Update

Sonalli (Dishan's sister) and me


Amma (Sri Lankan for 'momma') Rosie, Sonalli, Uncle George (Dishan and Sonalli's dad), Stefan


Stefnie and Dishan (Pastors)

Well, I made it home on June 4th at about 12 AM! I had such a wonderful experience in Sri Lanka. I feel so blessed to have gone there. Because there was limited access to the Internet, I was not able to update my blog as much as I did when I was in Nepal. But, I plan to share the stories and experiences I had there with you over a period of time as I am home now. I will be processing everything that happened the last 3 1/2 months and especially all that happened while I was in Sri Lanka the last month and a half. But for now I will leave you with a few of my favorite pictures. Take care and God bless

HUNGER!!!

The cry of my heart is revival. Last night I got to watch the Florida Revival for the first time. They have been holding the revival for 42 days. My Spirit was stirred even more for revival around the world. What I want to impart to you today as you read this is one thing: Hunger. A hunger for God. A dis-satisfaction for where you are now and a power surge within you to move you forward. A hatred towards sin, towards the things that hold you back from operating as the Spirit leads. You want revival? You want a change in your life? Then GET HUNGRY FOR GOD. Ask Him. He will fill you. Its almost like a machine within me that runs runs runs. Constantly saying: More God, More. I dont want to stay the same as I was yesterday. This passion within me should get stronger everyday. The Bible says in Matthew 5:6- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be FILLED. Notice that a person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness will not only be filled, or satisfied...but they will be BLESSED. Now, what is righteousness? Simply stated, its ' being made right with God.' So blessed are those who hunger and thirst to be made right with God. To be made holy. To be made pure. Often times we run after the green pastures (prosperity) or peace instead of looking to the One who gives these things. See, when you look to the Great Shepherd (found in Psalms 23) to take care of your needs, you will lack nothing in this life. Prosperity will be yours. Peace will be yours. Health and healing will be yours. But we must look to Jesus, our Shepherd, instead of the benefits He offers us. When we run after prosperity or success, we will be left with frustration and a sense of dis-satisfaction. It almost feels like we are wasting our lives. Is this not true? But when we look to Jesus and hunger and thirst to line our lives up with Him, then we are satisfied and filled. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie in green pastures, He restores my soul." Not only does God give us good things in life, but He restores our soul. Our emotions. He brings back what has been taken from us. Maybe broken relationships. Maybe finances. Whatever it may be today Im telling you, you will receive it when you hunger for Jesus and align yourself up with Him. His sheep are never without food. His sheep never beg for bread. They dont have to lack peace or money. Its our choice to be a part of His flock. He wont force us. Choose Him. Hunger for Him. Blessed and satisfied will you be when you make Jesus your Good Shepherd.

Addicted to Jesus no matter what comes

Pastor Dishan teaching the G-12 principle in a village where persecution is heavy. To the left is the pastor of the church.

