Between Absence and Assurance
Possibly a tourist boat visiting Busemeng village area
JULY 1964
Malalo Mission Station & the Buang Mountains
Malalo in Midyear: Stillness That Is Never Still
July settles over Malalo with a kind of quiet that is never truly quiet. The rains ease, the air moves a little more freely, and the sea looks steady from the hill above Buakup. Boats still arrive when they can. Paths still carry daily traffic. People still come with news, need, food, questions, and expectation.
Malalo never stops.
July only gives the illusion that it might.
Writing as Conversation: Ina at the Table
Ina writes because she must.
With Alvin away again—this time for weeks in the Buang mountains—her daily conversation shrinks to children and house girls. Phyllis is in school from daylight to dark. There is no television, no shopping trips, no clubs, no meetings. Life is full, but it is also isolated.
So Ina writes like she is sitting at a kitchen table back home, coffee in hand, talking rather than reporting. She explains that her stories only sound dramatic because she gathers them into one letter. Most days, she insists, are normal.
And yet one night, just after Alvin leaves again, she hears someone speaking outside and the voice sounds exactly like Claude. In an instant, the distance collapses. Homesickness arrives sharp and unexpected. She is startled not only by the feeling, but by how long it has been since she felt it.
Illness, Fear, and the Presence of God
Alvin’s recent illness still lingers in Ina’s mind.
She admits she was concerned—because out here, danger is not theoretical. When Alvin is gone, she cannot help thinking: this might be the last time I see him.
But Ina doesn’t turn away from the thought. She presses into it, using it to remind herself of something modern life makes easy to forget: death is inevitable, no matter how many doctors and comforts exist. And the real crisis is not death itself, but living without the awareness of God.
What troubles her most is spiritual dullness—the ease with which people fear for bodies while neglecting souls. She includes herself in this. Her letter becomes a quiet, serious meditation: the kingdom of God begins now, in daily life, and death is not an interruption of faith but a continuation of it.
Gratitude for Family: “What More Can One Ask?”
In the middle of her sobering thoughts, Ina pauses and names something deeply personal and luminous:
She is grateful—almost overwhelmed—by the gift of having been raised by loving parents and surrounded by a stable family. She writes that both she and Alvin were blessed in ways many children are not: food, shelter, education, faith, and the kind of home that formed them without breaking them.
It is not said as sentimentality.
It is said as humility.
Ina recognizes this kind of foundation as a rare privilege—and she acknowledges plainly that she did nothing to earn it.
Children Filling the House
Inside the Erickson house, life is noisy, affectionate, and full.
Kristi now has four teeth and drinks milk with gusto. She is sleeping more lately, growing steadily, and tugging constantly at hands and skirts, determined to walk.
Paula thinks it should be Christmas already. She is learning colors, numbers, and letters. She practices writing her name and is intrigued by the new portable organ.
Tommy is pure imagination. He wonders if, when he becomes a girl, he can wear Paula’s ruffled pants. Or if, when he becomes little again, he can ride in Kristi’s walker. He is frustrated that he is not big enough to operate the radio or phonograph.
Ina calls it a hard life—dryly and affectionately.
The children fill every empty space.
Possibly from the Buangs on left and Hotec on right
Alvin in the Mountains: A Rare Window Into His Work
This month contains something unusual: Alvin’s own voice, writing from the Buang mountain villages.
He writes with humor and warmth—“feeling full of mischief”—and admits he would love nothing more than to sit down and “beat the pants off Martin” in a good game of Whist.
But behind the jokes is a clear picture of his work:
He has been in the mountains nearly two weeks, holding meetings, teaching an elders’ course, and spending long nights around fires in pastors’ houses, talking until midnight. He describes the cold, his sleeping bag, and the practical arrangements that make the trip possible—like a boy cooking for him.
It is leadership by presence: slow, relational, steady.
The Sawmill: Encouragement After Months of Burden
Alvin also gives a rare update on the sawmill—something he says has felt like a weight around his neck for months.
Now, finally, there is progress:
The crew has kept the machinery running, logs have been cut, and the output is significant—about $4,000 worth of timber. Timber surveys look promising. There is even a possibility of another sawmill coming.
The tone here is important: Alvin sounds relieved. Encouraged. Not triumphant—just grateful that responsibility is beginning to turn into sustainability.
Gifts, Food, and Custom: A Pastor Brings Pig
In the mountains, Alvin experiences one of the most meaningful social customs in New Guinea: gift-giving tied to leadership and thanksgiving.
