In 2007 I was running a very successful property business. We were the middlemen buying and selling new build apartments from plan before a spade was even put into the ground. As the business grew, my lifestyle became more and more lavish - nice house, kids in private schools and luxurious holidays. With the economy growing and residential property in great demand, the future looked bright and I felt invincible!
But then as we moved into 2008, my world was suddenly turned upside down by the onset of the credit crunch but more importantly my two year old son being taken seriously ill. With the nebuliser failing to work, he was rushed into resuscitation where he was intubated to keep him alive. With an array of complications, several nurses and five doctors worked on him for a number of hours to get him to a stable condition.
He was subsequently moved to the intensive care unit at St Thomas where my wife and I literally wept for five days. On the fifth day, the consultant stated that it was unlikely that my son would be opening his eyes for some time yet. It was like one of those talks preparing us for the worse. Yet what was resonating in my my mind was the fact that there was a Christian couple praying for him. And as the consultant did her ward round on that fifth day, my son suddenly bolted upright in bed. We had witnessed a miracle!
Within weeks I, a born and raised Hindu, found myself in Church with my wife to thank the couple that prayed for my son and within a few weeks of that I gave myself to serve Jesus, the one who gave His life for me.
God had broken into my life in a dramatic way 
God had broken into my life in a dramatic way and put me on a new journey with a new purpose and desire to serve him. Over time, I felt God calling me to work within the South Asian Christian community and last September I became the National Co-ordinator of the newly formed South Asian Forum, a new grouping within the Evangelical Alliance set up to represent the South Asian Christian voice to the media, government and wider church and equip the church for mission to South Asians of other faiths such as Hindu, Moslem, Sikh and Buddhist.
South Asian Forum has just launched a new booklet called 'Jesus through Asian eyes - 15 frequently asked questions, which aims to give clear answers to those often-asked questions about Christianity from a South Asian perspective.
The aim of the booklet is to dispel common misconceptions that Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists have about the Christian faith. A team of writers has come up with answers based on their own experiences with biblical points of reference. Other contributors have written about why they converted to Christianity.
Questions like these are addressed:
- Is Christianity a Western religion?
- Isn't it better to follow the religion of your family?
- Would I have to leave my family and culture to follow Jesus?
- What do Christians mean by calling Jesus the Son of God?
The booklet costs just 50p per copy and is available from www.southasianforum.co.uk. South Asian Forum is developing a discussion course to go along with the booklet.
