Just a Short Note

Well, it's late here, and I had a long day, but I'm really behind on the blog. There has been lots going on!

So, at the time of the last post I was in Bandarawela in the company of Archdeacon Dhilo. I had a great time there. He loves guests, and said that if he was not a priest, he would work in a hotel! He was amazing about taking me around to sights, showing off his town and his church (which are well worth showing off!). Bandarawela is in the hills of Sri Lanka, so it is much, much cooler, much closer to Canada. I think that helped me enjoy myself!

The church is The Church of the Ascension, and they have lots of interesting things going on. Two of the main things are a day school for kids, and a home for the destitute. The day school was very cute - the kids were gluing tamarind seeds on a paper in the shape of a centipede - just like I used to do with beans in pre-school in Canada! The center has been running for 20 years, and is for children of poor homes. They feed the kids breakfast and lunch everyday, and there is no charge. The kids were cute -as a soon as they saw Fr. Dhilo they all chorused "Father!" They were clearly very glad to see him!

The home for the destitute was not cute, but was moving. They have room for 12 people, 6 men, 6 women. The home is free, and they feed them, house them, etc. When they built the place, they could only afford one storey, but Fr. Dhilo insisted that they build stairs for a second storey that he was sure they would one day be able to afford. They are still working on raising money for the second story, and the stairs remain as a symbol of Fr. Dhilo's faith in the community and the home.