Ink Stain

Do you realize we have gone through more than half of the APUSH book?

only 13 chapters left.

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amyluisa:

Nagaraj was the eldest child of an orthodox Hindu family. His parents were very religious; when he was 18 years old, they took him to be dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. They intended for him to become a Hindu priest. However, Nagaraj wanted to have a secular education before joining the priesthood so, after postponing his dedication, he joined a secular university. Being a skilled martial arts expert (black belt in Karate), he became a “thug for hire” during his initial college years, being paid to beat and intimidate people. It was during college that he met Veerabadra, a classmate and a devout Christian.  It was Veerabadra who first shared the gospel with Nagaraj. Nagaraj at first rejected the gospel, saying that Jesus was a foreign god and that Christian values were “un-Indian.”  Veerabadra shared the gospel with him at six different occasions during which he was mocked, threatened and beaten by Nagaraj.  However, Veerabadra did not fight back but treated Nagaraj with Christ-like love. Veerabadra did not relent; the Lord gave a seventh opportunity to share the gospel, after which Nagaraj prayed to receive Christ.

The change in Nagaraj’s life was immediately noticeable to all those who knew him.  His friends stopped talking to him after realizing that he was a Christian. After a few months, he graduated from college and was accepted to the State Police Academy, where he enrolled to become trained as a police officer. However, his friend Veerabadra encouraged him to consider full time ministry as an option. After much prayer, Nagaraj quit a promising career in the police force and returned to his home. His parents and brothers, upon finding out he was a Christian, became furious. They gave him until the end of the day to choose Christ or to choose Hinduism. He refused to renounce Christ; this resulted in him being disowned by his family and thrown out onto the street that night. But the Lord was with him every step of the way. Nagaraj ended up enrolling in a Bible college to pursue his Bachelor of Theology, working as a construction worker to pay his tuition. After he finished his Bachelors, he enrolled in the Asian Christian Academy to pursue his Masters of Theology.  Upon completion of his studies at ACA, the Lord led him to Bangalore Bible Church, where he has been the pastor of the Tamil congregation since 2002.

The ministry among the local people was very difficult and discouraging at first.  No one was willing to hear the gospel for the first six months. Then, he started tutoring the local children at the church for free, which provided an immediate opening into the locals’ lives.  God has used this and other strategies as a way for people to hear the gospel. Since 2002, the Lord has used Nagaraj and his family to lead 35 men and women to Christ, all previously from Hindu backgrounds. Many of them are now baptized and growing believers.  Some of the new believers are women who are prevented by their husbands from going to church. Nagaraj also works among the Hindu youth in the local community. About 25 young men have come to know the Savior; however, they also are being prevented from attending church by their parents and the local village community.

Nagaraj has faced a lot of persecution from the right wing Hindu groups in the area since 2004. He has been beaten many times and threatened even more. Yet he bears his scars with joy and never uses his martial arts skills to defend himself. Through the tutoring ministry over the years, he has been able to develop friendships with over 150 families—close to 1,000 people. God is using Nagaraj and his family in a wonderful way to promote His kingdom in Bangalore. It is truly amazing to see how God is able to take someone who would be a priest of Shiva to be a part of His holy and royal priesthood!

Prayer requests:
• For the members of Bangalore Bible Church (Tamil Congregation)—that they would continue to grow in maturity.
• For the tutoring ministry to local children—that it would bear more fruit in the days ahead.
• For Nagaraj’s children’s health—they have chronic respiratory problems.
• For the provision of a small used car for Nagaraj’s family (currently the family of four travels on a motorcycle).