Salvation Testimony of Pastor Panir Paul Rajamany and the Role of Gideons

                                                          

 My name is Panir Selvam Rajamany. My Christian name is Paul. I was born in Ipoh in 1960. My parents were of the Hindu faith and taught their six children to worship idols from a young age. My late father was a medium, a person who goes into a trance and communicates with the gods. My mother was his assistant. Many times my later father would speak in a strange language and my mother would interpret what the gods were saying. All the boys in our home were sent to study at the Anglo-Chinese School in Ipoh. This was a Methodist mission school and the medium of instruction was in English. I joined Primary 1 with zero English but a year later, I learned the language. I became an avid reader and won prizes for borrowing the most number of books from the school library. We were a very poor family, my dad being a labourer with the Malayan Railways. As a result, I never had spare money and could never buy a book.

One day, a group of people came to my school and distributed little books. The books were brand new New Testaments. Only much later, I came to understand that this group of kind people were the Gideons. I was about tenyears old at this time. That Gideon Bible changed my life. I read it from cover to cover. From the four gospels, I got to know an amazing person called Jesus Christ. His teachings were amazing and his love touched my heart. I also read the Psalms and I was captivated by the words.

After my Form Five exam, called the Malaysian Certificate of Examination (MCE), I had a break of about three months. It was during this time that my classmate Simon Tan, invited me to attend his church. There I saw people lifting up their hands, singing and worshipping God. They had so much joy on their faces. I used to worship idols out of fear but these people worshipped their God out of love and adoration. I continued to attend this church week after week. My mother found out and threatened to throw me out of the home. I decided not to attend church.

However, God had other plans. I was offered a place to study engineering at University of Technology, Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. I jumped at the chance to leave home. In UTM, I joined the Varsity Christian Fellowship called the Ikatan Kristian UTM. There were about fifty of us, and we had a regular weekly meeting where we worshipped the Lord. During this time, a brother from the Navigators, visited me weekly and taught me bible study and discipled me. Our University bus would take us to Calvary Church, then in Damansara Heights each Sunday. On the watchnight worship service on 31 Dec 1980, the Lord gave me a vision. I saw my slum house in Ipoh with a flag flying on the roof. Someone was explaining to me that “this is the flag of Christ”. The camera seemed to zoom into the house and in the living room, I saw my mum reading a Bible. She had torn a Bible to pieces just a few months earlier. I continued to pray for her salvation. 

A few months later, I was on a term break in Ipoh. A friend told me that an evangelist from India will be preaching in the Town Hall in Tamil. I immediately went home and invited my mum. To my great surprise, she agreed to attend. Bro DGS Dhinakaran was preaching for the first time ever in Ipoh. He spoke about the love of God. When he invited those who wanted to receive Christ to come forward, my mum ran to the front and gave her heart to the Lord. The first thing she wanted was a Bible. I bought her a Tamil Bible. She read it from cover to cover in 3 months – just like the Lord had shown me in the vision. The Lord began to use her to share the good news and to pray for the sick. She experienced many miracles after coming to Christ. One day, I went back to  Ipoh and found my dad had been admitted to hospital. He was in a coma and the doctors told me he would not recover. He was 72 at that time. I had no Christian friends or pastors I could call upon. I put my faith in Mark 16:18 “……they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” I prayed for my father that he should not die without knowing Christ. Three days later he woke up, completely normal. He came back home andwas never ill again till he died. About three months after his miracle healing, he announced that he wanted to become a Christian. He was baptized and received Christ as Lord and Saviour.

From the time I graduated as an engineer, the Lord did many amazing miracles in my life. In 2014, I moved to Melbourne, Australia. I graduated with a Masters in Ministry from Harvest Bible College and served as a volunteer pastor with the refugee ministry. I ministered to Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. Later we pioneered a church among the migrants in Dandenong. We also started a outreach among the homeless people.

In 2019, we returned to Malaysia in obedience to a vision and a dream that the Lord gave. In 2020 the Lord opened the door for me to become the chairman of Rumah KIDS (www.rumahkids.com), a home for abandoned children. We currently have 40 children. In 2021, I was asked to join the pastoral team at Grace Assembly Klang in the English congregation. In 2024 I was appointed the interim Lead Pastor of the English congregation. God has transformed me from a sinner to a vessel impacting many for His glory and His Kingdom. I will always be grateful for the ministry of the Gideons. It was through that little pocket New Testament that I came to know about the love of Christ. I want every Gideon member to know that your ministry of sowing seeds of His Word, is so powerful. I am just one of the very few who came back to tell you how great your work is.

Thank you.

Panir Selvam Rajamany (Paul), Grace Assembly Klang

Pastor Yim Tuck Fatt (1907 - 1995) Pastor & Prison Evangelist - Started Gideons Prison Ministry in Johor Bahru on Nov 6, 1979. 

In 1976, Yim preached at Seremban prison where his friend’s son was incarcerated. Compassion and zeal to reach out to prisoners took hold of Yim and upon retirement from teaching, he began prison ministry full-time. On November 6, 1979, the then 74-year-old Yim took the train from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru. Whilst wandering around, he saw the cross on the Holy Light Church and there, he found a group of Gideons praying for prisoners. This divine appointment subsequently led to weekly services being held in the Johor Bahru prison.

