Chapter 15: Farewell to Tarma
AS TOLD BY JOHN AGERSTEN
The weeks following my trip north to Bagua in May flew by quickly. Lewi was born on July 17th ‘68 and increased our little family to four! We felt truly blessed and excited! We were also excited that the Lord was leading us to a new field of ministry. Toward the end of July Gro writes:
“We are now convinced that we should move to Bagua Chica and have that as the base for our ministry among the Indigenous groups and the rest of the people who live further inland in the jungle. John's trip there provided us with many answers, but there are still many questions and a lot of unknowns. We have written to Salem, our church in Norway, about the matter, but we are not expecting them to object to our plans. We ourselves are sure it is God's will. We have been praying for a long time for God’s guidance about how to move forward in the ministry, and we have not felt at peace about anything until now. Tonight, at the church business meeting, John will abdicate his responsibility as pastor. It will probably be assistant pastor Alejandro Lopes who takes over. When we talked to him about it, he told us he is willing to do so. John is stepping down now so that Alejandro will have some time to learn about his new responsibilities while we are still here to help him. We plan to leave Tarma in October or November. Then both the baby and I have had some time to get stronger after the birth. The rainy season starts later in November/December and then the roads will be miserable to travel on.”
“We are now convinced that we should move to Bagua Chica and have that as the base for our ministry among the Indigenous groups and the rest of the people who live further inland in the jungle. John's trip there provided us with many answers, but there are still many questions and a lot of unknowns. We have written to Salem, our church in Norway, about the matter, but we are not expecting them to object to our plans. We ourselves are sure it is God's will. We have been praying for a long time for God’s guidance about how to move forward in the ministry, and we have not felt at peace about anything until now. Tonight, at the church business meeting, John will abdicate his responsibility as pastor. It will probably be assistant pastor Alejandro Lopes who takes over. When we talked to him about it, he told us he is willing to do so. John is stepping down now so that Alejandro will have some time to learn about his new responsibilities while we are still here to help him. We plan to leave Tarma in October or November. Then both the baby and I have had some time to get stronger after the birth. The rainy season starts later in November/December and then the roads will be miserable to travel on.”
Shortly after that we got a positive response from Salem. They agreed with our decision to move and assured us that they would continue to support us and remember us in prayer. The missionaries Boyan and Lennart Lindgren had not returned to Tarma after their year in Sweden, but worked in Huancayo for about a year while the Anderås family went home to Sweden for their furlow. While in Sweden, Boyan and Lennart were encouraged to take up work in Lima. They felt God’s peace about that, so when Anderås returned to Huancayo, they started exploring Lima to find a location to start a ministry around the New Year 1969. About six months later, they started a church and settled in the neighborhood Magdalena del Mar in Lima.
So Alejandro Lopez, the assistant pastor in Tarma, became the congregation's first national pastor. He had worked with us since our arrival, and we felt that the ministry and the church would be in good hands. At the church, some of the believers worked with me on the construction of an extension to the church at the back of the courtyard. We received some money from Norway every now and then to purchase needed materials. It was good to see it finished not long before we moved north. A nice family in the congregation moved in to help as caretakers and with the work of the church in general.
As soon as the move was approved by the leadership in Salem, we began to prepare for leaving Tarma. We contacted Jose Placencia, a brother from the Baptist Church in Bagua Chica, right away. He had promised me that he would help us find a place to live if we decided to come and start a ministry from there. In a letter home, we write:
“It took a while before we received a reply from Jose, but we finally did. He told us he had found a house for us. There was no bathroom, and there was also flooring missing in a couple of rooms, but the owner was supposed to fix this before we arrived. He didn’t mention anything about the size or the price, so we will have to see about that when we get there. It is at least good to know that we have a place to go. ”
There were a lot of practical things to take care of before we could move, besides work at the church, farewell visits to outposts, and friends who visited us at home to say goodbye. Gro and I had made many friends after almost two years in Tarma. One practical thing we had to consider was that electricity was only available in Bagua Chica for a few hours each evening. Because of that we had to replace some of our electrical appliances. Gro was able to replace her modern electric sewing machine with an equally modern machine, but which in addition to the electrical motor could be operated with a footboard. That way the sewing machine could be used without electricity. She eventually became good at rocking the footboard back and forth to make an even seam, although it was a little difficult to begin with.
