Sri Lanka Recap

Friends,

So sorry it has taken me several weeks to write the blog post about my Sri Lanka trip. The trip is one of the most amazing events I have had the privilege of being a part. I am incredibly impressed with the work of Child Empowerment International. The work they are doing with children in need in Sri Lanka is second to none.

Here is a brief rundown of the trip: 

We flew from Dallas to Los Angeles and then flew on to Hong Kong. It has been a long time since I have been on a 15 hour flight (flying to Guatemala generally takes 3 hours!) I don't usually sleep well on planes, but I was able to sleep about 2 - 3 hours on my way there. In Hong Kong, we met up with an American friend that lives there and she showed us around the city. We were able to take a ferry across the Harbor and also ride the Train to the top of Victoria Peak. 

The View from Victoria Peak

After a few hours in the city, it was time to take the high speed train back to the airport and head on to Sri Lanka. We flew from Hong Kong to Singapore and from there onto Columbo, Sri Lanka. We started traveling around 7 pm on Wednesday in Dallas and arrived in Sri Lanka around 10 pm on Friday evening. Needless to say, we collapsed into bed. 

I awoke Saturday morning to a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean from our hotel. We worked with the children at the leadership academies on Saturday. On Sunday, we attended a local Sri Lankan church and then we went into Columbo and ate lunch and shopped. Monday through Wednesday, we worked with the kids on a vacation bible school program as well as a few construction projects. Instead of typing out the details of those days,  here is a video of our time spent with the children.

After the amazing time with CEI, we began our travel back. I once again was able to sleep just a few short hours, but it took the edge of my exhaustion. When I finally arrived back in DFW, Samantha was there to take me to dinner and then home. I took a quick shower and was OUT in bed about 7:30. I didn't wake up until about 7:45 the next day.

With all that said, thank you so much for all of your prayers. There is no way that Samantha and I can do what we have done without your support and prayers. This trip was such a success because of you being part of it with us. 

We pray God continues to bless you all and we pray that you have a wonderful Easter celebration this weekend!

Garrett and Samantha