we heard of the Cuban crisis….
1962 October 31 to Estelle
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 family,
It surely was good to hear from you mom. I’m glad the package arrived in good shape. The mask is for dad, the crocodiles are for Martin and Bruce. Paula and Tom have had such bad colds that they lost all the weight they had gained. They just refuse to eat. Tommy is cutting his incisors now and so still isn’t feeling very good. He is so crabby I can’t be out of sight or he hollers even worse than Paula.
Al’s birthday is November 15, I’ve been trying to teach Paula to say happy birthday daddy. She says happy to you, happy to you. I was trying to teach her to say Dear Jesus, take care of me tonight -amen. And Dear Jesus, thank you for my food -amen. At night she incorporates both prayers- Dear Jesus, care of me, g-nite, food- ameng.
Our boat is back and is in running order with a fresh coat of paint and everything. So now we have a means of escape, if the Indonesians come. We have been keeping our ears glued to the radio ever since we heard of the Cuban crisis. Wondering if you had been all blown up. I think in the event of war and everyone is separated we should all try to make Carlos our meeting place.
We went down to Sawat, our sawmill yesterday. It is such a lovely boat ride. We saw school after school of fish including tuna that were jumping. Al really wants to develop fishing in this area. Anyone who would like to come tribute to a fishnets can. They are over $100. So I am sure it will be awhile before we can get it. Then we would have to smoke them to preserve them for transport.
Tonight we got word that one of our native teachers is real sick. As a matter of fact, I rather think he might have died by now. They tell me he had been lying on the beach for three days and nights before anyone found him with no food or water. When the pastor found him last night his legs were swollen up with edema. He, the pastor, has been walking all day to get help.
Al took the Victor about 3 to 4 hours ride, 2 hours walk, and 2 more hours back then over 3 hours to Lae to see if he could help him. He came to me three weeks ago for medicine. I gave him some tri-sulfur for chest ?? And wanted him to come back the next day. But I haven’t heard from him. His village, it was so much further away than I thought. His wife was the girl that had walked all the way from the mountain two days in hard labor. His wife was at a village now down the coast and he was trying to take some medicine I had given her to her. I guess he must have gotten malaria also. I feel badly that I didn’t insist that he stay here but I really thought he was going to bring his wife back to see me as she was having pain in her abdomen two weeks after delivery. That sounded like an infection.
We love you and pray often for you we need your prayers. We have a tape finished but it will probably be a week before someone gets it to lay to mail it.
Love Ina
1962 October 25 to the Erickson’s
Letter written by Alvin Erickson from the Malalo Mission station to Mr and Mrs A.S. Erickson, Box 1327, Glendive, MT USA
Dear mom and dad, Helen, Chuck Greg and Vicki,
Today has been quite a day for us here as I’m sure it has been for you. We heard last night of the blockade of Cuba and have waited anxiously for word. Now it looks like a meeting will take place first. For a while it seemed like things might cave in pretty fast. It seems a great pity that perhaps have the world might have to die to try to detour the great threat of communism but if that is the issue, we are prepared to sell fight. All is quiet and well here. We have our Victor back and the people just finished their first elections. Each village elected one man.
I have been reading the rise and fall of the third Reich about Hitler. Have you read it? I think you, dad, would be very interested in this book. Our hearts have been very heavy for our nation and our people. However, we hope to that we will all stand firm against the Russian lies. We think of how good our God has been to us, to give us such humble and wonderful families. We think of all you have endured for us and how you have honored us with your continuing respect and love.
We think of the good times we’ve enjoyed together and how we love to watch Greg and Vicki grow up. And so it is we write to thank you for all your willingness to stick with us. We assure you we have not forgotten our homeland or our people. And yet it is in the midst of lives of horrors and sorrows, that God has revealed his power over decay and death and sadness. That’s why our attention not be withdrawn from him who overcame the mighty arsenal that would really destroy us. With his great help given to us, we continue to live not for the moment but perhaps to help the moment. May God turn our rusty hearts to see his great glory even in such times.
Our sincerest love to you all.
Yours Al, Ina and Paula and Tom
1962 November 7 to Estelle
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,
Happy Thanksgiving ! Will you be having company? Or going someplace. I think we will probably be by ourselves since I haven’t invited anyone at least not specifically for Thanksgiving.
Bob and Naomi Bagley got changed before they got to the seminary they were going to and wound up in the mountains, for which I’m glad. They seem to like it they’re so far. It really is hard to say as they are still settling in.
One day after I washed Paula’s face and hands combed her hair and put on a clean dress she popped out of the bathroom, saying “look out Men “.
One night last week, Tommy was restless and I was up with him almost all night. He had a tooth coming in and I thought that’s probably was it. Then in the morning I noticed his big toe was all swollen on the entire top of toe and down below the nail was filled with pus. I couldn’t really see where he’d injured it. I lanced it and he didn’t seem to mind and got gobs and gobs of pus out of his nail bed. His nail is all loose so will come off. The one he dropped the tin of lard and it almost all grown back out. I have tried and tried to keep a bandage on his toe, but he always manages to get it off.
I’ve been doing my spring house cleaning – washing curtains, walls, ceilings, and scrubbing, and waxing the wood floors and Varnishing a little. Al had made me a lovely coffee table. Now I have to redo the other furniture. It is square with block, iron legs that you screw on. It’s my Christmas present.
I think we will all be going up to the Mission Hospital and have physicals and our teeth checked and chest x-rays. School will be out now for two months starting the last of November. The kids are going to have a party. So Al wants me to make a dessert item for 80 kids.
Tommy comes out with a piece of toilet paper the other day, and started rubbing it on Phyllis‘s dress. In almost the appropriate place – not too embarrassing.
Paula came bringing her full potty to show a government officer. Paula is such a happy little girl and quite independent. She is always singing, and today she and Tommy were playing under the school and she was singing at the top of her voice - Kalisi, Kalisi, Waga – to the amusement of the class.
We love you all Ina.
