Life on the Beautiful Island of Sri Lanka

It is amazing how much joy going to the market can bring. Since arriving, Ben and I have been able to do very little on our own. Sri Lankan culture is extremely hospitable to the point that a guest is not to do anything on their own. This is difficult to adjust to due to our individualistic society but the Lord has helped us be patient and today we made it to the grocery store! We still do not have towels but at least we have shampoo now. Moving to a foreign country brings us to the humbling place of an infant. We are now fully reliant on people and God for all of our needs. This is a challenging but amazing message. Currently we have a broken toilet filled with smelly stuff, a broken shower and a sink with no water. Due to this situation it has been extremely challenging to clean ourselves. Our shower does not clean it more drips. I cannot help but laughing at this point but I must admit I have cried a few times. The thing that always seems to set off my crying episode is hitting my head on the 5 foot three inch doorway into our bathroom. But today I feel so accomplished I am literally giggly. 

One amazing thing you learn while living abroad is to truly embrace and love the small accomplishments. It is Sunday morning here and truly the first time since we arrived that I have had any down time. This is surprising to both Ben and I who came here expecting a very slow paced culture and to have oodles of free time. Although this culture is very slow paced in some ways (for example we have asked for our clogged shower and broken sink to be fixed since we have arrived and have yet to see results). As a whole I believe this slow mentality represents the culture but the Devisser family (the pastor family of the church we are working for) is another breed. Since the moment we arrived our days have been packed from 7am to 11pm. The eating schedule here is very different than ours and challenging to get used to. Breakfast is served around 7am followed by lunch between 1-3 and Dinner is served during my bedtime at 9-11. We do not eat snacks in between so I feel hungry often during the long periods of waiting but also am not able to eat the very large portions they eat at one time. They provide toilet paper for foreigners at the home we are staying at but toilet paper is rarely found outside of the Church. The toilets look the same except for the sprayer used for washing located next to the toilet. The shower is crazy no water pressure, freezing, clogged and located above the toilet so the entire floor and bathroom is soaked every time it is used. We need to pray against mosquito born diseases but we have been using bug spray every day and night and we hope he will not get too many more bites. They are not too painful and I have cream that helps them not itch and heal. 

Since we have been here what we are going to be doing has changed greatly. We were told that we were going to be living at the English speaking church and working with Prashan's organization Sri Lanka Unites but, the second day we were here Pastor Adrian met with us and discussed our strengths and what he needed at the church. He said that although Prashan could use us and he had been praying for a secretary and someone to help market the church to the west. He told us that our skills were needed at the church. This is a bit challenging to hear because I am extremely passionate about Prashan’s work but I think we will still be able to experience a great deal of what he is doing. Currently we are living in the Orphanage. Our goal is to move into the church office right next door when a short term missionary leaves in a few weeks. This would give us a bit of private space but we will see. Either way we will be surrounded by people most of the day. This is a cultural norm I am trying to get used to. It can be extremely socially draining. The orphans at the home range from 7-18. Ben and my feet have been extremely swollen since we arrived and mine have ached due to the high level of swelling but yesterday although our feet still swelled was the first day they did not ache Praise God. I think I am adjusting to the climate. I am now used to not sleeping with any covers and just on a sheet with a fan. It is their wet season right now and rains three or more times a day so it is a bit cooler than normal but still extremely humid. The food is difficult for my stomach. Their diet basically consists of things I am not supposed to eat including spicy food, acidic fruit and caffeine (Tea or Nescafe) three times a day. They now know I cannot eat spicy foods so they are making it mild for me. Breakfast is very good and my favorite meal of the day. We eat with our hands which is fun except that my hand constantly smells of Sri Lankan spices haha. Ben and I have literally become a part of the Devisser family we eat dinner with them very often. Last night we went to their home for a ten o’clock dinner which was very good but I was very tired. The day before yesterday was an amazing day. We were able to meet all of the pastors who work for the Devissers all over the country. Many pastors from the north came and told stories of the challenges they were facing. Pastor Adrian taught on the differences of the western and Asian church and the need for Asian theology. He discussed the fact that the Asian church has been brought up using irrelevant western theology, church planting methods and evangelism tools that do not work in Asia and how the church needs to change this. Yesterday was also a very amazing day. We got to travel to the south were the tsunami hit. Although a great deal is rebuilt now seeing the lines of the wave and hearing the stories of destruction was very moving. We visited a Buddhist center which is doing amazing things in the community. It is interesting how God uses people of other religions to do amazing good. I am overcome with God’s grace, provision and guidance. He is truly a God of good things and brings joy to times of struggle.

