Send mail to heaven. It may sound special, but it has recently become possible in De Weere and Zwaag. Funeral director Sandra and Monique came up with the heavenly letterbox, which is already in full use. Including by Ria, who lost her husband Jan last year. “It gives peace of mind.”
The funeral directors from Zwaag and De Weere were inspired by a Japanese phenomenon. “They have the heaven telephone there. People are invited there to call heaven. And that happens en masse,” says Monique Bankras. “So apparently there is a need for that.”
Sandra complements her colleague. “It can be a letter to your deceased partner or a child, but also to a deceased guinea pig or hamster. Or a poem, or coloring page. It can be a sad message, but also a cheerful one. That you are moving, or that there is a baby is born.” The buses are located in De Weere near the church and in Zwaag at De Plataan.
Major cerebral hemorrhage
One of the users is Ria Bruinsma-Beers, from Abbekerk. Last year she suddenly had to say goodbye to her husband, who suffered a severe brain hemorrhage. “My man,” she says lovingly. She also wrote a letter earlier. “I have now written a poem and a piece and also included a photo of a sunflower. That was his flower during the time of his death.”
She finds comfort in posting such letters. “It gives peace. I want him to share in what we are experiencing here. And it is wonderful to write from you.” It is expected that Ria will not be at Monique and Sandra’s heavenly mailbox for the last time. “There will be a lot of things on that bus in the coming year.”
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The initiators are surprised by the success of the sky letterbox. “It’s incredible. We receive a lot of responses and a lot of letters,” says Sandra. “I’ve had people crying on the phone who think it’s fantastic.”
Letters burned so that stories rise
Monique and Sandra empty the two mailboxes regularly and store the letters – unread – in a folder. Monique: “Once a year we burn the letters ritually. We make it a special moment. What is in the letters rises. Where to, we don’t know. But we hope it will arrive. Allow that we the people.”