The past few weeks we’ve been busy with various preparations.

Preparations for Christmas in Apetina: The people have been saving money for a new keyboard for their church. We had the privilege to buy this ‘Christmas ‘ gift and bring it along in the beginning of December.The day after our arrival we had an elders meeting about the church Christmas dinner which is for the whole village. The grocery shopping needs to be done in Paramaribo and there was not enough money. We received some gifts in the Netherlands so we could help with purchasing the groceries and transport by plane. Today the men will go hunting to provide the fish and meat. Everywhere we come in the village we see pots on open fires to make their drink. The women are busy baking cassava bread. It is a joyful time of preparations without forgetting what this season is all about. King Jesus coming from heaven to earth as a babe in a manger.

Preparations for the building of a hydro turbine in the Tapanahony river: After research we found the best spot in the river to build the system. The people approved this to be a good place also. We measured the speed of the river and this is good, also in the dry season. We made drawings of the system and adjusted them time and again during various conversations. Now the designer and builder is back in Canada where he will start to work on the machine the next few months. The day before we left to fly to the city the village leaders signed a declaration in which they stated to support the idea and ask the government officials to cooperate and assist in getting things accomplished.

Preparations for reconstructing the electricity system and grid: All the time we stayed in Apetina we lacked village power since the generator had been broken again. This time the starter engine failed. The day before we left another starter engine arrived from the city so the generator was fixed and ready to run. While we were in the Tukusipan to sign the declaration our friend Evert, who works as electrician, had to run for the generator to shot it down, since in one of the house a fire got started caused by a melt down of the wires. It appeared the people had been putting wet clothes over the electrical wires that had been connected on the wrong side of the breaker. Before we can provide electricity 24/7 we need to educate and train the people about the safety issues concerning electricity in the home. This was a wake-up call and another element for our to do list.  In this we are depending on the cooperation of the government. In the 90 houses of Apetina we can install safe connections, but, without consent from the government officials we can not do anything concerning the grid in the village. The last few days of the visit of our guests from Canada and the Netherlands we spent time in the city investigating several suppliers on availability of tools and equipment for the new system in Apetina. We also met the sub director of the Directorate of Development for the People living in the interior. He promised to support our plans wherever possible because from his point of view this plan is essential for future development of the interior of Suriname. Really a climax for Bruce and Evert in their visit. We can only say ‘Thank You LORD! You opened this door for us. We are so grateful. This is a (Christmas) present for real!”