The
Mission Matters
We’ve been on a real see-saw over the
last few weeks going from excitement and keenness following incidents
involving promising contacts and then thrown into the depths of despair and
frustration and thinking “this is all too hard” when things haven’t
worked as we’ve planned, hoped and prayed. At times it is just plain hard
slog and we wonder why we are here. At
other times we are enthused and keen to keep
on keeping on.
Sunday’s
Acts of the Apostles Class
The class continues with a good
attendance most weeks though Sunday 23rd was one of those
occasions which threw us into the depths of despair as one by one all bar
one of the attendees cancelled! That
was after Ken had sat up extremely late the night before (in fact, very
early Sunday morning!!) to get his hand-out notes finished. Bro Dunstan arrived and rather than presenting the class to
him alone he and Ken used the opportunity to advance their proof reading of
one of the booklets which has been translated from English to Sinhala.
Translation
of Booklets into Local Languages
We now have approximately a dozen books
translated from English into Sinhala. The
books cover a variety of Bible truths and we hope to have a number of them
in print before we leave in September.
The others we plan to have to at least the type set stage.
All bar one of the Sinhala translations have to date been undertaken
by bro Indra. Once they are
type set Ken and Dunstan proof read through them together.
Dunstan takes the Sinhala document and reads it back to Ken in
English so they can ensure the accuracy of the translation. It is a long, slow, arduous process particularly given that
the English language has some words in it for which there is no equivalent
in Sinhala; nor a phrase which can convey the concept. For example there is no Sinhala word for “spirit”
and the Sinhala Bibles use the same word for “soul” and “spirit”.
So John 4, verse 24 reads “God is soul, and they that worship Him
must worship Him in soul and in truth”; which makes for significant
confusion.
Raja is also working on the translation
of booklets into Tamil and will be working in conjunction with the Tamil
translation work being undertaken in India.
The
Bible Truth Conference (BTC)
The plans for a residential style Bible
Truth Conference here in Negombo in mid April are still in limbo. We had
anticipated identifying approximately 12 people whom we would be confident
would benefit from a BTC however most of those identified are not available. We decided to cancel our arrangements but have now
had a last minute surge of interest so we’ll have to reconsider.
Kandy
When the last edition of Negombo
News went to “print” we were about to head off to Kandy.
We spent four days there (11th – 15th March)
but it turned into one big
disappointment - unfortunately we did not get the response we had
anticipated to the study program.
Kandy is quite a pretty town although
like all other SL towns the air is heavily polluted from diesel and petrol
fumes. It has a huge tourist
population. Kandy is nestled in
a range of mountains and has a large man made lake in the centre.
The lake is the same colour as Melbourne’s mighty Yarra River
– bleah; but it supports a surprising amount of bird life around it and it
has lots of quite large fish. We
went for a walk around the lake one afternoon and spotted two monitor
lizards. One was curled up on a
tree branch up out of the water. The other
was swimming along the shore line. Its
body was about one metre long and it had a tail of approx 40/50 cm (Aunty
Helen – this means its body was about three feet long and its tail about
15 inches long). It was
swimming at the same pace that we were walking at (a comfortable
stroll). It tucked its front and back legs in against its body and was
propelled only by its tail. We
followed it for about five minutes until a little boy spotted it and of
course had to do what boys do – throw a stone at it.
The lizard took refuge in a nearby drain and was gone from our sight.
The day we arrived we both lay down and
had a snooze – we’d been up fairly early to catch the bus from Negombo
and Ken was absolutely exhausted from weeks of hard slog culminating in lots
of preparation for the (almost non-existent) Kandy studies. From
our bedroom window we could see across the lake and along the path which
runs around the lake. When I
(D) got up after a nice long snooze and stood looking out the window I found
myself looking at a lady in her sixties who was doing exactly what we’d
been doing – lying down snoozing. The
only difference was we’d been lying on a comfortable bed with the fan
keeping us cool; she was lying on the pavement on her piece of cardboard
(and did so each day we were there) along with a number of other poor people
whose lives must be similar to hers and so dissimilar to ours that it is
hard to comprehend. There is so
little that you can do. SL is
teaming with people whose situations are so terribly sad.
