God’s Faithfulness in Sudeep’s life
“All I need is in His love, and I am not giving it up for anything else” Sudeep emerges as a true lover of Christ in the face of persecution
Sudeep comes from one of the most remote villages in Central India. Since he was born into a poor family, his education was extremely limited, and his family survived on minimal wages earned by his father. When Sudeep reached his teenage years, his father passed away leaving the family destitute, and on the verge of starvation. Consequently, Sudeep had to give up his education and work as a shoe repairer in a nearby city to support his family.
Eventually, Sudeep married and had two children and his life seemed settled, until one day his wife was affected by a chronic illness. Sudeep’s wife suffered from aches and pains in all her joints, making it impossible for her to function normally. Feeling anxious, they sought the advice of doctors and religious men, they even approached local sorcerers, but nothing could stop his wife’s pain, which had grown so much that it was unbearable for her.
Sudeep states, “Once when we went to a sorcerer, he asked me for a hefty sum of money… I could not afford to do it anymore; I was barely earning twenty dollars a month at that time. I was so frustrated by the empty promises that I decided I had had enough and would not look for treatments anymore.”
It was at that time that a missionary told him about healing through Jesus. He laughed at the missionary and said, “this Jesus who was crucified on the cross couldn’t save himself, so how is he going to save my wife?”
Sudeep’s sister, however, had come to the Christian faith during that same time after hearing about Jesus from a friend and was very keen to introduce Jesus to her family. Because of Sudeep’s reluctance towards discussing Christianity, she felt unable to include him and took her sister-in-law without his permission to a Church.
Sudeep went on to say, “After going to the church for a few meetings, one day my wife realized that she was completely healed from the pain. That very day, the people from the congregation called me to the Church without telling me about the healing. When I came, the pastor was talking about repentance and he said if anyone feels guilty for his wrongdoings, now is the time to repent. I closed my eyes and when the prayer began, I experienced something extraordinary. I began to weep and shiver on my own, I recalled the time when I had stamped on the pamphlet of Jesus. I cried and repented. After the prayer was over, I saw my wife standing and smiling, all healed and renewed; that is when I resolved to give my life to the Lord and serve Him.”
Love for Christ triumphs over persistent persecution
Sudeep underwent a Bible Course for over a year and after that began to serve the Lord. He did not face any issues for the first few years but then he began to see opposition.
Sudeep shared, “It was after two years of ministry that it happened. Whenever I conduct any meetings in my locality, some high government officer would come to attend the meeting and keep a watch on me. Once during a meeting, around fifty vehicles full of police, media and high-profile extremists came to the venue.
“They took many believers to the police station, but I was not taken. They booked a false case against them and detained them.
“When I went there for their bail, they rejected my plea. I was hurt seeing this, so I informed them that they would have to lock me up with the rest of the Christians too. On hearing this they got angry and booked me under the same charges.
“After 12 hours they released us all, but they continued to trouble me every day after that. They would force their way into my church service and shove me into their Police vehicle, locking me up in jail many times for long hours. While in lock-up they would threaten me harshly and they tried to force me to leave my faith and stop preaching.
“The lockup where they used to put me was in an unbelievably bad state. It was a dark, dingy room where the criminals would urinate and excrete in a corner. The room had no windows, no ventilation, and no light; all this in the hot and humid month of June where the temperature would be over 35 degrees most of the time.”
How learning from the training rescued him
Sudeep suffered from persecution on many occasions. However, a few years later, OD partners were able to connect with Sudeep and bring him to the Persecution Preparedness Training.
Sudeep shares excitedly, “It was great to participate in this training. I was excited to learn about how persecution was relevant in shaping my faith. I was also taught how I had rights as a citizen of India, and I was doing nothing wrong by living my faith.”
Though Sudeep was strengthened, the persecution took a more severe form. One day, the police and Hindu extremists barged into his house and together forced him to a temple nearby.
“I shudder while even remembering the incident. The entire village was there, they forced me to go into the temple and asked me to bow down before all the idols. I denied instantly but they began to abuse me verbally and threatened me saying ‘we will tear your body into two parts and kill you if you do not leave this foreign faith.’ It was at that moment when something happened. God reminded me of everything I had learned in the persecution preparedness trainings.
“I spoke courageously about the rights I had as a citizen and that I was not committing any crime by meeting with the Christians and preaching amongst them. The Police officials were amazed at my boldness and then they turned back to the assaulters asking them not to trouble me again. I escaped from there because of all the knowledge I had gained from the Persecution Preparedness Training.”
Along with his training, Open Doors partners also helped him with his livelihood. There was a point when he was struggling with his earnings. When pandemic restrictions were keeping the church closed, there were no services and, therefore, no offerings. Believers from the church were also unemployed because of the pandemic and they could not support him. At that moment, Open Doors partners helped him start a small business of readymade clothes which he sells with the help of a bicycle.
“I lived with so much fear after facing persecution several times, but the Lord stood with me and gave me the strength I needed. The teachings from Open Doors partners have worked to impart that strength to me. All I need is His love, and I am not giving it up for anything else.”
Sudeep continues to stand strong, as an advocate for himself and the Christians he serves in his community. Pray for him as he continues to receive many threats from the people in his community because of his ministry.
