A Chilly Welcome

On December 7, 1955, the attorney general, who by then was back from vacation and very angry, could hardly wait for the old freighter Cottica to dock. Then, as passengers Wim and Gré van Seijl disembarked, the attorney general summoned them to appear in front of him. “The attorney general looked at us as if we were criminals,” remembers Wim. “He declared, ‘You can work only in Paramaribo. If you evangelize one step outside the city, you’ll be expelled!’ Then he handed us a document stating these restrictions, and we were allowed to go. That was a hearty welcome,” quips Brother van Seijl.

However, the two missionaries proved to be a solid addition to the congregation. Indeed, before coming to Suriname, they had already built a fine record of service. Both learned the truth during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, were baptized in 1945, and later gained experience in circuit work.

With their extra help, the increase came. In February 1956 the branch wrote: “We split the congregation in two.” In April: “We made it! We had a 47-percent increase.” And in June: “We reached 200 publishers!” The branch concluded: “Prospects are bright!”

An Act of Faith by a Needy Sister

In 1955, after a meeting in the dilapidated Kingdom Hall above the shoe shop, Stella Daulat walked home deep in thought. By the time she entered her small house surrounded by mango and star-apple trees, her mind was set. ‘I’ll offer my plot of land to the congregation so that it has a place to build a better hall.’ She talked it over with her mother, who also was a Witness, and both decided, ‘We give it for free.’ Since Stella had no place to go, she only asked if her house could be moved to the back of the lot. “No problem,” said the brothers. “We’ll move it.”

Sister Daulat’s property​—inherited from her great-grandmother, who received it in 1863 when emancipated from slavery—​provided her more than housing, however. Because she sold fruit from the trees, it also gave her a small source of income. Thus, giving up the property meant giving up her livelihood. “Stella’s decision,” admires one brother, “was an act of faith.”

The brothers gratefully accepted the gift but lacked the funds to build. Some months later, however, they had no choice but to build. Why? In December 1955, when over a hundred persons were sitting in the old Kingdom Hall, the building began to shake. The structure could no longer support that many people. “We worried,” remembers Wim van Seijl. “It felt as if the floor was about to give way and we would all land among the shoes downstairs!” At the end of the meeting, it was announced that those sitting in the first row could stand up and descend the stairs while all others remained seated. After that, the next row of brothers exited, and so on, until the hall was empty. “That day,” adds Wim, “we cut the knot and said, ‘Money or not, let’s build another hall.’”

A New Hall Heralds a New Era

Willem Telgt, baptized in 1919, supervised the project. “Don’t bother with taking out furniture,” he told Stella. “We move your house as it is.” Passersby gazed as the brothers lifted the fragile house onto tree trunks and rolled it to the back. “Can my window face the street?” asked Stella, “then I have a better view.” No problem. Her house was moved a quarter turn. Later, Stella entered the house, adjusted the pictures on the wall, put her chair in front of her window, and was ready to watch the construction crew at work. What did she see?

First, the brothers uprooted the trees. Next, they laid a foundation and built thick, solid concrete walls. Then the funds ran out. However, the Society helped out with a loan, and construction continued. Six months and 13,000 guilders ($7,000, U.S.) later, a hall with a seating capacity of 200 was completed. The dedication was set for January 13, 1957.

During the construction, many a publisher remarked, “This hall will serve us till Armageddon.” But after the dedication, they were no longer sure, for 899 persons showed up! The audience​—in the hall, on the windowsills, and outside—​enjoyed a program of talks and slides interspersed with an excellent performance by an all-Witness choir. When the happy brothers went home that night, they sensed a new era of expansion in Paramaribo.

A Snake Charmer as Neighbor

In due time the missionary home needed to be moved to better quarters. By now the home hosted not only rats but also snakes. How come? A witch doctor, who practiced demonism with the help of tapijtslangen (boa constrictors), lived with his snakes in the backyard of the missionary home. At times, the six-foot-long [2 m] boas escaped from their basket and slithered into the home’s bicycle shed. “When Gré and Muriel would get their bikes,” recounts Wim van Seijl, “they found themselves face-to-face with the boas dangling from the ceiling.” Adds Gré, “Those snakes even crept up the stairs toward the kitchen.”

No wonder the missionaries had no regrets when the branch and the missionary home moved to Paramaribo’s Weide Street.