Day 8: International Worship with Colombo Central Corps

On the Sunday morning we headed to Colombo Central Corps, which is right next door to THQ, and joined in with their morning worship. The service was held jointly in Sinhalese and English, with a translator on the platform as well as the speaker. The SA Songbooks were in three languages (the third being Tamil), and it was an amazing thing to sing a song together in multiple languages but with the same beaming to our one and only God. The Captain warmly greeted us from the platform, along with a family visiting from Holland. It must be difficult being the officers at the corps THQ staff attend though! 

 The team at Colombo Central Corps

During the service we had a 15 minute worship session led by singers, piano, drums and bass which was very spiritual, and the sermon was delivered on ways to resolve conflict within the Church, such as by setting up house groups. After the meeting we had a cuppa, and we were invited to join in with the Songsters in the evening, and I was invited to join in with the band!

After lunch we got some tuk tuks to the beach front in Colombo, a wide grassy area filled with many drinks stands, a small pier and lots of people flying kites! Doreen bought some for her family, and we 'tested one out' as Michelle had never flown a kite before! 

 The view from the pier

"Lets go fly a kite, up to the highest height..."

Back at the Training College we prepared the item we had been asked to lead at the evening service at Colombo Central – the kid's song, 'Our God is a Great Big God'. Upon arriving at the corps, we were handed songster music and I was given a trombone! 

Colombo Central Band with Jason, myself and Johnson playing

The service was for 'Social Services Sunday', celebrating the Salvation Army's Social Work in the Sri Lankan territory. It was great to see people at the corps that evening such as Dinuka and Lakmal, as well as a whole host of people, many not Christians, who were those in the various homes and projects that the Salvation Army ran. (Present at the service were 25 non-Christians from the Hikkaduwa area, who had been personally invited by the Community Capacity Development team to attend, and much prayer had been said for them, and will continue to be said). Each group had an item prepared, ranging from drama to singing to a march from the band ('Down the Street'). There was also Congregational worship, and the Territorial Commander gave a short sermon. Colombo Central Songsters, aided by myself, Doreen and Helen, sang 'Christ in Me' – a beautiful song. The songster leader, Johnson (also the bassist in the band) was a very friendly bloke who turned out to have lived in England as a child! 

 Colombo Central Songsters, plus guests

Our kid's song went very well, though it was nerve wrecking singing in front of 300 people, and we got some of the kids to come up and join in with us for the actions.

After the service the band master said to me, “Two trombones tonight, you were very powerful!” - fantastic! We also spoke with Commissioners William and Debra Mockabee, the Chief of Staff and his wife. They were wearing gold stars as one of their sons had been killed in action in the Hurricane Katrina disaster when serving as an officer in the Salvation Army. They were obviously very proud of his service. To finish the day, we went back to the Mews café we had gone to on our first night in Sri Lanka, before I finished the day handsomely losing at Uni!

The team with the Territorial Commander and his wife, and the Chief of Staff and his wife (the Territorial Secretary for Women's Ministries)

The Social Services Sunday really highlighted the many lives that the Salvation Army has reached out and touched (with much help and support coming from the International Development department of the UK territory (SAID (UK)), and in turn from people's donations), and I am extremely proud to be a member of the SA. A video montage was shown with music during the service, photos being shown of the various projects being run in Sri Lanka, and it was in complete contrast to a SAID video I had seen previously at Territorial Music School showing the needs of so many in the world which brought tears to my eyes. The montage instead brought tears of joy, showing the Army doing a fantastic work for God and meeting these needs – may we never lose sight of that! I get the sense I will end up working for the Army one day, though in what capacity I cannot tell – my calling from God is certainly to be a teacher for the next few years. I fear a mundane life, but I do not think that that is what God has planned for me!

With a day of international worship, I will end with Jerimiah 3 v17a:

"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD."

Days 6 and 7: Turtles and Elephants!

Friday was a much more restful day after the previous two where we had had quite intense experiences. We spent the morning chilling out on the Hikkaduwa beach. The sea was lovely and warm, but also strong – swimming out 50 meters was incredibly tiring! Later on in the morning Dinuka and Lakmal picked us up, and we checked out of our hotel to return the 100km back to Colombo.

On the way we stopped at a turtle sanctuary, where the owner very proudly showed us his work in turtle conservation. He would buy turtle eggs from local fisherman that had got caught in their nets, bury them until they hatched, then keep them in a tank for three days before releasing them to the sea. There were two tanks full of baby turtles, two and three days old with the latter to be released later that evening. We were able to hold these amazing creatures which were about a third the size of my hand! 

