Photos

Mike and Amanda have been taking tons of phots.

Please see them at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/michaelbalonek/album?.dir=/5249&.src=ph.

Serving by all ways possible

After 3 days of tiring muscles, sweating bodies, and bruised and bloody fingers from building temporary houses we have seen the fruit grown from this labor. Through a series of extraordinary events we have seen our team of 4 US students and 1 US college professor complete 30 houses in 6 days.

A Sri Lankan commander stopped by the Morotuwa housing worksite asking " what could be done do move the process along" - even though we had only been on-site 3 days. I communicated the need for local help even at the cost of paying 1 dollar per day per worker, and the government constraint of not being able to use local workers because they are not skilled enough to build safe houses. At that point he made the decision that if the workers could not be gathered from the school and camp we are building for; that he would bring soldiers. The next day the campsite was changed! The 3 paid contractors were very upset because they get paid per day but at that point a process was determined and we have not looked back.

In a perfect example, we started showing the women to help by sorting wood and leveling panels. Then, after a failed attempt to hammer a nail into a panel, a village woman took the hammer and finished in 2 hits, less then the typical American 3 or 4. The next step of showing the other women was easy.

When the men returned around noon from fishing, they were quiet and looked a tad discontent. After watching the women for a few minutes a male village leader took one of the hammers from his wife, causing loud speaking from all the women. At the thought of female humiliation in front of his friends he retreated to using the electric saw, taught to him the day before.

Who would have thought women’s equal rights could be taught from the foreigner students.

Now we don't know if in the evening there was unrest in the camp. But if unrest existed, it would have been outweighed by the pride now displayed by the 52 families or 300 people living in the Morotuwa school house.

Since we have worked our way out of hands-on jobs in Morotuwa we will remain on site for a week or two to help where possible. We have been asked to work on a short term need for food and clothing sorting with a group that has just started. This may happen in the evenings, if we are not too exhausted. The team’s expertise in previous food distribution and the efficient American way is sure to raise question but show others another way of doing the same thing.

Embassy to All Eastern Volunteers

Bill and Katie have traveled to the East to find a church in need to church partnering along side their home church in the US.

Please pray for their safety based upon the following alert in respons to several murders and politically motivated assasinations.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Colombo, ACS"
To:
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:12:58 +0600
Subject: CONSULAR WARDEN MESSAGE!
WARDEN MESSAGE
THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION
THROUGH THE EMBASSY WARDEN SYSTEM AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS
IN SRI LANKA. PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS YOU
KNOW,WHO ARE NOT REGISTERED WITH THE EMBASSY.

Warden's Message 11 March 2005

The US Embassy in Sri Lanka advises all American citizens in the east of Sri
Lanka of ongoing violence, including politically motivated assassinations in
that area. US citizens are advised to avoid political demonstrations that
may occur in this area. Political activity and gatherings may well become
the focus of violence in the area.

We urge American citizens in the region to exercise increased caution. We
do not recommend that American Citizens work alone as individual volunteers
in Eastern Sri Lanka at this time.

Americans working on relief projects in large groups are urged to register
with the Embassy.

If you have an emergency, please contact us at colomboacs@state.gov
or phone us at our daytime phone 2448007 and
after hours at 2447035. Please continue to monitor our website at
for security updates.

From an American's Perspective

Hello All,

This Sarah Turner writing from Reno, NV. Coming back was an interesting experience. I had an overnight stay in Zurich, Switzerland where I got to see what being "lost in translation" is really like. All of the signs and overhead annoucments at the airport are first stated in Swiss, and then in German. Nothing more. Being that I do not know Swiss or German I had to ask a lot of questions and wander around looking especially confused. I had to run to the train, not walk at a leisurely place, and deal with the fact that I was no longer a minority by appearance, but still couldn't understand what was being said around me. I was dressed in the warmest clothing that I had, meaning a sweat shirt and tennis shoes (it's about 100 degrees in Sri Lanka right now,) but had to walk to the train station in a 28 degree snow storm- actually, that was fun.

