Chapter 6: From Black Magic to God

A Missionary’s Story: Reverend Otto Hintze, Jr.

God does indeed work in mysterious ways.  None better than the story of one young man named Otto. This man was born in March 1923 in El Paso, Texas.  He was born into a Christian family.  As a teenager, he was elected president of his youth group at church.  During that time, the Holy Spirit was encouraging him in his walk.  At first Otto prayed for forgiveness for his sin.  People around him encouraged him to consider the Holy Ministry as a calling, but young Otto was interested in engineering and had entered the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy.

God’s call was stronger than engineering as he entered St. John’s College in Winfield, Kansas as a pre-seminarian student. He graduated from St. John’s in 1943 and entered Concordia Theological Seminary (“CTS”) in St. Louis, Missouri.  He received his Master of Divinity degree (MDiv) in 1947 and then a master’s in sacred theology in 1948.  Due to his proximity to Mexico, and with an interest in missions, young Otto joined a mission society and eventually taught Spanish to his fellow seminarians.  Dean Sieck approached Otto about a new opportunity as a post-war (WWII) mission in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea (“PNG”). While his interest was in Latin America, he quickly accepted the call to PNG.  (Remember Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.”)

As with many missionaries, a partner is indeed helpful with Otto no different.  He was excited about his call as he phoned his fiancée, Jeannelle, about his placement.  And they were married shortly thereafter entering a new partnership in the gospel of Jesus Christ as a team.  Most people in missions have some training prior to departure, but not in Otto’s case.  There was news of some uprising among the PNG people regarding expatriate prospectors.  Thus, a hurried departure from the USA to PNG was necessary; that meant no training in the Enga language.

Otto was ordained and commissioned to the mission field in his home congregation in El Paso by the executive secretary of missions for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. (“LCMS”) News of an expectant child delayed Jeannelle’s departure with her husband.

Young Missionary Otto was off for PNG!  He left El Paso, Texas for San Francisco in mid-September 1948. (See timeline) He then left San Francisco a week later on a four propellor Pam Am plane for Sydney, Australia with multiple stops for fuel – all total he was on the plane for 40 hours travelling some 7,637 miles.  While in Sydney, he purchased much needed basic supplies including kapok (soft cotton-like fibers) to make a mattress.  Much needed items like mosquito nets and water hose were an absolute (no running water). His eventual house would consist of cane walls and a dirt floor with his kapok-filled mattress for sleeping.  A refrigerator of sorts was an ant-proof, screened cabinet.

Following their short stay in Sydney, they (fellow missionary Willard Bruce) departed for PNG via Brisbane, Australia.  From there they boarded the Bulolo cruise vessel that was (used during WWII as a troop transport) enroute to Port Moresby, PNG.  From Pt. Moresby, they passed through the straits of Samarai on the eastern tip of PNG mainland.  They skirted the rough waters close to the north coast (100-mile detour) and made their final stop on the Bulolo at Lae.  It was in Lae that they would spend a year in training from fellow missionaries from Germany, Australia, and America.

During their stay in Lae, they witnessed God’s Holy Spirit at work in Gabmazung where 150 men and 250 women were baptized and confirmed in the faith.  The local pageantry following the service was awe-inspiring as the people gave public witness and confession solely to Christ as the only Truth.  The two newbies, (Otto and Willard), observed the pastor as he addressed his congregation in Pidgin English (the commercial language).  Following their stay in Lae, they departed for the Enga Mission Station in October,1948.  Danger remained at their coattails as word arrived that two Catholic priests were slain by highland tribe members.  With that news, Bruce’s wife stayed behind as the two young missionaries left for points beyond.  Their travel included by foot, by horseback, and by a single winged plane.  Their travel was not easy as they encountered mountains (Mt. Hagen) with ups and downs over hills and into valleys.  Finally, they boarded the single wing plane to fly further inland.  The Yaramanda station was on the foothills of Mt. Hagen.  The plane had to land at Wabag, some twenty-five miles away as there was no landing strip yet built at Yaramanda.  Now the final walk began (25 miles) – no motor traffic was possible on the very basic roads. At a brief stop in Birip, they encountered their first taste of Enga (Yaramanda language) food of white sweet potatoes called “aina.”

Sleeping was in their sleeping bags.  And even pre-treated with DDT powder, they awakened the next morning with multiple bug bites. Flea hunts were common – bed roll examination prior to climbing in.  As they left Birip (11/13/1948), they traveled along a foot path which led down an 800-foot-deep gorge to the Lae River. They crossed a 90-foot-long log bridge suspended by jungle vines and then ascended on the other side. They were welcomed by Pokon, a Hagen evangelist, gladly receiving the missionaries.  People lined up to greet them warmly.  Even with danger nearby, fearing the worst was quickly dissipated as tribal men led them in dance to their mission house.

