My forefathers belonged to the lower stem of the Hindu system. They only knew how to serve the upper caste and had no idea about our Lord Jesus Christ and his holiness. It was my grandfather who was the first beneficiary of the Lord Jesus Christ, thanks to visiting English missionaries. I was a child then and unaware of how my grandfather, Mr Samuel, developed a faith in the Lord. All I knew was that he used to call the family members for evening prayers daily. He prayed with a lot of faith and dedication. He used to tell us a lot of incidents and stories about the Lord. These things had a great impact on my young mind.

One day, after my evening prayer, I went to sleep thinking all about the Lord. In my sleep, I had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. I hurriedly woke up and told this to my grandmother who was sleeping beside me. As I was a child, she took me on her lap and with tearful joy, she told me, “You are a son of the Lord and that is the reason of your vision. You promise me that you will serve him lifelong”. From that day, I decided to serve the Lord.

I was born into an untouchable family. Thirty years ago, untouchability was at its peak. The upper caste people kept us at a distance and pushed us away. We were not allowed to go near to their living places, no entry in buses and could not even have water from their wells. I remember my family members bringing water from far off places. We dared to dream about the entry into the schools. It was a miserable life.

In 1977, there was a huge cyclone. At that time, all the houses in our village were made of mud and had thatched roofs. We too had a small house made of mud, covered with leaves and thatch. It was the worst of all the cyclones India had ever had. The wind and rain continued for two days. On the first day all the houses in the village were swept away. We took shelter in a ruined but stronger house. It was pitch dark in the nights with strange cries. I was very frightened at that time, I was very young.

We didn’t even have blankets to keep us covered from the cold. In that worst situation, all we could do was to pray to the Lord. We had nothing to eat, and nothing to drink. Our elders asked us to pray to the Lord. After two days, everything calmed down and the flood slowly drained away. Thousands of families were swept away without a sign, and hundreds of people were infected with various diseases. But by the God’s grace, our family was safe.

On the fifth day after the cyclone, some missionary people from England came to my village. It was the first time I ever saw White people. With a lot of warmth and love, they distributed Bibles, blankets, and food packets. Those blankets are preserved safely even today. Though they are old and worn-out, we kept them as a sign of love from our Lord.

One of those missionary people approached me. I moved back. It is customary and we are taught that when higher dignitaries or officials approach us, we are asked to keep at a distance from them. But, the White person approached me and hugged me to his heart. He even kissed me. I was dirty and my clothes were worn-out. The act was so surprising for me an untouchable. It never happens in my place. It pleased me a lot. Are all the White people having the same courtesy? Do they love the poor so much? This was like paradise for me. My joy had no boundaries to describe. As I was shivering, he immediately put me on the ground and wrapped his coat around me. They spoke in English and a translator explained their speech to us. They stayed and had a prayer with us. This incident built a strong ideology in me and I became determined to serve the poor and needy people.

Please remember to pray for me so that I can serve God to the best of my ability and to preach his Gospel through the world and to became a medical missionary.