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'The last shall be first': Sudhir's story
Sudhir had just finished his junior college in Chandikapur, India, and was thinking about how to earn an income. Since he was the oldest son, he felt the responsibility to provide for his family. But Sudhir had a problem. He was born with a disability: his arms were shorter than average and they both bent inward. This made things difficult for him when he began looking for a job. Because of his arms, people always underestimated his abilities, considered him a liability, and rejected him for any job.
Sudhir's friends knew his ability and came to support him. They told him about an opportunity serving with a village official cleaning the village gutters, which are often full of soil and wastewater. Sometimes even the overflowing water from latrines and toilets would get into them. Despite all of this, Sudhir took the job to support his family.
One day, his aunt Vandana convinced him to move to Chikhli, where she could arrange a better job for him. She introduced Sudhir to the management team at the school where she worked, and they hired him as a school bus assistant.
Vandana and her family attended church regularly, and when Sudhir moved to Chikhli he also went with them.
One day Sudhir was asked by the pastor to go on a ride with him. He spoke with Sudhir about the real disability in human beings’ life: sin. Sudhir had never heard about this. He became curious and started paying close attention to what the pastor was saying. The pastor also introduced him to a remedy for this “sin disability,” and Sudhir realized this was what he needed. The pastor led him in the prayer of repentance, and Sudhir accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior.
Sudhir’s family were overjoyed by this news and, along with the pastor, they discipled him daily. Sudhir kept growing in faith and eventually was baptized.
A few months later, the church started a Bible course for young people. Sudhir enrolled and caught on quickly.
Later on, he was sent to another city as an assistant pastor, and Sudhir proved himself to be a "Timothy" to the church. When the senior pastor moved to another city, Sudhir was given charge of the congregation. He worked hard under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and his superintendent, and his church kept growing.
Today, Sudhir is providing leadership to about 25 different house churches across his city. He has built a team of evangelists around him, and the Lord is constantly blessing his efforts.