Their new mission was named “New Guinea Lutheran Mission-Missouri Synod (“NGLM”). The first scare came to Missionary Bruce as angry tribe members approached them during an evangelistic patrol in the Sau River valley.  The tribe members were out to avenge a murder by prospectors.  But an angel of the LORD protected them during the night and then walked out of the situation the next morning.  To God be the glory!

Communicating with the Yaramanda people is yet another journey almost as difficult as their travel from the USA to PNG.  Their first learning experience was Pidgin English. The International Phonetic Alphabet was also key to developing an Enga language dictionary.  God blessed them in the inaugural service with forty in attendance (11/7/1948). The missionary’s message was translated by two other men into Pidgin English.

While Missionary Bruce set up a second mission station in Irelya, a more central location for the Enga people, Missionary Otto left for Lae for a month-long conference on literacy delivered by Dr. Laubach. (April-May,1949) Dr. Laubach’s approach always gave a gospel message at the end of each training session. It was then that Otto was convinced that he had to learn and preach in the Enga language.  While at the Lae conference, news arrived from a village as villagers were massacred who were willing to hear the Christian message.  Other trials occurred in many PNG areas by the Yali followers and the Cargo Movement.  And of course, cannibalism was still prevalent in some areas.

Well in July 1949, Otto’s wife, and daughter (Kathryn) arrived.  He met his wife and daughter in Lae.  Their travel from Lae to Yaramanda was described by Jannelle as “I have never been so tired in my life.”  Now the husband-wife team were united, and their missionary efforts began as they together embarked on a literacy campaign by drawing up a primer and some reading books using the Laubach method that Otto learned recently at the conference.  Jeannelle drew pictures then shaped the letters of the alphabet while Otto arranged the Enga words.  Then they used a hectograph (an apparatus using gelatin plates that receive an impression from the master document) to prepare the pages which were then sewn together in an 8 x 10 booklet.  These booklets were used in the Yaramanda schools and, as a result, adults became literate.

Language development and literacy are an absolute before any Bible translation in the language of their heart.  Work continues, and in 1953 the Yaramanda people with Missionary Otto built a church.  With Otto’s plan, the village men used axes to cut down and split wood for the walls.  With vine and stripped inner bark, the men bound the timbers together. In all, some three hundred people assisted in building the church. Finally, on November 1, 1953, God’s house was dedicated. The miracle of our LORD provided some 3,500 people together to witness this new house of God.  Literally, they made a break from their black magic powder (called tomakai) to God.  (NOTE: Otto and Jeannelle received a lightweight, fold-up pump organ as a wedding gift.  Yes, Jeannelle traveled to PNG with that organ in 1949 and put it to God’s use)

God continued to bless their ministry as money and supplies were provided to develop an airstrip in Yaramanda that was much needed to ease the supply chain for their mission’s work.  A US congregation from Minnesota donated a Cessna aircraft.  Then a Chicago lawyer answered the call to provide planes, trucks, and jeeps along with a $10,000 gift for scholarships to be used in literacy training.  (Stewardship lesson: God’s will done God’s way will never lack supply)

The conclusion to the Hintze story is not the end of the gospel work in PNG, rather it is a story of their unselfish, God-given talents to give birth to the faith in so many.  In 1965, the Hintze family left the Enga people on furlough with a promise to return.  Their travel encompassed multiple continents, countries, and cities as they worked their way back to the United States.  As they traveled, they also visited hospitals, seminaries, and other missionaries enroute back home – finally arriving in New York City.

In October 1965, Reverend Hintze was approached by the then president of Concordia Seminary, Springfield.  The approach was to offer Otto a position as Professor of Missions at the seminary.  He accepted the call and while at the seminary, completed the first unit of Enga grammar in January 1966 which set forth a detailed phonology – later published in the Journal of Linguistic Society of PNG.

Epilogue:  As of the writing of Otto Hintze’s book, From Ghosts to God in Enga Land, Dr Hintze said the following: “There were a total of 141 missionary married couples and 50 singles who participated in the planting, watering, and watching God-given growth to 54,000 baptized members in 550 Enga and other tribal congregations.”

Timeline: From Black Magic to God

Source: “From Ghosts to God in Enga Land” Otto C. Hintze, Jr; The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 2015.

A Recounting of Interview with Jeannelle Hintze, 2019

A personal interview with the widow of Dr. Hintze was conducted at the Lutheran Retirement Home, St. Louis, MO.

