Four Corners Of The Island - 2006
My first trip to Sri Lanka with Spearhead was just after the Tsunami in early 2005. That trip was a truly enlightening experience as my emotions were torn between sorrow for the plight of the victims and elation at what God was doing in the lives of the local population. It was with some degree of uncertainty that I returned once again, not knowing whether I would be re-living memories and experiences of that heart rending first trip or whether God had something fresh and unexpected for us.
The team this time consisted of 5 men folk with ages adding up to around 275 years between us, you could say that we were more ‘useful’ than ‘youthful’ but our enthusiasm was undaunted. It wasn’t long before the planned schedule was departed from. A combination of ever changing circumstances, and the leading of the Holy Spirit contributory factors, but hey! This is fertile ground for the amazing and unexpected!
It felt like we visited the four corners of the island as we traversed the width and breadth of Sri Lanka. Trincomalee, Jaffna Colombo sharing our experience of God, Teaching in churches, at the bible colleges and to groups of leaders as well as at evangelistic outreaches.
I also visited Matara on the southern tip to visit Pathum, a boy who I am sponsoring through Kingscare. Pathum is now 14 years old and was just 12 when the Tsunami struck his village. Sadly he was unable to save his mother who was trapped in the house when it filled with water. He also lost other family members but was taken in by an aunt and his situation seems to be fairly stable. Please pray for all the traumatised youngsters who will never forget that awful day.
The team visited many churches and homes during the time we were there. We had many opportunities to preach and minister in the area of healing and speaking the power of God into people’s lives, we saw many amazing responses to God’s grace. One memorable outing for me was while we were in Jaffna in the north. Some of the youngsters from the Calvary church (pastored by Leslie Matthews) took me in a ‘tut tut’ (a sort of three wheeled motorcycle) to a remote spot to minister to a group of children. After travelling for what seemed like ages along mud tracks and through fields we met in a large grass hut with open sides and told stories and sung praises to about 20 enthusiastic children, it was so typical of the enchanting simplicity of this beautiful country. God is certainly at work in the hearts of young and old in Sri Lanka. All too soon it was time to come home to England. As always, I am left with the feeling that there is so much to do and that we barely scratched the surface. One thing I do know is that we were a great encouragement to both the leaders and their flocks out there and if we achieved nothing else, that single contribution is very important. Will I go back sometime in the future? Try and stop me! By Tony Davies Team Member
Article Date: 4th December 2004 |
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