seeds.......stories.....sri lanka

we were asked to share some of our story with the local church in colombo, sri lanka. here is what was given to me to share:

we all have a story to tell and it hit me the other day as we were driving from tirokovil to ella making our journey back to colombo that ours is a story of seeds. seeds that were planted long ago, and seeds that are freshly planted even now as i speak. if you're familiar with Jesus many of the stories he told involved seeds, planting and harvesting. i hope to take some of his stories and weave ours into it - and by ours i mean all of us.

in the case of our trip to sri lanka the first seed for me was actually planted about three years ago when i met a woman who spoke about the AIDS pandemic in Africa. this past september that seed that was planted began to open up and i started looking into making a trip to africa or some other country to aid in helping those in need abroad. as i was praying and thinking about it i got a call from Steve about a seed that had been planted in his heart to travel to indonesia, southeast asia, india or sri lanka. it was around this time that pastor dishon was in US planting seeds and talking about the tsunami and how through it God was preparing the soil in sri lanka for the planting of more seeds. as he gave that talk he planted seeds to those listening in the audience. steve had a friend in that crowd and when steve shared his heart about aiding in tsunami reliefe his friend Joel said you have to listen to this tape of a pastor from sri lanka that shared what was happening here.

steve listened to that tape and the seed that had been planted about aiding was nutured and began to sprout and he felt the call to get a trip together to sri lanka. he called me and asked if i was interested in going with him - with the seed that had been planted about going on a pilmgrimage abroad i was in no problem - i'm always up for an adventure. the seeds had been set, began to sprout and we were on a our way to organizing a trip to sri lanka.

andy heard about what was going on and after thought and prayer said he felt the same about going and wanted to band with us on the journey to sri lanka.

without the seed that pastor dishon planted, without the seed that the women from africa had planted and without the seed that was planted in andy from speaking to steve and i this trip wouldn't have happened. you never know the seeds that are planted and how or when they will spring up into plants or flowers.

one of the stories Jesus told involved seeds being planted. some among hard soil where the heat dried them up or the birds would come down and eat them - seeds that were lost and never able to sprout. then there was the seed planted in good soil but in the middle of thorns and bushes the choked out the good plant and robbed it of it's chance to flourish and produce fruit. then there was the seed planted in good soil, nourished and cared for it was able to flourish and produce sweet fruit and spread more seeds.

I believe God used the tsunami to till the hard barren soil in sri lanka into nutrient rich soil ready for planting. you all recognized that and gave and gave and had compassion on those affected and seeds of the kingdom were planted. for that we are overwhelmed by the sacrifice you all have made and continue to make in your commitment to those affected. one of the things we all noticed being out there in the camp is that this is only beginning, and i'm sure most of you know that, but the evil one is very present there and he is busy planted seeds of thorn bushes and weeds to choke out the seeds that were planted in love.

now the hard work begins where we must begin to become real gardners and care takers, tending the soil and seeds that have been planted. we don't know how that will manifest itself for each of you, and it will be different for each of you - that's for you to figure out between you and God. one area that we were especially touched by was the kids that are in the camp. the seeds that are planted in them are hungry for attention. they crave love, to be taught, and attention. we believe that seeds that are being planted now will flourish with this generation - the 7 -12 year olds.
we were incredibly touched by their smiles and their individual stories of their home life

in another story about seeds and harvesting Jesus talks of the harvest being plentiful but the workers being few - the harvest has the potential to be abudantly rich here, but only throuh perservance and prayer and with workers.......but as pastor dishon pointed out to us at the camp - the workers must be of compassion hearts......

the opportunity is still great - but the work will only get harder and we will be keeping in you all in our prayers as you'll be the ones here working for the long haul. be sure that this story will be carried with us and we intend to plant as many seeds as possible when we return home to help in the nurturing of God's kingdom here in Sri Lanka.