Michelle and her new friend

He then showed us round his other tanks, including a turtle with a miss-formed shell. We were also permitted to hold the other turtles he had, including a large leatherback which would start to slap with his flippers if he felt he had been held for too long! 

 The owner holds one of his turtles

Sam was handed a 40kg turtle to hold after being told it was quite naughty. After posing for a couple of photos the turtle decided he would like to be back in the water, thank you very much, and started flapping its flippers wildly. Sam, in alarm, lowered it back in to the tank only for it to launch a huge wave backwards and completely drench her!

 The naughty turtle, see the look in his eyes! Before...

And after! Sam is completely soaked, the wave can still be seen in the tank!

We completed the journey back to Colombo and moved back into the training college. Later on in the evening we headed out into the city to a roof-top restaurant, travelling by tuk-tuk – this was quite an experience! These 3 wheeler cabs would dart around the streets, squeezing through the gaps in traffic apparently oblivious to the other traffic – at one point I looked right to see a motorbike come to an abrupt halt less than a meter from me! Back at the training college we played the now nightly fix of Uni, then headed to bed. It had been an enjoyable day, filled with the beauty of God's creation. One reading in particular comes to mind, Jesus' words from Matthew 6 v26:

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Day 7: Saturday 6^th August, Elephant Orphanage, Pinnawalla

On the Saturday we got up early and Nalin drove us inland to Pinnawala, a two hour headache-inducing journey on the Sri Lankan roads. Pinnawalla is the location of Sri Lanka's Elephant Orphanage, and when we arrived we walked down to the river where we were greeted by the sight of at least 50 elephants watering! 

 The elephants at the river in Pinnawalla

As we watched, the elephant keepers started herding the elephants back through the town to the orphanage, some of them being ridden bare back. It never really struck me before, but elephants are really bizarre creatures! Their trunk is amazing in the things it can do, and the elephants' skin is sort of rubbery (we were able to get close up later in the day at the orphanage).

Our next stop was a tour around an elephant 'poo factory', where they took the elephant dung, dried it out and used the fibres to make paper, and from this paper a great many items from calenders to boxes. We then proceeded to a craft shop, full of amazingly carved elephants, Buddhas and a whole assortment of other things.

 Nothing else to be said!

We finally got to visit the orphanage, and see the elephants up close. They were munching their way through what appeared to be a forest of leaves laid out before them, making for some stunning photos with the mountains in the background. 

 The Kandy mountains loom large over the elephants

There was a huge black elephant being watered with a hose in an open hut, who turned out to be blind as a result of hunters shooting him trying to get his ivory. The keepers let us stand right next to this powerful creature for photos (terrifying! These animals could crush a man I'm sure if they put their minds to it!), although it turned out the keepers expected to be given donations afterwards for the privilege. 

 The blind elephant being hosed

 I moved out of the way very quickly after taking this photo!

We had lunch overlooking the river, where there were still a few elephants feeding below – one of the most spectacular locations I have ever eaten! After our dinner, the awesome sight of the elephants marching back through the town to the water greeted us, some stopping and taking an interest in the watching tourists as they walked! The keepers were able to get them moving easily again though, as the elephants are terrified of the sharp sticks they carry. 

 The march of the elephants

We returned to Colombo mid-afternoon, a hold up on the way back sadly turned out to be a fatal road crash. Back at the training college in the lull after a tiring day, I suddenly felt far away from home after the adventures and experiences we had encountered. It seems strange to say, but I also felt I had not spent enough time in prayer with God despite what I had seen, so I spent the time before we went out to dinner praying in my room, in order to be closer to God both for the remainder of the trip and for my life in general!

We discussed a multitude of topics over dinner, and I consider it a privilege that I was a part of a team of such caring people, and we have all helped each other out in a number of ways over the past few days. There are a couple of similar readings I could finish with here, but I've chosen to go with John 14 v27, words which really spoke to my heart at this time:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Day 5: The Tsunami's devastating impact, and more on the Salvation Army's continuing response

After breakfast we were once again driven by Dinuka to the nearby Tsunami photo museum at Telwatta, a dutch funded initiative to collect and display photos of the devastating event from Boxing Day 2004 and the aftermath. The museum was in a woman's house (she had separate rooms to live in) not 25 meters from the sea, and had had to be rebuilt after the Tsunami as only the foundations had remained.

