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WATERS IN THE WILDERNESS

“Because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,
To give drink to my chosen people.” Isaiah 43:20

Foreword by Dr.Lilian Stanley

A compilation of the experiences of few students in BITS, Pilani

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Copyright By John Reuben

Printed By
Asia Book House, Hyderabad

September 2008
Price: Rs.25

More copies can be had by sending your postal address and number of copies needed to
[email protected] (South India)
[email protected] (North India)

Important Note:
Buying a hard copy of this book is encouraged. However, the soft copy of this book is made available
for the sole purpose of taking this book to places where the printed book is NOT available/accessible.
Hence it should NOT be published or printed as a book by an individual or literature ministry without
written permission from the author.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ,

Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission.

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 Contents

Foreword by Dr.Lilian Stanley

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Part I - My days in the wilderness - John Reuben

Fresher in college -9
God brings His children together – Second year days - 14
Leading the Student Fellowship – Third Year days - 20
God gives us a burden for India – Fourth Year days - 23
Streams in the Desert - 25
Some Miscellaneous Nostalgia - 30
What I went through - 34

Part II

How the Lord Jesus sought me and - 41

Bought me in BITS, Pilani - Ravi Manas

Can College Life be exciting? - Cherub - 49

My experiences with the Lord - 53

as a student– Mahesh Kumar

Conclusions - 57

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 Foreword

A candle dies if it does not light another candle. But if it lights, it lives in the lives of the candles
it lit and also in the lives of the candles lit by the candles it lit. It goes on and on till it becomes a forest
fire, hard to extinguish. A candle has many adversaries. A breeze can put it off as also a drizzle. Two
fingers are enough to crush the flame. In the history of John Reuben, I see a flickering candle that
survived the onslaughts of the enemy and lit some candles around it. Candles lit by him are lighting
others. I am sure this will end up in a revival fire ushering in droves into the kingdom of God. This book
will help many young people to find their way out in times of darkness and burn brighter than ever.

-- Dr.Lilian Stanley, MBBS;DCH,

Blessing Youth Mission

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 Introduction
This book contains the happenings in the lives of a few Christian students who studied
engineering in BITS (Birla Institute of Technology and Science), Pilani (Rajasthan) during the years
2000-2004. BITS is one of the oldest technology schools of India, a fully residential college with
students from all over India.
The purpose of writing this book is twofold. First; we must NOT forget the good things God has
done in our lives. “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely I will remember your wonders of
old.”-Psalms 77:11. Next, we wanted to share what God has done in our lives with other college students
and the next generation of young people so that it can be an encouragement to them. Today’s youth are
tossed about by new temptations and tremendous peer pressure. We went through the same and we want
to share our experiences how God helped us and motivate you to swim against the tide. We hope that
you will be edified and encouraged as you read this book and make your college days count for God.
This book consists of two parts. The first part, written by me is my experiences in college, from
first year to fourth year. It’s not mere nostalgia, but it contains the happenings in my life and in the lives
of others in our college fellowship. The spiritual truths we learnt are interwoven into them. God did
amazing things in us and through us during our stay in college and we want to give God all the glory for
it. I have concluded Part1 by giving important insight on the temptations I faced and how to handle
them. The ‘What I went through’ portion of Part1, which has my advice to students can be separately
printed and circulated among students.
The second part of this book is written by three of our fellowship members-Ravi Manas, Cherub
and Mahesh. Ravi Manas writes about his search for the true and living God from the Vedas, Quran,
Bible and other philosophies. He has vividly explained how his search for God ended when his hostel
friend introduced him to Jesus Christ. Cherub and Mahesh, who influenced many lives in college, have
written their experiences briefly.
”Honour and enjoy your creator while you are still young, before the years take their toll and
your vigour wanes, before your vision dims and the world blurs. Yes, you are well on your way to
eternal rest, while your friends make plans for your funeral. Life, lovely while it lasts is soon over. Life
as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends. The body is put back in the same ground it came from. The
spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.” (The Message translation of Ecclesiastes 12:1,7)
Come, join us as we take you back to our college days and show you how waters gushed forth in
the wilderness.
- John Reuben, et al

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 Acknowledgements
This is ‘our’ book. We thank God Almighty for giving us wisdom, time and clarity of thought to
write down our experiences. The compilation team wants to thank Mr.K.V.Paul, Asia Book House for
agreeing to publish this book and bring it out to you at an affordable ‘student’ price. We thank Dr.Lilian
Stanley of Blessing Youth Mission for taking time to go through this book and writing the Foreword.
We thank Dr.R.Earnest Dhanaraj for going through this book line by line and editing it. His honest
comments and wisdom protected us from making many blunders! We thank Mr.Philip Cheriyan,
Evangelist for encouraging this effort and endorsing it. We cannot forget many of our friends, relatives
and parents who were with us from the very beginning and repeatedly enquired us about the progress of
this book and prayed for this book.

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 Part I

My days in the wilderness – John Reuben

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Robert Frost

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 Part I
My days in the wilderness --- John Reuben
FRESHER IN COLLEGE
My journey to BITS
When my twelfth standard results came, I couldn’t believe my marks. Though I worked hard,
God blessed me more than what I deserved and got admitted for B.E(EEE) program in BITS,Pilani. I
started my journey not knowing what lies ahead of me in a place far away from home (Pondicherry).
Though I was excited at this great opportunity God had given me, I had many fears and anxieties. Still, I
decided to join BITS. My parents were concerned about me since I was not born again. They feared that
their son will be lost to the world if he goes to such a far off place to study.

BITS, Pilani: The main college building

Pilani is 220 kilometres west of New Delhi, situated in Rajasthan. My dad and I boarded the train
from south India and reached Delhi. Then, we boarded a bus and reached a small, backward town called
Pilani after a gruelling six hour journey traversing the whole of Haryana. We reported to the hostel
authorities and they allotted me a double room in a hostel. My dad stayed with me for two days in hostel
and left. Suddenly, it dawned on me that I am left all alone. It was a new phase in life. I am in an
institute known for its high academic standards. Till now, I had my parents for everything. Now I am all
alone. I have only one person to depend on -and that is God.
My background
I was born in a Christian home. So from my early days, I was brought up in a god fearing
atmosphere with high moral values and fear of God. My dad is a doctor by profession and mom is a
housewife. My parents are part of Christian Fellowship church (CFC), one of the independent churches
known for its good doctrinal standards and teachings. So, from my childhood, I have been hearing the
profound truths of God's word. I never valued the church until I went to Pilani where there was no
church.

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 As the days went by, I realized that I was a good person since I was following whatever was
taught in the church. I didn’t feel the need for salvation. I was such a self righteous person. Oh, how god
hates self righteousness! I loved God but I didn’t have personal relationship with him. I also didn’t give
Him the first place in my life. I was always busy studying and wanted to be first in my class. My
academics and my future was everything to me. Then as the days went by, my real flesh started
displaying its nature. I felt powerless towards sin and lived a double life. I was proud and arrogant that I
am a bright student. And God had to take me to the desert and break me for four years to remove that.
He is still removing that!
About UESI ministry
UESI-Union of evangelical Students of India is a God inspired movement among the college
students of India. ”UESI seeks to evangelize post-matric students in India, nurture them as disciples of
the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may serve the Church and Society“. It had a humble beginning when a
group of college students met at the home of Prof H Enoch in Chennai. It then grew to a nationwide
movement of evangelical students and graduates. UESI is inter denominational, it stands on the common
ground of all evangelical churches.(www.uesi.org.in)
The ministry of UESI is to establish witnessing groups in colleges called Evangelical Unions
(EU).Our College had an EU functioning since 1990.It is called Pilani E.U. I was part of this group
during those four years in college. In this book, all references like ‘college fellowship’, ’student
fellowship’ and ‘E.U’ mean the same fellowship. If there is no student fellowship in your college, you
can contact UESI office in your region. They will help you to establish a prayer group in your college
through which you can take the gospel to your college friends effectively.
Into Pilani E.U
First few days into college, the senior EU (Student fellowship) boys came to my hostel room and
met me. They had seen my name in the mess list and wanted to know if I was a believer. I was very
happy to know that there are Christian students in campus and they meet as a group for prayer and bible
study on Saturdays and Sundays. Since there is no church in Pilani, there used to be worship service on
Sunday morning in the student’s fellowship itself. The college authorities had given a room for us to
meet.
I became an active member of the college E.U. I was really touched by the senior’s concern for
me. The seniors in the college fellowship took care of me like my parents. They advised me and
counselled me on how to get adjusted to hostel life and how to study. I could share all my problems with
them. I continued to attend the EU meetings regularly and they protected me from getting side tracked. I
realized that though God took me away from my home, He gave me another ‘home’.

Drawn to God through problems

Back in the hostel, I had my own problems. The hostel boys lived as a community and I had to
live among them. I cannot isolate myself. Initially, I depended on my friends when problems came. But
slowly they were becoming unreliable. Friends were there as long as things went on well. When the real
problems came, there was no friend to rely on. Everybody had their own work and priorities. There was
only one person who could accept me as I am-and that was Jesus. In those times, this song meant a lot to
me......
What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

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 Oh what peace we often forfeit
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer - Joseph M. Scriven

And this stanza.....

Do thy friends despise forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
I was despised by my friends many times-some times for low marks, sometimes because of my
Christian beliefs. You too might be despised. Whatever might be the reason, go to God in prayer. He is a
faithful friend. He will not despise you for sure. In fact Jesus said that the one who comes to him, he will
never cast away (John 6:37)
Born again experience
After two months of the college in first semester, we have a cultural festival called “Oasis”. So I
had one week of holidays. It was at this time I got close to God. I spent a lot of time praying and reading
the word of God. Till this time, I didn’t have an assurance of salvation. One of those days, I fasted and
prayed for God to touch me. I went upstairs of my hostel (Gandhi Bhavan) to the open terrace since I
wanted to be alone with God. After those days of praying, the holidays were over and regular classes
started. But still I didn’t have an assurance of salvation. The days went on like that till November’2000.

The hostel
Then one day(I don’t remember which day, but it was towards the end of the first semester),I
heard the voice of god clearly. That was the first time I heard God's voice so clearly in my life. His voice
told me to take water baptism. Yes, he has accepted me as I am. I was BORN AGAIN.I have heard god's
voice directly very rarely after that. Most of the time, we find God's will through the word of God. Yet
the first time he spoke was so clear.

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 It taught me two things. Our God speaks to us personally. The glory of the New Testament lies in
that. We can have a personal relationship with our God, the most powerful person in the universe. In Old
Testament, God spoke only through prophets. He never spoke to his children directly.
Secondly, when we pray, God listens. But He may not answer immediately. He answers our
prayer in His own time. But He will answer our prayers! Many times when I have prayed individually or
in a group, I have felt so numb. I have felt that God didn’t listen at all. I have felt that I talked to myself.
But those were only my feelings. In those times, we have to believe the written word of God and not our
feelings. "He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble will deliver him and
honour him.” (Psalms 9:15)
A difficult room mate
In his sovereign plan to humble me, God gave me a difficult roommate in first year. As the days
went by in first year, I realized he was a bright student when the test results started coming out. I started
feeling inferior. He started looking down on me since I was a weak student. My room mate was very
talented too in many extra curricular activities. Our college is a place which has so many extra curricular
activities that four years is not enough to explore them. So my room mate was known all over the
college. Since he was involved in many cultural activities, he won’t be there most of the day time and
evenings in the room. Many boys used to come to my room asking for him. I will tell them that I don’t
know where he is. I used to get so bugged up answering the boys that I felt I was his personal assistant!
God humbled me!
I remember one incident which deeply affected our relationship. I was woken up in the middle of
the night by my room mate and his club seniors. They came into our room and started chatting and
disturbing my sleep. I was very uncomfortable inside my bed sheet and I could not sleep-because the
light was ON and they were speaking loudly. And I couldn’t say anything because he was with his
seniors and I was afraid of ragging. I spent that night in tears because I couldn’t do anything about that
situation. My room mate was inconsiderate towards me in such situations. But God allowed that to break
me and mould me. Now when I look back, I know that the humbling was for my good. "In faithfulness,
he afflicted me."(Psalms 119:75)
All said and done, my room mate was a good human being. God had planned him to be my room
mate to teach me these precious truths of humility and brokenness. So I thank God for my room mate
and have no bitterness towards him. My only regret is that I didn’t share Christ or my testimony with
him since I was a new believer and felt ashamed of Christ as a fresher in college.
God will make a way
The problems with my room mate continued and I was not able to stay and study in my room any
longer. He had many friends visiting him often and I needed a quiet place to study. There were two boys
from Pondicherry in my next room. They were very good to me and shared their room with me. So most
of my second semester, I stayed in their room. I used to come in the evening after class, take my books
and stay in their room. I studied with them, ate with them and slept with them. I became very close to
them. One of them, by name Praveen saw all this and became very close to me. I have shown him the
gospel by my life and prayed for his salvation many times. Maybe God will bring him to His kingdom
in the future. Thus God made a way for me to study though I had a difficult roommate. In second year,
when I got a single room, i was very happy and praised God for it.
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide, hold me closely to his side

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 with love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, he will make a way ----Don Moen

Whatever may be the situation you are facing, God is in control. Never forget that almighty God
who is in control of the whole universe is in control of your college and your life. He wants us to depend
on him and trust him for deliverance. It may seem like there is no way out of a particular situation.
When the Israelites were confronted with the red sea, they felt the same way. God didn’t tell Moses two
days in advance that they would face a sea on their way and that he would come and make a way
through it. That is God's way. He doesn’t tell us our future. If God had done that, they wouldn’t have
depended on Him. When they came to the red sea, they were terrified and cried out to the Lord (Exodus
14:10) And Moses assured them "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord
will bring you today".