We also sold our electric refrigerator, and the plan was to buy Lindgren's used refrigerator that ran on kerosene. But then a better solution came up just a couple of weeks before we were to move. Swedish Elektrolux had a large store in Lima where we got in touch with the Swedish manager who was very friendly and kind. Since we belonged to a mission / church registered with the Peruvian authorities, we were able to order a paraffin refrigerator directly from the factory and have it imported duty free. The price was great: almost a third of what it would usually go for. Paraffin refrigerators were much more expensive than electric ones. With the discount we received, the sale of our electrical refrigerator was almost enough to cover the amount of the new one. The store manager was helpful with the ordering and the application to get it duty-free. There was one problem, however. It would take some time for the documents to be processed, and then for the refrigerator to be shipped to Peru by ship. The fridge would not be arriving in Lima until well into the new year, and we really needed it before that. We also had to consider that it would have to be shipped from Lima to Bagua once it arrived. We had hoped to take with us on the same truck as the rest of our things. We were a little worried, but left it all in God's hands. Shortly thereafter, we received a surprising and wonderful message from the store in Lima. The manager realized we needed the fridge right away, and had decided to let us take one he had in stock and wait with payment till the other one arrived. Needless to say we were happy and deeply grateful. We thanked the manager profusely, and we also gave thanks to the Lord who had worked this out for us.
So Alejandro Lopez, the assistant pastor in Tarma, became the congregation's first national pastor. He had worked with us since our arrival, and we felt that the ministry and the church would be in good hands. At the church, some of the believers worked with me on the construction of an extension to the church at the back of the courtyard. We received some money from Norway every now and then to purchase needed materials. It was good to see it finished not long before we moved north. A nice family in the congregation moved in to help as caretakers and with the work of the church in general.
As soon as the move was approved by the leadership in Salem, we began to prepare for leaving Tarma. We contacted Jose Placencia, a brother from the Baptist Church in Bagua Chica, right away. He had promised me that he would help us find a place to live if we decided to come and start a ministry from there. In a letter home, we write:
“It took a while before we received a reply from Jose, but we finally did. He told us he had found a house for us. There was no bathroom, and there was also flooring missing in a couple of rooms, but the owner was supposed to fix this before we arrived. He didn’t mention anything about the size or the price, so we will have to see about that when we get there. It is at least good to know that we have a place to go. ”
There were a lot of practical things to take care of before we could move, besides work at the church, farewell visits to outposts, and friends who visited us at home to say goodbye. Gro and I had made many friends after almost two years in Tarma. One practical thing we had to consider was that electricity was only available in Bagua Chica for a few hours each evening. Because of that we had to replace some of our electrical appliances. Gro was able to replace her modern electric sewing machine with an equally modern machine, but which in addition to the electrical motor could be operated with a footboard. That way the sewing machine could be used without electricity. She eventually became good at rocking the footboard back and forth to make an even seam, although it was a little difficult to begin with.
