Jenny Bywaters
Jenny Bywaters was a Mission Partner and public health expert sent by the Methodist Church in Britain to the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka in 2009 - 2013.
Jenny originally intended to work with people offering mental health services in Jaffna, a war-torn region in the north of the country. However, she worked with the health service in the capital, Colombo.
The head of the home, Robert, told me about his family's experience, and asked for prayer support. He was in church, but the rest of the family were at home when the tsunami overwhelmed their house. His wife and daughter somehow managed to swim up, catch hold of the window sill, and climb onto the roof of the house, but they could only watch as the elder son aged 11 was swept away. The younger son also disappeared, though he was later found safe in the village. Robert came home from church , and found the body of one son and the other son missing.The police warned that another tsunami might be coming, and they must evacuate the area, so they quickly buried their child and fled. Robert's wife has had mental health problems since that time, and for the whole family it is no longer possible to celebrate Christmas.
Jenny Bywaters