Dedicated in 1755, this beautifully preserved historic church is located in the tourist area of Galle Fort and is known for seeing many visitors year round. I believe it to be the first place I've spoken at where shortly after the service, a bus full of Asians holding cameras quickly departed a sightseeing bus to flock inside for a closer look. It was also the first time where I faced a surprising challenge to have not one, but two translators. The first from English to Sinhalese, then from Sinhalese to Tamil as both are widely used in this region of Sri Lanka. This required great concentration and effort to remember what I was talking about by the time it was my turn to speak again! It was also the first time I spoke while standing on tombs...which were scattered around the entire church floor, dating back even before the church was completed.
As usual, the Logos Hope sent a team with me to present ourselves, our country and how the ship's ministry gets involved with the community in every country where it is docked. The other five people were from: Germany, United Arab Emirates, Northern Ireland, Holland and England. We all enjoyed a traditional meal for lunch which involved eating with our hands as they do here, and consisted of delicious rice and curry, as well as some other Indian inspired dishes. Normally I don't stand on tombs or eat with my hands, however I chose to follow the old saying: "when in Rome..." or in this case, Galle!
