Testimony for Ramya
I was born in India and moved to the United States when I was about 2 years old. My parents and I have lived here for 19 years now and it’s been amazing to see God work in my life for each and every one of those years to bring me to Him. Both of my parents are Hindu and for many years, I followed that religion simply because that was what my parents taught me.
Growing up in a non-Christian home, I didn’t really know what Christianity was about until God placed a wonderful Christian family into my life when we moved to Ohio in 1998. Through their ministry, I became increasingly aware that I did not have the personal relationship with God that I desired and I accepted Christ as my Savior at the age of 17. I cannot completely describe in words what it felt like to be saved, but I knew that it was the start of a beautiful and eternal connection with God and to know that my sins were forgiven was an incredibly liberating feeling! Along with the great joy I was feeling, I had many apprehensions about telling my parents of my conversion. I had no idea what they would think or how they would feel. I was particularly concerned that they would feel dishonored or feel like they were failures as parents because I chose not to partake in an aspect of their life that is very important to them.
I had been a Christian for about a year when I began my studies at Case Western Reserve University. The high school to college transition was a pretty big adjustment for me and I trusted God to lead me to a solid church and Christian group on campus. As I prayed for His guidance, He led me to attend Cedar Hill Baptist Church and CBF Bible Study. God led me there through a student in one of my classes who was wearing a CBF t-shirt. I am so grateful He did!
CBF has been such an integral part of my spiritual growth! As a fairly new Christian, I was (and still am!) ecstatic to be a part of God’s family, but as I started college, I realized I didn’t know too much about the Bible. I knew that an essential component of my faith was to learn more about God’s Word and this would not only help my own walk with Christ, but it would help me as I minister to and tell others of His message. In my eagerness to grow in the knowledge of the Word, I regularly attended CBF and I found not only powerful lessons taught from Scripture, but an encouraging and prayerful group of brothers and sisters in Christ dedicated to helping each other in their relationship with God. What a blessing God has bestowed upon me!
One of my good friends from CBF prayed with me regularly about when to tell my parents about my new faith. Within just a few months of when we started praying, the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to tell them and both of them, although quite shocked, understood that this was my decision and to this day, they are very respectful of my faith in Christ. My mother has even come to church with me on several occasions! I pray every day that they will come to Christ as well. I am confident that God is working in their hearts and I am so glad they took the news as well as they did!
As an aspiring physician, I prayed about what God would have me to do for Him and if being a doctor is really His will for my life. After much prayer, I believe this is the purpose God desires for me. He has placed upon my heart a passion for medical missions work abroad. I hope to travel with other Christians on short-term medical trips to bring the Good News of Christ to those who do not know Him.
I am so grateful for all the spiritual guidance the members of CBF have given me. Hearing God’s Word from so many great speakers and learning about how He is working through missionaries in different parts of the world has been so fascinating and I am so blessed that God has called me to be a part of this Bible study! I am greatly looking forward to being an active member of this group for years to come!
Ramya Keshavaram