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 GOD BRINGS HIS CHILDREN TOGETHER - Second year days

Into Student fellowship committee(EU)

At the end of the first year, the senior EU committee members came and asked me if I was
willing to join the EU committee. The EU committee is a small inner group inside the fellowship with
each member having a specific role. They asked me to pray about it and consider joining them. Since
they have been praying for this, I said I was willing to join.
The role given to me in my second year was that of a librarian. In those days, we had a big trunk
which had all the EU song books and other Christian literature donated by the seniors. I was supposed to
carry the song books and some literature every Sunday from my room(the trunk was in my room) to the
classroom where we used to meet. This distance would be around half a kilometre.

Roads inside the campus

The burden of doing God’s work fell on me for the first time, though it was only physical now.
But God always gives us some insignificant task first so that we can learn His ways. It’s good for a man
to bear the yoke when he is young. If He gives us a great ministry at the starting of our Christian life, we
will become proud and fall.
It used to be difficult to carry those books in two bags-one on each hand. Sometimes I used to
ask other EU boys to come to my room on Sunday morning to help me in carrying. but most of the days,
they wouldn’t have come or might come late to my room. But I had to be there for the session 10
minutes in advance since I have all the song books. The EU President would not like if I go late as i will
keep all of them waiting to start the session (That’s how I started keeping military time punctuality for
the sessions!)So I carried them myself. It used to be a strange scene for my unbelieving hostel mates.
Early every Sunday morning, John goes somewhere carrying those big bags, they thought. When Jesus
carried the cross to Calvary, it would have been worse for him. God poured his love in my heart and I
was able to do it.

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Movies? –to Watch or Not to watch?
When second year starts, the students usually tend to start relaxing. First year in college,
everybody was very sincere. No movies, no fun-only studies. But second year, my friends started to
have computer in their rooms. With it came movies, computer games and all sort of evil entertainment.
This made life difficult for me as a Christian. How can I stay pure in such an environment? I had a
single room, thank god. But still its difficult. The boys near my room had computers and friends used to
watch movies most of the time in second year. I couldn’t join them for their movies since I don’t know
what kind of movies they watch. So, it was a constant struggle. God tested me if I fear him. God helped
me though I fell sometimes. God helped me to be self disciplined in the way I spend my time. Some
things are permissible, but they may not be beneficial. In this context, Dr.Ravi Zacharias said “Let us
keep reminding ourselves that for a committed Christian, the choice is not always just between good and
bad. Sometimes it is between the better and the best”
Slowly the time passed on as I started my second year studies. Many of my friends were
relaxing, but I was sincere. So I could get more marks than them. God blessed my efforts and I could
increase my CGPA at the end of second year
Sweat for grades
Our college follows relative grading system. i.e, I am given a grade based on how I perform in
the test when compared to my classmates. For every test, the average is calculated. At the end of the
semester, I am given a grade based on how many marks I am above or below average. If I am very much
above average-'A' grade, somewhat above average-'B' grade. The range of marks around the average
mark is given 'C' grade. Students getting as low as 30 marks below average -'D' grade and 'E' grade is
given to those who get low marks which are drastically below average.
So the crucial thing in this system is to get marks above average in every test and exam. I was
not able to accept this system because whatever efforts I put in, I was able to get average marks only and
make a 'C' grade. Some of my friends would fool around all day and study at the eleventh hour and get
'A' and 'B' grades. God taught me not to compare myself with others. When I was discouraged, I
understood the meaning of this verse in I Corinthians 1:26-"Brothers, think of what you were when you
were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many influential; not many were of
noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things
of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things-and the
things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him".
From that time on, I stopped comparing myself with others and getting discouraged because of
low grades. I would do my best in every course and leave the rest to God. It was God's part to give me
marks, my part was only to study.

“OASIS” : Temptation unlimited

OASIS is the annual cultural festival of our college. It happens in the mid of first semester, every
year. It has continuous events spread through a whole week. Students come from all over India,
especially from north India to participate in it. Those five days, the whole college turns into a partying
mood. Actually all cultural events go on formally-like music nights, dance performance, dramas etc.
There are many events and programs during oasis which can be used to develop our talents and improve
our personality. But informally, many other things also go on. Every evening, there is a huge ground
where so many boys and girls would have gathered. Loud music would be played and the whole crowd
goes dancing. It was a terrifying sight since I haven’t seen anything like this before. As a young person,
I had the curiosity to go and see the people dance. I watched them dance, but didn’t take part in it.

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 In my first year Oasis, I remember most of my friends went home. I didn’t go home since it
would take ten days to go to south India and come. I was also a weak student and there were many
subjects in which I was lagging behind. So I spent the time alone in my room studying my subjects and
reading God’s word.
During the second year oasis also, I was in the campus. This time, most of my hostel friends
were also there. By this time, I had become close to two of my batch mates - Vinay and Mahesh who
were believers. My second year “Oasis”, Vinay went home, but Mahesh stayed in college. So we spent
most of the time together and that protected us from evil entertainment. Fellowship with God’s children
is a great protection. I have realized its importance. From that time, wherever I went, I have always
sought for fellowship of God’s children. No man is an island however spiritual he may be. We all need
fellow believers for our encouragement and protection.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A personal experience
The second year “Oasis” holidays were also the days when I sought the Lord for the baptism in
the Holy Spirit. When the second year started, I was put in the EU committee though I was a new
believer. I was in leadership now, though there were other senior student leaders. I was weak and I
needed power to overcome sin in my life. I felt I was lacking something. I cannot depend on a senior or
any great man of God to encourage and strengthen me. The strong seniors were passing out. There were
no elderly people to look up to. There was no Christian staff in our college during my time. All UESI
and other Christian gospel workers stay either in Delhi or Jaipur. So God had put us right in the midst of
the desert-physically and spiritually too. This made me seek God for power for me and for strengthening
others in the fellowship.
During the “Oasis” holidays, I shut myself in my room for two days and prayed for an infilling
with the Holy Spirit. The Lord baptized me with the Holy spirit and the assurance of it gave me great joy
and a new power to witness for Jesus Christ. I didn’t speak in tongues and there was no other external
manifestation. I just had the assurance in my spirit that God has filled me with the Holy Spirit. I started
reading the bible all the more. I started circulating some of the books and cassettes which blessed me
within the fellowship. Slowly, we were becoming a closely knit group-Mahesh, Vinay and me. There
were two other juniors from Andhra Pradesh-Jaswanth from Kurnool and Subin Paul from Hyderabad
who became close to us.

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Boys fellowship in second year
God brings his children together
As the second semester was approaching its end, the fellowship was being built among the boys
side. In my batch were Mahesh and Vinay-both of them committed. Mahesh comes from a nominal
Christian background in A.P. His dad is police constable and so he lives a very simple life. Vinay is
from Baptist background in Hyderabad. Among our juniors were Subin and Jaswanth. Subin’s parents
are actively serving the lord in Hyderabad. We boys used to meet often in our spare time and were
becoming very close. Jaswanth is a keyboard player, a talented musician. Subin is a guitarist and leads
the worship well. Mahesh is good at personal counselling and bringing people to the Lord through one to
one evangelism. I was good at sharing God’s word. So in a way, we were very balanced and well
equipped for God’s work. I have written here only about the boys side. The fellowship was being built
among girls side also in their hostels. But I don’t know the intricate details of how they were knit
together since we meet them only on Saturday and Sundays. Slowly, the EU fellowship began to grow
spiritually and in number too. We were able to maintain a good testimony in such a campus which was
known for its low moral values.
No Parental control
Pilani is a place which is isolated. Most of them being South Indians, we were all some 1500-
2000 kilometres away from home. Each time the semester starts, we would be homesick for a week or
so. This is because we would have just come from home. But once the test series starts, our mind is fully
occupied with academics and we don’t have time to think about anything else.
Since there is no parental control, its very easy for students to go into bad habits. We see our
parents once in a semester. The hostel rules are also very relaxed. Very rarely the warden comes to
check what is going on in the hostels. Its easy even for believers to backslide. Unless a person fears the
Lord, he can be easily lured by temptations. God helped each one of us. We were protected by the
fellowship. I learnt the value and importance of fellow believers during my stay there. Each of us
learned to fear god. It was a very good foundation. We would keep track of each other and would be

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accountable to each other. If one falls down, another is there to pick him up. It was purely god’s grace
and mercy.” He is able to keep us from falling”-Jude 1:24.
Pilani: No church, no camps, no retreats
I had seen many other colleges where students are in a Christian environment or from good
Christian families. But they don’t follow the Lord or live for him in their college days. But we were in a
desert far away from all sources of spiritual encouragement or influence. No camps, no retreats and not
much staff visits. We had to be by ourselves. When I started comparing Pilani E.U with other college
groups, I started becoming proud. In fact, for sometime I was thinking that we were very sincere in
following the Lord. Later I realized that it was NOT our sincerity but God’s mercy on us. ”I will have
mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion”-Romans
9:15.So then He has mercy on whom He desires and hardens whom He desires (verse 18).He chose us
out of the world. Out of 4000 students, we were some 25-35 students. He helped us to keep a good
testimony and lift His name high in the campus. He helped us to reach out to other students. He is all in
all. But we did our part. When God operated, we co-operated with Him.

Camel in Pilani town near our college

God wants a minority who will fear him and follow him in every college. Throughout history,
God has been changing the direction of this world by a faithful minority. College days are the best days
to start seeking the Lord. Its a time when we are being transformed from a child to an adult. So, many of
the foundations of Christian life if laid in the student days can really carry us through the rest of our
lives. Some of them are regular bible reading, fasting, personal evangelism etc. I started practicing them
in college.

God can change a college prayer group to a Missionary organization-the story of BYM
Many of the great men of god whom God used mightily in the past started seeking God in their
college. R.Stanley, founder of Blessing youth Mission started his journey as a young college student.
Later on ,the prayer group they started in their college became a big missionary organization reaching
the length and breadth of India. Once when Bro.Stanley was sharing his past, he said how after they had
passed out from college, their group met once in a year for student conventions. As the number of
students who were coming for their meetings were increasing year after year, they were finding it

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difficult to manage. So they formed a committee of their college pass-outs to organize the meetings.
This small committee became Blessing youth mission! There are so many such men of god who started
out young and became a blessing as they followed God faithfully. But the story of BYM was unique in
the sense that it was a college prayer group which turned into a transdenominational organization
dedicated to church revival and evangelism. The history of BYM will inspire any college student to
attempt great things for God.

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 LEADING THE STUDENT FELLOWSHIP – Third year days
Leading the student fellowship: A great responsibility
By the end of second year, the new committee was formed in the EU.My seniors(4th yearites)
who were in the committee go to industries at various places to do their final year projects. So third
yearites have to take responsibility for the fellowship. So I was made the President of the EU committee
in my third year. That was an awesome responsibility that God gave me. I tried my best to be as sincere
as possible in taking care of the fellowship.

The Student fellowship

Concentrating on the word of God
Till my second year, the Sunday services had only songs, worship and a very short message.
Basically message was not given much importance. My seniors were sincere believers, but we couldn’t
do much justice for the message part as students. But I realized that the ‘message’ part is a very
important part of the Sunday service and God must speak to his people through the person who is giving
the message. I come from a church background where the word of God is given much importance.
So I greatly felt the need to concentrate on the word of God in my third year. Since I was the
President of the E.U, I had the right to change anything in the content of the sessions with the agreement
of the committee. So I started making one really sincere believer responsible for the message every
Sunday. He or she had to prepare properly, seek God throughout the week and come prepared for the
message on Sunday. I took some messages on Sundays and I really worked hard to get a message from
the Lord for the students. In doing so, I set an example for other students and juniors to do the same. So,
seeing me, they also realized the seriousness of being the person to give the message on Sunday. Slowly,
the messages started becoming better and better. Of course, each student had his own personality and his
own way of speaking. But all of us were in touch with the same God and it was edifying to listen to
student speak from his experience and his struggles. Students who come on Saturdays and Sundays for
the sessions felt that they received something from the lord when they left the session.

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Academic struggles:”Do your best and leave the rest to God”
Academics wise, third year was the toughest phase of a B.E student. Still the Lord helped me to
do my responsibilities towards my studies and towards His work. I still don’t know how I was able to do
both to the best of my abilities. Truly, it was God’s grace backing me up to do them throughout the year.
I used to attend classes regularly and try to keep in step with what is taught in the class as much
as possible though the professors were fast. This helped me a lot. Because when tests come, my friends
would study in the last moment. But just two days before the test/exam, I might have a E.U committee
meeting or a speaker visit and might be held up in God’s work. In those times, being regular in my
studies helped me. Our fellowship member Vinay also helped me very much in Maths and Electronics
patiently. I graduated with a degree in Electronics because of him!
Good examples to follow
Before I became the President of the EU, the previous leaders of the committee were Cherub and
Selwyn. Both of them were from Chennai and good believers .They were role models for us, the juniors.
God taught me to submit to them in spite of some differences. Cherub made a deep impact on my life.
Her concern for the fellowship was great. Since she was also an average student like me, I drew more
encouragement from her. She could relate to my problems –both in academics and spiritual life. She was
also a good personal evangelist. I learnt how we should be burdened to share the gospel with our friends
from her. She loved people in spite of their shortcomings and mistakes. She gave so much importance to
prayer.

