Most of my family and friends know Sri Lanka as whole wasn’t by any means a good month. That’s saying it the nice way. I could tell you about the countless times I was put in dangerous situations. I could talk about the times my teammates and I could have died. To be honest, I didn’t think I would even be able to write a blog about Sri Lanka considering all the damage it did to me spiritually, mentally, and physically. Since then God has done great work in me and brought me much healing. I could talk about all of these things but at the end of the day it wouldn’t glorify God. It would only strike fear into future racers as well as parents.
I want to focus on this one day that helped change my perspective on men in this country. Leading up to this day, the women in Sri Lanka were treated with little to no respect as we walked around the cities. It had been nearly impossible to get around easily. When we would walk up to a man to ask for directions, we were either laughed at or looked at as if “stupid”. I can’t count the amount of times men tried to rip us off. Even to the point being given something they said was “free” but seeing their true heart’s desire, which was nothing short of repulsive. From cat calling to gross gestures, I recall spending most of the time looking straight forward or altogether looking at the ground in an attempt to not make eye contact with these men.
I’m here to talk about the little glimpses of hope for a better Sri Lanka. Maybe I wasn’t thriving by any means, heck I was hanging on for dear life. What was I hanging on to you ask? At the time I couldn’t tell you, but in reality God was hanging on to me. God had His hand on my team and I as we traveled all over Sri Lanka on ATL (Ask The Lord). Our mission was only one. We would be the first squad to enter the country, and our goal was to find as many contacts that could that could be potential hosts.
Though my team personally didn’t find any contacts, some of the other teams did. I’m here to simply speak of the few glimmers of light within in this dark country. We had just made it to Kandy, a major city in Sri Lanka. Here is where my team and I would spend about half of our time in the country. We made it to our cute little hostel named “Kandy Elephant Hostel.” The next week or so we would host the other two teams on our squad. One of the days we weren’t hosting we decided to leave the hostel and venture out and explore a nearby park. It was only a short “tuk tuk” drive away. We took two “tuk tuk’s” and then we were off. To my surprise, I met my first Christian friend, or really anyone Christian since being in the country. When this man spoke, he was so happy to have found other believers like himself. As we talked I realized this man was no joke- he was completely sold out for the Lord. One of his missions is to tell locals as well as tourists about Jesus and to be a witness while he takes people to their destinations. It was so encouraging to get to know why he had decided to follow Jesus. I asked him if there were any churches around the area my team and I could go to on Sunday. He told us of a few good ones and by the time he was done we made it to our destination. He ended the long goodbye with his collect number and name. He offered to pick us up, and gave us the local price.
The next step was getting in the inside of the park. This special park was private and it cost money. With slight hesitation in my step, we made our way to the booth set up bordering the gate. Approaching, I saw a list through the window. On the list, I saw the names of different nationalities and a different price for each one. I was the team treasurer and knew the budget as well as people’s personal budgets. He threw out an outrageous number, so I tried to bargain with the man but he didn’t lower his prices. It’s then we made a team decision to find a nearby coffee shop to find Wi-Fi and relax. The park was on top of a huge hill.
We made our way down and we were greeted by a group of monkeys who were all to curious to see what they could take from us. Emily quickly grabbed a stick and started smacking the monkeys…… oh sorry, I meant the ground. HA! I wish… they were not nice. We heard music and started to follow it as we walked swiftly down the winding hill. At the very bottom of the hill I found the source of the music. In front of me was a field, seeming to resemble a baseball field but within reality was more along the lines of a cricket field. When we walked inside there stood a crowd of Sri Lankans celebrating a state holiday I’ve never heard of. We were welcomed in before knowing what we were walking into. You could’ve fooled me if you had told me it was family reunion. Inside were families with handfuls of kids.
The people in charge of organizing the event offered us food and we took a seat. On our plates were a few food items, such as a Sri Lankan classic. It was a rice square that was moist, flavorful, sweet, and it was partnered with a banana and a vanilla milk pouch. We started to eat as we watched the monkeys see us and catch eye of the bananas hanging by the other food. It was hanging so animals on the ground couldn’t reach them. After 10 minutes passed a man with the microphone called to us and asked us to play the games with them. The games in Sri Lanka were somewhat familiar and then some were altogether weird. The start game we approached was a log that was supported on either end. Two people climb up and they got a little sack full of rice that was tied. The goal of the game is to use one hand and whack the other person off the high log on the dirt before the other person knocks you off.
Other games included the potato sack race. They had the game where you had to try to eat a donut that’s tied to a piece of sting, then more unfamiliar games such as: finding a partner having guy and girl partners, we fixed with the locals. They gave me a blindfold and I was given a cup full of yogurt. I looked down at my cup and looked at the Sri Lankan man who was my partner and said, “I’m not going to be able to eat this”. His reply was a simple sentence, “It’s ok you’re not eating the yogurt”. With that I got our instructions that I was going to be feeding yogurt to this man while blindfolded, and then he would have to lead me through an obstacle course. Being slightly concerned I jumped in with both feet. It went well, though we didn’t win. The last event was the tug a war. This is the moment I saw the ray of light just fall on that field. My team and I were able to get all the women (moms and wives) out on the field to compete in the tug a war competition. We split our team in half made our way to the rope.
The women looked like they were excited to finally join in when all the husbands met them on either side of the field. At once the whistle was blown, and we all started pulling with all our strength. As we did the men shouted from each side standing next to their spouse and becoming their own personal cheerleaders. I took a moment to look at the women in front of me as I saw their faces laughing and smiling and being completely captivated by their husbands. I could tell without even speaking the same language that their husbands were so proud of them. This was the moment my perspective changed and I was truly thankful God allowed me to witness it.
Sri Lanka was a hard month, but even though it was hard month, God taught me a lot about “a man after God’s own heart” as well as “a man after his own flesh.” The men on this one day proved God is actively working in this country. Even in a small way, I saw hope for a better Sri Lanka. I know that even after I left, the driver of that “tuk tuk” would still be there sharing his testimony of how he came to know Jesus to the “local” or the “tourist.” I have to believe God will continue to bring more people like him together to share the “good news,” but even if God doesn’t do that, God is STILL good. The only thing I have left to do now is continue to keep this country in my prayers, and I ask you to do the same. 
