I have been so lucky during all of the company this past month, that we have had very few emergencies.

There were not docks at the Malalo beach.

1963 February 24
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 and Martin,

So good to get your letters. We really look forward to hearing from you as often as you can spare a few words. I was going through all of your letters and filing them. Do you know that you people have spent a small fortune just in letters to us? We really do appreciate it.

We were so happy to hear about First English‘s sponsorship. What it means is that they will pay part of our salary instead of the mission board, which will leave their funds free to expand the work elsewhere. It is especially good to get sponsors this year as the budget was not met and we will not be getting any new missionaries next year to replace those being retired. We also will not be able to continue with various buildings of schools and other projects that were being planned. We had another surprise. A family from Hanska, Minnesota (south of New Ulm) are also part sponsoring us. Neither is enough to cover our full salary but it certainly is wonderful to have people so interested. I thought maybe you could write to these other people to share letters, pictures and news with them. Possibly inviting them to visit you. They are Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rossbach.
It makes us feel that we will have to spend our time and money wisely so as not to betray these people who are interested in furthering God’s kingdom.

I’m glad you were able to go down to see Beryl and Bruce even if it was a short visit. Beryl mentioned that she hardly ever saw you people. It’s hard not to have Willa and Martin to run out to visit like we used to enjoy doing (when we were all living in theTwin Cities). It was interesting because I think Al said more often than I “let’s go out to Willa and Martin‘s”

I hope Martin is feeling better. Beryl said that he was having trouble with diarrhea. That can be so miserable. I was sick for about a week with a general G.I. upset. I am feeling good now except I get awful tired. So after a few weeks of taking it easy I shall be fit as a fiddle.

Al has been having something similar to what he had that Christmas at Mr. Alexander’s in Minneapolis. Headache, fever, and sore throat. Today he went to church and feels much better.
We’ve decided to take our vacation at home. A few days in bed for a time. Then in December we will make it for sure, or as short as anything can be in New Guinea.

Our faithful Doctor boy pulled out on us. He had asked if he could go to Lae to get his son some polio vaccine. I, of course was quite agreeable. He went and that was three weeks ago. He said he’d be back the next day. I’ve been inquiring into what happened to him and found he is working in the hospital in Lae. That really leaves us in a bad spot. I decided to not go down and run the dispensary. We have been trying so hard to develop some kind of responsibility in these people. They feel the white man can look after their people while they can go to town and make more money. You can’t blame them but they’re hurting themselves. Their country will never progress unless someone is willing to do the hard work in the villages. So, we will have to tell the congregation to either have to pay him more (he gets about $20 a year or do without medical attention). If I take over, it will just be going backwards. It is just like with children. If you give them their every need without them having to work for it, when it is time for them to launch out on their own they aren’t capable of it.

Doctor boy as they called the someone who had medical training would attend to medical needs and be paid by the congregation.

We really need to concentrate on the gospel. It seems the flame is dying. People are losing their grasp of the wonder of God‘s love. There are no dangers. Money is a luxury. They can get their food from the gardens and make their houses out of the bush material, so there is no reason since the tribal war stopped, to seek God‘s help. If they don’t have a job there is no sweat.

Paula and Tommy have been such a busy little beavers. They have hardly time to eat they play outside most of the time. We were expecting the Jamison‘s.1 They were going to come on the last boat. I baked three batches of cookies, cake and had Jell-O setting up and ice cream made. I had their beds all made up, but they didn’t come. We haven’t heard for when they might arrive.
I’ve learned to buy food in bulk. I buy two drums of flour at a time. 100 pounds of sugar, cases of peas, pork and beans, cheese, milk etc. I try and never get too low before I re-order as sometime it takes two months before I get an order. We order flashlight batteries by the dozens, toilet paper by the box, matches by the case. So when we have company I usually have enough in my store room to get by. Metegemeng, our captain of our boat the Victor, gets extra things for me like fresh meat from the Mission plantation. They freeze it and the Victor has an insulated food box to keep it cool on the way over. We get pretty tired of tinned meat if we have to have it too often. It all tastes the same. Fortunately we can get mustard and ketchup now which they could not get several years ago. This last order we even got marshmallows. We were so hungry for them. They taste so good I have an awful time not snitching them. Kids really liked them too. I don’t think either of them had had them before.

