On The Road Again

It is now Thursday morning here in Sri Lanka, the sun is shining and the ocean breeze feels good. But alas, this too shall pass. In just a few hours we will be on the road heading back to the airport and our 25+ hour journey back home to be reunited with all of you.

Yesterday actually turned out to be a full day. We had the wonderful opportunity to go visit the IGL (Island Gospel League here) base camp where they have a children's home for girls (boys and girls cannot be together on the same grounds) and a conference center. We had a great time with the girls doing puppets, songs and games. Though some of the girls have some family but they cannot care for them, most are orphans due to the warfare and tsunami. We are reminded that what we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus even if we are half way across the globe. Many laughs and joy seen on their faces. On the way back we had to stop at a check point. We were not completely checked because of being tourists but we were told by others in our van that if we had not been there, they would make everyone get out and then they would search through everything in the vehicle. I know it is hard to imagine, but things like this make us understand the reality of what the people here are living through. We were also able to eat a very traditional lunch while at the base - rice (of course!) and raw fish that we got to eat with our fingers. Yum! Actually, it was good and we are still living to tell you about it!

Got back in time for dinner, talked with Pastor Benny about future endeavors and desires for IGL and a little bit of shopping (imagine that), but it took too long for us to get to the internet cafe (no surprises, huh?!).

Beth is off now to finish her shopping at the jewelry stores (Sri Lanka is known for their stunning but "cheap" jewelry. Packing needs to be done by lunch and then we are off.

We can't thank you enough for your prayers. God has been good to us - reminding us of His presence and work in our lives and how He could use that for the benefit of others. Gary only got sick one day (Oh yea, we did not tell you about that because Gary did not want to freak Beth out that she might have to teach all his classes.) but after prayer and nap (both very much needed) he was feeling better. God sustained us through all the heat and sleep inconsistencies along with the finger foods! We saw how the people responded to the teachings and began applying them right away - grateful to have more tools and knowledge in how to reach the thousands of children they will have in their gospel clubs this summer. Be praying for them. These Master Teachers and the IGL staff are already training the children's leaders this week and the clubs are starting as well. In just 5 days, one pastor will have 1000 children in his village club. It truly is an amazing work - it is truly God!

We're off - see ya in a couple of days!

Gratefully
B & G

One last thing - for those of you that know Beth, this won't come as a surprise to you: A group from the USA came in yesterday - most of them are from a church in Texas. Their Pastor is Sri Lankan and they joined him to visit his homeland. Beth got to talking to one lady this morning who actually lives in Pennsylvania (her brother goes to the church in Texas) and as they began talking - this woman has a very dear friend who lives in Lake Oswego who Beth knows - in fact, Beth went to high school with the woman's son. Only Beth could be in Sri Lanka, meet a woman from PA whom they both have a friend in Lake Oswego.

Unforgettable

It is Tuesday evening and the conferences are officially over. How blessed we are to have been involved with our brothers and sisters across the world this last week. On one hand we gave them knowledge and tools that can enhance their ministry, but I believe more importantly, we gave them hope and joy along with the encouragement to fight the battles they are engaged in. We heard more stories today of what it takes for some of them to come to a conference like this. The long hours, the terrible roads, the police check points - and we complain because the flight is delayed for 30 minutes.

We had lots of laughs and fun activities today. Puppets, balloon games and string tricks were quite a hit. The three way translation is quite a challenge. By the time it gets back to you, you have forgotten what you originally said. We look at each other with that look of: "What did I just say?!"

We treated ourselves to a swim in the Indian Ocean after returning to the hotel. (Don't know if we could have gotten any more drenched with how much sweat had come out of us!) We were quite surprised as to how warm the water was - about 80 degrees. Oh did it feel good to get our bodies cooled off!

Tomorrow we have a wonderful opportunity to visit the IGL base camp here in Sri Lanka. There is a children's home on the campus and we will do a program for the children that are there when they return home from school.

We so much appreciate your prayers. We have been able to pour ourselves out for the work God called us here for, to equip and minister to the leaders here and through everything, we have stayed strong.

Hopefully we can get one more blog up tomorrow night before we start the adventure back home!