Paula woke me up about midnight and Al still wasn’t home.
1962 August 28 to Estelle at 1:15 AM
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Malalo Mission station to Durward and Estelle Titus Box 224 Route1, Carlos MN USA
Dear mom, dad, Willa, Martin and family,
Last Saturday Al set out on a trip down the coast saying he would be back by Tuesday morning. He had some meetings and a communion service. I have been waiting for him all day. Sometimes it takes longer than he expects, so I’ve just been waiting. Tonight I found out on our wireless radio that he had taken a small boat within two hours. So I kept expecting him any minute. I decided to leave the lamp burning and go to bed. Paula woke me up about midnight and Al still wasn’t home. So I got one of our native teachers to send six school boys out to see if they made it to the village where the boat was supposed to have taken them to. The only reason I can see Al not sending a message if he were delayed, is that they didn’t make it to shore. I hope they didn’t get washed out to sea, as it is very bad weather and the boat they were on is not very large so it can’t take too much tossing about. Once they get tossed into the water, there won’t be much hope as there are sharks all over. Oh that God would keep him safe. But not my will, but his will be done. He didn’t spare his son. Wherever he is, I hope he isn’t going through too much anguish or pain or fright or most important of all, loose faith. Al is interested in Gods care, surely God will take care of him.
6:00 AM no word from the search party. I hope our radios work this morning. We can usually hear but not talk in the morning. Thanks for your letter and prayers.
10:00 AM we heard for sure that the boat had made it to Lauguwac, a village south of here which is two hour walk from here.
12:00 noon we heard he had spent the night at a village that is a one hour walk from here. One of the searchers came back and they had walked right by the village where they all were staying so had to walk an extra hour in down pouring rain.
2:00 PM Al arrived home, through the back door. I made him throw his hat in with some mighty good ‘excuses’? Him ‘Well, I did write a note but thought we would make it home. Then it was dark and too late to send it before I knew we wouldn’t. My reply, ‘next time I won’t send anybody even if you’re getting bitten by snakes and eaten by crocodiles.’ -But thank God he was all right. Knowing full well I would be just as worried again and sending somebody if he didn’t return when he said he would. It’s just all part of being a missionary wife. He was tired and discouraged. Most of his meetings had been rained out. The work seems to be going backwards and after working two weeks trying to get a group of young people together did not happen. He was trying to get a group to start sanding the new church that has been three years in the process of building. After getting sandpaper from Lae, one trip, several letters, and a good group together, the carpenter sent them home again. Some had walked several hours. You can bet they will never do it again. Life is like that.
We love you Al, Ina, Paula and Tommy
I guess Paula and Tom started gardening early on. Both have gardened into adulthood.
1962 September 19 to Gertrude
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Malalo Mission to Gertrude and Laurence Rasmussen 608 Sunrise, Park Ridge, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA
Dear Gertrude, Laurence and Peter,
Thank you so much for writing and for taking care of our mailing list, we are truly very grateful to you for adding this big job to your already busy life. We have the National Geographic magazine on New Guinea and thought it quite an accurate account. The people in our model area don’t dress in such fancy hair dress and usually wear lap laps or walking shorts. We can play for different speeds on our phonograph. I was thinking mostly of old records that people don’t care to use anymore such as 78. Anything so our school boys and girls can hear music. Simple talking records that children have outgrown. They like music with rhythm like Negro spirituals and march music. 200 hymns that we have taught them, Jesus loves me, Love divine etc. We have one Christmas record by the Augustana choir.
We all have been well. And getting deeper and deeper and engrossed into the work here. We find the people so human, with strong points and shortcomings like everyone else. They are so easy to get to like. With the world situation what it is, I really wonder what is in store for them. We hope and pray that by planting the word of God it may be made easier for them.
Thank you again so much for your prayers and letters, and so many kindness yes. God’s blessing to you and yours.
Love Pastor Al, Ina, Paula and Tom.
Added is names and addresses of 23 people for the Rasmussen’s to add to the mailing list.
( The rest of the letter is filled with names and addresses of people who want to receive Erickson’s newsletter. Gertrude Rasmussen is the person who Erickson’s send a letter summing up what is happening in their world. Mrs Rasmussen retypes the letter and sends it out to the mailing list.)
1962 September 17 (to mailing list)
Hello from New Guinea,
Thank you all for your many cards, letters and prayers. We really do deeply appreciate being blessed with so many wonderful, faithful friends. As September overtakes us, you are preparing for winter and we for summer. Or cool rainy weather and rough sea have past. We noticed each day a little warmer and we’re back to our two showers daily. The sea was so rough for a couple of days that it washed five houses away from one village at the foot of our hill- Buakup. They had enough warning so no lives or other property was lost.
