We returned to the India Visa place and we were granted our visa to go to India.  We will be leaving for India on March 7th and returning on the evening of March 9th.
The big event this week was getting to met our mission president and his wife. They are Randy and Andrea Funk.  They are from Colorado.  They came to visit with us on Saturday, March 26th.  We had a great visit and I prepared lunch for all of us.  After lunch Ajith, a van driver, came and took us to Negombo.  Negombo's new church is complete and they were holding an open house.  The members did a wonderful job of sharing their church with the people of the community.  The auxiliary leaders furnished a display for their organization that showed what they do.  They also had ward members answering any questions.  Elder Meyers and I were asked to be in charge of the material table.  We had lots of books, pictures, fliers, and handouts for the visitors.  Many less actives came and lots of the community supported the open house.  At the end of the tour the people were treated to cake and punch. At 7 pm there was a program.  President Anton told about the Church history of Sri Lanka and President Royce shared the history of the Negombo Branch.  It was very interesting for us to hear many of the facts. The Primary Children sang "The Chapel Doors" and the Branch Choir shared "Love is Spoken Here".  These people are so remarkable and humble.  The Lord has truly blessed them with this beautiful building. President Funk gave the Dedicatory Prayer.  The Spirit was so strong!  I once again had my testimony strengthened as that prayer was given. We left Negombo with Ajith and the Funks.  Ajith dropped the Funks off at their hotel, The Colombo Hilton, and then brought us home.  It was a terrific day! 
Today was Sunday.  We went to Church as usual.  While I was visiting with the sisters in the hallway before church, President Kolitha asked me if he could visit with me.  I asked him if I was in trouble.  He just laughed.  We went to his office and he asked me to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary.  He said they also want me to help the children learn the new songs for their Sacrament Presentation.  I asked if he had talked to my husband.  He said he had.  When I went out in the hall I told Elder Meyers and he said he didn't know anything about it. President Kolitha did talk to him before I was sustained in Sacrament Meeting.  I'm excited about the call! I love Primary!! This just means that Elder Meyers will get to teach the Temple Prep Class during Sunday School by himself.

The Church is true!  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do live.  They love each of us and want us to be happy.  They know us by name and desire that we come unto then and we will be happy!!!!

New Negombo Chapel



Assembly meeting room

 

Primary room




Young Women's room





Sri Lankan cutie



Sister Ann, Pres Anton, Bro Kumarasamy, Pres Funk and Sister Funk



This week we had to stay in a lot because we didn't have a current visa.  Our visa expired on February 11th and we weren't able to get a new one until February 17th.  We went only to places that we had to go.  President Anton left town and went to Singapore.  He came by our apartment and said, "If you get arrested call Ann and she will get you out of jail."  He laughed but I didn't think it was too funny.  Staying in gave me some time to experiment with my cooking.  I made flour tortillas, homemade bread, chocolate crinkle cookies and taco soup. When President Anton got back in town he brought over our passports with the new visa.  He was so excited.  He thought that we would be granted a one year English teaching visa but we were granted a one year visa for religious workers for the Church of Jesus Christ.  He said that was a great step up for the Church in Sri Lanka.  We felt we were free at last!!
We have been invite to attend Zone Conference in Bangalore on March 7th.  On Friday we went to the India Visa place and applied for an India visa.  Michael went with us to apply for his too.  He will be flying to India with us.  President Funk will set him apart for his mission then Michael will fly on to New Zealand to the MTC.
We go back this Friday to see if the visa to India will be granted.
I had made a large pot of Taco Soup for lunch today.  We thought that Fluckigers were coming for lunch.  They decided to go home early and so we were left with a big pot of soup.  We invited Sandi and her two kids, Garrett and Riley over for lunch after church.  Nishan, Sandi's husband, came and ate later when he finished counting the tithing.  We had a good time together.  The kids made us feel right at home.  They reminded us of our wonderful grand kids.
This evening we attended a charity dinner for the Humpty Dumpty Charities.  They invited three Buddhist Venerables and several from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  These two groups were invited because they help sponsor the charity in this area.  Several of the representatives from the United States were here touring the area, looking at their past projects and overseeing a new medical project to vaccinate workers and children in the highlands.  They gave us a tour of a realistic Sri Lankan village and explained what life is like in these villages.  Then we were treated to an authentic Sri Lankan buffet.  The chef guaranteed it wasn't spicy hot.  He answered all our questions about the food.  Most of it was good!  It was a wonderful evening and we learned much.

