Letters from Africa (1925-1927)

Letters from Africa (1925-1927)

Letters from Africa (1925-1927)

My grandparents were free church evangelicals; Baptists and Missionaries. They believed strongly in helping the less fortunate to a better life through work, education and healthcare. Their Faith was firmly anchored in the humane teachings of Jesus Christ and in the redeeming gift of the Holy Spirit.

On October 12, 1925 on a 12,000 Km (7,500 miles) journey to the heart of Africa, my paternal grandparents traveled in stages from Sweden to French Equatorial Africa (todays Central African Republic). First by train through Sweden, Germany and France to Paris. Then to Brussels and finally to Antwerp in Belgium, where they boarded a ship destined for Congo. My grandfather was 25 years old.

Both Ester and Ivar had prior to leaving finished three years of Missionary School in Örebro, Sweden, to be prepared for this very risky journey.

My grandpa Ivar had studied French for ten months in Paris after his exam while his bride to be, Ester had studied and worked a year in Normandy before

commencing her degree in Sweden. They had met in 1920 and gotten engaged the year after. After their studies were completed they married in August 1925 in Ivar’s home village of Åmmeberg.

They departed Antwerp on the ocean liner ‘Elisabethville’ the 17th of November 1925, a month after leaving Sweden and family behind.

Their first letter back home is from an excerpt sent from south Sweden the day before leaving for Germany.

Trelleborg, October 15, 1925.

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”Our dear ones at home! Our sincere, warm and heartfelt thanks to you all for all the love. We remember so well the farewell waves, the warm words and everything that moved inside and outside us that day in Örebro. It was intensive and the farewell meeting was very emotional. Anna's hand was the last we pressed in Örebro. Arriving at the station in Adolfsberg, we were received by a crowd of young people, who gave us flowers and said their goodbyes. At Mother's home in Skåne, time passed quickly. At the station in Borrby we parted from Mother and the siblings on Wednesday night. It was very emotional again. Today we have been to Ester's cousins in Trelleborg and now we are alone

in a warm, nice and comfortable room at Centralhotellet, where we will stay our last night in Sweden. It has been storming terribly for a couple of days, it also snowed yesterday in Ystad and this morning everything was under a white blanket of snow. So at least we have seen some snow also this year. Now it is good weather again and it has been calm today. It’ll probably be fine tomorrow, when we travel over to Germany. Greet all the dear friends from both of us. Our dearest greetings to you, beloved parents and siblings.

Affectionate, Ester and Ivar.”

The next ones are excerpts from Paris and Brussels.

Paris, October 20, 1925.

“Yes, now we are here again. Our journey has gone really well. The sea crossing was calm and beautiful and the seasickness was far away. It also went well through Germany. All night we each lay on a sofa seat, and then installed ourselves in a well known hotel on arrival in Paris. One meal a day we eat at a restaurant, then Ester cooks for the rest of the day.

We have it quite nice and enjoy our time. Ester is currently knitting on a shawl, actually it is warmer outside than inside. We are many missionaries in

Paris this year. Last Sunday we were at an exhibition, there’s always something to look at here in this city.”

Paris, November 6, 1925.

“Tomorrow we’ll go to the railway station and buy tickets to Antwerp, and on Tuesday we’ll travel first to Brussels and then on to Antwerp a few days later.

And that’s when our journey starts in earnest. You can write to us under address: S.M.F. Brazzaville, Congo Francais, Via Matadi.”

Brussels, November 11, 1925.

“Thank you for the letter. Tonight we are staying in Brussels. Ester sits in front of a warm stove and sews, I sit closer to the window and write, we are housed and fed by a war-widow. We have a very good time here, I have eaten real meatballs, so now greet Grandma that there is nothing to worry about.

We went out shopping and bought, among other things, sun-helmets, that were more expensive here than in Paris, because of the poor exchange rate for our Swedish money. Today is a general holiday, it is on the day the peace was signed. We have not yet decided which day we will travel down to Antwerp,

it will probably be in a day or two before the boat leaves on November 17th. Next time we write it will be from onboard the boat. You should not be worried if it takes a while. We both feel good and are not sad at all. Everything is going so well for us and we are thankful to God. We've also received a letter and $10.00 from Aunt Ebba in America.”

The ship “S.S. Elisabethville” was owned by “Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo”. It would depart Antwerp and make short stops to pick up and drop off goods, mail and coal along the way.

According to my grandpa’s notes on the map, the

first stop would be La Pallice, the commercial deepwater port of La Rochelle, France. Next they anchored in the waters outside of Casablanca in Morocco, and then sailed on to port Santa Cruz on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa, where they debarked, on land for the first time since leaving Antwerp eight days earlier.

Friday, November 20, 1925.

“It's a quiet morning. The sun shines over glittering Atlantic waves. "Elisabethville" proudly plows its way through the waves with a view of the North African coast. I'm sitting in a salon writing. No storm, no worries and no anxiety, just fresh air, sunshine, good food and lovely travel companions.

We were the first on board, standing by the railing to wave goodbye. At 11 o’clock a signal was blown and everyone who would not accompany the boat had to say goodbye and leave. We were followed far out in the harbour by some small boats. A boat like this measures 8178 tons, there are at least about 50 Africans, about 25 waiters for the first class dining room, and the staff amounts to at least 175 to 200 people. We have our own doctor, shaving house and orchestra. Most fellow passengers are in governmental service, Belgians, who travel to the Belgian Congo, some Englishmen and four Swedish missionaries. We have a single table in the dining room and are otherwise together. On the morning of the 22nd we approached Casablanca after a stormy night. When the coast of Portugal began to disappear yesterday, then the storm increased and the waves began to go high. My little wife and the other sisters became very ill. I did not have to vomit. The visit to Casablanca was very interesting.

Far out from the shore, where Elisabethville was anchored, small boats swarmed around to sell postcards etc and before we were to leave Casablanca the business became livelier, for the prices sank as time went on. We are now following the flat coastline of Africa and the sun is much hotter. We all sit on deck and enjoy fresh winds, sea-air and a southern sun. It’s very nice on board and by the time we reach Tenerife this letter should be done.”

Elisabethville November 27, 1925.

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“I last left you near Tenerife. Let's now continue our Congo journey, sitting on the shadow side of the boat dressed in very thin clothes, the sweat is flowing. We are just a short distance south of Dakar, how hot will it not be, before we reach the Equator?

In Tenerife we happily preserve its memory, the ship anchored, a small boat into port and solid land under foot which felt great. The town we visited is called Santa Cruz and has about 30,000 inhabitants, beautiful location on a slope towards the sea with huge heights and mountains, on the slopes lay villages, which shimmered in beautiful light hue in the sunshine. We walked a street up in town, shouts in French, Spanish and English "Come in and see, come and buy, cheap prices!" We did not see any horses, instead they drove with dromedaries on the streets, full of shops and enterprising businessmen.

There was the local made ‘Tenerife cloth’, jewellery, and many carved ivory items for sale.

Little boys made money in a clever way. They are sitting in a rowing boat next to the steamer. If you then throw a Franc coin into the sea, then suddenly one of the boys jumps on his head in afterwards and soon comes to the surface, crawls up into the boat, opens one hand and shows what he fished up, and then he is ready to do it again the same experiment.

But it must be at least a Franc or two. When we then left Tenerife island we sailed along the shoreline, we saw a mountain that was higher than the others and the top shone so beautifully in the sunlight. It was a ‘fjäll’ (the term for our high mountains in Scandinavia).”

Next stop Dakar in Senegal. Around the 27th of November 1925.