A pastor brings him part of a pig, given in thanks for newly selected elders.
Alvin notes it as one of the wonderful customs of New Guinea—one that carries weight, relationship, and honor. And he admits, cheerfully, that his stomach will not suffer from it.
The Next Push: Hotec Mountain People
Alvin’s next major project is inland and difficult:
The isolated Hote mountain people want to relocate and build a school, but they need encouragement, organization, and a strong push. Alvin anticipates helping them with:
a new path
a new school
donkeys
sustained teaching for elders
and practical development that supports long-term stability
This is the kind of work that is invisible in headlines but decisive in a generation.
The Children as a Home Base
Even from the mountains, Alvin returns to the children.
He writes that Paula and Tommy are “at home anywhere” as long as they have each other. Kristi, he says, is the most relaxed and happy of all their children. Together, the three of them fill up every empty space in their lives.
It’s a simple line, but it reveals something tender: Alvin’s work is outward-facing, but his emotional center is still the family at Malalo.
Politics at the Edge: The Indonesian Situation
Even in these personal letters, global tension creeps in.
Alvin notes that the Indonesian situation is “getting pretty hot,” and that it makes the future feel uncertain. The world beyond New Guinea presses closer, even into mountain villages.
The sense is not panic—but awareness. The work is happening in a fragile time.
July’s Shape
July is not a month of crisis.
It is a month of clarity.
Ina writes with a deeper seriousness than usual—about death, faith, and what it means to live awake to eternity. She also writes with warmth and humor about the children, and with gratitude for the family that formed her.
Alvin’s letters give a rare glimpse of his work in the mountains: elders’ training, long conversations by firelight, the slow building of leadership, and the fragile momentum of development.
Malalo remains steady—not because it is easy, but because it is held.
Sources
July 1964 letters by Ina and Alvin Erickson from Malalo Mission Station and the Buang mountain villages
Typical scenes all around the Malalo station house. 1st photo is between the house and the office and school. 2nd photo along the path toward staff housing toward north and 3rd photo is on the front lawn
The following are the actual letters for July1964:
I think this is a very good summery letter that Ina has written to possibly a sponsor. Someone she does not normally write to. Therefore it s good summery of the state of the work going on in the middle of 1964:
1964 July 16
Dear Mrs. Kerbs,
We enjoy very much hearing from our home people and know that they are interested in us and our work.
Our family is much like yours except an age, Paula are four-year-old is becoming interested in writing her name, and learning to play the new portable, organ that we just bought. Tommy is a roly-poly teddy bear of a three-year-old, that enjoys teasing his sisters, and telling very tall tales. Kristi is 10 month old is trying very hard to walk. Al is from Glendive, Montana and I am from Carlos, Minnesota, which is near Alexandria, which is 150 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Al attended Concordia College in Morehead, then graduated from Montana State University, and completed his theology at Luther seminary in Saint Paul. I graduated from Fairview Hospital of nursing in Minneapolis. We will be completing our third year on the field.
Our station, as the missionary residence, as it is called is on the coast about 4 miles from the famous Salamaua and about 20 miles across the sea from Lae which is easy to find on most maps. Our area covers about 19,000 people which are four distinctive groups and 13 different languages. The church has imposed one on a large section of people so they can have a common worship service, and Bibles printed in their language. We also have a book of stories of the Old Testament, which the girls and boys practically memorize. Al has five pastors working under and with him. We have a school here at Malalo. The girls and boys live on the station as it is much too far for them to walk back-and-forth to their villages. They have gardens here, so in the afternoon, instead of having class, they must work in their gardens.
We have a dispensary on the station that a trained New Guinean manages. I help out if he should have some problems or questions. We have just recently built a permanent building. Previously, we were operating in a bush building. The floor got so bad that we kept falling through. We have one examining bed and that is all. I hope someday to get an extra building for the patients that must stay overnight to lodge, now it is mostly for outpatient. We hope to, to do more in maternity. I’m hoping to get a nurse that can help with it from one of the mission schools soon.
Al tries to visit all of his villages at least twice a year, there are about 90 villages. The mountain areas are accessible only by walking. The one area has opened up an airstrip, so it is possible to go some of the way by air. The coastal villages could be reached by boat.