We have a new addition to our family, Phyllis Grace. She arrived at our house July 14, 3:30 PM. Paula and Tommy like her so very much, we all think that she is a nice addition. By the way, her last name is Engebretsen. She is one of a group of short term teachers that have come to New Guinea to help out in our schools for two years. Some of them teach students and some teach native teachers. Phyllis is doing some of each. The past two weeks we had a refresher course for about 25 native teachers that teach about the equivalent of first and second grade. They studied, mostly English and arithmetic, though they had some social science, health and singing classes. When I would ask them if they were enjoying the course and if they were learning a lot they always reply that they would like more songs to teach their boys and girls. Oh how they love to sing.
We invited them in for coffee several afternoons. They like sugar and cream so well, I would fill the cups only half full with coffee so that they could fill it the rest of the way with milk and sugar. Nice to have a little coffee with your milk and sugar. They were a little nervous, but they conducted themselves very well. Except for the lack of long pants and shoes it really wasn’t an unusual coffee party at all. They wear laplaps or walking shorts. They enjoyed listening to our records. They really are hungry for music, especially Negro spirituals and marching music.
Some of you have wondered about how the situation in West New Guinea will affect us. Nearly everyone is somewhat distressed over the situation, some of the native people, to the point of preparing to help the Western New Guinea people go into the mountains and fight the Indonesian‘s. The Indonesians have shown on several occasions, that their word isn’t to be trusted, so no one actually thinks that the people of Western New Guinea will have a chance for a fair vote on self-determination, or that they will be satisfied with only half of the island. Australia has, according to newspaper accounts, pledged itself to the protection of eastern part of New Guinea. If you have a map you’ll know that east New Guinea is divided into Papua and the territory of New Guinea. Papua is the southern part where Port Moresby is, and is Australia’s. The territory of New Guinea was awarded to Australia by the UN after World War II as a protectorate.
Both of the children are growing. Paula has lost most of her baby ways and now is quite a helpful little girl. She likes to help clear the table or pass cookies around to the guests. She is finally starting to put words together too. Most of our conversations are about Tommy, the grandma is included, grandma being the name she has for Phyllis. Pretty good wouldn't you say graduation from college and immediately becoming a grandmother?
Tommy has been making himself useful too, keeping mommy out of mischief. One Sunday when we had guests he put his dirty tennis shoes into the pail of drinking water. The water from the faucet comes from a spring so we can only use that for bathing. We catch our drinking water in huge tanks when it rains. Sometimes when our water works are out of order we have to carry buckets of water to the bathroom. One day I found Tommy busily emptying my linen closet of clean towels and wash clothes into the buckets of water.
The United Nations team was through here several months ago and recommended self government for the people of New Guinea within two years. It is a bit unrealistic as there isn’t any New Guinean with the equivalent of a college education, but the government is working hard at it. Since our area is one of the furthest developed, they are starting here. Soon there will be an election to elect a governing council. It surely will be interesting to see what happens. They just don’t understand at all, and won’t for some time.
I don’t think I told you much about Malalo in my last letter. It is just about 4 miles from Salamaua which is a peninsula that is shown on most maps and across the Huon Gulf from Lae. This was really in the thick of world war two. As a matter of fact the Malalo mission station was the headquarters of the Japanese in this area[1]. Salamaua used to be the capital, but wasn’t rebuilt after the war as there wasn’t much room for expansion. There is only one house left at Salamaua.
Salamaua Ithmus
Photo by the Ericksons in the early 1960’s
Photo taken around 2018.
Several of these where left a Salamaua. I remember seeing these as a child when we visited Salamaua.
Go to this blog page for more about Salaumua:
We hope to dedicate the new church they have been working on here for three years at Christmas time. They have yet to paint it and make benches. It is really a beautiful building. We will have to send pictures of it sometime. God has been ever near us with this great love, patience, and concern. We had to specific miracles recently. One lady was bleeding very badly after she had had a baby. She was pretty weak before anybody told me about her. Our boat was broken down, so we had no way to get her to the hospital until about came on Friday. This was on Wednesday. After working over her and praying for wisdom she seem to stop so I wasn’t sure of the cause and it didn’t start again. We got her to the hospital where she had numerous transfusions and is doing pretty well. Another lady came that same day and had walked two days over the mountains in labor. She said she had been having labor off and on for about a week. She was obviously exhausted. Upon examining her it didn’t look like her baby wasn’t good position and I doubted if she would be able to deliver it herself, we didn’t have any way of getting her to the hospital. I prayed that God would take care of her and gave her a sedative and her labor stopped until we could get her to the hospital. May the love of God keep your minds and hearts in Christ Jesus.
Love in Christ.
Pastor Al, Ina, Paula and Tom
[1] Alvin noticed bullet holes in the coconut trees on the Malalo station. The station was obliterated during the War so needed to be rebuilt.
