I know how Jonah felt.

First,  due to my location, my blog instructions are all in Dutch, so hopefully this entry will in fact be published and not sent somewhere else. 

I arrived successfully in Suriname, and am in the process of setting up my first official, all to myself, classroom.  I thought I would do a quick update to the differences from Suriname to my hometown.

The Bible says that a Prophet is not known in his hometown, it also talks about a man named Jonah.  God told Jonah to go to this sketch city Ninevah, where shenanigans were going down.  Jonah did not want to go, but one huge fish later, there he was. 

Two days before I left for Suriname, I was freaking out.  I get weekly crime updates from the Embassy in Suriname telling me about the huge amounts of crime in my soon to be home.  Now that I am here, I can tell you there are differences, but God is here.

There are four padlocks that you need to unlock in order to get into my apartment.  It is like a high security vault.  I have yet to see an unbarred in Suriname as well, as even our porch has bars on it.  Unwanted male attention is also something that is common here.  I had a man dance for me the other day, and it was quite disturbing.  It is really not smart to walk alone, especially at night, because of the dangers that could happen here. 

But God is still here. 
I keep this list of Bible verses on my computer to serve as that reminder. 

Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you-Deut. 3:22

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid' do not be discouraged. Deut-31:8

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. -Joshua 1:9

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me-Psalm 23:4

Psalm 27:1-The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?Please pray for the people of Suriname.  Pray for my future students, and their future teacher.  Pray for my school, and the other teachers!