MISSION PARTNER NEWSLETTER FROM SRI LANKA FEBRUARY 2008

You may wonder why this newsletter is coming out a month early!  Well, it’s also likely that the next one will be a month late too.  We are due to return to the UK on furlough, two months work and one month leave, and our address from March 16^th will be:  St John's Convent, Linden Hill, Kiln Green, Reading RG10 9XP.   We will be in the UK for Rosemary’s father’s 85^th birthday and for our Wedding Anniversary in June, and then return here for the new academic year.   We will be pleased to hear from you, or see you at one of the events listed below.  We will leave you to get in touch.  This list was correct as at February 22^nd 2008, but other events may be added to this list later:

April 2^nd to 3^rd Bristol District Network Conference, Cheltenham

April 6^th   Wroughton Parish Church

April 13^th am: Bath Circuit; pm: Bristol North Circuit

April 14^th am Longwell Green Methodist Church

April 14^{th pm} to 18^th Rosemary away on a Retreat.

April 20^th am: Swindon and Marlborough Circuit (Queen’s Drive Methodist   Church); pm: Upper Thames Circuit (Shrivenham Methodist Church)

April 22^nd 7.30pm: Event in Emmanuel Church, Reading

April 24th 7.30pm Speaking event in the Swindon and Marlborough Circuit at Wroughton Methodist Church

April 26^th Bristol District Synod

April 27^th am: Tewkesbury;  pm: Cheltenham

April 29^th to May 2^nd Birmingham, including Birmingham West and Oldbury Circuit on April 30^th, and the Queen’s Foundation on May 1^st

May 3^rd to May 5^th, Watford including Sunday May 4^th am preaching at Trinity Methodist Church

May 7^th    Evening Nottingham Hucknall Circuit

May 8^th    Link Anglican Diocese of Ripon and York

May 9^th to 14^th Sheffield District including:  May 10^th Chesterfield Circuit event in Market Hall 10am

May 11^th am: Sheffield (Victoria Methodist Church); 4pm Circuit Tea, Peak Circuit, then Bakewell Methodist Church, evening service

May 12^th am: Cliff College;  pm: Bakewell Methodist Primary School

May 13^th           pm: Fellowship of the Kingdom, Matlock

May 17^th-18^th  Chester

May 19th to 21s^t Liverpool, including event on Monday May 19^th morning.

May 21^st to 28^th Belfast, visit to R’s sister and family

May 22^nd Visit to Lough View School Belfast

May 31^st and June 1^st Worcester Circuit

June 8^th    Wroughton Methodist Church.

But for the moment back to Sri Lanka:

December, with its cooler weather and winds, is when the children come out with their kites.  We are amazed at how high they fly - several hundred metres. This is not high-tech kite flying – the kites are simple, homemade ones which give hours of entertainment.

After Christmas, we had 3 lovely days away with the Watson family, at the sea-side north of Negombo on the west coast, and then 3 days away on our own, exploring Anuradhapura and Mihintale. The lack of tourists meant these places were even more peaceful than normal.

The third term of the academic year saw Rosemary teaching the very pleasant 3^rd years the NT Epistles from the Pastoral Epistles to the Book of Revelation.  She is also teaching a revision NT course for the 4th Year students before their Final BTh exams.  The two music classes continue.  In addition to the monthly Faculty meetings and other administration work Rosemary, as Faculty Secretary, has minuted some special meetings which are supposed to be evaluating life at TCL with the hope of some future improvements.

Cows graze beneath the magnificently restored             Ruvanvalisaya Dagoba at Anuradhapura.

The excellent Student Leader, Shelton, has just finished his year of office and his elected replacement is Jayamanne.  He is a Baptist student, another very pleasant man with good English.  Rosemary’s Justice Group has taken up the cause of Rizanna Nafeek, a Sri Lankan woman on death row in Saudi Arabia, and other local cases.  This term's Friday films have included: Billy Elliot, Wondrous Oblivion, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Forrest Gump and for the Friday near St Valentine’s Day, the version of Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo di Caprio in Los Angeles gangland. Thank you to those of you who have made other suggestions to us. Watch this space for future terms.

