Orphanages

     The Gunasekeras decided to help an orphanage in Maharagama called the Sucharithodaya Lama Nivasaya because a friend in the US was interested in helping orphans in Sri Lanka. This orphanage has 40 children ranging from 4 to 10 years. The Gunasekera family visited the orphanage at about 7 p.m., when the children were getting ready for bed. The little ones were quite shy, but also curious of why the Gunasekeras came.  They go to bed at seven p.m. and wake up at four-thirty a.m. When they wake up the sweep up the grounds and clean up the place until its time to go to school at 7 a.m. A tiring schedule you might say, but the children are used to it. They are very cute. Some of the buildings there are undergoing construction, so that would also be something to pray about.  They had no milk for the little ones, so the kids (even the four-year-olds) were given black tea to drink! When the friends in of the Gunasekeras in the US heard about this they quickly decided that they would provide milk for the little ones in the orphanage. Now when the older children and the handicapped orphans (over a 100 other children)  found out that the little ones were getting milk they also wanted to have milk – at least with their tea! The friend in the US who has the rare gift of cheerful generosity decided to provide milk for everyone in the orpahage! Well for a whole a month now, everyone in the orphanage has had milk.     

At the Sucharithodaya Orphanage

Nobody’s Children (click to play)       

Overwhelmed by the needs of the children of the orphanage and by the generosity of their US friend who is providing milk for the children the Gunasekeras remembered a scene at the end of time that Jesus described.   

When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’   “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ [Mat. 25:31-40]   

  Eugene H. Peterson, The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2002)   

 Speaking of orphanages, the Gunasekeras also visited an Elephant Orphanage in Pinnevala. There are tons of elephants there, including babies, a blind elephant, and a three-legged elephant. It’s a tragic story, really. The elephant used to be wild in the forests of Sri Lanka, during the war. Because of some of the land mines (bombs that explode when one steps on them) around that area, the elephant lost one of his legs, and now has a very crooked spine. A veterinarian once took the time to create a new leg for the elephant, but when they put it on him, he kicked it off! The elephant is still there, of course, and is amazingly intelligent. When all the elephants cross from one side of the road to another, the three-legged elephant stands guard to make sure no cars will cross.   

At the Elephant Orphanage

Three Legged Elephant Traffic Police

 All this focus on orphans reminded the Gunasekeras that Jesus had promised not to leave them as orphans. Jesus said He would rise from the dead and send the Holy Spirit to take care of all His disciples after Jesus left the earth. What a blessing to have the Spirit of God Himself to counsel and hold the Gunasekeras when they are worried or scared or just feeling sad.  

If you love me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [John 14:15-18]  

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984)      

      Beaches

Since they were on an island, the Gunasekeras were bound to go to the beach sometime or another, and so they did. They went to a beach in Hikkaduwa. They went there because one of their closest family members, a cousin named Indrani lost her father. Since everyone was rather sad after the funeral, the family thought that a trip out of town would help to get everyone’s focus away from the sadness of losing someone they loved. Because the Bible says,  

Who got the last word, oh, Death?  Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?  It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ.   Thank God! [1 Cor. 15:55-57]    

Eugene H. Peterson, The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2002)   

While they were there in Hikkaduwa, the Gunasekeras went for a boat ride with the family members. Let me tell you, this was no regular boat. This was a boat in which you could view the coral, underneath you. They are called glass-bottom boats, because they are just that. They are just regular boats on the outside, but when you step inside instead of having a solid wooden floor, there is a space in the middle which is glass. So as the boat driver drives you around you can look at all the coral and fish beneath you. In fact you can see stuff outside of the boat pretty well too. That’s how clear the water is there. It is beautiful. Oh, and it’s a great place for making sand-castles!    

Beach Boys (and Girls)

 Those School Days

After an exhaustive search for schools, the Gunasekeras decided on an international school for Sarah and Joshua. The first day at school was both scary and exciting for the parents as well as the children. These are a couple of photos of the children on their fist day at school!

Sarah - first day at school

Joshua - first day at school

At this point of their story the Gunasekeras would like their friends to tell God: 

• Thanks for making sure that their things arrived in Colombo
• Thanks for finding a good school for the children
• To help with the classes that Vinodh is starting to teach this month at CTS 
• To help them find a good car to use
• Since the days are so very full, to help them find time to refocus, reflect, and recuperate

TO BE CONTINUED…

 Five From Yuma  

 Once upon a time there was a family of five, whose names were Vinodh, Suchi, Sarah, Joshua, and little Grace Gunasekera. This story is about the things that happened to them when they went far away from the U.S.A, to Colombo, which is the capital city of Sri Lanka. They went to help out with Christian work in that beautiful country. So far they are just settling in, and jet lag is getting the best of them. But they are so glad that they made it to Sri Lanka safe and sound.    

