Youth Retreat at Nawajeevana

Last week we had 40 teenagers from a church in the Southern Province attend a 4 day retreat at Nawajeevana. We taught them about organic gardening and they divided into teams and planted 3 new gardens. They also participated in a service project at Samagama and afterward enjoyed games with the teens from the village. New friendships were formed and several teens from Samagama came to the last day of the retreat and heard the "good news"; participated in sporting events, skits, and dramas; and shared a meal together. Word has now gotten around and we will be hosting more events like this in the days ahead!

Chicken Pen Construction!

Construction is now complete on the chicken pen at Nawajeevana. We are planning to construct the goat pen next week and begin the process of finding a family to help oversee the farm animals that will soon call this home!

Food for Widows!

The local Pastor in the north area is distributing food packets to widows in the village where he serves. Most of these ladies lost their husbands in the civil war that ended in 2009. Pastor Hemapala in the white shirt in the background, was responsible for providing these packets, which were funded by donations from the US. There are more than 100 widows that are being helped on a monthly basis. Many of the churches in the south have adopted villages in the north to meet the needs of these widows.

Multiplication Bingo

Donna uses many games, puzzles, maps, books, and flashcards to teach the children English. Here she is using a game called multiplication bingo. The children must correctly answer the multiplication table question in order to place a dot on their score card. The children love games and this is just another way of improving their English and math skills! We now have several children in our village who are ranked first in their class in English!

Late for Church!

A funny thing happened on the way to church last Sunday. We came to an abrupt halt as a herd of about 50 water buffalo were crossing the road. They were going to the rice paddy field that happened to be on the other side of the road, so all traffic was delayed as this "hoof and horn" parade took place. Yes, we were late along with several others who were behind us, but Hemapala made up for our being tardy by preaching an extra hour!

Ground Breaking!

In 2005 after the tsunami we met Mark and his father Hemapala, who have been pastoring a church here in the area for the past 30 years. Mark was very helpful in translating for us during the reconstruction process and continues to work with us when problems come up that require his communication skills. While building a few homes for tsunami victims, Bread for a Hungry World was able to acquire a lot that was deeded to Mark for his future home.

Now, seven years later, he broke ground on two rooms that he, Malee, and daughter Joanna, will soon occupy. The rest of the home will be built as funds are available. Many friends and family helped dig and pour the foundation footings.

After praying over this event and pouring the first footings, everyone enjoyed tea, cake, and an assortment of fried sweets! Smiles were shared by everyone on this memorable day!

Montessori May Day!

Samagama Montessori School children recently
observed May Day with games and costumes. I am reminded of that play day many, many years ago when we were outside most of the day playing games. The day began with all the students having a breakfast meal of rice cakes, bananas and sweets, all prepared by the mothers. With plenty of sugar and energy the games begin. Fill the jar with water, umbrella races, and traditional costume events provided proud smiles and  laughs from parents.

Having to judge the costumes was very difficult. I'm glad we had some outside help from locals, especially when they interviewed the kids as they explained the tradition regarding their costumes.

As the sun set everyone left tired but happy and we were reminded once again of the simple pleasures of life... children having fun, parents enjoying the day together, family time and fellowship!