Nikhalas Trades Alcohol for Jesus
Nikhalas’s community is known for its snake charmers. In fact, his father, Dhiren, is one of the snake catchers in their village. Another thing the area is known for is alcoholism. Drinking is considered a symbol of pride and belonging, even among young boys.
Nikhalas is the youngest of six children. He lived a pretty carefree life as his parents had little time to watch over him and monitor his activities. Nikhalas was a below-average student who was often criticized by his teacher, which drove him to skip school.
Nikhalas’s father is one of the town drunks who spends every penny he earns on alcohol. His addiction has taken a huge toll on the family’s finances and leaves them feeling hopeless. Eventually, the alcoholism began to impact Dhiren’s health, too, but he continued to drink.
Nikhalas’s mother, Sunritha, spends all her time doing everything she can to feed the family – working from dawn to dusk daily. Nikhalas feels sorry for his mother and is discouraged by his father’s unwillingness to take responsibility for his family.
As Nikhalas grew older, he wondered about the taste of alcohol and why people loved it so much. He wanted to know what was so special about it that his father couldn’t live without it, even with his deteriorating health.
Then one day, Nikhalas was with a group of friends who drank alcohol, and at the age of just nine, he had his first drink. He didn’t like the taste, but he succumbed to peer pressure, and soon he was drinking regularly. When his mother discovered Nikhalas was drinking, she tried to get him to stop, but he didn’t.
Fortunately, Sunritha met Devidas, the leader of a Year-Long Children’s Bible Club in their neighborhood. After learning about the activities in the Bible Club, Sunritha signed up Nikhalas. This was the beginning of a new phase in Nikhalas’s life, and within a few months, he was a new boy!
Nikhalas made many good friends who were a good influence and motivated him to study hard so that he could have a good future. He learned the importance of spending his time and money wisely, and he loved playing games and engaging in sports with the other children.
In the Bible Club, Nikhalas learned about the lasting consequences of drinking alcohol and realized his mistakes. He stopped drinking and began to cut ties with his previous friends, who had led him astray.
Nikhalas developed a curiosity about the Bible and wanted to know more about Jesus. Through the Bible stories, Nikhalas came to understand the depth of God’s love for mankind, and after learning about the miracles Jesus performed, he began to seek Jesus. Nikhalas confessed his sins and received Jesus as his personal Savior.
Nikhalas no longer believes in idols but prays to Jesus for all his needs. Please pray for Nikhalas as he continues to focus on his academics and works hard to build his life on God’s Word. Pray also that his father would be delivered from alcoholism and that his family would all come to know Jesus.
