I, too, am a follower of Jesus

Krishan - "I too am a follower of Jesus."

I entered into the Kinnaur Region of Himachal Pradesh with serious doubts about the possbililty of actually meeting any Christians. There is a church in Winston-Salem that has been touched by the evangelistical needs of Kinnaur and contacted a mission organizaton called Answering the Call who specializes in mobilizing nationl Christians in the most unreached areas of this world. Through a mutual friend I was introduced to the directon of ATC just two days before he set out to Kinnaur with the hopes of finding a strong Christian body who they can empower to do a great work. Unfortunately, and quite shockingly, he returned without hearing even a rumor of a Christian soul.

Perhaps I should mention that Kinnaur consists of 70,000, yes 70,000, people who take great pride in their heritage and traditions. Their religion is a mix between Buddhism and Hinduism - very unique.

My first morning was in Reckong Peo, the headquarters for the district. I was immediately discouraged because few people even bothered to give me a second glace - let alone a smile. I tried to make friendly conversation with people on the streets, but of the few people who did speak English, few bothered. I decided to go to the tourism office with the hopes that the worker there might have an idea about a Christian. He looked at my dumbfounded and stated, "No, no Christians. There are no Christians in Kinnaur."

Discouraged I headed for the nearby touristic village of Kalpa which is famous for its mountain views and historic temples. After even more cold looks from people I was standing outside one of the temples praying that God would connect me with someone - by this point I knew that my efforts would be hopeless. At that moment a young man, about age 23 came strolling up to me with a smile on his face. He greeted me in perfect English and I soon learned that he is a philosphy major at a college in Shimla and he grew up this village. I invited him to chai, but he refused and stated that he had to help prepare their home for his brother's wedding that night. But, he invited me to his home - i awkwardly accepted.

In the next 30 seconds, while walking to his home, Kristan asked me if I was a Christian to which I replied with yes, definitely. He stopped, looked at me, and said with a big smile, "I too am a follower of Jesus."

After 2 hours a talking, and after observing the gutting of a goat, both Krishan and I knew that God had just done a miracle. He gave his entire life to Jesus only one year ago following Jesus healing him of an illness. I have to take the time to tell the story: over the course of months and months Krishan suffered from massive migrains that would even effect his eyesight. He went to specialists in the modern city of Shimla, but all the doctors had no answers about the cause, let alone the cure. Frustrated he began going to a master of black magic who would cast spells on him weekly. He said he was forced to quit this after sometime because he could feel a darkness in his life. Then, a Christian from his college told him that he needed to pray to this Jesus, the living God and Jesus would heal him. This friend told him that he too suffered from a disease and Jesus miraculously cured him (i won't take the time to write this story, but it is great). Krishan was hopeless and decided it was worth the try. Well, so it goes, Jesus happens to be living and heard Krishan's prayer - he was immediately healed and has never suffered from another attack.

Since that day, about a year ago, Krishan has been in constant Bible study. You should hear him speak of Jesus. He speaks his name with a whisper of aweness and inspiration. He spoke of Jesus' teaching as if it were the secrets to life and meaning. He talked about how much loved Jesus displayed and what an honor it is to follow in the footsteps of such a man! He said, "I want to give my life to the poor and have compassion as Jesus had compassion."

His family told him that he can be a Christian as long as he doesn't go against his family's traditions. To this he replied, "But, the God says that he is the only God and so I have no choice, I can't follow their traditions." While talking his mom and dad began to bring out their family idol - this is quite an event. He looked at me with a look of shame and said, "One year, maybe two, and I hope they too will follow Jesus."


Krishan was only in the Kalpa for his brother's wedding and he will be returning to Shimla. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate degree in Philosphy and is at the top of his class. I even saw a picture of him shaking hands with the president of Himachal Pradesh because of his high scores. He plans to return to Kalpa so he can lead his family to Jesus. He also hopes to teach all the people about Jesus as he says that the people simply don't know and they have to be taught.

I felt extremely connected with Krishan. He is passionate and incredibly smart. It is my prayer that I will be on constant contact with him and hopefully help him become a fulltime evangelist and pastor who will reach thousands...yes, i mean thousands.

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Part of trip: India Journey

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