Our Mission to Sri Lanka

There were two buffets...one was Chinese...celebrating their new year which is the year of the rooster. The chefs were excited to have their photo taken!  We ate at the inside buffet...it was more gourmet than any I have ever seen!! The food was displayed so beautifully, and every morsel melted in my mouth!! Shirantha picked us up for a long ride home.

We relaxed around the apartment with the Lathens, did some shopping, and then went out to dinner with the young elders to celebrate the end of Elder Gunarathna's mission who will be released in two weeks.  We met the Elders at a very Grand Hotel. We had to wait for the buffet to open, so I took pictures of a beautiful wedding party! The Bride and Groom took my breath away! The groomsmen were dressed in traditional Kandian costume. The bridesmaids and flower girl were exquisitely dressed!! I had to take a picture of the backs of their "saris"...they really were breathtaking!  We also walked around outside...the grounds were AMAZING!  

We came down to Colombo last night with President Anton and Sister Ann. We treated them to pizza at Dominos on the way. W e had the Lathen's apartment all to ourselves...it is like a piece of home when we come. Everything is so beautiful...and clean! We attended Colombo Branch...it was so fun to see President Nishan, Sandimali, President Kolitha, Sister Primali, Sister Darshani, and others that we have visited or met before. We met a brother who is investigating the Church...Lathens are teaching him. He has been searching for the truth for years! His son joined the church in Virginia and recently married a girl (whose father is a Bishop in VA) in the D.C. Temple. The newlyweds are members of the Chevy Chase ward!  This brother went back for the wedding and recently returned after visiting for a month. He said when he attended the Chevy Chase ward, he knew his search was over...that he had finally arrived at a place that felt like home!! He is now taking the discussions and will be ...

Sister Kusum is our Relief Society President. Sister Sujani is the 1st Counselor. Sister Shamali is the 2nd Counselor. And Sister Somakanthi (Kanthi) is the Secretary.  We had a Homemaking activity today. Sara, Shanthi, Sujani, Lalani, Kusum, Ashoka, Shamali and Riyasha are pictured.  Sister Lalani demonstrated how to sew a baby’s dress. She whipped it out without a pattern and even hand stitched tiny flowers on the front!

  I was feeling sad today that we didn't have any appointments for visits. Rakitha texted Chuck to ask us to fast on Sunday with him and the Woodruffs for their son who has MS, but said he did not want to meet this week.    Aakash has not answered his phone, so we haven't been able to meet with him this week either...then, unexpectedly, Rukshan dropped by with his father.  His sister was expecting a baby last October, when she went in for a scheduled C-section...she and the baby died! He had three dreams soon after she passed away where he instructed her to find the missionaries. He and his father visit the widower son-in-law, 4-year-old granddaughter, and Rukshan’s mother once a week in Colombo. She has been living with them since the daughter's death. So sad! Rukshan is our Branch Mission Leader...his father is not a member. 

We went over to Brother Dharmapala's tonight to learn how to make string hoppers.  Sister Manoja added slightly salted water to rice (string hopper) flour and then she mixed it with her hand until it was "a little bit sticky". Then she spooned it into a press and pressed out the strings in a circular movement over plastic circular trays with holes. I tried to do the pressing, but was not very good at it! On the other hand, Elder Lee was a pro! They stacked the trays randomly inside a large steamer pan and then into a boiler pan with a cover for steaming...for about 7 minutes. After steaming, they make stacks of 10 and then wrap the stacks together in paper to sell for less than a dollar per package! Brother Dharmapala roasts cashews during school hours.  They work from 2:00 (when the kids get home from school) until 8:00, when the buyers stop coming. They wanted us to stay for dinner, so of course they made a special dahl curry and soup to pour over string hoppers, and th...

  We had Pathmasiri's family over to study English.   Pathmasiri was hired to cultivate plants in an organic garden owned by a university in Colombo...this is truly a blessing for their faithfulness in reading the Book of Mormon twice a day and for paying an honest tithe!

Today was P-day!   We had fun hiking around town! Exploring is fun, but sometimes stinky! The markets are so colorful! Random tailors are seen sewing on the street! We ended our fun day at the King Coconut with a sunset on the beach and delicious pizza!!

We love Negombo Branch! We try to meet someone new each week. I gave a talk today on how we need to LOOK to God in daily personal worship to become alive in Christ, and to receive witnesses from Heaven!  Featured in the photos are: Shehani, Lashane 5, and President Lahiru Thomas; Also: Anoja, her husband, Lalith, and Franklin. Franklins wife, Irangani, is Lalith's sister.  

We visited Indu and Indika today. They are building a beautiful house on a lovely lot!!  Indu has many beautiful orchids and other potted plants. She works as an accountant for a Nursery. He has a real job...they are building their house slowly. They are living in the finished master bedroom....also finished is a small kitchen and sitting area. They surprised us with a delicious dinner! Elder Lee showed a video and I prayed for Indu to conceive and give birth to a beautiful baby. She left the room in tears after the prayer, but quickly recovered and came back to wave goodbye smiling! They have been spending a lot of money on herbal remedies and something like IVF...nothing has worked.   

We met with Rakitha today...he is going to fast to know if God has a body of flesh and bones; also to know if God is the Father of our spirits.   Afterward, we went to President Saliya's for a meeting and birthday celebration. Sara's birthday is today. She is 20. She plans to serve a mission and then to marry. Vimukthi  is hoping she will marry him when she returns from her mission!! Sara's brother, Sanju 21, is in Japan studying business management.  We celebrated Shehani’s birthday too. She is hilarious! When we got home, we watched Donald Trump's Inauguration. I took pictures of the  I-Pad’s screen! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang. President Trump gave a strong speech...some Democrats are afraid of him, while the Republicans are grateful for change, and a president unwilling to waste time!