Dear Brothers and sisters,
It is a great joy to have a baptism service! It was a great joy to see Steve’s family witnessing his baptism and hearing about his testimony in Christ. Let me briefly share his testimony with you, as we give all the glory to God alone for what he has done in his life. Please pray for him, that he would run the race that is set before with great endurance and faithfulness.
Steve comes from a Hindu background. He would not have heard about Jesus if he had not been for one of his school teachers. Staring into a starry night, Steve said to his teacher (who also happened to be traveling with him on a train) that ‘it was so amazing that science had created this beautiful creation.’ Amused by what he said, his school teacher said ‘it was not the science that created this universe, it was God who created this universe.’ Pointing at a pen, his school teacher said ‘this pen must have been created by someone, right? Similarly, God created everything.’
What was fascinating in the life of Steve, was that his school teacher never left him afterward. Grabbing every opportunity to share the gospel, he continued to pursue him, and help him when needed. This left a very profound impact on Steve’s life. Listening to his testimony, I felt like every Christian school teacher ought to be like the one who shared the gospel with him. It was obvious that he not only shared the gospel with him, but he also shared his life.
When the time came for Steve to leave his village and pursue his college studies, he joined a college that allowed Christian students to do evangelism. So, even in his college, he got to hear the gospel- but he was still not converted.
After he finished college, he moved to a bigger city to get a job. That’s when he immersed himself in the pursuit of earning money and indulging himself in sinful activities with his friends. Steve was a man full of huge ambitions. He wanted to become rich and prove to everyone that he was something special. But the harder he tried to become rich, the tougher it was becoming to get a good job and earn money. He tried many jobs, but couldn’t get what he wanted. Living in honor-shame culture, if you don’t have money, you are of no value to anyone. So, Steve tried everything he could, but nothing seems to be working for him. He was increasingly becoming depressed about his life.
After working different jobs in different locations, he decided to go abroad and moved to Cyprus to continue his education. But his real intention was there to earn money. After he got to Cyprus, he ended up getting a job that helped him meet his basic needs. He played every trick in the book to extend his stay there, but it didn’t work for him. In the end, instead of coming home with a lot of cash, he barely had enough money to buy his return ticket back home.
Upon his return, he joined a political party for some time. In the year 2020, he took out a loan to begin a coffee shop. That’s when Covid hit, and the government began to tighten the town with lockdowns and curfews. That’s exactly when Steve’s hopes and dreams began to crash. He began to come to the very end of his life. Yet, even when he was struggling, his school teacher never left him. The school teacher encouraged him to come to our fellowship.
As Steve began to attend our services, he was listening to the Word attentively. He also began to read the Word on his own. It was while reading the Word, the Lord convicted him of his sin and opened his heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ. What a Saviour! What a story!
Steve has been coming to our church since last year. At his baptism, he wanted to make sure that his school teacher and his family (all Hindus) were present. They all heard about his testimony and the Word of God. His school teacher even presented Bibles to his family. Steve wants to be faithful to the Lord and has a burden for the lost. Please pray that the Lord will help him get a good job and that he will be planted in the local church firmly.
