Moses Paulose returned recently to Sri Lanka, along with Sarojam, and their son-in-law and daughter, Shajin and Persis. Many of the disciples are new, and the work of planting churches is multiplying in the wake of decades of civil war and persecution. The leadership there is from among the many Sri Lankan Hindus who fled the war during the past twenty years, and ended up being rescued by the BCM churches in the island of Rameswaram.

Sister Grace was one such, the illiterate wife of a Hindu shaman, who had landed on the island many years ago. She was brought to Jesus by Paulose and Sarojam, and, with an astonishing gift of faith, launched into a work with her sons to plant forty churches in South India. Many hundreds of miracles marked her Gospel path. (Theresa and I witnessed one of those remarkable and dramatic healings.) Now she is continuing the same work in Sri Lanka, as the refugees have finally returned to their homeland, since the end of the war. Also, Pastor Michael is leading efforts to plant churches among Sri Lankan villages where the Gospel has never been heard.

Sister Persis reports :

“At the new church dedication, our dear Sister Grace shared with us all her testimony of what God has been doing in their ministry. Until a few years ago, the Buddhist villagers of that region had lived in continual fear from fourteen violent gangs which ruled the roads with fighting and murder, making even daytime travel perilous. Compounding the ruinous dangers was a pervasive enterprise for distilling boot-leg alcohol.

God had spoken to Sister Grace, and this was the very village where she was to introduce the Gospel. Everyone warned her that it would be far too dangerous, especially for a woman. But, she obeyed God’s leading. Despite looming hindrances, God preserved Sister Grace. He began working signs and wonders through her life, and, one by one, the people’s hearts began to open. Soon, streams of villagers were coming forward week by week to surrender their lives to Jesus. Ten of those fourteen criminal gangs have now publicly turned to Jesus and the Light of His Word. Last month’s dedication service marked the new church building still being slowly constructed, where they now all come to worship. Other pastors from nearby regions came also, to rejoice with them, and bless the church on that day.

There is still very much work to be done.

The primary village church of Pastor Michael is near the very North tip of Sri Lanka. It is in an area that was repeatedly ravaged by those years of warfare. Michael found Jesus in Rameswaram when he fled the bombing. He was trained by Moses Paulose in church-planting ministry, and eventually returned to his home in Sri Lanka. God has done a great work through him, with signs and wonders confirming the Gospel, and a thriving church has now been established in the Jaffna region.

One day Michael received a phone call from a very distraught woman, who lamented through tears that her husband had died. With no time to doubt or hesitate, Pastor Michael told her to quickly lay the phone next to her husband’s ear. She retorted, “Can’t you hear the cries of the mourners in our home?” Nevertheless, he insisted, and she laid the phone down by her husband’s body, and leaned down to listen. As Michael prayed aloud over the phone, God did a great miracle, and brought the man back to life. The house of mourning was suddenly filled with astonished praise and glory to God. That man who was returned from the dead to his family has since become a zealous gospel minister. He was at the church dedication, and we were very blessed to hear from his own mouth the testimony of that miracle. Michael and his wife had been childless for five years, and learned from the hospital that her ovaries had failed. They turned to God for a biological miracle, which finally arrived six months ago: a cute baby boy named Sathrak.

As more and more people turned to Jesus and joined the thriving church assembly, Michael encountered two local landowners who suffered mental ruin from the years of war violence. They challenged Pastor Michael, that, if his Jesus could bring healing and restoration to them, then they would grant land and a little house for the church to use. The church prayed, and God healed them both. Now, there is a place for the church to build and grow. God continues to open more hearts to Jesus, and they have begun a hopeful effort to construct a real church building on their land, to assemble all those whom God has brought to Himself among those villages.

The Village of Mullaittivu was the last battle ground for the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war. There were huge casualties and much destruction, as the government forces wiped out the rebel’s last stand, in May of 2009. Nearly everyone there lost family and possessions during the long war years. Until very recently, outsiders were forbidden to even visit the region. We were allowed to venture there at the invitation of the disciples, who are still hanging on in the fragile circumstances. Their church building has been completely destroyed three times in one generation; twice by bombings during battles, and once by the tsunami. Recently they have constructed a temporary thatched shelter for church meetings, until a door is opened for them to build a permanent structure. All the village pastors from within travel distance gathered there for an awesome day of renewal, encouragement and healing. Numerous widows were gathered and comforted, with such provision as Paulose and Sarojam could muster. Pastor Albin from West India delivered good words of grace and power to the pastors, translated by me into the local Tamil language. There was also a harvest of souls dedicated to Jesus during the meetings. This was the first time in forty years that anyone from the outside had come there to strengthen and bless the broken hearts there.

Kilinochi, also in northern Sri Lanka, was the site nearly three years ago of a major battle between the government and the rebels. The entire village was destroyed then, including the fledgling church. Most of the residents then fled to India and various refugee camps. Now the returning disciples have built a temporary shelter for Gospel meetings. Pastor Paulose arranged for a meeting of pastors from the surrounding area. They expected perhaps seventy to attend, but 160 journeyed to the conference. God did amazing things there, strengthening and encouraging them to continue steadfast in the Gospel. About sixteen local widows were gathered for special ministry to them.

Before returning to Rameswaram, we attended the graduation of fifteen Bible students in the town of Vavunia, who have been training with BCM for yet more church-planting in unreached villages.”