Samuel Sebastian was sponsored by Woord en Daad from 1995 to 2006. Born in a family hardly able to making ends meet, he grew up to a man who – as he says – is blessed by God. Now he is also a blessing for his surroundings. Read Samuels impressive life story.
Samuel starts as follows: ‘Words fail me when writing my testimony. My family is originally Roman Catholic and I have two brothers and sisters. My father suffered from various diseases. He had asthma, various lung diseases and was vomiting blood. My mother was breadwinner, but her income was not sufficient to pay for food, education and medical expenses for my father.’
‘I started talking to God like to a Father’
‘Then, my parents heard about Word and Deed (a partner organization of Woord en Daad in India red.). In 1995 I started to go to school. I had never seen such a big school with so many classrooms, playgrounds, about 2,000 pupils, a computer room and a library. It was overwhelming. I did my best, was a serious pupil and listened to the biblical stories with great interest. I really enjoyed the youth events and slowly my personal belief in God grew. I started talking to God like to a Father.’
‘In this period people from The Netherlands frequently came to visit the school. I still remember the visit of two Dutch women. They taught us to paint and they taught us an important lesson. When they walked past the toilets they noticed that they were not so clean anymore. They put everything aside and started cleaning. The lessons we learned on that day was: ‘Never look at any work with contempt, respect all jobs and never hesitate to do the right thing’.’
‘My thanks to God fall short!’
‘My father died just before my graduation. In spite of this sad period I completed my studies with good results. Shortly after graduating I started working with the United Health Group. Currently, I am a manager of more than 100 people. God really blessed me. Coming from a life in which I lacked everything, I now have everything I need. I am married and we are expecting our first baby. I bought a piece of land with my savings and soon I will build my own house. My life has changed and my thanks to God fall short!’
Samuel is still engaged in our partner organization Word and Deed in India and actively involved in the church. He offers free lectures to a group of 50 pupils and is sponsoring a child himself. Wherever possible he tries to help the vulnerable.
