STC

Days 8, 9 & 10

sally — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 03:09:17 +0000

Day 8 Monday, June 25

Monday began bright and early as we headed to the Ladies College. Ladies College is a private, Christian school for girls preschool through high school. First on the agenda was chapel; and guess who the guest preacher was–Father Desmond, of course! While Rector at St. Luke’s, Father D was also the chaplain at Ladies College. Deluca went to school there as well. After chapel, we went to the Principals’ office to chat with her. Grace commented that she had been in a principal’s office more on this trip than she had been in her life! (the first time being at the Podu Jaya School last week) The principal shared her thoughts about leading a Christian school in a Buddhist-run country. After a quick tour, we were back on the road again to the cathedral. We met Bishop Dhilo Canagasabey and his wife and enjoyed an enlightening time of questions and answers about religion in Sri Lanka, the state of Christianity in the country and the rise of Islam. The clergy of the San Jacinto convocation of our diocese and Bishop Doyle had contributed money to purchase an alb (the white robe a priest wears on Sunday mornings) for each priest in the Diocese of Colombo. We were able to present the Bishop with a check for these vestments. We toured the beautiful cathedral and went to lunch with the retired clergy of the diocese and their wives. As many of them had known Father Desmond in his early days as a seminarian and priest, it was a wonderful time of sharing stories. And boy, do we have the goods on Father D!!! Again, in conjunction with the San Jacinto convocation and Bishop Doyle, we presented each of the retired clergy with a small check. After lunch, we went shopping. Sarees, sarongs and other souvenirs were on our lists. Then it was back to the Retreat Center to rest and get packed as tomorrow we were leaving for Kandy. We had dinner at Chitral (Father D’s nephew) and Manouri’s house. Some of our team members wore their sarongs and saree. Many of Father Desmond and Ewena’s relatives were there. We all sang and danced and laughed and ate and had an absolutely wonderful time. Since many of these people had been with us for various portions of the week, we said a bittersweet goodbye to our new friends.

Impressions of the day: running a Christian school in a Buddist-run country can be quite a challenge. College is really not college as we know it. University is what we know as college.

Day 9 Tuesday June 26

We were on the bus at 6 a.m. sharp headed for the city of Kandy. We were excited, as Kandy is in the mountains and was expected to be a good bit cooler than Colombo. To break up the four-hour ride we stopped at the Elephant Orphanage. We got to be up close and personal with the elephants as they were walked from their home area to the river. We walked down to the river’s edge where at least 30 elephants of all ages frolicked in the water! We watched them play until it was time for the keepers to herd them up and walk them back to the orphanage. It was an exciting thing to see. Once we arrived in Kandy we got settled in our new digs at the Hillwood College for Girls. Hillwood is a school for girls kindergarten through high school. We are staying in the guest bungalow with the gentlemen in one big room upstairs, the ladies in adjoining rooms downstairs and the couples at Father Desmond’s friend Sene’s home. The gentlemen were cautioned not to leave their windows open at night because the monkeys would climb through them! Kandy is situated on the side of a mountain and is quite beautiful. It was, as promised, much cooler–a welcome relief. Totally exhausted, we ate dinner and went to bed.

Day 10Wednesday June 27

After breakfast, we divided into three groups and headed to work! Under the direction of the R & R (Relief and Rehabilitation) teams from St. Paul’s in Kandy, we had three homes where we were to do work. The first house involved constructing a brick wall for a kitchen, the second involved de-cluttering and cleaning a garage apartment and the third was preparing a mudslide-ruined house for a new roof. All the teams worked hard, especially because all the sites were on the sides of mountains. Simply getting to the work site involved steep stairs and slopes. At site #1, what was needed was to move bricks up the side of the mountain. The team formed a chain and passed, over three hundred bricks weighing about 20 pounds each up to the house. This allowed the family to save much money in labor costs. Mike H. along with a stonemason, began laying the bricks for the wall to construct a new kitchen. The house was a hovel, but it was very clean. There was running water, but no electricity. At site #2, the team decided the TV show “Hoarders” could be filmed there. The work involved clearing clutter and debris, which was disposed of by burning. The house was filthy. A trench was dug around the house to prepare for a new wall and new soil was spread on the lawn. At site #3, they began preparations for the roof by forming a chain and moving bricks outside and up two flights of stairs to building a wall. Once the mortar was mixed, the men began to build up a wall that had already been started.