“There we would leave about 85-90 mailbags, some other goods and two passengers. So the boat would "take on coal", a large barge filled with coal on each side of Elisabethville and on each barge about a hundred blacks during a deafening alarm. Some lay around comfortably and dozed, others took care of the "cheering" and many others "worked", the work team got on with it, some wore some clothes while some were barefoot, others wore thick woollen socks and rough shoes. Others had their heads shaved, others both hair and a woollen hat or a sun helmet, one had a jacket suit buttoned with a large safety pin, with a long yellow woollen sweater and a pair of black-and-white checkered skirt-like kneelength trousers, a black woollen hat with tassels and finally only legs and bare feet. But he worked well.

The statesmen, our fellow passengers, if there is something they do not like, they do not hesitate to

strike or kick. My Ester said today, when she saw one of the ministers without further ado kick one of the blacks. “Soon I can not keep quiet."

Next there’s a short stop in Conakry on the coast of Guinea, and then on November 30th we pass Liberias coastline and later make a landing in Grand-Bassam, on the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire).

From here, Elisabethville stops hugging the coastline and heads directly southeast toward the mouth of the Kongo river, to the port of Boma, its final destination. Crossing the Equator, seabirds, flying fish and dolphins enhance and gilds their days onboard.

On December 5, 1925, they finally arrive in Boma.

Boma is a port town on the Congo River, some 100 km upstream from the Atlantic Ocean, in todays Democratic Republic of the Congo. Boma was the regional capital city of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo from 1886 to 1926, when the capital was moved to Léopoldville.

Matadi December 8, 1925.

“Trying to end the letter that I began some time ago, and why it has not been completed is due to two things. First of all, nothing happened on the boat for

several days, and also, we do not have any mail being sent until in a few days time, when Elisabethville returns to Europe.

We have now landed in Congo! The joy is great with us. Just a few words about the arrival itself.

After several days of monotonous travel, we arrived near the mouth of the Congo River on Friday night and when we woke up on Saturday morning we were a good distance upriver. What vegetation and greenery on both sides! The eye could hardly be satisfied by all the beauty along the wide bends and turns in the river, and by noon we had docked at the harbour in Boma. As soon as the landing was in place, we took the camera and got ready to set foot on Congo’s soil for the first time - a real experience! We wandered around curiously and everything was interesting and new. Then we continued further up the river with riverboat, whose lots was a Swedish man. In the afternoon after an interesting trip we came to a sharp and difficult bend in the river whereby lies Matadi. The current here is about 9 knots, so even our boat had a tough struggle. Next to Matadi lies the mission station. A Swedish flag and a pair of white-clad missionaries on the porch welcomed us. As soon as we were helped down to the mission station we received a good cup of Swedish coffee with accompanying bread buns. That's how we now are in Congo. The

impressions that overwhelmed us the first day have hardly abated, but rather the opposite. It's almost like a dream. Seeing the huge river with its brown water and its whirlpools, the palm-clad beaches with its incredible vegetation and the hilly terrain on both sides of the boat and then meeting the people and getting in touch with them is a real experience. No one can wonder that we wholeheartedly thank God for it all. It is really hot, looked at the thermometer that hung in the shade, showed +36 degrees Celsius. We will stay here for a few days after which we will take the railway up to Brazzaville. From there we’ll then go on by boat, probably around the 10th of January.”

Excerpt from letter, Brazzaville on 2nd and 3rd of January 1926.

“Thanks for the letter that arrived the day before Christmas Eve, sent on November 14th. Will now mention a little about the places we visited since we landed. At the SMF;s mission and transport station in Londe, Matadi, where we were for two weeks due to the climate change, we both had to take a few days to lie still. It’s close to 40 degrees warm in the shade, day after day. Matadi is a small place, with a few hundred whites, where Belgian and Portuguese businessmen work employed by the

state, and the black workers who come in from the countryside work at the port or the railway, and the three mission stations in Matadi; English baptists, American baptists and S.M.F (The Swedish Mission Federation) where they conduct their business, clear customs, receive goods, arrange carrier caravans, assist incoming and outgoing members etc etc. and also help the activities among sailors. Extremely interesting to be in a place where the "threads" from seven or eight stations run and mix together.

On December 18th we embarked on the Congo train, not as miserable as you might think, it went well. Sometimes it is not much better on the Askersund-Skyllberg-Lerbäck railway (the local Trainline back home). The terrain is very hilly so the railway is built on the "ridge lines" and winds like a snake, sometimes on level ground and sometimes around horribly steep slopes with sheer drops.

From six in the morning to half past eight in the evening, we traveled only 200 km, we live a real outdoor life and are not too fussy with neither this nor that, eat and drink from brought-with us storage, and as often as we want, buy good fruit at a cheap price along the way. We take in the nature and study the people and life passing by. In the last two hours of the evening, before we reached Thysville the train drove at full speed without lights

in the dark into the city. We found a hotel, and the next morning we traveled onwards, reaching Kinshasa in the afternoon, located opposite Brazzaville that lies on the north side of the Congo River. There we took a ferry across ‘Stanley Pool’, the widening of the river that separates the two cities, to the French Congo residence city named after the Frenchman Brazza (one of the first that ventured up here after Stanley).

Both the governor and the governor-general live here, the general with all his officers and soldiers.

Brazzaville is at a beautiful location, the views are stunning, 500 whites are here and the blacks are not allowed to live in the city nor stay there after a certain time in the evening. Many of their villages have bad climatic conditions (meaning poor health conditions?). The land is not so hot here. Ester and I moved to outside of the city to the Ekroths (Swedish missionaries), it’s healthier than in the city. The mission station is overpopulated but the station have both a car and a motorcycle. Ebba must return home for a change of climate and necessary hospital care. She has sleeping sickness. Likewise Hilberth too probably have to travel home, coming out from Bania and will leave at the end of January.

Next Sunday we will travel up the river and get to Bania in early February.”

(Ester writes) “We have had a nice Christmas and on the 8th of January we should go with the boat up the river. I’m thankful to God that we are healthy, I feel so good among the people but feel so small before the task. Hilberth is here and he greets you so well. He will travel to France for (medical) treatment. Congo is Congo…”

Ivar and Ester spent Christmas 1925 at their friends and Swedish fellow missionaries in Brazzaville, the capital of the then French Equatorial Africa.

Excerpt from letter: “On a journey on the Congo and Sangha rivers on 9th of January 1926.”

“Emma is ill in Brazzaville with a fever so we are traveling by ourselves. It is the second day of the trip and Sunday afternoon. On the deck of the small boat we both sit and look at the landscape along the river bank. Oh how beautiful! So delightful. The journey began yesterday morning. Some comrades followed us by car to the harbour. The mission have a large truck that was really good to have for the transportation of all of our provisions. It was important to be equipped. We have conserves of all kinds. Milk in canisters, groats, herring cans etc etc.

All arranged considering that we are in the tropics.

The river boat, “Commandant Lamy", is well 20 metres long and 5 metres wide. Instead of a propeller it has a very large paddle wheel placed in the stern. From behind it has the appearance of a small waterfall. On the lower deck live the black, and on the upper the white. There are four cabins, warm and comfortable, not terribly clean and there are mosquitoes and cockroaches in the infinite.

Two large barges pile side by side alongside the ship. In it is stored the goods. The captain is white, probably French. Then there are two more whites, a doctor and an official. Both are nice and pleasant, polite and forthcoming.”