It is odd how one particular incident has an impact.
Everyday we see people sleeping on the street, however it was this
particular lady’s circumstances which struck me – probably because I’d
just been doing exactly what she’d been doing but in comfort she has
probably never experienced and never will.
The
Weddings
On the second day we were in Kandy there
were two Buddhist weddings at the hotel at which we were staying. Each wedding had about 150 guests and each was a spectacular
affair.
The grooms and their attendants
were dressed in traditional garb. Ornate
head pieces (shaped like large cushions with a spire coming out the top),
waisted jackets which were made of a rich red cloth, elaborately decorated
with gold beads and braid and tailored to fit snugly with huge sort of
puffy, protruding sleeves. The
rest of their outfits were some sort of wrap and tie around their bodies
with a big protruding knot at chest height.
One bride wore cream, the other red.
Their dresses were in many ways similar in style to a western wedding
dress (but with full bodices and sleeves) and their head gear was a tight
fitting braided cap. The entry
of the groom and bride (in that order) to the respective rooms where the
marriages were conducted was very spectacular and noisy.
Both were greeted with music (drums, bells and tambourines) and dance
conducted by about eight or ten traditionally dressed males – again very
ornate outfits with lots of gold medallions and braid on a white material. The guests were well dressed (the ladies in particular
with their lovely saris) but very few guests paid any attention to either of
the marriage ceremonies. Most
sat around at the tables where the food was later served and chatted with
one another.
The
Something Else!
The other ceremony we saw (or the
beginning of it) was again Buddhist. We
don’t know what was going on but it commenced with a parade including
elephants all dressed up in rich coloured “clothes” that had quite a few
large gold coloured medallions sown onto the cloth.
The elephant outfits even had ear flaps/pockets so the elephants were
completely engulfed in the material. There
were little eye holes for them to see out through.
They were a colourful spectacle but we couldn’t but feel sorry for
the elephants. The weather was
quite warm (probably about 27 degrees) and we were comfortable in our summer
clothes. These poor
creatures, that would choose to live in a shady jungle, were covered from
head to foot in a heavy weight material and were standing in the open sun.
We decided that they look much more dignified and comfortable in
their birthday suits. The 20
or so elephants were an integral part of a parade that consisted of
elephants and their keepers, Buddhist monks in their orange robes and male
dancers dressed in the same traditional outfits as the dancers wore for the
weddings. They headed off up
the road just outside the place at which we were staying and which runs
along side the Temple of the Sacred
Tooth and its grassed entry area. We have
no idea were they went from there or what happened.
The Temple
of the Sacred Tooth is a large Buddhist temple which is reputed to house
the tooth of Buddha and is a “holy” place.
It is a large white structure with a brass covered domed roof.
Outside the grassy forecourt are lots of flower-seller stalls which
amongst other flowers sold absolutely beautiful water lilies.
We say “reputedly” because like most such “holy”
paraphernalia there’s a story attached.
Buddhists are quite sure it is Buddha’s tooth.
However the story goes that the Portuguese, when they invaded decided
that such ghoulish remains should be destroyed. Of course the subtly that their own religion, Roman
Catholicism has made a fortune out of body parts of “saints” and engaged
in similar idolatrous practice, escaped them.
They raided the temple, seized the tooth and destroyed it!!
Not so, say the Buddhist historians!
The monks knew they were coming, hid the real tooth and placed a fake
in its place. So is it
Buddha’s tooth? Or was it
ever? And does Buddha know or
care? And what importance does
it have in the scheme of things?
An evidence once again of how simple and wonderful the message of
true Christianity is. Not the
perverted message of the Church, but the simple truths believed and taught
by Jesus and his disciples and so clearly described in the holy scriptures.