Impressions of the day: We are very different yet very much alike. Moving materials is hard work in these homes, and would take a long time without assistance. Many of the tools are handmade and are very primitive.

Email

sally — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:14:18 +0000

This was an email that was sent from Kevin Wardlow.

Hi, everyone !!

I hope the connection lasts. I am sitting in Kandy, Sri Lanka, looking over one of the most beautiful sites you could imagine typing a quick email that I hope makes it to you all. Our villa is looking over a lake in the middle of Kandy where the last king of Sri Lanka resided over 300 years ago. There are monkeys, parrots and birds of all types everywhere. The elephants and wild life we’ve seen are bizarre.

We are alive and well. This is one of the most amazing and beautiful countries. Right now in the early evening you hear the chanting of the Buddhists in the temples throughout the entire city. It’s amazing. I can see the 3rd largest Buddhist temple in the world from atop the hill we are on. The Budda atop the mountain in the distance is huge.

I wish I could tell you all of the things we’ve witnessed but I can’t in this short time. The kids are having a life-changing trip, as are we all. The Sri Lankan people are some of the most accepting and loving I’ve ever met. It’s strange that everyone stares at us everywhere we go. On the bus, in the shops, on the streets…we’re some of the only white people.

Healing Service, Beach, and Church

sally — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:31:33 +0000

Day 5 Friday, June 22

We began the day with Eucharist in the chapel of the Retreat Center. Father Desmond was preparing himself and the group for a healing service that was to be held later that night. His lesson was based on 2 Kings 5:1-14, the story of Naaman’s healing. We gathered around the altar and received communion. Before we were dismissed, we all laid hands and prayed over Father Desmond and then spent about an hour and a half of quiet time with the Lord in preparation for the evening healing service. After our quiet time ended, we had lunch and were treated to a presentation about the facility where we are staying. Everyone returned to their rooms and got ready for the two-hour bus ride to St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Karuna. Five churches had gathered to hold a healing service. The church was packed with people seeking healing from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The band and worship choir sang some songs and hymns, and then Father Desmond, speaking in Sinhalese, began his message on Naaman. Afterwards, the congregation was invited to come forward to give their lives to Christ or to receive prayers for healing. There was a line stretching to the back of the church. Five priests were available for prayers, but most of the people wanted Father D to pray for them. THREE HOURS later, we were finally done. God had moved in a mighty way throughout the evening. The band and choir had played the entire time with no break! The Diocesan Mission Committee had prepared a delicious dinner for us. Once dinner was done, we headed back to the Retreat Center and went to bed.

Day 6 Saturday, June 23

We took a break today and went to the beach. Because it was monsoon season, the waves were huge! The ocean and beach are still littered with bricks, tile and glass from the tsunami. On our way to the beach, we stopped at a pastry shop and sampled many delicious sweet and savory Sri Lankan treats.

Day 7 Sunday, June 24

We began the morning at St. Matthias’ Anglican Church. Most of the service was in Sinhalese, including Father Desmond’s sermon. Sylvia and Auston read a portion of the prayers of the people and Kevin, Grace and Sylvia sang during communion. It was a unique experience to be part of something familiar, yet we couldn’t understand a word. After the service, we were fed a delicious breakfast, then the St. C people divided into teams and taught a Sunday School lesson on faith to the various age groups. We used blindfolds, grabbed a partner and went on a faith walk to illustrate the concept of walking by faith, not by sight. Age appropriate discussions followed, and we shared treats with the children. A wonderful experience was had by all. Once done at St. Matthias, we did what many American families do after church- we went to the mall! Although not anywhere close to what we were familiar with, it was again, an interesting experience. We went back to the retreat center for rest time then we were out on the road again to St. Luke’s for a praise and worship service. Ewena had mentioned that this church would be most like St. C, and she was right! The entire service was in English, a nice change. The worship leader was a vibrant, talented woman who clearly loved the Lord. Their band had several guitars, drums, and each singer had their own microphone. We sang several songs, and then the congregation was invited to share praise reports and testimonies. Then we were treated to the same message Father D had preached in the morning, only this time in English! A few more songs later, people were invited to come forward to the altar rail for prayer, and the priests and the St. C mission team prayed for them. After having communion and singing a concluding song, we were back on the road to Father Desmond’s favorite Chinese restaurant. After dinner, exhausted, we boarded our bus and went back to the Center.