There is such an uproar in New Guinea just now, with a changing social order, all of their leadership and customs are losing values, and they just haven’t decided and found where to put their new values. It is a vital time for the church, if the gospel doesn’t make it now, I’m afraid in a few years the right time will have passed. We pray that God will open our hearts, and there that the Holy Spirit might work in the hearts and minds of our people.
1964 July 2 from the Buangs and Malalo from Alvin
Dear Art
Just a few questions as usual. Most of them sent around Sawat since that is the pretty happy topic right now. As you know, Johno was just down and seem to go away quite impressed both with the way things are going and the potential. He liked the Laukano site and the timber stands we showed him. I hope you get a chance to talk with him.
Anyway, we’re trying to get Sawet on overtime now because we’ve got about 150 logs sitting on the beach and another 300 out in the bush. All of this should last until Christmas. I’m away from my Simbang schedule but I think we could fill the Simbang but again come the end of July. Could you help us out again?
Johno suggest we build a new mill on the new site. We are ready to start and the first project is a wharf. It will be 12 feet wide with a concrete shelf on the shore, three drums out halfway and 36 inch pipes going down at the end. We are wondering if you would be able to make up the three pipe casings for us and also three 3 or 4 inch pipes, which we could pound down inside the drums and then fill with concrete. All of these would have to have pointed ends. Would you have any ideas as to how to drive these down. Also, we need to know how deep it would have to be for the Simbang to tie up. Are there any portable welders around?
Later on, there will be quite a bit of welding to do in setting up the sawmill itself. I’m wondering if there is a tiny chance we might obtain your services. Also, we want to set up a docking saw. Johno knows how he wants it fixed and he mentioned you in connection with welding one part. All which shows we haven’t forgotten you. Some of the iron at Malalo, Johno would like to use for the dock…. (No next page)
Left photo is view of the Sawat mission area or Laukanu Village, Salamaua, Morobe. The saw mill Alvin is writing about is south or beyond the peninsula jutting out in the middle of the photo. The photo on the right is Laugui Village, Salamaua, in the Huon Gulf of Morobe just north of Laukanu where Alvin is mentioning possibly building new Saw mill. In front of the mountain's is the Francisco River.
1964 July 2
Dear Mrs. Olsen and the Priscilla Circle Copy
You’re very thoughtful box arrives sometime ago. Al had to be gone over Tommy’s birthday so we decided to celebrate before he left. So I baked Tommy a marble cake with three candles. He was so excited about his birthday, and absolutely delighted with his tractor that it was has hardly had an idle minute since it’s unveiling. I certainly like my dress. It fits well and is such a nice cool pattern for a warm climate and the colors are so pretty. Thank you all very much.
Al is making his first trip into the Buang area since they have completed their airstrip. So he could fly in, instead of taking two days to walk in. It really makes it nice to buzz in and out. The people have been able to ship coffee out rather than carry everything on their backs, and to get supplies in now that they have money from their coffee. We’re really pleased for them.
I get so much enjoyment out of listening to the children play. Yesterday I heard Paula telling Tommy that there was a line and a tiger over on a mountain that we can see from here.(there aren’t any in these jungles.) I was telling this to Phyllis at the supper table, and Paula explained that Tommy said there weren’t lions and tigers, but Billy goats, and that the schoolboys would shoot them so we could eat them.
I just finished a very stimulating book, God is too small, by JP Phillip. I do hope some of you will avail yourselves of it and even use it for a circle discussion. I don’t know if you have book reviews in your circles.
Our little Kristi is trying so hard to walk now. Last night she wouldn’t let anyone rest, but kept tugging at my hand, or the hands of the house girls to help her walk. Now I think all she needs is a bit of confidence. One of our young teachers just finished carving a hymn board for the new church . He does such nice work. He carved flowers all around it. It is really quite difficult to do. He is so accurate with it too…..
July 5 1964
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Malalo Mission station to Durward and Estelle Titus Box 224 Route1, Carlos MN USA
Dear mom and dad, Willa and Martin,
Thanks, mom, for your faithful letters, and for the Echo, it is coming again. I don’t really write so many letters, and while you people have to do all of your own work, I have two girls to help me, and at least I do have girls that do just that. The events I tell you about don’t usually all happen at once, we do really lead quite normal, lives most of the time. Then we don’t have television to take up any time and not very often. Do I have any club meetings, PTA or much shopping to do as I order everything by mail – whether I get it or not is another matter. I’d ordered some meat and cans to have on hand at the time of the church dedication as I had no idea how many might come or how long they might stay. It didn’t arrive for that so I told them to cancel the order, then last week here it came only nine months after I first ordered it. Al is gone and busy most of the time and Phyllis is in school from daylight to dark so I have mostly the kids to talk to. So I have to express myself and letters or I will forget English altogether. Often I sit down with a cup of coffee like I was going to talk with someone and chat by letter.
