Guyana and Suriname
Guyana? Is that in Africa?
No, It's right next to Suriname.
Suriname??
This is the general reaction I get when asked where I am at the moment. Luckily I have a quick explanation to clear up any confusion: It's just north of Brazil. Going into Guyana I had absolutely no idea what to expect. It's not like Jamaica or Cuba where you have a preconceived idea of what it may be like...all we knew was that there were a lot of mosquitoes (not my idea of a place I would want to be in for too long). But from the very first night we spent with Pastor Deo and them, my few expectations were completely blown away. Dining outside the church, under the beautiful starry sky with cricket sounds in the background, followed by a sing-along guitar session, I was content. Extremely content.
The only things I didn't enjoy about Guyana were the mosquitoes and the mid-day heat. But that really were the ONLY things! The rest of my experience of Guyana was the reason God led me to this journey. To enjoy life to the fullness that he offers! Enjoy the food, enjoy the people, enjoy the evangelism, the quiet times, the noisy times, the jogs (or walks), the food, the Bible study, the sermons, the helping to prepare local food and did I mention the food?? The reason why the food stood out for me in this country was not only because it was absolutely delicious, but also because it was our main "point of ministry". Being invited into many families' homes, they all blessed us by making us a part of their nightly swallowship (fellowship with food). Through that God also challenged me a lot about what it means to give and about the fact that nothing that I have is my own and all that I receive is a blessing from Him.
The last few days in Guyana our team split up and most of the team went to an Eastern town to the Pastor's brother, while Tiaan, Keneilwe and I stayed behind to wait on God to sort out Keneilwe's visa for Brazil. Those who know the Tall Trees temperament test will understand that while our palm-tree teammates saw it as suffering to stay behind, the three Pine-trees had a much needed, QUIET holiday! After re-uniting and spending the night in Berbice, we took the first ferry to Suriname. Man, what a place that is!! It was our team's very first pioneering country and therefore our new contacts (established by our Guyana contact) had no idea what these 9 young missionaries were all about, but you would never guess that when you judge the way they welcomed us and trusted us to minister with them in church services, youth services and fellowship with the Bible School students.
We were hosted at the campus of Hebron Zendelingenschool, helping out with chores, hanging out and just sharing with the students most of our time. Since Suriname is a Dutch colony, we could understand each other perfectly when we spoke slow enough, and it was a privilege to be able to build relationship through our home language. For the first time since the journey began I realized again what a journey of faith we are actually on and I knew God gave us the gift of faith in order to encourage specific people with it. One special family also touched my heart very deeply: the Boschmans family. It was as if we completely skipped the whole getting-to-know-each-other-part of a relationship, and immediately went over to loving-each-other-like-family. Opening up and sharing testimonies of God's goodness came naturally and after only a few hours of true fellowship, everybody was crying over the idea of having to part. It was a truly divine connection between our group and the family group. But they are just a few of the many people who God united us in the Spirit with and without any doubt I can say that I will never forget the people of Suriname. People of the same heart and mind, almost the same language, some similar culture and definitely the same God.
I leave Suriname refreshed with God's love for his people, but in the back of my mind I also know that a little part of my heart stays with my new friends and family. Like they would say: Ik heb een tuintjie in mijn hart voor jou, Suriname.
