I Left My Heart In Sri Lanka

We’ve travelled to Sri Lanka often enough that it’s familiar and comfortable. Two short flights from our base in India, it’s on the same time zone, so no jet lag this trip. (If you have experienced jet-lag, you understand that this is a wonderful thing)  Peeling off layers of clothes as the heat and humidity embraces us, we are welcomed by our friends and hosts Layasing and Deepthi.  

The Peacock is Sri Lanka's National Bird

During our three-week stay in Sri Lanka, we found ourselves encouraging several people with God's promise that this would be a year where the 'fruit was sweet'.  That God is bringing his people into a season of mature, sweet tasting fruit, not immature and sour fruit.

Why is this encouraging?  Because as you work for Jesus in a country where only 7.4% of the people believe in Jesus - it can be discouraging. It's natural to want to see results 'now', but fruit that is sweet takes time to mature.  God’s promise is that we will reap the harvest – if we don’t become weary and give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Eye Clinics are an effective tool to share the love of Jesus while meeting a practical need.  We travelled to four different villages, performed basic eye exams for 321 people, gave free eyeglasses as needed, and prayed for everyone.  These are people who work hard for a living, many barely making enough to feed their family. Eyeglasses are totally unaffordable – but desperately needed:  to read, to pluck tea leaves, to clean the rice and lentils that are the mainstay of their daily diet.  The message that Jesus loves them softens hearts to receive the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.  

Sharing a word of encouragement with believers in the village of Panama was a humbling experience.  They are continually persecuted for their faith.  The Buddhist monk who controls the village has declared that ‘there will never be a church here.’  Yet they continue strong in their faith, meeting in home groups. During the Sunday service in Siyambalanduwa, Gary shared a powerful word on ‘Another Touch’.  After service we were honored to set the ceremonial cornerstone for a ten-foot expansion to the church a hall - a simple concrete structure that is filled to overflowing!  What a wonderful problem to have. 

Weekdays found us embracing our inner child and acting out Bible stories for the students at Adara Sevana – a school for the differently abled.  Their smiles and hugs convey their joy, even though they are unable to verbally communicate with us.  After morning chapel we spent time just being with them: sorting and stringing beads to help with hand-eye coordination and basic cognitive function or working on our laptops while they did their letters and numbers.

You are an important part of reaching hearts for Jesus through your faithful prayers, giving and ongoing encouragement. that enables us to share His love wherever He sends us. Thank you!  

Little pieces of our hearts are left in every nation we visit - Sri Lanka continues to call us back.  

May your heart be drawn deeper into the heart of God.  May His plans and purposes for your life be your priority every day.

The Journey Continues ~ Gary and Pat

Pinch Me Moments - Sri Lanka

The amazing tropical island that is Sri Lanka overwhelms my senses as it fascinates my mind. From Moratuwa, our base on the Western coast, we drive inland and upward to an elevation of 5,700 feet.  The relatively new road winds around rich green hills, through tea and rubber estates, terraced gardens and roadside stands displaying brightly hued fresh vegetables.

An hour into our journey we stopped at our 'usual' roadside cafe for milk tea and a sausage roll. Our next stop was Kandy (famous for the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth) for shopping and lunch of 'lump rice': a Sri Lankan specialty of fried rice, chicken, egg, seeni sambol (sweet onion relish) all steamed inside a banana leaf. (very tasty and filling)

We revisited Labookellie Tea Estate for their famous chocolate cake accompanied by free tea (pure, delicious, perfectly brewed Ceylon black tea). It’s great marketing – once you taste the tea you’ll be more inclined to buy some to take home.

During the entire trip, we were amazed at the beautiful scenery and awed by the thought that we were 'revisiting' and recognizing so many beautiful, exotic places far removed from 'normal' life in America.

I call these 'pinch-me moments' (and yes Gary is always happy to oblige). This amazing ‘Journey with God’ has taken us around the world as we follow the call to show the love of Jesus to 'the least of these'.   Neither of us ever imagined that we would experience such beautiful places, gracious people, fascinating cultures and customs. (Did I mention delicious food?)

Ephesians 3:20-21 in the Amplified Bible explains it best: “Now to Him Who, by the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).”   

Adara Sevana is the school Deepthi and Layasing have in Moratuwa for 'differently-abled' young people. Until recently, there was nothing available for them in the regular schools, so without Adara Sevana, which means 'Love Shelter' in Sinhala, they would just sit at home and not learn and develop at all. Some public schools now have limited classes for younger children with special needs. 

Each morning we joined the students at Adara Sevana for daily chapel which included a short Bible story narrated and acted out by - you guessed it - Gary and I! They enjoyed our amateur dramatics. It was a blessing to pray and speak a blessing over them. 

