GRADUATION DAY
From Don's Diary, April 14, 2007
Today we attended the graduation at Erode. Twenty-five men have been training here for the past year. Jeganathan, the principal/teacher first stood to greet the crowd of 700 people. He then proceeded to introduce his students one by one. Many of their accomplishments for the Lord were remarkable and Jeganathan was obviously very proud of this batch of newly trained evangelists. I spoke about the precious feet of the evangelist (Rom. 10:15). We train these men to be self supported soul-winners, not just preachers. I spoke about Isaiah and his willingness to serve, “…here am I, send me” (Is. 6:8). The nods of the student’s heads showed they were stirred by the words of the prophet.
The graduation programs are for Tamil speaking people and with the exception of Cathy and me, everyone comprehends. Therefore I was a little disappointed when one student came to the microphone and started speaking in English. My disappointment soon turned to appreciation. Jayapal was the student’s name and the fire in his bones was obvious. He referred to a comment I had made about the jovial nature of Jeganathan, the principal, and then went on to say I should never mistake his comical nature for insincerity. “As students we expected yesterday in our class to be an easy day. After all, graduation was today. But Jeganathan was just as disciplined and strict as ever.” Then, to my amazement, Jayapal turned and looked directly at me. The brothers tried to get him to turn forward and speak into the microphone, but he continued to look at me. “We have been told by our teacher that it requires 30,000 rupees ($660) to train each of us. We want to assure you,” he said with strong emphasis, “that the Lord’s money will not be wasted.” I thought about our American brethren, many of which are sacrificing to support this work. I thought of all of the widows and about great men like Bobby Hiland (along with his Carolyn) and their love for this work. Bobby lost his life last month to cancer. There are so many faithful American brethren who love these students and I wished they could have also been there for that moment.
Jayapal explained that in the beginning he did not want to come to the school but finally yielded to the very persistent evangelist who preaches in his congregation. After the service I sought out Jayapal. I shook his hand and thanked him. “By the way,” he said, “here is my preacher.” Standing before me was Babu, a former student in my personal evangelism classes at Dindigul. Babu had been a drunkard prior to his conversion. Now he is a beacon for Christ (Matt. 5:14). He preaches the gospel and works as a truck driver to support his family and his ministry. I am thankful to God for the privilege of working alongside mighty men like Jeganathan, Jayapal and Babu.
Today we attended the graduation at Erode. Twenty-five men have been training here for the past year. Jeganathan, the principal/teacher first stood to greet the crowd of 700 people. He then proceeded to introduce his students one by one. Many of their accomplishments for the Lord were remarkable and Jeganathan was obviously very proud of this batch of newly trained evangelists. I spoke about the precious feet of the evangelist (Rom. 10:15). We train these men to be self supported soul-winners, not just preachers. I spoke about Isaiah and his willingness to serve, “…here am I, send me” (Is. 6:8). The nods of the student’s heads showed they were stirred by the words of the prophet.
The graduation programs are for Tamil speaking people and with the exception of Cathy and me, everyone comprehends. Therefore I was a little disappointed when one student came to the microphone and started speaking in English. My disappointment soon turned to appreciation. Jayapal was the student’s name and the fire in his bones was obvious. He referred to a comment I had made about the jovial nature of Jeganathan, the principal, and then went on to say I should never mistake his comical nature for insincerity. “As students we expected yesterday in our class to be an easy day. After all, graduation was today. But Jeganathan was just as disciplined and strict as ever.” Then, to my amazement, Jayapal turned and looked directly at me. The brothers tried to get him to turn forward and speak into the microphone, but he continued to look at me. “We have been told by our teacher that it requires 30,000 rupees ($660) to train each of us. We want to assure you,” he said with strong emphasis, “that the Lord’s money will not be wasted.” I thought about our American brethren, many of which are sacrificing to support this work. I thought of all of the widows and about great men like Bobby Hiland (along with his Carolyn) and their love for this work. Bobby lost his life last month to cancer. There are so many faithful American brethren who love these students and I wished they could have also been there for that moment.
Jayapal explained that in the beginning he did not want to come to the school but finally yielded to the very persistent evangelist who preaches in his congregation. After the service I sought out Jayapal. I shook his hand and thanked him. “By the way,” he said, “here is my preacher.” Standing before me was Babu, a former student in my personal evangelism classes at Dindigul. Babu had been a drunkard prior to his conversion. Now he is a beacon for Christ (Matt. 5:14). He preaches the gospel and works as a truck driver to support his family and his ministry. I am thankful to God for the privilege of working alongside mighty men like Jeganathan, Jayapal and Babu.
posted by J. Keith Maxwell @ 8:45 AM
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