Thursday the 14th of January 1926, “We exit the Congo River and start the journey up the Sangha. Warm, beautiful days, quite chilly evenings and nights. The first three days the river was incredibly narrow, it is now in the middle of the rainy season with very high water levels. Then it became wider, and now we sail upriver on the French side and can not see the other shore, there

are places where it is up to 4 miles (six Kilometres) wide with plenty of islands and islets, utterly adorable. Last night we were aroused by a terrible storm. For several hours it rained extremely violently. The whole of nature and the coastline where we had anchored bathed in light from the lightning. It was a real spectacle. It flashed from all directions so that it was really dazzling and thundered so much that you could be frightened. In our cabin, one of the beds got soaked and all the clothes hang now to dry, the sun is shining again just as before. At three o'clock we came to a native village, where we would load up on wood. The Congolese had to get off and carry firewood and worked till darkness fell. We got off to have look at the "town". Immensely interesting, a lot of naked tribesmen, others in old wool coats.

Our boat lays still at night. When darkness fell, and our big "Phoenix" kerosene lamp shone in all its glory, we sat down to eat supper, served by a young black waiter. On the beach burned several campfires, about ten, where lively natives cooked their food, others dozed, someone played on a simple instrument a monotonous melody. From within the riverbank reeds came the sound of frogs.

From all directions lightning flashed intensely and all of this gave the balmy nights a very magical impression. In the distance on a hill, a grass fire

burned. We enjoyed what nature can offer and then retired into our stuffy cabin, tucked in well the indispensable mosquito net and fell asleep.”

Monday, January 18, 1926. “My letter is starting to get long, now on the penultimate day of this stage of the trip. Yesterday was very interesting. The captain shot two crocodiles. Very exciting to see three, four crocodiles laying sunbathing on the banks of the river, we also saw a large turtle and a large number of monkeys. At Picounda when the boat docked, we saw three whites on the strand.

They were Eckerwall with wife and Fredrika. A dear reunion, we had a lot to talk about, before we knew the word of it it was midnight. There is a house in Picounda for white travellers, where you can lodge and stay for free, we got some food and coffee, there was no sleep for anyone because at four o'clock in the morning we went on board and sailed on a while later. Our dear comrades had many good news to tell us. Tomorrow we shall be in Ouesso.”

My grandparents stayed five days in Ouesso, to change to a much smaller river boat to take them the last stretch to their mission station in Bania.

Excerpt letter from Ouesso dated January 21, 1926.

“Our dear ones at home! We both feel good in the heat but we do not go out more than what is needed.

During this period it is so very hot in the sun. ‘The old woman’ (an endearment to his slightly older wife) is sitting here next to me, she has her blue,

light dress, white socks and shoes and a fine ivory chain around her neck, and yes, she sews.

On the 9th of January we departed from Brazzaville and arrived the 19th here in Ouesso. That trip was delightful. Now we are 816 Kilometres (507 miles) from Brazzaville. Arriving here, Ester started cooking and we also have a black boy to help. He is extremely good, has been with a statesman for several years and was now on his way home (he is from Bania) with the same boat as us. We are very pleased and so is he as well, because he gets paid a little. It is a small village and to buy some food was difficult as there are several whites here and the people are required to bring their quantities of food to the administrator so they said no to us. Then we met an old man who had nothing. Boulenguö (our helper) interpreted for us from French to the language of the natives. No bananas, no other fruit, no potatoes and no eggs. So I took the old man by the shoulder and said to him: "Go and see if you still do not have a pair of eggs: 'With lingering steps he went and came back with two eggs" as a gift to madame", he said. Then came another man with a whole little burden of bananas "as a gift to madame". Last night we ate delicious pancakes, with added things from our tin cans. Many of the Swedish preserves are uneatable, since they do not tolerate the tropical heat, so we buy a lot of food

here. But we do enjoy the delicious Swedish gingerbread cookies, and we are happy with what we have brought with us. Everything on the whole, is tasty and appetising.

On the 23rd we will continue the journey upriver with a small simple boat to a place called Salo, two days from here. Then we have a few more days left until Bania. It is good for us that we have Boulenguö with us, because you can not get by in the villages without knowing the language.”

Bania, February 11, 1926.

“Last Saturday evening, the sixth of February, we happily arrived here in Bania, and we are now installed in our first home in the Congo. Ester was ill for a few days on the river, but she is now a little better. Hope to hear from you soon.”

Bania, Sunday February 21, 1926.

“Our dear parents and siblings! When the mail arrived at noon we did not receive anything. We both are good. So little about our Bania, our new home! The Sangha River run beneath a high hill and up there on the hill is the mission station. The view is delightful.

Palm trees and primeval forest, heights and valleys and grasslands wherever you look. Down to the river is a steep hill, a couple of hundred meters long. The station site itself is a bare sandy area, with none of the plants yet growing except for the roses, which at present stand in full bloom. In addition to the larger residential house with three rooms and a pleasant porch all around, there’s a large house, which we will have as an office and storage magazine. Ester and I have a very nice room, and we also have a half-finished room at our disposal. Then we have a "hospital" annex, carpentry workshop, a shop, tool shed and storage magazine. The kitchen and dining room are built separately, a few meters from the big house. There are also schoolhouses with two halls, a schoolboy's house (for 40 students), the servants house (about ten), a stable, a goat, a duck and a henhouse and a makeshift church. We have three horses, two cows, nineteen goats, chickens and ducks, two cats, a parrot and a monkey. We have a good cook and three good boys, who clean the rooms, do the washing and serve and do what we ask. Also we have a little boy that has on his lot to guard chickens and ducklings against the persistent hawks who at this time of year are awfully close and numerous. So we have goat boy and a horse boy, a gardener and night watchman. We pay for all of

these ourselves, so you should not think that the mission may suffer too much. The thing is, would Ester work as at home, she would fall ill in a short time. None of us can in this hot climate work as one would do in Sweden. Just running a few hundred meters in the sun can become a very costsome ordeal.

The work we have divided. Karl Peterson, manager, gets to take care of the business with the state and he also run the shop, where we have a large turnover of fabric, various things, salt and a kind of "jumbo", the natives "potatoes". Aron Svensson takes care of the workers, about twenty of them.

They work in the forest cutting timber and sawing wood, burn bricks, etc. We have a brick kiln with 50 thousand bricks in order to burn. I'm helping out with a little bit of everything right now.“ Continued. Feb 21, 1926.

“The last few days I have made proper glass windows for our room, so far we have only had nets in the window frames. It’s rarely below 28 degrees in the room. Ester takes care of the household, medical care at the clinic, and does the cleaning and repair of clothes. She is busy from early morning until late evening. Some days it is even to about

twenty patients that needs looking after. Some need regular re-dressing of wounds and become almost like her affectionate children. There are many cases with those who suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, sometimes they smell a long way off. Next door in the school there are some unruly children and some well-behaved. We are pleased and we expect a lot from these boys. It’s no easy task to bring the "Baya people" christianity. It’ll get better when we speak their language. I spoke today at a meeting of the "lost son". The congregation counts 9 members, and it is many times a joy in this patience-trying work. The state is very pleased that we are teaching the people to work and become decent men. Once they have entered into service here, they do not want to leave the mission under any circumstances. Our working day lasts from six in the morning to six in the evening: There’s a six o’clock call for morning prayer with the workers and then after the meeting they receive the days schedule. At eight o'clock there’s a call for breakfast and then we have morning prayer together with the servants. At 10 there’s coffee and at 12 lunch.

