IN THE AFTERMATH

The small island nation of Sri Lanka was shaken on Easter Sunday 2019 when terrorist groups carried out suicide attacks against Christian churches and hotels in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As reported by the Ministry of Health, the revised death toll stood at 253 persons. Many more still lie in hospitals, with scars and disabilities to live with throughout the rest of their lives. Hundreds still weep for the child, the mother and the father who will never come home. The entire nation lives in fear and the whole world weeps with Sri Lanka. Currently, the country lives in a situation of emergency and the threat to national security and human lives is still very real.

Among the churches affected by the explosions is the Zion Evangelical Church in Batticaloa. A total of 28 persons lost their lives to this act of extreme hatred; most of them children. It is Pastor Thirukkumaran’s belief that the children were spiritually prepared to meet their Saviour. Moments before the explosion took place, the Sunday school teacher had asked the class if they were prepared to die as martyrs, as part of the lesson for Easter Sunday. Surviving witnesses share how the children had raised their hands unhesitantly.