Sri Lanka Day 8

Sri Lanka Day 8

Today for breakfast we had fried eggs, toast, sausage, and pineapple. Joanne and Jodie had already left for church because both of them were preaching for first service which started at 6am. All of us scrambled to get our bags packed and by the door. We had plans to move to a hotel that night.

The whole team was at church for second service. Those who were scheduled went to help at kids church. The rest of us went to either Jodie or Joanne’s service. If I would have known they were speaking in two different services at once, I would have tried to go at 6am. That way I could be at both services and then kids church. For second service I went to Joanne’s service. During the announcements, they showed that the teens or young adults were going to have an outing to play soapy football (aka soccer). It looked so fun! The thing they played in had a plastic bottom with soap and a little water. The sides of it were about 3-4 foot high and like the inflated plastic, kind of like a bouncy house. If we would have had time I would have loved to join in, but we had to move out that evening, so we could not. For the message Joanne talked about the paralyzed man at the pool. The man who Jesus healed. She talked about how you can be paralyzed even if it doesn’t show. You can be paralyzed on the inside. God will help you no matter how you are paralyzed. Her sermon was so good! You could tell it touched people. Just because we put on a mask to look good doesn’t mean that we are. A couple people came to talk to Joanne after she was done. Then we ran to get coffee between second and third service. It was a fun little coffee shop that had stores upstairs. Some of the girls did but jewelry from one shop too. We did not have long at the coffee shop before going back for third service. This time I was with the kids. We set up and Jen gave us instructions/reminders before they came over from the adult service. They were not sure what to do when they saw us, but were excited when the got a stamp on their hand. They went to the tables right away that had stickers on them. We had to try to keep them away until it actually was craft time. We started by introducing ourselves and something we like. I said ice cream and someone else said cupcakes. The kids really liked that. They got all excited that we liked the same treats that they like. They would even cheer. When each member was done sharing about themselves, it was my turn. I told them we were going to sing and dance to a song. I had them get up so they were ready. One girl stayed sitting, but the rest of them danced like crazy. We did the song “real love” that we taught to the kids in Uganda. The kids could not be any cuter! There smiles were so big. When the song was over and we got most of their wiggles out, Jen told them about Queen Esther. A couple of the kids were so excited. They said, “I know this story!” When they were told that it was craft time they darted to the tables. Automatically they started playing with the stickers, but we had to stop them to explain the directions and give them the crown they were going to decorate. They were so happy to show us the progress of their decorating as we walked around and helped them! I took pictures of a few of the kids after they were done and they loved seeing the pictures. We gathered all the kids and did a group picture. Because there was a couple extra minutes we pulled out the parachute to play with, but that did not last long as church ended not long after. On the way out, each kid received a toy and a couple pieces of candy. It was so crazy in that room. There were between 30-40 kids who had so much energy. It could not have been more fun! While walking out, after cleaning and leaving some of our extra supplies, some of the kids asked us if we would be back the next Sunday or next year. It was so sweet of them. I told them I would try to go back next year. Down in the adults church, our team members were up front and church members were going up to them for prayer. I am so proud of this team. It has not only been a team about praying for these people, but you could often find us praying for each other.

After church we had a special treat. All of us packed it to Roger and Therese’s house where they had made us lunch. Therese told us we should try to eat like we lived in Sri Lanka. In other words, use our hands. You mix almost everything together with your hands and then pick it up and eat it. It was funny because it took a little bit to get down a way to not awkwardly put the food in my mouth. They have such a beautiful little apartment. Therese has decorated the small space so well.

Then we had to head back to the guest house. It was time to load up all our suitcases and head to the hotel. The hotel was about a mile from the guest house. It is called hotel mount Lavinia. It is the first or second oldest hotel in Sri Lanka. So many couples go there to get married. I actually forgot how many different brides I saw in the two days we were there, but it was a minimum of four. Once we got there, I got settled in my room. I ended up rearranging my bags because I could not get ahold of any other team members to see where they were. Not long after I finished, Don and Vanessa came to the room and we went for a walk on the beach together. That is where most of our team was. I should have guessed. We got to watch the sun set and see some little crabs come out and scurry along the beach. It was fun and relaxing.

Then we had to go get ready for dinner. The hotel does buffet style meals and we sat outside. We had the only table with a table cloth. Our team felt special. About half way through the meal, there came an announcement. They announced that they were having a performer coming on who has Down’s syndrome. They said they support people with special needs because they can do anything too. He did good and smiled the whole time. Actually, is performance area was next to our table. I went back to the room not long after that because I was so sleepy. This night was the best I slept the whole trip.