The following interesting and unusual testimony was recorded originally on tape as it was related by Brother Titus in September, 1981. It was transcribed from tape, translated from Nepali into English, then edited into its present form. Titus is one of the many unknown and unsung heroes of the faith who serve the Lord in a humble, quiet manner without wide publicity outside of their relatively narrow circle of acquaintances. We want to make the challenge of this brother's life and faith known to more people, but we realize that Titus' desire and reward is not the earthly applause of men. His desire looks forward to that day in which his blind eyes will see and behold the beauty of his heavenly Master.

We trust the Lord will be pleased to make the testimony of His blind servant a blessing and challenge to many.

Before my birth my mom and dad left Nepal in search of a better living. After walking down hills and climbing rugged, mountainous roads, one day they reached the tea gardens of Darjeeling, India. It was there that I was born.

I was indeed a joy to my parents, because I was their only son. I was cared for, protected, loved, and oftentimes dedicated to a number of Hindu gods and goddesses. Life was sailing smoothly.

Blindness

At the age of twelve, my eyes started paining. It was quite customary for us to consult the village witch doctor, so one of the doctors was called by my father in order to have my eyes cured. He came, chanted prayers, and did many things to cure my eyes. In return, he was well fed and paid, and regarded as a savior. My family had high hopes that soon I would be well.

Alas! The next morning I had gone from bad to worse. My sight decreased to a great extent. The days following I started seeing only the darkness. I lost my two beautiful eyes, no more in this life to behold the lovely sights of nature.

This was the beginning of the saddest chapter of my life. I was now a helpless and completely handicapped person. I wept bitterly. The childhood joy was already gone. In addition to all these anxieties, both my dad and mom died within two years after my sight had been lost.

A School For Me

You could imagine the terrible state of my life. One day some good well-wishers took me out of my village and put me in a school for the blind. But in the new environment it was difficult for me to adjust and to learn my lessons. Slowly, though, I learned reading and writing in Braille. I also learned to work with cane, making different kinds of furniture and other things. Since the school was operated by a Christian mission, I also heard about Jesus Christ. But I always resisted Him and His teachings. I quarrelled many times with some of my friends who claimed to be Christians. Deep down in my heart, though, I was continually wrestling about the meaning of life.

Meeting My True Savior

One night I was very restless. I tried to sleep but in vain. I began to recall my childhood days, adolescence, and to reflect on the life I was living at that time in the school. I could not escape the thought of life after death, and I was terribly shaken. A great fear of helplessness made me frightened, but in the midst of these fears I remembered the Lord Jesus Christ. I called upon His name and asked Him to save me from death and to forgive my sins. Tears rolled down my blind eyes. I surrendered myself to Him, opening my heart as I said, "Lord Jesus, you are from now on my Lord and Savior!"

The following day I was one of the happiest persons in the school. I started sharing my new-found relationship of Christ with friends and neighbors.

My life was sailing smoothly careerwise as a teacher in the school, and my Christian life was rapidly growing. I continued to witness for my Lord at every opportunity. Many people were led to Him.

A Full-Time Evangelist

It was in the year 1967 - seven years after my conversion - that I dedicated my life as a full-time evangelist. Of course, it was an unusual step for me, a handicapped person, to surrender to travel as an evangelist in this difficult mountain terrain. Certainly I felt completely unfit and unworthy for such an important work. I had no available source of income, either from churches or individuals. But I was sure God was calling me. I took my step in firm faith, assured there was nothing which could stop me from becoming a co-labourer in Jesus' harvest. Earnestly I wanted to "go" for Him everywhere. I quit my job in the school.

"You are handicapped; how can you manage your life without a job!" somebody said.

"How is it possible for you to become a Christian evangelist? You are blind!" some others commented.

And such reactions kept pouring into my ears. On my part I just kept looking toward the Lord who had called me. I was not moved an inch from my decision.

Trusting absolutely upon our Lord Jesus Christ, I began my evangelistic work in the nearby villages. Among nominal Christians I openly told them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And to non-Christians I plainly shared my personal testimony. Many young people responded and started following Jesus, leaving their old life-styles. Others opposed me.

Within a couple of years I completed testifying of the Lord and preaching the Gospel in all the villages of our area. Afterwards I turned my efforts to reaching the people of the tea gardens in the district of Darjeeling. (Darjeeling is world famous for its tea.)

Please note that I was preaching (and still do) in the region of the Himalayan mountains, the highest, most rugged mountains of the world. I walked up and down the narrow, often treacherous paths, passing through hilly jungles infamous for robbers and dangerous wild animals, crossing streams and rivers. Despite my total blindness, I have attempted to go wherever God has directed in order to proclaim the precious Gospel.

Slowly and steadily God has blessed my efforts. He has opened the way for me to speak in different churches and meetings, and my area of ministry has expanded to places other than my home district. God has taken me to Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, and in all the Nepali speaking areas of India - Nagaland, Meghalaya, Dehradun, Calcutta, Bombay, etc. Today I have invitations from all of these places.

