The worst natural disaster in recent history has all but dropped from the headlines, but a group of Mid-Southerners is determined not to forget.

These sever people from The Life Church of Mephis are heading to Sri Lanka to assist in tsunami relief efforts. They are knowns as the "Team Sri Lanka".

One of the team members, Shyara Miles, is a native Sri Lankan based in the Memphis area. She felt helpless to do anything to her friends and family back in her home country when the tsunami first hit. Though the disaster came within a few miles of where her loved ones live, fortunately no one she knows was hurt.

She is looking forward to going back as part of The Life Church of Memphis's short-term mission trip to Sri Lanka to help any way she can. "I have an unexplainable burden to affect lives of my country-men, not just physically but spiritually, knowing that what they have come out of is something that is unspeakable, unthinkable."

The other six people in the group have never been to Sri Lanka before, but they are all eager to do what they can to assist in the restoration. they plan to participate in the rebuilding of home and other village structures, and distributing aid in the tsunami devasted areas of the island country.

Team Sri Lanka flies our of Memphis on May 28, 2005. To raise funds for their trip, they are hosting a fund-raising dinner and movie. The evet will be at The Church of Memphis, 1800 N. Germantown Parkway.

Everyone in the community is invited to attend the fund-raiser. There is no admission fee. The team members just want attendees to donate what they feel in their heart to give for the dinner and for the group's work in Sri Lanka.