I am sitting next to Ravi on his terrace on a warm November day in Sri Lanka 2023, together with a small team from the Danish European Mission. I listen to his story, which clearly emphasizes that we believe in a God who will meet us personally.
Ravi was only five years old when his father became mentally ill. For two years, the family spent a lot of money on help, but nothing worked. "My father was not safe to live with. He would find a knife and threaten the family," says Ravi. The family were devout Hindus, but desperation led them to seek out the local Christian pastor who said: "If you accept Jesus Christ, your father will be healed." Ravi says, "My mom and dad started coming to church and after about a month, my father's condition started to return to normal and so did my family's life. My parents became Christians, but I continued going to the temple and I didn't like when the priest visited us."
When Ravi was 13 years old, the civil war started in Sri Lanka and all men had to be trained to join the army. But Ravi could avoid this if he started attending classes at church. "So I did," says Ravi. For three years he studied God's word without believing. "But one day I read a passage in the Bible where God says: Jacob, I call you by name. That phrase touched my heart deeply and it made me surrender to Jesus that day. The fact that God called me personally by name and that he has plans for me, despite my own agenda for my life, changed me," says Ravi.
"But now thus says the Lord who created you, Jacob, who formed you, Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I call you by name; you are mine."
- Book of Isaiah 43:1
His new faith was the beginning of a life of service, filled with both blessings and hardships. "After I came to know God, I had a longing to understand him even better," says Ravi. At the same time, he changed in other ways: "Before God, I didn't like to study and had difficulty writing, but suddenly my skills improved." At 20, he started preaching full-time and the senior pastor mentored him in leading the church. "That was 10 years ago and I have been pastoring the church ever since," says Ravi.
But the service has not been without opposition. A motorcycle ran over his leg one day, but he escaped unharmed. "God's grace is with me!" he says. His church was repeatedly destroyed by a temple priest with an axe, and political groups have monitored him and destroyed the church twice. Ravi reported the damage, the perpetrators admitted their guilt and made amends, and the church forgave them. Since then, there have been no more attacks.
"The persecution leaves me frustrated, but God's love is stronger than these feelings."
- Ravi
Thanks to the support of Danish European Mission donors, Ravi has been able to start a small shop that provides him with a modest income and strengthens his relationships in the local community. "At first people were skeptical," he says, "but the shop has allowed me to build knowledge and have good conversations with people from the area." He hopes this will continue, and when he receives gifts from NCESL, the Danish European Mission's partner organization in Sri Lanka, he shares them with the poor.
Despite adversity, Ravi continues his work. "The persecution leaves me frustrated, but God's love is stronger than these feelings," he says. "And then I remind myself of the gift of forgiveness."