Because it is so hot in the middle of the day, we are all in our rooms until two o'clock. In general, our comrades usually sleep then, but we both use the time for private work. A quarter past two we have coffee and then continue with our work till 6pm by

the time it’s pitch dark. At eight o'clock in the evening we usually go to the dining hall and drink lemon-water and have evening prayer together. On Sundays we have our meetings and on Thursdays we have meetings with the local natives. When we get to know the language better, we’ll get to be out in the villages around. There’s a lot of work. We are now building a couple of houses; a workers house and getting the half-finished boys home ready and to get on with our language studies. We are truly enjoying ourselves here in Bania. You do not need to worry even though Hilberth and Ebba had to leave ill from here. We have yet to see any disease carrying flies here at the station. We have at sunset taken a walk to the nearest village. The chief was particularly treated by our visit. Among other things, he asked if he could buy a kitchen knife from us. But we must have it to cut our meat with.

He is a decent old man and one day he gave us a roast of goat.

Our thoughts often go home. How are you all tonight?”

The Bania Mission Station was built in 1923-24.

1. The dwelling house 2. The old house with the workshop and boys home.

3. The school house 4. The horse stable.

5. Hen and duck coop.

Excerpt Bania March 9, 1926.

“Dear little sister! The mail leaves in a couple of days so we thought we would let you get a greeting.

We really feel good, there is nothing we lack. At the same time, a lot is missing. But we do enjoy being

here in the Congo. I have tried my hand at shooting the impudent hawks, but so far they’ve managed to get away. I will mention a little about the people here for you. The children go completely naked, the women have a "bouquet" of green leaves behind and a little in front fastened in a pearl band around the waist. Sometimes you see long blades of grass stick up behind and it looks like a huge bird-tail.

Foot rings and bracelets of iron and brass, some narrow, some wider, sticks in the nose, a small hole in the left nostril, where you then have a wooden stick, some 2 1/2 cm long and thick as a pencil, and a button in the upper lip. The women do not have very long hair, braided in narrow braids and with maybe up to 8 to 10 partitions on the skull, looks like a star. Some are missing one or two toes because of Jigger fleas. Men wear only a loincloth or a piece of animal skin. Most of our workers have clothes that they wear on Sundays. If they can get a pair of shoes, then they are really sorted. Our servants are dressed as well as our school children.

Many men have work, as it is forbidden by law to go unemployed. Women cook for their men and otherwise they gather together in the villages. The children play, but not like we did, but many of them are really nice kids and have made themselves really familiar with us. We do like them.”

“Sincere greetings to little sister from your affectionate sister-in-law and brother in Congo.”

Ester writes March 11th.

“Many warm thanks for the letters, we received three from you. I can not say how happy we are, sometimes the voice trembled reading them. It was so long since we’ve heard from you. I wish that one could be transported home as fast as the thought of

you does. I have got the household to take care of as my part of the work, so I have to make sure that we have some food for every day. We get flour and other household items from America. It takes about a year before we get it. We baked wheat bread today and it turned out well.”

When we came here there was quite a lot of dried fruit such as apples, gooseberries, blueberries and rose-hips. We sent for raisins, prunes and apricots.

Some fruits grow here such as pie-pie (Papaya), a kind of yellow and sweet melon, we use it for fruit compote. There are plenty of bananas and pineapple about. We fry the bananas in the oven and it’s really tasty with milk. We’ve planted orange trees but it will take a long time before they bear fruit. Lemon trees grow wild. We also get some meat because we have ducks and chickens, and sometimes we kill a goat. The blacks are shooting wild boars, which they bring to us, big red-haired pigs. The meat must be cooked immediately because of the heat. Our potatoes are just sweet potatoes and it gets a little sickly in the long run. We have had a really nice time setting up the house. We have two white beds, and Ivar has made a really nice bedside table. We have a desk, a bookshelf and an ornamental table that we got as a Christmas present in Brazzaville, and two wicker chairs that one can buy cheap in Congo, a couple of folding chairs and a desk chair.

We have made a washbasin, a drawer and covered it with wax cloth and fabric. Both the curtains and the drapery are nice. Books, photos, tablecloths as well as some lovely roses make us feel really good. On the floor we have rugs braided from a kind of grass dyed in several colours, and a bed rug as well.

Sometimes my thoughts go to the homely Swedish homes, I can not stop them from doing so, but after all I am so happy to be here. Let me talk a little about my work, I’m never alone here, the schoolboys who live at the station of course need help with a every little thing from quarter past six in the morning, it has been pitch-black outside our window and shouts: "Wife come out, I'm sick", nasty ugly wounds. The other day I crawled in through the small opening to a Negro hut. I was going to visit one of the workers' wives. She had had a small child in the morning, I went there in the afternoon, she sat on the clay floor next to the fire and had her little naked baby in a pair of palm leaves. Both mother and child were really alert. I had a little dress for the child, old linen and a headscarf for the woman. The blacks love their children very much, she was very happy and smiled at me so that the white teeth shone. It's fun to walk in the villages and greet the people. The women’s standing is very low and I feel sorry for the girls.”

“But they are beginning to visit the clinic by themselves.

Warm and sincere greetings to all dear friends in Åmmeberg.”

Excerpt Bania March 20, 1926.

“Our loved ones back home in Åmeberg. Today blows a nice breeze here on our hill. It is the early rainy season and it's terribly hot on some days, especially before the storm breaks loose. A few days ago the sky became very cloudy and darkened at a very fast pace and a hurricane with torrential

rain came completely unexpectedly over us. You could not see two meters in front of you, there was so much dust and debris thrown into the air and then so much rain. This squall was the worst we have been through. It got so cold too, and all the people dropped everything they had and ran to seek shelter where they could make a fire. A loud scream from the schoolboy's house let us understand that something has happened. When we looked everything was in one big ruin and the boys came as fast as they could run. The house was built of bamboo and well piled. Walls and ceilings were lined with a kind of bamboo, which we have for roofing. The next moment the servants came running and shouted to the fullest, for their house, like that of the boys, was about to collapse too. We managed to get hold of a couple of strong supports in a hurry yet it was still life-threatening to be on the farm, because even on the dwelling house the support ropes, which served to tie the roofing tore and the storm tore off one side of the roof. In a few minutes it was all over, the rainwater was rushing in all the overflowing ditches, and the air felt indescribably clean and comfortable. A table, large and heavy, 3 m long, which had stood on the veranda, lay several meters below the house smashed. Another week have gone by, we have made six school benches, the men have built up the

boys house again. Ester has sewn clothing in her spare time and our best carpenter was happy when he came from "Madame" and wore a pair of handsome white trousers. This week I bought a horse, the cheapest means of transportation. If you are going on a trip by foot, you must have at least eight porters to help. They must have both food and money. Sitting on horseback and leaving is so much easier. A horse in Congo does not cost more than 100 Swedish crowns (£8.00).”

Excerpt Bania April 28, 1926. (Ester writes).

“Thank you very much for the letters and for all the newspapers. I do not think you can understand how happy and grateful we are for every line you write.

We read the newspapers with great interest. I would so very much like to pop by yours for a short while.

How many times have we not thought of being in the little nice cottage in Åmmeberg, seeing you all, enjoying the home-comfort and the good coffee and the cakes. It was good to hear that uncle was alert this winter. Ivar and I have talked about how we should try to get some beautiful wood from the Congo trees to take home to him, because he can create such delightful things. Here, as usual in Congo, it is very warm. We often feel tired due to the hot climate. We are thankful to God for each other and our little home in Congo. You need each other out here. Since I last wrote I have been ill for a while. I suddenly fell ill with rubella. That disease is usually very serious, but I probably got away with it a little. One day I felt quite weak, and Ivar prayed to God for me and after that day I was much better. God is very close out here. That Ivar took care of me in an excellent way, I do not need to say.

