I was born in India into a Christian family. Being brought up in a church background I was involved with lot of Christian
activities and customs but it never meant anything to me on a personal level. As most of us young folks I never really gave
much thought to who God is or what is it that I really belive in , mainly because I guess I really did not care at that
point and it wasn't a priority in my life. I used to worship God, but only as a distant God who could be connected once
on Sundays and whenever I encountered troubled waters.
I got obsessed with studying during my high school years and went on to do my bachelors in mechanical
engineering. A lot of the obsession came from me getting my self worth from my academic accomplishments. I graduated with
a Gold medal from the University of Bombay in 1999. This medal helped me get into graduate school at the U of I to do my masters
in Industrial engineering - Fall of 2001. I remember sitting in the airplane for the first time leaving my country,
that August morning of 2001 thinking "wow this has been so smooth a journey, where would it lead to? - The American Dream? "I
was dreading for a downfall, because never in my life had it happened that I had such a smooth sailing.
The downfall did come and it was in a form I never expected it to be. The first year in the US was a
dream come true for me to experiment with things. It was also a time wherein I was trying to recover from a failed romance
of 4 years. So I started indulging in drinking and partying to get over that heartache and also as a means to meet new people
in this country. But what started, as a means to overcome my loneliness soon became a regular feature of my life in the US.
It was all a heady cocktail, which I did enjoy at first but I soon realized that there was emptiness in my life, which could
never be filled by my lifestyle. Though I was doing well on my academic and research front there was a deep sense of emptiness
inside. I knew there was some thing missing here. I remember waking up one morning the summer of 2002 and asking myself this
question " Why are not satisfied with life when everything is going good for you - research, the parties, the relationships?".
That was the first time i ever honestly asked myself " Is there more to life than what I make it out to be?"
I figured lets try the God Phase for a while and see whats that all about. So the Quad day of 2002, I
went and signed up for many groups on campus. However I never had the time to go for any of their meetings given the
fact that I was a Busy Grad Student. I still remember the day Students for Christ was meeting for the first time; I had a
lot of work to do and had decided not to go in for the meeting. In walked a friend of mine and he offered his car for a ride.
I was happy about the pick up and so ended up attending the first meeting. Behold I enter the room and Steve parson's says
a "Hello welcome" to me. Shaun, Leon, Barbie, Heather, and Eric were also present there .As always people started with introductions.
And I was one of the last persons to introduce myself. One thing I realized was that when each of them talked about their
spiritual lives it just amazed me the passion with which they spoke about their "Relationship" with Jesus. I knew that they
as Christians had some thing, which I never had, though I was brought up in a Christian family. I was very desperate to have
what is it that they had.
Then started the bible studies in the book of John with Shaun, Leon, Hari, and Brandon. We would
get together over pizzas to talk about the Person of Jesus and what the Bible talks about Him. After a few weeks Shaun and
Leon walked into my office in 244 MEB and shared an illustration of the gospel with me. While seeing that illustration, Jesus
really stood out to me like never before.It was for the first time ever that it dawned on me that JESUS REALLY DIED SO THAT
I MIGHT HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOD OF THIS UNIVERSE. That night I began a relationship with Jesus. I asked
him to forgive me of my sins and to be the Lord of my life & the captain of my ship. I did not know what my decision
actually entailed at that point but I knew it was the only hope for me.
As He promises in Rev 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone
hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
He did come into my life and over the course of time has
changed my character . He helped me clear up all the dirt I had carried in my closet all this while. I confessed before
Him for the first time in 24 years .I still remember how freeing that felt. As I started growing in my relationship
with Jesus He started showing me how the drinking and partying lifestyle and the relationships i indulged in were all
but an outward manifestation of a deeper need that only He could meet. My new brothers and sisters in Christ were
also awesome. They have been the only family I ever had here in this country. A family that took care of me and watched out
for me when I was a young Christian. The way Shaun served me in my walk with Jesus really humbled me. I am here because some
one took that decision to share Jesus with me.
Since that September day of 2002, 2 Corinthians 5:17
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new
has been found to be so true in my life. Jesus
has been working one day at a time on every area of struggle in my life and has always been sharing amazing promises with
me. He has started to give me a heart for others, a heart which desires to tell others about Him. Now my life has a totally
new meaning. Today as I step into my PhD program, I look back 4 years and see His works in my life I have enough reason to
say that My God is an awesome God and I know that He brought me to the US for a purpose much higher than my degrees, a purpose
which involved me having an encounter with Him and reaching out to others in His name. I shoudl say I came to the US as an
international student aspiring for an 'American Dream", but the God of this universe has a bigger dream for me. A dream that
involved getting to Know Him and to Make Him Known. IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME JOHNSON WHAT'S YOUR AMBITION IN LIFE...my answer
would be "TO SHARE WITH YOU THE PERSON OF JESUS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE IN MY LIFE"..... because the
reality of His love and what He did in my life compels me to do so!. interested in giving me an ear..? send me an email!!
??
In Christ
-Johnson Samuel
John 3:16
