Still Going Strong

I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Dustin and I'm currently here in Colombo updating from an internet cafe about 10 tuk tuk minutes away from the team apartment. I'm a 2nd year UC San Diego student am taking the spring quarter off to bless the people here and be rocked by them. Though I've only a week under my belt, the experience has been amazing.

I'm updating mainly just to give an update as to what the teams have been doing here and to remind everyone that there are still many areas of need. 3 months after the tsunami and it seems that the only ones who remembered it occured are the families living in tents, those that lost loves ones, and those helping to ease the pain.

A few days ago we took a 3 hour train down south about 110 kilometers to a city called Galle. The train runs directly parellel with the ocean and almost never loses sight of it and so along the whole ride we could see the tsunami damage. I thought that 3 months later and most of the rubble would be picked up and rebuilding would be through it's first phases, but in most cases there were just leveled buildings and no construction. It's crazy to think that we were traveling on the west side of the country which was not hit nearly as hard as the east side.

Once in Galle we talked with several locals who had lost their homes and I specifically remember one conversation inside a man's home that was still barely standing. He explained what had happened and then showed us the water marks which were about 10ft above the floor. Right above the water line he pointed out his dogs footprints.... it was an amazing/disturbing site.

For the past two days we've been working at the Dutch Reformed Church packaging and sorting supplies for various camps located accross the country and tomorrow we're joining one van which is delivering about 140 boxes to a camp just south of Galle. The boxes all contain various essencial family items such as a blanket, lantern, stove, kerosene, pans, a bucket, utensils, and a few other things. These all take time to prepare, sort, and store and so working with about 10-15 people at a time we are able to get through about 50-60 boxes an hour.

I'm glad to be here. The members here are awesome. The weather sucks... but... being from San Diego I'm spoiled. The locals are incredibly nice and hospitable.

The End of the Chapter

Coming to Sri Lanka was an amazing experience..one that I will never forget and will probably be learning from for a good portion of forever. The most amazing thing about the trip, for me, was learning to communicate without using words. It's remarkable, the unlikely things that are international- such as Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions and bird calls made out of leaves and grass (you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but trust me on that one.)

I'm writing to conclude my involvement with the Sri Lanka Outreach Team, at least for now. I've spent a great deal of time volunteering in my local church office in the last two weeks and feel that God is calling me to root myself there. I need to place myself in an environment where I grow into the Christian Leader that God is calling me to be. I may return to Sri Lanka, I hope that I will, but not right away.

If you are still interested in volunteering in Sri Lanka, I would still encourage you to do so- the people need as much help as they can get. I will no longer be able to obtain deals from Sri Lanka Airlines or with housing (though Vegas might) but I would be happy to connect you with the local volunteers from the Dutch Reform Church.

I will no longer be checking the gmail account, so if you have a question for me specifically you may contact me at booturner@artlover.com, otherwise you can still contact Vegas at Vegas@SriLankaOutreach.com

As a last impression, I will tell you what was most deeply ingrained in me through the course my time in Sri Lanka: our lives are not to be lived trying to make the best memories for ourselves; our lives are to be lived trying to do the Lord's work- and only that- and from this comes far better memories then you could have ever made for yourself. Don't waste your time, there's a bigger plan in the works.

Faith, Hope, and Love Remain- but the greatest of these is Love.
Sarah Turner