The Tsunami Photo Museum (photo taken from their website)

Viewing the photos and reading the many stories was extremely moving. There were photos of the Tsunami closing in, sweeping past the houses as if they weren't there, photos of the train wreckage caused by the wave and photos of volunteers and the recently made homeless helping clear up the area in the following days. Yet the three things that stick in my mind are the stories of parents losing their children as they tried disparately to cling on to them, the photos that would never be shown on TV depicting human bodies as they were recovered, and most poignantly of all, the drawings done by children of their experiences, showing the destructiveness of the wave and the bodies as they floated along. That a child should have such images in mind to draw brought tears to my eyes. I wrote in the visitors book, but when it came to the 'comments' section, words completely failed me so I left it blank. 

Some of the messages in the museum included, 'Before 2004 we had no idea what a Tsunami was'. 'We lived because of the sea, but the sea came and took our lives away. Now, we must return to the sea to live. 'When you were born you were crying and others were smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and others are crying.' The museum's website can be seen here, should you wish to find out more.

We drove away in silence, lost in our own thoughts. Ironically, our next stop was a glass-bottomed boat trip to the coral just off the shore, where we saw Tiger-Fish and others – the peaceful side of the sea. Dinuka had brought some crackers for the fish(!), which they absolutely loved and ate from my submerged hand! This trip did lift the mood somewhat.

 Tiger fish enjoying crackers!

We then drove to the Hikkaduwa to see the Divisional Headquarters and local corps, and Major Shelton Fernando who had been travelling with us invited us into his home for more cake and juice.

 Sam, the Major and Dinuka. It turned out the bed is the one the founder of the Salvation Army in Sri Lanka slept in - 120 years ago!

 The local corps meeting hall

 The Major and the CCD (Community Capacity Development) team

We went to the beautiful city of Galle for lunch, passing the international cricket ground there. Our restaurant was overlooking a beautiful bay. At the end, there was even a green lizard that popped in!

 Part of our view from the restaurant

The Green Lizard

We spent the afternoon at a children's club for Tsunami affected families ran by the Salvation Army in another community centre built by them. As always, we were warmly greeted, and presented with leaves and flowers by the children. We sat and watched as they had an English lesson, before we went outside and joined in with their games! These included many games that we recognised from our own childhoods such as 'Big fish, little fish', although playing them in another language was somewhat of a challenge! 

 Michelle and Sam join in one of the games

After the games the kids offered us all juice and biscuits. Then it was our turn; earlier we had popped into a shop and bought chocolate, pencils, drawing books and stickers for all the children and it was fantastic to be able to give something back to people who had taught and given us so much. The kids were delighted, and as they left one of them came and touched all our shoes as a sign of respect – very touching. There was just time for a quick bit of cricket with Dinuka and Lakmal! The minibus, which had escaped many miles on Sri Lankan roads unscathed, couldn't survive Dinuka batting however who dented the back with a firmly hit straight drive (with a tennis ball!).

 Us and the children - we had already sat through about 10 photos at this time, hence some of the bored looks!

 Salvation Army cricket bat!

We returned to Galle and spent the evening walking around the walls of the old Dutch fort watching as the Sun went down. We watched the sea waves crash against the rocks. Beautiful yet powerful. 

 Waves crash over the rocks by Old Galle Town

We went to a restaurant back in Hikkaduwa, inviting Lakmal, Dinuka and his wife along to say thank you to them. They very proudly showed us photos of their wedding, as Sri Lankans take immense pride in their families.

To finish the day, we once again discussed and prayed for the day's events; Sam read God's promises from Revelation 21, with the ultimate hope for humanity once this life passes. I'll finish with verse 4 here: 

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

The experience at the museum today really put into perspective the huge impact the Salvation Army has had on so many people's lives since the Tsunami, and how God's love has shone through them.

Day 4: Beneficiaries of the Salvation Army's post-Tsunami work

After we had talked with the family in the previous post, we visited their neighbours to see how they earned a living. The mother and daughter were producing rope, and from the rope items such as doormats, with use of a machine that her son had made. The machine used a ceiling fan to spin the two hooks, which in turn spun the fibres from coconut husks into the rope. The two women then walked backwards whilst the fibres were spun, then the mother would walk forwards with both ropes in her hand so that they spun together. This whole process took about 20 seconds. It's great to see how people have managed to get back on their feet after the Tsunami.

