Persecution continues in Sri Lanka

In the aftermath of the Tsunami that occured on 26th December 2010, through the genorosity of the general public we were able to take fund to Sri Lanka to build a children's home. Running costs were to be paid for by the farm that was also being run there. It would be good for the children's education to learn how to take care of animals and do some small scale farming.
We began building in 2005 but only at the beginning of this year did the government give us permission to start using the project as children's home. However not everyone is happy. The village people are normally low educated people who are being abused by the monks for their purposes. They fear that if people turn to Christianity, they will forsake the temple ... which means they will not bring any financial offering and the monks will lose out. The Christian population of Sri Lanka and especially the evangelical population is so small. This is ridiculous! Just read part of an email that a friend sent to me:

Soon after the family camp, the villagers came and protested at the campsite at waga.There were real problems as usual.We didn't know there was opposition growing below in the village.The Buddhism protection society had a big protest meeting opposite the Home. About 600 people gathered including 10 leading monks,Government officials,Politicians the Police etc.The main issue was that under the guise of a children's home we were building a Church. They said that a Christian home is not necessary for the village and the usual accusations of Conversion with foreign funds etc.We had to go to the Hanwella Police and as it is in SL the police was on the side of the monks and the villages and referred the mater to Courts.
As we had all the Government approval the accusation was the piggery was a health hazard to the village.When we produces the Environment Authouritys license which is valid for three years,the Judge called for a report from the Authority.His report was that there was some irregularities we were given one month to correct it.They raised that a children's home can not have a farm as it affects the children.Today we are going to the probation office to keep them informed of the development.

MORE GOOD NEWS DESPITE ALL THE BAD NEWS

There was quite a lot of bad news pouring in on me during the last few days. Good news seemed to be rare. However we continue to be encouraged by the generosity of friends who are supporting our effort to serve the people in Northern Kenya who are going through a famine.
The depressing news I received from Sri Lanka was also offset by good news that followed. During the (our) summer time they had a number of camps and special events for children, including the launching of a new book for children. At the events it seems that there were between 100 and 300 participants.
Good news for a far off land is like cold water to a thirsty soul.

BAD NEWS BUT ALSO SOME GOOD STUFF

I felt a little depressed yesterday as one email after the other rolled in. I got an update on the situation in Kenya. The famine is bad and our friends are looking after up to 3000 people. The best case is that they need to feed the people until spring of 2010, when the next harvest is due. If the expected rains in October fail, then this period will stretch on indefinitely. The burden is enormous as food prices have sky rocketed.
More bad news was received from Pakistan. I wont go into details as it starts to depress me when I just think about it.
I also received an email from Sri Lanka giving me the latest on the situation there. It is also a hard place to serve God in. Intimidation and threats have been expressed to our friends. We sent six good working photo-copiers and they arrived in the country in April. To this day they are still being held by the customs and excise. The children's home which we build in 2005 has still not got permission to start working.

The news is grim and depressing.
But this morning as I looked over our bank accounts I noticed that people have been generous and have given a good sum to help with the famine in Kenya. We are very pleased and relieved about that. Perhaps only a drop on a hot stone but very encouraging.

Good News from Sri Lanka

After working in Sri Lanka for the past ten years, reporting good news from the island seems to be quite a paradox!
We are helping to set up a small farm in an area where water is in short supply. We have collected funds to build a well. Our friends got in touch with a Western NGO that helps to purify water. They have letf our friends with a number of purifying plants and they are now providing three villages with 350 families with clean water.

Anti-Conversion Bill

The government of Sri Lanka has put their anti-converstion bill to one side for the time being. They feel that there was too much pressure locally and internationally coming on them. This is a victory that has comes from prayer. However we are still not completly through. Probably at a time when the world is busy with some other crisis it was be speedily put to parliament.
We need to continue to pray for the island.

Clip regarding religious tension in Sri Lanka

I have been travelling to Sri Lanka for a number of years. The country is truly wonderful and the people are very friendly. Unfortunatly, a civil war has been going on for nearly three decades causing the death of tens of thousands of people.
Religious tension is becoming more evident. Perhaps Christians are sometimes a little insensitive to people's feelings when they talk about their faith, but the violence that occurs is in no way justified.
Assertions that people are being converted by unethical means, that is by being given money is ludicrous. The Christians we know are extremly poor and can hardly make ends meet. They cannot possibly offer people financial gain if they convert.
Here's a documentary that features our friends and is quite balanced in its approach.
Protestant Christians, among which are a number of nominal Christians, are less than 1% of the population. Fear that the country could be taken over by Christian fundamentalists are gravely exaggerated!

Sri Lanka

Link to photos

The last leg of my journey took me to Sri Lanka.
It was good to fly in from India, because I didn't have any jet lag.
The flight only took two hours and was uneventful, except that I had to wait for my luggage. I had two bags, a case and a rucksack. The rucksack was probably the first off the plane but I had to wait for my case. The plane was going to to somewhere else and everybody else had got their stuff, I was alone. I asked if everything was off and they asked me to wait a little longer. Then as a single piece of luggage my case came onto the conveyer belt and I could leave the airport!

It was about 1,30am by the time I got to bed - getting used to this of course.
The next morning I was awakened by the Buddhist chanting. They have illegally built a shrine just about 20 metres from the front door. Every morning at 6am and every evening at 6pm they begin their chanting. Not that people are chanting, its a recording. It blasts out over two big loudspeakers aimed at the church. It is loud! Sometimes no one is at the shrine. No one understand the chanting because it is in Sanskrit!

Later during my stay I had an even earlier start and heard chanting coming from another shrine at the back of the church! That was at 5am!

My first day started with me teaching at the Bible School, which was going to be my main job at this time round. My theme was Church History and I had to teach 64 hours. It was quite tedious but I enjoyed it.
Only when I started teaching it did I realise that 80% of Church History is European or American history.
The students and there were 18 of them who are nearly all in some kind of ministry, were very interested and asked lots of questions.
We also had an ordination and laid hands on five pastors.

Perhaps the climax of my stay this time was the dedication of the children's home.
We had bought some land and a house and built another house and have also built up a farm to provide the children's home with food and with a little bit of revenue.

After the dedication we spoke to a pastor who had come from the East and he told us about the great need there. In one district alone there were 17000 homeless children, that had lost one of both of their parents. He himself said that he was hiding a 14 years old boy in his house because the Tigers (the militant breakaway Tamils), were abducting boys in his age to force them to take up arms and fight.
Could we take more children? But how? We were now very full.

As we thought of ways and means, we did think of a way to house more children. We would build another house for the leader and his family who could then move out of the main house, thus making more room for the children.

More children though, mean more costs and now its up to us to raise some support.

Link to photos