Deepthi and Layasing are wonderful hosts, graciously making sure we had all that was needed to make our stay in Sri Lanka a joy. Not to mention the delicious Sri Lankan food!

Our third weekend in Sri Lanka was truly a God-appointment. A pastor in the hill town of Nurawa Elyia was crying out to God for someone to come alongside to encourage and pray with him.  In answer to his prayers, God changed our plans and sent us to his church for the weekend.   The eye clinic was a blessing: eighty-five (85) people had their eyes checked, and seventy-nine (79) received glasses.  Pastor Paul and his family were encouraged and strengthened as we spent time together in prayer. God gave prophetic words of encouragement that brought great hope.  All of us were blessed to worship together Palm Sunday service as Gary shared on “Another Touch.”

Outreaches to villages are very rewarding and fill our hearts with joy.  Because few people venture to remote rural villages or small churches to minister and help, the people are very appreciative and receptive.  We're expecting to hear good reports of as God continues to work and move through the local pastors and leaders.

Our prayer is that your journey with God fills your heart with joy and wonder.  Spend time with our amazing God – daily.  He’s as close as your breath. He longs to be part of every moment of your day.  

Thank you for your ongoing love and prayerful support as we are back in India.  April finds us ministering at a couple of different churches. Let’s see what God will do.

The Journey Continues ~ Pat

Happy to be back in Sri Lanka

India makes a great base for us to travel to other parts of Asia. Flying to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Siliguri, West Bengal, India took us 2 short flights - a total of 8 hours with travel and layovers, and we are in the same time zone.  No jet lag! Yeah!!  (For those of you wondering, neither India nor Sri Lanka observes Daylight Savings Time)

Compare this to the last time we flew from Las Vegas to Sri Lanka – 4 flights and almost 40 hours travel time (including airport layovers), plus we crossed the international date line. The lack of sleep and 12+ hour time difference results in jetlag that takes 3-4 days to fully recover.

Outreaches are planned for the next three weekends.  Plans are to leave by 5 a.m. Saturday morning, drive 3 – 4 hours to the town where we will hold an eye clinic starting around 9 a.m.   Sunday morning there will be a revival church service.  Late Sunday we’ll drive back to Moratuwa where we are staying with our ministry partners.  It’s a joy to be  ministering together after almost 5 years.   

During the week we’ll spend time at Adara Sevana (Love Shelter), a school for the differently abled and share at a weekly healing meeting. 

Students who completed the week of training.

Gary's second week in South India was fruitful: imparting the Word of God to hungry hearts. He received several precious notes of gratitude from the students - sharing how their lives were impacted during the training sessions. Pat was blessed with several gifts and lots of love and prayers sent back with Gary.

Sunday Services:  This past Sunday, Gary and I shared at two different places.  I had a 2 hour taxi ride one way (with Sister Hannah my translator) to a small village called Nagrakata. (Taxis here are hired autos, quite reasonably priced)

Gary shared the Word at our home church in India. The people came hungry to meet with God.  He is always faithful to touch hearts and change lives. 

Raising up the Next Generation

What adventure in faith are you on at the moment?   Sharing our adventures reminds us that as followers of Jesus - every day of our life is an opportunity to share the love of Jesus - wherever you find yourself - with whoever you find yourself with.

Your love and prayers are so important - our hearts are encouraged with every email or message we get from you.

The journey continues ~ Pat

 

Sri Lanka - Resplendent Island

The ten days we spent in Sri Lanka went by very quickly and were very productive.  This was our 4th trip together and we quickly settled into our Sri Lankan home in the guest room at Adara Sevana - a school for the 'Differently Abled".  Each morning we joined the students for daily chapel which included a short Bible story narrated and acted out by - you guessed it - Gary and I!  They enjoyed our amateur dramatics. It was a blessing to pray and speak a blessing over them.  We also shared a special lunch on Children's Day.

Our Sri Lankan ministry partners,  Layasing and Deepthi, have caught the vision and seen the fruit of the eye clinic ministry.  Deepthi has pursued her education over the past 3 years and is almost a fully licensed optician. Her training and certification legitimatizes the eye clinics with the Ministry of Health.   Eye clinics were held in the city of Kandy and village of Akureesa.   We saw about 230 people and gave out 200 pair of eye glasses. Everyone received prayer, and a touch of Jesus' love in a practical way.

Worship and the Word were shared in Sunday and Wednesday services, and a special weekend revival service in Kandy.  It is always encouraging to worship with The Church wherever God sends us.

Deepthi and Layasing are wonderful hosts, graciously making sure we had all that was needed to make our stay in Sri Lanka a joy.  Not to mention the delicious Sri Lankan food!

A part of our heart remains in Sri Lanka.  God is moving, the church is seeing increase – remember to pray for them as they shine the light of Jesus in this primarily Buddhist nation.

