Government soldiers had taken over all but one room of the family dwelling.
Life had been peaceful for Luke and his family before they were caught up in civil war. His father was a fisherman and Luke enjoyed living by the sea in northern Sri Lanka.
But closeness to the sea became a huge problem for the family: their home was at an important strategic location. It became the site of a fierce tug of war between government navy forces and the "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam" (LTTE) - known around the world as the "Tamil Tigers".
Luke and his family were forced to live in one room while soldiers used the rest of the building as a base. It was a terrifying time. To help him sleep, Luke's mother taught him to pray "Jesus, have mercy on me" - which he did every night.
Luke fled for safety to the UK in 1999.
In England he was no longer afraid for his life. But 9,000 kilometres away from home, he got mixed up with the wrong people.
Demoralised and often drunk, Luke knew that his life was on the wrong track.
"Jesus, have mercy on me" he prayed, after another alcohol-drenched night.
Meeting the Jesus Army, Luke found himself among friends who talked with him and prayed for him.
Soon after, Luke had his first experience of God's Spirit, which came to him in the middle of the night. His whole body shook as what felt like a strong electric current ran through him.
Daryl
15-year-old Daryl's Christian faith was running into trouble. Daryl had got drunker than he'd ever been before - and after that dived headlong into the club scene.