Did you fast today?

When Cherub was the General Secretary of the E.U committee, she made fasting and prayer
compulsory once in a month for the committee members. It was mostly on Saturday afternoon or late
evening (8 pm or so).If the meeting was in the afternoon, we had to fast for lunch and come. If the
meeting was in the night, we had to forgo the dinner and come for the fasting prayer. Since we all eat in
different mess, nobody knows whether we actually ate or came fasting. And I found it difficult initially
to fast for a meal regularly. Before that I have fasted and prayed ,but very rarely for some specific
reason. But cherub was trying to regularize the habit in the committee. And the worse thing is, as soon
as we met, the first question from Cherub would be “Did you all go to the mess or came fasting?”.
Sometimes when we meet on Saturday night, she would ask “Today you fasted for lunch or dinner?” A
very difficult question to answer. Once I remember, me and subin couldn’t fast and we went for the
prayer. Cherub asked the same question and we replied “we fasted for the evening snacks today!!” It
was good to learn the spiritual discipline of fasting at an young age.
Reaching out to school students
In my third year, Vinay, my batch mate started concentrating on out reach, to take the gospel to
people who would have never heard the gospel in North India. Since I was concentrating on the EU
fellowship, I didn’t have time. But he took the initiative and made contact with Saboo school, a Hindi
medium high school in Pilani town. He spoke to the school authorities saying that we want to teach
some good values to the students. They agreed to give 45 minutes for a program by us. So we gathered
the fellowship boys and started practicing skit and songs in Hindi. The practice sessions were very funny
since some were speaking in Hindi for the first time! We did the prodigal son story and gave the gospel
in a subtle way. On the day of the program, the last period of a regular school day was given to us and
all students including teachers were present. Thus God enabled us to find favor in the eyes of the
authorities. We were very happy that we were able to sow some seeds in some little rajasthani boys. We
couldn’t follow up on the program since this entry itself was a miracle. Obviously, the principal would
have understood our intent in conducting the program. But the seeds are sown and we have done what

21
we could do. Realizing the need for an organized effort to conduct similar programs in future, Vinay
formed an outreach committee of four or five students who can exclusively concentrate on reaching out.
Hence he was instrumental in starting Pilani outreach efforts.

Saboo school outreach

Roti, Dhal and bread

Everyone who studied in our college knows about our mess food. We just didn’t like it since it
was tasteless adding to the fact that it was already north Indian food. We ate for energy and not for
taste!. So God trained us to eat simple food and be satisfied in the wilderness. The Israelites also got the
same manna for forty years in the wilderness. In our mess, breakfast was always bread for all four years.
The accompaniment may be jam or omelettes or butter. Occasionally, they(Israelites) got non-
vegetarian, and we too got non-vegetarian in our mess. What a co-incidence!

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 GOD GIVES US A BURDEN FOR INDIA – Fourth year days
In the final year of engineering, we have to do a 6-month project in industry. Our college had
collaboration with some companies and we were asked to apply for the companies list provided by them.
I was interested in chip designing and there was Motorola working on it in Noida. So I applied for a few
electronic companies from that list including Motorola and got there. After that, I found out that Mahesh
of our college fellowship also got his industry project in another company in Noida. Me and Mahesh
became very close during those 3 years together and we were very happy that both of us will be together
again for our project.
Days in Delhi
Noida is in Uttar Pradesh, its one hour drive from Delhi. It was developed as an industrial city to
avoid congestion in the capital city. It is basically clean and green, predominantly occupied by rich north
Indians. There is almost no house without a middle size luxury car parked in front of it. House rents
were exorbitant. Basically I noticed that the rich- poor divide was very much in that place .Either people
were very rich or they were very poor. The first class lived in those luxury houses and the second class
pulled cycle rickshaw to earn their living. My heart went out for those poor people. Sometimes me and
Mahesh would travel in that cycle rickshaw and give that person more money than what he demands for
that distance. During our stay there, Mahesh would many times speak to the local people about Christ in
Hindi but I would be silent. I distributed tracts since that’s easy for me than to speak in Hindi.
God gives us a burden for India
When me and Mahesh were in Noida, we were going to a Assemblies of God church there .I
remember one Sunday there which had a deep impact on my life. It was a small gathering of 30-40
people one Sunday and a gospel worker from Uttar Pradesh had come to present us the need in north
India. He told us about how many Indians sincerely seek salvation at the bank of river Ganges (Many
Indians believe that their sins will be forgiven if they take a holy dip in river Ganges).How blind they
are, he exclaimed. He briefed us about idolatry and other related evils which are practiced in North
India.”Who will go for us?” was his cry. He showed us slides and some clippings of the “Kumbh Melas”
which happen in four spiritual centers in India. I was moved by that sight. I had never seen such a
horrifying sight. In fact statisticians say that one of the Kumbh Mela which happened in India recently
was the second largest gathering of human beings in the world! Read more about the need in North India
in missionary magazines.
You are responsible for your generation!
We cannot be driven to do God’s work without ‘seeing’ the need.”When he(Jesus) saw the
crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd”. Then he said to his disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.( Mathew
9:36,37)’.And so the meeting in the AG church continued and the gospel worker said at the end ‘You
are responsible for your generation’. That statement struck me. At the end of that meeting, I promised
to the Lord that I will stay in India and not plan to settle abroad in future. Though I cannot do anything
now about the need in North India, I can at least stay in India and pray. I can also support and encourage
gospel workers. I felt the spirit of the Lord convicting me strongly to make that decision.
Slowly, our stay in Noida was coming to an end. I shared my conviction that educated believers
should stay in India for gospel’s sake with Mahesh and he also felt the same. Since we both agreed on
this, we started sharing this with others also. But this caused little disturbance in the fellowship since our
college pass-outs have a history of settling in California! I was partly responsible for that disturbance
since I thought everyone should have the same conviction as me in this regard. I even thought that
believers who are leaving India for greener pastures are not spiritual. But God gave that burden to me
only and probably not to them. Then I learnt NOT to judge others.

23
 If God has placed a burden in your heart for our country, you must stay here and do whatever
possible. We must not expect all other believers to have the same burden we have.(But we can certainly
share our burden with others without forcing it upon them)Let them go where God leads them. Maybe
God has a plan for them in a foreign country like God had for Joseph who became a ruler in Egypt. We
need to only judge ourselves and fulfil God's plan for our lives. I learnt this from what Jesus told Peter
at the end of his life. In John 21:18, Jesus told Peter the kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then
Peter asked about the future of John. But Jesus said to Peter “If I want him to remain alive until I come,
what is that to you? You follow me.” God’s plan for me will be different from His plans for others.
“I thank God for allowing me to be born in India, where every Christian can be a missionary and
everybody I meet on the road is a mission field”- Dr.Lilian Stanley

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 STREAMS IN THE DESERT - (senti semester)
January’2004 to May’2004 was my last semester in college. Just then, I had returned to campus
after doing 6 months project in Noida. When we were there in Noida, we realized that our student life is
coming to an end and soon we would be employees. We will not have those long summer and winter
vacations as in college. We will not have so much time for ourselves as in college.
Being the last semester, a sentimental feeling started creeping in. In fact this is true of all our
college students that they started calling it ‘senti’ semester(meaning sentimental).I got so attached to
Pilani-the place where I found my Lord. The fellowship members have become like my family
members. This is not surprising since I am with them for most of the year except for the two month
summer vacations. Since there was no church in Pilani, all Christian students had to come to the same
fellowship-Pilani EU on Sundays. We shared each others’ burdens. The fellowship members were there
for me in times of joys and sorrows; so we got emotionally attached. The departing itself was so painful
that I struggled for one year with it! But I realized that we need to move with God as He moved us out
of Pilani.

Releasing the poster for “Streams in the desert”, a gospel program

Our plans and God’s plans
Christian brotherhood was such a blessing. We even had plans that we would gather together in
some city or town and do God’s work together. But God didn’t allow us to be so due to different
commitments and jobs in different places. Now we are spread in different places in India and abroad. I
accepted it since God’s plan is better than ours. May be he is preparing each one of us individually to be
lights in different parts of the world. I have learnt to be a silent worshipper of God and rejoice in His
love for me than in a ministry. That is what it taught me. Ministry took first place in our lives than God
himself. As passionate young people, we wanted to ‘do’ something for the Lord all the time. Then I
realized that God wanted us to live a holy life and have fellowship with Him primarily. Ministry will
flow automatically from such a walk with the Lord. Moreover, we are immature in handling many things

25
of God’s work as young people. We needed sufficient maturity before God could commit some work to
us.
Emotional attachment
There was another danger in us being such a closely knit fellowship—it was that we could
become emotionally attached with the opposite sex easily. On Saturdays and Sundays, both boys and
girls come for the meetings. Since we are all by ourselves(there is no elder person coming to our
meetings),we needed to maintain the correct distance with each other. God gave us exceptional grace in
this area. Our seniors were watching our every move. As seniors, they set the correct example in this
area of relationship with the opposite sex. They would not spend long time speaking with a girl in the
fellowship alone even about fellowship matters. When we grew to leadership, we also followed the
same example. Sometimes, we had to correct our juniors when they crossed the limits. Thus mutual
accountability and submission to seniors’ authority protected us in this area.
I am not saying that we didn’t have problems at all in this area. This is an area where every
student fellowship struggles and we had our own struggles. I remember once we had to ask the
fellowship members to always meet in groups whenever they met outside the fellowship like
playground, eateries or shopping place. We advised our members to meet as a group of boys and girls
and not in pairs whatever maybe the reason to meet.
We need each other
Some people feel that young boys and girls should always meet separately for prayer and
fellowship because of the problems mentioned above. It is true and has got some wisdom. But if we
meet like that, there is no opportunity for us to be tested and become mature. Moreover, I personally feel
that boys and girls complement each other in many ways and together they are more balanced and
equipped. For example, if we are planning a special outreach program, girls would get excited about
preparing invitations and posters and also really pray for the program. Boys would go all around
arranging chairs, sound system and publicizing through posters, handbills etc. Boys are not so sincere in
interceding though we pray for a short time and commit the event to the Lord.(In our young blood, we
believed more in working than praying. Later, we realized the importance of prayer. Our fellowship girls
balanced us in this area).Girls cannot go around making practical arrangements and pasting posters. As
committed boys and girls, together we can work effectively for Christ.
So personally, I feel that a student fellowship will be more effective when both boys and girls
meet together and are committed to the Lord. But it has its own dangers. If the student leaders are not
sincere and mature enough to lead the group, we can get into wrong relationships or we may end up just
meeting to see one another and not focus on the Lord.

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Snap of the fellowship during a outing

No time to fall in love

Our college being an institute known for rigorous test series was another advantage. We never
had so much time to proceed in a relationship with the opposite sex. So some things which we were not
in control, God took care of it by making us busy. But the danger came in the last semester when we
were relatively free compared to other semesters. This is a time when we have to be extra careful, lest
we fall .Typically, in the final year, many engineering graduates get jobs through campus interviews and
are in a tendency to relax, academics wise. Then our mind is free and it can become devil’s workshop.
We cannot do anything about getting attracted to the opposite sex in an infatuating love. It is a hormonal
phenomenon. But we need to handle it carefully by filling our minds with something else- reading God’s
word or some interesting project or sports or any other extra curricular activity. It is wise to wait for
studies to get over to find a life partner.
Streams in the desert
As the last semester started, I felt that I am going to leave my unbelieving friends soon. I felt the
need to share the gospel to a large audience including all my friends and those whom I came across in
my four years there. There were other boys and girls who felt the same-the need to share the gospel with
their class-mates before they leave forever. As we were thinking about it,we felt we could have a
musical program and share the gospel through songs, skit and choreos.So we started planning and
praying for it.
God guided us step by step. We could form a music team since there were Subin(guitar) and
Jaswanth(Keyboard).They formed a choir and started the work. Others in the fellowship were involved
in arrangements, painting, decorations etc.We named it “Streams in the desert” inspired by this phrase
from Isaiah. We could get one of the big halls of our institute which could seat around 300 people for
this event. We could invite some faculty too including our Director. It was God’s move,I can say.
Things just fell in place. We also had three solo songs by a girl who accepted the Lord from a Hindu

27
background. God has been doing a long work in her even from her school days. She was previously a
member of the college’s music club. Hence she used her talent to sing gospel songs for the Lord. She
also gave her testimony in this program which influenced many students. Two girls,Prathiba and sweety
co-ordinated it from the girl’s side. We could present the gospel clearly to around 150 students through
music.

