Siblings of Hindu priestly family accept Jesus; now face persecution
Report: Jadavedan Potty for Bibles for Mideast [edited for clarity]
My name is Jadavedan Potty [meaning 'priest born in scriptures'; 'scriptures' here referring to Hindu Vedas—Ed.]. I belong to a Hindu Brahmin (priestly) family in India. From childhood I was an idol worshiper and often went to temples. I would get up at 4:00 every morning and do poojas [Himdu prayer rituals—Ed.] and help the main priest. I also used to bathe the deities and pray to them.
Once I got a Christian pamphlet from one of my friends. In it I read the verse, "All you who live anywhere on earth, turn to me and be saved. I am God. There is no other God." (Isaiah 45:22)
I then read other verses from the pamphlet: "God’s grace has now appeared. By his grace, God offers to save all people. His grace teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful desires. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today’s world. That’s how we should live as we wait for the blessed hope God has given us. We are waiting for Jesus Christ to appear in his glory. He is our great God and Savior. He gave himself for us. By doing that, he set us free from all evil. He wanted to make us pure. He wanted us to be his very own people. He wanted us to desire to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14)
When I came home, I put the pamphlet inside of my cupboard. And I said to myself that I'm Hindu; Jesus is not my God. I wanted to go ahead in my life by worshiping the Hindu gods only.
After that, many times in my life I felt somehow that GOD JESUS really loves me sincerely. Once I even saw the LORD; He came and put His hand on my shoulder. Even then though I said to myself, 'No, Jesus is not my God; my gods are idols."
One day my sister, then 20 years old, suffered from a brain tumor and became bed-ridden. She was my only sister. While my parents took her to different hospitals for treatments, I went by myself to all the nearby Hindu temples to worship. I was so desperate to get help from above.
Not long after, I happened to attend a Christian retreat. I listened as a woman gave her testimony of being severely ill, and doctors giving up all hope. Her family was crying for her. But she didn’t lose her hope and she cried out to GOD JESUS and GOD JESUS healed her and saved her! Now she is completely well and tells her story to everyone, so that those who are suffering will come to know that only GOD JESUS has power over everything.
When I heard her testimony, I remembered the pamphlet I'd been given, and that there was a telephone number on the back. Immediately I ran to my home, found it, and dialed the number. I told them all about the problems my sister faced. I asked if they could come to my house and pray for her. At once they prayed over the phone, and I also started praying to GOD JESUS.
That same evening some blessed people from Gospel to Asia and Middle East Nations (the precursor of Bibles for Mideast) came to my house and prayed for my sister. They gave me a New Testament, and I began feeling some power working in my life. Slowly my sister was completely cured, and we both accepted Jesus as our Savior.
We now suffer persecutions from our family and others for accepting Jesus as Savior. The ministers who visited us gave us a full Bible. We rely on Jesus through the Bible and are strengthened by its verses. Also we learned the apostolic principles and received baptism in an underground church.
Please pray for me and my sister. Also pray for our entire family and our friends to know the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for our ministries and church too.