Marshall work as a Mason and his wife is working in a small garment factory as a Machine operator. Although they built the house about 20 years ago with their savings, they find that the house is still incomplete. The family has been living all these years with fear and anxiety as their house was without windows and the main door which was installed 20 years ago was decayed and worn off requiring a new door. They also required doing some masonry work in the front wall which was neglected due to lack of finances. Further, Marshall’s daughter and her husband who were living separately has now come back to live with them due to economic constraints and hardships experienced by them as well in paying rent and other living conditions. His daughter, although moved in with them, was having sleepless nights due to fear of thinking that robbers could enter the house and not only rob whatever is available but also could cause severe harm to their lives! The family was immensely grateful that the FCH has helped them in completing their house work so that most importantly they could live in peace of mind!
Navinda is married with two school going children. The house they were living in was partially constructed house which was in substandard condition. His children used to get sick quite often due to dust emanating from the uncemented floors. They also did not have proper security as the windows that were there were made out of substandard wood long time ago and have decayed and worn off and they cannot be closed or lockable. The walls of the house, mainly inside, needed plastering and with heavy rains the water seeping into their house. The FCH considered their plight and assisted the family to complete the house to a livable condition. The family is very much grateful for helping them to have a decent shelter!
Seven members live in the house of Shantha De Silva even though the house is very small with just one room and an open verandah and a tiny sitting room. Previously his married daughter and her husband was occupying the only room available in the house. At night, Shantha and his wife and their three other daughters sleep on the floor of the tiny siting room using mats. It was a very difficult situation and hence the family requested assistance from the Fuller Center to help them build another small room utilizing the open verandah area. Now the family gives their praise and thanks to the Lord as well as to the FCH for helping them out to ease off the congestion as seven of them lived in the house with a lot of difficulties.
The team led by Mrs. Lorna House constructed two partly built houses for 2 families in Indibedde who were in great need of a decent house to live. These families are very grateful to the Fuller Center for housing for
helping them in their time of need.
The team worked hard along with our FCFH staff and it was a precious time for all of us. They were highly encouraged by the cooperation of the two families who also took part in the building process. On the last day of work there was a brief service in the Bethel Fellowship Center where the team expressed their appreciation to all the staff who gave their full support and cooperation during their stay in Sri Lanka. A group photo of the group with the staff was
also taken at his time.
These families are very thankful to the UCF for this kind gesture in their time of need.
We are grateful and humbly thank all our prayer partners for your support and encouragement at this time of need.
Mrs. Jessica Tripp and a mission team of 15 young persons from “Serve to Lead” North Carolina headed by Mrs. Jessica and Mrs. Leslie were with us from 26th February to 7th March. During their visit they were able to assist in the construction of two wooden houses for two needy families of the slum community in the Fishing area of Moratuwa. They also did some paint work at the Bethel Fellowship Center in Neboda and involved in various other projects of the UCF visiting the ministry locations to donate school supplies, food items, hygiene packs, etc. They were also able to visit the income generating project in Minneriya where mosquito nets are made, the Bethel Fellowship Center in Dambulla and the UCF Nursery School in Madatugama where they distributed school supplies and stationery to the children. Later they visited Polonnaruwa where they assisted by taking blood tests and other related work of the free medical clinic conducted by the UCF and distributed eye glasses to needy person at the eye camp. A visit was also made to a village named “Onegama” where they worked with the children and distributed basic school necessities. Proceeding to Mahinyangana where the UCF works in partnership, providing school supplies and humanitarian food to a nursery school managed by the Catholic Church, they participated in distributing these items to the children together with Rev. Fr. Priyantha and the Sisters of the nursery. From here they went to Ella, Pussallawa where they had a programme for the children of the labourers in the tea plantations. At Ibbagammuwa, they presented a wardrobe to the nursery school.
It was a great blessing to have “Serve to Lead” partner with the UCFSL and we thank God for their commitment and generosity taking part in these projects working together with us.
Pray that God will continue to bless and guide us as we plan to do more such work in the future helping people in real need. (John 15:7 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.)
