Sri Lanka Part 1 -- Lena

I believe there will be approximately 7 blogs or more about Sri Lanka, mostly because we had such an amazing time there and I know we all are going to have something to say, our own perspective to add. Without a doubt we all wish we could go back and be with our brethren again. There were (to start) 32 brethren celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, 6 of which were children (the most adorable children you could hope to meet). About half way through the Feast we lost 2, and we were 30 (Mr. Horchak and Mrs. Horchak went to spend the second half of the feast with brethren in India {I'm not gonna lie, I'm slightly jealous, I've always wanted to go to India}). I recommend that everyone go to Sri Lanka at least once, if not to see the beautiful country (which it is), but to meet the wonderful church family we have there. Although we were comparatively small in number we had a huge number of countries represented there: 1 from Great Britain, 1 from Singapore, 2 from the Bahamas, 6 from the US, 1 from Australia, 7 from Kuwait, 5 from Jordan {us :)}, and of course 9 from Sri Lanka.
Being small in number gave everyone a chance to serve in some way. The Jordan 5 did special music one day and Zach and Emily did special music together one day, and another day Lewis sang with Jude Pereira (one of our new Sri Lankan friends), we had special music most days and it was always wonderful, whether it be an a capella hymn by Mr. Clement Lim, or amazing vocals by Mrs. Jean VanHeer accompanied by a recording of her husband Rodney playing the sax (I think that the Sri Lankan brethren may be the most musically talented bunch I've ever met). Zach and Lewis both had the opportunity to lead songs and give sermonettes while us girls were able to have FYI classes for the little ones. We ate all of our meals together spread out amongst 2 long tables. The food was always delicious with plenty of fresh fruit at each meal. Besides the 3 buffet meals, we also had tea 2 times each day, and each one was accompanied by savory treats in the afternoon, and sweet treats in the evening. Of course all of this had the breathtaking backdrop of the Indian Ocean and beach.
We took a couple of tours of the nearby town (Bentota), and one day we took a trip to Galle, a dutch fort from the 1800's. There were charming shops, and little museums, and even an old dutch church that we got to see. On our way to Galle we stopped at the Sea Turtles Research Center in Kosgoda, Sri Lanka. Turtle eggs are considered a delicacy to some, and therefore there is big money in selling them (although it is illegal). The research center pays money for eggs as well, but they bury them in the sand until they hatch, and then they move them to tanks of sea water where they give the little guys 3 days for their underbelly to harden, and then they release them into the sea. They have been in business since 1978, and in that time they have released around 30 million turtles into the sea. They also run a clinic for injured sea turtles that people bring them. Sometimes they get caught in the nets of fishermen because they are injured, and sometimes they are found on the shore. There was one BIG turtle who was blind and had spent his whole life there in the tanks. There were several that had been found after the tsunami in 2004 that were missing flippers and couldn't survive in the wild. The best part was getting to hold the little guys, they are so cute.
Before we left for Sri Lanka I had told Cory Erickson (our project manager here in Jordan) that one of the things I was looking forward to was seeing rain again (right now the wet stuff is pretty scarce in Jordan). And rain I got to see. It rained every single day, and it was wonderful. We had sun every day as well, but storms would roll in, and then roll out, and we really enjoyed swimming in the rain a couple of times. The last 2 days we were there we had some pretty intense storms that caused some flooding in parts of Colombo. I'm told it's not unusual during the rainy season (which October is). Our hotel was nice, and the staff was very accommodating. Each day and night the power would go out several times, with all of that our services were interrupted only once, it was during the last sermon on the LGD, and it was when Mr. Mather was giving us the last verse in his sermon. We sang our final song a cappella and it was wonderful.
I could probably write forever about the wonderful time that we had. I always find it interesting that the stories of all the things we do in an 8 day period could fill up double that time. I guess the saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is the same for experiencing, only it's even better, it's worth a million and one words. Just a couple of shots from our time there. A sunset from our hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Horchak and Mr. and Mrs. Mather. Lewis holding a baby turtle. Train debris from the tsunami in 2004. A shot dedicated to Laurel Krenz (her favorite flower if I remember correctly {she's always drawing them}). Another beach shot from our hotel. A picture of Mr. Lim and Lewis and I. The Wines (from Texas) and the Hooks (living in Kuwait, but from the States and Sri Lanka).