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.