Women Church Leaders and Other Church Authorities from The Region Visited Suriname From 14 To 16 February 2024
From left to right: Sister Susan Porter, General Relief Society President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sister Fyen Linger, Sister Holman, and Sister Kristin Yee, General Relief Society Counselor of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.As part of the Caribbean visit, President Susan Porter, General Primary President, and Sister Kristin Yee, General Relief Society Counselor, visited Suriname from 14 to 16 February. This was their third stop on a four-country visit to the Caribbean. Joining the sisters were Elder Valerie Cordon, of the Caribbean Area Presidency, and Elder Claude Gamiette, Area Seventy, and their wives.
They visited our country, Suriname, with the general message of love, unity, and obedience. A devotional for members and other guests was scheduled for Wednesday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m. The overall message was that keeping God's commandments was important to feel His eternal peace and happiness in his or her life. Strong faith in Jesus Christ and God the Father. Later in the evening, there was a nice interaction with the leaders and members of the church in Suriname.
On Thursday 15 February, humanitarian visits were made in the early morning to the Koewarasan 1 and 2 school complexes in Wanica Northwest district. There, the General Authorities received a warm welcome from the school leaders and the children. After the flag parade, the distinguished guests in the school auditorium were addressed by:
Sister Porter and Sister Yee addressed the attendees and gave a message of love and harmony, including the many Church programs available to members and non-members. A humanitarian visit was also made to a restored bridge that is very important to the community in Kuwarasan. Finally, the D.C. spoke on behalf of the government and expressed its gratitude for the work that has been done. He emphasized that this is an act of love and that it is appreciated by the community.
The next visit of the high ecclesiastical authorities was to the Ministry of Social Affairs, where they gave a comprehensive report on the Ministry's Mision and vision and also talked about the problems and challenges the Ministry faces in the field. Sister Yee and Sister Porter encouraged and pledged to help with all the resources available to the Church for the various family, children, women, and self-reliance programs. they were also supported by Elder Gamiette and Elder Cordon.
The high-level ecclesiastical delegation then went to the Ministry of the Interior (responsible for Gender and Religious Affairs). There, the delegation was personally received by the Minister, His Excellency Bronto Somohardjo. The minister was very pleased with this high ecclesiastical delegation, together with his staff he warmly welcomed them and introduced his staff to the guests. Subsequently, Elder Gamiette was also allowed to introduce the delegation to the minister.
The minister gave a report on the mission and the objective of the ministry and also spoke about the challenges and problems they experienced in their policy. Sister Yee and Sister Porter shared the Church's programs available worldwide and supported Elder Cordon and Elder Gamiette with practical examples through his cell phone.
The guests were warmly welcomed by Mrs. Grain Harvest and elder Gamiette was again allowed to introduce the high authorities to the director of the National Women's Movement. Mrs. Graanoogst then gave a comprehensive overview of the activities of the National Women's Movement. She explained the mission and vision of the organization. Sister Yee and Sister Porter also gave a general overview of how Church programs are helping women and children in need.
Elder Gamiette gave an overview of the Church's humanitarian program, of which he is responsible for 29 countries. Elder Cordon confirmed that as an area representative, he will ultimately have to approve humanitarian proposals. Then it was time for the guests and other delegation members to have lunch in the exclusive Javanese restaurant Sarinah.
After lunch, Sister Porter and Sister Yee continued their busy schedules with some vocal group visits. In the evenings there was leadership training for all Primary and ZHV presidencies, Sister Porter and Sister Yee instructed the leaders on how best to serve and perform leadership duties. At the end of the evening, it was a pleasant interaction with the leaders and members of the Church, in which the spirit of love was very much present.
On Friday 16 February, the guests went to the Minister of Education and Community Development. Once again, Elder Gamiette was allowed to introduce the guests to the government representatives, who in turn explained the most important tasks of the ministry on behalf of the minister. They also gave a picture of the challenges and expectations for the future.
The ecclesiastical authorities were able to make good use of the available resources offered by the church and the Surinamese delegation was also able to network extensively with ecclesiastical authorities.