Growing up in India as a young man in a syncretic Hindu family, it was unlikely that I would have considered Tasmania for my future, let alone being in Christian ministry. Yet today I am actively involved in church ministry in Launceston and the state coordinator of CMS Tasmania.
Prior to moving to Tasmania, I spent a few years at BST (BCQ as it was back then) completing my Master of Arts in Theology. My Christian walk began in India when I was 18 years old and was witnessed to by some Bible college students. My whole family gave their life to Christ. I felt the Lord’s call to serve in ministry early on and so to prepare, I studied my Bachelor of Theology. While in India I served as the youth pastor where I met my wife and I was active in two church plants.
My desire was to do further studies and so I applied at various Bible colleges in the US, UK and Australia. When I applied to study in Australia, I was advised that I needed to study a year of English. So I left India and enrolled at Southbank Institute of TAFE. My family was unable to travel with me as my wife was pregnant with our second child. I could not be there for the birth of my baby girl and did not meet her until she was a year old. It was definitely hard to leave them behind, but the idea was to bring them over on a spousal visa while I studied.
When I finally finished the English course, I enrolled in the Master of Arts program at BST. My interview was so encouraging, I met Dr Ken Newton who was the principal at the time and to my surprise spoke Kannada, my native language! I will never forget Ken’s impact on my education, his support and mentorship. I struggled in my first year at BST, but Ken persevered with me and encouraged me in my studies. He was also instrumental in helping my family with their visa application, which at the time proved to be a really difficult process.
To keep up with paying for my student fees I had to work two jobs. Studying full-time, working and being away from family was hard, but I knew I had the support of the college and people like Brian Allbutt, a WEC missionary who was my prayer partner from the time I started at BST. Many of the mission reps would visit the college, connect with students and form life-long friendships.
It was Brian who encouraged me to apply to be on staff and teach World Religions, Old and New Testament for the WEC training centre in Launceston, Tasmania. After completing my studies at BST in 2000 we located to Tasmania to begin our next phase.
We have been attending Cityview Christian Church since 2000. In 2008, I moved on from my role as a lecturer at WEC to join the pastoral team of my church and my wife got a job as an accountant in an accounting firm. Since February 2014, God had other things planned for me and I was asked to take over the state coordinator role for CMS Tasmania. I still work two days a week for my church, but the rest of my week is involved with CMS.
I am so thankful to God for His abundant provision and His strength, particularly through those challenging years when I was away from my family. As I look back now on how far God has taken me on this incredible journey, I feel privileged and humbled to be where I am today.
If you are an alumni and would like to share your testimonial with us, contact BST on (07) 3870 8355 or email communications@bst.qld.edu.au
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