Leaks, Cockroaches and a Whole Lotta Laughs

We have had three leaks in one week (and the week is not even over yet). On Monday, Ben heard water leaking from one of the many old rooms in the home we live in. He tried to tighten the knob where the leak was coming from and the knob completely snapped off. Water started pouring out all over the floor and of course we did not know how to turn the water off so we had to run next door to our 95 year old land lady’s home and find out where to turn the water off. We finally turned it off but had to spend a day without water (not that big of a deal) until the local plumber came by. Needless to say it was quite a mess but left both of us laughing.
Our next leak happened on Tuesday. I woke up on Tuesday morning to a dark river flowing from underneath our kitchen cabinets. Ben got the mop and we continued to soak up the dirty water until our friend the plumber arrived again. If that was not enough our fridge has been leaking water all day today....haha. What an adventure it is to live here. So we went from a severe ant problem to a cockroach problem. Each morning I slowly open the kitchen door in anticipation of finding another one of our dead friends. They are huge and so gross. But the dead ones we find laying our kitchen floor are much better than the ones living in our cupboards. Our dishwares are pooped on regularly and we hear and see them running around whenever we open the cupboard doors. I had purchased cockroach traps from the USA and was planning on receiving them from the American team but they were stolen out of Monte’s car the night before they left. I am sure the burglar was not too happy with his booty. He received a bunch of crafts, some cockroach traps, girls’ pants, trail mix and some white cake mix. I am sure he was disappointed. We were disappointed too!
It was so great to see familiar faces. We really enjoyed seeing Monte and his team and we loved working with them. But they were here for such a short time and it was hard to see them go.
Ben and I attended our first Sri Lankan 25 year wedding anniversary. We are sitting and eating dinner when all of a sudden there was a huge boom outside the front door and little sparks started flying through the window. I jumped literally on top of the poor woman sitting next to me and just about gave her a heart attack. I guess it is tradition to set off fireworks for 25 year anniversaries....well they didn’t tell us and I did the drop roll and cover because I thought it was a bomb...anyways it was an adventure to say the least and every single Sri Lankan got a crack out of the way I reacted. I was a bit shook up though!
We miss you all dearly! Please be praying against mosquito born illness because many of them are currently going around. Please also pray for peace in times of fear and a community for Ben and I. Thank you and God Bless!

Future Leader's Conference 2009

Sometimes I think the only way the human community will achieve some iota of solidarity is against a common threat or enemy. Take, for example, the cinematic premise of some extra-terrestrial force or presence that threatens to wipe out the human race-only then can we all come together and agree that we are all endangered by some thing. In this scenario no one nation, no one continent suffers more than another in the face of imminent danger or death because after all it is the fate of the world that is at hand. Well what if the fate of the world-society at large-humanity-the global community has already reached this defining moment and many times over? You see, at least one problem with this story line is precisely its essence: united. . .to defeat a common enemy or threat and with this objective you have both American and Chinese, Pakistani and Indian, Israeli and Palestinian, and the whole continent of Africa taking up arms to slaughter an shared enemy. But what if? Just what if these were not the militaristic means to which we came together as a human community? What if two groups-violently entrenched in war against one another for three decades-sat together in a room for five days and decided together the threat itself was difference, fear, hatred, violence and discord. This is what we witnessed a couple of weeks ago at the Future Leader's Conference put on by Sri Lanka Unites. 

At this conference, students ages 12-18, came together from all over the Island-from the south of Galle, the east of Batticaloa, the west of Colombo, the north of Jaffna and many towns in between. Granted these students were selected as the leaders of their respective schools and communities but I assure you that what they accomplished was nothing short of transcendent as it was not just this singular event, rather it was the commitment that each student vowed in taking reconciliation back to their schools, communities and homes. After day one passed along with all of its apprehensions, I saw these children from widely varying backgrounds-Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist along with Burghers, Tamils and Singhalese-take hold against the great transgressions of their forefathers. Of course, the notorious 3-decade long feud that I speak of is the assault against the government waged by the LTTE for a separate state and has, at least, ostensibly been the result of ethnic offense between the Tamils and Singhalese. Both sides have incurred a stream of atrocities-from massive community burnings, namely the early 80's when thousands of lives

 and homes were lost amidst riots, to suicide bombings, one of which in 1996 killed 80 people in one blow. This is the legacy that has been left for these young people to rectify and I trust that with the overall enthusiasm and vigor that we witnessed this event will not be found wanting. However, I must admit that with all the important speakers and special guests and performers there was one thing that stood out to me in getting this movement mobilized and that was the fact that these kids showed up. 

