“I was doing pretty well running my little shop in the Himalayas. The money was enough to keep my parents fed. But I knew I was missing something. Surely there was more to life than this. Yes, I looked forward to the day when I would marry and have children. But would they fill up the void in my life?
“My name is Ram. My father is Nepali. I can read three languages, Hindi, Nepali, and English. And how I love to read!
“For several years I studied the mystics, considered philosophies, and tried to understand the cosmos. One day I bought a Hindi book costing four rupees. I knew you couldn’t purchase the binding for that price. As I read, I discovered it to be the most valuable book in my library.
“It told me how this world began. It was full of exciting stories. It described a God unlike any I had ever read about. I began to ask if anyone else had read this book. But it seemed that I was one of the few in our high mountain valley who could read. And no one else seemed to have read this book.
“When I told my friends it was a Bible, they told me to stop reading it immediately. They said it was a book for foreigners, not Indians. They said that missionaries had sent the book to our town, but that these people could not be trusted because they did not respect our culture and would try to force people to change religions.
“I was curious and decided to find out for myself if these things were true. I asked if there were any missionaries in our town and was told there were not. A few months later I saw some strangers walk past my store and asked one if he was a missionary.
“‘Yes, I am a missionary,’ he replied. That’s when I met pastor Ravi. I told him about my heart’s desire to know the truth about reality. He lived several miles away in another Himalayan valley. But he often came to see me. Over time our friendship developed as he became my teacher.
“Soon I was sharing everything I learned with my family and neighbors as soon as my shop was closed each night. But I really wanted to spend every waking hour doing that.
“Recently pastor Ravi has provided me with a small stipend so I could close my shop, and learn how to make disciples full time. A few months ago, he appointed me as the shepherd of Dr. Jesus’ disciples in Anu’s village not far away, where we are praying that a house of prayer will soon be built on the former devil priest’s property.”
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By John McGhee as told by Ram – Names have been changed to protect the Christians
Submitted by Leora DeWitt
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #20923]