Suriname

Suriname is a small country in South America. They speak Dutch but thank goodness a few understand English. We went to set up their first family history center. Unfortunately the computer was on back order and arrived the day of our departure. We used our laptops instead and purchased a desk and chairs for when the computer arrived. There was also another disappointment that the Internet was not installed yet. We still carried on with our training in the hotel where we had Internet. President Johnson called a new West Indies family history adviser and we were able to meet with him and his wife to teach them. The best part of the whole trip was the food his wife fixed for the missionary zone conference that was going on the same time we were there. It was a delicious buffet of Oriental and Indian food. Many of the members there are from Oriental background but they speak Dutch. I kept expecting them to speak Chinese or Japanese. Their ancestors came to work as servants for rich landlords. It is sad to see how families were ripped apart and sold from their homeland just for the comfort and ease of the wealthy. Also they have different cultures and religions such as Buddhist, Muslim and Christianity. The church is very new there and they were so anxious to hear about family history. It was wonderful to feel their spirit because we could not understand Dutch. We enjoyed our stay and their open arms for our visit.