March 1, 2024 • 17 mins
Welcome to a new season of Mission Chats!
This first episode is the beginning of my conversation with Seelan Govender, the CEO of OM Ships. He shares his own story that began in a traditional Hindu family and how he was introduced to Jesus and began to follow Him which, in turn, led him to become involved in global missions.
Dive into this episode and witness the transformative power of faith in the face of adversity.
Find out more about OM Ships at: https://www.omships.org
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Keywords: Seelan, Govender, Germany, South Africa, ship, ships, logos hope, doulos, doulos hope, OM Ships, OM International, evangelism, discipleship, mission, outreach, multiplying, training, leadership, Hindu, priest, temple, families, family, mission chats, Jon Crowe
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:08):
Welcome back to Mission Chats, and I am privileged to have a wonderful guest
here today to introduce you to,
and we've served together over the years in different capacities,
actually way back when we had the chance to work through a leadership development program together.
And from that, Celan has really stepped up and taken leadership by the horns.
(00:29):
And so I'd love for you just to share about your personal journey of faith to
this point and what the Lord has taken you through to bring you where you are today in your role.
Well, thanks so much, John, and thank you for the invitation to share about
what God has been doing not only in my life, but as I see Him through the worship
ministry in particular.
(00:50):
My name is Silan, and I come from South Africa of Indian descent.
So, fourth generation, we can trace our heritage, fourth generation from India.
And grew up largely on the outskirts of a city called Durban in South Africa,
on the East Coast in a predominantly Indian neighborhood or township that was
due to the laws of the country at that time where they had this segregation
(01:12):
and different groups needed to live in different parts.
So, I grew up in that context as a Hindu.
So, my family, all of our relatives are very staunch Hindus and followed all
of the traditions and the prayers quite religiously. And, you know,
we were a very big family, my cousins and second cousins, etc.
(01:35):
So that was my reality. Grew up with an older sibling and an older brother and
sister. I'm the youngest of three.
I came to know Jesus at the age of 14. I was introduced to attending church
by my sister, who was actually going to work.
She had a job and she would take the public transport, take the bus and get on to work.
(01:59):
And she met somebody in the bus over the years of travel.
And he was a Christian and they got romantically involved and engaged in attending
church with him. And later they got married. it.
She was quite instrumental in my life by inviting me when I was 13 to come to a Sunday school.
She was involved in this little church and she was involved in the Sunday school
(02:20):
and she thought it would be fun for me to come as a 13-year-old. And I did.
I went for a year and my parents did not really object to it.
So, unlike in some other parts of the world, my sister was given the freedom
to follow a different religion.
And if she found that that helped her, my parents were okay with it.
And so I asked them if it was okay that I could go to Sunday school,
(02:42):
and I did. And they said it was fine. And I did do that for a year.
To be honest, I really did not understand too much of what was happening.
You know, they told stories. I enjoyed the Christmas time.
I enjoyed the singing. But I really didn't think this was fundamentally very
different from what we did in the temple. Because my dad, over certain festivals,
(03:04):
holy festivals, he was seen as a priest in part of the temple procession.
So, seen as a very religious person, a holy person, and would perform certain
duties in the temple procession.
And in the temple, there would be singing, there would be trance-like manner,
there would be processions.
And so, I thought it's fundamentally not different, except the meetings is somewhat
(03:27):
different in the locations, that you didn't go to temple, you went to someone's
house and you did this, right?
And at that age, when I was 13, a neighbor of mine that was quite committed follower of Jesus,
I heard that I was going to Sunday school and decided to invite me to an evangelistic
campaign at the current church that I'm part of, that I've been sent out from.
(03:49):
They met in a circus tent, so about 5,000 people in the circus tent,
so very large gathering.
And they were doing this week of evangelistic meetings in the circus tent.
And my neighbor asked me to come along with her and her family.
And I thought, okay, yeah, happy to do that.
You know, it was the evening and we had got there, a few of our friends,
(04:12):
and it was very very full as we got to the meeting.
We somehow managed to get a few minutes late. And as we arrived,
there was hardly any seats anyway, except towards the front of the tent towards the stage.
Now, I think one thing is noted, I'm an introvert by nature.
I really struggle with lots of people being in public. That's my struggle.
(04:35):
So I was a bit embarrassed walking through this crowd to go get seats in the
front and on, and kind of got there. And to be honest, I don't really remember
the message that person was speaking.
