Rathnapura continued and on to Madampe!

Well we're almost done over here and there is much to say. My last update was from Rathnapura and from there we stopped at Kandy for a day and up to Madampe. We then went straight to the big event of the trip - the Kandy Children's camp and we are now about to begin our final children's camp - the ESCAPE camp - also close to Kandy.

Rathnapura - The conference went very well. There was a very good mix of leaders present - quite a number of men and also several pastors which is always encouraging to us. We played games with them - showing that kids ministry while vitally important can be done with fun and creativity. The delegates only complaint was that they couldn't get to all the workshops. It was our first residential conference and that made a great difference to the atmosphere amongst the delegates. There was a real sense of unity. We know that many were challenged and inspired to continue to work with children and were given a fresh sense of their calling and purpose for their ministry. We stayed in a big old colonial mansion - now government run hotel. It was soon given the title of Fawlty Towers as we were never really sure when we asked for an item what would actually arrive - if at all. After the third request for a bucket to do our washing in and a sheet for the bed, Barbara and Tania both fronted up to the reception desk and refused to move until one was produced. We hung our laundry to dry on one of the porch areas and were disturbed to see what looked like some more clotheslines just off the balcony - but were in fact power lines! We ate our meals with the delegates and the food was basic but good. Overall we feel that Rathnapura was a successful conference. We have also heard that many leaders were greatly touched by Therese's theme song - "The Father's Heart" - and have been at every conference so far. Shanthi has said that delegates have commented that their heart was burning with a desire to reach out to the children in their community that don't know Jesus.

Kandy - We drove back to Kandy and unloaded the bus at around 8pm. We stopped on the way for dinner at a roadside restaurant and had a lovely dinner - buffet style. For me - some of the best local food of the trip. A good selection both fresh and hot. We finally got to Fair Havens - our guesthouse in Kandy at around 9.30pm only to find that they had allowed another guest to extend their stay and so while there was enough beds for us, there was not enough rooms. Pastor David jumped back on the bus and stayed the night with Dhanushka and his family. Fair Havens is now under new management and has been spruced up with all new internal furnishings and drapes - a very different look to previous years - much more simple, but a lovely place to stay and relax - even if only for one night. We spent the morning doing some running around and touristy shopping for gifts. Tania and Ben took the opportunity for a sleep in, and we all met up at the office for packing and emailing. Heading out to our next stop in the afternoon.

Madampe - Situated up north - further up than our first conference in Negombo, but not on the coast. We arrived in the evening and discovered that the accomodation was a single building for the entire team. One room with bunk beds - enough to sleep around 14 people, with a bathroom area with two toilets and a wash basin. It was immediately apparent that this would not be suitable for a mixed gender team, so the camp organisers moved the boys into another building and we spoke with the local AOG minister and found off site accomodation for the foreign team. I decided to stay with the ladies on site, and on the second night Ben and Tania also came and stayed onsite. The shower block was at the other end of the camp ground - a huge area covered in bungalow style buildings and many coconut trees.
This was a somewhat different type of camp as it was a joint children's camp and leaders conference - all in one. This was the national Baptist children's conference - so there was children and leaders from the whole island. The local team was responsible for the children's camp program - there were around 250 children. The foreign team was responsible for the leaders conference - which ran concurrently with the children's program, and there were about 50 leaders from the Baptist churches and then a further 20 or so from the local AOG churches. We found it a little frustrating because the program was constantly changing because it was not being organised by us - we were given set times to do our programs in. Despite that - it was a really great time. The kids had a awesome time - they got much out of ministry and teaching times and there was lots of fun and games for the rest of the time. Ben spent his time hanging out with the local boys and playing with them. Pastor David and the team also gave the Kids Keep Safe message in one of the sessions and we understand that it was received with great interest and the children were really paying attention. Some of the leaders later said that they feel it is time that these matters were addressed.

The leaders conference was a more conservative feel to other conferences - but this was the first time that many of these leaders have heard any teaching specifically on children's ministry. It was a great privilege to encourage and equip the leaders and our annointing service on the second morning was particularly special. Shanthi relayed feedback to us that many of the delegates were really encouraged to continue working and teaching children and that God had really spoken to them. It was Yan and Michelle's final camp as they were heading off to Singapore and Malaysia to attend a real estate conference and to visit family. It was sad to see them go and they had really been a positive influence within the team - both contributing so much to each of us - encouraging us and supporting us. Michelle gave her final workshop and we prayed with them and waved goodbye. We left the camp after dinner - gave out lots of glowsticks to the the kids and leaders and headed to our next stop - the big conference centre in Kandy for the Kandy Kids Camp.