After I had spent about ten months in the city of Paramaribo, his Lordship the Bishop sent me, along with two other Fathers, to work from then on in Batavia. During this time it pleased God to offer to the till now neglected Indians—the Arrowaks and the Warros as well as the Caribs—the possibility of knowing and loving Him. But, sadly, expectations were not fulfilled, except among the Arrowaks. Even there, progress was moderate; because of the lack of sufficient instruction, it was not what it could have been... But God is all-powerful; Mary, the refuge of sinners, is also their mother; we must pray and do penance and hope in God and his Holy Mother; for the saints say: From the day on which Christ died souls must be bought by blood. If only, by sacrificing my own life, I could bring all people to know and love God as he deserves. But let God's holy will be done in all things. The Holy Will of God and perfect obedience in all things have always been my consolation, and I hope that it may still be so at the hour of my death. Amen.
--Blessed Peter Donders
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