Such was his passion to save souls that Yim would travel the length of Peninsular Malaysia, sometimes on the overnight train, to visit prisoners in the morning. He travelled by train, car and taxi and would sometimes walk for miles to reach prisoners in the Pudu, Kajang, Seremban, Johor Bahru, Taiping and Kuantan prisons. Yim was such a regular visitor that he was given a special pass by prison guards. Every Christmas and New Year, he would send Kentucky Fried Chicken, apples and ice cream to prison authorities and inmates in the country, spending the entire week away from his family. The bills would then be passed to churches that he visited! Further reading https://dcbasia.org/biography/yim-tuck-fatt

(Text extracted from Dictionary Of Christian Biography In Asia)

Salvation Testimony of Pastor Daniel Chong

 

In July 1983, at the age of 22, while I was in Kuala Lumpur, a colleague gave me a Gideon small pocket testament that had belonged to her brother. This marked the humble beginning of a journey where God's word did not return void. As I read the testament over several months, certain verses, such as John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9, deeply touched my heart and inspired me to seek a deeper understanding of God. These verses sparked my curiosity to explore God's character and teachings in the Bible further.

Opening my heart to the truth, I began searching for a church. A friend then brought me to an AG church in Kuala Lumpur in December 1983. This small pocket testament played a significant role in leading me to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Despite attending church in my youth merely to accompany friends, upon discovering the encouraging words of God in the Testament, I was convinced that the God of the Bible is real. Consequently, I discarded all the charms given to me by my parents.

In the same year, I was transferred to Sibu and in December 1983, I acknowledged and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. This decision led me to SIB Church in Sibu to deepen my growing Christian faith. I participated in baptism classes and was baptized at SIB Church in Sibu. Driven by my passion for the Lord, I actively engaged in discipleship classes organized by the church. Embracing my faith in Jesus Christ, I wrote a testimony, made copies, and shared them with my family and friends. My sister was puzzled by my sudden strong religious enthusiasm, which led her to ask about the change in my behavior.

In 1984, I was transferred to Tawau, where I shared my faith with friends. By 1985, I felt a calling to serve the Lord full-time, leading me to resign from my banking job in 1986 to dedicate myself entirely to ministry. Although my father initially disapproved of my conversion to Christianity and departure from banking, God answered my prayers, touching both my parents, who eventually became Christians. I had the privilege of baptizing my father after 30 years. Over time, my father became proud of my role as a pastor, proudly sharing with others that his son serves as a pastor.

Today, Pastor Daniel Chong serves as the Senior Pastor of Calvary Charismatic Church in Lahad Datu, Sabah, giving all glory to God. Amen.

TESTIMONY OF SIS JOYCE HWANG QI HUI

 

TESTIMONY OF PASTOR VINCENT T. MANIAM

 

TESTIMONY OF PASTOR JACKEY TAN

 

"My Life Testimony In Christ" by Sis Louise Lee Jing Sing from Kuching, Sarawak

I was from a family where male was considered more important and valuable. I was living under the influence of my mum’s family who practised strong traditional Chinese culture. 

Here, I would like to share how the Chinese culture that I was brought up during my young age was affecting me. Females can only have second hand things but male can get and use the best of all things. All valuable things, best food and status in family should belong to male. Every male is from God but not female. I was always told to be silent when I was hit or abused from my elder brother or my mum’s relatives. Since birth as my appearance was more toward my father’s family, I was told that I belong to my father not my mother. Whenever my brother did wrong, I was told to bear his sinful deed. Since I was a young girl, I was already being physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially abused and persecuted by my own mother, sister, brother and my mum’s family. I did not experience the true meaning of hugging, loving kisses and comforting words. I had gone through daily scolding, and blaming for not being able to do the best especially in washing dishes and sweeping the floor, even I had tried my best to wake up as early as 4am to do all family chores before walking to school. At the age of 10 years in Methodist Primary School, I was given a small English Gideon Pocket Testament by a Gideon during school bible distribution. He told me that this is a good book and it is good for me. I asked myself this question, “Why would he give me this book if it is good. Everything that is good should belong to man why me? I’ve never own anything at home.” I truly treasured this Gideon small pocket testament and always carried it with me as it may bring good to my life. I put it into my school bag and brought it to the church camp but seldom did I really pay attention to read it only sometimes when I was afraid. At the age of 16 years, I have to totally support on my own living and even help my parents’ needs.

In 1998 to 2003, I was following my husband to Belize in Central America.  Most of my daytimes, I was alone.  I read the Bible aloud not because I was devoted or like to but I was afraid. I had treated the Bible as something that had power to fight for me and protect me if I faced trouble or danger. Through reading this Gideon Bible and praying, my eyes and ears were opened. I came to experience that I was a sinful person. I need a saviour who is able to save me, cleanse me and set free. When I was up in the mountain, I would carry this small Gideon Bible. I used a small torch to read it.  During this period, I was touched by the Lord Jesus Christ and came to know Him personally and received Him as my personal Saviour and Lord when I was in Belize in the year 1998-2003.

I am grateful for Gideon who presented me the bible. Now, I am an Auxiliary President for my Kuching Camp. I have graduated as a Bachelor of Theology in the Seminari Theoloji Malaysia . With God’s given gift, I offer myself to help many hurtful ladies and women who were coming to me.  I am also serving ministry in my local church. God has led me to totally forgive all my family members who had betrayed and harm me. I prayed for repentance to my Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as my beloved Saviour. He has transformed my heart to love everyone. Thank you to this Gideon who had given me this Gideon Small Pocket New Testament.