Hanging out after the service

Cutting the king cocunut for us after service

I have been having such a great time here. Continuing to do home visits; which I really enjoy. The lady I was telling yall about in the previous entry, Anula, came to church this past Sunday and we gave her a Bible. I was so happy to see her at church.
Recently I got the opportunity to attend a youth service on Friday during lunch. God is moving here through the youth. In particular, moving in a group that works at the bank here called HSBC. I walked into the service about 15 minutes before it started and the worship leader asked me to sing with them...so I did. There was a girl there who played the piano and sang, along with two other girls and the drummer. They were so hungry for God's presence to come into the sevice and transform us. And can I tell you, that's exactly what happened. God's presence was there and we were all taken in the worship of Him. The youth pastor here, Pastor Shawn preached as they played piano. There was a good response among the youth. Pastor Shawn preached about how there is a battle within each person who is saved. Its the battle between our flesh and our spirit. Our flesh wants us to sin and gratify our desires and our spirit is holy, desiring us to be holy in all ways. He spoke how we must make a choice to allow our spirit, God's spirit within us, to win against our flesh. So he gave the altar call for people to repent of choosing ways that displease a holy God and asked whoever wanted to make the choice to follow Jesus' principles to come up to the front. So we prayed for everyone who came up. It was a great time because God chose to visit us in such a strong way. After everyone left all the leaders stayed behind just crying out to God for like 45 minutes. There is nothing that can compare to God's presence. Wow. All of that to say, revival is breaking out in the youth here in Sri Lanka. Pastor Shawn told me yesterday at church how all the HSBC leaders were in KFC, just meeting and eating..and how God's presence came so strongly on them that people were praying and crying out to God in the middle of the resturant. Crazy huh!?! Yes it is...and they are desperate for a move of God to come to Sri Lanka, so they dont care what people think of them. Once you experience God's presence, you become addicted to it. haha.
So please, pray for the youth and church here for revival to continue. If we can cultivate God's presence in our daily lives, revival will start through us.
By the way, on a less spiritual note, the food here is AMAZING! Wow. Mrs. Rosie makes the best beef and curry. I love the string hoppers, rotie, and milk rice...mmm. I drink orange juice at every meal.
Last Saturday we went to a church about an hour or so away. Pastor Dishan preached to them about the principle of G-12 (in the picture above). There is huge persecution there. The pastor and his wife left their nice life in Columbo filled with all convienances in order to bring The Good News to this community. They are surrounded by strong Buddhists who oppose them greatly. They do charms on them and speak curses...although this does not effect them personally because they are covered by Jesus' blood, it does effect the environment within the church...meaning that satan tries to cover their ears from hearing and their hearts from understanding and grasping the Word preached. So this is a huge challenge for the pastor. Also, the people around them took them and 5 other workers and locked them inside their home, then set the place on fire..along with the church. By the grace of God, they are alive today. Not only are they just alive, but you would not believe the joy they have. Unbelievable to see. So the people who oppose them will not allow them to visit their church members in their homes..which is a big problem for the church. Especially here...home visits build the church so much here. So this is why they have come to Pastor Dishan..to grow the church through the G-12 principle. Amazing. Im so honored to be a part of my church and to know they are the ones to introduce the principle of G-12 to the WORLD!!! Im seeing it firsthand!!! G-12 is directly from the Bible and it is a simple way to grow the church. 12 people coming together and learning the Word of God. Meeting with one another and praying, encouraging each other. You really need a small group to meet with during the week because so many problems come in life and you cant face things alone. There is no way you can. Thats why you need people, especially Godly people who love you and can advise you in the right way without any motive other than your benefit. So yeah each person in the group is also advised to start their own group...so they are in a Bible study as they also lead one. Its pretty cool and its right out of the Bible. In Acts, the early church grew through small groups like this.
Are you in a small group? Are you fully committed to Jesus no matter what hardships come? Do you trust God to be your Good Shepherd, who will look after you and take care of you? He can only be your Shepherd if you join His flock. Then when you join, you will receive blessings and so many good things. He is such a great God who loves us so much and wants to bless us. Are you addicted to Jesus' presence? Oh friend, make the time to know this wonderful God who gave everything for your freedom.
Love yall and will write again soon

Sri Lanka

This is Anula and me at church. I was dressed in the traditional wear of Sri Lanka called a Sari (spelling?). Just before this was taken I explained to Anula that I wanted to post her picture on my website so America could hear her story. She cried thinking about it.

I am in Sri Lanka safe and sound!! Internet access is limited so my apologies for not writing sooner to inform you I am safe.
I have had the most wonderful time here. The Pastor here is Dishan and his wife is Stephanie. I am staying with Dishan's mother, Rosemary (aka Rosie). We live with Rosey's mom (Ulga), sister (Ester) and daughter (Sonalli).
Tuesday and Wednesday I went with Rosie and another lady from the church to do home visiting. Each day we visited over 15 homes...in a tri-shaw!! It was awesome! Over the 2 days, we got to share the Gospel with 10 new people. Each time we entered a home, we would listen to and pray for them. The people we visited are those who have visited the church previously, but are no longer constant in attendance. We go to encourage and strengthen them through fellowship and prayer. I have really seen the importance and need in making home visits. I will tell you just one of the many stories we experienced:
Anula lives with her husband and child. They live in a small flat surrounded by apartments. In those apartments live her brothers and sisters. No one in her family is a belever. Only she. Each day she cooks and cleans and never leaves the home. She has no Bible to read and no fellowship. The last time she came to Pastor Dishan's church (Bethany Church) was over one year ago. The visiting team always tried to find her home, but never had any luck. They had been trying since she visited the church last to find her. By God's grace, we were able to find her. When she heard we were from the church and had come to visit her, she began weeping. She told the story of how all of her family opposes her. How they are having such financial difficulty and how she is so alone. She also has a health problem. Her foot gives her such pain..not sure what disease it was but it looked painful. Anyways, she expressed her desire for her husband (who was standing in the room with us and is Buddhist) to become a believer. So we prayed all together in a circle. She cried and cried. And looked at me and said "Oh I am so thankful to God that yall came. No one has ever visited me before and I am so lonely." My heart was touched by her testimony. She lives in poverty and is having so many troubles, but in the midst of it all, she could say she was thankful to God. She also told us how she had been having an angry spirit lately and how she wanted it to leave. We explained how she needs to read the Bible each day in order to be protected from attack..and thats when we found out she had no Bible in the house. Just like our physical body needs food, so our Spiritual body needs food to survive. The Bible is food to our souls. So, she AND her husband said they would come to church this Sunday. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. I now see the importance of visiting the new comers of our church. It is a very much needed ministry that I will become involved in when I get home. Christianity, and ministry is not all about you. There are people who need to be encouraged. There are people waiting for you to visit them and pray for them. They need a touch from God in human form. Just an ear to hear them speak. Just a mouth to pray for them. Just arms to hug them. Thats all you need. There is nothing super spiritual about it. If you have an ear, mouth and arms, you can be used to help others.
I thank God for teaching me the importance of home visiting.

