Ike Barnhart* stood to bid farewell to three young men standing in the doorway of the guesthouse where he was staying.
Volunteer Mamie Barnhart teaches Tamil Hindu children songs and games in the tea and rubber plantations of Sri Lanka.“You need to accept Jesus – Jesus is alive!” Ike said, as the young men shook his hand and continued on their way.
While sipping his morning tea, Ike, with the help of a Sri Lankan pastor, had shared the gospel with the three Buddhist men.
“All I did was say, ‘Good morning. How are you?’ and then it went on from there,” Ike said. “All around us are divine appointments. Everywhere we go, there are divine appointments.”
His wife, Mamie Barnhart,* agrees. “It’s exciting to see what’s going on [in Sri Lanka]?-?.?It’s exciting to see how if you say, ‘I’ll go’ how He will use you to reach people.”
Ike and Mamie Barnhart are no strangers to the work in Sri Lanka. They have visited South Asia several times.
“There are so many people here who have never heard about Jesus,” Mamie said.
Luke,* a Sri Lankan pastor, said Hindus and Buddhists cling to teachings filled with lies. “People think they know [the truth], but they don’t know.”
One evening the team rode around town in a three-wheel vehicle known as a tuk-tuk, stopping and praying at temples, mosques and churches.
While people prayerwalked at a large ornate temple, Buddhist teachings blared from loudspeakers, echoing through the surrounding neighborhood. Monks sat outside the temple listening closely to the teachings.
“What do you think?” the tuk-tuk driver asked Mamie.
“It’s false,” she said.
Inside the temple, on a tour led by a 30-year-old Buddhist monk, Ike asked the guide, “How can you worship something that is dead?” The monk has learned the teachings of the Buddhist way since he was a child, having lived at that temple since he was 7.
As Ike continued to ask questions, the monk struggled to give answers. Ike shared the gospel with him. Leading Ike out of the temple, the monk said, “You’ve given me things to think about.”
“There needs to be more people willing to come and share,” Mamie said. “I think a lot of people miss out on a lot by not coming on a mission trip.”
Tucked away in Sri Lanka’s mountains are the homes of tea and rubber plantation workers. The small one- to three-room homes often house as many as 12 people.
Sri Lankan Christians, mentored by Cooperative Program-supported Southern Baptists, are ministering to the people on the plantations.
The Barnharts ministered at five different plantations, spreading joy and sharing the gospel through translators and showing the “JESUS” film.
“When we showed them the ‘JESUS’ video, their eyes were glued to the screen,” Mamie said. “There were many who said they wanted to know more information (after the video was over).”
“The local pastor said people did pray [to receive Christ] after the video,” Ike said. He searched through his photos and stopped at a photo of a man and his children. “The pastor said they prayed to receive Christ.”
At one home, some 15 children gathered around Mamie, calling her sudu aachi, which means “white grandma.” She taught them how to play hopscotch, counted to 10 in English with them, and sang songs. They giggled and clapped, imitating her every move.
“I loved seeing them so happy without worries for just a bit,” Mamie said. “Even if you don’t know the language, you can still show them kindness, smile and make them feel comfortable.”
Opportunities to reach the lost in Sri Lanka abound.
The Barnharts shared Christ with a Catholic tuk-tuk driver who prayed to receive him as Savior. Later that evening, they shared with his wife and two daughters who also prayed to receive Christ as their Savior.
“When he (the tuk-tuk driver) prayed, you could just see it in his face. He said there was a feeling inside him. I told him, ‘That’s the Holy Spirit,’?” Ike said.
“Sometimes we look for special things – when all around us are divine appointments,” Ike said.
“Our vision is that of Habakkuk – to see the knowledge of God’s glory spread all over Sri Lanka,” Southern Baptist representative Greg Cargill* said.
*Names changed for security reasons. Fullerton is a Journeyman serving as a writer in South Asia.