My Testimony

My Testimony

My story began on the 21st of September 1952 when I was born into a family of 8. My father struggled with alcoholism and at an early age I observed and experienced domestic violence, emotional abuse and neglect. Amidst these difficulties, I also observed unwavering faith of my mother and maternal grandmother. They provided me with a solid grounding in scripture and nurtured my interest in ministry. At the age of 12, I had two dreams on two successive nights where I saw the crucified Jesus who spoke to me and told me that He died to save and heal me and that if I dedicated my life to Him, Jesus would use me to bring many to Him. From that moment, I dedicated my life to minister to people wherever I went. My ministry grew from sharing my testimony and handing out gospel tracks on crowded city sidewalks at age16. This ministry led to planting churches in the urban slums of Colombo.

In 1976, I happened to meet an American couple from a Foursquare Church in Indiana, USA, Richard and Betty Kiser. I developed a close relationship with them and while having dinner at their home one evening, I was drawn to the couple’s bookshelf. As I scanned through the titles one book particularly caught my attention because of its odd title; “This is That” by Aimee Semple McPherson, I borrowed the book and after reading it from cover to cover five times, I resolved to one day become a part of Sister Aimee’s vision working through the Foursquare Gospel Church.

In 1978, I went to Bangalore, India for training at Southern Asia Bible College and as I was preparing to leave, Richard Kiser told me that he would most gladly recommend me to a Foursquare Bible College in the Philippines if I eventually decided to seek training under Foursquare. In September of 1978, God spoke to me through a vision, that He was calling me to be trained in a Foursquare Bible College, and He would use me to establish Foursquare Churches in Sri Lanka. I immediately contacted Richard Kiser and requested the address of a Foursquare Bible College in the Philippines and lodged my application for admission. On the recommendation of the Kisers, Foursquare Missions International accepted me as a pastor in training and sent me to the Philippines in May 1979. While undergoing my training in the Philippines, I met my beautiful wife and partner in ministry, Belen. Together we completed our Bachelor of Theology and returned to Sri Lanka in August 1981 to begin what would one day be considered the fastest growing church planting movement in the island.