Leaving the US was really difficult because they had to leave close friends and family members.  Here’s a photo with one of the famlies that the Gunasekeras had a difficult time leaving - the pastor of Grace Bible Fellowship, Rick Seltzer, and his family:         

The Seltzers

 

Another family that the Gunasekeras didn’t want to leve were Juan and the Olivarez family:

The Olivarez Family

 

And many others that God had drawn the Gunasekeras to were very painful to leave behind. But the pain made it clear that the relationships were real . The adventures that the Gunasekera family was looking forward to with Jesus and His people in Sri Lanka made the separation bearable. And Jesus had promised:       

I will be with you always, even unto the end of the age  (Matthew 28:20)     

The Tyranny of Things    

The Gunasekeras had collected a ton of things over the 27 years that they lived in the US. Managing those things was not easy even though they had put a lot of time and thought into disposing them. They divided their things into three categories: things to be sent to Sri Lanka, things that needed to be sold or given away, and things that would be kept with the family members in Houston (things like photo albums, old books, and the children’s memorabilia).Well, nobody realized how much stuff had been collected over the years! The more the Gunasekeras worked to clean things up, the more things seem to appear! But with a lot of help from friends and family members the mound of things was finally taken care of. Here’s Vinodh when they became homeless in Arizona!    

Homeless in Arizona

 

A pastor named A. W. Tozer wrote about the problem we have with possessions several years ago in a book titled “The Pursuit of God”. That book is available on the internet at http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/Tozer_Pursuit_of_God.pdf. Chapter 2 of Tozer’s book is titled “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing” and is well worth reading.   

The Provision of God      

The things that were to go to Houston almost didn’t make it! Here’s what happened: the things to be sent to Houston were given to a moving company to bring, and the Gunasekeras drove off into the sunset from Yuma, Arizona to Houston, Texas. Just three days before they were to leave for Sri Lanka the Gunasekeras found out that the things they sent (which should have been in Houston by then) were still in Yuma! The moving company had overbooked and had not been able to send the things yet. Even the suitcases that the Gunasekeras were to take to Sri Lanka were with those things still there in sunny Yuma!         

It was time to pray. Everyone knew that only God could provide for them at a time like this. Well, it so happened that a friend at the Grace Bible Fellowship in Yuma was able to drive all the things over to Houston in two days – just in time! While the Gunasekeras were very grateful to the friend who drove down with their things, and for their church Yuma that rallied round people at difficult times, everyone knew Who really provided. It was Jesus behind the scenes carrying the Gunasekeras through a difficult place in their journey.        

Leaving on a Jet Plane  

Though the waves were rough trough the sea of the move, the Gunasekeras made it to the other side of the world in one piece. Here’s a photo with the family members who came to say goodbye to the Houston airport:          

Family

 

  Here’s the family transiting through Singapore:    

In Transit

 

     

Housewarming in Sri Lanka   

When they arrived in Sri Lanka, the Gunasekeras were eager to explore this ancient land and discover the hidden treasures that lay buried in her culture. But first things had to be first. In the Bible it is said that when the patriarch Abraham arrived at his destination,    

Abraham pitched his tent.. and built an alter to the Lord (Genesis 12:8)      

A good friend had once pointed out that while Abraham’s place of dwelling was temporary his place of worship was permanent. So Abraham prioritized his worship over his dwelling. When the Gunasekeras got to Sri Lanka they found out that the things they shipped to furnish their apartment with was going to get late coming into Colombo. Taking a cue from Abraham they decided to do a dedication service for their apartment even though their things hadn’t arrived in Sri Lanka. So they invited their pastor and some close friends and had a ”House Warming” in the Sri Lankan tradition. They lighted a traditional oil lamp, boiled milk in their apartment and dedicated themselves and their home to God in prayer and singing. Here are some photos of the service they had at their apartment:    

Lighting the Traditional Oil Lamp

 

Long Standing Friends

 

The Pot Runneth Over

 

 Here’s a video clip of one of the songs led by Ivor Poobalan, Pricinple of the Colombo Theological Seminary: 

 

We Have Come Into This House (click to play) 

 

Prayers and Cheers

At this point of their story the Gunasekeras would like their friends to tell God about:    

• Getting the things they shipped over two months ago delivered in Colombo
• Finding good schools for the children
• A couple of speaking enagements that Vinodh has been invited to
• Giving thanks to God for safe travels and growing stability

   

TO BE CONTINUED…