PS- Here is the church website: http://bethsrilanka.com/

Alone and Addicted

I have seen a terrible thing. Yesterday as we were driving in a taxi (at 10 AM!) I saw through the window two young boys sitting down against the wall. The older boy, who could not have been older than age 11, had a plastic chip bag that he was puffing in and out. I observed that the more he puffed the bag in and out, the heavier his eyes became. This young boy, living on the street, was getting high on shoe glue.
My heart stopped when I found out exactly what he was doing. I could not believe. I have never seen this before and became deeply upset.
Then this morning we were walking on our way to breakfast and a young boy approached us. He was begging for money. Dirty as could be and mumbling as he held his hand out to us. Then I saw to my left a group of young boys who had been sleeping on the street together the night before. This young boy was probably one of their friends. Once again I was reminded of the terrible condition of the young children who make petty money and use it to buy shoe glue. How could anyone would sell them the glue? They know what the children are going to do with it!!
Can you imagine seeing this with your own eyes? These kids have NOTHING. No parents, no money, only one change of clothes, no food and no bed and are filthy dirty. They are addicted to getting high and are sleeping on the streets. And they see a foreigner and run after them begging them saying things like "I have no food. Please feed me."
I have a younger brother, Nicholas, who is about 11 years old now. I can not IMAGINE him on the streets like this. How could he provide for himself? Who would look after him? He would have no one to show him love, but his friends who were in the same position he was....alone and addicted.
Its such a sad thing to see here. My heart is breaking for these children. Still I am deeply disturbed by what I have seen...

Not far from you...

Acts: 17 22- 28.

“Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him--though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'"

“From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him--though indeed he is not far from each one of us.” WOW. God is so personal isn't He?! He allotted the time and place of our existence. Of yours, of mine, and of every single human being!! He allotted or planned where and when they would live. And He did it all so that they would search for Him. That is HARD for my mind to grasp. How can a God so big, a God in charge of everything in the entire world, be so personal and concerned with my life, with your life? How can a God so big be ‘not far from each one of us’? Did you know that God is not far from you? Did you know He is waiting for you to search for Him and find Him? Why does He care so much about mere man? What can we offer that will benefit Him? For He has everything and needs nothing! Mere man. Sinful man who desires only things that please him temporary and leave him unsatisfied and unfulfilled. Stupid man...with his selfish thinking...tempted in every way…and only concerned about his needs, our wants, our desires…And then there’s God…with His loving and merciful heart for this man. For all peoples on the face of this earth. Every tribe, every tongue. Accepting man as he is. Bettering man and guiding him in the way he should go.
Oh I don’t understand this. But I am thankful. So thankful that we, man, are loved by God. I am so thankful He takes notice of us. I am so thankful that God has a specific purpose and plan for our lives. To each person it is different. But for all it is the same in the end, to know Him and make Him known.
What God cares enough to heal a broken heart? What God is moved with compassion when He hears your prayer? No other God but our God.
I am so thankful that He has made it available for us to know Him and serve Him.
I will give the rest of my life to show Him how thankful I am for His love and mercy. What kind of a person would die for someone who hates him? What kind of person? Only one full of love, mercy and forgiveness. Jesus, make me more like You. Refine me as silver. Take away all the impurities. So that Your reflection may be seen in me.
Jesus, I will proclaim Your name to those who are worshipping things that cannot save them. I have counted the cost and will follow wherever You would have me go, whatever You desire of me. Im so thankful to You for placing me where I am, with purpose and vision. If not for grace it would not be so.
"You are in the place and time you need to be in. God did not create you one second earlier or later, or did He put you with other parents or in a different ethnic group, or with different family situations for no reason. Your experiences are His goals for you to get to the places and do the things you need to do."
For God has created you with a purpose and a plan for your life. FIND IT!!

Some of my favorites....

From top: Pastor David and I preaching (from Bhaktapur);

David and Sony;

Pratima and me;

Mrs. Bev praying after an altar call;

Bro Rick and Mrs. Bev after meeting;

Mrs. Bev and I after church (3/29);

Mrs. Bev with Sushila;

KB with Bro Rick and Mrs. Bev (this was the day of their anniversary)