Manoj is a 17-year-old young man from an interior tea estate off Bandarawela town in the mountainous region of Sri Lanka.  He was raised in a devout Hindu family by his mother, a tea plucker, and his father, also a tea estate worker and heavy drinker.  Pathmini is his only sibling and three years older than him.  She was studying for her final Advanced Level exam 2 years ago and heard about Maliny (the pastor’s wife in that newly established church) who was giving FREE tuition to AL students.  She began attending the classes and soon found out there was more to learn than just Math & English! She heard for the first time in her life how she could have Eternal Life and she readily accepted! Pathmini began praying for her family and soon Manoj wanted to attend this church and see what it was all about.  He was in the practice of participating in all the pagan customs of his religion and was skeptical. However, after attending a few services, he trusted Christ as his Saviour February 2018.

We had met both young people and were praying with them for their parents.  At our request, his mother came to an outdoor meeting last March her first to any Christian service in her life.  She invited us to her home, but we could not go, so promised her that the next time we came, we would visit there.  That was in April and that day she came to the church to see us and reminded us of our promise.  Hence, that evening, we took the one-hour drive, and few minutes, somewhat treacherous, walk to their tiny 10 x 20-foot wood slat, dirt floor home.  It was humbling, to say the least.  There they did their best and cooked something for us to eat.  Then we shared the Gospel with them as they sat and listened attentively.  An hour later, the little 4-foot lady bowed her head and received the gift of Salvation! In December, the father was finally saved making the family complete and all are now faithful baptized members!  The dad even destroyed his god house in their front lawn where they’d previously made annual animal sacrifices.  When the neighbors scolded him for destroying the idols and altar instead of giving them to someone else, he responded “I don’t believe in these false things, so why should I encourage someone else to?”

On Monday February 11th, Pathmini saw a cobra near their home.  The next day as she and Manoj were home alone, he opened the door and stepped into the kitchen, where the cobra was behind the door.  Being disturbed, it lunged forward and bit Manoj on the leg!  Pathmini, not even realizing the danger, chased the snake out of the house and proceeded to take her brother to the closest hospital.  Trekking to the nearest road, God provided them a trishaw (3-wheel taxi) in an instant, which is a rare sight in that area, who drove them an hour to that hospital.  Unfortunately, it did not have the anti-serum injection needed, plus the doctor said it couldn’t have been a cobra because Manoj wasn’t having any symptoms.  Nevertheless, by another miracle, they had an ambulance there and offered to take him to the next closest hospital, another hour away.  By the time he reached there, his eyes were starting to swell shut, his leg was swelling, his heart rate and blood pressure were dropping, and he was having trouble breathing.  They quickly gave him the injection and stated, had he come 10 minutes later, it’d been too late!  But the injection worked and after 3 days in ICU, he recovered and I’m happy to say, he’s back at home now fine and dandy!!

This is a tremendous testimony of faith and prayer! The neighbors had said when he got bit it was because the Hindu gods were angry that they had changed their religion and were punishing the family and thought the boy would die.  Pathmini had just read the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead the morning Manoj was bit and the verse that kept running through her mind while taking him to the hospital was, “thy brother shall rise again, they brother shall rise again!” And he did! He had given a devotion to us the last time we were up there, on living holy lives and said he wants to preach the Gospel.  Since the incident, he’s more on fire for the Lord and doesn’t want to spend any money on himself but use every rupee he can on getting the Gospel out to his lost village before that cobra strikes again!  Pray for Manoj to win his village and more to Christ!

The Bandarawela ministry has been an exciting one! On February 5th, we took a group to a Hindu school in the small village town of Koslanda, where just a few years ago, 300 people were buried under a huge mud slide.  Because of a donation of clothes, we had the opportunity to go to this school, as one of the member’s father was friends with the Principal.  The high school aged students gave us a GRAND welcome, with their Boy Scouts standing at attention and saluting, the girls presenting us bouquets, and a small program before we presented the gifts.  We were then given the freedom to preach the Gospel, after our group sang “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” It was a short, but clear presentation, and opportunity was given to the students and faculty to pray the “salvation prayer.” There were over 100 in attendance, and we were surprised to hear the majority repeating the prayer out loud!  All were very happy we came and asked us to come again and were pouring out their hospitality on us before and after.  Pastor Ananth was so happy to have that door opened for that community and told us today, that the Principal had called him this week and asked for special prayer.  Ananth also told us that the day we went, he received a phone call.  Someone was scolding him for going and trying to convert the students.  It was then revealed that the caller was a charismatic pastor in that village.  Our pastor told him, “we went to give clothes, but we also have to obey Christ and share the truth.”  Today they told us that when the principal got wind of it, he took all the teachers and went to that pastor’s home and scolded HIM for scolding our pastor and said, “You’ve been here in our village all these years, and you have never come to our school to do anything for our students or to pray for us or teach us what these people have taught us!  If you try to stop them, we will chase you from here!” Praise the LORD and pray for this Principal and village to be saved before the next mud slide or cobra snake claims more lives for Hell!  Also please pray: this church needs a proper building in a desperate way, as what they have is way too small.  A property has been located for $20,000.  God Bless you as you pray!

-a recent prayer letter received from a CAN missionary