'Grace' book now available
Visitors and friends of the Grace Care Center orphanage and elders home in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, are well aware of how special those seven acres of hope can be.
That story is now told in "But For the Grace: Profiles in Peace From a Nation at War," by VeAhavta volunteer and journalist James A. Mitchell. Published March 25, the book is now available for order on www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk.or through the publisher's site at www.mansionfield.co.uk.
For a direct link, visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905021119/thegrimsaypre-20
The story of Grace is, in many ways, the story of Sri Lanka itself. Established the same year a cease-fire agreement offered the brief promise of peace, the orphans and elders of Grace and Mercy Home are orphans of war and poverty, and survivors of a war that placed civilians in the path of an ever-shifting cross-fire.
BBC war correspondent Paul Harris, author of two books on Sri Lanka, composed a foreword to "But For the Grace" that highlights the accomplishments of the Grace Care Center and VeAhavta:
"The author writes affectionately, and not a little movingly, about the extraordinary work and achievements at the Grace Care Center, north of Trinco. The difficulties of working in the area have meant that it has been largely abandoned by the agencies of outside assistance, and this book tells a real success story for a change. This book may also enrich the reader if it serves to convey the message propounded by one of the participants [Justin Yax] in the Grace Care Center, "Life is not about what surrounds you, it's about who you're surrounded by.""
"But For the Grace" chronicles the establishment of the orphanage, its expansion into clinic operations and the development of the Mercy Home elder residence. Along the way, Grace and its friends survive the threat of child soldier recruitment, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and a return to conflict.
VeAhavta volunteers in Michigan are planning a release celebration and benefit dinner in April, and further engagements are expected to help tell these long-overlooked stories.
