“I grew up in India in a Pentecostal home that was all about rules. I was taught that you earn your way to heaven. Be good. Do good works. Speak in tongues. Prove you have the Holy Spirit.
“By high school, I discovered the internet and started seeing things I wasn’t supposed to, specifically pornography. When I asked about it, people told me not to talk about it, not even to think about it.
“I remember thinking, if God gave me these thoughts, how bad can they be? I just wanted someone to help me understand. No one did. So, I learned to play the part of a ‘good Christian’ while I struggled privately.
“After moving to Dallas and after the end of a long-term relationship, everything around me felt uncertain. I wondered why I was even alive and what the point of living was. I looked everywhere but the Bible for answers. I reached a place where I thought about suicide every night. I even tried a couple of times, but no one knew.
“I eventually stopped going to church because it became a ritual I grew to hate. I still believed there was a God, but I thought he was distant and uninterested in my life.
“That’s when God stepped in.
“After transferring to UTD, I met a campus missionary through a friend. He asked if I wanted to read the Bible with him. I had read it before, cover to cover, in Sunday school, but always through someone else’s interpretation. I had never been allowed to ask what I really thought. I was a bored college student, so I said yes.
“Our first study was Psalm 139. It says that God saw me before I was born, knows every word
before I say it, and is with me wherever I go. I remember thinking, ‘A God like that exists?’
“A few weeks later, that same campus missionary invited me to Watermark, and I decided to check out The Porch. I went mostly thinking that it would make my parents happy. The first night at The Porch, Jonathan Pokluda shared that when he met God, he found peace—the one thing I knew I didn’t have and couldn’t figure out how to get.
“That night, I prayed for the first time in a long time. I said, ‘God, if you’re real, I just want peace. I want these suicidal thoughts to stop. If you’re real, that’s all I’m asking for.’
“From that night on, those thoughts were gone. I never felt that darkness again. It was the moment I couldn’t refuse the fact that God is real.
“After that, I went through Re:generation, Watermark’s biblical recovery ministry, in 2019. There, I realized how much of my life was driven by a need for control. I wanted to manage my pain, my image, and my sin. I learned that I don’t have control; God does. He is better at it than I will ever be.
“Even after that, I struggled for a few more years with pornography. My community group helped me finally find freedom. They gave me real accountability, not guilt or shame. They spoke truth and grace through Scripture. I would not be walking faithfully today without those guys. Later, they were there with prayers, encouragement, and reminders of God’s character when hardships came my way.
“Now I serve with Watermark International Students Initiative. Our goal is to be a family for students who have moved here from other countries. In recent years, most of them have been from India. We invite them into homes, share meals, play games, tell stories, and build friendships. Through conversations and sharing our lives, we get to live out the gospel and talk about what gives us hope.
“God keeps surprising me through that ministry. One night, a student started attending our weekly gatherings. Eventually, he asked if we could read the Bible together. I said yes, and we started in the book of John. When we got to chapter 5, he said, ‘I think God is telling me to stop looking for more proof and just start believing.’ I asked if he was ready. Right there, he gave his life to Christ.
“I still meet with him every week. It is amazing to watch God work so clearly.
“There are two reasons I continue to serve international students. First, because God brought the students here for a reason. They come from places that are hard to reach with the gospel, and now they are in one of the most Christian cities in the country. That is not an accident. Second, I serve because I remember how hard it was when I moved here. Even with family, it was lonely and confusing. I just want to be a friend. If that friendship leads someone to Jesus, great. If not, I still get to love them the way someone once loved me.
“I am a Christian today only because of God’s faithfulness. If it were up to me, I would never have chosen him. But he chose me.
“He pulled me out of darkness, out of control, and out of despair. He gave me peace, purpose, and a place to belong.”
Watermark International Student Initiative (WISI) builds relationships with international
students in Dallas and shares Christ’s love through home group gatherings and events. Learn more and find ways to serve.