July to January

It is hard to believe how fast the past few months have gone by. I have been looking forward to writing and sending you an update from the day the plane touched down. There have been many instances over the past few months when I have wished that you could be here and experience it first-hand - but for now, this update will have to suffice. I am so grateful to the Lord for all that he has seen fit to allow me to be a part of in Sri Lanka during my internship. 

From the day this internship began, it has been a tiring, exhausting, but incredibly fulfilling season in the ministry. There is much that I have learned and am learning through the experiences and the responsibilities that Pastor [REDACTED] has given me - perhaps lessons that Bible College cannot completely teach someone. 

Within just a week from the time my plane touched down, I had the opportunity to lead a Youth Meeting, give a devotional, lead a Sunday Evening Service, and take a four day trip around the country to catch a vision for this mission field. On the 24th of July, we left Colombo, and headed North towards Jaffna, a city that has only been accessible to the public for a few years. It is a city that is recovering from the ruins a brutal civil war left behind. During the entire nine hour drive, we folded about 6000 tracts in the van and simultaneously threw them out of the window to pedestrians, store owners, and just about any soul we saw. The next morning, after a time of group devotions, Pastor [REDACTED] set up a projector in the lobby of the guest house we were staying at, and began to present some staggering statistics that portrayed so clearly the need for the labourers of the Gospel in the 10/40 window. 

With this reminder in the forefront of our minds, we headed to some of the islands located north of the mainland. We distributed tracts the whole way, and when got to a point where the road ended, we took a boat to an island that, to the best of our knowledge, had not received the gospel in recent history. There are two entrances to this island, one was through Buddhist Temple, and the other through a Hindu Kovil. It was such a privilege to give the people on this island the Gospel. I wish you could have been there to see the little children moulding and making their own gods and sacrificing to it. They were a people devoted to their religion - a people who were seeking truth, but could not find it. Pray with me that some found it on that day!

The next morning, we headed to Kandy, a city in the centre of Sri Lanka. Once again, we distributed tracts throughout the drive. While it was exciting to see the individuals that picked up the tracts and spent time reading them, we were heartbroken for the people who we could see but were not close enough to receive a tract - people who might not have had another opportunity to hear about Jesus. Pray that this wont be the case! Upon our arrival in Kandy, we were all challenged by a devotion from Paul’s testimony in Acts 20, which led us into an incredible time of prayer together for the souls in this country. The next day, we drove to the heart of the city, divided up and walked the streets distributing tracts. There were too many people to give tracts to, and not enough of us to do it. The fields are truly white - the labourers are truly few. We then packed up, and headed back to Colombo after a confronting trip across the country. The purpose of the trip was to develop a vision, and by the grace of God, the purpose was fulfilled. 

On Wednesday that followed the trip, I began a five-part Wednesday night Series on Revivals in the Bible. I thoroughly enjoyed studying for those messages, and pray that the Lord uses them in the lives of those that were there. 

Along with the English speaking, Sri Lankan congregation that the Lord has allowed me to minister to and with, there has been an influx of Pakistani’s attending the services. Many are here in Sri Lanka as they had to flee their homeland due to persecution for their faith. While some who have visited are truly saved, a majority came from nominal churches and were not. It has been amazing to watch the Lord work in the lives of the these people. Due to space as well as other constraints, Pastor [REDACTED] has been led of the Lord to start a service for them on Thursdays. I have had the privilege of being a part of this new church plant for the Pakistani community. As a part of my internship, I have the opportunity to help lead their services. Each week, we meet with them for a time of worship and prayer, and then split up into two classes, one for married people, and another for singles. Throughout the course of my internship, I have been teaching the class for the singles, approximately twenty of them - focusing on various fundamentals of our faith.

In addition to this class, I have the opportunity to teach a Bible College class, that runs in the mornings on Tuesdays to Thursdays, as well as a Bible Institute class that I teach every Tuesday evening. Altogether, I have spent a total of 57.5 hours lecturing in these classes so far. This has definitely been a learning experience for me, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it!

During my internship, I had the opportunity, twice, to go to the mountains that are located five hours away for a few days. The first was for the church members’ Prayer Retreat. The second time was for the Prayer Conference where the men of the church were joined by several [REDACTED] from the 10/40 window. On both occasions, we took a few prayer walks, prayed individually, prayed in pairs, prayed in groups, and prayed corporately. Spending those times with the Lord was refreshing and much needed, and was a time of growth and learning for me. 