You understand that I was ill for about fourteen days, since then I have been alert and healthy. I have had a hard time withstanding the climate, but

now it is getting better. When I recovered, Ivar became ill. During work, he had received a blow to his foot and it became inflamed. For a whole week he was in pain and fever. I almost sometimes feared that there would be blood poisoning. We kept changing the dressing covers and then one day the wound burst open to the great relief of both Ivar and I. It was awfully much pus, so no wonder he was in pain. Now there is only a small wound left and Ivar is alert and fit as usual. Congo is Congo…

On Sunday, Ivar spoke for the first time in the language of the natives. We have not been here that long and we have had no lessons so it was not so bad, but the "boy"(grandma’s counter endearment for her slightly younger husband) is enterprising as you well know. The school is in full swing during the day. Our friends are kind. Everyone takes care and looks after their own. We have a couple of ducks, which will have ducklings any day soon. A couple of hens lay on eggs. I think it's so much fun with the little animals. Last night the kitten bit our little cute parrot to death. It was sad because she spoke so well and was so nice. The kitten has been impossible to raise, because the father is apparently a wild cat.

Warmest greetings from your affectionate daughterin-law in the sun country, Ester.”

Ivar: “I'm fit and healthy again and working full time. If I did not have Ester when I was sick, I do not know how it would have turned out. When the fever is burning and the shirts are wrung as if been in water and the bedlinen needs changing, then I value my dear ‘old lady’, who is constantly willing to help without complaining even though she

herself had not been on her feet for so many days.

I'm very happy for my wife.”

Excerpt Bania May 12, 1926.

“Time goes by so fast in Kongo. We have we both been healthy and work every day, I am first up every morning and work until late evening. Ester is busy with everything besides the household chores.

We have good warm days and often at noon we have 32 to 35 degrees in the shade and quite often it rains, thunders and flashes and the roads and bridges are washed away and deep pitfalls remain.

But the real rainy season does not begin until a couple of months. I have the baptism class two hours a week. It consists of 40 men and youths. It's getting interesting because we're beginning to understand each other quite well; we what they say and the people begin to understand us. Admittedly we use a lot of French when we speak, but it has to give way to "Bayan". Here you will hear how our spoken language sounds: Ester: "Ha ndo nde?" (Who’s there?) "Bonga, Madame." (The Chicken Boy Bonga) E: "Kirigende?" (What’s up?)

Bonga: "Ma bona (Not much) E: "Me soga souson bebia nde?" (Do you look after the ducklings well?)

B: "Eyona". (Yes). E: "Eue doung ha tona nde?" (Are they inside the duck-coop?) B: "Dalo ha

sandele". (No, in the yard) E: "Diarang, kare fat" (Good, good).”

Excerpt Bania on May 26, 1926.

“Our dear ones at home! A warm and heartfelt thank you for your letter of March 10th. Thank you for all the messages and for all the newspapers. This last month I've mostly been in bed. I have been struggling through a malaria fever, which has been both hard and slow. I fell ill on the 7th and am up today for the first time since. Ester has been healthy all the time and she has taken care of me with great care and love. The worst thing is that she has not had any nights rest all the time and is therefore very badly worn and tired. It's no joke to have a fever in the Congo. The worst thing is that my strength become so extreme and quickly reduced. The frequent sweating is also tiring. So last night the Nola doctor came up to Bania. He visited us today and also gave me an examination. He said that it was probably nothing dangerous but in fact a common fever, which many people usually get at the beginning of a tropical stay. The doctor is constantly on the move and will stay here for four days. He has reception from morning to evening and diagnoses hundreds of cases of sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis).”

“Today I have been out walking in the yard, so it is getting better. Admittedly, it goes at a slow pace and with a cane in hand. My birthday was really nice, even though I was in bed. Ester got up before six in the morning and picked up a real red rose and gave it to me (We have had an enormous amount of roses for a while). A little later a couple of the boys came with coffee and flowers. The French administrator (who had a market here with the blacks), the doctor and a white businessman should come to visit. They are all nice and very kind to us. The doctor is 36 years old, big and handsome with a long, black full beard, talkative and fun-loving. He has been out here for four years but will travel to France to rest

in a couple of months. The administrator is a small light-hearted happy man, who looks like a girl. He has recently been deployed here and constantly talks about the roads that he is building. The primeval forests are really starting to be crisscrossed by large country roads, built by forced black labour. In a few months we will be able in a few hours to drive to Carnot, where we now need 4 days, or to Nola and to Berberati where it now takes 2 days (that is, if we had a motor vehicle). Monsieur Anger is a young Frenchman (21 years old), who does business with the blacks, mainly in rubber and palm oil.”

Excerpt Bania May 28, 1926.

Ester writes: “I did not think I could write while Ivar was ill, and I wanted to wait until he got better.

Those were days of worry, one feels quite alone during such days, but learns to go to God with this distress When the doctor came Ivar was fever-free, and the doctor wanted to know what we did for our patient. We thank God for every day we still have each other and have the privilege of being together.

Maybe you feel it more out here than at home, because here you often think that everything is so difficult. Today the mail has arrived but no letters from Sweden but one from my brother Nils in

America and one from our friends in Belgium.

When you receive this letter you’ll have full summer at home. I said to Ivar today: "Imagine if we could go home to Sävelund for a little while this summer." Warm greetings to you all, Mom, Dad, Grandma.

Affectionate Ester.”

Excerpt Bania on June 12, 1926.

Ester: “Yes, I will probably also, as Ivar says, write a few lines. Now it's a full summer at home in Sweden, and you can drink coffee out in the green.

We hope that grandma can leave the bed and enjoy the summer. Out here, it's neither summer nor winter, I do not really know what season it is, it's just hot. But it’s lovely when we can be healthy and there is no shortage of work. I think that the longer you get to be in Congo, the better you thrive, and the more you get used to the natives, the more you like them. Now I understand very well why the missionaries long here. You usually get "rooted" out here. Everything is as usual. We are in the same little spot. For those of us who are used to travel around a bit, it is strange sometimes, but it goes really well too. It's really nice to be still in your own little home. But one thing would be a lot of fun, and that would be to be visited by all of you.

We would bring out the fine tableware and make it as nice as we could. Ivar is sitting here next to me at the desk. He is really healthy and well.”

Excerpt Bania on 20/6 1926.

“Our loved ones in Åmmeberg. Thank you for your letter of April 15th. Since we last wrote, we have all been in full operation. I am completely healthy and working from early morning to late evening, as do Ester. She has now gotten a little better, since Emma is here. We needed the reinforcement. It is starting to get a little easier for us with the language. I enjoy hearing how the "little old woman" begin to ‘drawl’ in ‘Baya’. Now that we have become a little more used to the conditions, everything works much better than in the beginning.

Ester is sitting on the porch reading Swedish newspapers. Oh what a treat it is when they arrive.

However, we probably put the greatest value on letters from our loved ones, of which you can be certain.

Greetings to you all. Affectionate Ivar.”

During the medical treatments and during the visits to the villages, Ester had a wooden red-cross box with her. This was divided into compartments where the iodine bottle, collodion bottle, catheters,

tweezers, dressings, round bowl, suture needles, silk, tweezers, pipettes, syringes, enema tubes, intestinal tubes, sheet metal containers for cotton,

cotton wool, ammonia bottle, benzene bottle, chest cough bottle and hydrogen superoxide was stored.

In Brussels, they had also bought the academic book "Larousse Medical Illustre’.

Excerpt Bania 27th June, 1926. Ester writes: “Our dear ones in the little cottage among the hills, God bless you all!

