Samir Sees Jesus
Dan Byler, RMM’s regional director for Asia, recently visited Bangladesh. In that country RMM is providing financial support and leadership training for the church that is emerging among the Harijan, a low-caste, predominantly Hindu people group. Upon returning, Dan reflected that “stories are one way of measuring the ‘success’ of our work of outreach – not quantitative, but celebrative.” Here is one of those celebrative stories – the account of how one young man encountered Jesus while living at a Christian hostel that RMM supports.
Samir* is a Harijan student from Chandpur and he lives and studies at the Immanuel Hostel. Before coming to Mymensingh, his rather traditional Hindu grandmother warned him to study, but not become a Christian. After living at the hostel for more than a year, he came to believe, but kept it a secret. One morning he asked Sunil (one of the Christian leaders) this question, “Have you ever seen Jesus?” Sunil shared about his experiences with Jesus, but was wondering what Samir was getting at. Samir then shared how he had seen Jesus the night before in a dream. Jesus asked him, “You believe in me, but why haven’t you taken me into your heart?” He understood that Jesus was asking him to make a commitment, that is to be baptized. So he told Sunil to arrange for his baptism without delay because he wanted to be faithful to the vision. When Sunil saw his sincerity, he arranged for his baptism.
Samir told Sunil not to tell anyone what he had said, but Samir then found out he couldn’t keep it in, and began to share the news with his friends and brothers in Jesus. The joy within him was too great to keep a secret.
When I talked with the hostel students, he came up at the end and asked me if I knew what had happened to him? His radiant face and his words showed his joy and faith. Since his baptism, he has taken the initiative of visiting children in the Harijan community of Mymensingh. This month he is at home in Chandpur for “summer vacation” and will undoubtedly share his joy with friends there.
*Names have been changed.