Sri Lanka - JAFFNA - 21st Feb to 2nd Mar - NEW!!!

It was in the year 2015, that I had a dream about going to Sri Lanka. In my dream I'm in a vehicle going through what looks like tea estates. Then the vehicle stops and I get out and walk down a winding road in the middle of the tea plantations into a small house. There's a meeting going on there, and I see an old woman come forward for prayer. I discern at once that she has an evil spirit and cast it out of her in Jesus' Name. 

I keep a note of any dreams that may seem prophetic in my diary, and had made special note of this one as well. Over the years, I had always been waiting for an opportunity to visit Sri Lanka and minister there, but as in all my missions, I was waiting on the infinitely good timing of the Lord.

Most of you must have read the report of our Trichy Church Meetings and Evangelism. 

To read this report click here.

Those of you who have read it know how I met a brother there who introduced me to a minister in Sri Lanka who said that he would be glad to host my meetings in either February or March this year. The first thing that came to my mind was - 'Could this be the fulfillment of the dream I had so many years ago?'

Anyway, in the course of my correspondence with this minister - Pastor Ebenezer - who was an evangelist and social worker in Sri Lanka, well connected with many Pentecostal and Independent Sri Lankan churches, I was told to plan a 20 day trip, starting from the 21st of February. Pastor Ebenezer said that he would introduce me in churches in Jaffna, Kandy, and Colombo - the capital of Sri Lanka.

After much prayer, I booked my tickets for the 21st of February from Coimbatore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, via Bangalore.

The night before I left, my wife had a dream. In it, she sees me very disheartened and tired, and quite worn down in spirit. She sees in the dream that this is in Sri Lanka. Then, suddenly, a man walks up to me and begins to support me, pulling my arms up and placing them around his shoulders as if helping me to walk against my tiredness, and he says: 

"Don't you worry Brother. I'm here to help."

21st Feb

My flight left Coimbatore at 7:40 am, touched down in Bangalore in an hour, after which I had to wait for my connecting flight to Colombo at 12 noon. I reached Colombo by 1:15 pm and was received at the airport by Bro. Luke who served as an evangelist in one of the churches there. 

I was told to get a Sri Lankan SIM with a 50 GB data card that I could use to call home online.

Colombo Streets

The country is steeped in economic crisis. It recorded a minus 8 percent growth when it declared bankruptcy in April 2022. So currency-wise, the ratio of INR to LKR was 3.6:1, with 1 Sri Lankan Rupee equaling around 0.27 INR.

Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka and a principal port on the Indian Ocean. It has one of the largest artificial harbours in the world. The Sinhalese called the port Kolamba.

In the 8th century CE Arab traders settled near the site of the modern port. From the 16th century onward the port was developed by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British, who each in turn established themselves on the island of Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon). 

The streets of Colombo were so clean. The dominating religions are Roman Catholicism and Buddhism. And wherever I looked there was either a statue of Mary or Buddha.

Sri Lankan Biryani

Evangelist Luke who was my guide in Colombo had a car booked to take me to a Bible College some distance away where there was a dormitory that I could rest and freshen up in  before I caught my night bus to Jaffna. The Bible College Campus was 45 kms from the airport, and we reached there by around 4:30 pm, after a fiery Sri Lankan lunch on the way.

Sri Lanka was sweltering and I barely had enough time to shower and change. I think I must have rested for around an hour before I had to get my stuff and leave for the bus station at about 6:30 pm. My bus was booked for 7:30 pm. I would reach Jaffna by 4:00 am the next morning.

Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yalpanam. It is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and also the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name.

Since the end of the civil war in 2009, refugees and internally displaced people began returning to homes, while government and private sector reconstruction started taking place. Historically, Jaffna was made into a colonial port town during the Portuguese occupation of the Jaffna peninsula in 1619 who lost it to the Dutch, only to lose it to the British in 1796. During the civil war, the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) occupied Jaffna in 1986 until 1995, when the Sri Lankan Army regained control.

It took nearly an hour and a half to clear the city limits until we were well and truly on our way to Jaffna. I had not been given any clear itinerary by Bro. Ebenezer, who had informed me that I would have to spend a week in Jaffna before my other meetings in Kandy and Colombo.