Once in America I could understand all of the conversations taking place around me- a rather claustrophobic feeling. I found myself hovering dangerously close to a women speaking French into her cell phone, just feel isolated for an extra second. Even here, though, the signs and overhead announcements made in the airports are only in English. No other languages. If your are lucky, and happen to speak Spanish, you may see a bathroom sign from place to place, but that's really about it. It made me realize, and have a new respect for, how brave exchange students and immigrants are. The prices are outrageous, everything's in English, and Americans do not walk in a way that says "please stop me if you need assistance." Takes guts.

In speaking with passer-bys in the last two days, I have found that no one knows where Sri Lanka is, and the idea of speaking Sinhalese is completely beyond comprehension. The general public also seems to believe that the work here is going to take years (which is true) and therefore you should only come to help if you can stay for years (which is not true.) There is very little information left in the media, and even fewer ways to raise money in the mix of things. I was delighted to see blue bracelets on sell at 7/11. They are made and sold by Save the Children, an NGOs that is doing a very very good job in Sri Lanka, and have a line of stick-figures holding hands all around the band. The bracelets are $3 and that money actually goes to Sri Lanka, please buy as many of these bracelets as you can- I have one for each wrist.

I still plan to be as much a part of this team as possible. On the surface, I was asked to come home because of circumstances that I cannot control, but deeper down I feel that God has called me home to prepare my heart. A wise friend asked me why Jesus had come. I said, "to change the lives of everyone he met?" He said, "To focus solely on 12 people, preparing them to build and lead his church for the rest of time; and in doing so, he effected the lives of everyone he met. He didn't come to feed 5,000 people, he came to grow 12 workers into 12 disciples, and they fed 5,000 people."

My plan is to meet with the Pastors and Leaders here in order to form a new plan. Volunteers never have to be believers in order to help, but I would like to be in scripture and prayer together. I want my focus to be the volunteers, and through them, the people of Sri Lanka will be served. So this will be my goals for this next chapter of time, in addition to raising awareness and hopefully finding more funding.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for Vegas and the teams in (and coming shortly to) Sri Lanka. Please continue to support us. A personal request, could you please pray for a friend of mine who has popped out her ribs, unable to work, and in a great amount of pain? I don't want to write her name, but God knows who she is, and he'll listen on her behalf. Thank you!

1 John 3:16 (New International Version)
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

Peace and Faith,
Sarah Turner

Photos

Mike and AManda have updated photos.
They can be found at at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sl_amanda

Hello New Team Members

Sarah Turner was my counter-part and one of the most influential persons involved with our work here. As you may have read she has made the difficult decision to travel back to the states at herparents request. Sarah will be missed here by locals and the team that worked with her. Please be in pray for her safety and travels as she ventures back to the US and finds what her next step leads. Sarah hopes to contonue to work with our team from the States on the orphanage project through child sponsorship.

Secondly, we are glad to welcome 4 new members to the Outreach Team. They come from the US like all of us to give energy and help to the many thousands, homeless, jobless and devistaed by the tsunami. I would like to intorduce them below.

Mike Balonek (Potsdam, New York)
Amanda Balonek (Potsdam, New York)
Bill Kitchin (Baltimore, Maryland)
Katie Kitchin (Baltimore, Maryland)

These memebrs will be working hands on in many areas of ministry and tsunami relief. You will hear from them on the blog and through photos often as they describe the work, need, and all that is going on. Mike and Amanda may be working with the YMCA on the East coast running some of the YMCA programs and music classes. Please pray for the lord direction with this decision.

Today we built 6 houses and hope to finish 80 by end of the month in the refugee camp of Moratuwa. This project is being led by the evangelical alliance of Sri Lanka on land governmentally owned. The desire of this project is to provide short and long term housing to 400 people / 90 families that are currently living in a school. Moratuwa is a 20 minutes train ride south of our Columbo base.