We also sold our electric refrigerator, and the plan was to buy Lindgren's used refrigerator that ran on kerosene. But then a better solution came up just a couple of weeks before we were to move. Swedish Elektrolux had a large store in Lima where we got in touch with the Swedish manager who was very friendly and kind. Since we belonged to a mission / church registered with the Peruvian authorities, we were able to order a paraffin refrigerator directly from the factory and have it imported duty free. The price was great: almost a third of what it would usually go for. Paraffin refrigerators were much more expensive than electric ones. With the discount we received, the sale of our electrical refrigerator was almost enough to cover the amount of the new one. The store manager was helpful with the ordering and the application to get it duty-free. There was one problem, however. It would take some time for the documents to be processed, and then for the refrigerator to be shipped to Peru by ship. The fridge would not be arriving in Lima until well into the new year, and we really needed it before that. We also had to consider that it would have to be shipped from Lima to Bagua once it arrived. We had hoped to take with us on the same truck as the rest of our things. We were a little worried, but left it all in God's hands. Shortly thereafter, we received a surprising and wonderful message from the store in Lima. The manager realized we needed the fridge right away, and had decided to let us take one he had in stock and wait with payment till the other one arrived. Needless to say we were happy and deeply grateful. We thanked the manager profusely, and we also gave thanks to the Lord who had worked this out for us.
October arrived quickly and at the end of the month there was a farewell party for us in "Casa de Oracion" . Gro wrote a letter to her parents about this on November 4th, 1968: “Thursday the church held a farewell meeting for us with a lot of people. It was really nice that the Lindgren family came from Huancayo to be with us as well. I have to say that the meeting was pretty sad due to the occasion. Some of the older women cried openly, and the tears were not far away for most of the rest of us either. There were many who wanted to say a few words to us. Lennart Lindgren was the main speaker. It was a beautiful service, although it was sad to think about leaving the friends we have made in the congregation.
On Sunday we were asked to dinner with a young family that lives a little outside Tarma. It was the same place where we had the farewell party for the Lindgren family almost two years ago. This time they did not serve Pachamanca but delicious fried chicken along with potatoes and vegetables. It tasted really good! We found out that some of the members of the church had collected money to make this fancy dinner for us and the leaders of the congregation. We really appreciated that, and we had a very nice afternoon together.”
On Sunday we were asked to dinner with a young family that lives a little outside Tarma. It was the same place where we had the farewell party for the Lindgren family almost two years ago. This time they did not serve Pachamanca but delicious fried chicken along with potatoes and vegetables. It tasted really good! We found out that some of the members of the church had collected money to make this fancy dinner for us and the leaders of the congregation. We really appreciated that, and we had a very nice afternoon together.”
After a lot of inquiries, we finally found a truck owner who agreed to move our belongings at a price we could afford. We had received extra help for moving expenses from the Salem church and from some friends in Canada. The truck was nice and fairly new, but still the move was postponed a couple of times due to needed repairs on the vehicle. Finally on November 6, almost a week after the planned departure, the moving truck arrived at 6 in the evening and wanted to leave as soon as possible. We had finished packing most of our things, but even so the evening was pretty hectic as we packed the last few things and loaded everything in the truck and our Land Rover.
The Land Rover was filled with some smaller items and things we would need on the trip. We arranged space for the little portable bed where Lewi, who was 4 months old, could lie during the trip. Maino, who was almost 4, also got a sleeping place in the car with a pillow and blanket. By midnight, we were ready to leave.
It was with very mixed emotions we watched Tarma disappear behind us in the darkness. It was sad to leave the church and the friends in Tarma. We had learned so much during our time there. At the same time, it was exciting to be moving forward with what we felt God had called us to do, although there was some nervousness as well. What awaited us in Bagua? But we had peace knowing that the God who had been with us in the mountains, would be with us in the jungle as well.
The Land Rover was filled with some smaller items and things we would need on the trip. We arranged space for the little portable bed where Lewi, who was 4 months old, could lie during the trip. Maino, who was almost 4, also got a sleeping place in the car with a pillow and blanket. By midnight, we were ready to leave.
It was with very mixed emotions we watched Tarma disappear behind us in the darkness. It was sad to leave the church and the friends in Tarma. We had learned so much during our time there. At the same time, it was exciting to be moving forward with what we felt God had called us to do, although there was some nervousness as well. What awaited us in Bagua? But we had peace knowing that the God who had been with us in the mountains, would be with us in the jungle as well.
