We really enjoyed attending the World Team conference in Orlando, Florida.

It was great to meet with our World Team collegues from the America’s, to be inspired by their stories and to reflect on the teaching we recieved. Working in the small groups was inspiring and, as usual, Marjolein heard Marco’s laughter in the hotel hall several times while working in our groups.

It was good to get the broader picture of World Team presented by our international director. It’s important to be informed about what is taking place at the higher levels. Our world is changing rapidly and this is the same for our life and the lives of the people we work and live with. How do we enhance these changes and how do we deal with this. A lot of questions we have to answer. Good to think things over in a group that can relate to our life and its conditions.

We enjoyed being with Roy and Margaret. We are grateful for their hospitality and the opportunity to look ahead together and make plans for the future of our ministry. Roy is looking forward to visit both Lawa and Apetina for a few weeks in the end of March in order to teach the leaders of the Church in both villages.

We visited quite some Walmarts in our ‘hunt’ for bead needles and the likes for the Wayana’s. We visited quite some nice restaurants and really enjoyed all the good food 🙂

On Marjolein’s birthday we prepared a great bami for a group of former missionaries who all have been serving in Suriname in the past decades. This was a great time together listening to some of their stories, finding ourselves connected to the bigger picture of what God has been doing in all these years.

We were at the seashore of the Gulf of Mexico to see the sun set. Beautiful white beaches,and an opportunity for Marjolein to wet her feet getting her shoes wet also… We experienced cold weather in Florida with frost at the ground during the night. A birthday to remember.

Friday January 24th we flew back to Paramaribo. A long day to get us back to where we really want to be. Next week we hope to find a way to travel over to Apetina by boat, from Albina. We are looking forward to meet the people in Apetina again while planning to live there for the coming three months.