I had also been told that I would be boarding a sleeper bus (which was not the case). It was a semi-sleeper, and I made myself as comfortable as I could possibly get without stretching my legs, for the 8 hour journey to Jaffna.

22nd Feb

When I had tried to contact the brethren in Jaffna as per the contacts given to me by Pastor Ebenezer, I had not been able to get through; so I was a bit apprehensive about travelling and landing there in the early hours of the morning without a clue as to where I was going to be put up, and who I would meet. Pastor Ebenezer assured me that The Pillar of Fire, The Pillar of Cloud, and Ebenezer would be going along with me in Spirit and I had nothing to worry about. :-)

I landed in Jaffna at 4:00 am exactly and found myself standing alone at the bus station, ruefully recalling his words. I had been told that I would be received by a brother there, but as I'd feared there was no one. It  was just me and my luggage waiting patiently until all the bus passengers had alighted and the auto rickshaws that had been waiting for a fare had all puttered off. I found myself laughing, standing alone on that humid Jaffna street without a vehicle in sight thinking that at least, I wasn't worse off than the Apostle Paul holding on to a piece of driftwood, stranded in the open sea. The Pillar of Fire and Cloud was with me alright, but Ebenezer in spirit or flesh was in no way present. :-D

Click here to watch a video of what it was like :-)

I began to understand the disorganized state of missionary affairs in Jaffna, especially on the part of my contacts, but took it all in my stride (as that was all I really could do at the moment!) I had indeed considered this more of a 'Spying the Land' trip, so was actually prepared for anything.

I finally managed to contact Reverend Pradeesh who was putting me up at his place for a week. I boarded an auto somehow, and got him to talk to the driver to get the location. 

Rev. Pradeesh had a simple village home in Chunnakam, Jaffna. He welcomed me with a steaming hot mug of Sri Lankan black tea, and then offered me a cot in a corner of the room. I would be sharing the room with another 2 brothers - Bro. Vijaykanth and Bishop Theron.

I was so tired and found my back acting up, so I freshened up and then fell into my bed asking the brothers not to wake me for breakfast and to just let me get up on my own.

I slept deeply, more out of exhaustion, and it was around noon by the time I awoke. 

After a simple brunch, I had some time to share my testimony with the other brothers there, as well as with Rev. Pradeesh, before I unpacked and got my things put away.

I was told that there was a meeting scheduled for that evening - a Pastor's Conference. Now it so happened that the brethren in Jaffna had not been given any pre-intimation of my itinerary. I was first told that I would have meetings to preach in at Colombo and then move to Jaffna. Then suddenly the program had been rearranged, and the brethren there confessed that they really hadn't been prepared to receive me, and as a result did not have meetings well organized.

The brethren wanted to know more about my background. They asked me if I was affiliated with Mohan C. Lazarus, Father Berchman, Paul Dinakaran, or Ezekiah Francis, who were regular visitors in Ceylon. I informed them  that I was just a simple minister from a small town carrying a burden for God's people, that I was in no way associated with the celebrity preachers mentioned above, and that they needed to broaden the horizons of their mind to see beyond the lens of TV evangelism. 

One of the brethren who had been conversing with me was Bishop Theron, an elderly minister from Colombo. When I shared my burden for Sri Lanka, the prophetic dream the Lord had given me, the Prophetic Message I was carrying, and certain End Time truths that were imperative for our days, he was inspired, and told me that I should preach in his stead for the conference that evening, as his throat had been sore, and he had been praying for someone responsible to fill in for him at the conference.

So I got some more rest, some more tea, and then spent some time in prayer before I was ready to move out for the conference.

The Conference was being held in Rev. Pradeesh's Church - Aarudhal Sarvadesa Missionary Sabhei (Comfort International Missionary Church) in Chunnakam from, 7:00 to 9:00 pm. 

There were around 70 pastors in attendance, some along with their wives.

A few preachers were called forward to speak, and I asked Rev. Pradeesh to let me be the last to speak so that I could stretch the concluding session a bit.