Yes now it’s time for the post to be sent off again, so I’ll write you a few lines. We do understand that you are very happy receiving our mail as we are yours. Time flies! Now it’s almost a year since our wedding and five years since Ivar and I got

engaged. Today I’m even more enamoured with Ivar than ever before. I do not need to say why, you all know him - and we all love him. Sometimes I just think he's working way too much here. He has become very tireless since he came to Congo.

Lately many of the blacks have been ill. Their illness is very reminiscent of the Spanish flu. They have poor houses and poor clothing, and therefore when it rains and blows, they catch a cold. Come with me on a sick visit to the village! The road to the village consists of a narrow footpath, which winds its way between tall grass on both sides of the path. The grass in Congo can sometimes be up to 8 meters high. It is stuffy and hot and the sun is roasting. But if it was hot outside, it was even warmer inside the little Negro hut. No windows, no hole in the ceiling but the smoke finds its way out through an opening, which is supposed to represent a door. If you then take into account that in the hut lie two men sick with fever, on the floor sit five women and seven children. Some of them cough a lot because of their colds. My first thought when I enter the ‘cottage’ is that here I’ll faint. But it went well, I soon got used to the air, and I sat down with them. I take out the bottle of chest medicine and give them each their own dose. The sick men each get their own blanket to wrap around them. The children gather around me and tell me that they

would like to get some fabric. I knew of this from before, for it is one thing which I hear every day.

We do the best we can to help them. We still can do so terribly little for them. When you come home from such a visit you are both sweaty and dirty, but what does it matter, we have both soap and water.

One of the workers came to me and asked me to come and look after his wife, because she had just had a little boy. Now it was time to hastily sew together a little dress for the newborn, look for some old linen and leave. Ivar followed, it's so good when he takes the time to go to the village. When we got there, we found the woman sitting healthy and alert on the earth-floor in the hut and holding the little one in her arms. A moment later she was on the move as normal. Ivar is starting to become really good at speaking the language of the natives.

Tonight we thought, if we have time, to go to the village again and look after some of the sick.

Heartfelt greetings to you all, Affectionate Ester.”

Excerpt from a letter from Bania on July 18, 1926.

“Ester and I are healthy and feel good. I have been with Svensson out in the villages for a whole week.

It was very interesting, and sometimes it was both comical and exciting. This latter was probably

caused mostly by our horses. We are riding, and I am now beginning to get used to sitting in the saddle. One day, a horse was about to drown, but in the end, after much effort, we brought him onto dry land. We were to cross a river, as wide as the bay at home. We jumped in a canoe (a hollowed-out tree trunk) and led the horse next to the craft. I grabbed the mane, a couple of old men held the bridle and a couple grabbed the tail of the horse. Then we pushed the boat out and we were off. At first the horse lived up a little, but then became calm and lay still, until we finally reached the other shore because the current took us a good distance downriver. When we went back home we did the same manoeuvre. We visited about 30 villages and

had some meetings. Everywhere we were well received The administration has proposed us to move from Bania to another place, called Sosso, as it has a better climate. The future may well show how it will be. On the way home we paid a visit to the Catholic mission, two days from here. There we were well entertained with good food and had an interesting and pleasant evening.”

Excerpt Bania on July 25, 1926.

“I am so happy and grateful that Ivar came home again from his trip healthy and happy. It thundered

and rained quite a lot, when they were away. We know so little of this country. I was happy when one day I saw him healthy and alert, even though he was both bearded and dirty. I'm fine myself. I've been feeling much better since Emma came. I have to devote more time to healthcare. Right now Ivar and I have taken a walk through the forest and visited a sick person. I'm really surprised at how far he (Ivar) has already come in the language. But he is very diligent. Works outside and inside, and takes care of every minute. Maybe he has got a feeling that time is short. We all know that, and sooner than we realise, maybe our working day is over.”

Excerpt Bania on August 7, 1926.

“It is now Saturday, so I am free and use the time for such work. Esther currently has a lot of work, because Emma and she sew trousers on behalf of the schoolboys. She's sitting next to me here and is so diligent. There's always so much work out here.

This week I have been engaged in other activities than the usual; shoe repairs. I have cheated for the first time in the profession - because I have repaired no less than eight pairs. Otherwise, we are working on a large plantation, which must be completed before the rainy season begins. We can now count on a period of three months, which will give us a lot

of rain. Then in December it will be ‘summer’ again. During the rainy season it will be very hot between the downpours, yes almost worse than during the dry season. We are now going to plant manioc, the people's national dish. We too eat such food, although we do not prepare it in the same way as the natives. And we are planting bananas as well.

As you understand, we must try to do everything we can to provide food and income for our workers.

Right now we have delivered an order for ten doors and twelve windows to a white one over in Yokadouma. It will be an income of 1100 Francs (close to £16.00). Most of the work has been done by our carpenters, but we have to be involved in marking the wood and so on. We often receive inquiries and orders for various such things, and the other day a businessman was with us and wanted to hire two carpenters.”

Excerpt Bania on 28/8 1926.

“Today we have probably more than usual thought of you. As you probably remember, it was this day last year that we were at a celebration in the chapel and at dinner at the town hotel. Maybe mother is crying a little? But we also understand that, the reasons can be several. Partly because it was all so wonderful and partly because the son in the house

finally got married off, and mom and everyone at home gained a daughter- and sister-in-law. More than ever before, I value and cherish her.”

Excerpt Bania on 29 Aug 1926.

Ester: “Today it is a year since Ivar and I celebrated our wedding. We said this morning “Can you believe it, that we have been together a whole year."

How long we will be, we do not know but we thank God for every day we get to own each other. Of course we want to be together here on earth yet one day when we leave this life we wish that we will also be together.”

Bania 12/9 1926.

“The rainy season has already begun, and some days we get nowhere with the planting but when the sun is out we work so much more. We waited so long for the mail this time, because it took so long due to the rain. The natives carry the mail from one place to another, and they are not in such a hurry.

They stop in the villages and visit relatives, so it can always happen that we have to wait for them a few days longer than we need. But then the joy becomes so much greater, when it finally arrives.”

“The seal for the mailbag is cut with speed, and we

are so eager until everyone gets hold of their letters and newspapers, and then everyone gets reading.”

Excerpt Bania on 18th September 1926.

“Dear grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncle and grandmother's mother! Yes, we have the pleasure of telling you that we have become parents. Yesterday at 11.35 p.m. our firstborn arrived.”

“Please forgive us that we have not said anything before, as we did not want to worry you unnecessarily. Now we can tell in detail about what happened. We woke up at five o'clock yesterday morning. Ester did not feel well, but when I went out to have morning prayer with the people shortly after six, she got up. Everything was in good order, but as soon as she’d done what was needed and had made her bed, she had to go straight back to bed.

