Graduation Message – MY TESTIMONY

Vimala Devi a/p Toraju (DipCM-TEE)

Praise the Lord! My warmest greetings to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. With great pleasure, I would like to share with all of you my wonderful testimony. My name is Vimala Devi a/p Toraju, aged 46, and I came from a Hindu family. I am the youngest child in my family, and I have two sisters and two brothers.

God has done a great miracle in my life. Before I was born, my mother decided she did not want me and planned to kill me during pregnancy by drinking “Aravalli” poison. Miraculously, I did not die, and my mother was shocked. The doctors told her that I would probably die or be born with a disability. What a surprise to everyone when I was later born beautiful and healthy like other babies. The doctors advised that I should not be breastfed, and so I was not given any breast milk. By the grace of the Lord, I continued to develop. Although I was often sick as a child, the Lord protected me every time.

I was married at the age of 23; my husband also came from a Hindu family. We have three children: two boys and a girl. This is also God’s gracious gift because doctors had said I would not be able to bear any children.

My husband was the first in our family to come to the Lord in 2011. In his profession, witchcraft was commonly practiced. One night while sleeping, he was troubled by an unclean spirit. He called for help to the Sami, worshipped by Hindus, but to no avail. Suddenly, the word “JESUS” came out from his mouth. Immediately, the impure spirit burned to ashes, and my husband was released. He then started going regularly to church and also got baptized. After that, my children and I followed him to church, but we did not have faith. Due to this we faced a lot of problems in our family life. There was no peace and our lives were restless because my children and I worshipped God according to the Hindu religion.

In 2012 at the age of 36, I faced a trial in my life. I fell sick and was subsequently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2013. I received chemotherapy, but after each session, I stayed in bed without food or water for two days. My whole body would be covered with rashes, and I had a high fever. The doctors predicted that I have only six months left to live. I cried uncontrollably and felt hopeless. I finally could not bear the pain and surrendered myself to God Almighty.

One morning at 3:00 A.M, I was woken by someone. I opened my eyes and realized that I had a high fever. I saw a figure in bright light come and sit next to me; I was afraid. I tried to call out to my husband, but I could not speak. My mouth, arms and legs could not move, and I cried in fear. The figure spoke to me and said, “How long am I to wait for you? This is your last chance to call my name, ‘JESUS’, in your heart”. Afraid, I cried out ‘JESUS’ in my heart. Then the figure disappeared, and I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I could sit up on the chair, walk and talk. The fever was gone. The rashes on my body disappeared without leaving any scars. I was completely cured. After that, I accepted Jesus as my Lord. My children also accepted the Lord and were baptized in 2014.

In 2018, I registered as a TEE student with STM Seremban in response to God’s call. My desire was to know more about the Lord. During the four years of study, I faced many trials; I experienced physical illness, poverty and unspeakable family problems. In 2019 I suffered from stomach pain, and my body became stiff. Although I suffered, I did not give up; I remained strong and was able to continue my studies.

In 2020, I was again diagnosed with cancer. Again, I received chemotherapy for six months. As such, I could not attend classes in person at STM, and prayed for God’s grace to be able to continue my studies. At that time, classes started being held online due to COVID-19, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. I could attend all the classes online that semester by God’s grace. The Lord also helped me greatly with my course assignments. For some assignments, God inspired me with ideas or good titles. He gave me guidance and insight for my assignments, and was present with me until I completed the assignment. God guided me how to use the Bible correctly and helped me understand every word. I never had to delay submitting my assignments.

Cancer struck again this year and I have had to undergo a six-month treatment of chemotherapy again for the third time in my life. Several times, I passed out because of the physical pain and agony. But I did not give up studying, nor did I have to request for an extension for my studies. I definitely would not have been able to continue with my studies without the Lord’s support in every trial. Indeed, by God’s grace, I have finally successfully completed my TEE course and will be graduating with a DipCM in October 2022. All praise and glory be to God! Amen.