PONAPA
This letter continues from the last post….
We were able to purchase a Japanese camera, which we hope will stand up. Many others have the same kind of have been really pleased with their performance. Thursday we boarded a little blue and white one engine Cessna and flew to Kainantu to where Vince was supposed to meet us. It surely was a cute little plane. It held about 1500 pounds of people and cargo. There was two other passengers and the pilot besides us and our three kids. We each held one and Paula sat between us. They were a bit frightened at first. We got Paula to look out the window and see the beautiful scenery below and the terrain with many waterfalls, streams, and hills. We flew over the place where Bob and Naomi will be stationed if they can ever get the land purchases. It is always a problem buying new land. It all belongs to the various villages so everyone has to consent before the land can be sold. The government doesn’t really encourage them sale of land so it does take some finagling to acquire land for new stations. Just before we cross the last range before we landed in Kainantu, The clouds closed in, and it was very difficult to see anything anywhere. We were getting a little worried and rain started coming down. Then all of a sudden an area cleared and we could see the landing strip. Vince was all smiles waiting at the strip. It made us so glad that we made it that far.
We had to spend the night at the Mission Station nearby as it was late in the afternoon and it is an all day process trying to get to Fricke station. The missionary there is the son of the first missionaries to come to New Guinea, landing at Finschhafen, Johannes Flirl. His dad was stationed there when he first arrived.
From Wikipedia:
Ina’s letter continues:
By the way, Ted Hilpert is at Fergus Falls and now taking some psych classes and has a rural congregation there. If you just write to the hospital, I’m sure you could find him and invite him out. The Flirl’s were the nicest couple he is 70 now, so when they go to Germany in two years, they won’t be returning much to their sorrow. In 1957 this was a frontier station and now Vince’s station is the frontier station at Ponapa. But soon another station will be a little further than even Vince’s. Another of Al’s classmate will be going there.
We really were happy when Friday dawned- nice and sunny after the rain of the night before. By 8 AM we were on our way. We had to give the road time to dry a little so starting any earlier might have ended in mud. We’d only driven about half an hour, when one of the bridges was washed out. The road gang was working on it, but it would take until Sunday to fix it. We thought of poor Barbara waiting for us and wondered what we could do. Vince said he knew of another detour that he taken once bit was in pretty poor condition, and after the heavy rains of the night before he just didn’t know. We voted to try the first few miles. And beyond that there were few inhabitants, so it would be a long walk to a village if we needed a push. The first couple of miles were pretty bad, we slipped and slid. Sometimes we’d get out and let Vince go out it along through some of the worst spots. But it didn’t look impossible so we kept plotting along and made it to the end of the road. There were several hundred people waiting to help carry cargo.
They had boxes 2‘ x 3‘ with a little chair and a canvas over the top for Paula and one for Tommy on two poles to be carried in. Kristi was carried in a net bag. She isn’t in one enough to be really sold on them, but her objections weren’t too strong so that was her mode of transportation. Vince stayed behind to distribute the cargo to the carriers. All of his building materials, furniture, including stove, wash machine, and refrigerator had to be brought in on peoples backs. Not this time, but before when they moved here. Vince pays them pretty well and they have no other means of making money so they usually are quite willing to do it. We had to go over a 7,600 foot peak. The road was finished much of the way, except for bridges so walking was fairly easy, except a little discouraging as we’d go up, just to go down again, just to go up again not really gaining anything. The carriers kept going so fast with the children I was a little apprehensive to have them out of my sight as I wasn’t quite sure that they wouldn’t disappear. Vince kept slowing them down, and I walked as fast as I possibly could trying to keep up. When they got too far ahead, Paula would cry and then they would sit down and wait for us. About 3:30. We limped into Ponampa and Barbara was waiting for us. I just flopped down on their davenport and I really didn’t think I’d be able to move for quite a while. The kids were so happy to arrive and they had to explore and try everything. They sure were impressed with the toilet. Every 10 minutes they had to make a trip out back until they got used to it and the novelty wore off.
Ericksons and Vince and Barb Fricke
The Fricki’s live in a bush house. It really is fixed so cozy. They have regular frame windows with washed x-ray film in them. They have fairly good floors. Barbara had them waxed so they looked real nice. They had partitions so they have five rooms. The kitchen was built away from the house because the danger of fire is so great with the stove in the kitchen. They had roofing iron on the kitchen, both for fire safety, and to catch rainwater for the drinking. Things grow so well there so they had fresh strawberries and red and black raspberries. They were starting lemon and orange trees and avocado trees. They raise cattle, but they can’t get them to reproduce. They have pigs, chickens, turkeys, cats, and dogs.
The people for the most part where nothing but they’re little bark skirts. Even in the coldest weather. And it does get cold. We had about five blankets on at night. From their living room window, we could see into the mountains and valleys of the areas that are still restricted to white men as they don’t have any law and order yet. Vince has difficult getting carriers to go in with him in into this area as they are still afraid of each other. Their tribal wars have been so recent. One of Vince’s work boys was killed out in their garden one night when Vince was gone. Cannibalism hasn’t entirely disappeared. They have their ‘mortuary feast’ as Vince calls them when someone dies or has been killed, and cook portions of the deceased with the pigs, they eat their feast to ward off evil spirits.
