South Tampa congregation on morale-building mission to Sri Lanka

TAMPA, Fla. - Two months after more than 250 were killed during terror attacks in Sri Lanka, the congregation of a Tampa church is returning to offer help.

Volunteers from Radiant Church leave Tuesday morning for Sri Lanka.

"This is the first time we've been back since the attacks," said Pastor Ryan Jennings.

The South Tampa church has five locations across the island-nation, dedicated to educating children.

Pastor Ryan Jennings says when they got word of the attacks that Easter Sunday, it hit close to home.

We were just there back in December, and one of the hotels that was bombed, the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo, we actually stayed there in the beginning of December," Jennings said.

He says this visit will focus on strengthening morale.

"We're going to do a couple of different pastors conferences where 100-150 people from all over the island are going to come," he said. "Really it's a time for us to encourage them, strengthen them. Do whatever we can to bring some hope."

Since the attacks, Sri-Lankan authorities have arrested some 2,000 people, the government blaming radical Islamist groups. But Jennings says the people's resilience has carried them through it.

"I feel like something that could have absolutely devastated them, something that could have crushed their spirits, I feel like the majority of the people we've been in contact with had just a great hope about them that things were going to get better quickly," he said.

And in case they had any doubt, their mission is to ensure help is on the way.