With Jacob’s father being a temple priest, the family prayed and sacrificed to their deities often. People in their community looked to the priest as a peacemaker, yet his home was anything but calm. Quarrels raged in their household.
And Anita, Jacob’s mother, suffered agonizing pain from a recurrent headache. In seven years, her condition had gone from bad to worse. As a last resort, they took her to a temple. Yet she remained the same. By now, the family was desperate: In seeking a cure, they had exhausted all their resources.
During this time, a friend dropped by to visit. “To this day,” Jacob reflects, “I consider his visit to be from the miraculous hand of the Lord.” With faith in the Lord’s healing power, the man of God prayed for the ailing mother. The family could hardly believe it when Anita was immediately cured. Through this incident they experienced the love of Jesus and gladly surrendered themselves to Him. “Thus,” Jacob writes, “we became new creations in Christ.”
As Jacob grew in his faith, God gave him a burden for those perishing without Christ. In time, a door opened for Jacob to attend a GFA Bible college in preparation for pioneer ministry in his native India. Praise God for all the people who will hear about the Savior through his witness—and for a home where peace prevails.