The night after Al had gone this time, I heard someone talk, and it sounded just like Claude, (Estelle’s brother or Ina’s aunt -almost father figure) it really made me lonesome for home. I hadn’t really thought much about it for such a long time. It is funny how little things strike like that.
I will admit that I was a bit concerned about Al during his illness, but we do always have the very best physician with us all of the time. Living in America, with all the possible creature, comforts, doctors, insurance, drugs, we lose the reality that we will die someday no matter what anyone does, and when we do, we will have to face God like it or not. I thank God for every crisis that makes us realize this and earnestly pray that we never will live out life without our need for God. Nothing could be more tragic. When I think how concerned I get for the lives of people, and how little concerned I get for people souls, it makes me shutter, the reason for this is, I know that I don’t believe in the reality of the importance of souls, I just don’t stop to try and feel how important that is. We need to consider very carefully the one who has power to cast into hell after the body is killed rather than they that can only kill the body be it man or disease. Oh that God would cut to our hearts that we might see that His kingdom does begin on earth in our daily lives, and that death is only a continuation of this into another place.
I have been thinking about both, Mamie and Millie1, and after their close walk with God what it was, that was so fearful in death. Death is hard to bear, but if we ask God, he will bear us up through it. I guess I think about this a lot because whenever Al goes away, I just might be the last time I see him.
But really, that is the way it is in everyone’s life only we don’t think about it so much. To think of the price Christ paid for us, he must love us and want us to join him in His kingdom, and will reach out to us. If we want him to, we must face reality, we must be responsible for our action.
How wonderful God has been to give me such a wonderful husband and such loving children, to have been reared by loving parents, is a real privilege that not many children have, and both Al and I were so blessed not to mention the freedom from want of food, clothes, shelter, education, Christianity. What more can one ask. I certainly don’t deserve and surely would have no kick coming if it were all removed. Then to have many wonderful relatives and friends beside, we truly are blessed. I do hope that you get a chance to see Rose. Dorothy said that she had to have an abscess on her liver drained. If she does well. It will take a long time. It is good that dad at last has his little boy that he can romp and play with. He surely has had a long wait. I am glad that Fritz is hail and hardy again.
I saw in the Time magazine, where a boy from Stevens Point, Rick Reichhardt2, one of the fellows that Al had in his Sunday school class -one of nine kids in his family, got a real break with a major league baseball league. Even better than Doug. He was a nice kid. I hope this doesn’t ruin him. If it doesn’t I’m glad the break came for him. His father was so proud of him. He excelled in all the sports. He took us to a basketball game once. His father is an orthopedic surgeon. He sent me one of his books on how to treat different illnesses. Rick will play with the Angels. I believe and gets $100,000 bonus just for signing up. Not too hard to take.
Tommy is wondering if when he gets to be a girl, if he can wear Paula‘s ruffled pants or when he gets little, if he can ride in Kristin’s walker. He leads such a tough life. He isn’t big enough to play the photograph or radio. Kristi has four teeth now, two upper and two lowers. She has been sleeping so much lately. she loves milk and down so much of it. Paula thinks it’s time for Christmas now as she’s already had her birthday. She’s pretty good with colors and numbers and some of the ABCs. Tommy just can’t keep color straight at all. But counts pretty good and Kristi really loves patty-cake and peek-a-boo and she claps her hands and squeals until someone will play with her.
Al is so much better.
We love you, Al, Ina and the kids.
Footnote:
1 Perhaps Mamie Seager Jackson, Estelle’s aunt. Not sure who Millie is.
1964 July copy reply to Trinity Lutheran
Dear Mr. Walther, teachers, boys, and girls
What a pleasant surprise to get a letter from Trinity Sunday school and a gift from the students. I’m so pleased to see the names of all the children. You all must’ve grown a lot since Pastor, Al and I were in Stevens Point, as you all are in much bigger classes than you were before. There are a few names that I didn’t recognize.