I was fortunate to meet this wonderful servant of the Almighty while interviewing my aunt in her apartment in St. Louis at the Lutheran Retirement Community.  While there, my aunt suggested that I meet and talk to her friend, Jeannelle Hintze, widow of the Late Reverend Otto Hintze Jr.  They served as missionaries in Papua New Guinea for 17 years.

The interview with Ms. Hintze was impromptu, generally listening to her as she went from one story to another about their experiences in PNG.  While considering their 1948-1965 journey in PNG, she commented on the differences from yesterday to today describing it this way, “From the Stone Age to the Jet Age.  From no telephones nor mail to everyone possessing a smartphone.”

Otto and Jeannelle were the first Lutheran missionaries in the Highland area (Enga people).  Their time together grew from translating from English to Pidgin and then again to Enga.  That required multiple individuals to carry on a conversation. But over time, the Hintze’s learned the Enga language and communicating the love of Jesus to them became much easier.

Several things remain firmly entrenched in my memory from my interview.  She tells the story of a local man (“Government Man”) who was their mail carrier so to speak.  They had to send messages (mail) via him to their closest station thirty miles away.  He would arise before sunup once weekly and take the messages to the new location and then return the same day usually after sundown.

She also recounted a time when a local woman delivered her baby but could not provide breast milk for some reason.  Ms. Hintze bottled up milk for the new mother and her baby and delivered it to her with a message to come back to her house and she would supply a new bottle. She performed that servant function for two years.  During the mother’s return trips, Ms. Hintze would tell her stories of Jesus.  As she recounts, the woman later died in childbirth, but Jeannelle is convinced that she knew Jesus in her heart and is with Him in heaven.

The most beautiful story related to her music and singing.  Jeannelle received a 40-pound portable organ as a wedding gift when she and Otto were married.  The organ folded up like a suitcase for ease of travel.  When Jeannelle would set up her organ and begin to play, the people would come.  During my interview, she sang a hymn that was to a local tune that all the villagers knew.  She tried to teach them “Jesus Loves Me,” but the different tune was difficult for them to learn.  But listen to Jeannelle’s gross translation of the hymn of their heart.

“Jesus came down

Told us the message

Went back to heaven

As He went, we will follow.”

Today she recounts that there groundbreaking work has mushroomed into the gospel of Jesus Christ told from multiple villages and churches.  PNG now has two Lutheran seminaries training local pastors to continue to tell the story.

They had three furloughs (1954-55; 1960; and 1965) over their 17 year stay in PNG.  Following their return, Pastor Hintze continued his missionary work at the Springfield seminary and then later as executive secretary for missions both stateside and in Latin America.  At the same time, Jeannelle continued as a pre-school teacher.

The Enga Bible: A Continuing Challenge

History tells us that the first contact that Enga speakers had with Europeans was in 1929 when a gold prospecting company sent an expedition to explore the Sepik tributaries. While this expedition only reached the northern borders of the Enga territory, a later expedition by the Australians penetrated into the very heart of the Enga territory. Future expeditions drew more hostility from the Enga people.

In 1947, the Australians began to open up parts of the Enga territory – including for missionaries. In late 1948, two American missionaries (Hintze and Bruce) arrive in Enga land. It was both the Lutheran and Baptist missionaries who contributed to most of the initial Bible translation efforts. In the table depicting Hintze’s efforts in Enga land, we see that Enga alphabet basics were completed in the mid-1950s that included a primer and reading books.

Initial translation efforts (1961) were especially valuable for non-native speakers of Enga. PNG Mission Society reports that in July 1964, the book of 1 Peter was completed and produced by mimeograph – the first translation of a complete book of the Bible in Enga.

Language consultants found it very difficult to translate certain key terms into Enga. For example, Hintze’s 1961 translation and Bruce’s 1965 translation, certain Enga terms remained difficult to deliver its biblical meaning.

The next generation of translators and linguists began their efforts to make the biblical language more understandable. Using a new orthography, the books of 1 Peter, Mark, and 1 Timothy were completed included multiple Bible stories. In 1971, the books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians were completed.  And in 1974, the book of Romans was published. In 1985, all the books of the New Testament were completed (translated and edited) with Revelation left to be proofread.  The final New Testament was completed in 1988. A total of 8,000 copies were printed and distributed by multiple denominations involved.

But hold the phone, over the years it had become apparent that the Enga New Testament needed revision.  Why? Older ways of speaking had fallen out of favor and a new generation of Enga speakers had trouble understanding what was now an archaic language. 2012 was the beginning of the new revision efforts. A draft of Mark’s gospel was completed in 2014.

Source:

1. From Ghosts to God in Enga Land, Otto C. Hintze Jr. Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 2015.
2. Enga Bible Translation History, PNG Mission Society.