Pastor [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were away in India preaching and participating in meetings there for a few days, and during their time away, I was given the opportunity to preach three times on Sunday - the Men’s Sunday School class, the Morning Worship Service, and the Evening Service. This endeavour was taxing, both in the preparation and in the preaching, but it was an incredible opportunity and I pray that the Lord used it and continues to use it in the lives of those that were there. Since that Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching and teaching thrice on a Sunday again. Every Friday, we have a Youth Meeting, and I also have the opportunity to preach at most of them. The Lord has allowed me to preach a total of 48 times so far in [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and in [REDACTED]. I have been humbled by every opportunity and thank the Lord for the much-needed experience he is giving me. 

I wish you could be here every Thursday between 12pm and 1pm – it’s when we get to visit patients at the Cancer Hospital. About twenty of us from the church meet there, split up and visit different wards, pray with the patients, share the Gospel with them, and try to make their day. If I had the space and the time to tell you every story, I would - but in short, God works in an incredible way every week as we have never left there without seeing souls saved and lives changed. One of the men that we saw saved has begun passionately witnessing to other patients himself! One of the souls we saw saved a few weeks ago is a 21 year old boy fighting Leukaemia. We were also given the opportunity to host a Christmas event there. We shared the gospel, sang, and presented approximately 200 gifts. Please be in prayer for these patients and for this ministry!

I have also had the great privilege of assisting Pastor [REDACTED] in Baptising individuals at two baptism services. Helping to baptise almost 40 people has been a highlight of my time here. It was a great honour, one that I certainly do not take for granted. In addition to this, I had the opportunity to help in the administration of the Lord’s Table for both the Pakistani, and the English congregation. 

Moreover, a twenty foot container docked at the [REDACTED] full of 10.5 million tracts addressed to the [REDACTED] here a few weeks ago. The task of seeing the container cleared, transported and stored was commissioned to a few of us as young men. Thank the Lord he did the impossible in that he cleared that container through [REDACTED]. It was a great matter of prayer, and we thank the Lord for answering it. The Shipping [REDACTED] estimated that we would need [REDACTED] to clear the container, and we are praising the Lord for helping us to raise all of it in just the past few weeks. 

On Tuesday, the 14th of November, I left Colombo with another young man from the church and headed to [REDACTED] for a week I now realise I will never forget. From the moment we met up with Pastor [REDACTED]'s family in the town centre, we knew we would enjoy an incredible experience serving with them in their church. We followed them to the church building, which is also where we stayed, unpacked the vehicle, and headed straight out to host a NBC at the [REDACTED] Estate. We played with the kids, presented the gospel to them, and saw several of them saved. 

The next morning, we headed out with Pastor [REDACTED] to another estate in the area to walk around and distribute tracts. Along the way, we gained the assistance of three young boys who were excited to come alongside of us and distribute the tracts. After we finished visiting every house in the neighbourhood, Pastor [REDACTED] asked us to pray as he shared the gospel with these three boys. They accepted Christ! One of these three boys, [REDACTED], was a renowned thief in the area. He was infamous for his notorious money making schemes. He was known to cover his eye with an eye patch, make himself a sign claiming to be an orphan, and beg for money from the tourists at the train station. That night, towards of the end of the Wednesday night service, after I preached, [REDACTED] walked to church, and made his way to the front with a smile on his face. From this time on, we saw him at every service with that same smile every time he walked through the doors, eager to spend time with us.

We also visited a pre-school, run by a faithful church member of nine years. We were able to sing with the children, pray for them, as well as for their teachers. It was an encouragement to see how a church member was influencing children for Christ everyday of her life. After that short visit, we travelled along the [REDACTED] Road in Pastor [REDACTED]'s tuk. Throughout this long journey, we were able to slow down by every person we saw, and hand out tracts. That evening, we headed back to [REDACTED], set up the generator and all the other equipment, and showed a Gospel film to the over 100 people that gathered. I had the opportunity to preach following the film, and during the invitation, 60 people were saved. 