Guide explaining rice storage



Village home



Village pond with 5 flowers

      

Chef with our buffet



We were thrilled to hear that our friends, Nancy and Larry DeGrange, have received their mission call to the Philippines.  We actually called them and visited with them for a few moments.  They were really excited and we are excited for them.
Last Sunday, February 6th, was Fast Sunday.  On Fast Sunday all the Young Single Adults from Negombo and Colombo meet for a special meeting.  We meet one month in Negombo and the next month in Colombo.  We meet in Colombo this month.  We were in charge of arranging the meal and a speaker.  Sina and Nathan Jones, a couple from the United States, offered the use of their home and their cook prepared the food.  I have never seen a pot of rice so big!!  It was the size of a canning pot.  I think all of it was eaten. 

Sandi & Riley

After the meal Sister Sandi gave a fifteen minute talk on prayer and fasting.  She was very nervous about doing this but she did a great job!  She ended her talk by sharing an experience that happened a few months after her marriage.  She and her husband wanted a child but Sandi was having some medical problems so she went to the doctor.  The doctor told her that he thought that she would never be able to have a child.  Sandi and her husband went home and prayed and got a blessing.  A few weeks later they returned to the doctor.  He repeated that he didn't think that she would be able to have a child.  He also scheduled surgery.  Sandi returned home and told her husband what the doctor had said.  They decided to fast and pray.  When she returned to the doctor he told her that they would need to do some blood work before the surgery could be performed.  When they tested her blood they discovered that she was going to have a baby.  Sandi tearfully expressed her gratitude for the great blessing that she and her husband had received through prayer and fasting.  Of course their was not a dry eye in the group when it was over.  The Spirit was very strong.  It's things like this that make it worth while to be here serving a mission.
Tuesday  and Wednesday were English Classes.  We had eight new people show up.  One lady brought her two children and she decided to stay and join  with them.  She was trying so hard to do what we asked of her.  I finally discovered that she was unable to read.  I was so glad that I had worked with children that struggled to read.  It made me aware of her situation and I was able to make her feel comfortable.
We also had our first experience with the Post Office.  We went to mail a card to one of the kids.  When we went in, there were about ten people leaning on the counter.  We assumed they were all together so we just stood back and formed a line.  In a few moments an elderly gentleman who had been at the counter finished his business and came over to us.  He asked, "Are you from England?"  We replied, "No, we are from the United States."  He said, "Push you way in or you will never get waited on."  So we pushed in and got the task completed.  The same thing happened when we went to the bank to sign our signature cards.
Niwantha Michael Seneviratne finally got his visa to enter the MTC in New Zealand.  He will enter on March 10th.  He was suppose to enter the 27th of January but his visa did not return in time.  Michael is so excited and we are excited for him.  He has only been a member for a little over a year.
We have included some pictures from our roof top, if you look closely to the west between the buildings you can see the ocean.  Hope you enjoy!



South



West

 


 

Northwest



North

 


 

We are finally getting into a routine.  We are able to get around the city a little more and actually know where we are.  We spent a few hours this week paying our rent, cell phone bill and finding our way to the various banks so that we could cash a check to pay for our one year visa.  President Anton had us fill out our paper work for our Multiple Entry Resident Visas to teach English.  He then took our passports, papers and money. He took everything to the people who will process the visas.  We hope all goes well so we can continue to stay here in Sri Lanka and do what we have been called to do. 
Anura is our favorite tri-shaw driver.  Here in Sri Lanka they call tri-shaws, tuk tuks or taxis.  Anura is the branch clerk.  He is a quiet

Our favorite Tri-shaw driver

gentle man.  When we went to the bank to cash a large check, Elder Meyers put the money in my backpack.  I laughing told Anura that he was my bodyguard.  He said, "Take that backpack and put it in front of you."
When we went to Church on Sunday, a member of the Branch came up to us and introduced us to his friend.  He said, "My friend wants to get baptized."  We were shocked.  We looked at each other and I said, "I think we might be able to help you with that."  As we talked to the young man that wanted to be baptized we realized that he didn't speak much English.  We told them that we would talk to the Branch Mission Leader and get something arranged.  When we went to look of the mission leader he wasn't at church.  That will give us something to work on tomorrow.
After church there were two eight year olds that were baptized.  Their names are Shamitha and Haran.  I was asked to play the piano for the services and Elder Meyers was a witness.  These people are so humble and loving.  After the baptisms we were all treated to some Sri Lankan cake.
The big happening of the week was holding our first English Class.  It was awesome!  We only had five people attend but everyone seemed to really enjoy the class and we felt good about our teaching.  A couple of the businessmen asked if we could meet on another day so we will have a class on Tuesday and also one on Wednesday starting this coming week.
Here in Sri Lanka they have at least twenty five holidays.  When it is a holiday, everything closes down.  We are told as foreigners to stay in our apartment.  On Friday it was their Independence Day. So we had a long day filled with things that we needed to do right here in our apartment.