Desperate Hindu woman hears about Jesus
2/3/2008 9:13:41 PM

By Lydia, a student volunteer to India

My experience in India has been amazing on so many levels. I’ve learned countless things about myself, the Indian culture, and most importantly about my God. Knowing that He called me to India for a specific purpose, I was slightly discouraged when I failed to see immediate, concrete results. People were quite content to continue serving their gods made of wood and stone - wood and stone that the True God created! So I had really been praying and asking God to show me where I fit in His plan for India, praying for Him to give me an Indian contact with whom I could really bond and share Christ. God is faithful and answered that prayer in the strangest places at the strangest times, but it was all perfectly ordained by Him.

Lavanya* and I met at a social event and immediately struck a connection because she spoke English. We exchanged contact information and hung out multiple times over the next week. She would call me every day, about three times a day, just to see what we were doing, if we were busy, and whether we could get together. She was very sad. Because she was so desperate to see us, I cancelled or postponed other plans in order to spend time with her. She was so hungry for attention and love! Because she is a Hindu Brahman who married a Muslim man in a love marriage (rather than an arranged marriage), her family has disowned her. Her husband has been arrested and beaten three times because of their culturally offensive marriage, and Lavanya also has been arrested and interrogated. They have no friends because of their marriage, so any attention and acceptance we could give them was appreciated a thousand times over.

When I asked about her religious beliefs, Lavanya said she does not like when a religion says that only their religion is right and that we must worship their god. Her view is certainly understandable as a result of her experience with Muslim/Hindu conflicts. Lavanya said she prays to “the one god,” which she described as all gods together. Still, she was interested in Americans and our beliefs. I prayed that I could share with her.

Finally one day, as we ate at McDonald’s, Lavanya asked if all Americans were true Christians. I explained the difference between calling yourself a Christian and truly following Christ. I asked if she knew the story of Jesus. When Lavanya said no, I began with Genesis and told her about creation and the fall of man. I explained that God is holy and cannot be where there is sin. Still, I said, God loves us and created us to have a relationship with Him. I explained the old covenant of sacrifice and the need for the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. I had my Bible with me, so I showed her some verses of the Roman Road, and explained them one by one. Lavanya understood and was very interested in having a Bible of her own to read and learn more. So I bought her a Bible in English and told her I would stay in touch so we could talk about what she read. Lavanya was very excited. Even in all this, though, it was easy to lose hope and become discouraged, because she didn’t make a decision to follow Christ. Still, now Lavanya knows the truth. I’ve learned we can lead people to Christ, but we can’t save them. It’s so good to know that God, well, He is. And He does.

Serve God in South Asia!

* Name changed to protect privacy