Introduction

The Assemblies of God Avissawella is a Church with a colorful history of over half a century. Located in the Kelani Valley Basin, this little church had its beginnings with two Sri Lankan sisters decided to serve the underprivileged people of this area.

God has chosen to weave into the tapestry of its history people from various walks of life and, as a result, those who came in touch with this ministry can be found spread out in various ministries and callings.

Small Beginnings

At the dawn of the Nineteen Forties (1940), the Kelani Valley area was inundated with floods. People from the low-lying villages were huddled up in the neighboring rubber estates, which were on the higher grounds.

In the little town of Yatiyantota, people were on rooftops, hoping against hope that the rains will cease in the upper catchments areas of the river and the floods will recede.

There was a two-storied house rented out by two Mission Workers. The elder Missionary was Late Sister Lettie Wijeratne and the other then very young sister was late Sister Violet Mann. Sister Lettie was a Ceylon Pentecostal Mission worker who launched out alone to serve underprivileged people in the K.V. district. Violet was born in an aristocratic Vellala family in Jaffna Peninsula, and brought up in the fundamental doctrines of a mainline Christian Church. Searching eagerly in the Word, she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and was called to serve the Master. Violet left all her wealth and comforts in the north to come down to the south and toil with the elder Lettie.

They also had a young mother and her first baby with them. The young mother was a new convert married to their lay worker. The husband had lost his job and has gone far away in search of employment entrusting his young wife in the care of the missionaries. All were huddled up in the upstairs and flood waters were up to the brim. Domestic animals were swimming in the waters and the poultry, furniture etc. were floating. The situation was very bad but the Mission workers were in fervent prayer.

Roots Spread

These pioneer workers for most of the time will fast and pray in the mornings and visit neighboring villages and rubber estates in the afternoons to share the Good News of Salvation. They entirely depended on God for their supplies and were not in the payroll of any human being. The Lord will speak to some good believers in far off places to bring food. One such believer was Bro.Manuel who was working in Elston Rubber Plantation as a supervisor. Manuel and his family were converts under the ministry of these sisters and they faithfully followed their Saviour.Whilst visiting Manuel and family, the missionaries evangelized Elston and the neighboring rubber plantations in Puwakpitiya.One of the sons of Manuel serve the Lord as a full-time Pastor In Colombo.

During the late thirties and early forties, with the advent of the Second World War, people living in this part of the world were stricken with poverty and famine. There were also the epidemics of Typhoid Fever and Malaria following the floods. The missionaries were working round the clock to care for their flock and the other non-believers. This labour of love brought them many new converts and some of them forsake the world and its pleasures to become fellow workers called to the growing ministry of the Lord in the Kelani Valley. Later Pastor Moses and his wife, Gnanadeepam presently spending her wee years of life at the Love Care Home, Kadawatha, belong to the latter group. Late Pastor Moses was a supervisor at Northumberland Estate, adjoining Elston, when he heard the gospel and got saved. Immediately, the couple walked out to serve their Saviour and Master. This couple was very helpful to the two sisters in the Mission Field.

A New Place

To make the story short, the gospel work of the two sisters was so much appreciated by a Rubber Planter, the Superintendent of Honinton Estate, that he persuaded his principals in Colombo who were the Agents of these estates to donate a plot of two acres of abandoned and water logged land in Puwakpitiya for the gospel work.

Thus the two sisters came to Puwakpitiya, a hamlet of Avissawella Town, in the Kelani Valley river basin, to continue their ministry. They put up a cadjan hut and pioneered the church in Puwakpitiya. The Lord brought them many new souls to worship with them. The new church came to be known as the “Pentecostal Church “, there being other churches viz. C.M.S. St Barnabas Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Avissawella. During the early stages of this church, many workers came and helped these sisters to propagate the gospel. Late Sisters Vivian Gunawardana and Faith Dassanayake were some of them.

Lettie was interested in caring for orphans and destitute children and many children began to address her as “mummy”(“amma” in Sinhala) and Violet being fair in complexion was called as “sudhu aunty” who was responsible for the discipline and education of these children. The sisters also had children of believers from remote and far off places as lodgers and following their education in the neighbouring schools. The names that come to the memory of the writer of this epilogue are: -
The Luke brothers of Ederapola Estate, with their grand mother staying with them as they were very small
The Mani sisters, whose father was an engineer attached to Laxapana Power Project
Some of these boarders who are serving the lord are: -
Pastor Henry Amarajeewa (Sri Jayawadanapura)
“ Edward Moses Daniel (Ratnapura)
“ Jayantha Amarajeewa (Madampe)
“ Somapala Ransilige ( Panadura)
“ Dayaratne (Panadura)

Sister Violet also organized English classes for the children of the neighbourhood and most of the residents of Puwakpitiya still remember studying English under her. There were some young ladies helping the teaching of English, one of them being Mrs. Kamala Lay nee Wilson, whose son Rohan is now a businessman sponsoring many gospel workers in the remote hilly areas of Sri Lanka.

Center for field Training

Rev. Cawston, the then Principal of the Ceylon Bible Institute which is the Training Center of the workers of the Assemblies of God of Ceylon, brought his Bible Students periodically for field training and helping in the mission work of the ‘Pentecostal Church’ in Puwakpitiya. Almost all the C.B.I.graduates have had their initial field training in this rural church in Avissawella. Most of them are still serving the Lord as pastors of churches in Sri Lanka whilst a few are workers overseas. The young ministers who propagated the gospel by ‘Lantern Shows’ in remote villages and rubber plantations are now mature preachers addressing International Pastors” Conferences. Rev. Dr. Colton Wickramaratne, who served as the Chairman of the AG Ceylon for over 25 years was one of them. There are also Bible College Principals and lecturers who had their ministerial training in Puwakpitiya.

The “Ebenezer Gospel Ship” team under the leadership of late Evangelist Yrjola used to come and have fellowship with the two missionaries whenever their ship came ashore. This team helped to renovate the church hall and named it “Ebenezer Gospel House”. The gospel work began to grow rapidly. During these years, the ailing senior pioneer worker, Lettie, passed away to be with her Lord, leaving the younger Violet to carry on the gospel work.

One of the younger brothers of Lettie, Hector Wijeratne, who was a poultry and piggary farmer by profession, and a lay worker by choice, came with his family and settled down in the premises to help the younger missionary. The dawn of the sixties saw the departure of this family to Colombo for the schooling of their growing children. The orphans and boarders have by now grown and left for pastures better. Sister Violet was again left alone with a few female believers living with her.

The Finnish Mission helped to build a hardboard cabin in the premises and one of their missionaries, Sister Karainnan, came to stay with Violet. The mid sixties saw the winding up of the Finnish Mission work in the island. The Finnish Missionary lady in Puwakpitiya also left for home. Sister Violet was now more dependent on the Assemblies of God workers. Late Brother Sam Muthuveloe who served as an Executive Committee Member in the Assemblies of God of Ceylon was a frequent preacher in the rural Puwakpitiya church. He with his family toiled in the Pastoral activities of this little church in Avissawella.

After the departure of Sam Muthuveloe and family to Great Britain, this little rural church had the privilege of Late Rev. Llewelyn Jansz and his young team of disciples ministering to its flock. These young men left their traditional churches because they obeyed the Lord and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. They were barred from speaking in tongues but they decided to obey God and His Word than succumb to the rules of the mere men.

A few of these lay workers are now fulltime Pastors and serve as leaders of Pentecostal churches.