“The only way of getting to Malalo is by boat so we land lovers will have to take it to the sea.”
Malalo’s main boat for transporting people along the coast but especially into town which was Lae was the Victor on the left. In the middle is the Kuli more of a tugboat for the sawmill that the Malalo congregation owns. Boat off to the right in the distance might be a tour boat.
The red balloon for Malalo is in the wrong place here. I wish I could move it. It should be placed just inland from Buakup -south of Busam or in the letters it is Busameng. But at least this gives you an interactive map.
1962, February 13 from Gurakor to Rasmussen
To Gertrude and Lawrence Rasmussen, 112 Jefferson, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA
Dear Gertrude and Lawrence,
Thank you for your fine letter. Congratulations on another grandson. How nice and they will make such good playmate. Paul and Tommy enjoy each other so much even now. I am sure they grow up and they will enjoy each other even more. We just received word that we are to be moved to the coast, so our climate will be much warmer than we have here at Gorakur. It’s a beautiful location on a hill about 500 feet overlooking the beautiful blue Pacific, with a tropical South Sea island village(Buakap) along the coast at each side at the foot of our hill with their grass houses and coconut palms. So picturesque. We had visited this place about 6 weeks ago when Al went on a missionary trip with the missionary from that station. (Fred Scherle). Little did we know we’d be living there.
We went swimming as there is a lovely sandy beach and lovely coral reefs for us to explore. With goggles for able to see so many beautiful fish. Brilliant blue and stripped very wide flat fish and hundreds of different kinds. The only way of getting to Malalo is by boat so we land lovers will have to take it to the sea. Al’s brother-in-law will get a bang out of that as when we were in California, he went sea fishing with him and Al got sea sick. Neither of us know anything about boats so we will have a lot to learn. A flannel night down would have been wonderful if we stayed here in Gurakor, but in Malalo things are pretty warm.
If you could have some of the ladies collect slides of most anything about the USA. We would love to have them. The boys and girls have never seen trains, barns, big stores, lakes, fields, buses, big church buildings, snow, bridges, memorials or anything along that line. We would like to show them that there is a world outside of New Guinea and teach them to not only be part of Papua New Guinea but be part of the world.
The white man’s ears are so limited and we need native leadership so badly. Few have much initiative. The purpose for living has been tribal wars in cannibalism and now all that has been taken away from them and nothing is in its place. Survival has little challenge as things grow with little work, only minimum clothes and easily put up grass houses which serves their only needs. They have no historical figures to mold their behavior after as we have our great men and women like George Washington, Thomas Edison, Clara Barton and many others. Christianity is slowing up in it’s gains as the ‘first love’, as Paul puts it wears off. So work is more difficult. So many phases of their lives are changing as they try to change in a few years what it took our people centuries to do. They need the stabilizing word of God.
All people do they need to know the love of God that which we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We ask that the women of the church pray for the educational system, for Christian leaders, for some initiative on the part of our people and that Holy Spirit would be ever present period.
Our personal needs are very limited, but we do find music hard to come by. Records are so nice especially when Al is gone and everything is so silent.
May God continue to bless you and thank you so much for your letters, thoughtfulness and prayers.
Love Al in Ina and the kids
Possibly at Buakap the village at the base of the Malalo hill. Photo by the Ericksons. Many people arriving in this photo for the dedication of the church Dec 29, 1963
The following photos from the internet are much more recent.
View of Buakap from the over the Malalo mission station, View of Church at Malalo circa 2018. Photo from https://www.picuki.com/tag/Buakap. by a drone? The church was not completed when the Erickson’s arrived. Dedicated on Dec 29, 1962
Buakap village as it looks today. The yellow boats did not exist in the 1960’s. Photo from https://www.picuki.com/tag/Buakap.
Buakap village as it looks today. The yellow boats did not exist in the 1960’s. Photo from https://www.picuki.com/tag/Buakap.
Al is gone for the weekend, this is the first time I’ve really felt lonesome.
1962 February 23 to Willa
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Gurakor Mission station to Martin and Willa Tonn, 10316 Grand Ave, Minneapolis 20, Minnesota, USA
Dear Willa, Martin and family,
Well, Al is gone for the weekend, this is the first time I’ve really felt lonesome. I am now listening to the student prince. I hope you heard it before they sent it. It is so beautiful. We’re enjoying the candy and fruit cake so much. Al carefully dispenses one piece a day or tells me my allotment while he is gone.
At last Tom is sitting up and crawling. We have eight cement steps going down from the veranda. The first day he started crawling I left him in our bedroom playing on the floor and went out to the kitchen. It sounded like Tommy’s voice was coming from outside so I decided to investigate. Here he was out on the front step looking around. I about had a heart attack when I looked down all of those stairs. So I brought him into the living room and he tipped over the wastebasket then crawled under the kitchen stove and was into the cupboard a little later. So I guess his passive days of just looking around are over.
The next day I had him playing on the veranda with the front door closed. Then I heard Paula shrieking ‘Tommy’ ‘ Tommy’. Then I heard him whimper. Paula had left the door open and here was Tommy gone headfirst down the steps. He got caught on the third step. Thank God. So now we have a trunk in front of the door when he plays out there. I just finished collecting Al’s class’s English papers. I’m so pleased with the progress they have made. At first probably nobody got perfect papers more like 50 to 60% and now about half the class were in the 90th percentile. Mumeng students have always been known in the higher schools as anything but bright. But it looks like at last we have some that are capable of doing some thing. Fred said that he was going to take the best ones with him to Mumeng and our best teacher and really get some teachers and preachers for the Mumeng area. Man do they need them.
We’ve been enjoying such a good sweet corn out of our garden. My beans I had only one crop. I haven’t replanted as we will be moving, but radishes and peas lasted pretty good. And I surely wish you could see my flower garden now. It is really in full bloom now. Several walkways are lined with red lilies (similar to Easter lilies), zinnias and gladiolas but not any orchids are blooming though. We are kind of in rainy season. I have to be really choosy of my wash day or things don’t get dry. I am surely thankful for the ringer on the washing machine. Before that it took two days during the rainy season.
Al is really coming on with his job him. He can understand some and talk alot. I haven’t been applying myself as I should. I can think of so many things that need to be done besides Jabem.
I’m scared to go to Malalo because of all the medical work that will be involved. I feel so stupid. One doesn’t just carry out orders which is bad enough, but give orders. I don’t know much about tropical illnesses and I guess I’m about to learn and hope too many don’t die in the process.
I think Al is going to enjoy Malalo a lot. He will do more counseling and not so much running around since the station is in the middle of the circuits so people can come to him. We have mighty big shoes to fill. Everyone loves the Scherle’s so much. We pray that God will be able to use us. Mumeng really needs Fred he’s got so much energy. They were up last week to look over the situation. He has about 50 changes to make. The house that they will be living in needs to be remodeled. I guess I’m glad we aren’t going to live there. It’s been empty so long that a lot of repairs are necessary.
We just got our first copy of the readers digest. I will enjoy them. I learned one thing, not to read the jokes until Al gets a chance to read them to me or I have to pretend I haven’t read them. Thank you so much for your precious letters prayers and gifts.
Love Al, Ina, Paula and Tom.
Photo taken in early 1962 of Tom at Gurakor