Investigative Trip · November 2024
Two of our directors visit the Reformed Protestant Mission in Sri Lanka.
Following Rev. Parthee’s visit to the States in August 2024, two of our directors visited the Reformed Protestant Mission in Sri Lanka to see what a 2025 group mission trip might entail. The three churches they visited in Northern Sri Lanka are part of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), the first congregation having been established in 2012. They intentionally scheduled their trip to overlap with the visit of the Sri Lanka churches’ accessor elder, Rev. James MacInnes, from Inverness-shire, Scotland.
“The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.” Numbers 14:7
They were blessed to accompany Rev. Parthee and Rev. MacInnes over the course of their ministries for a full week, conducting numerous house visitations which gave an intimate perspective of the extent of poverty in the northern part of the country.
Their first home visitation was with a family from the congregation in Mullaitivu. To their surprise, the Sri Lankan brethren do not eat with their guests but wait until their visitors depart before finishing what remains of the meal. This reminded the directors that true Christian fellowship includes receiving as well as giving. To accept the generosity of those who are temporally impoverished and yet give freely was humbling and instructive.
The Lord’s Day they spent in Sri Lanka was full from start to finish. They began in Mullaitivu, where Rev. MacInnes preached on Acts 1, accompanied by Rev. Parthee translating. His three points were: 1. The Church is small, 2. The Church is submissive, and 3. The Church is sustained.
Following the morning service, they drove to Kilinochchi, where they had the privilege of partaking of the Lord’s Supper. The communion address came from Mark 8 on the woman with the issue of blood — the gospel was clearly and beautifully proclaimed.
A special part of the visit was time with the young people in Kilinochchi. They gathered in a circle and, with the help of translators, explained their plan to return the following year with a group of friends to organize a youth conference. Afterwards, one of the young women posed a question: “Who is your favorite person in the Bible? And you can’t say Jesus Christ!” The answers — Moses, Elijah, Ruth, Job — provided a window into the souls of the young people and the Lord’s work in their lives.
Their fellowship concluded with the youth requesting that they sing. They chose Psalm 67, a psalm containing gospel promises that all nations will praise the Lord. In God’s providence, Rev. Parthee identified that their prose translation of Psalm 67 matched a short-metre tune in the Scottish Psalter — and without changing the words, the Sri Lankan Christians gained the ability to sing those glorious words together.
“Behold, how good a thing it is, and how becoming well, Together such as brethren are in unity to dwell!” Psalm 133:1 (SMV)
The directors departed Sri Lanka with their desire to return only increasing — anticipating that day in glory when they will worship the Lamb that was slain with believers from every tribe, tongue, and nation.