The Plans We Make

"We should make plans—counting on God to direct us." Proverbs 16:9 TLB

Eye clinics were scheduled for two villages where the people primarily work in a coconut plantation, husking coconuts.  They are paid a few rupees for each coconut they husk.

As preparations were being made, with a small tent being erected for shade, a radical Buddhist group called the BBS opposed the eye clinics, accusing the church of bribing people to convert to Christianity.

For safety, the clinics were relocated to another village about 30 minutes away.  Arrangements were made to transport the people on lorries (trucks).  Sadly it turned out that because they would need to be gone for several hours, their plantation manager would not give them leave from work.  Our prayer is that the opposition will die down, and an eye clinic can be held for them in the future. 

Friday and Saturday's clinics were still in the Negombo area, in the villages of Horogasmulla and Polwatta (which means coconut garden.  This particular village is so small it doesn't show up on Google Maps). The local Methodist churches organized and hosted the clinics. The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka has a 200 year history here, and retains a level of respect from villagers and officials. 

The villagers primarily work as potters.  Shaping and firing serviceable clay pots for flowers, water, then selling them to wholesalers.  At least 2 men came that drive commercial trucks.  We were glad to help them, and make the roads safer.

During two days, 237 people had their eyes examined; 207 received eye glasses.  All were prayed for and encouraged.  The broad smiles on their faces as they look through their new glasses and see clearly is a rich reward.

The lady in the middle runs a small shop and needed to be able to read the tiny writing on her product packages.

The two men are commercial truck drivers.  Without glasses, one could only read the 1st to lines of the chart.  Working with Commercial Truck Drivers for many years, I know how critical good eyesight is to them.

Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Sri Lanka.

For the Least of These - we continue the journey.    Gary and Pat

Catch up with Cyndy as she gets over her jet lag at www.Montana1aDay.com. 

On Travel Food

Dear Dr. Dawn, 

If you are reading this, please cover your eyes and scroll down or up to a different post - unless you have absolution on offer. 

Because my confession is: In the roughly 11,000 air and land miles of the past couple weeks, I fell pretty hard off your prescribed No Dairy-Grains-Sweetener wagon. Yes, there were plenty of tasty vegetables and protein choices - which I gratefully and heartily enjoyed. But there were also warm croissants. With butter from sweet-eyed Sri Lankan cows. And mango pie. And those little traditional spiral pastries infused with honey. And not just ice cream - which I could have passed up - but gelato. It would have been decidedly impolite to rebuff the hospitably smiling flight attendant who handed it over without asking if I wanted any, right? 

And, as a Canadian, it goes against my inborn ethics to be impolite.  

Plus, even if she HAD asked if I wanted a micro-serving of frozen delight (in an elfin cup with a wee little spoon, no less!), I couldn't have LIED - particularly in my pseudo-missionary status - because I truthfully wanted it desperately enough to lay aside my handcrafted Sweet Peaks snobbery and fully live in the deliciously chilly moment presented.

So, now I hope you can understand why I could no more refuse the gelato (or creamy yoghurt, Biskoff cookies, and the stroopwaffle I saved for later...) than the swallows can NOT fly to San Juan Capistrano.

(And aren't they fortunate to not have their flight path fraught with dairy danger?!!)

But tomorrow is a new day ripe for new beginnings  - starting right after we meet the kids downtown at Sweet Peaks. (Anyone else in for a scoop of Candy Corn or Plum Cadamom?

Sincerely, 

Cyndy aka Your Prodigal Patient

Airport Run on Empty Roads

Tuesday's early morning airport run on traffic-free highways took us about 45 minutes.  

By 6 am, rush hour is at full capacity, and the same commute would take twice as long.

Colombo Airport

Sadly, we could not delay bidding bon voyage to Cyndy who is now back on US soil.  We will miss her inquisitive mind, organizational skills, and decidedly positive outlook.  Not to mention that I will miss the joy of spending time with my 'little' sister.

Enjoy Cyndy's views of her home state at Montana1aDay

Driving the new highways of Sri Lanka sometimes seems surreal.  

We could be anywhere in the world.  Well, anywhere that they drive on the left side of the road that is.

Stay tuned for more of our Sri Lankan Journey with God. ~~~ Pat

On Packing

Well, my one carry on suitcase is locked and in the van, along with my personal bag. And contents have increased to include a lovely gift plaque and chest of tea, plus 30 small packs of pepper and cinnamon, and 100 packets of a tasty tincture called Samehan. 

So I guess I can say I've successfully achieved my packing goal to not check any bags, aside from the two allowed bags that will stay here along with the useful gifts and eyeglasses we brought to leave.

My husband makes me look like a  profligate travel packer. For a week's stay, two pairs of jeans, three t-shirts, and daily skivvies go into his duffel. And then, when doing laundry on our return home, he remarks  that he packed too much.

So, in that spirit, I've compiled my list of Things I Didn't Need: 

-Yoga pants, since Pat loaned me a Sri Lankan house dress (kind of like a mumu) which is great in the humidity 

-My favourite grey tshirt

-Stupid Peds purchased for the trip that, upon wearing, were not actually as low cut as advertised

-two tank tops

-One lightweight pair of just-in-case pants shoved in at the last minute

-full size bar of soap (a mini-bar would have sufficed as a back up)

For illustration, this is my suitcase coming from the USA

and going back.

Next time, I'll pack lighter and have more room for more tea!

Today I'm off to Bangkok, then tomorrow to Tokyo and through to Denver and Missoula.