It just happens that we do have a special project in mine just now and Al is trying to round up enough money to go ahead with it. We have a group of mountain people that do have a lot of potential for developing, but they need a little boost to get it going. They are our Buang people. In many ways, they are the most primitive of our people. They still love their sing things where they dance and play their drums for days. They paint their bodies, and wear flowers in their hair when they are dancing. After a sing-sing, everyone is tired for many days and their gardens getting neglected, so we aren’t very much in favor of sing-sings at least not very often. You spend weeks practicing, if the gardens don’t produce, they don’t have any food.
They work so hard to make an airstrip, and they have been growing some coffee to ship out on the airplane that comes in one day a week, but they don’t usually have enough to fill up a plane load.
Vegetables grow so well in their climate. There are so few of their people that have received an education. Their village schools aren’t up to standard enough to compete with students from other areas. What would like to do is have many small villages get together and build a good school in the center, then get several good teachers for their school and have the students live right at the school to see if they couldn’t turn out more students that can go onto higher schools. Then they can come back and help their people develop. The government has not built schools in their area and mission funds haven’t been really available so they just haven’t had much of a chance.
They have many good trees that could be used for building the schools. We would like to buy them a table saw and find a used tractor that has an extra wheel on it to run the saw off from and then they could also use the tractor for making gardens. Soon there will be a large army camping. They will need a lot of vegetables, so if you could help them get their vegetable gardens growing, they could build a good business. We have given them some seeds, but they need some direction. Perhaps when Pastor Al is free from the sawmill (we hope to have a miller to take it over again) then he will spend a lot more time in the mountains, helping these people with our gardens. He can preach the gospel as he works with the people….
We hope to encourage fishing as there is almost no industry in our area at all. It is really a hand to existence. Presently we are at the congregational sawmill, and enterprise that has some difficulty getting off the ground. Now, however, the Australian saw Miller left and we have had no one to take his place so Al has added this to his responsibilities.
1964 from Al eating at the house
This letter would be paired with the one from Ina about some of your new eating at the house
After we had started eating, and the atmosphere was more relaxed, Nani confessed that he was afraid to come and eat with us. He was afraid and wanted to go and hide but the pastors told him it was just the missionary, and he would understand. He then stated he was afraid he wouldn’t know how to eat, and he would be terrifically shamed if the Europeans laughed.
Later on, the fellows made statements like boy, Onesimus poured milk in his tea, and it gushed out quicker than he expected. I’m afraid to try the ketchup. Maybe I tipped the bottle and the whole works will run out.
Another thing anticipated was only a small amount of food. “Such a small plate, we figured we’d eat just a little bit and go away hungry. But look, the food keeps going round and round the table, fill up the plate and now our stomachs are really full to the limit. Europeans really fill themselves. “
Having peaches, we asked if they recognize them. The pastor said he had bought some in town by mistake. He thought it was another kind of fruit that he knew. When he saw it wasn’t, what he thought maybe he had gotten an egg of some kind. But he ate it anyway and thought it was good. Onesimus said we went to the Buangs-his wife kept asking him how we ate. He said he’d never eaten with us so he didn’t know. Now he was happy because he had eaten with us and could tell his wife.
AI generated photo from a very low quality photo. Al, Ina and Paula do not look like this.
1964 July 31 from Virginia Marquette (she is from Stevens Point and went to PNG)
Dear Al, Ina, Paula, Tom, and Kristi
Greetings from Asaroka. When I took commerce in high school, I thought what a waste and yet it was intended then already for me to teach commerce to form two boys at Asaroka. Also, I am teaching music and term one and two and standard seven. I also teach standard four and seven English. What mysterious ways God works, and yet, in the end, as Job story goes. God will have his way.
I’m all excited just from your letter and therefore I’m answering right away. I’m eager to see you and the children. We wondered if we’d be lucky enough to see you or Al, in Lae, and then behold – “a man walketh down the road at night and we short termers looked through our travel and lecture -weary eyes and beheld “Al “. It was a perfect meeting actually – much more effective than anything planned would’ve been. I’m very happy here – have met the usual disappointments that traveling and involvement with people bring, but nothing that will matter 100 years from now!
Bumayong is planning on me – that is if I will be released from here. Oh, the enchanting feeling of being fought over by two headmasters. Time will tell. Hoping to visit very soon –
love, Ginny.
Pastor Onesimus’s house (right) at Biankon which is just where the headwaters of the snake river comes together and starts to flow down the valley towards Mumeng.
