The venue was a small private house facing the ocean, the reception was held next door. The smell of grilled fish was in the air, weather was beautiful, fresh food tasted amazing. If you were there with us you would witness a gorgeous miracle of the sun setting behind the blue Sri Lankan sea while the groom and the bride said yes.
My Morning Friend
I love early mornings. Next day I walked to the closeby beach to watch the sun rising. It was still dark, on the way I bumped into a local guy who was waiting for his guest to take him fishing. Since the guest did not show up, we had a bit of time to chat.
He shared with me interesting facts and stories about the area. He told me about a canal that was next to our hotel. Apparently, it was built by the Dutch over 450 years ago as a transit route to bring the spices and salt from inland Sri Lanka to Europe.
It was on the 26th of December 2004, when the tsunami struck the shores of Sri Lanka, claiming the lives of over 30,000 people in the country and displacing over half a million others
The first floor of the hotel we stayed in was completely flooded and the next day the locals found beds floating in the nearby canal. Small houses were completely wiped away. We were standing next to the beach, the sun was rising and the shoreline so beautiful. I had to say, the shocking images were very vivid and stirred me up.
My new friend recommended to visit the nearby fish market, I got really interested. I decided to go there after breakfast.
A trip to The Fish Market
Immediately after stepping outside of the hotel I attracted the attention of the locals passing by on bikes, tuk-tuks and on foot. I got greeted “hello my friend, how are you”, “hello, where are you going”. Even though they were smiling and they sounded friendly, I have to admit my suspicion kicked in and I thought to myself: “is this area safe?”, “they will start asking for money”, “is that really a good idea to be outside of the hotel?”, “Maybe I should have asked first”
Then a local guy who was walking the opposite directed approached me and asked where I was going, he introduced himself as Mike. I told him, “to the fish market”. He said, “it is the wrong direction”, he offered to show me a shortcut.
If that did not sound suspicious, he pointed towards a very narrow and strongly overgrown path and said: “come this way with me I will show you the market”. I turned to him and said- “Mike, I do not have any money to give you”. I had only a hotel key in my pocket. “But if you want I can pray for you”. He looked at me and said, “Ok, are you also a Christian?”
Previous day when we traveled to the hotel I had noticed the area was inhabited by religious Catholics. There were many crosses and several statuses of Holy Mary, Saint Sebastian’s body pierced by arrows etc.
Somehow after praying for Mike, I got peace in my heart and I decided to take a leap of faith and see where this adventure would take me.
I followed Mike, he took the shortcut, we stepped into the narrow and overgrown path. On both sides, we had wild reeds, banana trees, and a small stream. After around 5 min walk we reached a small village. Shortly after we arrived at his house…
Mike’s House
Outside of the house, his son and few friends were doing some really cool acrobatics on the tree, they were impressively fit. They appeared to be really nice and well behaved.
It was a wooden single story house. We walked inside into a big living room.
He clearly believed in the power of prayer. Pretty much immediately after introducing me to his family, he asked me to pray for the household. What an amazing experience it was. We stood in a circle, in the living room, holding hands with the whole family and praying. Right after, Mike led me to another room where there were spices and other items spread on the table, he asked me to pray for his wife’s business.
Shortly after we stepped outside, he asked me to take a seat on the porch while he was preparing a Ceylon tea. On my right there was an old Bible, I picked it up and opened it, there were many highlights, it looked like it was frequently read. I could not read the language, it was a Singhali Bible. I have noticed a highlighted passage and asked, what was it. Mike son told me it was Isaiah 30:22 “Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
Visiting the Coconut Factory
Mike was a very fast walker, he took me for a stroll to see the neighborhood. The first place we visited a was coconut factory. Mike knew the owner so we walked inside. I felt as if we were on a movie set showing 18th century Sri Lanka. Sadly it was the reality.
Mike pointed to a group of people in their late 60s who were walking barefoot and kicking the dust of coconut to let it dry faster. He said these people belonged to the lowest class. I said hello and they returned it with a beautiful genuine smile. There were several other workers working in the full scorching sun using very simple and primitive tools. The fiber and the dust were eventually turned into a material for brooms, brushes, and bed frames.
Fish Market
We walked on, on our left we had the Dutch canal, there were big fat cormorants feeding with little fish from the canal. We passed by a guy with no legs who was driving a little homemade trolley, he was selling lottery ticket. Eventually, we reached the fish market area, there was a wide range of fish including guitarfish, canal crabs, sea crabs, prawns and many more.
While walking we had a chance to talk with Mike about faith and the truths that he has learned from the Bible. I was very impressed, he clearly had a close relationship with God, he knew Him and he relied on Him in daily life. He was a good-hearted man with strong faith. I was touched and inspired.
Back at the Hotel
After about an hour and a half of walking in the sun we reached the hotel I stayed at. I had only the hotel key in my pocket and some Maldivian Rufiya in my wallet that I had in my room. That would not have any value for him as most likely he would not be able to exchange it anywhere. I really wanted to bless him, he has created such great experiences for me. There was no other way but to go back and look for an ATM. I must admit I battled with the thoughts of walking back for around 40 min to the ATM in the full sun.
Finally, I decided he really deserved it, he never asked me for any money, he has given me amazing experiences of Sri Lanka. I also thought it would be a good idea to buy some rambutan fruits for my wife.
I quickly grabbed 2 bottles of water from the hotel and gave it to Mike and went back to get my card. When I came back Mike had already given one bottle away. I was touched to see the generous heart he had.
Your Father Knows What You Need Before You Ask Him
When we started walking towards the ATM machine he immediately told me we would be taking a tuk-tuk, I told him I do not have any money to pay right now for the tuk-tuk, but he said he will take care of that. When I withdrew the money from the ATM and walked back towards Mike, he handed me a bag of rambutan fruits and said: “this is for your wife”. I looked at him and smiled. I never told him that I was tired to walk in the sun and I never told him that I would like to get rambutan for my wife. “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” Matthew 6:8.
I have to say I am touched by how loving and generous God we have. Wherever we go, He had arranged it all so many times, the amazing people, the rich experiences. Similar things happened during the India trip, Singapore trip, Europe trips etc. All the glory goes to God.
Before accepting Christ, nothing like that ever happened. I encourage you to seek Him and ask Him to guide you, your travel through life will never be the same again.
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