“Streams in the desert”

Its time to leave
Finally, in May’2004 I started to pack my baggage to return home. As I was getting prepared to
leave my college, strange feelings started creeping in. I just went around the campus taking some snaps.
Every time I walked through Gandhi bhawan(1st year hostel),I was reminded of my salvation experience
on the terrace. God had been merciful to me in that place. I saw those quiet hostels where many times I
have cried to the Lord with my problems. Though my college life was filled with problems, I could look
back and see God’s faithfulness. I saw those redi(movable ‘chat’ shops where they sell snacks and other
refreshments) where many times I have quenched my thirst with a ‘shikanji’(lemon juice).”Redi” was
also the place where many times I would sit discouraged with my test marks sipping a hot tea. I realized
that life is not meant to be without problems but with problems through which we experience God. Four
years of college flew away and now my time has come to leave this place. With tears in my heart, I said
‘Good Bye’

”Only one (college) life,it will soon be past.Only what is done for Christ will last” -
C.T.Studd

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Its time to leave . .

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 SOME MISCELLANEOUS NOSTALGIA
My first year in college was also my first year in the terrible cold of north India. Initially, it was
difficult to get adjusted to very low temperatures like 5 degrees. When December approaches,
everything will be cold water, water bottle, bed, book, chair, anything and everything I touch will be
cold. I cannot describe the situation more clearly, maybe you can go to Pilani one January weekend and
experience it yourself. The coconut hair oil in my room will be rock solid.
Severe cold
One severe winter, I remember getting up in the morning and going to the wash basin.The water
was severely cold when I touched it. I was shivering. Then I kept my tooth brush in my mouth and my
teeth were automatically brushed since my hands were shivering! In winter,we need not voluntarily
brush out teeth. This severe winter forced me to discipline my body since I have to get up to study for
the tests however cold it might be. Slowly,I started enjoying the winter, since it used to be cozy sleeping
inside the ‘rajai’ when we don’t have tests.
‘Rajai’ is a thick woolen bed sheet used to cover oneself in the night. It is a typical rajasthan
fabric tailor made for the desert cold. My rajai was as thick as my bed. Some people use their bed as
their rajai in winter!
Sacrifice of missionaries
It was like a missionary training for us. That was the time I understood what the missionaries in
north India go through. It is a real sacrifice to come from south India and live there in the cold of north
India as a missionary. But nothing in life is really difficult once we get used to it. This is because, the
native people are so much used to it that they don’t see it as an inconvenience. They actually enjoy it.
Only south Indians feel so initially. God willing, some of our fellowship boys plan to work in that cold
in future!
Moreover, people are willing to go through any severe winter to get something earthly. None of
us liked the winter, but we were willing to go through anything to get the BITS degree which was so
valuable for us as students. Many Indians go to Canada and work in sub zero temperatures to earn
money. If we value something, we don’t consider the difficulties that come on our way when we seek to
achieve it. But south Indians are not willing to go to north India and do God’s work since they don’t
value it. This generation of educated youth have forgotten ‘Missions’. I have a feeling that Ida Scudder
and William Carey had more burden for our country than us.
Encouraging a missionary
In our days, there was one such missionary in Pilani. He is Pastor Varghese from Kerala. He and
his wife came to Pilani in 1990’s and settled there to do god’s work.I have attached a snap of some of us
with his family. A sincere gospel worker, he had gone through many oppositions and difficulties in
mission field. He is not regularly supported by any organization, but his wife works as a teacher in a
school in Jhunjhunu and earns her living. We used to visit P.Varghese regularly as a group. We used to
go in batches just to encourage him. Every time we visited him, I can say we got revived spiritually. It
was such a challenge to see him work alone with God as his only strength. Whenever we visited his
house, we get a real exposure how missionaries live simple lives in their fields.

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Missionary Varghese, his wife and two children(at the center)
Loving Hindi and learning Hindi
Before going to Pilani, I didn’t know a single word of Hindi. This became a real handicap for
me. Whenever I went to a shop, I couldn’t converse freely with the shopkeeper. I started speaking in
broken Hindi because that the only way we could learn a new language. Many people made fun of me
while others corrected my mistakes. The ‘EU’ites, especially made so much fun of my Hindi till the end.
I also spoke in Hindi sometimes to entertain them!
Terrible heat
North India has both extreme cold and extreme heat in its tour package for us. My first year end
was approaching. April and May are the hottest months. Like winter, severe heat was also a new
experience to me. Whatever we touch, it will be hot-book, chair, table and the bed! We used to keep
drinking water every half an hour to avoid dehydration. Though its hot, it won’t sweat much like in
South India.
First year summer of 2001 was very horrible and during the exams, my mouth was full of mouth
ulcers due to heat. God was faithful and gave me strength to do the exams in spite of the heat. When we
go to sleep, the bed will be hot and we used to sprinkle some water on the bed and sleep. But some
amazing things happened. Seeing the severe summer in the year end, we started praying that the heat
will reduce from the next year onwards. In my second year, May was moderate and not terribly hot like
the previous year. In my third year also, we prayed and this time, you wont believe it, it rained in May!
It is so unusual in Pilani to rain in May. Fourth year also we prayed and this time it was cool somehow
in May for the last 15 days when we wrote our final semester exams. I don’t understand how it was cool.
And one day,it rained. These climatic descriptions are no exaggerations! My batch mates will testify for
it. God hears our prayers and is interested in our physical needs. ”The Lord watches over you, the Lord
is your shade at your right hand; The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night”.(Psalms
121:5,6).

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 One thing that surprises me is that the whole of my four years in college, I never fell sick during
an exam. It was purely God’s mercy. Pilani is a place of extreme temperatures, especially the second
semester. The semester starts in January 1st week when north India will be severely cold. Average
temperature in Delhi will be 6 or 7 degree and Pilani will be colder than Delhi. The semester ends in mid
may with mercury rising to 46 or 47 degrees. So there had been couple of times when I had fallen sick
due to extreme temperature or climatic changes. But it has always been during mid-semester holidays or
beginning of the semester when there would be no exams. God takes care of all our physical needs.
Fire broke out in Pilani
It was during my second year (2001-2002) when we felt the need for the Holy Spirit as a group.
We felt we needed some other power apart from our own to witness for him and establish His kingdom
in our college. It was not possible by our efforts and talents. The baptism of some members with the
Holy Spirit was one thing which enabled us to attempt great things for God. Other non-Christian
students came to know about our group. In my third and fourth year, there used to be at least two or
three non Christians coming for every Saturday and Sunday sessions.
There were at least four or five Brahmins(Brahmins are a sect of Hindus) who got saved during
that time- Venkatesh, Manas and few other girls. And Venkatesh’s conversion was an amazing story .I
never thought he would get saved .He used to come to Vinay’s room in second year and listen to Don
Moen’s songs. He saw us, the fellowship boys being very close and used to join us in our informal chats.
Our lives and our openness made him experience Christ in a personal way in his third year. He is a
living demonstration to the fact that Christ lives today and He is changing lives - all who would come to
him. Such miracles encouraged the fellowship members to spread the good news all the more.
May be you are alone in your college as a believer. Start with one person-try to meet his or her
need and show Christ’s love. Show the simple way to salvation in your own words.(If you don’t know
how to share the gospel in a simple manner, listen to Billy Graham’s message or some other
Evangelist).That might be the day of small beginnings. God will work on him/her and move in your
midst. We need to speak God’s word and promises to them and leave them. God will do the remaining
work. ”So will my word be which goes forth from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, without
accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it”—Isaiah
55:11.So,don’t despise the day of small beginnings.(Zechariah 4:10)
Sow the seed and wait . . .
God’s ways are not our ways. Don’t expect all with whom you share the gospel of Jesus Christ to
get saved immediately. It didn’t happen that way. Some never responded till they left college. I don’t
know what happened to them after that. But God has His own ways. The seed which you have sown in
college days may sprout when he goes to job. It may be watered by someone else and will bring forth
fruit. But it takes time. We should be ready to wait or even face disappointment sometimes.
My friend who stayed in the room next to me had seen my life for four years. He has also met
many of our fellowship boys. Yet, there was no response in him to the gospel when we parted at the end
of four years. I don’t know why. I have showed him by my life what it is to be a Christian. He knows
that my way is true. Our duty is to spread the good news, God has to save them.
Storing God’s word in our mind
During the summer vacation, we had two months holidays. God gave me interest to read God’s
word during that time. I spent much time reading God’s word during that time. What I read during those
days, really stayed in my mind after that. We must spend our free time beneficially by studying and
storing God’s word in our minds. We will never get so much time to feast upon God’s word as in
college days. I have realized it. ”How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to
your word”-Psalms119:9.Moreover, storing God’s word prepares us for the days to come. When the

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storms of life come, you will find that its only God’s word that will see you through the storm. Jesus
faced all his three recorded temptations by speaking God’s word back to the devil. In this age of internet
pornography, I have found that its only God’s word that is strong enough to ‘plague’ our minds if we
don’t want it to be plagued by dirty thoughts.” I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin
against you”-Psalms 119:11

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-- Robert Frost

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 WHAT I WENT THROUGH
Every time I sat to do something regarding this book, I faced Satan’s attack on my mind.
Sometimes, I thought ‘Who will read this book?’. At other times, I found myself unworthy to write this
book because of my own past failures. I could hear the cowardly voice of the enemy ‘But you have
failed so many times?’. I retorted ‘But God has forgiven my sins and doesn’t remember them anymore’.
Then there was this threat ‘What if you fail in the future after advising others?’. I replied ‘I cannot do
anything about my future except pray and be on guard. But if I fall, I will rise up’. Yes, the devil is all
set to frighten and discourage us whenever we want to do something for the Lord.
At the time of writing this book, I have finished six years in college as a student by God’s grace -
four years as an undergraduate and two years as a postgraduate engineering student. God has led me
through many experiences in all these years-through turbulent trials and quietness, through tempest of
temptations and cool waters, through success and failures. I wanted to conclude this book by writing
some of the areas in which I faced the strongest temptations and how I handled them. They are here for
your encouragement and protection. I am sure that this will help the next generation of young people
since I have written them with much hindsight.
Lust of the eyes:
“My temptations have been my Masters in Divinity” –Martin Luther
However evil the world may become around us, the words of Jesus remains the same “You have
heard that it was said ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a
woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”-Mathew 5:27,28.I know
many times I have struggled to accept the reality of this verse. At other times,I have felt it such a burden
that I cannot follow this verse in this generation. To be honest, at least a couple of times, I wanted to
leave my faith in Christ and go to atheism because I felt the standards are so high and difficult to keep.
Holiness is possible!
Two teachings have changed my attitude towards Mathew 5:27,28 over this period of time. One
is that all of God’s commandments including this one are for my own good. God does not derive sadistic
pleasure in giving us a difficult command and enjoy seeing us struggle to keep it. God is perfect in love
and all his commandments are for our own good. The second teaching is that God’s commandments are
not burdensome.”For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments
are NOT burdensome.”- 1 John 5:3.Its difficult to believe, but its true since the word of God says so.
You can read more in this regard in this article “Holy excuses” by R.Stanley [1]. He says there are 10
myths or wrong concepts about holiness which we have viz ‘Holiness is impossible’, ’Holiness is
abnormal’, ’Holiness is optional,’ ’Holiness is all by God’, ’Holiness is boring’, ’Holiness is
burdensome’, ’Holiness is vocational’, ’Holiness is situational’, ’Holiness is temperamental’ and
‘Holiness is dispensational’. If you are really serious about doing something for God in your college
days, I would strongly recommend you to get hold of this article in his book and practice them.
The menace of movies
Be careful about the movies you watch. One small drop of poison can contaminate a whole jar of
good milk. One four seconds ‘sex scene’ makes the whole movie unclean. You may ask, how? Because,
after the two hours movie, the only thing that remains in the mind of a man is that sex scene. Its because
man, by nature is a visual being. He can be extremely affected/stimulated by sight.(This may not apply
much to girls, they are more excited by romance in a movie than sex).That sex scene affects him so
much that he wants to explore it more and more in the next movie he watches. Hence he goes for some
adult rated movies. This is how a man is led to pornography! .This has been the oldest trick of the devil.
Give man a little ‘bit’ taste of sex and exploit his weakness.

