November 15 2009

Minute for Mission

Working together in Sri Lanka

A Kurunegala community member discusses the land tenure issues of his rice paddy field with Praja Abhilasha members. Photo courtesy of PC(USA).

When living and working in a multifaith community, it is always a blessing to see how love can flow and how it is shared among its different members, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Though Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, has been struggling with a civil war between the government forces and a separatist rebel group for more than 25 years, acts of compassion continue to be experienced on a daily basis.

Praja Abhilasha, of the Joining Hands Network of Sri Lanka, has gathered these diverse communities to work together on issues of land displacement around the island. A network that can bind together such a varied group of people, amid a conflict that has the potential to create fear and doubt among them, is not only a sign of hope for the nation, but also an example of the unbiased nature of God’s love — a source that flows beyond boundaries, communities and differences.

As we discussed the issue of land tenure with a Buddhist community in a rural region of Sri Lanka, one man was a pure example of this unconditional love. His passion for correcting the policies that negatively affect so many around him caused him to stop his work, perhaps decreasing his daily wage, and explain to us the land issues of the area. He then took the group of us into his home, offering a meal and the comforts of his family’s hospitality.

These small experiences are those that renew my faith in God’s love around and within me. It may not be a gushing river that breaks through mountains, but the steady flow that starts as a stream could be the source that makes all the difference.

- Chenoa Stock, companionship facilitator for the Joining Hands Against Hunger network, Sri Lanka

Prayer: Fount of Love and Life, may your love that flows from a babbling brook into a mighty ocean pour through us in our daily experiences with challenges, diversity, and growth. Amen.

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