Beyond That Horizon

Mission work on Yap was different from day-to-day. Generally speaking, we canvassed the island in search of people to visit and teach about our religion. Since our Church had only been on the island for around 4 or 5 years at that time, most of the islanders had some exposure to what we were all about, but didn’t know that much of the finer details. Our objective was to get out in the villages, visit the people and let them know that we were fairly normal (except for Gilligan) even though we came from lands far away.

Some of the remote outer villages were fun to visit, but posed some problems on occasion. We learned that our bright white shirts, ties, dark pants, and forward-thrust dress oxfords were a stark contrast to the jungle setting and anything the people in those parts had ever seen.

A few huts we approached had children sitting innocently on their porches eating lunch or dinner. A few other plates loaded with steaming hot food were nearby with the owners long gone. Sometimes we glimpsed people running full speed into the jungle as we approached. Of course, when asked where their parents were, the answer was invariably the same each time, “They went far away. I don’t know when they will be back. They’ve been gone a long time.”

A peak around the back of the hut and down the trail would usually reveal a dark, curly haired dad or mom peaking out from behind a tree or bush. It was a hilarious site, but one of concern as we didn’t want to foster bad relations with these folks!

After talking to some of our Yapese friends who knew about this phenomenon of people running madly into the jungle on our approach and leaving their kids to fair for themselves with supper still in front of them, we learned that the white shirts and brightly colored ties scared the daylights out of those villagers who didn’t get that many foreign visitors and had never seen such outlandish clothing. Of course, that was an instant invitation and excuse for us to wear our jeans and T-shirts when visiting those places as we didn’t like wearing our dress clothes as much as those islanders didn’t like seeing them.