He was preaching and the person was from the US, that I remember.
But I also remember very distinctly the title of what he was talking about.
And the title was Jesus the Champion.
(04:58):
That's all I remember was the title. So as he was speaking,
he kind of stopped halfway and he
looked at a certain section of the crowd and he kind of stepped forward
and he came down and he started to pray for
different people and it so happened that
the group he came to pray for was where I was sitting
and I was even more embarrassed because now you had everyone looking at what
(05:21):
this guy was doing and I'm kind of being self-conscious but of course I was
I put my head down and I raised my hands and this man put his hand on me and
he prayed I don't remember the prayer but John I tell you something happened happened as he prayed.
I couldn't articulate what had happened.
I felt something within me change, whether some call it a sense of peace,
(05:44):
a calmness, but something had happened.
And I remember going to the pastor of the church that week.
I knew him and I asked him, why would this person do that? Why would he stop
his message? It's a bit disrespectful. Everyone's waiting.
And then he proceeded to explain really who Jesus was, what he had come to do
and how he invites me to become part of his family. family and then said to
(06:09):
me, Ceylon, would you like to follow Jesus?
Because I'd asked him, you know, why, when he prayed something had happened,
this preacher, and he started to explain the work of the Holy Spirit.
He started to explain what God was and really God's heart for all people to want to follow him.
And it was at that moment when he made the invitation to me that I said,
yes, I wanted to follow this Jesus and to understand more of what I was experiencing.
(06:34):
Experiencing right i'd gone home and then of course
i told my mom and dad and they were okay with it they
said as long as it doesn't interfere with the prayers at home okay
and i said okay sure it wouldn't of course not knowing anything else and then
i got very very committed to attending this current church sunday school i became
somewhat more revelational for me in terms of saying i really wanted to know
(06:59):
more about who this person had done something in my life
I had this deep desire to know, who was this Jesus? Right.
And learning more, and then somebody at the age of 16 at church,
I would attend church religiously, every meeting you can think of,
whether I was a part of it or not, I'd just attend. Mm-hmm.
The church had a prayer time where they would start at five in the morning to
(07:19):
six, and I attended that, just praying for different things,
not really knowing what I'm praying for, to be all honest about it.
I just was deeply passionate about pursuing who this Jesus was.
And of course, very soon we started a prayer gathering, and a few of my friends
that we took to a high school, which was across the church, and from three of
(07:40):
us, it ended up with 150 attending a prayer meeting after school.
School, and I'm not quite sure what I was doing, to be honest.
And they had asked to say something about the Bible. I didn't know much about
what God was saying in His Word.
But all I knew is that I had this desire to learn who was this person Jesus,
and I wanted to follow Him.
That led to challenges at home. So, while I had this experience with Jesus,
(08:04):
and He really started this transformational work in my life as I started to follow Him,
a brother of the pastor of that church took a keen interest in me and started
to disciple me he didn't tell me that but he befriended me and now i know it
was discipleship he didn't say anything about let's read together he simply.
Modeled someone that was in love with jesus and had this outward look at people
(08:28):
always looking out for people in the margins that was his disposition and i
remember asking him why he says but that's what jesus is about jesus is always
about bringing those in the margins to the call,
And through his life modeled for me, inviting me to help him to go and visit
a family and take some things or pray with people, he became very pivotal in
(08:50):
my life in discipling me and helping me understand who this Jesus was.
I wasn't the greatest of preachers, didn't know his Bible very well,
but someone that I saw Jesus in and that I said, now I understand.
So, I started to follow him and that's where my introduction to mission,
because he started to do some work in Mozambique and he took me along with him.
Okay. Now, in between that time, while I had this experience with Jesus,
(09:14):
life at home, while dad was a religious person and seen as a priest for certain
times in this festival, dad was an alcoholic. He could not live without alcohol.
So, we had tremendous turmoil at home. So, mom and dad separated.
My brother was involved with another lady and my mom involved with a drug lord.
So, I come from a community that's really broken, lots of challenges,
(09:37):
etc. And it was when I came to know Jesus that, you know, people said this was
the best decision I'd made, right?
But then the reality at home was a little bit different. But I was deeply in
love with who this Jesus was and why they changed my life.
And then I had this too, where some people said to me, the best decision of
(09:57):
your life, but the reality at home didn't really corroborate with that, they would say.
And then it was through this Uncle Bobby, who's the guy that really discipled
me, came, my mom and dad separated five years, huge challenges at home.