The annual TCL Sports Meet dominated the first part of the very short third term. This is taken very seriously, including by Rosemary who got up at 5.00am to run a “marathon” to get extra points for her house. She was not the last one back even though she is old enough to be the mother of most of  the students!  However, she is embarrassed to admit to her father that her performance on the cricket field left much to be desired.  She did redeem the situation for her House by coming 2^nd in the Faculty and Teaching Staff race (beaten by a man): James wasn’t well so didn’t run.

Iranagi, a college cook, beside the new, much more efficient wood burning stove that should save lots of wood.  See Dec ‘07 newsletter.

The big event of the term is English Day when the college entertains itself in English and awards are given for progress in learning English.  James was asked to produce a drama to be presented by his drama group.  He thought about extracts from St. Joan, then Romeo and Juliet, but finally, after a serious reality check, wrote four two-page sketches about tennis, rugby, golf and cricket – sports imported by the British.  So everyone gets their moment on stage and there is plenty of action.  His spouses’ English class will be singing a Music Hall song.

One of the things we are looking forward to in England  is worship which is both in a language we can understand and also feeds us. To this end we have both wanted to go on Retreats. We continue to be involved in the life of Kandy Methodist Church and the Circuit.  

We went to Trincomalee again in January to see our friends the Reverend Suji and Chrishanti as their daughter Henosha (Rosemary’s latest god child) was one on January 21^st.  Trincomalee seemed marginally friendlier than on our first visit there in April 2007 – we were hardly stopped by soldiers at all - a good sign.

Rosemary with her God daughter, Henosha on her first birthday in Trincomalee January 21^st 2008

The academic year always ends just before Palm Sunday (very early this year) and before that time, there are student reports to be written and other such jobs.  This year we’ll miss both the month of Field Work and the month-long Orientation Programme for the new ~15-strong batch.

But how can we write about Sri Lanka and not talk about the war?  The New Year began badly with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) officially ending the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA). This has been accompanied by increased violence on both sides, but unless you are living in areas such as Mannar, Jaffna and the Vanni, you wouldn’t notice except for an increased security presence.  However, life goes on and for the weekend of February 23^rd and 24^th we are taking 6 students to Kalmunai on the East coast for “exposure”.   Other groups are going to other areas of the country including to Mannar itself from where 5 of our students come.

However, we feel safe and as you can see the country situation does not stop us travelling about.  Recently a single woman in her 70s was exploring the island for a month as a solo traveller and she got in touch with us (she is a friend of a friend) and we took her to Nuwara Eliya for a weekend in February.  She had not encountered any problems during her time here.  So, this is just to say, if you are still doing long haul flights despite global warming, do come and see us before we leave this beautiful island. We are provisionally here until June 2010.

Our Website:  We are pleased to announce that our website is now up and running again after four months of down-time (for reasons beyond our control).  On the website you will  find many of the stories above are illustrated www.rosemaryandjames.methodistchurch.co.uk 

For more about TCL see: www.tclsl.org

This newsletter contains much for your prayers and reflection, but we especially ask for prayers:

Þ                                                                                                                       TCL students leaving this year: Arasilarajah, Arulraj, Chameera, Dinesh, Glory, Gunalan, Manjuka, Manoj, Manoranjan, Prinsan, Ralph, Shelton & Valentine.

Þ                                                                                                                       For a stop to the war and a genuine push for peace.

Þ                                                                                                                       For those killed, bereaved or injured inside and outside the war zone. For an immediate stop to the violence, abductions and imprisonment without trial.

Þ                                                                                                                       For the relief of all displaced and frightened people so that they can return to their homes in safety.

Þ                                                                                                                       For journalists in a country reckoned to be the sixth most dangerous in the world for people telling news.

Þ                                                                                                                       For the many millions whose incomes cannot keep up with price increases (inflation > 20%).

Þ                                                                                                                       For the Bishop Kumara of Kurunegala who recently suffered a heart attack.

Þ                                                                                                                       For Christine Elliot (who is currently on a visit to SL) as she leaves her job as Methodist Asia Pacific Secretary after 9 years and takes on the job of Connexional Secretary of External Relationships. We thank her for all her help and support.

Þ                                                                                                                       For us as we begin our furlough on March 16^th 2008.