EVEN BEFORE A TSUNAMI RAVAGED ITS coastline on December 26, 2004, Sri Lanka was often described as the "island of tears." Some 19 million people live on this lush tropical island off the southern tip of India. They have endured more than their fair share of hardships, including poverty, political unrest, and a civil war that has raged for more than two decades, killing more than 67,000 people.

But in the space of just a few moments, Sri Lanka lost another 39,000 of its citizens as a series of waves broke on its southern and eastern coastlines. This nation, which has been defined by war for so long, was thrown into shock and mourning. Suddenly "island of tears" became more descriptive than ever before.

Television viewers from around the globe tuned in to see the unbelievable destruction revealed by the receding waters. Sri Lanka's coastline has been forever altered. Flattened landscapes have replaced villages. The remains of houses, broken toys, and brightly colored saris are still strewn over miles of beachfront property. In the days following the tsunami, it was not unusual to find a man or woman, sitting on the foundations of their former homes, weeping. There was not much more they could do: no work, no home, no family.

Religious Tension
For the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sri Lanka, the tsunami disaster marked the close of an already turbulent year. At the beginning of 2004 the outlook was grim for Christian organizations in Sri Lanka as a series of attacks prompted the country's president to order police protection for many churches and Christian aid organizations.

The persecution was touched off, in part, by the death of a prominent Buddhist monk, mistakenly blamed by some on Christians. Newspaper articles chronicled evangelistic strategies of various churches and spurred on young rioters who burned churches and stoned prayer houses.

Sri Lanka Mission auditor Norman Jansz, 70, was distributing Sow 1 Billion literature one Sabbath when a group of men approached him. Following a short exchange they took him to a temple to force him to worship at a shrine. When Jansz refused to bow down, the young men began beating him, then took money from his pocket and offered it at the statue. Finally, bruised and shaken, Jansz was taken to police, who said he must not distribute any more literature.

In March a zealot from another religion attacked one of the many new Adventist groups in the country. He cursed them and tried to draw the group leader into a confrontation. The wife of the Adventist leader was attacked and spent three days recovering in the hospital.

As this wave of anti-Christian sentiment swept Sri Lanka, a new anticonversion law was proposed. The concept of "conversion" is sometimes associated with the belief that Christians provide enticements such as food, jobs, or shelter. This mistaken understanding forced many churches to put projects of compassion on the back burner for a time.

Growth Through Adversity
In the midst of this religious tension, Adventists contemplated their plans for participating in the worldwide Year of World Evangelism. Suddenly the idea of church members sharing their faith, publicly or privately, seemed hazardous.

But as the national elections came and went in April 2004, the religious and political landscape of Sri Lanka began to stabilize. Even as debate on a nationwide ban on conversions continued, Adventists pressed forward with their first test on this issue--a public evangelistic meeting with Alberto Gulfan, president of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division. "We thought we would cancel this meeting in light of recent political troubles," says mission secretary P. P. Dhanaraja, "but our pastors and lay members wanted to go forward."

Their faith was justified. Gulfan's meetings had a nightly attendance of up to 300 people and were well received. Church members saw that the door of evangelism was still open. "Once we saw the success of these meetings, we had no worry and saw it was time to move forward," says Dhanaraja. During August and September the church organized 11 more evangelistic meetings with local pastors and visiting evangelists from India.

In the village of Koslanda, Daniel Devadhas, secretary of the Southeast India Union, conducted reaping meetings. This village, situated among beautiful tea estates, lies 6,000 feet above sea level. Organizers faced an unusual problem--wild elephants often roamed the village after dark, terrifying the local population. To avoid the elephants, each meeting was concluded before 6:00 p.m., and there was special prayer every evening that God would protect everyone as they made their way home. In 10 days of the meetings, no elephants were sighted.

On the final evening, Devadhas gave a call for baptism. "We all had our eyes closed, and we expected about 10 people to respond," he says. "Suddenly the chairs rattled like thunder, and we looked up and more than 25 people made the decision for baptism." These new believers were baptized in a cold mountain river during a rainstorm.

More than 200 people were baptized in 2004, and five new churches were organized. The number may not seem large, but it represents a significant increase over previous years and brings hope to church members that a new day is dawning in Sri Lanka. In 100 years of ministry in Sri Lanka, the church has some 3,500 members, many of whom live abroad because of the war. "Having more than 200 new members join the church in one year really gives the church fresh energy as we enter a new century of ministry," says W. D. Anthony, president of the Sri Lanka Mission.

One Hundred Years and Counting
When Adventist missionary Harry Armstrong landed in the port of Colombo in 1904, Sri Lanka (or Ceylon as it was then known) was in the midst of a nationwide Buddhist revival. This had been sparked, in part, by a famous debate between Christian and Buddhist clergy--a debate that was decisively won by the Buddhist monks.

Harry Armstrong conducted health and evangelistic meetings and distributed literature in Colombo and other parts of the country. Years of hard work passed before Armstrong and his fellow missionaries saw the first person become a Seventh-day Adventist. The first Adventist church was organized in 1922 in Colombo, and the Lakpahana School was started near Colombo in 1924.

Over the years several schools, a hospital, and a publishing house added strength to the work of the church in Sri Lanka. "The work in Sri Lanka has never been easy," says Anthony. "It takes real dedication to reach even one person, and some of the Adventist pioneers really endured hardship to establish the church."

In October 2004 the church in Sri Lanka celebrated the commitment and achievements of these pioneers and gave thanks for God's leading. Grand plans were laid for a celebration that would present a clear picture to the Sri Lankan public of a positive, vibrant faith community. Sri Lanka Mission leaders chose the largest convention hall in the nation in which to hold a special celebration. They contacted former missionaries and invited national dignitaries to attend. Jan Paulsen, president of the world church, accepted an invitation to participate in the occasion, the first visit to Sri Lanka from a General Conference president since 1984.

Despite a general reluctance among journalists to cover Christian events, Paulsen's visit and the centennial celebration were featured in several newspapers with both stories and photos. On Sunday, October 24, more than 1,500 church members took part in a dramatic "walk of witness" through the streets of the capital city, Colombo. People lined the roads while church members handed out health and gospel literature.

Tragedy and Hope
Just two months later, tragedy replaced celebration. For all Sri Lankans, 2004 will be forever defined by the tsunami and its aftermath.

ADRA Responds When the tsunami hit, Alan Wright, country director for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, went immediately to his office. He called in a team of water purification specialists from South Africa, and then sat down with his small staff and a few volunteers. As they discussed various approaches, Wright stayed focused: "Our job is to save lives; and we cannot do everything, so let's do what we can do." The team began an around-the-clock relief effort that continued for the following three weeks. The small four-person office became a command center for more than 100 volunteers, staff, and incoming disaster-response teams. For more information on ADRA's work in Sri Lanka, please visit www.adra.org.

In the eastern city of Kalmunai, Pastor P. Jeraman got up early Sunday morning to go work on the construction site of the new Adventist church. As he worked, hundreds of people suddenly started running past. Jeraman and another church member joined them and did not stop running for six miles. They stayed and waited. "We were afraid to go back home because everyone was saying, 'Another one is coming,'" says Jeraman.