From the last two years of high school, I did without electricity,
so a huge challenge there.
And I come from a community where bullying was a big deal. They saw my mom with
(10:21):
a drug lord, all sorts of names.
My uncle said to me, the reason your family is like it is, is because you left
the religion of your father. Wow.
So I'm sitting there thinking, okay, my sister's gone away, my brother's gone
away, my father's gone away.
I have to work and support my mom, who was not working, unemployed at that time.
And then I met this Jesus.
(10:42):
I've been taken to all these places to help other people that was as desperate
as me in the family sense or even more desperate.
I couldn't understand what God was doing. But still, there was this deep passion
to know who this Jesus was that had changed my life.
And after I finished high school, the church then came to me and said,
(11:03):
Selin, we would like you to go and be our missionary in Mozambique.
I had a huge dilemma.
I knew God was doing a work. I understood somewhat of what he wanted to do in
the life of people outside and draw them.
But I had this huge dilemma internally. Do I obey what God was saying and go?
(11:24):
Or do I have to stay at work and support my mom?
One of the most challenging decisions I've had to make. And I spent a long time,
three, four months praying, asking people.
And it was not really clear until I had already made the decision to go and follow the church.
And my mom in tears says, you know, you are abandoning me.
But I knew God wanted me to do this.
(11:47):
And the first few months of course as you can imagine was
hugely challenging mom alone at home
had the struggle of a boyfriend that would beat her up right
before that dad would be tough and he's gone away and so
all these things are going through my mind and heart and as
i arrive in mozambique in maputo with with a friend
living at this college just outside of the capital city one
(12:09):
of the workers there that i'd befriended asked me
about why i'd come in my story and he prayed a simple prayer
and his prayer was lord jesus seal and
loves you will you show him your power the
lord gave me the promise then of acts 16 where
he says to peter you and your household will be saved i could not under make
(12:30):
sense of that at that stage but john as i'd went a few months i had served there
stayed in touch with my mom unbeknown to me while i was away my sunday school
teacher was visiting with my mom regularly, weekly,
just simply to go and provide some food and bread with her.
And as I was serving, she kind of opened her heart more and more to the Lord
(12:51):
Jesus and decided to give up her lifestyle and follow Jesus.
While I was away. And I got really ill in Mozambique.
And that's where, incidentally, I had the doulos visit, an OM ship in 1995.
I was living in this college, and I had a team of five young guys come and live
at the college for the seven days that we were there.
(13:12):
It's part of a challenge to let them leave the ship and stay in the community for a while.
So, I got exposed to this group of people, and I thought, wow,
these are people that are similar age to me.
I was impressed with how they love Jesus, how they serve one another.
They were normal, ordinary people.
And I thought, this is brilliant. I want to come and learn as much as I can
(13:33):
like these guys do and live life like these guys.
So that was my exposure to OM and OM ships.
Then I visited the ship once and they invited me to a meal on board and I was
just in awe of all these nations, young people had a desire to serve God and etc.
So after the ship went, I got malaria really bad. They advised me to move back to South Africa.
(13:54):
And I remember coming home and I hadn't seen my dad for five years at that time.
So I came home and I knocked on my door, it was evening.
And my dad opens the door where my mom was. And I was kind of startled, right?
And then I said, hi, dad.
And he brought me in. He says, Celan, I'm so sorry for all the pain and the
(14:15):
hurt I've caused the family. I'm back home.
So, mom and dad reunited in my absence.
And God did something. Mom, by that stage, had started to become very committed
to going to church and discovering for herself who Jesus is.
She got baptized with my friend's presence, unbeknown to me as well, when I was there.
And then it was in 1998 that I had come back home.
(14:39):
I got a job in a restaurant. I became the manager, and they wanted to give me this owning rights.
But it was still not where I believe God wanted at me there was a sense of something
missing and I said to my boss then,
I'm resigning because I believe that I need to go to the ship and learn and
he laughed at me and he said I'll have your job here one year when you come
back it's not going to work out for you,
(15:00):
I went to my church pastor then, and I said, you know, I'd like to go to OM.
Would the church be willing to pray with me, support me? And he says,
no, don't resign, don't go.
Because at the church, I said, well, I already did.
So that was a bit of a challenge for him. Nevertheless, you know,
the Lord brought many other people to support me in the church,
(15:20):
then eventually said, we'll pray for you.