I was handed the pulpit at around 8:30 pm.

After I shared the testimony of my Conversion and Call to Ministry, I began to preach on Revival. Many of the ministers who had spoken before me had stressed on this point of revival, so I placed a challenge  before the ministers gathered there that day - I told them that none of their churches would see revival until they returned to the Apostolic Pattern of the Original Church. 

@ Comfort International Missionary Church, Chunnakam, Jaffna

I charged them by the Word of God, expounding to them the concept of Revival and exhorting them to first seek Personal Revival and model their lives and ministries according to the Acts of the Apostles who were our forefathers in Faith.

I also expounded on the Importance of Ministry Vision. I spoke on how many preachers simply passed out of Bible College, presumed they had a call, and began a ministry in the absence of vision, chasing funds and monetary aid, and falling in greed because they had not realized their purpose and calling in the Kingdom of God.

I had to finish within 30 minutes, and hoped my message had hit home.

At the end of the conference, many of the ministers who had attended, came forward and appreciated me. They told me that I had just challenged an entire belief system and that their hearts had burned as they heard the Word being broken.

With attending Pastors @the Conference.

A number of ministers asked for my contact details and had a discussion regarding arranging meetings in their respective churches for the remainder of my stay in Jaffna.

The Holy Ghost was off to a good start.

23rd Feb

@ Pastor Luke's home

The next morning, I had been invited for prayer and lunch to Pastor Luke's home. He was the in - law of Pastor John, who had been responsible for introducing me to Jaffna.

Pastor Luke lived in Inuvil, Jaffna. He had not been able to arrange any meetings as he was engaged in the construction of his church in the area.

It was a chance for me to meet his family, a few of his church members, and have some good fellowship before we readied ourselves for that evening's meeting in Rev. Pradeesh's branch church in another area.

With Pastor Luke's family

The evening meeting had been arranged at Aarudhal Sarvadesa Missionary Sabhei branch in KKS, Jaffna, at the very end of the map of Sri Lanka. From that point, Tamil Nadu's Rameshwaram district was only 32 kms by sea.

@ Aarudhal Sarvadesa Missionary Sabhei

The little church was where Rev. Pradeesh had first begun his ministry. Since, the service had been unplanned, and it was a week day, most of the church members who were labourers had not got in yet. 

My message for the little congregation there was A Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ. I explained the Importance of Trust and Faith in Jesus, the disciplines of fasting and prayer, the need for meditation and Bible reading, and keeping the lines of personal communication with the Father open at all times.

I conveyed this in simple terms as the folk gathered there were mostly from the poorer, rural sections of society, and had the greatest need for communication with Christ, and trust in Him, even for their daily bread and other necessities.

The meeting began at 6:30 pm and went on till around 8:00 pm.

We retired soon after, and I spent some time learning about Rev. Pradeesh's ministry, and sharing some more of the Word with him.

24th Feb 

The 24th was a busy day, just what I had been craving.

We had a Church Fasting and Prayer Service that morning at Pastor Askenesh's Church - Kirubasanam Poorana Suvishesha Sabhei (Mercy Seat Full Gospel Church), in Manipay, Jaffna. 

Mercy Seat Full Gospel Church, Manipay, Jaffna

The service was scheduled from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

My message that morning was Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, with a text from Luke 12, emphasizing the Spiritual Needs of Man.

Pastor Askenesh leads the congregation in worship

There were around 50 souls in attendance.

That afternoon, I was asked to speak at the wedding of a couple from the same church.

I spoke from Genesis, regarding The Creation of Man - the Fusion of the Male and Female attributes in one Spirit Being, that were later placed in two separate entities, and the symbolism of 'Two Shall Be One Flesh'.

I also offered some advice on marriage, and placed before the congregation - facts regarding the destruction of the institution of marriage and the lack of respect of marriage partners for each other  in current society, and in contrast, how a model marriage in Christ should be.

After the wedding feast, I headed to Rev. Pradeesh's for some rest before our evening meet at Yesu Alaikiraar (Jesus Calls) Church at Kokuvil, Jaffna. 

