Myan's Testimony

I grew up in South Africa during the Apartheid oppression in a Hindu family.


Because of the segregation that took place and the fact that the South African government at the time proposed to be Christian, many Blacks did not accept Jesus. To us Jesus was the “White Man’s God”. From our natural reasoning it meant that in the Christian heaven there was to be segregation as well, Blacks separate from Whites.

It was only until 1994 the same year that South Africa became a democracy and receiving physical freedom did I receive spiritual freedom when I asked Jesus into my heart. As a Hindu we had to practice many rituals or prayers in order to receive sanctification and redemption of our sins. One particular prayer required the sacrifice of chickens, by severing the necks. Their necks were then placed before the idols and their blood offered as atonement for our sins.

This did not sit well with me and I began to question my mum as to why we did this. I could not accept that a loving, kind God could ask that these animals suffer so much just so that he could take pleasure in their death. My mum responded and said that she did these prayers because her mum had always done it. So I asked my granny why she did these prayers to which she replied that it was because her mother had also done it. My great granny was not alive so I had to stop the questioning at my grandmother.

My dad’s brother was a Christian and I decided to ask him how come Christians did not sacrifice animals when the Old Testament Jews did. He opened up the Bible and read to me John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave His Only Son Jesus Christ that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

He explained that the reason why Christians did not sacrifice was because God had provided for us the ultimate sacrifice, His only Son Jesus Christ. The blood and the life that Jesus gave were sufficient for our forgiveness and atonement of our sins. He further explained that since God Himself had provided us a sacrifice how then could they accept any other form of sacrifice. Jesus was and is God’s only provision for a sacrifice for us.

This made a lot of sense to me at the time and he gave me a “Good News” version of the Bible and asked me to read from Matthew. I started to do this and the words of the Bible became alive to me and began speaking to my heart. I was so taken aback that all that was required for me to do was to accept Jesus into my heart and confess my sins and ask Him for forgiveness and that was all. It was a message that I had to take to all my Hindu friends and family. Very soon my friends’ parents were not allowing me into their homes as their children began attending church with me.

When I began reading the Bible I realized that according to Galatians 3:28 God does not show prejudice against race, colour, sex and that He accepts us all as His children. I also realized that I did not have to follow any of mans rituals to gain acceptance and forgiveness of my sins. All I had to do was call out to Jesus, Accept Him, Believe in Him and Confess my sins to Him.

At the age of 19 after recently becoming a Christian I overheard my Hindu parents talking. My dad was finding it hard in his accounting business and wanted to sell the house. I stepped in and said to my dad to not sell the house as I would come in and help him. I told him that my God will provide for us all. My dad was reluctant but through my persistence agreed that I could start in the business. When family and friends heard what I was doing they told me that I knew nothing about business and I would fail. Undaunted I responded to them that whilst you were right and I did not know much, I knew one thing and that was if I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ He knew all things.

I remember getting down on my hands and knees in my father’s office and crying out to God to bless me in this business so that my parents would be saved. God answered my prayers and through the huge financial blessing over my business my parents could not deny the work of the Lord. So much so that my mum and dad gave their hearts to Jesus 5 years later.

By the way, the same people that said I would fail when I started in the business, I later employed them.
As a 23 year old I was one of the top performing financial planners in my region and I was very well off financially. But at the end of 2000 I was held up at gunpoint by four men demanding money. My life flashed before me and I realized that my life was worth more than all the money I was making.

My wife and I decided to immigrate to New Zealand and sell off my business in South Africa. When I arrived in New Zealand I registered to study as a teacher and expected to have the proceeds from the sale of my business in the bank to live off the interest. However God had other ideas. The people that bought my business did not honour the deal and defaulted. I contacted my lawyer in South Africa who advised me to return to proceed with legal action. I took it in prayer to the Lord and received the word, “whatever I blessed you with in South Africa forget it, I am going to bless you anew”. A lot to give up; however I knew that God would one day restore.

From having my own business and having people work for me, my first job in NZ was flipping burgers in a take-away. However I purposed in my heart that I was there for a purpose and I worked at it with all my heart as unto the Lord and not to man (Col 3:23-24). I like to joke and tell people that I even prayed over the burgers that I was making. So if you had ever eaten a burger from where I was working and felt an anointing, it is because you ate a burger that I had prayed over.

God honoured me and after I had completed my teacher training I worked as a teacher in a Christian school and progressed through to lecturing customer service and sales. From there my passion to motivate and encourage people lead me to being a life coach where I have shared my experiences in two books that I have written thus far and recently a 3rd for ex-All Black, Inga Tuigamala.

So that’s a bit of my story, From the Pit to the Palace.

God bless,

Myan Subrayan