Then it was a little over seven, when Emma came to to the kitchen and I called her in. She had promised to help us, and although she herself had not taken care of anything like this before, she is quite experienced. We had paid a visit to the doctor in Nola at the end of July, and he gave us the very best hope and reassurance for what was to come. He thought Ester was very alert and healthy then. He also promised to come, if his help was needed, but it takes at least five hours to get a message in the canoe downriver to Nola. Then it is a two-day march in a sedan-chair up from Nola to Bania. The doctor promised to travel night and day to be here in 12 to 15 hours. However, we have felt wonderfully calm and everything has developed normally. And it went so terribly fast yesterday that we did not have time for more than what was necessary. It was a few heated hours, but at halfpast twelve a big, loud, screaming and playful girl

was lying next to her mother. Ester was and is surprisingly strong. She is so calm and has rested so well both yesterday and tonight. The little one shouted bravely, but when she got food she became silent. Everything has gone so extraordinarily well so far. I wrote a letter to the doctor yesterday and told him. I wish you could see this beautiful sight; Ester lies and holds her little daughter, chats with her and can barely hold back tears of joy. The girl will be named Ester Inga. Who she look like is hard to say. She seems to be healthy and well-built, and that's the most important thing. Ester says that she resembles my grandmother. Last night two French ladies, who were with their husbands in Bania in transit, came here and congratulated. One wife, who has children herself, cried when she saw our little one. The night watchman brought an egg and congratulated us when he arrived last night. He got to see the little one and considers it a great honour to be the first in Bania, who has seen a white child.”

Bania on 25 September,1926.

Ester: “I feel pretty good. Today I have been up a couple of hours. Inga is feeling well. She eats and sleeps. She only screamed after when she was born but since then she has been kind and quiet. Of course she keeps us awake sometimes, because she

likes to sleep during the day and then she is alert and awake when the evening comes. She has the same nose as Ivar, and his hands and feet I think.

Obviously we think of her a lot.”

Bania on Monday the 27th September.

“Ester has been up both yesterday and today. She is so healthy and unusually strong. Every day she joins us in the dining room and has today started to take care of her own work herself. When we go to the dining room, a small chubby black man sits next to the little one's red bed and keeps watch. His name is Biri. Inga seems to be doing fine. Everyone have suffered from the heat, because it has been extremely warm lately. We knuckle on as usual. I preached yesterday morning and in the afternoon I went to a village, an hour's walk from here. The chief and close to the whole village, almost 200 persons were gathered. Today we are planting, and I have been to the forest and marked up timber. At the moment we’re having our lunch break. The wind is beginning to blow, the thunder is going and it's probably going to rain. My horse has stepped on glass, so he was bleeding badly. He’s getting better, but he's still kept inside. Otherwise, everything is proceeding smoothly.

Sincere greetings from Inga, Ester and Ivar.”

Excerpt Bania October 11, 1926.

“How time flies! Tonight it is a year since we said goodbye in Örebro and traveled to Skåne and a year since we saw mother and father standing outside the small cottage at home waving goodbye. Yes, all three of us are fine. Ester is strong and alert and takes care of our little girl as well as she possibly can in Congo. I'm glad that no dangerous consequences have come about, but that everything is completely normal and hopeful. Little Inga grows and develops. She is also kind and good. We are immensely happy for her. Every day we have some visitors here who come to "look" at her. It's still new and weird. Yesterday afternoon when I was out and had a meeting in a village an hour's way from here, I took the opportunity, when the interest waned, to ask how many people had been to the station and seen our little girl. There were not many, but some had seen her, and the chief himself spoke to the people, mentioning her name.

It is very rainy. Almost every day and often at night it pours down in huge rivers, but at least the sun did come out briefly this afternoon. We are working on the last part of the planting, then we will start preparing to build a house for the servants and one for the horses.”

Excerpt Bania 12 Oct.1926.

Esther: “We wish you all a peaceful and blessed Christmas. If we may remain alive, it will be our second Christmas in Congo. Inga is growing and feeling well. She's already starting to want to be up during the day, she does not like to lie in bed when she is awake. Still, her dad has made her such a nice bed of red wood. She prefers to lie in her dad's or mom's lap or be carried by one of the young boys.”

“I've been fine since I got the little one, cared for her in our home and carried on studying the language, the latter I have had not much time for before. Now the planting is soon finished, but then the palm trees will be planted. The planting covers about seven acres. It's so lovely to see how everything grows. In a few years we hope to have many fruit trees in Bania. We have also thought of having a new road built down to the riverfront.

Nowadays we are not allowed to run the school in Bania because of the sleeping sickness.“ Excerpt Bania on 28/10 1926.

“It is seven in the evening and we have just come in from the veranda, where we sat and talked about our memories of Sweden. Now the darkness has fallen and a few flashes of lightning far away in the distance illuminates the primeval forest from time to time, the eternal rustling of the thousand inhabitants of the grass; crickets sounds throughout the night, reaches my ear incessantly. The night watchman is heard talking a little with his ‘servant’ (a little boy). They have just arrived and are preparing their log fire for the night. At any moment I expect to hear his voice at the window, he wants his "night watchman's coat". In our room it is

bright, warm and nice. Ester writes: Our little girl is breathing in her bed under dad's and mom's big mosquito nets. Otherwise she seems to be fine and she is really resting really well after the bath a couple of hours ago.“ Ester: “Thank you for what you sent us; Ivar's shirt and my dress fabric. There was so much fabric, I think Inga can get a dress as well. Our little Inga grows and is so sweet. Ivar and I sat tonight and watched her as she lay in her bed sleeping. We were so thankful to God for her and thanked him for the treasure he gave us.

Warm greetings. Little Inga wants to wish you a Happy New Year!”

Excerpt Bania on 28/12 1926.

“Our loved ones in Åmmeberg! Thank you very much for the letter of 17/10, received yesterday.

December has been challenging. Both joy and sorrow have we met. Ester fell ill on the 13th of December, violently and severely and lay for a whole week. She had a high fever, was in a lot of

pain and had severe chest pain attacks. A couple of times it looked like she was going to leave us, but God forbid, it turned around and we got to keep Ester. She's better now, even though she's not that strong. Little Inga has always been well except last night when she was feverish and grumpy but today she is better. Ester is so tired after being awake all night.

So we’ve celebrated Christmas, the first at Bania.

The climate is very difficult during the months of December and January. It is only 15 to 18 degrees warm at night, in the mornings there is a raw, thick fog until towards 9-10 and then at noon it is 30-35 degrees warm in the shade. Such changes in temperature are extremely difficult for us, and it is a wonder that things are going as good as they are.

So to another matter, we have sometimes wondered if you have had any expenses for us? We are registered here and pay our tax to the French administrator. The past year has been good for us, when it comes to the exchange of Swedish money, since the franc has been so low. We have also tried to strive with frugality and therefore have saved a little from our salary. Now we shall write the Swedish mission and ask them to send you a small sum of money. When this reaches you we will have been out here half of our scheduled time period. It

would be so great to come home and show you our talented and dear Inga girl.

Yours Ester and Ivar.

P.S. Inga greets grandma and grandpa.

Excerpt Bania on 29 Dec.1926.

Ester: “Now we have celebrated Christmas at Bania. We tried to make it as nice and homely as possible, had a Christmas tree made of wood and steel wire and covered with green silk paper. It turned out really nice. We also had Christmas rice porridge, gammon and fish, and we managed to find some little things and gave each other a Christmas present. We had the Christmas sermon at 5am in the morning, because at 6 it will be light. We had the hall dressed with palm branches and candles. It was really beautiful. Ivar had translated a couple of Christmas carols into the language of the natives. It was loud when we sang "Doung dedi mosa be Noel" (“Be greeted beautiful morning”). Then Ivar read the Christmas text that he had translated. We have no Bible or New Testament, but we keep on translating so it will be with us in due time. By the way, the natives can not read. Some of the boys who went to school here can read a little. On Christmas Day we had a Christmas party and

handed out clothes to the children. You must think they were happy. For most of them, it was probably the first time they have had any clothes. As you can see, things have been changing here lately. I did not imagine I would get to see this Christmas. Inga is so small that it would probably have been very difficult for her. So I was happy to remain alive with my loved ones. Inga has had a fever these last few days. I was really worried about her this morning but now she is a little bit better again. God will probably help us and our little girl.

