves to ask me in front of the group to talanoa about my visit to Israel and the holy places. He does this around midnight just as I am ready to excuse myself to go to bed. That gets me into a prolonged story with many questions to answer. The guy who set me up has, in the meantime, slipped away laughing at catching me out again. It is after 1.00 a.m. when I stumble to my room.
The problem then is that Felise, the untrained but faithful catechist, rings the angelus bell just outside my room every morning at 5.30 a.m. I have tried to reason with him:
“Felise, maybe you don’t need to ring the angelus bell in the morning; every evening would do fine!”
“Father, you know well that the angelus bell is rung three times a day, morning, noon and evening.”
“But Felise, 5.30 a.m. is too early. At least wait until 6.00 a.m. That is the proper time.”
“I have to ring the bell early so that the school children get up early to reach school in time.”
“But Felise, this is holiday time. The children aren’t going to school these days.”
“Father. Na ka au sa lewa, au sa lewa! (What I have decided, is decided!).”
End of discussion!
by Fr. Frank Hoare
