Want to start this post by asking anyone reading this NOT to post any of the info or pictures (facial recognition) on ANY Social Media. While we understand this Blogpost site is not closed and is not totally secure we do NEED to limit the "reach" of the following info to only those with this blogpost web address (no names will be mentioned)...we do however want to share news and pictures of our time here...thanks for understanding!
Christine:
Eric:
Tom:
while there Sujay did a training on Business Principles to help the microbusiness owners strengthen their leadership as entrepreneurs.
Today i shared some thoughts on building healthy teams with the pastors and church evangelists.
after "just-one-more" home visit, we did 6 in total where we prayed for the leaders in their homes, we descended the mountain range and arrived back at our hotel by 9pm. A bit road weary we are all ready for a good rest.
Following are reflections from Team peeps so far on our third day in country:
Jill:
The ability to connect, often without words, is powerful. A smile or simply sitting next to someone can go a long way. The warm and welcoming ways within the culture are a beautiful example of hospitality. Listening to voices reading scripture and worshiping in their native language in a country where many do not know the Lord is amazing and I admire the bold faith we are witnessing.
Skip:
the home visits and the sustainability store. Seeing the woman's eyes light up in joy at her making a sale was awesome. The visit at the home where the dad has a plan to build onto his house. it was also great to reconnect with #### after our time juggling together.
Today I met ****, my new sister and friend. I first saw her across the room in the church in Badulla, during Tom's leadership training. Her bright smile lit up her beautiful face (and the whole room!) and I was immediately drawn to her. Afterwards I had the opportunity to meet her and her little daughter, and we bonded instantly. Later, as she and ----- and I were standing together outside the church, she was speaking in Sinhalese to ----- and laughing while looking at me. When I asked ----- what she had said, ----- told me that **** had asked me to bring her to America with me. I said to ****, "Come on! I have a little room in my suitcase!" and we all had a good laugh together. Then, later on in the afternoon, while we were visiting homes in the village, I saw **** in the street! I shouted her name and hurried over to her, and she warmly hugged me cheek to cheek on both sides. Even though she speaks only a little English and I can't speak any Sinhalese, we are sisters in Christ, worshipping the same God and loving each other from opposite sides of the globe. I truly hope I will have the opportunity to come back and see her again.
Most of the people we have met in the past couple of days live with very little. They live in poverty. Yet we witnessed a lot of joy in there words and expressions. They are finding hope in Jesus in the midst of so many challenges. It can't really be fully explained. It's spiritual... of the Spirit of God.
It is humbling to step into the small, mostly bare, multi generational homes and pray for these families with hearts fully expecting our God to hear and answer. God, Hear our prayers. 🙏🏻
Sujay:
The rain poured so hard on Thursday evening that the rocky pathways next to the small houses were gushing with water making every step precarious. Yet despite the downpour families awaited our arrival to share their specific needs with open doors and warm hearts. We split our group into teams and visited approximately five homes each, sharing precious moments in prayer and proclaiming the name of Jesus in Hindu households. Wow.
Early yesterday (Thursday) we drove up narrow winding roads to "Tea Estate" area of the country...it's over 6K of elevation so the climate and topography was quite different. There is a "work" there from a variety of churches, as mentioned above, reaching Hindu families. Most of the people there work in some fashion in the Tea industry
Will close with some more pics we have so far...
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