Yours affectionate, Ester.

P.S. 30/12 Today Inga is feeling better and is feverfree. She and we too, have slept peacefully.”

Excerpt Bania on 11-1 1927.

Ester: “All good here. Inga is healthy again. We are so happy for our girl. She grows and is alert. Right now she is lying in the carriage, the one Ivar made for her, and sleeping. Ivar has been in a hurry and busy with writing work so I have taken the baptism class. A little black boy has looked after Inga.

When I came home again, she was asleep. She has probably been a little spoiled because because I have not been so strong, and I myself have had a lot

of time with her. I have been happy about that, because it is not so good to leave such a small, fragile creature in the hands of the boys for too long. It gets more fun with Inga every day because she babbles and laughs and is so curious about everything. Ivar is very diligent during the day, but I am very anxious for him, because he is far too hurried. I have been feeling better lately, but get tired so quickly, but I have been happy that I have been able to look after our home and the little one. I have cooked some food and given her, so now hopefully we all will get stronger. Ivar has managed to get some goat's milk for us, and that's very good.

Your affectionate Ester.”

Excerpt Bania January 12, 1927.

“We all three feel good. The little one is more alert than ever and grows unusually fast. Ester is not as strong as before, but we sincerely hope to God that she may be completely restored. So the almanac tells us that it will soon be mother's birthday. It would be fun to come home and congratulate. Time flies fast. We have soon been a year at Bania. The work is much easier, when you get a little used to it I have built a stable for the horses during the last week and laboured alone with my black men. But it

has gone quite well, and the stable is now soon finished. Then we will build a brick house for the goats as well. The other houses have to be rebuilt every year for the ants eat up all the wood, so one fine day everything falls into a big pile. In the long run, it will be too expensive. It's early morning, I have been out already, Ester is getting up and Inga

is sleeping in her red bed. Ester and I were out walking in the moonlight last night. Today is a beautiful day. You see these first samples from my new typewriter, which I received as a gift from my beloved wife on my 26th birthday, even though it did not arrive until now.

Yours, Ivar.”

Excerpt Bania on 6 Feb.1927.

“I do not know if I should say that today you will receive a letter with a joyous or sad content. Maybe it's a bit of both. The thing is, in short, that we have to come home. As we announced before, Ester has been ill lately. On the 1st of February she had a very severe attack on her heart, and it is now the first day that she has been able to be up after that. After much prayer and deliberation with our friends here at the station, we have decided to return home.

We're leaving here already at the end of this week.

“We should then leave Congo around April 1st. and arrive in Sweden about 3 weeks later. If it turns out to be possible, we might be able to get away sooner with an earlier vessel, as we arrive in Brazzaville around March 1st. We’ll send a message from there.

We have tried to do everything possible, but you can not believe how difficult it can be in this country. Now we hope the journey across the sea and the climate change will do my little darling good, and that she will get well again. We will probably cross over into Malmö, so Mother in Skåne will probably be visited by us first. However, we can not decide either one or the other, but take one day at a time. Little Inga is so big and mischievous and not at all sad. She laughs all day

long and has a lovely time. Personally, I also feel good, after all.

Your affectionate Inga, Ester and Ivar.”

My grandparents departure from Bania began on the 12th of February 1927. The long journey down to Brazzaville began with getting rowers to the boat. Three boys accompanied them; Biri, Goe’ and Bophokando to assist with babysitting and cooking as well as laundry. In the boat was a bed set up so that the sick could rest. Inga's cradle stood beside the bed. All luggage had also been stowed away and 8-10 native rowers who took turns. At the boat's departure, the remaining three white friends and a large crowd of Congolese friends stood on the shore waving goodbye. Every night the boat docked on the banks for rest. Food was to be procured and prepared before nightfall. Often there were station houses with accommodation along the river. After many difficult experiences and hardships, they reached Ouesso on 21 February. The boat Commandant Lamy was to depart on 24 February.

In Ouesso there were doctors who gave some medical treatment and the sick were given the opportunity to rest on solid ground. Here the three black boys left the company to go home. Goe’, who had fed Inga, handed over to her the small clay

bowl that had been her food vessel. Inga kept this bowl for the rest of her life. In Picounda, many missionary comrades from the nearby Matele Mission Station came to say their goodbyes. The boat trip continued and many hippos and crocodiles lined the rivers edge. On March 5, the party reached Brazzaville and was warmly received by their friends.

Excerpt Brazzaville March 6, 1927.

“Our dear ones at home! Hope that our letter from Bania of 6 February reached you. Now we're so far gone that we're in Brazzaville. It has gone better than we dared hoped. It is because of Ester’s health, which is so shaky, that we do not dare to stay any longer, and we now hope that things will go well for the rest of the journey, and that we will be able to recover and gather new strength in our beautiful, lovely country. Today we have ordered tickets with a boat which departs from Matadi on April 1st. We do not know yet if we can get a ticket, but in these circumstances they usually help to accommodate.

We would dock in Antwerp on April 19 and arrive in Sweden a few days later. Mother in Skåne gets the first visit. So we want to say a warm thank you to you for the Christmas presents, which we

received here in Brazzaville a couple of days ago.

You probably have no idea how happy we were for them, and when we get home, we should really thank you for everything. Little Inga is the most energetic of us. She is everyone's delight and arouses surprise wherever she goes, because she is so big and mischievous.

Your affectionate Ester and Ivar“ Excerpt onboard "Thysville” 8 April 1927.

(Thysville was the sister ship to Elisabethville) “Our dear ones at home! We'll probably come to Tenerife, and if that's possible, we'll try to get this letter sent out to you. Our journey has so far been successful, but we have the worst part left. From Brazzaville the train went pretty well, although at one point we had a difficult accident. Our train happened to run into a freight train at a station. We in, our carriage escaped with a few shocks and a mere fright, in another carriage one person was injured but no one was killed. In Matadi we spent a few hot days, and a week ago we went on board.

Ester got pretty bad on the last day of the train journey, but since we went to sea she has felt better.

It's extraordinarily nice at sea. We believe and hope that she will be fully healthy after this journey. On

the 19th we will disembark in Antwerp, and then we make a couple of days rest there and in Brussels, after which we’ll travel to Sweden. First we will stay with mother in Skåne, how long we do not know. We will probably write about that later. Inga is well. On the boat there are probably about 25 children, but our Inga is probably the most alert of them all at that age. She has a lot of fun during the days, and there’s an awful lot for her to explore.

Warmest regards from all of us, Ivar” Easter 1927.

“Dear mother and father. We could not post the letter in Tenerife but should do so as soon as we on Thursday disembark in Antwerp. The week that has passed, since I wrote the previous one, has been quite difficult. We have had difficult seas and many have been ill. Ester was really bad for a couple of days, but now she's better. Dad (Ivar) and Inga have managed quite well so far, and now we hope that the worst is over. We only have one more full day except this one on board. Overall, all is well, even though we think it feels so cold and windy. At the end of the week or on Sunday we’ll come to Sweden. We’ll send a few lines from Brussels. It

will be so nice to come home after such a long time, we have been traveling for over two months now.

Finally, our warmest greetings, Yours - Inga, Ester and Ivar.“

THANK YOU GUNNEL These letters were stored and saved by Ivars family.

My aunt Gunnel (younger sister to Inga) compiled and edited, transcribed and printed them and gave each of us a copy to treasure. I translated it into English and edited a little to fit this present format.

The usage of words and terms used at the time, such as Whites and Blacks have been altered on occasion to suit our present situation.

Bjorn Saw, January 2022.