 Our group and the women making the rope

We headed back to Hikkaduwa for lunch, before proceeding to a road-side memorial to the Tsunami victims. The atmosphere at the memorial was the same as you find at any of the WW2 sites in Northern France or Belgium, peaceful and sad. We were required to remove our shoes out of respect to walk on the memorial and read the inscription, and as can be seen in the photo there was an amazing carved mural behind the memorial.

 

The memorial

The mural

For our next stop we visited a bakery the Salvation Army had constructed, where the baker met and spoke to us. Several local people were employed to work at the bakery, and the oven shown could hold up to 300 bread loaves at a time! The baker was very proud to show us what the Army had provided him with, and he in turn provided vital food for the community.

 The baker and his oven

We then walked the short distance to the home of a man described to us as a 'big helper of the Army' because of how they had helped him. Even though he was a Buddhist, he frequently let the Salvation Army use his house for Christian prayer meetings. With Dinuka translating, we got his story. Once again, we were warmly welcomed into a home, with juice and homemade cakes. He and his family had lived in the same location for the past 30 years (the new house constructed for him by the Army was in the same place as the previous one), except for the two years after the Tsunami when they had to live in one of the Tsunami camps. On the day of the Tsunami, he heard shouts so ran to the hills with his family, and so avoided the disaster, at least physically. He told us he had never heard of the Army before the disaster, but now was happy to help them however he could because of how they had helped him. His daughter was one of the 25 people from the area who had been invited to the Salvation Army in Colombo at the coming weekend (9 of these 25 made commitments to Christ as a result of this visit, praise God!).

After this meeting, we visited a rope production plant, where we met another business and group of people who the Salvation Army had helped get back on their feet. The rope production is as follows: Coconuts are cut down from trees and then the husks are removed (by leaning over a big blade in the ground!). These husks are then ground down into their fibres by a special machine, which the Salvation Army paid for. These fibres are then spun into rope as described above, and sold to a variety of buyers. 12 people were employed on this plant, and several children were also present, playing and helping. 

 The man just to the right of center is removing the husks from the coconuts

 The fibres are spun

We then drove up a hill to a beautiful spot to one of the meeting halls constructed by the Army. Here we were warmly greeted by the women's group, who were having their monthly meeting, with bouquets and hand-crafted badges. This group enables the women of the community to learn important skills together (in the meeting we witnessed, one of the residents was talking about cultivation of home-grown food, and a growing competition was started with two teams!). After the meeting the women offered us plates of food, along with sweet Sri Lankan tea (think black tea with about 5 sugars). This was entirely for our benefit, as the women only ate after we offered them the food they had offered us! Incredibly humbling hospitality once again. One of the plates was filled with pan-cake rolls, which tasted incredibly nice and consisted of coconut and cinnamon wrapped with pancake.

 Us and the women's group

We headed to a restaurant back in Hikakduwa, complete with serenading band who sang such hits as “My Bonnie lies over the Ocean,” to Boyzone, to “We have no Bananas Today!” much to the amusement of a large table of tipsy Germans!

To finish off the day, we had a team debriefing session back at the hotel. Sam shared with us the Widow’s Offering reading from Scripture, and of the two blind men being healed by Jesus. We discussed our thoughts and feelings of the day, very challenged by the complete generosity of the residents and the many stories we had heard. There was also hope through the day though, as we could see the clear and definite impact that the Salvation Army's work had for people in order to demonstrate God's glory. She explained to us the process of firstly seeing & understanding need, then experiencing compassion, then acting in faith before experiencing God's power. On this day we had certainly experienced the first two steps, and we talked about how we could move on to the last two, something which has occupied my thoughts ever since. What is the best way for me to act in faith so that God's power can be shown? I'm certainly on the lookout for opportunities, and pray that God will reveal to me the paths he wants me to take.

At this point I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who sponsored me, the 'extra' money raised through your giving has been donated to the Salvation Army in Sri Lanka, who hope to run an education project for a whole year in the slums in Colombo with this! The aim is to teach children who don't attend school Sinhala, Tamil, English and Maths at two of the slums - a fantastic project.

Once again, I will end with Mark 13 v41-44:

'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” '

Day 4: A Moving Tsunami story

This next post is from the first part of day 4, as it deserves to be told separate from the rest of the day's activities.

