20 August 2009

A slight sleep-in and a relatively late breakfast (8 am) started our rest day. Most slept well...although arranging for a second mattress should hopefully make tonight a better night for those who didn't.

The view from our rooms is gorgeous...lush green hills, birds busying them selves in the nearby trees - even monkeys playing on the roofs in the houses in the distance, and the sound of horns tooting down by the lake. Each room has a balcony and it makes the rooms seem a little more luxurious to have that outdoor element.

It is lovely to have a nicer hotel and a fully functioning bathroom, especially because we will be here for 4 nights. Breakfast was lovely...the usual fresh fruit and eggs on toast...made to order. We made our plans, packed our stuff and jumped on the bus to head to the Kidsreach office for the first time. We had a tour of the different rooms and facilities and also got to meet the missing members, who had not been on the tour with us so far. Samantha in the office, Wathsala who is the computer teacher and also translates Sinhala and Tamil materials. Daniel's twin brother Joseph, the caretaker - Paradeyani who is Daniel and Joseph's Dad, and also Chatura, the boy who fell from a tree and has been confined to a bed in the back of House of Hope for the last month and is in a back brace. We all prayed with him and he will start his physiotherapy after another 2 weeks in bed. As the day went on, we noticed that someone from the team kept him company in his little room at most times.

We got to work sending and checking emails, putting together the birthday presents for the final kids camp and doing piles of washing while we had access to a washing machine.

We then all bundled off to see the town, get some lunch and get some last minute shopping done - some of the birthday presents for the final kids camp needed a bit extra.

We also made a visit to Zam Gems a lovely jewellery shop very close to Kidsreach where we got shown a vast array of beautiful gems and settings. I think they were hoping that we were all going to buy lots from them, but in the end only a couple of us bought something...although their prices are generally very reasonable and the quality very good. Sri Lanka is famous for its beautiful gems which are mined in various places around the island.

We braved one of the more western style restaurants for lunch, and when we saw french fries on the menu with bread and butter, we all thought of chip sandwiches...but that proved to be a difficult concept for the waiters to grasp, and the order was eventually brought back which was french fries with little plates of garlic bread. Not quite what was expected but delicious nonetheless...especially with the accompanying homemade tomato sauce. So good in fact that we ordered seconds.

We went on to the government run 'Laksala' - a large shop with handcrafted goods at very good prices. Woven items, basketware, timber goods, brass platters and jewellery. A great place to get some traditional Sri Lankan souvenirs. From there we walked to the nearby central markets...mostly clothing and personal goods, but also a food section as well as fresh foods and meats. The smell was enough for us! As soon as we arrived at the market we got followed by a range of eager sales people, beckoning for us to come to their shop to purchase their wares - which were of a better quality and a cheaper price than all the competitors. It is an experience just to walk through there, let alone to enter into the bargaining process with the shop keepers. We did make some purchases there...but when the time came to meet the bus again, we were all very glad to escape the mayhem and constant harassment.

We stopped for some basic supplies on the way to dinner - the big shopping centre is still being finished. It is has taken 5 years to get to this point and is still mostly empty, but is the most modern looking building we have been in so far in Sri Lanka.

We went to a restaurant on the other side of the lake called History. It is a western style restaurant with a smattering of dishes from the major cooking styles around the world. Indian, Italian, Chinese, English/Western as well as Sri Lankan food. The walls are covered in very old photos and newspaper clippings from the history of Sri Lanka and browsing around while waiting for our food made for very interesting reading. As with most things, you never know quite what you will get when you order food in Sri Lanka, but it was all lovely - despite being a local take on a familiar dish, and we even managed to fit in some dessert after - mostly fresh fruit and ice cream.

Another very full day...and we all felt exhausted...ready to get straight into bed...and ready also to start our next conference....

....wonder what God has planned next.....z z z z ....