Lions and Tigers and Monitor Lizards, OH MY!

Hello all. This week has been good. In fact, I even got a brief mid day break from work to "go and come" to the house and back. As I was out at mid day there were some animals out that I otherwise do not usually see from the office.
First, at the house I was suprised to see a baby bat! It was no bigger than the size of my thumb from the knuckle to the tip. Now, this was very neat. Here is a picture..
Also, once on the Cathedral grounds large monitor lizard was walking by the was walking by the BLWC (our retreat house). I did not get a picture. The video cannot load from here, but enjoy the bat!

Hanging with the Friends

Before he left to return to Westmont, I got to spend some quality time with him and his family. We were in Negombo, a very safe area in Sri Lanka. We spent the evening at an "Italian Palace" a house built with money from people who worked in Italy and remitted the money. This particular one was the result of 17 years of work. It belongs to the sister and brother in law.

Kandy Perahara

For those of you reading the online version of things, it is important to note that the elephant that had the place of honor and carried the outermost casket that guards the shrine of Buddha's tooth (kept safely in the temple) DIED two days after the parade. The elephant, aged 53 died on the temple grounds after eating too many sweets, offered to it by well wishers. A glorious picture of the limp elephant being lifted out of the temple by a large crane was featured in one of the domestic newspapers.

Below is a picture of the friend I met there, Harchari, who was so sweet. She was really shy, but would giggle and after encouragement from her mom (or aunt or other female relation) she would answer. Her father is a truck driver for the UN and after her mom received a cell phone call from him she eagerly spoke to him.

The Kandy Perahara: A significant cultural parade, the Kandy Perahara contains numerous elephants, dancers, and drummers. I was invited me to go as his guest, and arrangements were made the arrangements for us to watch it from the Methodist Church there. I was pleased to see the elephant given the main honor of carrying the outermost casket which guarded the relic of the Buddha's tooth. This elephant was the most brightly lit and adorned, with an elephant on each side. It was quite a sight to behold. . The perahara is mainly for the Tooth, and so that was the most important part. However, there were numerous segments, including a small portion for each kingdom in Sri Lanka's history, the rulers represented by men with big stomachs. Other highlights included dancers who spun wooden bowls on top of a long stick, then tossed the bowls from the stick (which was already about 12 feet high) and caught them, still spinning, with their fingers. It was a glorious evening, a moment of a lifetime evening.

When in Sri Lanka, enjoy the Kandy Perahara.

Ordinations

Here are some pictures of the ordination service, which had the main service in Sinhalese, the sermon spoken in Tamil and then translated in Sinhalese (alternating from the Tamil speaker to the Sinhalese translator) and a blessing in English from a visiting missionary Father (from the UK).

The top photo shows the blessing of one of the newly ordained, and the others remain waiting.

Note in the other photos the indigenous elements native to Sri Lanka, including the banners and what the female altar assistants are wearing. This is part of the effort of the church to be culturally relevant and to shed the association with colonialization.

This was an important ceremony, so the drummers in particular was a special feature.

The foot washing was another noteworthy element, the bishop washed the feet of the newly ordained and here the newly ordained are washing the feet of a family members (most of the recipients were parents).

The send off..

Santa Barbara, California. August 5-7, 2008 After a few months of preparation and finalizing all logistics, it was time to begin. My friends were there to see me off. Props to those who hold down the fort! Yeah "Westmont Summer Team!" Lacey, Stephanie, Yuko, Marcos and Ryan were there to see me off. Rom also took me to a nice dinner the night before to just hang out and share before going. It was fun and good to spend a few days with some of the people I care most about before leaving. It was a good sendoff, with several of us carousing Westmont housing as we left. Dr. Montgomery called with blessings, Dr. Penksa said hello, and Dr. Covington waved goodbye as he left with his wife. My family also had a great celebration the days before, a great encouragement to show all were supportive.

So, after a discussion of whose car to take, and a last minute delivery by UPS, off we went to East Beach to await the Airbus.

Here are some pictures of the day .