Through mother, friend and warden:

 My name is M... I come from a Hindu background and I am the third child in my family. After I was born, my mother suffered greatly from demonic possession. My family tried many different things to help her, but nothing worked. One day, she went to a church, and from that moment on, she was healed. She began to believe in God and started following Jesus Christ. I was studying at a government school in my village, but I wasn't attending classes properly. I used to wander around with my friends instead. One day, my father caught me. Following that, he joined me in a hostel. When I was going to the hostel, my mother given me a her Bible. When I was in the ninth grade, my friend Nagaraju asked me, "Hey, have you read this Bible?" I told him I hadn't. He asked me to read Exodus chapter 20. I started reading it. Since I grew up in a Hindu background and visited temples, a question always in my mind: "Why doesn't God(idol) eat the food (Prasadam) offered before him?" I never asked anyone about it. But when I read the First Commandment—"You shall have no other gods before me"—I began to think deeply. Then I read the Second Commandment—"You shall not make for yourself any idol... you shall not bow down to them." That was the moment I fixed in my mind that He is the true God. When I moved to the tenth grade, the school created a merit list and combined boys and girls into the same section. That is when my trials began. Until then, I had taken the word "adultery" casually. But once I read in the Bible that one should not commit adultery, it became very difficult for me. If I hadn't read it, perhaps I wouldn't have felt the struggle, but knowing the Word made it a trouble. I started pleading with God, "Lord, help me. I am struggling. I am sinning against You." But no help was coming. One day, standing in the hostel corridor, I frustrated and said to God, "Lord, why aren't You helping me? I know You are God, yet You aren't helping. You go Your way, and I will go mine." But soon, I felt speak to Him again. I cried out for His help. I opened the Bible and one verse is like this "I will cleanse you." I felt so happy that night and went to sleep peacefully. However, when I woke up the next morning, still struggle is there. After some days, a new warden came to our hostel. He was a believer in Jesus Christ. He shared the Gospel clearly—why Jesus came, why He died, and how much He loves us. That was when I truly believed in Jesus Christ, repented for my sins, and took baptism. This led to some conflicts with my father. Although he had accepted my mother’s faith, he initially refused to accept me. However, he accepted me too now. There were times when fell back into sin, but by God’s great purpose and His grace, He revealed Himself to me and changed my heart. I am not worthy, yet He chose to keep me in Him. As it says in Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"—which is to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. I live now with the hope that when He returns, I shall be like Him. Amen.