We can get fresh vegetables from a plantation near Lae, every week they have kept us supplied with potatoes pretty well. I keep enough white rice on hand so that we can eat rice or buy some taro from the natives if our potatoes are gone. The mountain people can grow potato so they don’t have to be imported anymore so they aren’t very expensive.

Our Malalo soil is so poor that we can’t raise much outside of coconuts, pineapples and lemons.

Market in Lae

Tommy can say ‘Danny’ so plain. He copies almost everything Paula says. He is really ‘me too’. They play so well together. One can’t stand it if the other is sleeping and they always fool around until the other wakes up. When Tommy wants a cookie, he also wants one for ‘Pawa’. And Paula for Tommy. Tommy proceeded to write all over my coffee table with crayons today. It came up with a little Ajax, but I wasn’t pleased.

Vince made himself at home in the kitchen and help me a lot. I bought a lot of bread in Lae and it stayed fairly fresh for almost a week so I didn’t have to do much baking while they were here. Ted, Vince and Barb2 seemed about the same. Barb is more talkative now. She really seems to be enjoying New Guinea. And seems to be real good for Vince. They are so hoping they can have kids before very long. Here are a few snaps of the kids I took around the yard. The kids splash in the tub on hot afternoons. Paula pointed out right away that there were her pants by the tub. Tommy wears “ants”.

We tried out our new tape recorder and it works really well.

It has been so dry here. We haven’t had rain for five weeks. That is really a record as the longest they have ever gone before was two weeks and then your garden suffered. It was really nip and tuck to get food for all of these people. Everything in their gardens are shriveled and brown.

Our water tanks are empty. I’m so grateful that I got this pumping station fixed up before this dry season. Otherwise we would really be in a fix for water. As it is we were doling the water out sparingly as we’re not too sure how long it will last. Our stream is pretty small. To make matters worse, while we were gone someone was tampering with the pipes. I don’t know how they would do it but opened up a pipe that used to go to the cattle shed before it was moved and now it just lets water run down the hill. There is no faucet so you have to turn it with a wrench or something. But they got it open and drained about 700 gallons down the bank.

Tommy hasn’t been gaining very much, but his stools are better and he is growing taller though he is still short. He reminds me more and more of grandpa Jackson ( Ina’s maternal grandfather). He has been picking up quite a few words from Paula. Anything on wheels is ‘twactoa’. He spends hours looking at all the cars and trucks in the catalog. He keeps wanting me to sit down with him and tell him what everything is ’stat stat’ —-what’s that?
Jabem for cow is bullimacow. Paula is calling the cows -Macow. I was going to show her that there were male and female cows so I explained that this is a mama cow and this is a daddy cow. Then she wondered where the Paula cow was. Paula cow ‘gec ondoc’?

I keep thinking for Fairview‘s address and think of 23 instead of 12 for your address. I asked Helen, Al’s sister to send a check to you, but I gave her the wrong address. I do hope it reaches you anyway. I know how rough it is trying to get through school and then to have doctor bills beside is no joke. Living does not cost us very much and we have some extra money that we want to share with you. This is not a loan. And we don’t want it back. Please accept it as a love offering. I know it is a small drop in the bucket as to what you need, but maybe it will be of a little help to you. We mean for you to get both checks so if the one from Montana doesn’t show up, let me know so we can do some checking.

Al is at a conference now he has been gone for about a week and a half.3 He should be back on Thursday, home for two days, then off to a trip into the mountains. The mountain trip should be about two weeks, then home for a couple of days and then off for another mountain trip in another direction, and then I think we’ll take a vacation.

The annual Mission conference at Wau – where the mission boarding school is located. They have guest houses as well as dorms, a church and meeting spaces. School is out for much of December and January following the Australian school schedule. The school year starts at the end of January or early February and ends in December with school break in May and August. Wau can be reached by a road from Lae or by Cessna as it has airstrip.

I did go through and ‘de-cockroach’ all of my closets and drawers so everything stacked on the beds until it was dry enough to put things back. People around here remembered after the last conference last year, the Scherle’s were moved from Malalo. So Gideon4, one of our teachers came and asked me if we were moving. He said the story is all up and down the coast already. I laughed and I told him what I was doing. He shook his head and said “when will the people of New Guinea learn to speak the truth?” After the last conference, I said I’m glad we’re not living at Malalo and sure enough we were moved here to Malalo. Maybe this year after assuring him that we are staying we will get moved. Things have a way of working out that way.

