Dear Praying Friends:Thanks for praying for our safe arrival. The Lord helped us abundantly. To back up a bit, the last weekend, we spent some time with family. Cathy and Paul opened their home to the family. Becky and Ernie drove from Griffith, Indiana, outside Chicago. Keith and Nicki and their two children came as well. We had a nice time. As usual, Cathy made certain that no one went away hungry! An extra treat was deer steak - Paul had shot an 8 point buck with bow and arrow earlier in the week.
Sunday morning, we attended our home church, Community Baptist Church. In the evening, I spoke at a missionary potluck which was also a fundraiser for the missionaries who have been sent out from one of our supporting churches, Napier Parkview Baptist Church. We had a good time - I showed our video, gave an update and answered questions.
Monday was devoted to finishing packing up. Liz spent time cleaning up the house where we had stayed for about 5 weeks of our 3 month furlough. We always have a problem trying to keep within the weight limits, even though we took an extra suitcase with us, and I shipped 20 lb. of books via airmail.
When we first went to Suriname, often we would be charged only minimal fees for additional baggage, and we were allowed 70 lb. per bag overseas. Suriname Airways charged a flat fee of $50.00 per extra bag. Although you were not to exceed 70 lb, everyone did, and there was little control. I remember sending one box weighing 50 kg (110 lb). I think on our first furlough I was embarrassed to return with 10 bags. However, another Surinamer was returning to Suriname, and brought 30 bags and boxes! It was cheaper for him to bring things as accompanying baggage and pay for the extra bags than it was to ship them by normal overseas shipment! You could tell which persons were going to Suriname - automobile tires were tied together and sent in pairs, some went on the plane with bicycle tires draped around their necks like a necklace, etc.
Well, those days are long gone! When I decided to take 5 suitcases because of extra equipment, I expected to pay $80 like I did last year for the extra suitcase. No - now it was $157.00! And normally there is another $100 charge by Caribbean Airlines from Miami to Suriname. Now I see that it is cheaper to sent things airmail from the USA than to bring them as excess baggage!
God was very good to us. I checked in via internet and paid by internet as well. When we arrived at the airport, we were able to be checked straight through to Suriname. There was no charge for our extra bag at Miami, and no struggle finding luggage or hiring porters in Miami. We were busy enough with our carry-on luggage, which included two computers and a small portable PA system, and we were grateful for no extra hassle.
We arrived actually 10 minutes early in Suriname. All our luggage arrived intact. Ethan and Kim were waiting for us, and we arrived safely at home about 1:45 AM, thanking the Lord for His goodness to us.
We have spent the last three days getting back into the swing of things here in Suriname. Liz has had a number of purchases to get our staples back in supply in addition to getting finances in order and going through three months of mail. I have spent much of the time getting computers working. Although there are a few glitches still necessary to correct, we are basically back in business. I will be working on getting caught up, preparing for sermons and the Bible Institutes, and learning the Mac programs.
It was a joy to be back with our people on Wednesday night at the evening service. We will be working with the leadership on two areas in the next two weeks. The first is the burial insurance program of the church. It seems strange, but it is a protection for our church members. The family takes burial responsibilities for all members, and the heathen often insist on heathen burial rites. This way the burial is independent of the finances from the heathen. The second topic is to continue with the statutes, to see how we can get them finished and in the hands of the government.
Praise and prayer:
- Thank the Lord for safety coming back.
- Thank the Lord for the completion of the New Testament commentary. It has gone to the hands of the printers. We are waiting to hear about costs
- Pray for strength and health for the work
- Pray for our spiritual growth, and that of the churches
- Pray for my preaching schedule, which will probably change next year
- Pray for the beginning of the Bible Institutes
- Pray for souls saved, and saints built up in the faith. Pray that the church will catch the vision of world evangelism
- Pray for learning the details of a system on the Mac computer to make DVDs of the advanced Bible Institute
In Him and Content:
Bob & Liz Patton
Missionaries to Suriname since 1986
P.S. Our server has had people sending spam from it, and at present we are blocked by comcast for the second time recently. We will attempt to send letters to comcast addresses using a new g-mail account. You do not need to use it to reply. We are getting mail fine - it is just a problem sending it to comcast.
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