The last couple days that we were there, Al went on a bush trip with Vince. Halfway in, about half of the carriers left. They were afraid of the villages ahead as they were still at odds with them. It certainly was different from the people in our areas. These people are still governed by fear. Slowly, slowly the gospels making headway. Their land seems to be a little more fertile than the that around here as they can clear a plot and use it for several seasons. They don’t have to clear a new area every time they want to plant a garden.
Their houses for the most part are round and close to the ground. The Vinces’s have floors of sorts inside. The villages look neat from a distance, but all of the people, we met weren’t the cleanest nature we’ve seen. Al said in the back villages that he visited that they were so muddy and smelly as they have their pigs in the village square. There is very little sand so that it is just plain mud during the rainy season. They clear all of the grass off the village sites.
Al rather enjoyed the bridges in the way back areas. They had a single log over rushing stream about 100 feet down and about 100 feet across. Both he and Vince straddle it and bumped across sitting down. The carriers walked, balancing their cargo across just like nobody’s business. The fellows ended their trip at the car, so we walked out to meet them, and all drove together to Ripinka and back to the Flirls.
It really was a beautiful walk out as it had been a foggy morning. It was again about 8 AM before we got started, and the fog was just rising. The sun had come out and shown on the fog, tree trunks, and leaves. It really looked like a fairyland. The tree trunks had a dull silver shine. The leaves were a very deep, deep green, and the fog look like angel hair strewn about it with toy houses, nestled in the green hill sides, and the garden, so neatly arranged. It was so quiet and still except for the occasional bird call or Tarzan, like call from village to village to announce our approaching. The pig fences cross the road many times, so we had to climb over them time and time again. It was really tricky getting the kids in their Safaris over them, but they made it with no mishaps.
Barb had brought some cokes along from the icebox in an insulated box so we all sat down and had a Coke at our rendezvous, the land-drover. We timed it pretty well, as we all arrived at the same time. They were pretty worn out after 12 hours walking each day and then four hours on Monday. It had rained quite a bit, so the driving was pretty bad. The first washed out bridge we were able to detour around- through a plantation. The second one was really out. I sawmiller had been trying to get his mail back into the hills and was on the other side of it. He had gathered a crew and they were trying to get it back in shape. They had enough posts in so that he laid some planks across it. We all got out and let him drive it across. We all held our breath as we watched the planks, double under the weight of the car, but it made it across. It was one really mucky hill. We had to laugh because we ground to a stop near the top, due to pretty deep mud. Just as Vince was giving up and ready to try again I started pushing, just sitting in the seat, for more of a joke than anything, and the car started to move again. We were able to make it to the top of the hill and the rest of the way to Raipinka and the Flirls. It must have been about 4:00 pm when we arrived.
Our plane was supposed to come in the next day. Again it had rained the day before, and all the night we had arrived, but the day we were to leave it was fairly good. We sat at the airstrip from 8:30 when we heard a plane and throwing everything into the suitcases and raced to the strip to find no plane. We decided to stay there rather than go back the 8 miles to the Flirls. We found out that the plane wasn’t expected in before noon, so we made ourselves at home, and I had to get into the bottles, diapers, potty, cookies, etc. etc. When noon rolled around it, so did the rain. A plane came in, but it was a government charter and wouldn’t take passengers, then, about 2 o’clock our plane came in. The strip was wetter than the pilot had expected, and he refused to take passengers, so what to do?
Kainantu is a government post, so they have a number of European families living there. So there are a few little stores, a garage, and a butcher shop. It reminds me of some of the frontier towns we used to see in the movies. Al walked to the gas station to hire a car to take us back to Flirls the mission station. We arrived back at about three with some hungry kids. The are such lovely people that we didn’t mind getting stranded with them. the next day we packed up again, but didn’t hurry to the strip, and a good thing we didn’t as no planes came in. Then on Thursday it was cloudy and occasionally the sun peaked through so I packed things up again. We are waiting and watching for a plane and then at noon. The rain came again so we went back in the house and put the kids to bed. We decided to enjoy our for extended vacation. We both listened and sure enough a plane in the rain, so I hardly packed again. I rouse the kids got everyone into the Land Rover and – for the strip. It was still drizzling and the plane was loading cargo and the pilot said he’d take us to so we got in the cargo plane with bucket seats, all along the sides, like troop transport. We are off in a downpour of rain. As soon as we got up a ways, the weather cleared, and we had perfectly hot weather by the time we got to Lae.
The Victor had gotten tired of waiting for us so had gone back to Malalo. It happened that everyone had company in Lae so we had to screw around trying to find a bed to sleep in. It took a bit of doing, but there was one place where no one was living at present, and there were beds in there so we were going to eat supper with a family and then stay in that house. Fortunately, I hadn’t opened all of our bags, only enough for diapers, bottles, milk, potty and cookies. Al came rushing up saying that the Victor just came in. So we finished supper. Got our things together for the last time and headed homeward. We had a lovely vacation, but we were all mighty glad to get home. Thankful that we made it in good shape.
