Where oh where Wednesday: Suriname

50 years ago much of the world was in turmoil. As a child I was quite interested in maps and flags and countries. We had an encyclopedia - a set of books in which you could find all sorts of information, a paper “Google” if you will - and I would spend hours looking at and copying over the flags of the world. But it was difficult in those years because there were a lot of changes taking place, a lot of new flags. 

Many of the countries that had been colonies were declaring and finding the independence from their colonizers. Africa was changing rapidly, as was much of Asia. Even in South America there was some change. One of the little countries on the shoulder of South America also declared independence. Suriname was a colony of The Netherlands. Although the country at the time barely had a population of 300,000, it was rich in natural resources. 

Even today, Suriname only has a population of around 600,000 of which half live in the agglomeration of the capitol city, Paramaribo. But the country is still rich in natural resources and the population is still quite diverse - a remnant of its colonial past. And it is this colonial past which still calls many from Suriname to the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch and many young people have in the past traveled to the Netherlands to study. 

In 1975 Suriname declared its independence from The Netherlands. This was celebrated recently in The Netherlands by the Dutch and the population which was originally from Suriname. There are approximately 350,000 Surinamers in The Netherlands. At the time of independence, people from Suriname could choose to keep the Dutch nationality and many idd, emigrating to the Netherlands. 

The current president of Suriname is Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, the first female president of the country. She was elected this year by the parliament who are also elected for a term of 5 years. The Netherlands has recently offered official apologies for its part in the slave history of the country. The flag is a red center stripe with a yellow star, framed by a green stripe above and below and a white stripe operating the center red field from the green stripes. 

A certain future

This past Monday evening our sister, Rita Davison, went Home to her reward with the Lord. Her daughter, Tonia, is part of our family in Maastricht, together with her husband and son, Liam. Rita is well known among the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. She and her husband Roy have been part of the Dutch-speaking work for decennia, having links to the congregations in Brughe, Ostende, Roeselare, Antwerp and Eindhoven. Rita was 88 years old.

As I was looking through the things so many said of her on the memorial site, many of the same things returned. Rita’s smile was amazing and her love for the people around her came from her great love for the Lord. She and Roy have been an influence on many people in the Dutch-speaking work. Rita was especially an encourager in all she did. 

This past month we have had her children visiting us in Maastricht because they were visiting her. We always get to enjoy Tonia and Mario and are grateful for her influence in Tonia’s life. But we also got to spend time with her daughter Connie who lives with her husband Ian McGuiggan in South Dakota. I was a counselor and teacher for both Tonia and Connie at Bible camp when they were both young. Rita’s son, Stuart, and his wife Connie were also visiting this past month. We all spent some good time singing spiritual hymns together. 

There will be many in the churches here (and it would not surprise me if there are plenty in Canada as well) who are looking forward to seeing Rita again and singing with her, hearing her wonderful alto voice lilting high, mixing perfectly with the other voices in praise to the King of kings. We are so very thankful for heroes of the faith, good examples of what it means to remain faithful to the end. So we praise God, comfort those who are hurting deeply, and look forward to the certainty of the future with our Lord and Master.  

What is so beautiful in all of this is how we see God working. The week that Rita went home to be with her Lord, Kristof decided to give his life to Jesus as his Lord. This young man works with our brother in Christ, Danny. He had questions about faith, which Danny talked about with him. And he realized that he needed a firm foundation and good future. So he was baptized this past Thursday, dying to his old self and rising to new life, eternal life, in Jesus Christ. 

God is amazing and gracious. We are so thankful for the secure future that we all can have in Him and that there are so many choosing for this life. 

Whensday: 2000-2025 in the Didohof

The last several weeks we have been feeling how full our little room on the street, Didohof, can get on a Sunday. Back when we started, of course, things were different. We first met as a congregation in a community center on Sundays. It was an upper room and we were a group of about 10. Within a few years we were meeting in a larger room downstairs. But it was still only available to us on Sundays. 

At one point, one of our regular visitors mentioned a room that was open next to her apartment. We called and were able to arrange to rent the room from then on. It was a new millennium and we had a room that we could use every day of the week however we wanted. It was an upper room again, but that didn’t really matter. That first year we had apprentices from York College who helped with our evangelism and outreach (Sue is still working with the Dutch-speaking work today, in Ghent, Belgium). 

In the following years we have hosted youth weekends here, concerts with singing group Listen Up!, study evenings teaching people how to read the Bible. Song workshops with a group from Harding where we also sang at the local nursing homes, and much more. We have seen members come and go, moving on to other congregations or different countries. We have seen kids grow up and give their lives to the Lord. We have even had some baptisms in the room using a blow-up swimming pool (getting the water out is the real challenge). 

We have a main room, a kitchen (which doubles as a children’s class during the Sunday morning Bible class) and two restrooms out in the hall. This coming Sunday is a 4th Sunday, which means that we hold our potluck (every 4th Sunday). We are able to warm up meals that we share with one another and can move the chairs before setting up tables to enjoy the fellowship together. It is exciting to see how everyone helps one another. 

In these years people in the neighborhood have come to know that we are here, although they do not always know who or what we are. A few years back we walked the neighborhood with a questionnaire about “Church and Society”. It was intriguing to hear if people even knew who met in the room. This coming year we will be repeating the questionnaire to see what people know about the group that meets. 

Our direct neighbors certainly know plenty about us. Some have noticed how we help one of our shut-ins who lives just across the way. Others hear us singing on Sundays and other days when we have a singing. Some have even come to our singings as well. If nothing else, the neighbors recognize that there are more cars parked in the street on Sundays and days when we have something planned. 

We can seat about 40-50 people if we put out all of our chairs. As mentioned, these past few weeks we have had more visitors than normal, pushing our attendance on a Sunday up near that 40 mark. During a Listen Up! concert we even had standing room only. We are thankful that God has blessed us with this space and for how we can continue using it to glorify Him. 

(Click on the photo for more pictures of our building and family throughout the years)