I praise the Lord that many of those to whom I have preached in different places have glowing testimony of salvation and are witnessing to others of Christ. A few are in the full-time ministry. For these blessings I am greatly thankful.

Dangerous Travel and God's Help

I travel almost all the year long, and in fact have no house of my own or even a rented room. When I return from my travels to my home district, I stay with friends or at the school where I once taught. I journey by train, bus, and other available means of transport. But mostly I have to walk and walk across the high mountains and lower foothills of South Asia. Many times I have been carried on the backs of coolies in the remotest mountain regions of Nepal, home of Mt. Everest, highest mountain in the world. If your feet make even one slip in many places you will have no chance to survive. To fall off the narrow footpaths in most areas would mean falling hundreds of feet to one's death.

God has always been faithful to me. It is true that I am a handicapped man, and I have normally not had a Christian companion to accompany me in my travels, but the Lord Jesus Christ has been my faithful Guide and Companion as I have carried His Gospel to the untold.

This, of course, is just a part of the whole story of my life and experiences. I have many stories I would like to tell you which have happened on different occasions, but space is limited. The struggle in a crowded Indian railway station just to get a ticket and enter the train is a difficult task for a blind man. Yet I praise the Lord that I have never had anything stolen in all these past years of traveling.

One day some years back I was being guided by a coolie along a mountain path in western Nepal. A new road was being built, and since it was time for the workers to take their lunch break, dynamite was about to be set off to break up more of the roadway.

The coolie and I arrived on the scene not knowing of our imminent danger, when suddenly a whistle sounded, warning of the blast which was to occur in seconds. The coolie immediately left me and retreated to safety, while I stood frightened to death, but because of my blindness, helpless to know where to go. Within seconds the dynamite exploded, blasting big pieces of rock all over the area in which I was standing.

Of course I was praying! And the coolie was amazed to return and find me completely uninjured, even though debris from the blast was lying all around me! I was able to give a good witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another time I was traveling in a bus in northeast India. It was early evening when the bus developed mechanical troubles and we had to stop. The driver and other passengers began to travel on foot to the next village, but though they warned me that it would be dangerous to stay in the bus that night because of robbers, no one offered to take the responsibility to help me. When all the people had gone away into the gathering darkness and some time had passed. I settled down and dozed off to sleep.

Suddenly some knocks on the window awakened me. The knocks continued, and not knowing who it was, and being entirely alone, I was very frightened. A man outside the bus then called to me and told me he had been informed of my dangerous situation and had come from a nearby place to take me to his house. I consented, and on the way I learned that he was a Brahman (high caste Hindu).

When we arrived at his house, he told me I must sleep outside because his religion would not allow him to bring me inside. We talked for awhile about Jesus Christ, and he became so interested that he decided I could sleep on the porch. But when we continued talking, he decided that I must be brought into the house! So it was right in the kitchen of this kind Brahman's house that I slept and ate that night.

In such ways God has never failed to take care of me. He has proven that He is indeed faithful.

A Final Challenge

If you are reading this story of Titus' life but have never known the Lord Jesus Christ personally, we urge you to receive Him this very moment. The Bible says we are all sinners before God. We have all broken God's holy laws and must be punished for our sins. But because He loves us greatly, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to pay the punishment for our sins. Jesus had never sinned, but He died a cruel death nailed to a wooden cross in order to take away our sins. Three days later He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God! Today the Bible promises that any person who will call upon Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness and new life will receive it. One precious verse in the Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Call on the Lord Jesus today!

And if you are a true Christian already, let me urge you to give your life wholly for God's service in this life. A great work has been given to us - that of telling all people about Jesus and training converts and establishing churches throughout the world. Have you made your life and possessions available to God for this great and urgent work? There are multitudes of people here in South Asia who have never heard the sweet story of Jesus. There are great numbers of Christians here who have not been taught the precious Word of God, even though Jesus has commanded that they be taught all things whatsoever He has commanded us (Matthew 28:20). Precious Christian friend, are you doing your best to help such people?

Perhaps you think you are too weak, too handicapped somehow to be useful in God's work. Please remember Titus, your blind brother in Christ. God delights to use the weak things of this world to glorify His name.

Or perhaps you think you are too poor to serve God. But remember that Titus has never had promised or regular income these past years of evangelistic work. No church, denomination, organization, or individual has stood behind him in a regular way, but God has provided for his needs as he has gone forth to obey Him. And remember, too, that Titus preaches among the poorest people in the world. The average person in Nepal does not have more than $30 per month. Most have less than that.

One time after Titus had preached in a church in Nagaland, a lady came up to him and handed him an egg. She said she wanted to help him, and that is what she had. One egg! So though Titus has never had a lot of this world's goods, God has seen that he has always had at least one egg for nourishment! He certainly will do the same for us if we will serve Him faithfully. The Bible promises, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)