Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Journey Continues - Sri Lanka Update

The first lesson you learn when traveling and working outside of the US and Canada is: Be flexible and don't stress - over anything!  

Between a busy schedule, and intermittent access to the Internet - we have a lot to share.  Expect our updates to come at random intervals.  

The itinerary planned for our trip has already been adjusted twice.  The locations for our first two weekend Missions were switched. When we arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday Oct 9th - we drove to Minneriya, a city on the Eastern Side of the nation.  

Since the civil war ended in 2009, the army built and runs the hotel where we stayed.  The grassy sports field was great for our morning walks.  We watched the new recruits take their morning run, while dodging the pack of stray dogs, and a couple grazing cows.  This is where we had our first taste of Sri Lankan food - and it is really delicious.

The weekend Mission Outreach was hosted by the Minneriya Methodist Church. They invited several neighboring churches to join them.  It was wonderful to see the different denominations come together, including the local Foursquare Pastor.

Friday was an all day Eye Clinic.  Over 60 people were seen, with 50 receiving glasses. So many people had cataracts, it was heart breaking.   After getting their eyes checked, each person was prayed for. Then their glasses were dispensed, and they were prayed for again.  God's Word promises that the prayer of faith will heal the sick - and that includes God touching their eyes!

Saturday - Gary shared the Word during the two morning sessions, and Pat shared in the afternoon.  Many people gave their hearts to The Lord!  Many came up for prayer for healing.  On Sunday morning we were overjoyed to hear several reports from those that received their healing!  The Pastor's wife had taken a bad fall 5 years ago and because she was unable to receive any medical attention she had constant pain in her check bone.  She testified that when she was prayed for, the pain in the left side of her face stopped immediately. 

Sunday morning worship service with all four Methodist Churches in the area joining together.  The people sit on mats on the floor.  They sing beautifully accompanied by a simple hand-drum. 

Gary spoke on worship: those that worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:23-24) Several people answered the call for salvation or rededication.  We ended with a time of worship

to believe and declare and thank God for the answer as we worshipped. After service dismissed, the people who had not been prayed for on Saturday came up for personal prayer.

After a typical Sri Lankan lunch of rice, dahl, fried tank fish, and onion sambal, we packed up for the 6 hour drive back to our home base in Moratuwa.

The Golden Carriage  in Moratuwa is our base hotel.  The lack of hot water in the morning is easily forgotten when we gaze out over the Indian Ocean breaking less than 50 feet from our 2nd floor balcony.  The crashing waves provide the sound track for our dreams.  Even the trains rumbling past become hypnotic.

Look for more updates soon.  Your ongoing prayers and love and support mean so much to us.  

Blessings and love from Sri Lanka -- Pat and Gary












1 comment:

  1. Such wonderful news of salvation, healing, relationship, and unity! Glad you have the bonus of morning meandering cows and the nearby ocean. Love to you both.

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