trivia of the day: Years before he went to Molokai, the first part of his Hawaiian mission was in Kohala, on the big Island. This was a large area of about 1000 square miles, and it took Damien more than a month to go around it and see all the people in the villages. Parts of the area were so remote it was impossible to reach them on horseback. He knew that somewhere on the other side of a high mountain there were people living in a remote village. One day he set out to visit them. With the help of some islanders with a canoe, he set out to find a beach that would enable him to go inland without having to climb the mountain. The sea was infested with sharks and the tides were treacherous for a small craft. The canoe was soon being tossed and turned in all directions and the islanders found it hard to keep control. Suddenly a huge wave came along and overturned them. Damien and his crew were pitched into the rough sea. All being strong swimmers, they were able to swim to shore and safety. A week after the canoe incident, Damien decided to set out for the remote village again, this time on horseback, toward the mountain. He rode for 4 days toward the mountain until he finally reached its slopes. Then the mountain track became so steep, the horse was not able to continue on. Damien decided to abandon his horse, and climb up on foot. He had to scramble up the mountain on his hands and knees until sheer exhaustion forced him to rest. Then he went on again, up and up towards the summit. When he reached the top he was horrified to see how steep the slope was on the other side of the mountain. One false step and he would fall thousands of feet to certain death. He was also disheartened to find no village on the other side, but another mountain in the distance which looked just as high as the one he just climbed. It would have been logical at this point to just give up. Damien did not. He set out toward the 2nd mountain and began to climb again. With his boots nearly torn from his feet by the ragged mountain rocks, and his hands cut and bleeding through his constant stumbling on the uneven track, he reached the slopes of the next mountain. To add to his difficulties, clouds had come over the mountains and a heavy rain poured down, making his progress a misery as he climbed over the wet and slippery rocks. When he reached the other side, still no village. Only a 3rd mountain lie ahead. Lashed by wind and rain, he managed to make it to the 2nd valley and began to climb the 3rd mountain. There was no shelter for him to sleep, he was hungry, cold, and desperately tired. But still he made it over the 3rd mountain. Once he reached the 3rd valley he could barely stand. Suddenly everything went black and he pitched forward on the ground, unable to get up. Exactly how long he was unconscious he never knew, but when he awoke, there were several anxious faces looking down at him. Some islanders had carried him to a nearby stream and moistened his mouth and face with water. Damien was delighted. The people he was searching for had found him. These friendly people invited Damien to stay in the village to rest and recuperate. Damien accepted. Once he was back on his feet, he told the villagers he would like to repay them for their kindness. He built them a church. The villagers were astonished to see the man they thought was dead now busy chopping down trees and sawing and hammering the wood for their new church. His great energy and enthusiasm was infectious and soon all the villagers were wanting to help. When the chapel was finished, they all watched as Damien climbed proudly to the top of the building to fix a large wooden cross to its gable. So....our hero is human. He bleeds. And climbed 3 mountains to bring some people in a remote village to God. What a super-human indeed.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 17:19:13 +0000
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