If I asked you where Sri Lanka is located, could you tell me? If I had to guess, many of you wouldn’t know—and you wouldn’t be alone! When I first started working at Feed the Hunger, I remember sitting in a meeting and Sri Lanka was brought up in conversation. The conversation continued for several minutes before someone noticed the dumb look of confusion on my face. They then turned to the wall-sized world map behind me and gave me a geography lesson.
Sri Lanka is a small island nation with a tropical climate and is located off the southern tip of India. It is home to over 20 million people, 70% of whom are Buddhist. Only 7.5% are Christian. For the past several years, Feed the Hunger has been sending food containers and mission teams to the people of Sri Lanka. We now feed about 800 children each day through various orphanages and schools. Thanks be to God that many of these children are coming to know the Lord as their Savior! They are also growing physically stronger as a result of the food that God allows us to supply.
This may surprise you, but many of the Christians are experiencing persecution from Buddhist monks. The monks have a history of great violence and aggression towards followers of Christ, and that’s what makes this next story so surprising.
This past January, David Haley, a friend of Feed the Hunger, traveled to Sri Lanka to visit many of the orphanages and schools where our food is being served. A few days into his journey, his team arrived in a village called Pussellawa. This village sits in the heart of Sri Lanka and is surrounded by a huge tea plantation where many of the villagers work as day laborers. The roads are so narrow leading into the village that David and his team had to walk the last several hundred yards. When they reached the center of town they were greeted by about 60 children who receive our food. The scene was very lively! The children had even prepared dances and skits for their guests.
After the festivities were over, the cooks prepared Feed the Hunger rice and beans, and the children formed a line to receive their lunch. The feeding program in this village is led by an Anglican priest who keeps track of the food and makes sure the children are being fed each day. David shared with us that the people of this village are so poor they can’t afford plates for the food. So, the food is placed on banana leaves and the children eat with their hands.
As the children ate lunch, David noticed a Buddhist temple across the street. Aware of the aggression between the Buddhists and Christians, David asked the Anglican priest what the relationship was like with the Buddhists. The priest smiled as he shared with David that in their village the Christians and Buddhists lived side by side in peaceful harmony. The church and feeding program had received no resistance from the Buddhist monks.
The priest shared with David that, a few weeks earlier, one of the Buddhist monks came into the church as the children were being fed. The priest was surprised to see him, but he greeted the monk with a smile and asked if he could help him in any way. The monk extended his hand to the priest and said he just wanted to thank him. And then, with tears forming in his eyes, he said he was so thankful that these children had a place to go and food to eat. He was moved by the loving way the church had taken in these children and fed them day after day. Through the actions of the church, the monk was able to see that Christians serve a loving God.
In a country filled with violence between Buddhists and Christians, here was an instance where the love of God and the gift of food opened a door and allowed for peace between two people who “shouldn’t” be getting along. And more than that, it was an opportunity to share the Gospel in a tangible way.
So, the next time you think about the little island of Sri Lanka, be encouraged that God is doing a good work through the food you may have helped send. But even more importantly, He is doing a good work through those living out the Gospel. And remember to say a prayer for the Christians in Sri Lanka, asking that God would give them boldness to share His love with all who would listen, including the Buddhist monks.
Caleb Fox | Warehouse Manager