All through my stay here in India I have been learning from roommates and friends about India’s culture and history and the effect they have had on the Indian society which I hope I have brought out in some of my previous articles.

In late February I had the pleasure of traveling to the Island nation of Sri Lanka where I was graciously housed at the Theological College of Lanka which is approximately 3 1/2 miles outside the town of Kandy while waiting for my Indian visa to be renewed.

During my stay in Sri Lanka I learned more about the ethnic conflict (war ) that is going on there in the northern part of the country between Tamil separatists/terrorist called the Little Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE ) and the Sri Lankan Government. The Tamil people who live in the northern part of the island are predominately Hindu while the rest of the population called Sinahlese (80%) are Buddhist and occupy the rest of the Island.

The conflict between the Tamils and Sinahlese dates from the ancient days of Sri Lanka when Kings from Southern India continually invaded the northern part of Sri Lanka in order to extend their empire and a natural enmity occurred. This continued from time to time until Sri Lanka was united under one king for a short period of time.

When the colonial powers took over they imported Tamil people from India to be the laborers on their tea and rubber plantations. When Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948 these Tamils were left behind and as a minority felt that their rights were not being protected and started advocating for a separate Tamil state. Some extremist Tamil groups in the north of Sri Lanka (mainly the LTTE) have taken to fighting a guerrilla war for this cause.

One incident of this war happened in Kandy two weeks before I arrived there. The LTTE truck bombed the main Buddhist shrine their where a golden tooth supposedly belonging to Buddha is housed. The blast not only damaged one house of worship but two the bomb also destroyed part of St. Paul’s church, the oldest Christian House of worship in Kandy.

In looking at the past and recent history of Sri Lanka I realized howwidespread Satan’s activity is and how provincial we are in the west in concentrating on news stories about terrorism in the middle east and northern Ireland and ignoring the conflict here in South Asia. I also realized we as God’s servants and people have a long way to go in spreading the good news of Christ love to all nations. However I am proud to say that the next generation of Christian leaders is being prepared for this task in a correct manner by learning how to preach and teach the Gospel of Christ in the context of their culture.

I saw this being done during my stay at the Theological College of Lanka where they stress indigenous forms of Christian worship. In other words they sing hymns in the Tamil & Sinahalese languages, sit on the floor in the chapel where there are now pews and light Sri Lankan oil lamps instead of candles. I believe the great reformer Martin Luther would have loved this kind of worship where the Gospel is taught and preach in the language and context of the culture of the people.

The realization of my work here in India, influencing the lives of people back home came through the receipt of two unsolicited letters on from a 13 year old young man from the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who was doing either a Confirmation or Sunday School project and saw my name in the ELCA’s Division of Global Missions Directory of International Personnel. The other from a young man in Las Vegas, Nevada (whose letter was forwarded to me from Bethel) who was seeking a pen pal.

When I responded to these letters it dawned on me that God was using my talent in writing about my experiences here in India to influence the lives of these young men. The first in his faith life by helping with his project and showing him that people do care what young people are doing now days. The second to bring a little brightness in his life by actively doing what Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

One other thing that I have discovered during my months here in India is that our neighbor is not only our friends or person that lives next door but everyone in the world. In concluding this article I would like to use a quote from the Theological College of Lanka’s guest speaker at their Ash Wednesday quiet day program. The quote is a comment on today’s society and lack of compassion but can also be seen as a modern day summary of the great commandment. The quote is as follows: "People do not care how much you know. They want to know how much you care". I believe this statement sums up what our attitude as Christians should be towards all people.

In Christ’s Service,

Rich Hahn