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 This struggle is real and this temptation lasts till we die. Hence we should be very conscious of
this tactic of Satan and continue to say ‘No’ to him and ‘yes’ to Jesus. Initially, it will be difficult. It
sweats. As Kent Hughes says in his book[2], there has to be some holy sweat!. You will feel that this is
the most difficult command in the whole bible. Don’t worry!. All your Christian college seniors felt the
same! Some of them told it out(like me),others kept quiet thinking that this is an abnormal sex drive
which they alone have. But as you continue to say ‘No’, you will get used to it over a period of time.
You will get so much used to it, that now if you say ‘yes’ once mistakenly, you will grieve and mourn
for your sin. Your conscience will bother you. I believe that this is the state to which every young
Christian should grow to. It is NOT God’s will that you are perpetually defeated by sin.
Hollywood and Bollywood
It is best to avoid Hollywood movies totally and watch only those rare exceptions like Jurassic
Park, Baby’s day out etc etc. There might be some other good movies like them, but how do I know it is
clean unless I see it?. And if I see a movie to know how it is without asking someone else’ opinion about
that, I get invariably polluted if its dirty. Once I start seeing a movie, it has been almost impossible to
close it if its dirty(when I watch it alone). But if I hadn’t got that movie/CD/DVD in the first place, then
I would have easily controlled myself. Considering such a weak flesh which we men have got, it is
always wise to watch a movie only after asking someone else who has watched it and says its clean.
The same rule can be followed for Indian movies also. It is generally true that our Indian movies
are better and conservative than Hollywood in terms of obscenity. But that doesn’t mean that God
approves of all Indian movies. We have to be careful to note two things about Indian movies- first, that
man’s mind is basically evil and loves evil irrespective of his nationality and culture. We are fallen
creatures. So an Indian movie can pollute us in a subtle way like any other Hollywood movie. It does
pollute! Secondly, Indian movies’ directors also have started copying obscenity from western movies to
suit the modern Indian crowd.
Though it seems like I am being critical about every movie, I am certainly not against movies
completely. We are human beings, we also need entertainment and fun like others. There are clean
English and Indian movies which we can watch with our college friends occasionally so that our friends
don’t consider us as ‘abnormal’ or a ‘saint’ whom they cannot relate to. We must be balanced and we
can relax by watching a good movie after a series of mind boggling exams! Otherwise, our friends will
get the idea that following Jesus Christ is full of strict rules and regulations and won’t be drawn towards
Christ.
God tests us
With college students carrying laptops nowadays, this is the age of ‘private’ entertainment.
Nobody knows what you do with your laptop, what video songs you have loaded. This is where God
tests us, says Zac Poonen [3]. He says that the Lord tests the righteous, not the wicked! That is you and
me and not our unbelieving class mates.” O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous, Who see the
mind and the heart; …”Jeremiah 20:12 .So lets be careful.
I know that this struggle is very real, but we have a merciful Professor. If you fail once, you can
get forgiveness from Him and start fresh again. But He will test us again in the same area and we should
not fail again!. The important thing is, we should not take advantage of his forgiveness and take sin
lightly. In this evil world, we can never escape temptations. So lets face it and overcome it because that
is God’s purpose in testing us. Jesus understands us since He was tempted like us in every way. In the
book of Hebrews, it says about Jesus as follows-”For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet
was without sin”(Hebrews 4:15).Your parents may not understand you and your struggles in this area.
Sometimes even your spiritual leader/Pastor may disown you and despise you because of your failures.

35
But Jesus understands us and he will NEVER despise you or forsake you. He came into the world to
save sinners, he specializes in purifying hopeless people who feel rotten. It is after going through this
furnace of temptation and testing that the old saint wrote this song, Rock of ages, cleft for me…
Not the labours of my hands
Can fulfill Thy laws demands
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save,and Thou alone

Nothing in my hand I bring

Simply to the cross I cling
Naked,come to thee for dress
Helpless,look to thee for grace
Foul,I to the fountain fly
Wash me,Savior,or I die
The truth is, God can bring something good even out of this frustrating time of testing and
temptations. It makes us humble, broken, realize our weakness and depend on God alone for strength. It
also prepares us for married life where such temptations to explore sex outside marriage are very strong
and helps us to remain faithful to one partner throughout our life. Thus a good foundation laid to control
our eyes in college days is very essential to build a stable family later.

Some practical suggestions

Usage of Computer/Laptop
These are my suggestions only and not biblical commandments. First of all, don’t have a
laptop/computer in your hostel room if you don’t need one for academic purposes. You will start with
a good intention, but end up watching movies and playing games most of the time. Its good to recognize
our weakness. Unnecessary entertainment not only affects you spiritually but affects your academics
too. Unless you resist sin with all your heart, you will get entangled. In my four years of stay there, I
didn’t have a computer in my single room (some of my other friends had) because I knew my weakness.
I know that this suggestion of mine will become obsolete in some years as we move faster into the e–age
when we will have textbooks in e-format. But the principle will remain the same, i.e use the
computer/laptop primarily for academics and minimally for entertainment.
Spend spare time with believers
When you are tempted, bible asks us to flee from the place of temptation. Seek the company of
good believers in your college or in the church you attend. When we seek fellowship with believers, its
not necessary that you should always pray or have a spiritual discussion. After a series of exams and
studies, you may just want to relax. So just go out with some believer and eat out or play some sport.
The idea is to have some clean fun with believers than to be alone in the hostel room and fall into sin.
After continuous test series, we boys used to go out often like that and have fun. One boy had a really
good sense of humour, he used to be the centre of attraction in all such occasions.
Ways to keep yourselves busy
Keep yourselves busy. I have learnt that I struggled most with temptations only when my mind is
relatively free, like semester holidays, weekends etc. So you should plan to do something useful during
holidays before your mind becomes free. During long semester holidays(summer holidays),attend

36
spiritual camps .Almost all Christian organizations conduct camps for youths in the month of May. You
can also visit some mission field and encourage the missionaries and the new believers there. This will
also give you an exposure to rural India (where most missions work) and burden you to support them.
God might lay a burden in your heart later to go as a missionary.
If you are a book worm, get some missionary/great men of God’s biographies and consume
them! One website has a condensed biography (2 pages) of many servants of God. If you are techie,
learn some extra computer course like web designing and other new software languages. It might be an
added advantage when you go for a job interview. Go for tract distribution with your church youth group
.Plan a special gospel program in the next semester for your college friends who don’t know Jesus.
Usage of Internet
Finally, be careful about the usage of internet. The demon of internet pornography is spreading
its influence through the internet. When you want to browse for academic purposes, try to use the
college’s internet facility. This will be safe since they would have blocked all the unwanted sites. Don’t
spend time on the internet aimlessly. When you go to the internet cafe, have a list of websites to visit.
Check your mail, download whatever you want to download and then logoff! Don’t try to relax in the
internet by browsing. One link will lead to another and you will be caught by porn. “And I discovered
more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is
pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her”. Ecclesiastes 7:26.This is
one place in the bible where I feel this 20th century evil of Pornography is prophesied. It is so because
this verse says that this woman binds us with her chains which is exactly what internet pornography
does!
Romance during college days?

The other area in which college students really struggle is falling in love or a deep relationship.
First of all, the bible is very clear that a believer should only marry another person who is in the
Lord. Assuming that you are clear about this, I have the following suggestions.
When we study, we need to give our undivided attention to academics. Though the desire for a
life partner is natural and legitimate, everything has got a right time. It only brings frustration and pain
when we don’t wait for the right time. What you study in those three or four years of undergraduate
studies is very important for the rest of your life! Many students have spoiled their academics and hence
their future because of a relationship. While you are in college you will not realize the importance of
your academics. One such person was sharing his mistakes with me. After failing in a job interview, he
told me how the interviewer asked questions from his second year engineering subjects and he was not
able to answer them. He was in love with a girl and didn’t concentrate on studies in second year. It
affected his life even after three years!
Secondly, even if you feel that he/she is your probable life partner, you can wait for your studies
to get over to grow that relationship. In any case, you cannot marry while you are studying. Growing
that relationship will only cause frustration to both of you and will affect your spiritual life too. We need
to develop some self control. In many cases, it may be an infatuation which we think to be real love. If
you had waited for your studies to get over, you could have prayed and found out God’s will patiently.
In that way, you would have done your academics also well and would not have to go through ‘love
failures’ in the process of finding your life partner. Even if you are doubly and triply sure that he/she is
your life partner, you can wait and concentrate on your studies. If almighty God had planned her for
you, how can some other puny college boy snatch her? If you believe that, you can wait for your studies
to get over and then approach her.

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 Another problem in developing a romantic relationship in college is that we are very much
unprepared to face the real world. Immediately after college, you may be posted for job in a remote
place where the factory is or may be searching for a suitable employment. In these cases, if you are in a
deep relationship, it will be frustrating to be away from him/her. For some, God may lead you to do
higher studies (like in my case) in which case you will not be able to marry for some 2 or 3
years(minimum) after passing out from college.
Other than companionship, man’s most important need in marriage is sexual fulfillment. This is a
well known truth and proved by research. Hence if you are in a deep relationship with a girl in college
for a long time, it is only natural that you seek for physical intimacy in your relationship. This will lead
to touching, petting and then premarital sex. It will also cause mental imbalance and psychological stress
because your body longs for that girl, but you are not able to fulfill it legally (according to the laws of
God and laws of the land) because you are not married.
Considering all these practical issues, it is best not to develop a romantic relationship during your
student days. Instead of allowing our minds to wander, I feel that we can completely avoid thoughts of
romance and marriage and concentrate on our spiritual growth and what we can do for God in our
college days. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added
to you.
What if I have failed?
“I have learnt more from my failures than successes”- R.Stanley
If you have failed in the past, there is no need to condemn yourself now. You cant do anything
about your past. But we can get God’s forgiveness and start taking steps to come out of the past sins.
One of the greatest trick of the devil is to keep you condemned about our past. Don’t believe your
feelings. Believe that God has forgiven your sins after confession even if you don’t ‘feel’ forgiven. The
bible says “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness”(1 John 1:9)
Steps to come out of an addiction
So many good books give different ways to come out of an addiction, be it lust, pornography or
alcohol or an unhealthy relationship with the opposite sex. There are two things I have learnt from my
own addictions-first, the answer to any addiction is in the person of Jesus Christ and not in a book or
doctrine or method. Jesus Christ said “If the son sets you free, you will be free indeed”(John 8:36).So
we must come to Jesus Christ honestly with our sin and surrender our problem saying “Lord, I cant
come out of this by my own”. Secondly, it takes time to come out of any addiction or habit. Don’t
expect overnight victory. While it may be true in rare cases, it generally takes considerable time to come
out of the power of a sin according to the depth you have fallen. It is during this phase that we have to
persevere and not lose hope because we didn’t get immediate victory. Be patient with yourself and with
God.
Rick Warren has given the following four steps[4] to defeat temptation and come out of an
addiction. I have quoted them below . . .
1)Refocus your attention on something else: The battle for sin is won or lost in your mind. Whatever
gets your attention will get you.
2)Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group: Some temptations are only overcome with
the help of a partner who prays for you, encourages you, and holds you accountable.
3)Resist the devil:”Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word
of God”. Without Christ we are defenseless against the devil, but with “the helmet of salvation” our
minds are protected by God. Use word of God as your weapon against Satan.

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4)Realize your vulnerability: The bible says in Jeremiah “The heart is deceitful above all things and
beyond cure”. That means we are good at fooling ourselves. Given the right circumstances, any of us are
capable of sin. We must never let down our guard and think we are beyond temptation.

39
 Part II

RAVI MANAS’ SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH

&

CHERUB AND MAHESH RECOLLECT

THEIR COLLEGE EXPERIENCES

40
 Part 2
Chapter 1
How the Lord Jesus Christ sought me and bought me in BITS, Pilani
By Ravi Manas
About Me
I am Ravi Manas, M. Sc. (Tech.) General Studies from BITS, Pilani and I graduated in
December’2004. I am from an orthodox Brahmin family. My mom is from Smartha and Madhva
Brahmin combination lineage and Dad is from a Maharashtrian Brahmin community settled in South
India. I am brought up in the environment of Andhra culture following the traditions and practices of the
Brahmins all around us and Hindus in general. God chose me even before the foundation of the world,
and according to that eternal plan he brought me to this institution.
Care free College life
I was happy that I got into a top college and started my college life with great excitement. Since
our college didn’t emphasize on a minimum attendance of lectures, I started neglecting my classes from
first year. I was also in love with a girl and all this led to my failure in academics. I was a first class
hypocrite. I knew how to smoke and had the habit of using foul language but I hid my real nature among
my friends for the first few weeks in campus. I had Maharashtrian friends in the beginning and they
continued to be my friends till the end of my college life. Slowly my real nature started coming out as I
realized that the boys around me were not very different from me. I started opening my life to all the
foul things like using abusive language, watching porn movies, speaking evil of others and having no
other goal other than fame and popularity.

