“He gives food to every creature. Give thanks to the God of heaven.”
[Jul.25.2022] It has passed about two months since the Sri Lanka government declared sovereign default on May 19. Local Korean missionaries changed the practices of their ministries after facing empty aisles of grocery shops and long lines in front of petrol stations from dawn to buy oil. It is sharing ‘Gospel and Bread”
Missionary Myunggil Tak said on July 20, “Even if Sri Lanka forms a new government, the chaos is likely to continue. It may last for as long as up to 10 years. Missionaries in Sri Lanka are trying to expand their ministry from preaching the gospel to sharing the gospel and bread together.
Sri Lanka’s new president was elected on July 20 by an indirect parliamentary election after the official resignation of Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country to escape anti-government protests.
Missionary Tak said, “Since everyone is in a sensitive situation, it is not easy to provide relief openly, and we are looking for ways to help indirectly.” Currently, the Sri Lanka Missions Association has started to help local pastors. His mission field is the capital city of Colombo and has recently arrived in Korea.
There is a reason why the Sri Lanka Missionary Association has started to help local pastors. Missionary Heonju Lee, who recently came back to Korea after working in Kurunegala, explained the situation in Sri Lanka over the past two months and talked about the difficulties that local pastors face.
He said, “Inflation has risen by 300% and oil is not available to difficult to obtain. Due to dollar shortage, goods cannot be imported and because of the lack of petrol, distribution of products and the running of power plants are stopped.” In particular, the situation of local pastors is more serious. They are grateful if they can have even two meals instead of three meals a day.
Lee said, “A pastor I knew said he was going to the bank, so I asked, ‘what are you going for?’ He said, ‘I heard a fellow pastor in the countryside could not eat even one meal a day, so I am on my way to send some money.’ We are all in difficult situations, but for pastors who live on offerings it is inevitably more serious.”
Missionaries anticipate that the situation in Sri Lanka would not be recovered quickly. People who have experienced corruption of the government have great distrust in its policies and the economic situation has even missed the time of recovery. Therefore, missionaries believe that the direction of their ministry needs to be revised from a long-term perspective.
The biggest problem is the food shortage. Due to the failure of the former president’s agricultural policy, the yield of double cropping in Sri Lanka has halved. In addition, the price of raw materials for food has risen due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Lee said, “I had a meeting with the Korean embassy in Sri Lanka and they thought the food shortage would get worse this fall. Before I came to Korea earlier this month, I bought rice and seeds with the money I had, gave them to local workers and church members, and told them to farm on unused land. When we return to Sri Lank next month, I’m going to help them. “
Missionary Tak also asked the Korean church for prayers and help. He said, “Sri Lanka is truly in crisis, and I ask you to pray together for them to trust God and not give up.” (Source: Kukmin Daily News).
He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven.
(Psalms 136:25-26)
Dear God, please have mercy on Sri Lanka, which is experiencing a food shortage since the declaration of sovereign default. Please deliver the people of this land from hunger. We pray that through the prayers of churches, the needs of missionaries, who do evangelism and relief work, are filled. Let them see Your kindness in giving food to all flesh in times of crisis. Please be with them in the process of rebuilding the leadership of this country, which is suffering from political turmoil, so that they may enjoy the peace that you give.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