Alvin Erickson hiking with Paul and Tom
A belated happy birthday dad. I am sure relieved to hear that you are feeling better after your surgery. We did not get mail the three weeks we were gone, so I heard about it and you are good recovery all at the same time. We hope and pray that little Dan is progressing all right also. We continue to pray that God might have mercy and heal his body of many afflictions so he doesn’t have to go through any more surgery and cast. I certainly know how he can heal.
Al is at conference now for about three weeks. So I’m getting a chance to get caught up after being away so long. The house has mildew from stem to stern, so room by room we’re getting it cleared away again.
I wrote a letter to Mrs. Franze but I’ve missed placed it, so will you tell her that I did write and thank her for the lovely slip and picture of her and Mr. Franze and if I didn’t find the letter that I’ll eventually write another.
Pretty soon you should get a box we sent. The big cross is for First Lutheran. I hope it traveled OK. The second small cross is for the Harold Rossbachs from Hanska, Minnesota, who were also part of sponsoring us. It was so long ago that we sent it and we had to leave some things out. I can’t remember what was in it. The black feathered headdress was for Al’s sister Betty, in California. When it arrives, you can tell me what was in it and I’ll try and tell you what to do with it.
Could someone send us some good pictures of President Johnson. Some of our teachers are asking for them. Many of the circles sent so many things from Alexandria. We really appreciate it so very much. I’m trying to get all of the thank you letters off this week while Al is gone.
Sunday we had a lady come up with a 4 inch gash in her head from an ax. I thought I could see brain, so I just put a patch on it and sent her to Lae after giving her a shot of penicillin. It was in the near back of her head, but her forehead was swelling up. It surely will be interesting to see what happened to her.
You people are sure secretive about your new valiant. How about a picture? Is it red, black, brown? What color? I’m so glad that dad finally realized his dream of a new car. How long he has wanted one. They are such sleek looking cars. Now you have no excuse for not coming to meet us when we get back to San Francisco. That is only about 3 1/2 years away.
I don’t know what to suggest for the circles to work on. We could use more linen for the dispensary, toweling, etc. Through international data help to missionaries, I was able to get a scale for the dispensary. I’ve also ordered a blood pressure cuff and a little light that I can look in peoples ears and eyes.
Collecting simple puzzles, games that we can teach the schoolboys and girls simple song books. Pictures of health, like pictures of different parts of the body. That plastic body model that Montgomery wards has in their toy section would be very good. Some of the plastic spray to cover wounds would be excellent. After people walk in water, their bandages come off and they have nothing to replace them with. If we could just spray some of that stuff on it would last a while. Little scissors for cutting out things for school and Sunday school seem to be inaccessible here. Pretty handkerchiefs make nice. Thank you for someone who does something for me. Medical journals, nursing journals, and any information on new drugs. Sewing pictures from Christmas cards together and binding them with binding last a little longer for schools then just handing out Christmas cards.
Thanks for everything. We love you Al, Ina, Paula, Tom, and Kristin
1964 January - no date on this letter based on the content placing up here.
Dear Mrs. Winston,
Your thoughtful package was waiting for us when we returned from our trip to the Highlands, where we visited one of the new frontier mission stations. Reverend Fricki and his wife Barbara have been living there for a year now. They live in a bush house with a thatched roof, and have walls woven out of “pit-pit “leaves. They are very long and slender. The people made a nice design. The walls on the inside are varnished, so they will last a little longer, and look much better. The kitchen is built away from the house, as the house isn’t exactly fireproof, and if there should be a fire, it won’t burn the whole house down.
They will be building a permanent house as soon as they are able to get some New Guinean carpenters. They have a problem in trying to make cement as they have no available sand. They have to crush some rocks, which there isn’t much rock available. They really are in no hurry to build as they are quite comfortable in their little Bush house.
It is quite a drive and quite a walk to get their house. Most of the road didn’t have much gravel so after having a heavy rain the day before, we really had it muddy. Regular cars wouldn’t be able to make it. For such driving most of the missionaries have an English model pick up type Land Rover. They have four-wheel-drive jeeps. They really can go through the mud and up the steep and embankments. Bridges are always a problem as the stream become so swift during the rainy season that they are continually being washed out as we found out. On the way in, one was gone and we had to detour and on the way back since 2 bridges were gone. The first one we were able to detour around but the second one we had to wait until it could be fixed. Another man had gotten there before us and already had a crew working on it, so we weren’t delayed more than 45 minutes.
It was really an eye-opener to see how much the people of the coast have progressed over the people back in these remote areas. Christianity is just beginning to penetrate this area. People are still governed by their spirit world and fear. The work is slow, but the important thing is that Christ is being proclaimed.
Phyllis Engelbretson, our short term teacher, is using some of the material to teach the schoolgirls to sew. They are making little purses to carry some of their pencils and erasers in when they come to school. We were so pleased with material and the thread. Thread doesn’t last very long before it breaks, which it was at the time we were sewing so we do appreciate some new spools every once in a while. The boys and girls love to color so they will make good use of the books.