There is also an enormous white statue
of Buddha which sits on the top of a hill and overlooks the township.
Queens
Hotel
The hotel (Queens) that we stayed at is
in the centre of town and would be lovely if renovated to its potential.
It is a three storey building of the Victorian era.
The floors are timber and there is a beautiful staircase and old lift
taking you to the first, second and third floors.
The first floor has been renovated, but is still fairly basic.
It could be much, much grander than it is; the second floor (where
our room was) was clean and functional but with no added extras; and the
third floor is in a sad state of disrepair.
There are lovely pieces of antique furniture dotted around seemingly
unnoticed by anyone. We had our
dinner here on three of the four evenings that we were in Kandy.
On the second evening we went to enter the dining room and it was full
of smoke; the reason being that part of the buffet was a barbecue.
In the middle of the dining room there was meat cooking over coals in
a drum which had been cut in half lengthways.
The scary thing was that despite the almost billowing smoke there was
not a smoke alarm to be heard – and we were sleeping on the second floor
of a timber floored building. Scary.
The foyer entry is nice with marble
floors, nicely set windows and lovely (though dusty) light fittings. Unfortunately all the chairs have big grubby oil marks across
their backs where people’s heads rub (and we remember these grubby marks
from four years ago)! It
certainly makes you think twice about sitting down – and of course when
you do you start to imagine the critters that may have taken up residence in
the upholstery.
Out
and About
Over the last few weeks, two days per
week have been spent visiting contacts in and around the Colombo area. It is quite an achievement if we manage to visit three people
in one day and, as silly as it sounds, it is quite exhausting.
We hire a car and driver and spend most of our time in traffic jams
or trying to find the addresses we’re looking for.
Some of the places we visit are “off the map” and it can be a
real challenge to find the street and house, especially when the driver’s
English is limited and our Sinhala and Tamil are non existent.
Last week we needed to go to one particular Bank in the main street
of Colombo (York Street). The driver
had absolutely no idea as to where York Street was; this is a little like a
Melbourne driver not knowing where Collins Street is and needing the
overseas passengers to give directions!
So even though we have a driver we have to do a lot of the navigating
ourselves. The maps which we
have only cover a limited area of the CBD and surrounding suburbs.
Not all suburbs are included.
Once we’re more than about 10kms out of the CBD (and still in the
thick of suburbia) we just have to keep stopping and asking directions from
the locals.
This week Ken asked at one of the better
stocked shops in Negombo for a street map of Negombo.
They don’t exist apparently. The
best we have is a fairly inaccurate map of about 1/10th or less
of the Negombo area – with no streets named so even visiting people in our
“home town” is not a straight forward job.
Chicken,
chicken and more chicken
We
are heartily sick of the sight of chicken.
This
sounds stupid but we don't get good fish even though Negombo is a fishing
village. The shop where we
buy groceries has a refrigerated meat section and sells fish but only a very
limited range and we don't like the type it sells. The fish market stinks and I (Dorothy) can't even think about
walking in there and of course it doesn't sell fillets (which are the only
sort of fish I like!). There is
the open air fish market at the beach where you can buy fish as it comes in
but it's at least 1.5 kms away and it's a long way to walk (there and back)
in the heat and they only catch
whole fish, not fillets L
We
had mutton once - never again. Nearly wore our teeth out trying to chew it.
We bought beef once - never again - ditto eating difficulties (though there
is still 500g in the freezer that we have to do something with). It is SO TOUGH. So we
have chicken, chicken, chicken and sometimes minced beef.
The
Physio
Our program over the last few weeks has
been dominated by Dorothy’s daily trips to the hospital on the other side
of Colombo for physiotherapy on her left shoulder and arm.
We get up at 6.30am, Dorothy leaves at 8.15am and gets back to the
house at about 12.30pm. However
as of 27th March the doctor said “no more physio for the time
being”, he has prescribed some anti-inflammatory medication and said
“come back in three weeks and we’ll see how it’s going”.
