Suriname

Tuesday the 6th morning began with more raw emotions as we said goodbye to 3 more of our family before we got in the minivan and headed towards Suriname. Having not slept much in the last few nights, many emotional goodbyes, our hearts were all raw and through our exhausted state I knew it was a time to dig deep and fully rely on the strength of the Lord to get me through this time.

Our 12 hours of travel to Paramaribo (the capital of Suriname) went pretty well - a 3 hour tax ride to the border, a ferry crossing across into Suriname, only to find that the minibuses on the other side were full and there'd be no more buses for us for that day. Err. After some negotiation we arranged for some of us to go in the taxi and the rest would go in a different taxi. But first we all had to go in the one minivan to go meet the other taxi about 20min. How to fit 22 people plus luggage for all of us in a minivan meant for 15 people. This is how we travel...

Arriving in Paramaribo exhausted by 7:30pm and we can't find accommodation. Everything is super expensive and the hostels are booked out. 2 hours later and we eventually found one. It didn't have enough beds but thankfully they let us squeeze and sleep on the floor :) 

Our first impressions of Suriname were oh my gosh it's so expensive. Which was pretty accurate as it was expensive!! But God totally provided for us by providing accommodation in this hostel which was probably the cheapest we could get it anywhere and was a really nice place to stay. Thank you God :)

Ministry for the remainder of our time would and did look like "stopping for the one", with many people on the street to talk to and pray for at any time. I personally ministered more to the staff at the hostel, building up a bit of a relationship with Alma, the cleaning lady who was also a Christian.