Dear Friends and Family in Christ,
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Following is a report on my recent trip to Sri Lanka – Challenging but Exciting

For 10 days in January I had the opportunity of visiting my country of birth, Sri Lanka, along with Pastor Bob Cotton from Maitland AOG in NSW. The purpose of the trip was both ministry and personal, as I joined with my family to celebrate the wedding of my nephew, who lives in London, and was married in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2 bombs exploded a few days before we arrived in Sri Lanka. 3 or 4 more blasted while we were there, in addition  another 2 bombs exploding on the day we left Sri Lanka, killing more than 20 people and injuring around 65 people.

The northeast part of the country (particularly the north) was considered a ‘no-go-zone’ due to escalated fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. As both sides continue to blame each other,  many victims are innocent  civilians who continue to lose their lives in the crossfire.

During our stay we visited the east of Sri Lanka to check on the orphanage we have supported with Maitland AOG for the past 2 and 1/2 years after the devasting Tsunami. Although we were advised not to visit this area for safety reasons, after much prayer we decided to go there.

I thank God we decided to visit the orphanage. The 35 girls were so excited that we had come all the way to see them. They all looked so happy and well looked after by the Pastor and his family.

We had lunch and dinner with them followed by a beautiful singing and dancing competition. It was a specially enjoyable time to see these precious children smile and rejoice, right in the midst of such trouble.

Thank God for His protection and provision for these beautiful children. It is my great joy to announce that we will be starting a another orphanage for 15 boys in Sri Lanka in the next few months. Your prayer and financial support will be greatly appreciated.

The journey from Colombo to the east and back was quite tensed with very heavily armed government troops all along the route, particularly when approaching the east, but thank God that He provided us with a Navy Officer who travelled with us to make it much easier.

Although escalating fighting is trying to divide the country between the religious and ethnic lines of  Buddhists (Sinhalese) and Hindus (Tamil), Christianity is a positive force for reconciling both groups as there are both Tamil and Sinhalese Christians.

A classic example of this reconciliation and unity was the recent wedding in my family.  My nephew who is a Tamil, flew all the way to Sri Lanka from London, to marry the love of his life, a beautiful Singhalese girl.

I enjoyed every part of the wedding, especially as both communities mixed so very well to celebrate in unity this great occasion. Truly, we are all one in Christ.

I talked with some of my friends and family who are in the Armed Forces, particularly with a Major in the Army, a Lieutenant in the Navy and an Inspector of Police. All of them were fully convinced that there will be increasing trouble in Sri Lanka in the next few months, as the Government has declared they will recapture the land taken by the Tamil Tigers, this year.

Please pray for Sri Lanka as the peace treaty which lasted for 6 years has been officially called off by the Sri Lankan Government on 16th January 2008.  Sadly the nation seems to be heading for an all out civil war, which could result in many thousands of deaths, in a troubled country becoming even worse.

It seems to me that the majority of the people in Sri Lanka have had enough of the bloodshed and want only peace, while corrupt  officials finacially profit from the continued conflict. During our 10 day visit I noticed that a large number of tourists, mainly from western nations, were visiting Sri Lanka for holidays, even though there was trouble in the country.  The golden beaches were filled with tourists and the hotels particularly down south were full to capacity. Unlike Islamic terrorism which often targets westerners around the world, the fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the Government is restricted within the borders of Sri Lanka and does not target westerners. On the contrary all Sri Lankans love and respect westerners.

I hope and pray that the ethnic religious problems in Sri Lanka will come to an end soon, so that this beautiful Island nation will once again rise up and shine to fulfill God’s plans and purposes. I thank God for the many precious souls who are turning to Christ. Let’s continue to pray for Sri Lanka.
For His Kingdom Come,

Ps. Danny Nalliah

Catch the Fire Ministries

www.reformationharvestfire.com