To the children of the nations! We share this true story because this could be about you. Or Father God could bring 10 children out of a horrible life and make them shine because YOU prayed!
For now, can we please join together and pray for Kiran (and all those ones whose names we do not know, who are just like him) that his life will be hidden with Christ so that all that Jesus wants to do in him, and through him to touch others will be done? Can we pray protection from the enemy, for all Kiran's life?
Can we pray that God will bring hundreds of millions of victims into the kingdom of His Beloved Son? Today and tomorrow and every day until Jesus comes?
Here is Kiran's story, written by Tammy, his mother, who came from far away to rescue children who are lost and alone and to share the love of Jesus with them...
Have I shared with you how much I love this kid? I mean, I LOVE him. He came to us in 1999. His father
murdered his mother, the police killed his father in a chase soon after. He was
put in a juvenile detention center by an uncle (he and his younger brother).
Why? There was no one to take care of them? He was 9, his brother was 7. It
was a really bad place….you can’t even imagine what it was like. A
social worker met them and tried to get them adopted internationally. The
adoption fell through and she had a time limit to find them a new home, or
return them to the JDC. They were 11 & 9 at the time. She called
us…long story short - we took them in - they have been here 7
years! The greatest decision we ever made!
Kiran is amazing…..full of Jesus, strong in God,
and full of anointing. He has been like that for years. He just keeps getting
stronger. He has felt God’s calling to church plant - to go to areas
where this is NO Christian Presence, and establish churches. He is only in
‘11th grade' - (called Pre-Univ
College) right now but the calling is super clear. He was a
leader (captain) in his high school, his nickname given to him by the other
students? Master. He is well loved by our kids - (he is affectionately called
Kiran-anna..respected older brother) - he is well loved in school by
other students, the teachers, pretty much everyone. Quiet guy, stands with
strength and integrity.
We found out a couple months ago, that if Kiran
could go to his village and get a ‘certificate’ - that because
he is from the poorest tribal area - that he could get into any college he
wants - no problem. He is our oldest, so we are learning as we go. This certificate
would enable him to attend any college of his choice.
Kiran and his brother are from a
tribal people known for their semi-nomadic and extremely isolated lifestyles.
While there are small pockets of ministry happening, they are a
whole entire people group untouched and unreached with the gospel. Anyway, so
we sent Kiran with a staff member to find his ‘village’ in the
northern part of our state - he did. It was a 12 hour bus ride,
It was a couple hours from the nearest town, and a 6 mile walk from the nearest
bus stop.
When he arrived…he found his long lost older brother and
his uncles and aunts as well as a grandfather. They welcomed him in, and were
absolutely overwhelmed. The last time he was in
that village, as a 9 year old, he was an ‘unwanted poor orphan
boy’, and as he returned, they recognized him as ‘young man of
great stature’. They respected him, treated him like royalty, and were
super welcoming. (Before we had even taken Kiran to his village, we prayed through all these things in our home.)
Anyway - I cannot tell you what his visit was
like. The ladies collect ‘shiny things, coins, broken mirrors,
etc..and sew on to their clothes’, No one in his entire village had ever
been to college, no one clearly spoke a recognized language (rather a
blend of languages in a tribal tongue), no water, no electricity, no plumbing,
nor even buildings to go to the toilet in. They had one well, with very little dirty water. (for 500
people!) Kiran coming back to visit was the biggest most exciting thing to
happen in the village in years. In fact, they called others from surrounding
villages to see him!
So, anyway - where am I going with all of this? Well, let me just
share with you what he said upon his return as best I can remember. “As
we rode along, I saw at least 25-35 villages with no church. No one even knew
who Jesus was, they didn’t know his name. I knew God was telling me
to come here, to plant churches here. I knew God saved me for this work. I am like them - they will listen to me. I thought I wanted to be a pastor in the
city, I like the city, I like the comforts of the city, I never wanted to live
in a remote village like this. I felt so saddened by the poverty, the lack of
development, the lostness of the people in the village, But, as I slept in the
village, I prayed, ‘God, how can I live with these people, no toilets, so
dirty, no hygiene, cleanliness, water, etc? How can I live here?’ Then
God spoke to me and reminded me of how He came from heaven to live with us, and
then he reminded me of how you, my mother, left your home and gave up comforts
to come and live with us and give us a home, and I felt strength and courage
rising in me, and then I said yes to God. So, I am going to finish college (to
learn what I can can about development and then Bible College - to get stronger
in Jesus) and then I am going - to my village to plant a church. I even
have some land in my name in that village, so I can easily build a church. When
my people hear about Jesus, I think they will easily come. God showed me a
vision, He is going to use me to plant many many churches, and all of the area around is going to know HIM through these churches.”
Kiran was able to get the certificate which would pretty much guarantee a ‘seat’ in any College of his choice. Without it….his chances of getting into one of the better schools were very very slim. As we were filling out the college application, we found out that he could not claim his ‘tribal status’ and ‘Christian’ at the same time. To claim ‘tribal’ would mean he agreed he had a different religion and guarantee a spot at the college of his choice. If he said he was a 'Christian' it would mean he couldn't use the tribal certificate, and make it even harder to get into the college. He prayed and decided to let go of his ‘tribal status—and all the benefits with it’, and Kiran marked, 'Christian’ instead. He said he wanted to trust God to get him into the right college…and that if he honored God, God would honor him. Even though many young people also wanted the same College - Kiran got accepted into his first choice, and started school 5 weeks ago! He loves it! We are all grateful and we are enjoying Kiran’s growth and maturity in recent days. Awesome! Please pray for him and all that God has for him in the future!