After waking up in my 5^th bed in as many nights, I joined the group for breakfast which our hosts at the hotel provided for us – toast and eggs, very nice. We then prayed for the day ahead. We were picked up by some members of the Community Capacity Development (CCD) team, including Dinuka who ran it. We drove the short distance to the village of 400 homes (100 constructed by the Salvation Army) for our tour of the area. Fist of all we were shown one of a number of community centres the Army had built, to allow communities to meet together and take group actions, such as in holding celebrations (as mentioned in my last post), but small groups such as women's and children's meet at certain times as well (we visited some of these groups, watch this space!). A local leadership team from the residents would be instated so that it was a community led (rather than Army led) facility.

 One of the community centres

We drove on a bit before stopping at the location of the Salvation Army houses. Residents of the village were being employed by the Army to construct the roads past their houses, which I think is a fantastic idea – providing both work and the means to directly improve their environment. We were called along the part-constructed road by a woman (Thushari) to come and see a small fish pond her brother (Pradeep) was keeping. Pradeep was keeping the fish with the hope of selling them (Doreen suggested that as a fisherman before the Tsunami, he was going back to what he knew). I should point out here that the land donated to the Army to build these houses was a number of kilometres from the shore, yet the residents had lived by the sea prior to the 2004 disaster – quite a change in their lifestyle. With Major Nihal translating we asked them their story.

The family stood beside Major Nihal

This story is ultimately one of hope, yet contains great tragedy. Both Pradeep and Thushari had lost their marriage partners during the Tsunami, and Thushari had been 9 months pregnant when the wave struck. She had clung to a tree to avoid being swept away, and she had lost parts from two fingers as a result of this (apparently she is the woman from what was one of the 'iconic' images of the Tsunami as she clung to avoid being swept away). She had found it too difficult to raise her unborn child due to the trauma, so the child was now living with Thushari's mother. Pradeep's son appeared a bit later on, and he had a big scar on his arm as a result of the train crash caused by the Tsunami. His son was maybe 9 years old, so must have been a toddler at the incident. 

Thushari and Pradeep invited us into their home where they had lived for the past 5 years. Pradeep showed us his beautiful artwork he had painted, which can be seen below. The beauty of these works is staggering, and I find them incredibly moving because of the emotion they invoke. 

Pradeep's moving masterpiece of the Tsunami and his wife

The woman in the paintings is his wife, and the text reads on the left hand side of the below photo along the lines of, 'I'll never forget you, you'll always be a part of me'. He also had a tattoo of his wife on his right shoulder. What followed was a staggering act of generosity. Pradeep presented us with the photos of him and his wife as gifts for us to remember them by – this family had so little, and it was incredibly challenging to be given such items (their possessions in the front room consisted of a small tv and a table, with very little besides).

The paintings Pradeep presented us with

We were then asked if we wanted to try 'the purest water in Sri Lanka', and were each presented with a coconut cut open in order to drink from. The water inside was clear and slightly sweet, and very welcome as it was a hot day. Not only had this family invited us in and given us incredible gifts, they even saw to our human needs! One of their family members had gone and cut down the coconuts as we were talking to the brother and sister.

One of the family members uses a machete  to cut the coconuts open

Thushari had married since the Tsunami (her husband was at work when we visited), and she had two young daughters who were flitting in and out of the room we were in. Sarah had brought some gifts with her, and presented the children with paper and pencils which they were delighted with. It was great to be able to give back even in this small way to those who had given so much more. 

Our JOURNEY group and the family who did so much for us

This is a story of hope, because this family was slowly rebuilding their lives with the help of the Salvation Army, who had given them a home and a fresh start. I guess some hurts may never heal but the Army is there for those than can be.

Later on that day Sam read us Mark 12 v41-44, which seemed extremely appropriate given how we had been generously treated:

'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”'

Days 2 and 3

Day 2: Monday 1^st August

After the tedious 14 hour flight we were welcomed at Colombo airport by Major Sharon Dannock, the projects officer for the Sri Lankan territory, and Nahat, our driver for some of our visit. Whilst we were at Colombo airport we heard 'Amazing Grace' being played on the PA, and we reflected on what an opportunity we had before us to experience God's grace. This was promptly followed by ABBA's 'I dreamed a dream,' so make of that what you will!

After a 90 minute drive we arrived at the Training College – the traffic in Sri Lanka can only really be described as organised chaos, with very few rules for drivers. It seems to be: Drive on the left (unless nothing is coming the other way), if you see a gap between two vehicles then drive straight through it, beep your horn so that others know you're coming through and finally, on the rare occasion you see a policeman, follow his directions.