Exam time

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Failure in academics
I did badly in first semester and scored 4.0/10 CGPA(CGPA-Cumulative Grade Point average is
a grading system/method of evaluation) and was under purview of Academic Counseling Board(ACB-A
board which monitors the performance of students failing to obtain a CGPA above 4.5 out of 10.If a
student remains in ACB for more than two semesters, he is asked to discontinue his studies in college
and sent home!).
In love with a girl
Then in my second semester, I fell deeply in love with a girl in my batch. She is also from a
Brahmin family in Tamilnadu. I started wasting my time on this affair and again spoiled my studies.
Hence, this semester also my CGPA was 4.42 and was not able to come out of the ACB purview. I went
home for vacation and came back. Still I had that girl in my mind and wanted to pursue that relationship.
The girl thought that I was NOT worthy of her as I was not good at studies. Moreover I had many bad
habits and used to get angry at the slightest provocation. I became all the more depressed and started
indulging in smoking, drinking alcohol, watching pornography to fill the emptiness in my heart. All
these things had already destroyed my soul very much.
Switched to MSc, General Studies
During the third semester, I had to learn the core subjects. As the core subjects were difficult to
understand, I was unable to cope up with them. Once again, I was under purview of ACB and my CGPA
fell to 3.96/10. My parents were called from Andhra Pradesh to meet the College authorities. They
advised my parents either to discontinue my studies here or to switch over their son to MSc-General
Studies. I opted for General Studies since the girl I loved was in that branch.
I wanted to prove to every one that I can also make it in BITS, Pilani and pass out with good
CGPA. My parents requested the college authorities to allow me to pursue Management Studies. But the
institute allows ACB students to do only General Studies. I was happy to take MSc-General Studies
since it gives me opportunity to increase my CGPA and come out of ACB purview. That semester I
wanted to forget everything about my bad habits and the girl whom I was loving and wanted to
concentrate on my studies. I chose subjects like Sankara’s thoughts, Symbolic Logic, Introduction to
Sociology and Introduction to Systems. I took these easy courses so that I can improve my grades. But
in this semester also by mid semester I had two ‘E’(very poor) grades. If it continues in this manner, I
may have to pack my bags and go home!
My search for God begins in the Vedas
In this situation, I needed motivation to study. I wanted to know about my own religion which
originated in Vedas. The essence of all Vedas is “Advaita” philosophy which in a nutshell believes that
God is present everywhere(living and non–living). If so, God must be present in myself too. So, if I
realize myself, I have come to realize God.(Self realization is God realization) And also, because my
family deity was Shiva, I started reading the life and teachings of Sankaracharya who is believed to be
the incarnate of Shiva. I started reading the book called Vivekachoodamani (The Power of
Discrimination to know Real from Unreal) written by Sankaracharya. Thus, it gave me solace that at
least I am trying to know God and about my religion in detail.
Since all the subjects I chose in that semester were related to Hindu Philosophy, I could score
good grades and come out of ACB purview. In that semester, I also had opportunity to read
Sankaracharya’s commentary on Bhagavad-Gita.
The girl comes again!
In second year end, I came to Rao Insulating Company Ltd in Bangalore to do my industrial
training for two months. I was surprised to know that the girl whom I wanted to forget joined with me in
the same industry as my project mate. Again, anxiety was rekindled in me whether this girl will accept

42
me or not. So to overcome anxiety and perplexity, I started drinking alcohol. I wanted to win her and so
I did lot of things to please her. I did well in my industrial training and I came back to campus with the
false hopes of getting that girl in my life. I developed very good friendship with the girl during that
period.
Man proposes, woman disposes
In my 5th semester I wanted to continue scoring good marks and tried to win that girl. During that
semester I wanted to propose to the girl and I chose the medium of e-mail. I wrote to her that I am
interested in her but she rejected my proposal. As she rejected my proposal, I got angry with her and
again started drinking all the more. Thus I found my self empty, guilty, forsaken by God and men. I was
not having peace of mind and needed acceptance from society and really needed love and care of my
friends. I then understood that unless I find God and ask Him the solution for my problems, there is no
hope for me.
Light shone in darkness through Mahesh
Now the turning point in my life came. In the hostel where I was staying in third year, there was
a student called Mahesh Kumar in the adjacent room. He was doing B.E(Computer Science). His life
was a real example in our hostel and in campus. He never used to speak any foul and abusive language
and was not interested in talking about girls. Moreover, Mahesh was concerned about my problems and
depression. I was really surprised to see Mahesh being righteous, caring and humble at the same time.
Once when I was smoking in hostel corridor he called me and asked me to stop smoking .I asked
him why he was saying so since I am enjoying it. Mahesh told me that the human body was created to be
the temple of God(later, I understood that it was the temple of Holy Spirit) and I was defiling it. I
couldn’t understand fully but I threw the cigarette in front of him to please him. I wanted to be good, at
least when Mahesh was there since he was really concerned about my situation. I wanted the
righteousness, peace and joy which he had.
I tried to imitate Mahesh by trying to stop smoking, drinking, speaking abusive language and
watching pornography. I was not able to do so how much ever I tried. I knew that Mahesh has
something which I didn’t have. I really wanted to show everyone that I can also be good. So I intensified
my search to know God and seek His help to come out of this evil way of life.
Mahesh counsels me
Once when I was very depressed about my love affair, I went to Mahesh and shared it with him.
He told me that I was only in an infatuation. He told me that Lord Jesus Christ taught that whoever lusts
or desires to have any woman or man apart from His / Her own husband or wife commits adultery in his
/ her heart. He told me that God is not pleased with my affair as it has only made me miserable. I
decided not to go behind that girl, but was not able to.

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Mahesh Kumar, Ravi Manas and John Reuben

Krishna and his teachings

In the fifth semester, I was involved in the activities of International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON) in my college. They used to conduct sessions in the house of a faculty. I was
very much interested in Bhagavad-Gita and I went to ISKCON sessions for prayers. They told me about
Krishna and his teachings. I told them my struggle with sin and my depression. They asked me to chant
the Hare Krishna mantra by counting the beads in a sack by tying the sack to our hand. I started doing
this practice with full faith in Krishna. But my mind was not purified. They assured me that my mind
and heart will become pure over a period of time as I continued to do this. I followed their advice, but
my sin and guilt continued to torment me.
Search in Bhagavad-Gita
I read Bhagavad-Gita vigorously and was thorough with its philosophy and teachings about
God. But the permanent solution for the problem of sin was not mentioned in it. In the Bhagavad- Gita,
Chapter Number 18 and Verse number 66 says: “Abandon all varieties of Religion and surrender unto
me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” This is the only place where deliverance
from sin is promised. I claimed that promise but didn’t find any deliverance.

Search in Quran
I had belief that all religions are fundamentally the same and taught the same. I borrowed Quran
from our college library and studied its important chapters in detail. I realized that Quran preached
violence against those who don’t believe in Allah and Islam. I was surprised to see the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ in Quran as the most powerful prophet of God who has done great wonders and miracles. I
learnt from Quran that Jesus Christ was a powerful prophet. It didn’t portray Christ as the only begotten
Son of God.

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Followers of Christ say “He is the only way”
I was having hatred towards all Christians in campus as they used to confess that Lord Jesus
Christ is the only way to the Father. They also proclaimed that salvation is found in no one else under
heaven except through Jesus Christ. I was disappointed to find that all the gods whom I searched till
now don’t seem to love me or deliver me from this sick life. I even read Buddhist texts and was
interested to know about Buddha. Whatever he taught was right and good but how to achieve that ‘state
of being’ was the question. I needed the answer.
None could give me the solution for ‘SIN’
I used to read various books on religion as I was in pursuit of the Truth. I was doing a course on
“Gandhian Thoughts” as well. I found that none of these great men had victory over sin in their lives.
Even the gods whom I worshipped were not perfect. They tell lies, they lust for women and wealth, they
don’t forgive the sinners, they have many wives and are living in darkness themselves. When I sought
them, they were not able to help me. I was furious as it dawned on my mind that my gods themselves
were powerless when it came to the matter of sin. How then can they help me to defeat evil in my flesh?
The guilt, wickedness and hypocrisy remained in me.
As my struggle with sin continued, Mahesh showed greater concern for my soul. I was jealous of
the true followers of Christ in my campus. I was jealous of their love for God and their love for one
another. Though Mahesh was showing the true way to God, I couldn’t accept it. I continued to search for
God in my own religion.
A movie on ‘Jesus Christ’
In my third year, Mahesh started showing special interest in me to know the saviour. Once,
Mahesh asked me to watch a movie on Lord Jesus Christ in his computer. I watched the whole movie
and was really moved by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. I saw that He was crucified on the cross
by sinful men and He forgave all of them before He died. I was crying at the end of the movie as he died
that painful death for my sins and the sins of the whole world. On the cross, He experienced Hell
(Separation from God the Father) for my sake. But on the third day after His death, His Father God
raised Him from the dead to live forever(Resurrection).Then Jesus Christ appeared in bodily form to his
disciples and commanded them to take his message of salvation to the ends of the world.
Even after this incident, I continued in my sinful way of life. The reason is I did NOT make a
decision to accept the truth and receive Christ in my heart as my saviour. I was still stubborn.
Paul, the persecutor of the church
Another movie which Mahesh showed me was the life of Paul, who was Jew before he came to
know Lord Jesus Christ as saviour. Paul persecuted the followers of Christ since he was a zealous Jew.
Once, when he was going to persecute Christians, God met with him and he was completely changed.
This same Paul, who persecuted the followers of Christ started proclaiming Christ as saviour to all in
Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. He finally died as a martyr because he preached the eternal gospel
by which men can be saved from hell fire. After watching this movie, I was really touched by the life of
Paul. I understood that Jesus is God and He can change my life completely as he changed Paul’s life.
With that assurance I left Mahesh’s room.
Mahesh gives me a Bible
Mahesh gave me a Bible and asked me to read it. I started reading the Old Testament part of the
Bible i.e. before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ as Man. When I read the first 5 books of the bible I
threw it and said that it is not scientific. Again I consulted Mahesh and told him what I felt. He asked me
to read the New Testament and I started with the Gospel of John-- 4th book in the New Testament. This
was a wonderful book because it gives the detailed description of why Lord Jesus Christ is both God and
Man. I understood that Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to God. No one has seen God the Father except

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through His Son Jesus Christ. I also understood that God, revealed Himself to man through the Man
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is declared to be the perfect sinless and spotless Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the whole world.
Verses from the Bible which spoke to me
In the Gospel of Matthew Ch: 1 Vs: 21, an angel says to Joseph the father of Jesus : “His
name shall be called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.” In John 1:18, “No One
has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has
explained Him”. John 10:30 - “I and the Father are One”. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the
way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me”. John 17: 3, Jesus
prayed to God as, “This is eternal life that they may know You, the only True God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent”. In John 8: 31, 32, 34, 35 & 36, Jesus said, “If you continue in My
word, then you are truly my disciples indeed; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set
you free.” “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave
doesn’t remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son makes you free, you
will be free indeed.” Second Corinthians 5:21 - “God made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to
be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
After I read these verses, I was convinced that they were true. But I was not willing to confess
with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and He is the living God. I started reading the bible all the
more. Mahesh asked me to take the Bible to my home when I go for semester holidays.
“O God, reveal yourself to me”
One day, while returning to my room after a discussion with Lord Krishna’s followers, I told
God in prayer that “O God, who is the True God whom Jesus Christ came to reveal? Please tell me
who you are, what is your name and help me to overcome sin in my life. Until you do this, I will NOT
worship any other God.” I went home with the bible and started my study about Lord Jesus Christ.
There was no book more honest about man than the bible. I realized how God, the Father loved us even
while we were His enemies and sent his son. I was completely convinced in my heart that Jesus Christ is
both God and a perfect man and that He is the only way of salvation from Sin and Eternal Death i.e. hell.
I was very much afraid of what my parents would say if I started confessing the name of Jesus Christ
and started believing and following Him in my personal and public life. I was afraid of rejection by my
parents, friends, relatives and world at large. So I decided to follow Lord Jesus Christ secretly.
I accept Jesus Christ as my saviour
I went back to campus in my 7th semester. There was an uncle who used to visit Mahesh’s room.
He was an evangelist, i.e he tells about Jesus Christ to students. He used to ask me to believe in Jesus
Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I knew the truth and was convinced that only Jesus could save me from
my sins. One day, when I was going to Mahesh’s room, some one told me that uncle has come and that
he was searching for me to talk to me. Immediately, I ran back to my own hostel and was trying to hide
from him. When I was going to hide in one of my friend’s rooms, suddenly a voice spoke to me in my
heart saying, “Manas, if you don’t go back to this uncle and ask him about Me, you will never find Me”.
I knew it was God. I obeyed that voice and I turned back to meet him.
I started running to meet that uncle. I searched for him in all the Christian students’ room whom
I knew. All their rooms were locked. As I was searching, I got reminded of a student named Venkatesh
who is from a Brahmin background. I went to his room and found uncle and Venkatesh having a chat.
They were surprised to see me and I told them what God told me. I asked them many questions like,
what it means to be a Christian?. How to become a child of God? etc. They asked me whether I believe
that Jesus Christ died for my sins and God raised Him from the dead?. I said yes. They sat with me and
prayed for me to God and committed me into His hands forever.

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 My turn for prayer came. I didn’t know how to pray. I prayed “Lord Jesus, I believe that You
died for my sins. Please forgive me and make me a good person because I am a sinner. I have grieved
your heart. Please come into my heart Lord Jesus”. At that moment, Lord Jesus came into my heart and
that was the greatest moment in my life. Light flooded my heart and joy was over flowing. My guilt
vanished from my heart and I was free. I was brought back to fellowship with God through His son
Jesus.

My transformation
Lord Jesus changed my life completely. There was new meaning and direction in my life. I could
stop smoking, drinking, using abusive language and watching pornography immediately. I experienced
these victories through Jesus Christ and not on my own strength. I started telling other people about the
Lord Jesus Christ and the only way of salvation through Him. All my batch mates were amazed to see
me completely changed. They knew that it was Lord Jesus Christ who has done this miracle. I no longer
had desire to commit sin. Lord Jesus Christ continued to help me to glorify Him all around campus and
proclaim this good news to many students. I forgave all those who harmed me in anyway. I asked
forgiveness from those whom I have harmed. Jesus continues to help me to be victorious over Sin and
Satan. I have not become perfect, but I am being changed day by day to the likeness of Jesus.
Fellowship with God and His children
I started going to college fellowship where believers in Jesus Christ in our college meet for
prayer and bible study. Before I was a believer I couldn’t mix with them because I was a child of the
devil and they were children of God. After I became believer and received Lord Jesus Christ in my life,
first thing I was eager to do was fellowship and witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Remember your creator in your youth”

My plea to the reader
In my life, I know one truth more than anything else. Jesus Christ died for our sins and there is
no doubt about it. It is an eternal fact. Every man has to give an account of His life on earth to God the

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Father. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ will have his sins forgiven, his heart cleansed and will be
clothed in the righteousness of Christ. My urgent plea to the reader of this book is “Repent and believe
in the Gospel (good news), because now the Kingdom of God is nearer than ever”. A day will come
when Jesus Christ will come again to judge this world. Once He comes, even if you want to believe in
Him and have your sins forgiven, you cannot! It will be too late and the period of grace will be over. Are
you ready to meet Him and go with him to heaven? Or will you be left behind?
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind

The Son has come and you've been left behind -- DC Talk

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 Chapter 2
Can College Life be exciting? –Read on to see what happened in my college life
By Cherub
My salvation
Cherub – literally means angelic being!! I was living far from what my name meant for a long
time, but God in His mercy touched me and made me His child in a way that I understood it the most in
my eleventh standard. I was born and brought up in a very God-fearing family who taught me the ways
of God, which guided me in my college life after I accepted Christ to be my Savior.

