• Suriname
    1990 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • Also, in 1950, two brothers visited Gansé, a village of 1,300 Bush Negroes on the Suriname River. But the Moravian pastor there trumpeted, “Two false prophets selling books!” Then, just after the Witnesses placed four books at the hut of an elderly man, hundreds of incited church members chased the Witnesses back to the river. The brothers scrambled into their canoe and paddled away, barely escaping being lynched.

      Now, five years later, that event was on the mind of both Burt and Dirk as the train chugged into Kabel. It was the last station, two hours’ paddling distance from their final destination, Gansé. How would they be treated this time? To prevent hostile reactions, the branch had written the village chief asking permission for two Awake! correspondents to visit Gansé to gather information for an article on Bush Negroes. The chieftain had replied that the correspondents were welcome.

      That day, when Burt and Dirk arrived by canoe in Gansé, the chieftain and his assistants were on hand to meet them. “We were received like royals,” recounts Dirk. “They showed us our lodging place, one of the best houses in the village, then escorted us to the river and politely turned their backs toward us until we had finished bathing. After that, we socialized with them while Burt, who spoke Sranan Tongo, did most of the talking.”

      The next day, while touring the village, the brothers cautiously witnessed to some villagers. A few days later, early Sunday morning, they departed for Kabel. There, they checked in at the guesthouse to wait for the next day’s train.a

      Paddling After the Missionaries

      However, some hours after the missionaries had left Gansé, an 18-year-old Bush Negro, Frederik Wachter, arrived there. Friends told him that there had been two tall, white men whom they believed to be Jehovah’s Witnesses. Frederik’s heart dropped. For a year he had looked for Witnesses, and now they had been here and left again! But when he heard that the missionaries would leave on the next day’s train, Frederik said, “I must catch up with them before the train leaves.” Would he make it?

      Monday morning, when the missionaries woke up, they noticed a short, shy Bush Negro waiting outside. “Were you in my village to preach?” Frederik asked. “Yes,” answered the surprised missionaries. “Why do you ask?”

      “I missed your visit, but I came to find out more about your teachings.” The missionaries sat down with Frederik and answered his questions about the Sabbath, baptism, the Kingdom, and more, but they were curious as to how this intelligent boy had learned about Jehovah in the first place. This was Frederik’s story:

      In 1950, just before the two brothers had been driven out of Gansé, they had placed four books with Frederik’s uncle. Four years later Frederik found those books, read them, and learned about the true condition of the dead. From then on, he refused to follow his tribe’s superstitious ceremonies. He also left the Moravian Church and wished to meet Jehovah’s Witnesses one day.

      This Monday morning, his wish came true. By now, though, the train was pulling in. The missionaries left after giving him the book “Let God Be True” and an invitation to visit the branch when he visited the capital. This Frederik promised to do.

      The First Bush Negro Brother!

      The next month, October, a barefoot young man knocked on the door of the missionary home. Dirk Stegenga recalls: “Frederik had read ‘Let God Be True,’ remembered every detail, and understood the truth. Every day for two weeks, he came to the missionary home and studied. Yet, he did not come to the meetings. We were puzzled.”

      “One day, after inviting him again,” continues Dirk, “Frederik looked down and mumbled, ‘I have no shoes.’ He was embarrassed to come. Now, we did not want to make him a ‘rice Christian’ and give him shoes. Instead I said, ‘We will show a film, so it will be dark. No one will see you have no shoes.’ How happy we were that night to note Frederik in the audience!” And how pleased he was to learn from the film “The New World Society in Action” that thousands of Africans cheerfully served Jehovah​—without shoes!

      After two weeks Frederik returned home with another wish: to attend the “Triumphant Kingdom” Assembly in December that year. He worked day after day to save money for the convention trip. He made it. On December 11 he was baptized. Oh, the joy that day to welcome our first Bush Negro brother! Today, Brother Wachter puts his excellent ability to remember Bible scriptures to good use as he serves as a special pioneer. “Frederik’s experience,” sums up Dirk, “reminded me that we are humble tools in Jehovah’s hand. After all, we did not find Frederik, but he found us.”