I have learned that as long as human beings walk the earth, words will never match the power of actions. And so you will say to me: but surely no person can act without the transmission of words whether written or in speech! Even still I cannot underscore enough the power of showing up, the deed, the act, the movement of such great and varying methods: nonviolent civil disobedience, the fast, the hunger strike, the sit-in and the constant and unrelenting appeals made by those people of various groups to their Government, their law-bodies and to society at large. And thats what these young people have done. They have laid a deep and severe appeal to one another and their country that they will no longer allow their destinies to be determined by hatred. This is one thing that I have gathered in Sri Lanka from our experiences, from our readings and from our work such that I feel compelled not even to give my word to prove something rather I just go on and prove it. This, I feel, is the key to avoiding those empty words, unfulfilled promises and yet-to-have-seen vows and plans that never seem to materialize yet are filled with talk and talk and talk. This, I am afraid to say, has been an incredible shortfall of my own too and I wish to make a mends by cautioning my tongue as if to censor my own hopes and promises only to liberate them at the proper time and place in all of their glory and proper intent. 

Everyday Life in Sri Lanka

Western foods are hard to come by here. We now eat Mexican food with kidney beans and rotti (a Sri Lankan flat bread) . A little different! But as close to Mexican food as we can find. It is amazing how anything even a little similar becomes extremely exciting. We found a store that sells m and m’s today. Which was very exciting! I never eat m and m’s in the states and honestly am not even a really a chocolate fan. I know weird. But here I am an addict haha. Ben and I also joined a “gym” in order to meet new people in the community and get out of the house. Our new gym is at a local Catholic school that allows people to come work out after school is over (5pm-9pm). The equipment is quite comical due to its archaic state but we find it very exciting. The trainers at the gym are very amused by the gym’s two new WHITE members. They follow us around to each machine we go to and tell us how to use it. When we are finished with one machine they ask us what we are going to do next and how long we plan on doing it. It is very comical. Sri Lanka is extremely community oriented and the Gym experience is no different. So we are quickly making friends...haha. Ben and I have a lot of alone time. Most days we rarely leave the house. We work from home and so our normal outings are to the market (which I love...it is fun to see what they have in stock this week) and now to the gym. We also visit coffee bean about once a week because it is far away and our favorite Italian restaurant (Ben is Italian if you didn’t know) Echo, which is a strange name for an Italian food restaurant but it has amazing food. AMAZING!
Ben and I are praying we will find more people to hang out with soon but are truly enjoying the time we are given to read, study God’s word and hang out with each other. It is an extremely different from our busy lifestyle in the States and was hard to adjust to but has become a true gift from God. Ben’s best friend has become the neighbor boy across the street. He rings our doorbell at least 5 times a day asking Ben to play cricket. He is currently on holiday for a month (schooling is year round here) so I think we have about three more weeks of continual door bell ringing. But it is nice to have the company haha.
Ben and I went for a run the other day on the beach near our home (Watch our u-tube video of the walk from our house to the beach if you want to see what I am talking about, Not all you-tube videos are posted on our blog but you can just search Applebees4peace and find them all on the you tube website) The experience was an interesting one to say the least. I think I have said this before but, Ben and I rarely see any other white people here. I have never been so aware of my whiteness. People constantly yelled and said hello or just laughed as they watched us run. Although this is a daily occurance it was magnified by the fact that we were running. I guess this is a very funny activity. An interesting and embarrassing experience.
Monte and the rest of the Resplendent Hope team arrived. It is so good to see familiar faces and truly feels refreshing. I am truly enjoying talking and spending time with all of them. It is just what Ben and I needed a little encouragement and community. My health has been very poor lately and I feel extremely frustrated. I have ulcers as many of you know and from the day I arrived in Sri Lanka my stomach acid has been very high and heartburn has been a daily occurrence. I feel extremely frustrated. It seems like I cannot process any food correctly and feel sick daily. Please pray for healing. I am trying to stick to a very strict diet but nothing seems to help. Please continue to pray for Ben and I as we continue on this journey. God is good despite the challenges we are facing and we are learning how to fully rely on him. This is a challenging lesson but a very rewarding one. We are so grateful to have a special time of community with Monte and the resplendent hope team. This is a huge blessing! Please pray for their safety and their trip!