Malalo Office. Alvin Erickson and Gideon Apeng who was from Buakap. He was a main teacher at Malalo. He was also the secretary of the Malalo Circuit. Located at the Malalo station. He took care of all the minutes, sent out all the notices, sent in necessary school reports and took care of the local branch bank opened at Malalo several years from this letter.

I have been so lucky during all of the company this past month, that we have had very few emergencies. Only a baby that wasn’t breathing again when its mother brought it up to the station. I suction the mucus all out and it was all right. The mother surely was aghast when I stuck the tube down. “ Oh Missy no no “. I told her I had to do it or her child would die. I’m really getting tough, and I don’t like it, but we’ve learned that one hast to face facts. Where were used to tact and being nice to people we are discovering that we have to be blatantly hard. We’ve tried being nice, and everyone takes us for an easy mark, all who can get the most out of us. We found that we just have to lay everything on the line and that’s what has been so hard for us to adjust to in New Guinea. This is your work now you need to do it or else you go without. These are mine and if you take it, there are consequences. An example sick people get free rides on all the mission boats, so when I send a sick one they are always trying to get me to let half a dozen relatives go free also. I guess these people aren’t any worse than other people but they just don’t bother to hide their true desires with tact and deceit. We get weary of their ungratefulness. If we give them some clothes and it doesn’t fit it’s up to me to make it fit. Bob Jamison butchered a cow and gave a treat to all his teachers. They were angry because he didn’t give them salt as well. But, that is the way we are often to God. Thinking we deserve what we have, but we need to remind ourselves to be grateful to God for blessing us so abundantly.

Al had left with the Scherle’s hoping to get a ride up to Mumeng and then walk in from there to open the new airstrip. (near the village of Wagua.) Fred had been having so much trouble with his back that I persuaded him to go to the hospital to have it looked at. One thing and another and Al’s trip didn’t materialize. The third time I’d had him all packed and it didn’t materialize.

Elsie5 left on Thursday and Vince, Barb and Ted came on Saturday so we had a few days to catch our breath, get the washing and ironing done etc. Phyllis came home too. The girl with Ted didn’t come. It was good to see them again. They just fit in so well. Vince help me in the kitchen, he even made some peanut butter. We had plenty of potatoes on hand and people came bringing a lot of vegetables for me to buy. We had gotten a freezer full of meat so food was no problem. I’d ordered eight loaves of bread and we ate them all up before they spoiled. I did very little baking as my oven still wasn’t in good shape. The first Friday they were here, the mail had come and we got some more packages. We had wrapping paper all over the room and had just sat down to eat some steaks and salad which was a real American meal, when here an Australian Veterinarian, appeared on our back step. He’d come on the Victor, without anyone knowing he was coming so we didn’t send a light down to him or anything. He walked up the hill in the dark. I dashed around and tidied up the place while he took a shower, (that is the first thing anyway does when they arrive at the top of the hill). And then I threw another steak on the fire. We had quite a time trying to fit him in and already full house and table. It was lucky that I had an extra army cot that I sat up in the men’s room and he was satisfied with that. He had come to inspect the cows for tuberculosis and I didn’t know what else. He left the next day.

Bucket Shower

We had bucket showers in the bathroom unlike this photo which is outside. The bucket was let down by the pulley and filled with water and pulled back up. You opened the shower head at the bottom of the bucket. If you wanted a warm shower, water had to be heated on the stove and poured in the bucket.

On Sunday, two people walked over from Bula. Korinne6 had been expecting six people to stay for a week. She had baked and cleaned the house from the end one end to the other. Only one came for the weekend. She was so disappointed so they walked over here on Sunday, and her guest decided to stay here and go back to Lae when the Victor would be going in on Tuesday. So I set up the army cot again.

On Tuesday, we had a baby come in with a cough, once again it was just barely alive. Its throat was filled with mucus. I suctioned and suction this thick mucus and once I had its throat clear it was able to breathe again and its color improved. There was a boat going to Lae so I sent them in for more thorough examination and antibiotics.