Yesu Alaikiraar (Jesus Calls) Church at Kokuvil, Jaffna. 

I had been invited here by Pastor Chandrashekhar, and it was an evening service I had been asked to speak at.

The meet was scheduled from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

My message was 'The Power of Jesus Christ to Heal and Save', with a text from Luke 22, and Psalm 110, regarding the woman with the issue of blood - Jesus Christ being our Cedar of Lebanon.

All the brethren who attended heartily appreciated the message and many came forward to assure me that they would be better prepared for meetings the next time I visited.

It so happened that I had been questioning my trip from the time I had set foot in Jaffna, when most things hadn't gone according to plan - the lack of organization in spite of the assurance of the brother who had initially called me, the sluggish heat, the lack of privacy in the room I was staying in, and the food which wasn't agreeing with me and had made me opt to eat only twice a day. The bathroom too was quite a distance away, and I could feel my spinal pain start up by the end of the day.

However, I began seeing the Holy Spirit work, in granting me opportunities to share the depths of the Word with the brethren in my room, in touching this or that soul in the meetings, in the warm handshakes and teary eyes of the ministers who came up to me telling me that they had been overwhelmed and were thankful that the Lord had sent me to them, and as more of the people of Jaffna began understanding the vision that I had carried to Ceylon. yes, the Lord was working, slowly, silently, preparing the ground, and I was content in this knowledge.

25th Feb

That Sunday was quite eventful.

We first had a Morning Service from 7:00 to 8:00 am in Rev.  Pradeesh's Church.

My message centered around Prophecies Unfolding in Our Times.

Then we had a 2nd service at 10:30 am at Pastor Michael's church - Arputha Uliyangal Church (Miracle Ministry Church), in Kopay, Jaffna.

@ Miracle Ministry Church, Kopay, Jaffna

My message for the congregation there was The Image and Likeness of God, with texts from Genesis 1:27, and 2: 7, expounding on the Creation of the Spiritual and Natural Man, and how - as man was first created a Spirit being, is bound to place his Spirit needs as priority in life.

With Rev. John Paul
post- service

At the service, I was met by Rev. John Paul - Human Rights Director for Sri Lanka, heading the Ecumenical Movement in the country. 

Rev. John Paul is a Government appointed Ecumenical Representative and as such is called upon to pray for presidents, generals, and other officials in government. However, he had heard my message that day and had been touched.

He took us out for dessert later to a famous ice cream lounge in Jaffna, and then invited me over to his place for prayer.

He led me to his new Mission House and Orphanage which was under construction, and then to his home where he asked me to pray for his family.

Praying for the Reverend's mother who had an inflammation in her cheek

We parted soon after agreeing to meet the following day to talk more.

26th Feb 

The next day, I was told I had no meetings, and took the time to do some laundry and get my things in order.

Rev John Paul paid me a visit later on and I spent some time discussing the Word with him. I exhorted him on the dangers of ecumenical dialogue, and how it was a statement of a compromise of faith. I explained how a kind of Ecumenism had begun in the days of King Solomon when he gave leave to his wives to freely build shrines to foreign gods in Israel, and how this had brought about the downfall of the kingdom in the future, and was instrumental in driving out the presence of God.

The Lord also gave me a word of discernment regarding a problem the Reverend had, and when I expressed it to him, he was pricked, and asked me to pray over him. 

He said: 

"I've been asked by a great many people to pray. Everyone in Sri Lanka asks me to pray over them. I don't usually come to others for prayer. But, I see that God has called you, that you are sincere, and that even though you rebuke me, you do it out of love and concern for my soul. So please do pray for me Sir."

Well, we ended the visit with prayer. I pray that my words of warning will have planted a seed in this brother's heart.

27th Feb 

We had a cottage meeting the next evening at Rev. Pradeesh's sister's (Sister Anusha's) house in Maruthanarmadam, Jaffna from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.

There were just a few family members gathered there and I shared with them about the Times and Signs of the Lord's Coming. I explained how Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled when the wise men visited him with news of a star foretelling the Saviour's birth, how the Pharisees were troubled with the new doctrines of Jesus as he preached among them about love and forgiveness, and how as a parallel, denominational christianity is troubled when the pure and unadulterated truth is preached. 