So it’s medication and exercise for the next little while but the
doc has warned it could takes ages to be truly right again L.
Initially the physio’s treatment was the application of ultra-sound
to the upper arm and shoulder. They
then changed the treatment and I (D) felt as if I was being attached to a
pair of jumper leads! It
involved four pockets made out of what appeared to be pieces of chux, with
metal plates inserted into these dampened pockets from which two sets of
leads (black and red) dangle. The
leads are connected up to similar leads of the same colours which are in
turn connected to a machine which sends an electric current down the leads,
through the chux and into the arm/muscle.
It’s been a bit of a puzzle how the
injury has occurred. However we
now think we have it solved. We
both use our day packs frequently; perhaps five days out of seven and they
are put on and off several times a day.
It’s great to be able to move around with your hands free of bits
and pieces and of course it means we are much less likely to loose anything
– so the day packs get a good work out. I
(D) use mine when I shop for groceries which can be quite heavy.
It’s great for the weight to be taken up across the shoulders
rather than having arms wrenched out of their sockets.
Putting the left shoulder strap on has always been an
uncomfortable/awkward movement and it is the left shoulder and arm that have
been giving me trouble. It was
this week when we headed off to the shops that I associated the difficult
movement and the current problem. So
hopefully now I will stop the action which may be the cause of the problem
and the day pack will have a good rest.
Two
of the Neighbours
We live at the end of a very quiet lane
and living opposite is a couple and their identical twin sons Enoch and
Enosh. These two little fellows
are about 14 months old and have well and truly mastered the following two
English phrases “hello” and “bye-bye”.
Neither of them has any idea when it is appropriate to use which but
love to call out to us whenever they spot us outside.
The “hello, bye-bye” conversation will go on for as long as we
are willing to participate! They
like to shake hands whenever the offer is made so they keep the friendship
on a pretty formal footing. Yes,
they are cute.
Visitors
and more visitors
In the last edition of Negombo
News we reported on Jenny’s pending arrival. Well Jenny is being trumped by Rajashekhar from Perth who is
due to arrive on Friday 4th April.
Raj will be travelling around quite a bit so we probably won’t see
much of him but it will be another “face from Oz” albeit that Dorothy
hasn’t met him before. Raj is
from Andhra Pradesh in India but has been living in Perth for quite some
time following his marriage to Julie.
Pathma’s
Coming Home
As some of you will know sis Pathma (bro
Raja’s wife - not the Indian Raj from Oz but Raja who lives in Nuwara
Eliya) has been employed by an Arab family in Kuwait for the last two years
as a house keeper. This has
been in order to support their family as neither Raja nor Pathma had been
able to find employment in SL. Raja
has been understandably concerned for Pathma’s safety since the war broke
out but when he and their eldest son Dhilip were staying with us in Negombo
on 23rd March, he managed to make phone contact with Pathma in
Kuwait. It was a great relief
for them to know that Pathma was safe and at that stage she expected to be
home within a week or so. But
of course this means no employment and no income.
But it does mean that they will be reunited as a family.
We find it impossible to comprehend the difficulties that they as a
family face on a daily basis.
Newsbreak ... Pathma is now
home having arrived at 11.30am Tuesday 1st April after great
confusion regarding dates, flights etc. But who cares, she’s back safe and
sound J
J
J.
Raja, Pathma and the two younger boys (Suresh and Praveen) stayed
with us for two days (it was meant to be one day but they missed their
train home). Dhilip, the older
son, had to stay in Nuwara Eliya as he has exams.
Four year old Praveen has had a
wonderful time. He has his mum
home again (he has been constantly reminded of her while she has been
away and shown lots of photos and he recognised her at a distance at the
airport!). But he also now seen a pop-up toaster in action and watched
the automatic washing machine (front loader) as it turns the clothes to and
fro. He sat in front of
it and watched the activity inside like a similar aged boy at home might sit
in front of the TV and watch the cartoons. Quite exciting really if you haven’t seen either
before! Praveen’s also been
busy cutting and pasting, colouring and having a great time with plasticine.
