We have been back in Suriname for six weeks now. This was the rainy season here. During these weeks, we learned a few things. Most important was that during heavy rain showers, water leaks through the roof and onto the floor in several places. Our roof needs to be fixed. We made arrangements with an expert who will install insulation foil under the zinc roof and replace all the nails with screws during the dry season next August. This is also important because we are increasingly confronted with strong wind and heavy rain.

One morning, we also discovered that a large section of the sandy road was completely flooded. We didn’t dare to drive through it, so we went home empty-handed that day.

On June 24, we received the long-awaited email announcing the appointment of the new international director for World Team. This happens to be the colleague we had in mind to take over Marco’s role as Area Director. So now things will be different. We have to rethink who we are going to hand this task over to. Marco was asked to stay on for another three years. First, we will have the official handover of the international director at the leadership meeting in Toronto, Canada, in early October. We are constantly reminded of Roy Lytle’s 2012 statement: “Be flexible.” We are grateful that we can be.

We are so grateful for the communication possibilities that exist today. Now that Ame and Susina are in Canada, it is very nice to be in regular contact via WhatsApp. This allows us to respond to any problems with their children or parents in Lawa. Susina’s parents take care of their 13-year-old twins. Recently, Susina’s mother has been in the hospital in Paramaribo twice, which meant that most of the care fell to the grandfather. Eventually, we were asked if we could contribute 500 euros for the month of July, so that food could be purchased for the twins. This is one of the cultural differences we encountered. As Dutch people, you think, ‘Don’t you plan this? You work with a budget’. Not in the life of most Wayana, ‘you live from day to day’. Fortunately, we were able to get the money to Lawa quickly through our contacts with MAF.

Last weekend, Ame and Susina, together with Pamela, attended a four-day conference of the Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. It was a great opportunity to meet Christian indigenous people in Canada and practice English with them.

Last week, we were busy for a few days at Foundations for Farming Service Center Suriname. A container had arrived from the Netherlands containing, among other things, a mini tractor with accessories and a trailer for our project. That’s when Marco’s technical insight and dexterity came in handy. Of course, everything had to be improvised, because this mini tractor does not come with a tow bar as standard.

On July 16, we traveled to Trinidad to provide training for Foundations for Farming at the Youth With A Mission base for the next two weeks. Our next adventure.