We thank God that by His Grace the Fuller Center for Housing Sri Lanka, was able to complete the 100th house under the Fuller Center for Housing Program. The 100th house was declared open by Mr. Srinath Perera, President’s Counsel and Member of Provincial Council, Western Province. Rev. Fr. Devapriya de Silva, former Archdeacon of Galle, of Colombo Diocese dedicated the house with prayer. Rev. Fernando briefly shared on the Fuller Ministry of Sri Lanka among the gathering. Many leaders and Christian ministers of different churches in the area came together at this special occasion. House owners in the area were invited to attend. The ceremony was well attended and concluded successfully by the Grace of God. This home was built by the volunteer Global Builders Team from Fuller Center for Housing USA which was in Sri Lanka from 14 – 28 March 2015, together with the local Fuller team where the work initiated from March 2015. Further, the home owner’s son, Sithum, shared a brief testimony on their desperate life without a proper shelter for many years and that the Lord has honoured their need through the Fuller ministry.
A team of 12 volunteers from the Fuller Center USA arrived in Sri Lanka on the 14th of March 2015 to work alongside the local Fuller Center Team. Their task was to build two houses for two families in Moratuwa. The project was a great success, and their effort is much appreciated by the house owners and the local Fuller Team. The team worked tirelessly in the extreme heat and kept their spirits up throughout the build. Many of the team members formed close bonds with the families and staff that they worked alongside of throughout their time with us. UCFSL greatly appreciates the commitment and dedication of the volunteer Global Builders Team for their participation in this project, having incurred all costs connected with their visit to Sri Lanka to participate in this project. UCFSL expresses its grateful thanks to each and every member of the USA team whose effort has provided adequate shelter to the two needy families. It was a joy and blessing to work with this team on this project.
The Fuller Center based in Moratuwa Sri Lanka helped build an additional room, small kitchen and a toilet for family Mennon in Koralawella, Moratuwa, who is married with 2 children. She and her family were living with her parents for many years without a proper home for themselves. As she had a small piece of land we were able to help build a room.
The Global Builders Team who were volunteers from the US were Susan, Mike and Natalie. They worked very hard alongside our staff and local mason. We are grateful and thankful for their great commitment in helping the needy.
“In August of 2014, I came as a co-team leader to build houses with Fuller Center for Housing to Sri Lanka. We are adding a second room, a small bathroom and kitchen to a small house for a family of 4. The building is just in front of her parent‘s house where they have been living all together. We will be passing bricks and concrete to the masons who will do the actual construction. We will also do some leveling of the ground inside and around the living space. We hope that by the end of our work time will will have gotten to put the roof on and see the job essentially completed.”
“Working with the people of Sri Lanka through Fuller Center has been a wonderful experience. Not only are we building houses, we are building relationships with the communities and the families. It was especially rewarding to me to be a part of handing out food to the children in the slum communities with Feed the Hunger. I had volunteered to package food in the United States and it was rewarding to see the children actually receiving the food.“
“As a part of the Fuller Center team, we parted ways with much of our own individual routines to be exposed to a different culture. A lot of hard work went into helping to create not a house, but a home for a family. We did put aside our hard work to make time for fun! While we did work we would have small discussions with the different family members and workers, but during one rainy, dreary day, we did have the opportunity to gather as a group as we gave gifts to the children, listen to live music, including Hotel California, and played catch. This time allowed us to learn more about who we were helping and share different information about each other to allow us to grow together.”
Champi Mendis is married and is a mother-to-be. She and her spouse haven’t had a proper house to live for many years and were living with her parents. The Fuller Center for Housing – Sri Lanka has assisted her to build a small room where we have helped them to lay the foundation and put up walls and the roof. They will install the doors and windows. They are very thankful and grateful for being able to start a new phase of life as homeowners.
Nadeeka is married and has two children. Her husband is a labourer and has no work most of the time. Coming from non-Christian background, she started attending our services at the Bethel Fellowship Center Moratuwa. She is going through a difficult time and suffering a lot without a proper income for her living. She is living in the slum fishing community. We have counseled her and since she has accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour, the Lord has worked a miracle in her life. The UCF is happy to be able to put up a small wooden house for her since the wooden shed she was living had totally collapsed, so she and her family could live in a decent manner. We thank all our prayer partners for the encouragement and support which helped us to complete this house for her.