Malalo church and Salamaua in background 2020 FB ELCPNG Malalo circuit

The following night a boat was sighted way off the point of Salamaua, apparently broken down. So Al sent the Victor out after it. It was about 9 o’clock at night. Al kept flashing a light from shore so the boat would flashback, that way Metegemeng could find his way out to the boat. After several hours of every once in awhile of flashing to it, we didn’t get any response. The Victor didn’t come back and didn’t come back. We couldn’t figure out what had happened. We finally went to bed as there was nothing we could do. They took some water and food out to the small fishing boat. In the morning the Victor came from Salamaua.  They had had difficulties so only went to Salamaua and then towed in when it was light. They had to take it to Lae the next day. Our houseguests all stayed for two weeks then everybody, except Barb and I, went to the conference. It surely was quiet. Barb stayed another week then went back to Aga. They seem to be real happy in New Guinea. Vince says he plans to spend the rest of his life out here. They got moved to a real outpost after this last conference.  The only access is by walking. There is an airstrip way away. They are so used to having many neighbors at Aga, but they are looking forward to the move and to being on their own. It’s funny. We complain because we did not have longer to find out how to run things with somebody else around and they complain because they had to be under somebody too long. Guess you can’t win.  (The Fricki’s got moved to Ponapa station in which the Erickson’s will visit later)

Ted is happy with his decision to go home. He will have to pay for his own transport, as his six years aren’t up. We have to pay our transportation in proportion to the number of years we’ve stayed. Al says we can’t afford to go back for a while. The kids have enjoyed having company around. Paula could say everyone’s names.

We love you all, we have some slides finished but don’t know when we will get them mailed. We will probably send them to Al’s folks first this time. Sunday school money order arrived so will write a thank you note to them soon.

Al and Ina and kids

Footnotes:
1Jamieson, Reverend Robert and Marjorie. Evangelism and Literature. 1961-1977.

2 Fricke, Reverend Vince and Barb. Evangelism 1961-1974. Ponapa station

 Hilpert, Reverend  Theodore and Sharyn. Evangelism/ Seminary 1961-1962 and 1978-1989

These missionaries came on the same ship with the Erickson’s in September of 1961. They helped look for Paula in the Fijian market when she wandered off.

3 At KLS in Wau

4 Gideon who was a New Guinean, was on staff for the school at Malalo and helped Alvin Erickson teach and run the school.

 5Not sure who Elsie is. Perhaps Else Schardt

 6 Korinne Okland Madsen. Teacher/Education. Bula Girls school, Malalo elementary school and Kaiapit
1962-?

 The following note was among the letters but not addressed to anyone with a date of February 24th, 1963 a hand written note says are Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rossbach. So I think this was a copy of a letter sent on to them as new sponsors of the Erickson’s mission work.

If you were to visit us for just a few moments, the first thing that would startle you, would be the surroundings. It’s hard to imagine a missionary living in such a beautiful spot. We sit right on top of a 500 foot hill with a huge pacific rolling in right below us. Only about 4 miles to the south is the famous Salamaua peninsula jutting out into the sea. There was a great deal of fighting in this area during the second world war. Directly below us is a typical coastal village (Buakup) with its many coconut palms and thatched roofs. Behind the start the mountains, the first range that crosses behind us is 3500 feet tall and behind that one another mountain range can get to about 8000 feet tall. There is no level ground to be seen, only the dense green of mountains and valleys and the deep blue of the ocean. This is the area we serve, about 60 miles stretch along the coast and three separate mountain areas, and all about 50 villages and 12,000 people.

The next thing you would notice would be the people. They are not big by our standards although the coastal people are larger and better built than the mountain people. All are brown skinned and have kinky hair.

But very concisely we see our work here as helping this new Christian church find its way in the great changes taking place here. To teach and preach Christ that he truly may be praised and loved and to turnover this ministry to the native people within the next years. This is what we are aiming for. Rejoice with us in the message we have to bring as we rejoice with you that we together can share in this work.

 Alvin Erickson

 Footnote:

Erickson, Alvin and Ina. Evangelism/ Seminary professor. 1961-1974. Gurokor, Malalo and Logaweng in Finnschafen.