Elated at completing my Urdu refresher course, I felt ready to jump-start my ministry. It is true that the more knowledge one gains about something, the more one realises how limited one’s knowledge is about the matter. It’s as though one has landed on the tip of an iceberg, with the rest yet to be discovered and explored.
This is the same when learning Urdu, Pakistan's national language. It is a hybrid of Hindi, Persian and Arabic languages and speaks volumes about civilization, history, anthropology, religion, and culture as social fabrics embedded in the hearts and souls of the people.
I have always known that learning the mater lingua (mother tongue) of the people is imperative for missionaries. I liken it to a bridge spanning two worlds, with these two worlds taking a leap-of-faith journey. Although I was born and raised in Northern Mindanao, in the Philippines, my native language is Cebuano Bisaya since my parents are from Cebu Island. It was only later that I learned to speak Filipino, our national language, and still later English.
Children from the Parkari Kohli communities in Pakistan. Photo: Jerry Lohera SSC
Learning a new language is tedious, yet it pays off by making adapting to new people and environments easier and more fun. However, with my newly assigned parish this year, which comprises 13 purely Parkari Kohli tribal communities, I find myself in “a bare start” (in a good and positive way, I must add). Only a small percentage of Parkari Kohli people speak Urdu and most of them are men. The dialect is generally learned orally, which means there is little literature for learning. This just makes learning my second language in this country more interesting. I must add that it will make an enormous difference when the language barrier is cleared up.
With the length of time I see myself working in this "bare vineyard", where potable drinking water is scarce, the education of most of the children very poor, health services from the government yet to arrive, many children malnourished and living in a "survival state" and most people with no electricity, I hope I won't grow weary and become burned out.
I am reminded of the first Parkari Kohli who was baptised a Catholic in 1943, exactly 80 years ago. I liken the believing communities here to an infant who requires much attention and care to grow in stature and wisdom.
With so much work needing to be done in terms of laying down the foundations that are crucial to faith formation and human development, I hope that alongside them, I may also grow as a missionary and a shepherd, a keeper and a guest, a teacher and a learner, an evangelist and the one being evangelised. After all, I am just a worker in this vineyard, not the Messiah.
Columban Fr Jerry Lohera lives and works in Pakistan.
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - March/April 2025
