We thought to sleep later in the evening of December 31 from 2024 to 2025. We didn’t think about our neighbors. At midnight we all woke up with a ‘pagara’ that went off. A ‘pagara’ is several meters of firecrackers with a long wick. When lit it seems like a machine gun is going off. This is how we started the new year.
Marjolein’s father flew back to the Netherlands on January 16. We enjoyed his visit very much! After two months of living with the three of us, it took some time to get our rhythm of being together again. We quickly got back in the groove, after all, we have more than 20 years of experience… (since the kids got out of the house :)).
A week later we celebrated Marjolein’s 65th birthday. We didn’t make it a big party. Cozy coffee with apple pie at our daughters’ in Paramaribo was great to celebrate. We are extremely grateful that we’re able to experience this together and that we are both healthy and can intensely enjoy the life we have received so far.
Let’s talk about the 2025 plans of Wayana to go to Canada.
Ame and Susina are in the starting blocks to go to the Heartland International English School in Winnipeg for intensive English training for 10 weeks in May 2025. We are impressed by their perseverance. They have a specific prayer point: they leave 3 teenagers behind with their grandfather and grandmother for three months. Please pray that the spiritual climate with the grandparents will be good. That God comforts the children when they miss their parents?
We have calculated a budget for the trip, and it is clear they are not able to bring that amount on their own. Even for the Wayana community, this is out of their reach. Part of the budget has already been donated by some of our supporters on a monthly base. Another amount has been reserved at World Team Suriname. The Wayanas have promised that they pay the costs for the local travel of Ame and Susina in Suriname.
May we ask for your help with the following amount?
We still need US$ 8,500 to complete the total budget. An important part of this is the English course at Heartland International English School, the Language Institute in Winnipeg, which costs US$ 2,550 per person where they will follow 25 hours of lessons per week. This requires an amount of US$ 5,100 for the two of them.
You can transfer your contribution to World Team project nr 40546 ‘Wayana/Canada Mission Project’.
Online giving through World Team Canada
Online Giving through World Team USA
At the end of January, we discussed the plans for 2025 with the small group of Foundations for Farming Suriname. Both local trainers are busy. Serge guides several groups in the province of Brokopondo. Jennifer is doing a great job of developing the training center for Foundations for Farming in Suriname. That is standing with her feet in the clay. The intention is to set up the Foundations for Farming Suriname Foundation in the coming months. This year we aim to organize basic training every two months.
This month there is another weekend on the program. One of the board members of Foundations for Farming the Netherlands will visit with his wife in mid-February. We hope to go to Apetina for a few days at the beginning of March to have a look at the gardens there.
This month we will participate in a course within the World Team to fill the transition to the pension. We do this together with colleagues within the World Team. In the coming week, we will read the 11 topics that we will deal with in small groups in the coming months. Together and in a larger context, we talk about it more often that we will arrive in the coming years, but we can and could also extend it for us. Now we are practically working on the transition that this requires to think well. We are curious!