The defining theme of my time in Sri Lanka was prayer.
Prayer is powerful. Prayer is proactive. And prayer precedes the miracles.
Our team stayed in one of the most spiritually dark places in the country. It was full of idol worship and spiritual warfare. We could feel the heaviness, the sense of lostness and despair.
We often fervently prayed Ephesians 6, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, again the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
So we took up the armor of God and went to battle with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, our only offense weapon. We spent weeks in this city praying that the strongholds would be torn down, that Holy Spirit would fall afresh on these people, and that the Lord would comfort the Christians in the midst of persecution.
While in this city, we met a pastor who connected us to his church— the small but mighty congregation taught us “to keep alert with all perseverance.” We as a team kept praying for ways we could bless these local believers. The Spirit prompted us to purchase Bibles for the members of the congregation. None of them had ever owned their own Bible in their language due to lack of funds.
Our team set off on an adventure with the pastor to travel several hours away to purchase the Bibles. Once we got the 25 Bibles, we sat in Pizza Hut (yep, the “nicest” restaurant near us) and wrote prayers in the front page to bless whoever received that specific Bible. The pastor rejoiced at this answer to his prayers. I have never seen someone so elated— and it was so convicting. I desire to treasure dearly and rejoice at the Word of God and answered prayers like this pastor did.
So one of the women in the church especially stood out to me— Barshanna, a beautiful 27 year old mother of three children, Darsha (7 yrs) Dinoo (4 yrs) Dananja (3 months). Despite her circumstances, Barshanna embodied strength in standing firm in her faith. I adored documenting her portrait and stories. She defined gentleness: strength under control.
What was life like before knowing Christ?
Earlier I was a Buddhist. I was worshiping evil spirits through dancing. When I went there I couldn’t get relief from my problems. I was worshiping idols and trees and witchcraft and sorcery. The evil spirit preachers asked me to worship many days in a row and put milk in a tree. I used to follow these rituals and customs, but things got worse. I got very tired and sick. My whole family got sick, and I faced many economical problems and debts to the hospital. My husband became a drug addict. I had so many diseases, I took medication but there were no cures or healing.
How did you come to know Jesus Christ?
My neighbor told me The Good News, but I didn’t believe it at first. The neighbor asked if a Christian pastor could come visit and pray. Then the first miracle I experienced was when the pastor came to my house and gave the Gospel and prayed, and I got healed from my swollen leg. From there on I started to believe in Jesus.
How is your life now with Christ?
My husband has a big change, he stopped doing drugs. Now he is a good husband. My extended family forced me not to go to church, but now they are not stopping me. Though I’ve had many many problems, I have kept my faith.
What is your advice to others?
I would like to tell people that Jesus is alive! Jesus helps change our lives.
What are your hopes and dreams?
Give the Gospel to others and get Jesus to people. Also, I am starting a new business of owning a fruit juice stand. I want to earn enough money to provide for my 3 kids. Maybe one day I would like to own a Tuk Tuk (small car).
Friends, please join me as we pray for the persecuted and underground church all over the world. Furthermore, we pray to see villages, towns, and cities all have the Bible translated into their native tongue and accessibility to studying God’s rich word.
Also, thank you all for continued prayers as me and my team journey to India for the month! I only have a few weeks left serving with The World Race and would love for you to continue praying for me. If you would like to partner by donating, please click the top right “donate” button. I am still $2,215 short of being fully funded. I hope to be completely fundraised by the time I return stateside at the end of May. Thanks for reading, I love you all so!