Those who fear to suffer, suffer from fear

The above title comes from an artistic portrait that was drawn up by a Sri Lankan youth villager. This particular young person comes from a village named Seenigama in the southern portion of the island-the same portion that was literally devastated by a tsunami in 2004. Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit this village that has now been commandeered by a non-government organization named Foundation of Goodness. This organization that yields itself to the tagline, "from waves of destruction flows waves of compassion" has rehabilitated this small village by offering everything from medical and dental services to a full-fledged cricket field and olympic sized pool. These services, that are provided completely free, are meant to empower young people and adults alike to realize the potential within themselves in order that they might contribute something to humanity. The man who spearheads it all is a devout buddhist although he quite mystified us all throughout the day by using words like "loving kindness," "compassion," "soft heart" and "blessed." Suffice to say, this man's valor was unquestionably affirmed when his secretary proceeded to explain the tsunami story. As it turns out there were actually two waves with the second being the absolute leveler and so after the first wave of the tsunami came and poured through their facilities, including a children's daycare center, this man took it upon himself to run into the camp and grab as many children as he could. He escaped with the children, on foot no less, to run for the higher ground just before the second wave wholly decimated his family's estate, the facilities and a hand full of surrounding villages. 

We have met with many Sri Lankans thus far, always with the utmost hospitality and tender kindness, and we are starting to find that these people know about suffering in more ways than one. The war had waged for nearly 30 years and within that period of time a catastrophic wave of unparalleled proportions ended the lives of nearly 100,000 people. We definitely do not know suffering like this. So too the church has experienced suffering from many places and being exposed to these people makes a theology of suffering all the more relevant. The persecution that they have endured has in turn evoked a response to reach out, to help, to resuscitate it's believers and to evangelize to those who have never believed before. And this model, this charge has brought us to a place of awe once again. From all of this we have found that the calling is present and we want to be involved in whatever way possible so we have hatched an agreement with Pastor Adrian-the leader here. The work that we have found, or that the Lord has laid out for us rather, is to help Kithu Sevana (his church) with their administrative organization. This work will include writing (for a newsletter and website), secretarial work, website work, photography and video compilation as well as some marketing in that general area. This work is the prayer that Pastor Adrian has meditated on for a long while as he has never retained this type of assistance in all of his 16 years of leadership. So it appears that there will be many more trips like the one aforementioned to see the people and places that have been affected by the Kithu Sevana movement-that is one of peace, grace and truth. 

The Apparent size of Him Who Saves

Just a few Sundays ago I was struck by the apparent size of our Caretaker. I was standing off to the side of the congregation so as to fully appreciate the entire scope of those standing and worshiping-a small bunch to be sure but a group of remarkable people nonetheless. On recent Sundays, given my relative position on the periphery I have taken it upon myself to help usher those who are searching for seats. The church was getting more and more full, in fact, I believe it was one of the greatest capacities that I have ever witnessed at Pathways (still a congregation of perhaps 150-200 on any given day). It was right then: at the point that I resolvedly began worshipping when my eyes and heart welled up with awe due to His presence. It suddenly occurred to me, gazing over the heads of my brothers and sisters, that despite of who I am and despite of what I may try and do, the Lord shows up irrespective. Of course, HE was already there to begin with; His presence is far too expansive, far too pervasive for us to try and manufacture an encounter with Him. It was at that moment, listening to Jeff carry the lightest piano riff, that I realized, certainly not for the first time, exactly how small I am relative to the size of our Maker. Certainly we have all heard of this kind of experience and if there were no implications for this sort of awe then it might blend into the myriad of Christian proverbs already in circulation. But, alas, I believe the implications are widespread. 

A reality check of just how small we truly are is important for several reasons. One implication for being in awe of our maker's infinite power and faith is the degree of surrender that it invokes. There is, of course, an entire new chapter that could be opened about the act of surrender alone but that is what we do when we come to a place that realizes the size of God relative to us all-surrender. This is part of the lesson that we are learning as we crawl nearer to our departure. We find ourselves in a place of a very surreal nature given that we have graduated from Azusa Pacific and it feels as if for the first time that the road is no longer paved. Of course the path is carved and there are still signs but we feel quite humbled with this newfound freedom and decision-that is: what to do now. Of course the way that we have answered to the best of our ability is by embarking on this new journey to Sri Lanka. And this is the point that is relative to surrendering; we are going on our knees as if to say, "Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed by thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."