1964 July 2 from Alvin at Biankon (in the Buang’s)
Dear Ina, and honey buns,
Oh my loves and sweetie pies. How daddy would like to have you all here. It’s been a profitable and quite enjoyable time so far. Just like other areas, there is getting to be more and more of a European influence all of the time. Maybe soon they’ll be a tractor here. I’m thinking that maybe our money from home could help them with a table saw, especially if our iron at the beach can be worked in.
Mapos was a busy place. We had a teacher meeting all day. Last night I was informed I was to preach this morning and the Hotec fellows were in last night. This morning teacher I preached and there we walked back here to Biankon. I took some pictures of the teachers and I hope they turn out.
The Hote workers are concerned that their proposed school is not getting off the ground. It’s so hard to start up in a completely virgin jungle. I suggested we might help them with some of our money from home by buying maybe some rice. They then proposed we could help with shovels and pics and I suppose a wheelbarrow would be handy too. I thought the money from the kids at First Lutheran would be good for this.
I was awfully happy to see Sandberg ‘s Abe Lincoln at the bottom of the briefcase. You have been so thoughtful and wonderful to me, my honey. How assuring it is for me to know that you are back and Malalo and the kids have their nice mommy taking care of them.
Kauckesa gave me a nice carved walking stick of coffee wood today. My schedule looks something like this. On Wednesday, July 22. We are to have a trustees meeting at Sawat. I’m not sure of the date but on Wednesday as soon as possible, I want to get this Hotec thing going. Well, you tell Simon that Friday, July 17, I want to go into the place with him. He should send word to the elders at Hotec.
All kisses and hugs to all. May our good Lord, open your eyes constantly to his grace and love, all my love, Al.
Please send letter to Art F.
Christian arrived Tuesday afternoon.
Tell Kepoasing to give the extra money five shillings a day, but no rations.
Thanks for your letter.
2 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Reichardt
1964 July 9
Letter written by Alvin Erickson from the Buang Mountain villages to Durward and Estelle Titus Box 224 Route1, Carlos MN USA
Dear, Stella and Durward,
How’s tricks? I’m feeling awfully full of mischief right now, since I’ve been out in our villages up in the mountains now getting onto two weeks. We have been having meetings and an elders course, and it’s been cold, and I would like nothing better than to sit down and beat the pants off of Martin in a good game of Whist.
Actually, things have been going quite well. I have a boy cooking for me, I have a warm, sleeping bag, and the people have been very friendly. Several nights we’ve sat up around the fire in the pastors house chatting until midnight.
How’s the summer going? I’d like to see how Martin and Willa‘s house is getting along.
A man just came with a letter from Ina with one from Willa. He walked from Malalo to come back here to his own area. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from Ina. Sounds like Malalo is having its share of excitement. Also the Indonesian situation is getting pretty hot. All of which makes things in New Guinea seem the more uncertain.
The pastor just brought part of a pig. He gave it in Thanksgiving for the newly selected elders. This is one of the wonderful customs of New Guinea, and my stomach isn’t going to suffer from it any. as you know, for the last six months, I’ve kind of had a sawmill hung around my neck. The last few months have really been encouraging, however. The crew has kept themselves and the machinery going. The people have cut a lot of logs and so far they have produced about $4000 worth of timber. Timber surveys have been very bright and There is a good chance another sawmill will come. We’ve all been happily surprised. Could you use some New Guinea hardwood?
Ina has been a very great help mate and often gone ahead on her own. She has won the respect of many of those who live around here through her conviction and perseverance and upholding what is right. She has gotten through some tough medical cases.
My next main project is helping the isolated Hote Mountain people who live inland from Malalo. They are trying to relocate and build a school, but they need a lot of encouragement and a good push for it will mean a lot of work. I hope to help them get some donkeys, a new path, a new school going, and then teach, their elders for a week.
Your grandchildren are a wonderful little group, especially your NG ones. Paula and Tommy are pretty much at home anywhere as long as they have each other. Kristi has been the most relaxed and happy of all our kids. The three together pretty much fill up any empty spaces in our lives.
Today is Saturday and after a week of talking and sitting, I’m going with the elders on a little hike to mark out the boundary of their new school land. We’re glad to hear that you have recovered from your time in the hospital, Durward. How we like to drive up in your yard, one of these nights and unload the kids right into your laps. May He who has put happiness and warmth on an eternal basis keep us by His Grace until that day.
All our love, Al, Ina and the kids