Daddy, why send me so far away?

My first reaction to my parents when they brought the BITS application after my 12th results
were out was “Daddy, Please don’t send me that far away”!! I remember my parents talking me through
the whole thing as to how God had so beautifully paved a way for me to go to that college. They also
told me that God had a plan in giving me a seat there because humanly I did not deserve to study there. I
also realized deep down in my heart that God was beginning to do something in my life that I could not
see then and I did not want to stop it and so,… I decided to go!

Farewell family!
Bidding a tearful farewell to my two brothers and extended family, I started on the eventful
journey that was to bring about so many surprises in my life. The train we were travelling had so many
other students like me who were travelling to join BITS. All of us had our parents with us in the train.
The students were all so independent, confident, ambitious, loud and people with big dreams to achieve
at just seventeen years of age. This made me wonder whom I depended upon? Who my confidence was?
What was it I wanted to achieve in college and in my lifetime? It set me thinking!!!

Welcome to Pilani!- but did I enjoy it?

The new place, new people, mess food, three girls sharing a room, heavy academics, new open
culture was all a big change in my life. I was working very hard to cope and adjust with this sudden
change God had brought about in my life. Honestly, the only thing I enjoyed in college in my first year
was the EU fellowship. It was a place of love and laughter. It was very refreshing. The people were so
warm and they were concerned about each of the first year-ites.

Sickness strikes me unexpectedly

Second year came and there was another shock that was awaiting me. I started having breathing
trouble due to the extreme weather conditions.( It varies from 0 deg to 50 deg) My respiratory system
could not handle the extreme weather conditions and so, I was struggling. One particular Sunday, during
the morning worship time, I had excessive wheezing and I really thought my life was coming to an end
that day (Now I laugh to have thought like that, but that’s how I felt that day). Many girls from our
fellowship helped me and took me to the doctor. The next two or three days, I was in and out of the
doctors’ clinic (The doctor there could only diagnose typhoid, jaundice or malaria and anything else was
beyond their reach).

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Last place where I wanted to be – Hospital

The doctor sent me to the hospital to be hospitalized. I just could not accept this. I was sincerely
crying out to God and telling Him, “Lord, Why are You doing this to me?” and “Please Lord take me
out of the hospital”. There is only one hospital called ‘Sarvy’ in Pilani, and it was not a very clean place.
The bed sheets were dirty, the beds were dirty and the other patients were very very sick people and this
environment made me more sick. I kept telling my warden that if I stayed back in my room, I would
recuperate faster there. The thought of being alone without my friends was affecting me badly.

The college would send a “Didi”, a help maid to be there with us.. and a mess bhaiya to send us food at
proper times. I was so restless. Affected emotionally and physically, but God saw me through the night
and I just fell asleep that night. I was on IV that whole night and the next morning, I had batches of my
friends from my fellowship visiting me.

The Lord’s gentle manner of dealing with me

During the course of the day, I had many tests taken. I looked at my right hand and it had blood
stains due to the I V and on my left hand they were taking blood for doing the tests. I looked at both my
hands and just asked one thing to God “Why me?”
Probably I was not mature at that time to understand that God had a path that was unique to each
of us and that was the best for me. At that time, I don’t know exactly whether it was a dream or a vision
or a picture, but I saw the cross and Jesus hanging on it. I could see it and I saw blood all over the body
of Jesus and I was reminded of the BIG sacrifice that He did for me. This humbled me and tears were
rolling down. I realized that what I was going through was a small fraction of what Jesus had undergone
for me. His battered body, nail-pierced hands and feet with the painful whip marks and the crown of
thorns all became so real to me. I also understood the value of His blood which he shed for my sin!!
Jesus,WHY FOR ME? This thought overwhelmed me. I was shaken. My hospital bed became a place of
praise and gratitude to God for all that He had done for me. I no longer cribbed about my discomfort
instead I was enjoying an intimate time with my God.
I was revived spiritually and emotionally and I walked out of the hospital after a personal
encounter with God. My parents who heard I was hospitalized immediately rushed to campus to visit me
and to be with me. Spending time with them and my younger brother refreshed me a lot. This whole
experience made me understand the depth of the love of God for me. Every time I took part in Holy
communion after that incident, I valued what Jesus did on the cross for me and there was a deep sense
of reality. I am so grateful to God that I fell sick and that He showed how much He cared for me. By
God’s grace I no longer suffer from any breathing difficulty and am completely normal.

Fellowship

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”.

When I joined college I saw a few people in the fellowship who loved the Lord and remembered Him in
all their ways. College is a place where anyone can be misled and live a life with no accountability
especially when we are so far away from family. In a place like that, I saw a group of people who were
seeking the Lord. This was a big challenge to me. I enjoyed being with them and learnt so much from all
of them. The EU fellowship was interdenominational, and I saw people worshipping God in ways they

50
knew best and it edified me so much. It also set a platform for me to learn to worship God without any
fixed pattern of worship as in traditional churches.

Girls Hostel
In the beginning of every year, we girls would run to see the mess list and look for Christian
names, and when we found them, we would go and visit them in their rooms. A few would respond in a
positive manner and a few in negative. We would take all their names and start praying for them
fervently name by name. The group of believer girls would meet twice a week for prayer cell. This was
also a very enriching time. We would just sing a few songs, write down a few prayer points and then
pray. We would then all go to the mess together to have dinner. We all loved and cherished those
moments so dearly.
We also decided to have prayer batteries everyday in different blocks in the girls hostel. All of us
seniors would divide ourselves and go and pray in different blocks. It was actually not very easy because
when we had tests and assignments the next day, we had to make a sacrifice. I remember going and
praying with the first yearites one day. Two believer girls were there for the prayer battery .All their
unbelieving friends also would join us for prayer battery. They all loved me so much and I loved them
equally. All these girls from different faiths would come at 9 pm sharp for the prayer battery and we
would all sing and share and pray. It was all their choice to come and I know that the word that was sent
will not return void.

Motivating Factor to live for Jesus

The desire and encouragement to be a witness for the Lord was very high. The fellowship was
growing in number. God added people to Himself. It was very encouraging for me personally because I
knew then that God used ordinary people and available people for His kingdom’s extension. That was
the first period of time in my life that I saw lives coming to the Lord so dramatically and they were all
our friends. I found that there was no greater joy than to see our friends receive Christ. It was so joyous.
I also learnt that what William Carey said was true.
“Attempt great things for God ; Expect great things from God”
We as His children have all authority and power to do things boldly in His name.

Reaching out the campus through a ‘Play’

I was once sitting in a camp in a small group and we had to discuss how we could strategically
win our colleges for Christ. I was thinking about our college and I realized that dramas and plays were a
big hit in our campus. The tamilians would do a play in Tamil; there would be a Hindi play and an
English play once every semester.
I remembered how the whole student body would wait for these plays. God then laid a thought in
my heart about our fellowship doing a play since it was a strategic method of reaching out. I then
thought of my fellowship and God so beautifully had orchestrated a fellowship that was actually multi-
talented and multi-faceted. There was a group of people, who could act very well, and another group had
the gift of playing instruments and singing, another group could do choreographies. The whole
fellowship had people who were all complimenting each other. God had blessed a boy with the gift of
writing the script for the play. There were also a few girls who were skilled in doing all the background
work.

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 Is this a dream? Will this become reality? These were questions I had in my heart as I walked
into my last semester on campus. I had desires but so much of inhibitions. My seniors who understood
me were not there to support me. Many of my batch mates with whom I worked along had gone out of
campus for their projects. I was quiet about this whole idea and kept it in my heart for a whole month.
But I could not contain it beyond a point and God wanted to glorify His name in and through this and
caused it to happen in His time and in His way. The whole fellowship slogged and worked so hard. We
all prayed and regularly met for practice. It was so much of teamwork. The whole fellowship was very
focused and it was a time that we all grew closer to each other. The boy who wrote the script did it with
a lot of prayer and it was very profound. It was the wisdom of God. A part of the play was the life of
Jesus, His death and resurrection and it actually ended with a rapture scene. The gospel was interwoven
so beautifully in the play.

They came, they saw, Jesus conquered!

Nov 3, 2002 was the most unforgettable day in my college life when God accomplished what He
had ordained .All our friends had come, our wardens were there and a few professors with their families.
The room was overflowing with people, and the presence of God was so real, everyone knew it was not
an ordinary evening. There were students who were weeping while they were watching the play. Every
one was spell- bound. We all knew this could only be the God of the Bible who could enable us to do
such a professional play and fulfill His plans. Even during practice time, I would think to my self that it
was not up to the mark of the other plays our college friends performed. Our play used to be like a
Sunday school skit during the practice sessions, but on that eventful day God lifted it to great heights.
The acting was the best, the singing was unbelievable, the costumes were so elegant, the props were
very grand. God filled every gap we humanly had and it was His doing.
This whole play created an impact in our college in a way that was beyond what 30 or 35 believers could
do individually. From the management to the students, everyone started respecting the fellowship and
members of the fellowship. They realized that it was Jesus Christ who has made a difference in our
lives.

Heaven is counting on you; Run with a heart that is true( from a song)

Presently, I am married to Rufus and God has blessed us with a baby girl Sakshi. To look back
and think of the path God has brought us is unbelievable. I want to encourage each of you reading this
book to give your best to Lord in your college days. God has placed you there with a definite plan and
purpose .The undivided way in which you can serve the Lord during this phase of life is immense.
College days are days when we have a lot of time at our disposal. Life’s commitments and
responsibilities when we start working and move on in life is high and demanding. Its worth it to live the
college days for Jesus.

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 Chapter 3
My experiences with the Lord as a student
By Mahesh Kumar

Initial days in college

About me
I am Mahesh studied in BITS,Pilani, Rajasthan during years 2000-2004. I am from a nominal
Christian background i.e, we as a family used to go to church and pray only on Christmas, Easter and
other such special occasions. I never knew Jesus personally and abundant life He came to offer us.
From my childhood, I was brought up with discipline, simple life style and with much
concentration on studies. As I was growing, I started seeing double life in me. Externally I could
maintain very good life before others, in school and at home. But inside there was so much pride,
jealousy, selfishness and lust. I used to struggle a lot to maintain this double life. I had no peace in living
this way. In my family, there were also many problems like sickness, financial problems and
misunderstandings. In that situation, though I was unworthy, I got admission into BITS by God’s grace.
But it was almost impossible for my parents to support my education there due to poor financial
condition. After thinking for some days, my parents finally decided to send me to Pilani so that I can
have bright future. I was much excited to go.
In spite of much confusion, God led me to this college, with wonderful plans ahead, the plans
that were far higher than my plans. As I started with my first year in college, God started revealing these
plans one by one, and by the end of my graduation, when I put all these things together He had done for
me, I see His amazing love and care for me. I would like to share few of these incidents that may
encourage you as well.
First few days in my college
When I joined college in first year, it was the first time I came out of home to study.
Hostel life was totally new to me. My father stayed in hostel for the first three days and then left. On the
day he left, as I was watching my father leaving, I felt all my strength was lost and felt lonely. As a first
yearite, I had to go through ragging and many such humbling experiences, which made me to weep
alone in my room sometimes. This helped me to get broken to some extent.