Typical driving! This is tame in comparison to some maneuvers we saw

I could write so much about the minibus journey alone – the endless tuk tuks (3 wheeler vehicles) darting along everywhere, motorbikes squeezing through the smallest gaps, pedestrians taking their lives into their hands as they try to cross the road. At one point we passed a shanty town beside the road, and suddenly Sri Lanka wasn't looking quite so bright. Nearby was walking the skinniest man I've ever seen.

Once we reached the Salvation Army's Training College in Colombo, we moved our stuff into our rooms where I discovered that my entire bottle of aftershave had come open and emptied in my suitcase, and I spent a good while washing my overpowering clothes! After this we headed our for a meal at a nearby restaurant...and promptly ordered Italian! It felt like the best meal ever after airline food. 

The view from outside our rooms of the Training College/THQ staff compound

As I'm writing this jet lag is catching up on me, so I'll conclude with Mark 10 v28-31:

'Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “No-one who has left home or brothers and sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them persecution) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”'

As I re-read this scripture having returned from Sri Lanka it strikes me just how many brothers and sisters we have seen and made in Christ as a result of our visit, and how true Jesus' words really are.

Day 3, Tuesday 2^nd August

After waking up in my short bed, we met for breakfast and drove to Territorial Head Quarters where we joined the staff for their morning prayers. After this we were given a tour around the offices by Commissioner William Mockabee, the Chief of Staff (he had finished the prayer session by saying, “Let's have a good day of hard work because we're doing it to help people and glorify God”). The staff were all very pleased to greet us. After this we were shown around the THQ compound, which as well as containing the offices, was home to Colombo Central Corps, two women's homes, an injury rehabilitation centre & a pre-school. It was wonderful to see something familiar, having recently spent time in a primary school, as teachers let pupils in a colouring in session. In the rehab centre, there was some basic gym equipment which 3 gentlemen were using, including a bike and a hand-rail to aid walking. We then looked round the hostels, which are viewed differently to in the UK and were seen as a suitable place to live long term – one woman had lived at the hostel for 30 years! The residents paid rent from their jobs to live at the hostel, with basic facilities in their rooms and a communal TV. We then ate a meal in a hostel consisting mercifully of non-spicy rice, chicken, noodles & ice cream.

 Sri Lankan THQ

After lunch we returned to the training college and repacked as we were heading 100km south along the coastal road to Hikkaduwa to see the post-tsunami work the Salvation Army was doing – one of the range of projects part financed by the International Development Department of the UK Salvation Army. It took at least 30 minutes to drive out of the suburbs of Colombo, and in this time I finally put my finger on what looked odd about the buildings – almost all were in a poor state of repair (eg peeling paint) as people cannot afford to repair them, yet shops display brightly coloured Western-type adverts and name boards which looked odd against the run-down buildings. Captain Sharon Dannock informed us that the SL territory has to spend up to half their project money purely on building maintenance due to issues such as termites.

Major Nihal drove us the 2 hours to our Hotel at Hikkaduwa, the 'El-Dorado' which had surprisingly good facilities (better than the boy's accomodation at Territorial Music School!), and very friendly hosts. We sat down as Nihal briefed us on the work of the Army in this area, in response to the Tsunami in late 2004. He talked us through the village the Army had helped construct, how they had pushed for it to be self-sustained (by installing councils to be responsible for the running of the community and for organising/fund raising for community events), and had had tremendous success at this – for a recent celebration held, the community had raised over 80% of the costs themselves as the Salvation Army was stepping back and letting the residents take ownership. The Army will withdraw its funding entirely either at the end of this or next year (I can't remember) so that the communities will be self-standing.

 Our hotel in Hikkaduwa

We were also told the sad story of two sisters who had lost their mother and younger sister in the Tsunami, and only last week had lost their father when he got knocked off his push bike. Nihal told us the Army were now looking for the way to best support these girls having lost both their parents.

In terms of the spiritual impact of the Army's work, we were told about the upcoming Social Services Sunday in Colombo to which 25 people from the nearby communities were invited to attend the Salvation Army on the Sunday and stay for a couple of days, and to see why the SA really cares so much. These 25 people had been prayed for daily for a month by the staff at THQ (we learned before we left that 9 of these people had made commitments to Jesus as a result of this – Praise God!).

We then walked to a restaurant on the coast, which was a beautiful setting as we ate metres from the waves on the sea. This restaurant had a mark on the wall by the entrance showing where the water level was after the Tsunami struck.

