Growing to Love the Local Church in Sri Lanka
As we move into more than a year of serving communities in Sri Lanka, our staff has come to better understand the reasons we work through the local church.
There were times when our staff in Sri Lanka questioned this theory or saw it as restricting. But today there is clear understanding. Through the eyes of our Child Survival Program mothers and the communities we work in, we see why the local church is important and how it is affecting communities, which are now growing to love the church.
Chandrakanthi is a name that is constantly on the minds of our Sri Lanka staff. After being nearly bludgeoned to death by an axe in the hands of her husband, today Chandrakanthi is a smiling, bubbly young woman, who is a testament to God’s amazing answer to prayer.
Chandrakanthi is part of the Child Survival Program in Puwakpitiya. The Puwakpitiya Assembly of God Church, with the help of our ministry, provided her with a lot of assistance during her time of recovery.
Chandrakanthi’s mother works in Dubai. When she came to know of her daughter’s plight, she returned to Sri Lanka for a short stay to see her daughter.
As soon as she saw Chandrakanthi, she came to the church. Entering the Child Survival Program office in the church, she broke down.
“Thank you, and thank you to the church for saving my daughter. If not for you, if not for this program, if not for this church, my daughter would be dead.”
Chandrakanthi’s sister told us,
“No other organization or even a religious institution would have been able to help my sister. Your God must be special.”
Pastor Palitha, from the Kithusewana Church in Inigodawela, is very happy that such a program is being conducted through the local church.
“Today the church is a meeting place for everyone, no matter what religion they are from. People welcome us into their homes. Even though they are not a part of the Child Survival Program, they inquire about the program. They volunteer to help out at the program. People are not looking at us with suspicion anymore. People are welcoming the church.”
Staying Attached
Sometimes, it’s easy to fall more in love with doing the ministry than with the one who called us. And it’s easy to get tired or burned out doing the routine or difficult tasks.
How About Some Free Christmas Music?
Folk Angel is offering free Christmas music downloads to Compassion staff and supporters. Downloads are available through December 22, 2011.
Words of Encouragement are Always Needed
Even though you smell like sewage on the outside, you smell like Jesus on the inside.
How Do We Teach Creation Care to Combat Environmental Poverty?
With lower levels of resource use and a much shorter history of using them, the developing world’s impact on the environment is much less than its developed counterparts; yet it bears a much higher price for damage done.
The Compassion Bloggers Are Going to Ecuador
From Nov. 8 to Nov. 12, 2011 you will get a glimpse of what it is like to live in Ecuador courtesy of our Compassion Bloggers.
Rebuilding Haiti: Where We Stand
It’s been nearly two years since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. We still have four strategies in process or ongoing to maintain the support and needs of our Implementing Church Partners, children, and their families.
Bludgeoned by an Ax at the Hands of Her Husband
Bludgeoned by an ax at the hands of her husband, Solomon, Chandrakanthi lay on the floor bleeding. She screamed,
“Help me, please help me!”
It was almost an hour before anyone came to her aid. Blood gushed from the deep cut in her head, covering most of the floor in the bedroom.
This is not a short story or the beginning of a novel. It is a truly horrific, yet very real, event that took place in Puwakpitiya, Avissawela, Sri Lanka.
But above all, it is a story of victory and God’s amazing healing. (more…)
Who Are the Diamonds in Your Community?
The House of Diamonds Student Center in El Guanabano, Honduras, serves people whose livelihood is found in garbage. But that doesn’t mean they’re garbage themselves.
Beguens Theus: New Hope for the Future
As a 5-year-old sponsored child growing up in Haiti, Beguens Theus dreamed of what life could be. Now, as a member of Haiti’s parliament Beguens is determined to see the dreams of every child in Haiti realized.
Got Questions?
Got questions for us? How about ideas for improving our programs or processes? Praise? We’ll take that too. Share it all, and get answers, in our online customer support community staffed by representatives in our contact center.
The New Slavery — Human Trafficking
Currently, more slaves exist than during the time of slave trade abolitionist William Wilberforce. But unlike in Wilberforce’s day, 80 percent of today’s slaves are women and girls; 50 percent are children. The slave trade is far from history. In fact, it is very much the shame of our world today.
