English Reformed Church, Amsterdam

Dear Friends,

Tikak mahansi in Sinhala means "a little tired". It is an expression which has been frequently on our lips over the past few months in the aftermath of "T-day" or Tsunami/Tidal wave Day on December 26th, 2006. The "natural" response to a natural disaster and its consequences can be to work for as long as there is daylight and strength. It does not seem to be right to take "a day off" when there is so much need and so much to do. And that has been the pattern of our days recently, through the church and through Unicef, where Patricia continues to be involved. But we do not want you to feel sorry for us and for several reasons:

We are not alone: So many people both here in but also beyond Sri Lanka have been doing so many wonderful things. The response continues to be amazing. We have many committed people in the congregation working flat out for INGOs and NGOs (non-government organizations) like Unicef, UNHCR, International Red Cross, Zoa, World Vision and also many volunteers, helping out with family, friends and neighbours.

We have kept well: John has had no relapse of his dengue fever. We have seen several others run out of steam suffering from 'disaster fatigue' but we have managed to keep going.

We have been well supported: We have been aware of the much prayer that has been offered on our behalf - for wisdom, for strength, for endurance. And financial support for our relief effort has been arriving day after day. Our fund is now substantial with further contributions promised. An update on our Tsunami Relief Programme at St. Andrew's forms the second half of this newsletter.

We have achieved much: Through the generosity of so many people in so many places, we have been able to spread resources far and wide and bring encouragement to other workers in the field and the people with whom they working in Ampara in the east, Trincomalee in the NE, Dehiwala ( just south of Colombo), Elptiya in the SW and Mawella and Hunwella in the SE.

We have been encouraged: The life of the congregation at St. Andrew's has continued to see growth. On Easter day, exactly 3 months after the tsunami stuck, the church was full. In celebrating Jesus' resurrection, we felt a great sense of having come through a time of trial and testing and were experiencing a newness of life. It is our custom to do a congregational survey every year. Back on February 27th, the Sunday on which the survey was made, we had 134 people in church of whom 52 were under 25 years old, 53 under 53, 28 under 75 and only 2 over 75. Of these, 62 were male and 72 female with 70 Asians, 5 Australasians, 12 Americans, 39 Europeans and 4 Africans. ( You will notice that some of these figures do no add up to the same total - there is always coming and going in the service! ). It is easy to see a bit of demography coming into play here where the majority of the population is younger. John is about to have his first funeral, after 18 months in the charge! Both Sunday school and Youth Group continue to grow with numbers averaging out about 35 and 20 respectively. A few weeks ago, we began a new programme called Community Bible Study to which about 25 come along on Sunday evenings. And there has been a significant improvement in congregational giving.

We have been able to rest: Immediately after Easter, we had a three week break in Australia, visiting Patricia's brother, David, and his family in Melbourne. Most days, we slept around the clock. We were able to catch up not only on sleep but the rest of our lives as well! We spent a weekend in Adelaide, visiting John's cousins, Wilma and Seona. John had not seen Seona since 1954 when they started school together. We had great fun recalling those far away days!

The children are fine: Ellen has just finished 3rd year at Strathclyde University and is coming to visit us next month. James is about to become a house owner.

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14-02-2006