Pat and Gary are prepping for services in Moratuwa and then on to the next eye clinics.

Bon voyage to moi!

-Cyndy

Last Day Treats: Curd and Treacle, and Mango Pie

Yesterday's return travels took us through an area where water buffalo are common and a regional food specialty is curd made from water buffalo milk. 

Much like a thick, smooth yoghurt but with a tasty tang unique to the milk source, it's set in shallow clay pots made for this purpose - and which often are repurposed as charming flower pots. (Too bad my one and only suitcase is already full...)

A drizzle of treacle completes the treat. Lucky me, everyone else was full so I got to finish up the pot! 

And to finish my stay, we had dinner at our hosts' home: coconut roti, pittu, deviled smoked fish, and mango pie made from fresh mangos from a tree in our Thambalagamuwa host's yard.

Tomorrow we leave to the airport at 3:30 AM for my 7 AM departure flight - always the bittersweet segment of any journey, as I'm sad to leave dear ones here, but looking forward to seeing dear ones at home.

-Cyndy 

Thambalagamuwa: Day 2 of 2

Today we returned to the general area of Thambalagamuwa, but another 15 or 10 minutes further up the road, at the home of one of the members of the church.
As always, people were already waiting well ahead of the clinic start time. As the day continued, people kept arriving via foot, motorcycle, tuk tuk, and motor scooter, and waited patiently in the shade of the trees and patio in our host's yard.

Totals exceeded what was expected to be a short day. In 4 hours & 50 minutes active working time, we gave:
 148 total eye exams &
 128 pairs of eye glasses.

That's 148 distinct individuals who thought it worth their time to wait, sometimes hours, for a basic eye exam, in hopes of receiving help for vision impairment. And that's 148 people of differing religions and backgrounds who received time and personal attention and care from our team - including our host family, two local pastors, and one pastor's wife - who all agreed it is a privilege to be a tangible & useful expression of how Jesus loves.

Please be encouraged right where you are: You don't have to travel away from home to be used by God to show His love.  It doesn't have to be the biggest or the most lavish anything - you just have to look, and God will help you see a genuine need you have the ability to fill.


In case you wondered at the difference between the numbers of eye exams and distributed glasses, there are varied reasons some people do not receive eyeglasses at these clinics.
The best scenario is when they have perfect vision. Other reasons are typically for situations we cannot cover: different prescriptions in each eye, cataracts, glaucoma, injury to the eye, or extreme prescriptions strengths.

This gentleman informed us that he is a tailor and the reading glasses he received today will be very helpful in his daily work.



















After we'd finished the last exam and packed up our gear, our gracious hosts served tea in a traditional village manner, with chunks of hakuru or jaggery, a raw sweetener made from reduced kithul palm tree sap - you take a small bite of the hakuru then a sip of tea - yum!



On our return journey, we again debarked to portage at a very deep and rough section of the road. The little van has been impressive on its inaugural road trip with 5 adults and eye clinic luggage, but this would have been asking too much.





 
Once back in Trincomalee, we refueled with dinner at Trinco Lanka Seafood Restaurant, owned by friends of the local pastor - amazing fresh seafood! In a show of sisterly love, I gladly gave up my shrimp heads for Gary to enjoy.

Tomorrow we return to the same home for morning church service, and then continue our 6-ish hour drive back to Moratuwa.

This is a perfect illustration of the contrast in both geography and population between my home state of Montana and the nation of Sri Lanka. On developed roads in Sri Lanka (population: just under 21 million), with villages and towns peppered along many segments, the 6-ish hours covers about 270 km, or 168 miles. 
In Montana (population: just over 1 million, in a land mass almost 6 times that of Sri Lanka) the drive of 165 miles from Kalispell to Drummond will take just under 3 hours, through mountain & lakeside communities. You may see a few cows, deer, elk, bear - but not an abundance of three-wheel tuk-tuks. (Note: Click the text links for more information.)

 

And then Monday we rest up and prep for the week ahead - me to travel homeward, and Pat & Gary and the local team to prep for services in Moratuwa and eye clinics in Buttala. We appreciate all your support for this journey and your continued prayers.

-Cyndy 

Thambalagamuwa: Day 1 of 2

Well, grand totals from today's eye clinic in Thambalagamuwa set a new record for a single day clinic thus far:
 -186 people's eyes examined
 -141 pairs of glasses given away.
And this all in 6 hours and 20 minutes of working time.
Exams started at 9:40 AM, paused for a short lunch break in the early afternoon, and the last one finished at 5:05 PM.

There is a bit of a back story to this amazing day unfolding as it did.
The Methodist pastor's requests to build a church have been denied by local officials. But when he brought a request for permission to hold the eye clinic at a private location in the district, the same officials said, "Why don't you hold it at our district government offices?" So, this morning's clinic started with formal greetings and addresses from several district representatives, as well as the local pastor who laid the groundwork & coordinated logistics.

We saw a fair number of students in the morning, many brought by their parents with permission from the school officials.

During both the morning and afternoon, many area police officers took their break time to wait for an exam. We saw this as a positive opportunity to build goodwill relationships with more local officials.

The caption that sprung to mind for this next scene was:
How many Reverends does it take to examine the eyes of a Buddhist monk?
(From these pictures, the answer, apparently, is three!)

The entire day was an amazing example of eye clinics - or any relevant answer to an actual need - opening doors and building relationship bridges - and relationship opens doors of the heart and mind for the very relevant Gospel of Jesus to be heard.
-Cyndy