You prayed when Praba could not

A grieving mother from Sri Lanka is finding happiness amongst her tears.  It was the day after she buried her eight-year-old son. Praba, full of questions and unimaginable grief, was crying out to God when she received a vision. “Jesus was holding Peter in his hands,” she remembers. “That is where Peter is, and that […]

A grieving mother from Sri Lanka is finding happiness amongst her tears. 

It was the day after she buried her eight-year-old son. Praba, full of questions and unimaginable grief, was crying out to God when she received a vision. “Jesus was holding Peter in his hands,” she remembers. “That is where Peter is, and that is where I will go someday.”

It’s three years since suicide bombers attacked multiple sites across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. Three churches were among those targeted on 21 April 2019, including Zion Church in Batticaloa where 31 believers, including Peter, lost their lives. 

Praba’s vision gives her tremendous hope. It’s what’s helped keep her going the past three years – that and your prayers. 

“After we lost Peter, for about six months I could not pray,” Praba shares. “Whenever I sat down to pray, ‘Jesus’ was all I could manage to say. I could only cry.” For the first two years, Praba, her husband and their 15-year-old daughter, Anne, couldn’t pray together. 

The family will never forget Peter

It’s here you stepped in. “People who had never even seen us were praying for us when we could not. It is because of their prayers that we have been able to stay strong in our faith. Thank you for upholding our family in prayer during this time.”

Last year, on Peter’s birthday, the family took a brave step forward. “We prayed together that morning,” Praba shares. “He is not with us anymore, but we cannot forget the gift Jesus gave us.”

The focus on Jesus reflects a shift that’s taken place in Praba’s life. “It was only after Peter died that I fully committed my life to Jesus. I used to go to church only on Sundays and spent most of my time caring for my family.

“Now everything else comes second. I am putting God first now. That is what we are called to do. I have started my ministry again and am teaching Sunday School. My relationship with Jesus has grown deeper.

“We are okay now,” adds Praba, who loves interior design and is using her skills to bless others. “We are happy and we laugh, but we will never forget Peter. We can never replace him, not even with another child of our own. We remember him every day and we cry every day. But crying has become a part of our lives now.”