God’s sovereign plan in my room allotment

I could see God’s sovereign plan even in my hostel room allotment. In my first year, there was a
Christian boy, Sharon in the room behind my room. Our rooms were connected by a ventilation window,
so I used to ask him to wake me up in the morning. This way I became friendly with Sharon. One day,
Sharon came to my room and started sharing about the Christian fellowship he was attending. I
responded saying Jesus is a good God. He was surprised seeing my faith in Christ since my name
doesn’t sound like a Christian name. Then I told him about my background and expressed desire to
attend church.
Sharon told me that I can start attending the Christian fellowship from the next semester. I
agreed to join the fellowship next semester, thinking that I wont understand what they teach if I join
them in the middle of the semester. I thought the fellowship would teach the bible like a engineering
subject, from the first chapter to the last throughout the semester! Sharon also gave me an extra copy of
the bible and asked me to read.
On the way to Sin
As the first semester went by, my friendship with friends was growing stronger. Especially
during “OASIS” (annual cultural festival held for a week), I was much excited to watch each and every

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activity of the cultural fest. I also observed all sinful practices of this world and felt drawn towards them.
I could feel a strong pull. After the fest ended, I again got busy with my studies and thus the semester
came to an end. The bible that Sharon gave, I could never read.
Drawing my attention to Him as supernatural God
“I will read the bible”,I promised God
At the end of first semester, final exams were approaching and I was about to pray for the exams.
I never read the bible which Sharon gave me and I thought God might be angry with me. So I prayed
“Oh God, after exams, on last day before leaving home for holidays, I will get some free time and will
read the bible then. But please help me now in my exams”. I continued studying and completed my
exams. But on the day the exams got over, I went to play cricket.I played cricket, went out for dinner
with my friends and was returning to my hostel room.I was supposed to board the bus at midnight to
Delhi.
All this while, I was reminded of the promise I made to God that I would read the bible on the
last day when the semester exams got over. So I hurried to my room to read the bible. By the time I
packed my luggage, it was already late to catch the bus to Delhi. So I kept my bible inside briefcase and
said to God, “I will read the bible at home since I have ten days semester holidays”.
Briefcase lost
I placed my briefcase in the dickey of the bus and boarded it. As this was the first time we were
going home after a long semester, we were all excited. The whole bus was in a jubilant mood and we
reached Delhi the next morning. All my excitement came to a standstill when I went to unload my
luggage and found my briefcase MISSING. It had all my original certificates, clothes and my bible. I
was shocked. I sat in the railway station without knowing what to do.
But my friends could not really understand me and share my problem. They were enjoying jokes as
usual. At that time I could see the emptiness in world’s friendship, which I had been craving for.
I also called some of the senior students in college by telephone stating the loss of briefcase.
These boys are members of student council and they hold responsible positions in the students union.
But they didn’t even give attention to my problem. I could see emptiness in all the friendship they
showed during election campaigns. Finally, one senior starting to Delhi from college said he will help
me in whatever way possible. As I was sitting perplexed in the station, all these things started coming to
my mind. The way Sharon gave me a bible and how I ignored reading it. I ignored reading it even after
final exams. I was much convicted and decided NEVER to postpone things of God in my life.
Briefcase found
When the next batch of buses from college reached Delhi,I was surprised to meet that senior with
my briefcase safe in his hand. He told me how my briefcase had fallen from the bus dickey in the
highway. The local people found it, opened it and found that it belongs to a student of BITS. So they
stopped one of the buses from our college and gave the briefcase to the bus driver. The senior student
whom I called was sitting exactly in that bus and he remembered my case. When he explained all this, I
felt that it was only the hand of God and there was peace in my heart. I also felt as if God warned me to
turn to Him. Finally I reached home and during holidays, I started reading bible and fearing God.
Some of the First Experiences in fellowship
I met Sharon the first day of the second semester and narrated him all about the briefcase
incident. I also asked him to take me to the fellowship. So he took me to the Saturday session. In that
session, everybody in the fellowship shared how their holidays have been and prayed for each other’s
needs. I was initially uncomfortable to speak since I didn’t have any important prayer request. But one
girl narrated how she had lost her chemistry book and requested the fellowship’s prayers. Then, I also
shared my prayer points without hesitation. The next day, in the Sunday worship, they gave time for

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people to come and share what God did in his/her life. I gathered my courage and went and shared how
my briefcase got lost and how God gave it back to me miraculously. Such opportunities to share made
me bold and also helped me to mingle freely with the fellowship members. I also started attending the
boy’s prayer cell in hostel once in a week.
As the semester got busy and test series started, there was a strong temptation to skip the
Saturday and Sunday meetings, especially when there was exam on Monday. Devil used to inject many
thoughts discouraging me to attend the meetings so that I can study more. But somehow I continued to
attend the EU meetings regularly. But one Sunday, I skipped the meeting and stayed in room to study.
That Sunday evening, I went to mess to have my dinner and met one senior student, Selwyn, who is
from our fellowship. I was afraid that he will ask me the reason for not coming to worship. So
immediately I started giving explanation for not attending meeting saying, I had exam etc etc…But
Selwyn just gave a broad smile and said, “It is ok, Mahesh. I understand!” and put his hands around me.
Oh! These loving gestures drew me towards the fellowship. Their love and concern made me to love
them and I put the fellowship on top priority.
All Night Prayer
In third semester, again OASIS time came. Different from the previous OASIS , instead of
running around all the worldly programs, this time I got in touch with John. As John suggested, we
decided to have all night prayer among the boys. At that time we didn’t have mobile phones to call and
inform other boys about the all night prayer. As it was short notice to send an email, John and me
decided to personally go and call the other boys. So one day,we took the bicycle and went together to
hostel rooms of other boys. After searching in all the boys we knew in the different hostels, we couldn’t
find anyone. Finally we found one first yearite. We took him also onto our bicycle, and I started riding
triples. Though it was tough to ride triples, still it gave me joy in doing that for the brothers. Finally we
three met in a room and prayed. During these days, my fellowship with John got stronger.
Desire for a transparent life
By the end of third semester, I got close to all the boys in the fellowship. I also started
participating actively in skits, choreos, talent nights, picnics and all the other activities of the student
fellowship. Though I had a good testimony and outwardly righteous life, there were struggles in my
personal life. I was still not able to live in victory over sin. My conscience was so hardened towards sin.
Sometimes I used to join friends to watch bad movies and not feel guilty about it. I was amazed at the
other boys and girls in fellowship, how their lives were clean and transparent. I desired the transparent
life which they had.
Born Again experience
In the starting of the fourth semester, God disclosed one more wonderful plan He had for me.
One Sunday morning, we were informed that some believers from IIM,Lucknow were visiting us for a
three day trip. Their visit was a blessing to many including me. We had a great time with those believers
and even an informal chat over tea turned into a meaningful discussion. During their visit, one evening
we boys met in a room to discuss the question “What is bugging my spiritual life?”Everybody was
supposed to answer that question and my turn came. I also answered that question, but frankly speaking
I didn’t even understand the question. God started working in me after that discussion.
The next day, we had worship with the IIM believers and there was divine presence during that
worship. Everybody was in tears thanking God and worshiping Him but I was not able to worship God
like them. They were singing
Lord, I lift Your name on high
Lord, I love to sing Your praises
I'm so glad You're in my life

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 I'm so glad You came to save us
As I was meditating the first line, I felt, it was not true in my life. I was lifting my own name on
high before others and in my studies. Then in second line, my love was not for His praises. My love was
for lusts and pleasures of the world. Third line says, “I am so glad you are in my life”. But at that time I
did not have assurance if Jesus was really in my life. By this time I was deeply convicted, and tears
started rolling down my eyes. Then I sang the rest of the song, which gives the gospel. As they started
repeated this song, I started truly worshiping the Lord in my spirit. I said to the Lord, “Oh Lord,
throughout my life, I want to lift your name and sing your praises.” From that incident, my life was
totally changed. My heart’s love for the world was turned towards Jesus. Later I realized that I was born
again during that worship meeting.
Their visit not only changed my life, but the lives of many other students of our college. In the
following meetings, many students shared with tears how God touched them through that meeting.
Surely, some believers had fasted and prayed for those meetings.

Witnessing for Christ

After my born again experience, my life was not the same anymore. There grew a great urge in
my heart to share the gospel with others and bring them to the savior. Between two periods, there would
be ten minutes break during college hours. During this break, I used to go to a quiet place and worship
the Lord. God would fill my heart with his presence during worship and I felt unloaded of my guilt and
burden of sin. I started turning away from watching unclean movies with my old friends. I started having
intimate fellowship with Christ and other boys of our fellowship.
God planted a burden in my heart to visit juniors who were not regular to the fellowship
meetings. I learnt the song “All to Jesus I surrender” and used to sing it to them. We started “prayer
batteries” (it was time to spend daily in prayer in respective hostels for few minutes) to bring more
friends into the fold. There used to be a new strength and joy in doing any thing that would glorify God.
Throughout my third year, God gave me boldness to witness to students from other faiths who were
staying in my hostel. One student who got saved during that time was Ravi Manas, whose testimony is
included in this book.
God also helped me to be sincere in my studies. I put my best into my academics. I was faithful in
doing all the software assignments while others copied them. Though it was difficult to be honest, God
helped me to take a stand at such situations. This brought glory to God and attracted many to Christ.
Burden for North India
Towards the end of third year, God started laying a burden in my heart to pray for the land where
He has kept me. Not knowing where this burden came from, I started praying for North India and the
salvation of the people here. During my fourth year, we were supposed to go to industries to do our final
year project. I applied for many companies and got the opportunity to do my project in Noida (Uttar
Pradesh). John, who was another fellowship member who was very close to me also got his project in
Noida and we stayed together. This incident confirmed me that it was God who gave me that burden for
North India. During our stay there, we were burdened to see many people who haven’t heard of Jesus
even once in their life. We started praying sincerely and committed our lives to Him. When I returned to
campus after the project, God gave me a job in Gurgaon (near Delhi), thereby helping to stay in North
India and be in His will. All glory to God.

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 CONCLUSION
We hope you have been challenged by reading this book. What God did for us, he can do it for
you too. We invested a lot of our time and energy in bringing out this book so that you can be prepared
to face the challenges of your college life. You can also learn from our example and invest your college
days fruitfully in evangelism and bible study instead of other activities (extra curricular). This doesn’t
mean you neglect your studies. Apart from all your class hours and study hours, we suggest you to
spend the rest of your time for God which is the best investment with eternal rewards.
Certain experiences in life, we will never understand until we go through them. For example,
hostel experience is something we had to go through to understand what it is to be away from our
parents. In the same way, college students don’t realise the tremendous potential and opportunity they
have to evangelise during their student days. They realise it after they pass-out from college - the close
access they had to unbelieving students in the hostel and the free time they had as students.
By all means, save some!
“I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”-I Corinthians 9:22
First of all, you have to understand that while you are in college, the mission field has come to
you instead of you going to the mission field! In most of the colleges now, people come from all over
India to study, i.e a diverse student population. This gives tremendous access to evangelise Sikhs and
Biharis, people with whom you might have never been able to interact if not for your college which
brought you together. Otherwise to share the gospel with one boy from Jharkhand, we have to travel
1000 kilometres, BUT now He is just next to your room in the hostel! Oh, I pray that you will realise
this golden opportunity to witness for Christ and grab it! After realising this, I started keeping a gospel
tract always with me and would give it somehow, especially if he/she is from a far off north Indian state.
Secondly, during college days, the student is generally in a receptive mind- to learn and
experience new ideas and philosophies. If you share about the only way of salvation through Christ, they
will consider it and give it a try. He/she will not be extremely rigid and willing to change. But this is the
also the stage when he can change for the worst. Because the student is in his adolescence with untamed
passions and driven by peer pressure. So you have to reach them with the gospel before the world
reaches them with its empty enticements. Jesus is the answer for the world today. So, hurry up! There is
no time to waste. Past is past, start doing what you can do from today. Its our duty. You are responsible
for your generation. As Rick Warren[4] said, what Jesus gave us is a great commission, NOT a great
suggestion!
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has
believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” - Mark
16:15,16

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Note: Soft copy of this book available upon request. Contact [email protected] or
[email protected]

Bibliography:

[1] Stanley,R , ”Dare to be Different”

[2] Hughes Kent, ”Disciplines of a Godly Man”

[3] Zac Poonen , “Gaining God’s Approval”

[4] Rick Warren ,”The Purpose Driven Life”

Suggested authors and their books: (We suggest you to buy them for your college group)

1. R.Stanley - “To Dear Students”, “Enlightening Essays”, “Fire in My Bones”, ”Happy Harvest”
and “Better Everyday” (Published by BYM)

2. Leonard Ravenhill - “Why Revival Tarries”, “Revival: God’s Way” (Published by BYM)

3. Watson David ,”Discipleship” ,Hodder and Stoughton,1999

4. Lewis,C.S, “The Screwtape Letters” ,Bles,1942

5. Neil T.Anderson ,“The Bondage Breaker”, Harvest House Publishers

6. Zac Poonen - “Sex, Love and Marriage”, ”The Purpose of Failure”, ”Needed Men of
God”(Published by Christian Fellowship Centre)

7. Prakash Yesudian ,“Fishers of men”, RZIM Life Focus Society,2001

8. George Verwer,”No turning back” ,OM Books,1983

9. Vishal Mangalwadi et al,”Burnt Alive”, GLS Publishing,2001

10. Chandapilla,P.T, “A grain of wheat:The life of I.Joseph Abhisheka Rao”,Jyoti Pocket

books,Bombay,1972

11. Chandapilla,P.T ,”The Master Trainer”,Gospel Literature Service,Bombay,1974

12. Biographies of “William Carey”, ”Amy Carmichael”, ”Ida Scudder”, ”George Mueller” and
other missionaries

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From this earth i will soon be departing;
I'm just waiting for Jesus to come
I'm convinced that earth's pleasures are fleeting;
Now I'm living for Jesus alone

All my days here on earth have been numbered;

And I cannot afford to waste one
God's great plans for my life must be furthered;
And my life's work on earth must be done

In that day God will judge me for sure;

All I did, all I thought, all I spoke
That which glorified God will endure;
All the rest will then go up in smoke

So I'll live for my saviour's good pleasure;

All the glories of earth have no worth
Christ's own virtues will be my great treasure;
And I'll just seek God's kingdom on earth -- Author Unknown

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