Elephants and Building

sally — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:55:09 +0000

We have not received a blog update yet but Mike Holmgren called and updated Emily that they were headed to Kandy and an elephant orphanage. I received a short email from Maizeanne saying that everyone was doing well and they were in Kandy and would be building tomorrow. They are working on bathrooms, roofs, and kitchens. As soon as we get more information, we will post it here.

Keep praying for them!!!

Poda Jaya School

sally — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 12:37:41 +0000

After breakfast, we headed out to the Poda Jaya School. The Poda Jaya School is a Buddhist-run elementary and middle school of about 300 students. Poda Jaya is in a very poverty-stricken area. The entire area had been wiped out by the tsunami, and eight years later has not yet recovered. Blocks from the ocean, most of the families are fisher people. If they do not have a successful catch and a successful sale of their catch, there is no food for that day. Therefore, for many of the students, the lunch that the children eat at the school is the only meal they can count on. It is St. Cuthbert monies that purchase the food for this lunch. Ewena’s niece-in-law, Manoouri, and her sister, Indramali, who are members of St. Matthias Anglican church spearhead the organization of the daily lunch. They have organized the mothers of some of the students into teams of four. The teams shop, cook and prepare the food one week each month. off we went to the home of that week’s team, which was across a street, a field and the railroad tracks from the school. The lunch was prepared in a tiny space behind one of the shacks amidst total squalor and filth. With dull knives on a rickety table, some of us chopped carrots and leeks. The women showed us how they wanted the vegetables prepared and these ladies could rival a television Iron Chef with their chopping skills. As we chopped, over an open fire they prepared the other ingredients of the curry soup type thing that had a soy super protein as its base. Meanwhile, others went on a tour of the neighborhood, best described as a shanty-town. Suffice it to say that many eyes were opened as we saw how people existed. They walked to the beach, which was covered with trash and debris. They went from home to home and discovered that most of the houses consisted of one or two rooms and housed the entire family, including grandparents. These homes that had been damaged or destroyed in the tsunami had been somewhat rebuilt using anything that was available to scavenge from broken pieces of shingles to large 50 pound bags that once held rice or flour or sugar. Most of the building’s structures were still damaged and there is still a lot of debris on the beach. Many had trinkets or gum to sell as yet another way to generate income. There were many little children and many of the men were unemployed. All were very friendly; they freely invited us into their homes. They were not ashamed of how little they had, in fact, they were very proud of what they did have.

Greetings from Sri Lanka!

sally — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 20:53:39 +0000

Greetings from Sri Lanka!!!

We’re finally online!!!!

Thank you for your patience. As we expect to learn throughout our trip, there are many things we take for granted and access to the internet is one of them,

Here is an account of our first few days.

Day 1 June 18, 2012

Everyone met at the airport and we checked in as a group. There was an air of excitement mixed with apprehension. Only two of our youth are actually traveling with a parent so there were some sad goodbyes before we went through security. The agents at check in and at security were all very friendly and we got thru security rather quickly. Once upstairs people went off exploring or sat in one of the restaurants.

Now it is a waiting game until we board. Most of us are not looking forward to the long plane trip but do look forward to what God has in store for us. This is the first mission trip for several of us but others have been on them before, just not overseas. First stop: Dubai.

Day 2 June 19, 2012

We arrived in Dubai and went through customs where we received our temporary visas. The Dubai airport is like Las Vegas on steroids!! It is brightly colored, the columns are sparkly and there are lots of lights. Since we had an eight-hour layover, the airline, Emirates, provides a hotel room as part of the package. We proceeded to the hotel and checked in. After leaving our luggage in our rooms, we went to dinner. Ewena’s niece gave us a short tour of Dubai. She pointed out different landmarks throughout the city. The little bit we saw was fascinating. Almost every sign was in both Arabic and English. The Arabic writing and the clothing of some of the people were the only indicators we were in a foreign country. We could have easily been in any urban American city. We saw a Starbucks on every corner. We passed Applebee’s, Chili’s, Texas Roadhouse, KFC, Subway, Red Lobster, Macy’s Bloomingdales, the Gap, and we could go on. We stopped at the world’s tallest building and watched the beautiful dancing water fountain show. We went back to the hotel and cleaned up in preparation for our four-hour trip to Sri Lanka.

