Our Mission Experience: Suriname

We had one quick day .... well, part of a day.... back in Curacao (just long enough to get some laundry done and repack) and then it was back "on the road" -- or more accurately "in the air" again. We flew to Suriname and we are no longer on the dry, ABC islands. It rains here a lot and is extremely humid and green. That is one thing I have loved about the travel so far is the diversity, not only the people and cultures but also the scenery and landscapes. We went from Aruba where they had a golf course that was made of dirt and asphalt to a lush place where vegetation is literally eating up the foundations of walls and buildings. Leave something out in your yard for a while and it will be "swallowed up" in a short amount of time!

Saying Goodbye to Aruba

When we arrived at the Airport in Suriname we had to buy a Tourist card to be able to go through immigration. Well, There were about 30 of us there waiting to buy cards and no one at the window to sell the cards. Someone came and told us it would be about 30 minutes before someone would be there. Then after the 30 minutes had passed he came back and said that it would be another hour.......waiting again. Good thing we had our computers with us so that we could get some work done. I just had to take a picture of the sign that said, "Customer satisfaction is our priority"...lol. Can't imagine they wouldn't know when flights were coming in so they could have someone there to sell the tourist cards. I just felt bad that the Vermeerens were waiting outside for us the whole time. Also, there were some people that were with us that had hotel shuttles leave them and then they had to pay for taxis to get them where they needed to be.

Suriname Airport

We stayed for most of the week at the Jacana Amazon Wellness Resort. (we decided to try it out because we were able to use one of our timeshare exchanges to get into it which saved some money vs the Marriott) The last night we stayed at the Marriott. These pictures give you an idea of how thick the vegetation is.

This is Elder and Sister Vermeeren. They are the Senior couple now serving in Suriname. What an incredible couple. This is their second mission. They served their first one in Fiji and we are so blessed to have them serving in our mission now. I really don't know how this mission would even function without senior couples. Because of the unique dynamics of our mission we certainly need them to keep things running while we are so far away. And it is very evident how much the young missionaries love and depend on them. True examples of unselfish, Christ-like love and service.

The Church has 5 branches in Suriname. This is one of them. Most of the buildings are rented but there is one chapel that the church has built and it is a beautiful little chapel. Being here gave Kyle a wonderful chance to practice his Dutch.

The first missionaries we met in Suriname were Elder Dickey and Elder Peters. They came and unlocked the building for us. Elder Dickey is from Utah and Elder Peters is from the Netherlands (so he is a Native Dutch speaker).

Elder Peters & Elder Dickey

Elder Andrews (Idaho) and Elder Brown (Utah)

Elder Roberts (Utah) and Elder Heimdal (Utah)

These two are the special teaching assistants in Suriname and they were our drivers (along with the Vermeerens) They showed us around and made sure we were where we needed to be.

Elder Masina (Utah) and Elder Naef (Washington)

This is in front of the Chapel in Suriname.

This is where we had the second day of missionary interviews.

Elder Heaps (Utah) and Elder Sampson (Florida)

Elder Martinsen (Arizona) and Elder Schwinger (California)

Elder Anderson (Utah) and Elder Keller (Ohio)

Enjoying McDonald's for lunch while waiting for their interviews with President Baird. (they were joking at how the people at McDonald's always tell them how much food they are getting....lol. One will go up and order a couple of burgers and then the next one will go up and order the same...then the clerk will say "you both want two burgers? that's a lot of food!" They work so hard that they are pretty hungry by lunch time....and I think McDonald's is a treat. I don't think they go there very often) My favorite part was just getting to know them. I loved asking them about their missions, the people they meet and asking them to share miracles they have witnessed. Some of the stories they have shared with me have been incredible. Our Savior truly is a God of miracles. We just need to open our eyes and recognize them. These young missionaries have learned to do just that. I have learned so much from them already!

Sister Spencer (Canada) and Sister Spijkerman (the Netherlands). Practicing the piano for Zone conference. A little different than the Elders eating their McDonalds. It was so nice and peaceful sitting and listening to them.

ZONE CONFERENCE SURINAME

These are the two nice young men we pulled in from outside to take the Zone picture!

Elder Masina and Elder Peters had birthdays coming up soon so we celebrated with Cake that Sister Vermeeren made. The Vermeerens did a wonderful job with the food!! They want to make sure that the missionaries don't go away hungry and I can promise you that they didn't. There was sooooo much! They are well cared for in this area.

A "Sisters" picture

Me, Sister Dieder (Utah), Sister Watkins (Utah), Sister Spijkerman (Netherlands),

Sister Spencer (Canada) Sister Vermeeren (Canada)

Wouldn't their moms be proud? (Helping to clean up!!)

Elder Jackman (Utah), Elder Groenendijk (the Netherlands),

Elder Peters (the Netherlands), Elder Schwinger (California)

Elder Martinsen (Arizona), Elder Anderson (Utah), Elder Holt (Washington), Elder Belnap (Arizona)

In addition to responsibilities for the missionaries, Kyle is also responsible for presiding over the districts in the mission. There is only one Stake in Trinidad. The rest of the areas he is in charge of meeting with the members for temple recommend interviews, councils, and any other things that a stake president would normally be responsible for. (it makes for no spare time at all) but... He really enjoys this interaction with the members! The little girl in this photo was so cute. She came running to him with open arms. So excited to meet the new mission president!! Such an outpouring of love everywhere we go.

This is Monica Collins (She just got her mission call to Paris France!!)

She will be a wonderful missionary. The sacrifice these young

people make to take time out of their lives to serve, never ceases to amaze me!!

Kyle experienced the "Gift of Tongues" during a fireside on Saturday night. We were unable to stay for a Sunday meeting because we had to continue on to Trinidad but the members were excited to meet us and so they planned on getting together at the church for about an hour. I ended up with one of my terrible migraines that made me sick to my stomach and had to stay at the Vermeerens and was unable to attend. This gave Kyle extra time to speak. He had the District President stand next to him to translate because he had struggled earlier in the day while giving temple recommend interviews in Dutch so he knew he would need someone to help him. Well, he started out rough and then after only about 5 minutes he said the Dutch just started flowing. Words he had not been able to find earlier came back to him and he was able to speak from his heart, without notes or a translator for 20 minutes. After he was done, people came up to him to tell him how well he did and compliment him on his Dutch and just like that it was gone again. He was back to his "rusty" slightly broken Dutch. It was as if the Lord was telling him, "That wasn't you speaking up there, it was me". A good reminder to always stay humble and listen to the promptings of the spirit and the Lord will guide you in the very moment what you should say.