Three weeks have flown by since our last update.

The clothes sale was a great success. It is so rewarding to see the people enjoy their new clothes. The quality is so much better than what they can buy in the Chinese shops along the river. Unfortunately there are just a few items available for men and boys. Do the men in the Netherlands wear their clothes until they are ready to become rags?

After the first morning Marjolein spent a few hours to fold and organize the clothes again, because everything that was neatly folded became just a big pile in moments. It looks so much nicer for the new visitors the next morning when everything is sorted and stacked.

With the result of the sale we bought primer and paint for the sink roof of the church, some barrels of gasoline for the evangelization outreaches to the villages along the river and a new propeller for the outboard engine they use for the outreaches.

We’re busy with all the preparations for a mission trip to Canada in the beginning of May. We’ll be visiting some reserves of First Nation people to get to know them and their culture and share the gospel. To obtain the needed visa is a real challenge. We thought we had it all figured out since we applied for Ipomadi in 2017, but in the meantime the requested papers etc. changed. If you apply for a visa now, you need to give your biometrics in person within a month after sending in the application at a Canadian embassy. The nearest embassy is in Guyana.

In between all our activities we were able to renew the floor covering by putting a new layer above the existing one. We now have a fresh new floor which feels a lot better walking bare feet everyday. Marco also painted both doors we’re using to enter the house. Both had quite an old layer of paint. Before seeing them fall apart in this humid climate and making us need to buy new doors, he first gave them a good make-over. Paint and some flat metal did a great job.

When we were on furlough in the Netherlands someone gave us a nice new guitar to give away to anyone who would need it in Lawa. Setipan, one of the elders, is practicing quite some time now with a simple instrument he bought at the Chinese shop. He was exited to receive this new instrument when we asked him to make an exchange for his old one. The old guitar we will pass on to one of the teenagers who wants to learn to play the guitar also. He can start to practice and we will see what will come next.

In Apetina the building team has finished cutting all the beams and planks that are needed to build the visitors lodge. Through pictures they inform us about the progress of the project. Enjoy them with us.

We went up-river for a weekend again to Solonam pata. It always is special to visit this new congregation and see the progress during the last few years. On both Friday night and Saturday night we showed a movie, dubbed with Wayana language. Sunday morning, after the service the leaders of the church received a special blessing showing their dependence on the Lord in the future development of the church. We are blessed to be part of these events.