Sri Lanka Trip, September 2002 -- A Brief Photo Report

 

The trip has been fruitful.

Bro. Chandula Abeywickrama, whose attachment to a large banking cooperation took him to different areas of the island, was able to spread the Truth of God wherever there were people who would listen to the Word. He was able to gather together the few groups that were new to the Truth and also those that broke away from false leadership.

The believers convened in a hilly resort in the district of Kandy, some 3-4 hours drive from the capital city of Colombo, depending on the traffic condition. (Driving is a health hazard on most roads!) The weather was comfortable. Service began in the afternoon after lunch on 20th September. There was only a 15 minutes break for tea in between and continued till about 8 pm. On the second day the gathering started at 8.30 am. On the third day we closed the convention at 1 pm and the believers headed home after their lunch.

As most of the believers spoke either Tamil or Sinhalese, the preaching of the Word was interpreted into the two languages. Bro. Sunderaraj, who is from South India and is very fluent in his mother tongue, (which is Tamil) took an afternoon service on the second day, giving me a break. Our stress on the Word was in Knowing God's Plan and Purpose for our day and of how the Lord was getting the saints ready to hear the voices of the Seven Thunders for their Rapturing Faith. Types and shadows were shown from Scriptures to prove that God has never changed His way in dealing with His people when it came to the Word of Life.

On the last service, there came a group which was drifting from pillar to post in their faith over the message that Bro. Branham brought. The pastor had taken heed to all sorts of seducing spirits with all sorts of teachings. Quite an unteachable man! Being seduced, he was then seducing his people with his unscriptural interpretations of the Word.

On the whole, Bro. Chandula and I were happy with the convention as this was the first time that the different churches came together. A group from Trincomale, in the northeastern side of the island, could not come as the people were poor and could not pay their way to the meeting place. Bro. Chandula and I were to drive up there (a journey of 5-7 hours depending on the type of vehicle and road traffic) the following Friday after returning to Colombo to minister to Bro. Chandula's little group on Tuesday and Wednesday. But due to Bro. Chandula's mother developing a sudden minor heart attack the trip to Trincomale was cancelled. The pastor was upset. However, Bro. Sunderaraj had already made his way up there after the convention and further meetings with those groups who had invited him to stay in Kandy and Matale. Bro. Sundararaj is a very capable prophet and teacher of the Word. Not only that, the people in northern part of Sri Lanka are mainly Tamil speaking. Bro. Sunderaraj is a God-send to them. My presence there is certainly no longer required (I have been in the north twice in the past).

A preacher (a relative of Bro. Chandula) who specialized in "deliverance healing" invited me to preach to his congregation (about 200 people and most of them had only a certain desire). Knowing the man, I refused. I told Bro. Chandula that although the man professed to believe in the Endtime Message, he had not been doing anything to teach the message except doing his "deliverance healing" ministry. Bro. Chandula confessed that he knew several employees in his office who had been to the preacher to seek deliverance and were even water baptized but they still remained Buddhist or Hindu in their faith. That preacher has no interest in the Word but he is a wealthy man from his "delivering" the oppressed and the sick, no less.

In the morning, on the last day before my departure from Colombo, I preached to a group of some 50 Christians who broke away from their various UPC churches. The pastor was a friend of Bro. Chandula who had also shared with them some of the revelation of the Word. Speaking on the FAITH that Christ expects to find when He returns (cf. Luke 18:8) I stressed on the errors of traditional Christianity and the need to get back to the Original Word of God. Knowing that the name "Branham" was well known among the Pentecostal circle and how traditional religious teachers had been going around proclaiming he was a false prophet, I refrained from mentioning the name. There was a thirst among this group of Christians for the Truth. And I believe that Truth will always set people free if they have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the churches.

In the evening the little group of believers in Chandula's home came together for the Feetwashing and Communion. Towards midnight, we headed for the airport and I flew home in the morning.