On Friday evening, we hosted a Youth Meeting for 60 individuals at the Church. We were able to play a few games with them and sing with them, give our testimony, and preach to them. One of the boys that came to this meeting was [REDACTED]. This was a 12 year old boy, whose parents left him to be brought up by his grandfather. He quit school and got himself a job at a Hindu kovil, where he made flower garlands for visitors and earned a good salary for doing so. On his break, he came back home to [REDACTED] and attended the church activities simply for the fun of it. He had a chain that identified him with his job at the Kovil. He was a funny, naughty, and talkative individual that did not take anything that was preached or taught seriously. 

It was this evening that I spoke to him and asked him what mattered more; having fun now, or eternity. His answer was to have fun now. I asked him to think about his answer, and whether eternity is really worth laughing about, when he pillowed his head that night. On Sunday, he said that he had thought about what was asked, said that he decided to quit his job at the Hindu kovil, and become a Christian. I gave him the gospel, and he was saved. That evening, he came back after having cut his chain off and has been faithful to church since.

On Saturday, we began the day with a meeting with the faithful church members at 7:30am. I shared a devotion, which led into a time of prayer as a group. Following this meeting, we participated in three different NBCs, playing games and preaching to the children there. We saw several saved. Following this string of NBCs we headed back to church for a prayer service where we asked the Lord to work in a great way on that Sunday in all of the churches in the country.

On that Sunday in [REDACTED], I taught Sunday School which led into a time of prayer as a church for half an hour. Following this, we participated in the main worship service where I preached from 2 Chronicles. That afternoon, we had a great time of fellowship with Pastor [REDACTED]’s family over lunch. Getting to know their family even more throughout the week was a whole lot of fun - it was a highlight of the trip and spending time with them is something that we truly miss. At 5:00, we had the evening service, and with that, we ended our time of ministry and service in that needy city and amongst some of the greatest, most humble people you will ever meet. As we said our good-byes and drove off the next morning, our hearts were full from an incredible week of ministry.

Before we headed to [REDACTED], the city where the next church we would visit is located, we spent one night in Nuwara Eliya where we able to spend a few hours in the afternoon the Central Bus Stand handing out hundreds of tracts. We then continued our journey to [REDACTED], and made it just in time to find a guest house and get to bed. The next day, we drove to Pastor [REDACTED]’s house, which doubles as their church auditorium. We spent a few moments with their family, gave them some groceries, got acquainted with our schedule for the week, and then walked about seven kilometres soul-winning and door knocking in [REDACTED]. That afternoon, we had the Wednesday Bible Study where I had the opportunity to preach.

The following day was one we, nor our legs, will ever forget. We walked to the [REDACTED] Central Bus Stand, and took a one-hour bus ride to [REDACTED]. We hopped off, and hiked down to a faithful church member’s crops, prayed for him and his family, and set off on our 15 kilometre hike up a few mountains. The hike was the equivalent of 191 flights of stairs. We walked to some villages that to the best of our knowledge, had not previously heard about Christ, gave them the Gospel, and then continued hiking to Lipton Seat to have a time of prayer as we looked-over the country from that altitude. As we came down, we handed out several tracts in that community and then caught the bus back to [REDACTED]. Over the next two days, we had opportunities to host an NBC, a Youth Meeting, and to hand out tracts in the [REDACTED] town, an estate in [REDACTED] as well as at the Central Bus Stand - one of the individuals that received a tract at the bus stand was a Muslim young man, [REDACTED], who came to the service on Sunday. 

Sunday was a great day as we got to learn about, see, and experience how the Lord worked in this town in the mountains. I preached the Morning Service, after which three visiting Hindu girls accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. As we had dinner with the family that night, and spent time with them in the morning, we got an overwhelming sense of their passion for the ministry in that area. It was a great opportunity to rub shoulders with a new Pastor and his family who are so excited about how they can turn that city upside down for Christ. 

Being in the mountains has taught me much. Being there has changed my perspective of souls, the need to win them, and the hard-work and the genuine love that it requires. Pray that what the Lord did in our hearts would be not soon forgotten. Pray that the faces of those lost souls, young and old, would be engrained in our minds eye. Pray that those two weeks, in those two cities, with those two pastors would motivate us to do likewise wherever the Lord calls us!

All in all, this has been an awesome few months! The Lord has allowed me to see upwards of 133 professions of faith, people in the church here have made me feel right at home, and God has been so good through it all! Pray with me as I seek God’s desire for the next stage of my life. Thank you for your prayers and support that has made all of this possible! 

Until next time!

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