When I visited Christians in Sri Lanka in April, in an area heavily influenced by the overwhelming Buddhist majority, I met some of the poorest Christians in the country. They are so poor that they cannot afford to buy a Bible themselves. Friends of the Danish European Mission have raised money so that 5,000 families in Sri Lanka have received a Bible.
On a very positive note, almost everyone in Sri Lanka is learning to read and write. The conditions are not like in India and Pakistan, for example, where there is still an incredibly large part of the population that never goes to school and learns to read and write, and where we from the Danish European Mission must help to ensure that at least some of the poorest get schooling.
He goes to church every day
Chaminda aged 30, is a family man with two children so far, a son and a daughter. He is a bricklayer and has volunteered to help build his church, among other things. A few months ago, he received a Bible. Before that, he only had to hear the message of the Bible in church. Now he reads the Bible at home, piece by piece, and he has already made it through the entire Bible. He always prays before opening it, and when he has no work one day, he can spend up to three hours in a row with the Bible. He goes to church every day. On Sundays there is a service with a sermon, but on weekdays there is a prayer meeting, where he gets guidance from the pastor on which parts of the Bible he should read for the next day.
Image: Chaminda (right) in conversation with Henrik Ertner Rasmussen
Chaminda saw Jesus in his wife
He has only been a Christian for two years. Before that he was a Buddhist, even a monk, but, as he says, that was just for show. Monks are usually held in honor by devout Buddhists. In reality, he lived a very sinful life, abusing alcohol and drugs. He also used to stay up at night, at least until 2am, watching TV. He married a Buddhist woman, but she became a Christian. That's why she didn't stop loving him, even when she discovered the abuse. Chaminda is sure she would have left him if she had continued as a Buddhist. Through her, however, he saw Jesus, indeed, it was as if Jesus spoke to him through her. He became a believer, and gradually his abuse stopped, even though he was tempted many times. Now he knows that as a Christian he must be an example to others. He hopes that they will experience the same change in their lives that he experienced by coming to Jesus. He feels a peace in his heart that he wants everyone else to know too.
"If I hadn't become a Christian, my children would not have had a father," he says. Now they have both a father and a mother to sit with and get to know Jesus through prayer and Bible reading. Chaminda still goes to bed late, but instead of watching TV, he now reads the Bible!
So what does having access to the Bible mean in practical terms? Firstly, Chaminda says, he no longer has to ask the priest so many questions about faith. Secondly, it is a good guide for daily life. Once he was in a very stressful situation and didn't know what to do, so he looked up the Bible and read Isaiah 41 v. 10: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not despair, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; my victorious hand will hold you fast." It brought peace, calm and inspiration to make the right decision.
Amila's father was cured
Amila at 24 is still unmarried and lives at home with his parents. It's not easy because he is the only one in the family who is a Christian. He became one about three years ago, and since then he has been on the verge of being kicked out of the family. Although there are still problems, the situation has now changed. For example, if he sleeps in on Sundays, the others ask him if he's going to church!
Image: Amila (right) in conversation with Henrik Ertner Rasmussen
This is undoubtedly because the family experienced a miraculous healing. Amila's father became seriously ill with a brain disorder. The doctors could do nothing and the family prayed Buddhist prayers for him. At that time, a Christian prayer team traveled to the village where the family lived, and they also prayed for Amila's father, who was healed. However, this did not lead to the others becoming believers. They lost almost everything they owned and they are afraid of what will happen if they become Christians. Then the other relatives will make sure they become even poorer.
The Bible now strengthens his character
Amila got his Bible a few months ago. Before that, his only way to read the Bible was to go to church and read it there. Now he can read it at home, and he says it helps him to live properly and strengthens his character. He attends a prayer meeting at church every evening, where the pastor makes sure there is a plan for daily Bible reading, which he supplements with additional readings. One word that has meant a lot to him is Psalm 27, v. 10: "My father and mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me in." In concrete terms, he has experienced this by getting a good job at the local electricity supply company.
Let us thank and praise God that the Gospel is breaking through, even in this area of Sri Lanka, which is seen by the country's Buddhists as the powerhouse of their religion, from where the religion spread to the rest of the island over 2,000 years ago. Thank you to everyone who has stood with us to make the Bible accessible to so many poor people. However, thousands of Bibles are still needed, both in Sri Lanka and in the many closed countries, so we continue to ask for funds for our Bible work. Thank you for any contribution to this!
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