What did you have for Christmas Dinner?

No Turkey here!
After the Christmas Day service at 8am, followed by communion for the housebound, I went to a friend's house for Christmas dinner.
Delicious Sri Lankan fare: Yellow rice, chicken, white potato curry, salad and fried fish, with a dessert of chocolate cake, 'Christmas cake ice-cream' and 'wattalapan'.

Spot the fool with the Santa hat!

Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd Dec saw a dozen hardy souls in a hired van going carol-singing round the homes of the housebound- those who I see on a monthly basis for Holy Communion.
Guess who brought the Santa hat! Ho Ho Merry Christmas!

On a more serious note the elderly lady I am standing next to wearing the white blouse and pink pattern skirt was more than pleased to see us. Her name is Chandrani and she feels unable to come to church due to the fact that she has to wear a colostomy bag. She first had the colostomy 11 years ago and since then has had to buy her own bags! Problem is that the Sri Lankan made bags are cheap, but leak, whilst the Australian imported ones are better, but way too expensive.

Please pray for her, her family have had some difficult times in the past.

It's just not Cricket

Had a day off to go see a day of the test match in Colombo, Sri Lanka plays England. Who to cheer for? Accompanying me were 2 friend's children, for an early Christmas treat.

Introducing...

Let me introduce to Anthony and Soma, who are some of the oldest members of our parish. Both of them try to attend church on a regular basis, however Soma's health is not good and she faints quite often during the service.
They are both blind and were familiar on the streets of Colombo as they begged for a living. They are now 'retired' and have a small dwelling. Our Mother's Union is raising funds to fix their roof and repair the concrete flooring in their 'bathroom'. I use inverted commas, as it is 4 walls and open to the skies, with a squat latrine and a tap fixed high up on the wall.
We are all going to be spending Christmas Day with a church family!

Sunday School Christmas Party

Chaos descended upon the elders of a local residential home as our Sunday School Christmas Party arrived! Carol-singing, games, stories, more singing, refreshments and a visit from...........
nattal siya (Father Christmas).
Great fun!

O Christmas Tree...

In case you wondering, yes we do have Christmas trees in Sri Lanka! Thanks to those who sent tree decorations!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Update on Mirihana Detention Centre

Just to update you - Ramo is still at the Detention centre, she had been told that if she can get her birth certificate she will be able to stay in Sri Lanka, instead of being deported to India. For some reason she is not being allowed to come to Mirihana Church, literally next door.
We are praying that she may be able to get home and back to her son for Christmas.
Suresh the fisherman is also still at the centre and is feeling quite depressed.

Even though many of the detainees are from other faith groups they all come to listen to the prayers. Today I met a new person- Moses, a Muslim from the Maldives who is being deported because of visa irregularities.

We are hoping to arrange another visit before Christmas, to sing some carols, share the story of Jesus' birth and to give out some gifts of tea, sugar, milk powder, soap, toothpaste and wash cloths. Perhaps, somewhat surprisingly, when I asked Ramo if she needed anything, she replied "No, Reverend, I'm fine."
Suresh came to the centre with just the clothes he was wearing on the day when he went out fishing and got picked up by the Sri Lankan navy. A year later, he is still in custody...