The Tsunami line, about 7 foot high

To finish the evening, we played Uno and tried to avoid the overly-friendly dog who had taken a particular liking to the terrified Sam! Up until now the experience has been mostly touristy, exploring new places, meeting new people and eating out. I suspect that that will change tomorrow as we visit the SA's work. At the moment though, I am more appreciative of Western things such as being able to drink tap water and being on safe roads! 

In preparation for the days ahead, the reading I will end with is Philippians 4 v4-7.

'Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'

Initial Thoughts and day 1

The text below is taken directly from my journal, and is a record of my thoughts and feelings at the time I wrote them down. My apologies for the lack of pictures here, I wrote this on the plane and so have none that fit! There will definitely be a lot more pictures from now on though.

Initial Thoughts

During my 3^rd year at university I went through a lot of soul searching, not sure where God was leading me in my life. I attended the Salvation Army's 'Design for Life' weekend to step back, and look at the skills, talents and passions that God had blessed me with. As a result of this weekend, held in June 2010, I was prompted to apply for a JOURNEY place for the following summer, to step out of the world I knew and into the unknown. This is what I am now doing (I was on the plane when I wrote this), and this journal will be a record of the activities that our JOURNEY team will undertake, together with my thoughts and what God is speaking to me through my time in Sri Lanka.

As I set out on this trip I had graduated from my Masters degree, but still felt I had yet to achieve anything of significance, either physically or spiritually. My prayer is that after the trip I will have a clearer sense of where God is calling me to serve in this world of injustice.

Just a month after completing this trip I will be starting my teacher training (something which fell into place so perfectly over the past 8 months that it is impossible not to see that teaching is the direction God wants me to take at this time), and the experience I gain from the Sri Lanka trip will better prepare me to be a better teacher. Jerimiah 29 v11 comes to mind at this time:

' “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” '

Day 1: 31^st July 2011

It's the day after a spiritually (and musically) inspiring Territorial Music School. I've been overwhelmed by the love and support shown to me by both TMS students and staff, as well as those from my own corps (Reading Central). The hours spent alone travelling between TMS and meeting the JOURNEY team were full of apprehension, an unusual feeling for me, & I drew great strength from people's messages to me.

I arrived at the orientation venue in the early afternoon & was shortly joined by the rest of the team: Sam Godec, an employee of International Development and leader on the trip, Helen, a primary school teacher from Nelson, Michelle, a student from Sheffield, Sarah an IT trainer and former primary teacher from Swansea, and Doreen, a social worker from Bognor Regis. Sam led us through a presentation outlining the purpose of SAID – it's becoming increasingly obvious how much their mission statement of eradicating poverty and creating a world of justice resonates within me – some of the work that they do, and finally some information on the trip including an itinerary and background on the projects we would be visiting.

The reason behind our visit is primarily for our own education and understanding of world issues, although we will of course be getting hands on when we're out there. International Development's work focusses on empowering local communities to build better lives for themselves & then assisting them in doing what they decide is necessary, rather than, say, deciding a village needs a well (which may not be the best method to get water anyway), building it without involving the community and then leaving with the villagers not knowing how to maintain the facilities properly. JOURNEY is therefore an educational trip rather than a trip with a specific goal in mind. From my point of view, to be seeing these social & global issues first hand will expand my perception on life, and help shape my future. Our visit is mainly focussing on two issues: Trafficking & abuse, and the after effects of the Tsunami (following on from the devastating event on Boxing Day in 2004). The SA runs a home for vulnerable women in Colombo called 'The Haven', some of which have been victims of trafficking. They are referred to The Haven by the state whilst awaiting their case to come to court. We will be visiting the post-tsunami sites and projects ran along the South-Western coast of SL, seeing how the Salvation Army is rebuilding lives, communities and businesses.

Our team shared the reasons we each had in coming on the trip, along with our hopes and fears. My reasons and hopes are given above, and my fear was returning to an empty house after 3 weeks of being surrounded by many people both at TMS and in Sri Lanka. We prayed, and our group was already beginning to gel. We spent the rest of the hours before our flight getting to know each other better, before leaving England at 10.30pm BST.

Already the apprehension has melted away, as I know we are all being prayed for, and because the group is filled with lovely God-fearing people. I will use Psalm 32 v8 to conclude:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Amen.