I asked them in conclusion, if they were yet willing to hold on to their traditions - the traditions of men, if such were not pleasing to God.

28th Feb 

The next day, I took some time to rest and pray as one of Rev. Pradeesh's family members had passed away, and he was called on to conduct the funeral.

29th Feb 

On the evening of the 29th, we were scheduled to preach at a believer's home. This believer was a part of Pastor Beniel's Church, in Manipay, Jaffna. The meeting was fixed from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.

Pastor Beniel was one of the pastors that Bro. Barnabas, (who had been greatly touched by my messages) had sent me to.

I briefly shared my testimony there, and then began to preach from John 3: 17 to 20. I explained how Christ was our medicine, and sin the sickness, and what we needed to do to be liberated from our sins and lay hold on the Eternal Life of the Word.

Post Service pic with Pastor Beniel and Family

After the meeting a few people came forward for prayer. Among them was a woman possessed by a demon. The moment I began praying for her, she collapsed. When we managed to get her up, she told us that she now felt well, as if a great weight had been lifted off her, and I discerned that she had been delivered.

March 1st

It was the last day of my stay in Jaffna. I would be proceeding the following day, to Kandy - another city of Sri Lanka which was a bit cooler, being at an elevation of 1,640 feet (500 meters). 

With Rev. Pradeesh and family

I had already booked my tickets, and would have to board a bus the next morning at 6:30 am. And the journey would take roughly 7 hours. So after a long talk with Rev. Pradeesh about conducting future meetings and Pastors' Conferences in the area, I packed up all my belongings, and was ready to turn in early so that I could be fresh for travel the next morning, when suddenly, I receive a call from Pastor Barnabas asking if I could please come and preach at his Church Night Service from 7:30 to 10:30 pm. 

He also said that I could stay at his home that night and that he would be glad to drop me off at the bust station the next morning.

So, I and Rev. Pradeesh, my luggage in tow made our way to his place at 7:00 pm.

At the night service, I preached on The 10 virgins from Matthew 25: 1, taking my time to explain the symbolism of the Spiritual Virginity of the Bride Saints, the oil, the wick, the fire, the vessel... 

I emphatically drove home the point that there was no more time, that Bible believing Christians needed to separate themselves from denominational Christianity and the rudiments of the world, that we each had to Seek the Heavenly Riches, rather than dwell on amassing worldly possessions, and chasing after material blessings.

I spoke on how the Bride of the hour had to be spiritually and prophetically aware of where she was standing, and what she was being called to do.

It was on this, the last day of my preaching in Jaffna, that I felt the Holy Spirit really move. I was released of the burden that I had been carrying in my heart some, although there was so much more I wished to impart to the congregation there.

We ended the service in prayer, and the entire church left rejoicing at the manna they had received.

After dinner, I called Pastor Barnabas aside and discussed the finer points of my vision with him. I spoke to him about what Prophetic Awareness meant, and asked him if he knew what the scripture in II Thessalonians was speaking about regarding the Man of Sin being Revealed, The Falling Away, and The Mystery of Iniquity. He was shaken and assured me that he would arrange a Pastors' Conference the next time I visited Ceylon, where there would be a good amount of time to expound these truths in detail. 

We decided to call it 'The End Time Awareness Meet'.

Pastor Barnabas was the only one who had really understood my vision in Jaffna. 

I slept deeply that night and was up at 4:00 am doing some last minute packing before I left.

March 2nd

Pastor Barnabas and his family bid me goodbye and his son dropped me at the bus stand that morning in their family owned tuk tuk.

Jaffna Town

I boarded my bus at 7:00 am. It was 7 and a half hours before I reached Kandy, with 2 rest stops along the way.

I was scrunched up in my seat because although the roads were good, the seats did not have adequate shoulder space, and I had to hunch down for almost half the journey, after which some of the passengers alighted and I could stretch out a bit.

The air got cooler, and the road more winding, the higher we went.

Click here to read the Kandy, Hatton, and Colombo Meetings Report.