The journey continues ~ Pat

DISCLAIMER: Due to our travel schedule and sketchy internet - Journal updates are not in real-time or even in chronological order. 

Tuesday and Wednesday Gatherings

Tuesday morning, we were delighted to join the morning chapel singing and storytime at Adara Sevana, a local privately funded school for the differently-able. We noticed a significant change of increased calm and joy in several of the young people who were noticeably agitated on our February 2016 visits. Each student was thrilled to receive a kazoo that Kim Cline sent for them. This was a perfect gift, as none of them had ever before seen a kazoo, and they all enjoy participating in the music segments of their day. Once we figured out how to explain you don''t blow to create the noise, the kazoos were soon added into song accompaniments!

Tuesday evening, we were privileged to join a weekly prayer meeting hosted in a home in a fishing village right along the ocean, just 10 minutes drive from our hotel in Moratuwa. 29 people attended, half of whom were children who all stayed through the hour-long meeting. The meeting is led by a couple who both teach at Adara Sevana. They also started a Thursday evening children's program in the village, currently with 21 regular participants.

Wednesday evening, Gary spoke at the weekly interdenominational service held in the same facility that is home to Adara Sevana. He shared spiritual insight to the principle that we attain or become like what we actually expend our time and focus on. For example, spending notable amounts of time on social media feeds, TV, movies, etc, results in our thoughts and perception of life being influenced by this content. By the same principle, spending time with Jesus and ingesting the content of His Word results in our viewpoints aligning more and more to His. About 60 people came to the service; many requested prayer after the teaching. As we prayed for individuals, it was wonderful to see in person that there is no language barrier when it comes to prayer.

Our next clinics are in Thambalagamuwa, a village near the port city of Trincomalee, on Sri Lanka's northeast coast. 
We'll keep you updated!

Homeward: Bangkok, Thailand, to Tokyo, Japan

First off, from the Sri Lanka home front, the brief word from Pat is that they served 38 people at Monday's eye clinic at Adara Sevana, the school in Moratuwa. What a wonderful impact and relationship building opportunity in the local neighbourhood! (Even the resident pug puppy is excited! No, really - that's an excited face - you'll have to trust me on this.)

All went well for my afternoon and overnight in Bangkok - well, overnight meaning another 3:20 AM wake up for a 7 AM ish flight. (Sadly, growing up in the '80s has propelled into my head the snippet of song lyric, "one night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble...". Another childhood moment courtesy of my older brother's radio station choices.)

The Thong Ta Resort hotel was a lovely, calming place to rest for the duration. And their staff has some serious folding skills to create towel ninjas!  I was also heartened to see evidence of a fruitful local Gideon's group in the well-thumbed bedside New Testament. 

Venturing outside the hotel grounds, I got a massage to help work out a few travel kinks, 

and ate some smashing noodle and wonton soups from a street vendor, with a little help ordering from a very kind local customer sitting near the cart. Later, I managed to order all by myself - with much pointing and gestures on both sides off the conversation! - the second bowl for takeaway, which included some of the duck you see hanging from the cart window. Very tender and yum! And in case anyone is fretting, yes, it was safe; I had Gary's assurance. The takeaway packaging process was interesting, partly because it was done in about 20 seconds: broth ladeled into a plastic bag then secured with an elastic; wontons, noodles, greens, and duck portioned out in a plastic bowl then flipped into waxed paper, folded up and secured with a second elastic; all popped in a thin plastic bag atop a styrofoam bowl, plus chopsticks and seasoning pack - presto! 

After the charming chaos of Sri Lanka, Bangkok seemed almost a tad pale in comparison. The orderly traffic flow, all staying within the correct lines, felt almost a waste of good driving space. 

However, taking a bit of a walk, I definitely noticed Bangkok has its own slightly calmer charms, including this lovely businesswoman (another new Facebook friend IF I were on Facebook), who sold to me some Thai snacks to take home for Tom, my husband. She lives outside of the city and works as a middleman, coming into Bangkok weekly to sell traditional snacks that others have made and packaged, carrying the basketed pole across her shoulders. Here's hoping, for Tom's sake, that the packaging is official enough to make it thru customs in Denver. 

I'd hoped for a longer walk in Bangkok, since the front desk assured me the neighborhood was very safe, but air quality was not the best to be trekking about. I  can understand why many local people wore basic filter masks over their nose and mouth. But since it was far less intense than the forest fire pollution we've had in Montana, I still ventured a short stroll. 

It's rather fascinating to think that I left Bangkok at 7:10 AM Tuesday morning, and will arrive home in Montana at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, since at my departure time it was just 5:10 PM in Montana - on Monday evening.

I've just arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport - hooray! - so can fire off this post.

Now for the trek the gate for my last connecting flight, to Denver, Colorado, USA. More to come once I clear customs there! - Cyndy