An overview of our JOURNEY

I'm sitting in the lounge of my house after what has probably been the most amazing experience of my life. I've met so many amazing people absolutely committed to living the Christian message giving everything to help those with literally nothing, seen how communities devastated by the Tsunami in 2004 are still struggling to get back on their feet 7 years on and how the Salvation Army is helping them in a variety of lives, how a home for women in Colombo helps to restore broken lives, along with many other things which I will get around to putting on here.

 

I've been keeping a journel of my experiences in Sri Lanka, and have taken about 500 photos so will be picking the very best to show you and to try and get across what I've seen as I myself go back through my time. It has to be said that the Salvation Army is doing a fantastic work in Sri Lanka, and I'm so proud to be part of this Church and organisation. For this blog post I'll give a brief overview of what our JOURNEY team did over the 10 days, where we visited a range of projects which the SA International Development (UK) department helps to fund. I'll then be writing up my journal on here so you can see in more detail my experiences, thoughts and feelings.

I remember being quite apprehensive at first before meeting up with our JOURNEY team, however this was quickly dispelled after we got to know one another during our briefing. The team comprised of Sam, our group leader and a worker from SAID, Helen, a primary school teacher, Sarah, a former primary teacher and now an IT trainer, Doreen, a social worker, Michelle, a student about to start a PGCE like myself, and of course me! We flew from Heathrow on Sunday 31^st July, and 14 hours later touched down in Colombo where we were met by Captain Sharon Dannock and our driver, Nahat. We stayed at the Training College for the night, and the next day drove down to Hikkaduwa, one of the areas of the Sri Lankan coast severely affected by the Tsunami. 

We visited the village in which the Army had built over 100 houses on donated land after the Tsumani (the one featured in the video on my first blog post), where we saw how 7 years on the Army is still committed to rebuilding lives and communities. Residents of the houses were employed by the SA to build the roads around their village, something which is an excellent idea as it provides the community with both work and the opportunity to work together to directly improve their situation. We met and talked to several families who told us what they had experienced during the Tsunami, and their lives since. These are stories for a later post, but the SA really has helped restore the lives of these people.

Whilst in Hikkaduwa we also visited a women's group and a children's group ran by the SA, which they used as a tool to build community spirit to get everyone to work together. The important thing about these groups is that the community themselves (rather than the Salvation Army) are the ones who give the group the impetus, and as time goes on the Army withdraws its input for the community to increase theirs.

After 4 days in Hikkaduwa, we drove back to Colombo on the Friday. On the way we visited a turtle sanctuary, where the owner bought turtle eggs which got caught in fisherman's nets, hatched them then released them to the sea. Again, more detail later on!

On Saturday 6^th August we had our tourist day, visiting the elephant orphanage at the town of Pinawalla. Elephant herders daily drove the massive number of elephants through the town to the river to water, something which is quite a sight!

 

Within the orphanage, we were able to get very close to the feeding elephants, who had what looked like a forest laid out in front of them to eat! There was one large male elephant there who was blind, a result of being shot by hunters for ivory, and another female who had lost the lower part of one leg due to a landmine. The herders took care of these along with the other elephants in order to protect the species.

On the Sunday we joined in worship with Colombo Central Corps, where the service was held jointly in Sinhalese and in English. It was an awesome feeling to be worshipping God with a song being sang simultaneously in two languages! In the evening the Sri Lankan Territory held their Social Services Sunday at Colombo Central, and the place was filled with probably 300 or more people, with a large number not being Christians but being beneficiaries of the army's social work. I am delighted that they let me play with their band, and I now consider myself an international trombone player!

On Monday 8^th and Tuesday 9^th we spent our time at 'The Haven', a home for abused women in Colombo. Most were probably aged between 18 and 30. This centre looks after about 100 women, some who live there with their kids. We ran a craft activity morning, as well as joining in some of the activities being run at the centre. I really got the feeling that our being there and spending time with them was a simple act of love, yet it meant so much to them. They were delighted to see us, and got us joining in with their singing, dancing and playing games despite the language barrier – they found us singing songs in English hilarious!

On the Tuesday night we had a small party at THQ to thank those who had been so generous with their time towards us, before having our last meal together at a restaurant by the sea. We talked over our trip highlights and challenges, before heading to bed in preparation for our early start the next morning.

God truly blessed us all through the trip, and we have so much to think about and learn from. To finish this post, I've chosen words from Matthew 28v20b: "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." This is something that we definitely experienced as we ventured into the unknown.