Let
there be light
We’ve discovered recently that some of
the street lights in Sri Lanka are actually turned on by very normal light
switches which are fixed to those power poles which have street lights!
There was a letter to the editor ages ago in the paper about this in
which the writer was expressing his concern about wasted electricity due to
lights being left on during the day. Shortly
after the article appeared in the paper Ken noticed the light switches on
the power poles in our lane and we saw a gent (a fellow laneway resident)
turning one on. There is one
right outside our front gate. We
don’t know who turns them off and we think the lights in the busier
streets are turned on automatically or from a central point.
Cold
mouths but happy tummies
There
are a number of Negombo dogs with very cold mouths but very happy tummies!
It's taken months to work it out how to best dispose of rubbish.
It's a hassle here. We
have no compost bin, there is no paper/glass/plastic collection and there is
no house to house rubbish collection. We
have to take rubbish to the council bin - out the back gate, down the lane,
around the corner, across to Thammitta Road down to St Joseph Street
and there it is - the council bin. So
we often had smelly rubbish needing to be carted to the bin and neither of
us particularly wanting to do it. Well,
we now have a mini compost bin (an inverted broken bucket) and it (with the
help of local animals which come and scrounge) seems to just keep up with
our fruit/veg scraps. But the
off-cuts of meat etc were proving a bit trickier.
Now we freeze all these scraps and every so often, when heading to
the shops, we take them with us and dump them in front of a hungry looking
dog. The dogs of course are
faced with a frozen dinner of meat, yoghurt and whatever.
But they do not give up - they keep gnawing at it; they must end up
with semi-frozen jowls
Roadworks
- again
Just before we left for India in
December the roadworks in Thammitta Road (between us and our supermarket)
reported on in earlier editions of Negombo
News were completed and the road became a through road once again.
We no longer had to step around the churned up surface, trotting
through people’s front yards etc. But
now they’ve dug up the road a bit further along.
Tonight when we headed for the shops we found ourselves walking along
7 cm (3 inches Aunty Helen) concrete curbing which is the edge of a
large open drain filled to the brim with filthy, smelly water.
Thankfully we “made it”. The
thought of loosing our footing and ending up waist deep in the drain was not
at all inspiring. We saw
several men fishing in some of these drains and one of them had caught about
six or eight fish. We were
rather glad after all to be having chicken again for tea.
Home
grown goodies
We have a paw-paw tree growing in our
yard and fortunately the fruit is at balcony level and within reach J.
We picked two in early December and now have serval others starting to
ripen. The challenge is to get
to them before the birds. We
have also discovered that we have our very own curry bush in the courtyard.
We had been buying curry leaves at the market. Fresh curry leaves have a wonderful aroma.
They have a very refreshing savoury smell.
We enviously eye off the mango tree in
next door’s yard which has a good supply of mangoes which are gradually
ripening. Unfortunately none of
them will fall in our yard L.
The
Dreaded Lurgy
Ken’s now caught a really nasty cold
and is feeling like death warmed up. He
wonders how you catch a cold in the tropics – easy I say – have too many
nights after midnight (as he does) and you pay the price.
Newsbreak No 2 ...
It isn’t a cold, it’s more like the flu L
and (as at Thursday 3rd) he’s in bed with a temperature of
101.5 L.
Vale
– Donald Duck
Remember the duck that annoyed Ken with
its quacking when he first arrived. When
we got back from India in early Feb, it took us a while to realise, but the
duck is no longer around!! Being
a strong Roman Catholic area, we suspect he/she ended up in the roast duck
or duck curry that went with Christmas lunch.
Now if only we could do something about the two or three local mutts
that keep us awake at night as well!!