Cricket in Sri Lanka is Absolute Insanity

On our way home from church Ben and I found ourselves right in the middle of a Hindu processional. We did not have our camera but I found a picture off a website http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/17149/2987394870104237032S600x600Q85.jpg and it truly captures what we saw. Men hung from thousands of hooks piercing their entire body. It was the most horrific religious practice I have ever seen. According to the Hindu religion the more hooks a person has in his/her body the more his/her family will be blessed. This is a religion and people truly in need of Christ’s grace and unfailing love. We are so blessed to have a God who loves us unconditionally. Grace if accepted is such an amazing gift.
Ben and I have truly settled in now and are feeling at home in our new place. We have a huge ant and cockroach problem but we have been spraying daily and we are hoping this will help. We also have two kittens that have made their home in our outdoor shed. They are very cute and we are going to buy food for them today. Monte Pries arrives in Sri Lanka on August 20th and we cannot wait to see him and his team. Not to mention that they are bringing some goodies for us and of course all the crafts (Thanks to Pathways Church and Ben’s family and friends). It will be so nice to see a familiar face. I still get homesick daily. I guess that’s what happens when you have a family who loves you as much as mine does.
These past two weeks have been very challenging for Ben and me we found out my Uncle has brain cancer and it is extremely challenging to be away from family when they are enduring extremely difficult challenges. Praise the Lord for the Pathways community my family has. The church members at pathways have surrounded and supported my family and my uncle during this difficult time and I am so grateful. What a blessing Pathways is to my family and me. Even though I cannot physically be there to support my family I know others are there to pray and love them.
On Wednesday night Ben and I went to our first cricket match (Watch the videos we posted!). Wow it was definitely one of the craziest experiences of my life. We arrived at the cricket match and were immediately surrounded by a mob of thousands and thousands of people who were trying to push the cricket gate down. Police men were literally beating people. One of the members of our group was pushed up against a car by the mob and dislocated her Knee. It was fascinating but I did not enjoy the experience. By the time we actually got into the cricket match (two hours too late) we were forced to sit on the floor because so many people who had not purchased tickets had snuck in. People were leaning on me and breathing on me and basically I wanted to leave the moment I arrived. But we stayed and got the cricket experience and left before the game was over in order to ensure that we would get out of the stadium safely. It was a once in a lifetime experience....Literally!
Thank you for your continued prayer. Please continue to pray for health for both Ben and me. My stomach has not had a normal day since I arrived. Please also pray for my uncle and his healing. Pray for Ben and My eyes to be open to God’s work and what we are supposed to be doing here. Pray we will be open to his direction and his call and seek him in all we do. Thank you we miss and love you all very much.

Tough And Good

Tough but good…its strange how much those tend to coincide. The other day I found myself once again describing a particular situation to someone with those words and I realized that many times in the last year I’ve done so. When Rylee slipped down a flight of stairs-giving us a really good scare and bruising her rear in the process it was quite tough but good. It was tough for all the obvious aforementioned reasons but it was good because it forced us to inch yet again closer to one another and our God. When I was sick for three weeks at a time in Peru-wondering what on earth had come over me and losing thirteen pounds in the process this too was indeed tough but good. It was tough because we felt that we had traveled all that way for a purpose to serve and take action but it was good because we learned the invaluable lesson that in life our plans are not our own. I could go on recounting at least ten to fifteen other times in the recent past where I admittedly answered, ‘it was tough…tough but good.’ The truth is that every person, in retrospect, has the option whether or not to stop at, ‘it was tough.’ and leave it there as if every challenge in life is without consequence. Because most of us who have had just the littlest taste of reality know that no growth is without implication, no life change is without repercussion and no degree of maturation is without cost to our self. And I’m not entirely convinced that only those of us with a belief in the divine will concede that this is true. No, in fact, I am certain that this experience is more of an axiom-a very transcendent and profound aphorism or truism that is futile to fight for any person.

So what are we to do with this rather exceptional reality? Are we to embrace the tough? The challenge? The change? The stretching, pulling, prodding? I don’t know if I quite know how to ‘embrace’ it all but I can say that I will always, albeit reluctantly, pursue the possible outcome of said ‘toughness’ because I know, from experience, what awaits me on the other side . . . it won’t always be a triumph, at least it is never guaranteed to be immediately, but it will be some bit of growth. To put it in a frank theological expression: this is the precise essence of sanctification by means of constant conversion. So many beautiful dimensions of the word, ‘conversion:’ to turn, to change, to become renewed, to move from one form to another… tough but good; the definitions are so full of potential. Sanctification, meaning the time that we are given here on earth to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds,” “to be conformed by the likeness of his Son”, is a process and we don’t know how long we’re given. This is what is so profound about when the protagonist in a movie finds that he allegedly only has 6 months to live and you can see the immediate conversion of his countenance, his spirit, his vitality, his heart, mind, body and soul. So what is it that we all love to see that newfound take on life? I think we love this formulaic story because we love to see the look on the guy’s face-like everything is so new and fresh and he isn’t going to loose another second before he lives. his. life. And living that life means looking beyond the 12 inches in front of our faces in order that we might discover there is sense to be made of this tough, tough moment.