Strategic Compassion

Since we started the work in Sri Lanka ten years ago, I have dreamed of launching a work in the north of the country among the Tamil-speaking people. There are a number of Tamil churches in the tea plantation areas of central Sri Lanka, but the northern regions have been restricted areas because of the 25 year civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan forces. The Tamils were the original suicide bombers and their dedication to the Tamil cause is legendary. Unlike the Sinhala majority who are Buddhist, the Tamils are Hindu. The civil war came to an end in May of 2009, when the Sri Lankan government overran the last rebel outpost in the northeast. The north of Sri Lanka is completely devastated from the war and large areas remain to be cleared of land mines. There are many who have been crippled by war injuries and many orphaned children.

This year, Dishan and I began planning for a work in the north, but we have been hampered by the restrictions placed by the Sri Lankan government on activity in the area. Foreigners are allowed into the area only with a military escort and only for a few days per visit. Sri Lankan nationals face restrictions as well but somewhat less than foreigners, provided they cooperate with the Sri Lankan government. This year, a group of Australian nationals began an international effort to hold the Sri Lanka government accountable for atrocities committed in the north during the Civil War. These internationals brought accusations of genocide and attempted to document the systematized military targeting of civilians. This led to the restrictions imposed by the government on all foreigners visiting the north.

Dishan and I started in January 2011 with this project. I began by sponsoring a couple that Dishan selected from the church to send as pastors and I am providing $500 per month for three to five years. $300 per month will be for the couple’s living expenses and $200 per month will be used for travel expenses. I generally consider monthly support to be for a three-year period, but in this case it will probably take us five years to reach self-supporting status due to the extreme conditions of the rebuilding effort. The couple, Moorthi and Alaga, is Tamil and have been a part of our Tamil congregation in Colombo.

Read about Ashok Kumar - Our Tamil Leader

Read a recent report on our Colombo church

Our plan is to send someone to visit them every other month and for them to visit Colombo on alternating months. The area they are going to is an extreme hardship and we will need to insure that they are adequately cared for, overseen, mentored and encouraged.

We anticipate that adequate property for a church will cost us $60,000. We can build a basic building for about $30,000. I have generally been reluctant to purchase property until we have established a congregation, but in this case I feel we should go ahead and purchase property. I did a similar thing in Pakistan and having property tended to accelerate the work. As more development and improvements come to the area, property values will rise fast so it would be a wise investment for us to go ahead with the property purchase. We can postpone the building construction to later in the year when we see sufficient growth in the church. My general target is 100 adults before we begin construction. I am fairly certain that we can secure permission to meet in the school until we are able to build, but I have no guarantee from the government on that.

This will allow us to use the entire $100,000 budget for property and lands. Dishan and I can take care of the ongoing support of the work until it is self supporting.

Rick

Dishan proposed a project, in cooperation with the Sri Lankan government, to build a school for the Tamils in the community of Pooneryn, which is about thirty miles from the major port city of Jafna. I was reluctant to invest in this project because we would not be given control of the property or ownership of the building. I did understand the need and importance of developing a relationship with the Sri Lankan government, but I felt it was a distraction to my agenda of church planting to invest in that project. Seacoast Church has worked well with Dishan in the past and they got involved in helping with the school project with $12,500. The Colombo congregation sacrificially gave $14,000 to finish the project. They will no doubt be willing to partner in the cost of the church plant later on but will need a little time since this was a huge financial step for them to make.

The construction was done by the Sri Lankan military and the government has posted a sign on the building giving credit to Bethany Church of Colombo for the donation of the building. This has given us a wide open door with the community and has earned favor with the national government.