Day 3 June 20, 2012

We left the hotel around midnight and cleared Dubai immigration and security. Some went to the duty free shops and others went on to our gate. At 2:30 in the morning, we finally boarded and settled in hoping to get some sleep. Breakfast came early. Some of us had our first taste of “string hoppers”. They look like very thin vermicelli and had a curry sauce.

Once we arrived in Sri Lanka and cleared customs we gathered our baggage and headed for our bus. It was bright pink! A few miles down the road, in the good old St Cuthbert tradition, our bus stalled. The driver got it started again and it stalled several more times. We ended up changing buses, now having a baby blue one. Most of the men agreed it was probably bad gasoline. We proceeded to our destination but encountered another problem as we arrived. The path the bus needed to take was narrow and they ended up having to cut back a Plumeria tree whose branches were in the way. We finally made it through the last few yards to our destination, Subodhi Institute of Integral Education. The Center is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Church as a retreat Center for students, somewhat along the lines of Camp Allen.

We were warmly greeted by three of the students from the Podu Jaya School and their English teacher. The children gave each of us an orchid boutonniere. Some of the ladies wore them in their hair and the men wore them on their shirts. We had lunch on site then some (mainly the youth) went exploring our new home while the rest of us took a much needed nap. We met for dinner and had a short devotional time. Exhausted, we all went to bed in anticipation of our first actual day of mission work. We will be visiting the Podu Jaya school, an orphanage and an elder home.

Some impressions from our ride for the airport to the Retreat Center: The roads are VERY narrow and the drivers are crazy! They drive on the wrong side of the road and vehicles communicate with each other by honking. Motor scooters and three wheeled vehicles predominate. The land is very lush and green. Flowering trees are in abundance. As a government-mandated Buddhist country, there are very tall statues of Buddha everywhere.

Impressions of our home at the Retreat Center: The Center is built on the side of a hill, overlooking a lake. It is stunningly beautiful. We are two to a room that could best be described as spartan. The wooden frame beds have a thin foam mattress. The floor is cement. One of the group had a frog as her shower companion. Only two of the rooms we are in have hot water, but with the oppressive heat and humidity, this is not always a bad thing! We were cautioned not to go to the lakeshore as this is where crocodiles make their home.

They made it through their first day in Sri Lanka!

sally — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 21:26:17 +0000

The internet connection is not working right now in Sri Lanka but they were able to call briefly. Everyone seems to be doing very well. They visited the Poda Jaya school today and had fun playing sports with coconuts and listening to the kids sing. A friendly monkey even came to check out the visitors! Tomorrow they will have a morning Eucharist, silent devotional time and then they will take part in a three hour Mission Service. Maizeanne indicated that they would probably not have time to make any contact tomorrow but they would touch base with us as soon as they could. Thank you for all of your prayers!!!

St Cuthbert has arrived

admin — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:45:08 +0000

at 9:10 am the mission team has arrived in Sri Lanka! God Bless the Missionaries!

Mission team in Dubai

admin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:07:43 +0000

Mission: Sri Lanka has landed in Dubai! They are one step closer!

From Jan Scarpati:

We made it to Dubai! Everyone is great after the 15 hour flight. We’re going through immigration and then to the hotel for dinner and then a city tour. We leave for Colombo, Sri Lanka at 3 in the morning. Praise God!!!

From Michael Bilbrey:

Saw the tallest building in the world and an awesome show with the dancing fountains. Back at the airport for our trip to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

From Maizeanne:

Leaving Dubai!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150859525626755.394278.702691754&type=1

Copy and paste the link above and you can see all Maizeanne’s pics!

Sri Lanka Mission

admin — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:22:54 +0000

The Mission to Sri Lanka starts Monday June 18, 2012 Check back here for updates!