Colombo Conference Full Steam Ahead!

Well we've just done the first day of the Negombo Conference. Yesterday was our shopping day.
Yan and Michelle's flight was delayed by 4hours so we planned to go shopping while Dan and Ken picked them up. We did the big shop at House of Fashion - bought lots of gifts and a few clothes for ourselves and generally spent up big...Sri Lankan style - we didn't spend over $100! We got to check out a bookshop and then grabbed some dinner before heading back to the hotel via Tuk Tuk (three-wheeler) which was a memorable experience. Yan and Michelle finally arrived and we all got an early night ready for our first big day of ministry.

Up early this morning for a quick breakfast and team talk then we jumped on the bus to get to Negombo. The traffic was thick through the heart of Colombo and we were almost out of it when we discovered one of the roads that was usually one way in our favour, was now one way in the wrong direction - so we had to back track for quite a while and got to the conference just a bit late. Time is very flexible over here so it was no problem as the delegates were still arriving also.

We launched into our first conference with the local KidsReach team running a time of singing - teaching some new songs to both the delegates and to us also. There was about 40 delegates - almost entirely women and mostly young - in their late teens and early twenties. They started off feeling a little shy and reserved but were soon fully involved - participating in the workshops and the larger group. We ate packets for lunch which is Sri Lankan takeaway - a portion of rice with several different curries to accompany it. It is all wrapped in a piece of clingwrap and the whole lot is wrapped in a piece of newspaper. We all ate some of it before our tastebuds went on strike from the chilli.

That evening we went back to our hotel, a big hotel just opposite the beach in Negombo. Some of the team had a splash in the pool and others just relaxed before going to have dinner in the hotel restaurant.

We were up for a team breakfast before having a quick walk on the beach and then heading back to the conference for the final day.

The delegates were late to arrive - not surprising given the distance that they have to travel and the inconsistency of public transport. We finally got underway - with some new faces because it was Saturday. We had a wonderful time of corporate prayer in keeping with the theme of the conference - the Father Heart of God.

After lunch the delegates put on some dramas to illustrate the worst Sunday School teacher and we all laughed together at the antics of the teachers and the students.
The winner got 2000 rupees to spend on resources from the KidsReach bookstall with 2nd and 3rd place also winning resources due to an anonymous donation.

The last lot of workshops were a mixed bag with Asela running crazy games outside, Janet running a workshop for the older leaders on leadership according to Nehemiah, and a brand new workshop being run by our youngest team member Ben, who taught the delegates about how to work with balloons - making all sorts of creations from swords, to flowers and even lambs - with object lessons attached. There was lots of laughter and balloons popping but the delegates were all having a great time and learning about how to reach children in fun new ways.

We finished the conference off with an address by Shanthi and an altar call where we prayed with the delegates and annointed them to go and do God's work with renewed confidence and vigour.

We jumped back on the bus - hot and tired but with a real sense that God had revealed Himself to the delegates and also to us. It was a great time of fellowship and encouragement for us all. As we left we promised that we would continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Negombo - they go back to tough situations - often facing resistance within their own families. But God is faithful and we believe that the delegates have a new or renewed sense of their calling to be a part of God's ministry to children.