WISDOM FROM THE FIELD – with Alison Atkinson - ACCI
Alison Atkinson’s story is one of incredible resilience and determination, and of listening to God’s voice. Amongst tragedy and loss, she has allowed herself to be used by God to share His love with the people of Sri Lanka.
Hear Alison’s full story on our ‘One Life at a Time’ podcast
Following God’s call, no matter the cost
Like many who follow God’s call to disciple the nations, Alison’s missionary journey began at a very young age. “God called me when I was just in my teenage years,” Alison recalls. “I remember missionaries coming through our church, talking about the need in the world; that the gospel needs to be spread. And I said, ‘I want to go’.”
That call eventually led Alison to Sri Lanka, where she moved in 1983 with her husband and two young children to serve in a new church plant in the mountains. Just a few short years later, her husband was tragically martyred for preaching the gospel. She was only 25 years old at the time, with her children aged six and four…
Alison recalls hearing God’s voice so clearly in the days and weeks that followed. With her Australian pastor and best friend on the way to pick her up and take her back to Australia, she felt God telling her to stay.
“I thought, ‘How can I stay in Sri Lanka? Who’s going to finance me? Because they finance my husband, not me…. And then, audibly, God spoke to me. I heard His voice very clearly. He said, out of Philippians: ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’ And then He said, also out of Philippians, ‘I will supply all your needs’.
And I knew that God had us.”
A ‘lighthouse’ building season
God used Alison’s decision to stay to do incredible things. Churches in Australia quickly got behind her and the church plant team, allowing them to purchase land and build a church.
“I saw that church as a lighthouse in a dark place,” Alison says. “And today, it’s an incredible lighthouse; a powerful church that seats about 600 people. It reaches out into the communities right around it.”
Looking back now, Alison sees how much God was at work in her life and still is today.
“God has been so faithful to those words that He spoke to me as a young 25-year-old widow. I can look back because I have that privilege – He is true to His word.”
A heart for Sri Lanka
Following a decade serving in Sri Lanka, Alison moved back to Australia. She returned with husband-to-be, Sri-Lankan born man, Narel who she had met over there. They settled into her hometown of Newcastle, got married and had three children. “We served in the church, in kids’ ministry, we owned our own home. We were doing brilliantly, we were settled,” Alison says. “But never, in all those years, did the people of Sri Lanka leave my heart.” The feeling was the same for Narel. So, in mid 2004, they returned to Sri Lanka.
Just a few months later, they were sitting on a Sri Lankan beach with their three youngest children when, suddenly, the water in front of them disappeared. Alison recalls it happening so quickly that fish were left dancing on the sand. It was 26 December 2004 and what is now known as the ‘Boxing Day tsunami’ was about to hit…
“We were watching it for quite some time… We didn’t know what was going on. There was this huge rock, about ten foot tall, in front of the hotel [where we were staying]. As I was walking back to the swimming pool, I saw this rock disappear. My husband grabbed our two boys, who were quite small and just ran. And I grabbed my daughter, and we ran.”
Thankfully they all made it to their hotel in time and the building withstood the tsunami. But as we now know, Alison and her family had witnessed one of the world’s most deadly disasters – an event which took the lives of around 230,000 people across multiple Southeast Asian nations, including tens of thousands in Sri Lanka.
Ministering in Sri Lanka
The disaster shaped the next 12 months of the couple’s lives, upending the plans they had made when they arrived. They got to work straight away, helping anyone who needed it and being a conduit for Australian churches’ relief efforts. “The Australian churches started working with us and sending funds, so we were able to work alongside many families that had just lost everything. Through the AOG in Australia, we were able to find land for houses to be built… We saw people being able to have homes to live in.”
After a year of serving in this capacity, the couple started working towards their dream of having an education centre to support low-income families. They established the HelpKids Centre, in Colombo, in 2006, which today supports 133 families through early education and after school tuition, as well as educational scholarships and life skills programs. “It’s like a church,” Alison reflects. “They all come in and we work alongside of them because it’s about the whole family. You can’t work with the children and send them back to a family that is not whole and not working.”
The impact of this centre – like all the other projects and initiatives the couple oversee – reminds Alison of the goodness of God. “We give glory to God that we’ve been able to do this and to impact the lives of children. Today [the HopeKids Centre] is an incredible influence in the community and is making a difference.”
Listen to the One Life at a Time podcast to hear more about Alison’s incredible journey and ministry to the nation of Sri Lanka.
By Andrew Thomas
By Andrew Thomas
By Andrew Thomas