And in my commissioning service, 1998, I remember this, it was June,
that I was going to OEM in South Africa and then joining the ship.
My dad comes to me that morning as I'm ironing my shirt to go to church.
And he says, Celan, I'm coming to church today too with you.
It's the first time my father would ever set foot in a church.
(15:40):
Okay. And to hear what you're going to say, he says.
And of course, ever since then, he hasn't stopped going to church until he had
his stroke. My father is late now.
And he had renounced everything else and decided he wanted to follow Jesus.
Amazing. And within overnight, I've not seen anything like it.
When he accepted Jesus, within overnight, he stopped alcohol from one day to cold. That's it.
(16:04):
Incredible. And the Lord, of course, restored a whole family together.
My brother, my sister, my mom and dad are all following him today.
And through the ship, I joined Dulos two years, and then they invited me to different roles.
So i find myself here with
the same desire to pursue and find
(16:24):
out who is this person jesus that has
changed my life and that's been my pursuit really all these
years in all the roles that i've had my desire is to help others pursue this
love and to find out who this person is yeah so that's part of what i do and
how i've come to be where i am right now john yeah sorry for the a long story.
(16:46):
No, it's a great story. Amazing.
I knew little parts of it, but man, it's just so good to hear.
Well, I hope that episode really encouraged you. And I'm going to pause us here
and we'll pick up again next time with a little bit more of Celan's story and
a story from the ministry that he's involved in and leading.
And so I hope you'll tune back in then. And as always, please share this with
(17:07):
others who you think may be interested.
Music.
(00:08):
Welcome back to Mission Chats, and I am privileged to have a wonderful guest
here today to introduce you to,
and we've served together over the years in different capacities,
actually way back when we had the chance to work through a leadership development program together.
And from that, Celan has really stepped up and taken leadership by the horns.
(00:29):
And so I'd love for you just to share about your personal journey of faith to
this point and what the Lord has taken you through to bring you where you are today in your role.
Well, thanks so much, John, and thank you for the invitation to share about
what God has been doing not only in my life, but as I see Him through the worship
ministry in particular.
(00:50):
My name is Silan, and I come from South Africa of Indian descent.
So, fourth generation, we can trace our heritage, fourth generation from India.
And grew up largely on the outskirts of a city called Durban in South Africa,
on the East Coast in a predominantly Indian neighborhood or township that was
due to the laws of the country at that time where they had this segregation
(01:12):
and different groups needed to live in different parts.
So, I grew up in that context as a Hindu.
So, my family, all of our relatives are very staunch Hindus and followed all
of the traditions and the prayers quite religiously. And, you know,
we were a very big family, my cousins and second cousins, etc.
(01:35):
So that was my reality. Grew up with an older sibling and an older brother and
sister. I'm the youngest of three.
I came to know Jesus at the age of 14. I was introduced to attending church
by my sister, who was actually going to work.
She had a job and she would take the public transport, take the bus and get on to work.
(01:59):
And she met somebody in the bus over the years of travel.
And he was a Christian and they got romantically involved and engaged in attending
church with him. And later they got married. it.
She was quite instrumental in my life by inviting me when I was 13 to come to a Sunday school.
She was involved in this little church and she was involved in the Sunday school
(02:20):
and she thought it would be fun for me to come as a 13-year-old. And I did.
I went for a year and my parents did not really object to it.
So, unlike in some other parts of the world, my sister was given the freedom
to follow a different religion.
And if she found that that helped her, my parents were okay with it.
And so I asked them if it was okay that I could go to Sunday school,
(02:42):
and I did. And they said it was fine. And I did do that for a year.
To be honest, I really did not understand too much of what was happening.
You know, they told stories. I enjoyed the Christmas time.
I enjoyed the singing. But I really didn't think this was fundamentally very
different from what we did in the temple. Because my dad, over certain festivals,
(03:04):
holy festivals, he was seen as a priest in part of the temple procession.
So, seen as a very religious person, a holy person, and would perform certain
duties in the temple procession.
And in the temple, there would be singing, there would be trance-like manner,
there would be processions.
And so, I thought it's fundamentally not different, except the meetings is somewhat
(03:27):
different in the locations, that you didn't go to temple, you went to someone's
house and you did this, right?
And at that age, when I was 13, a neighbor of mine that was quite committed follower of Jesus,
I heard that I was going to Sunday school and decided to invite me to an evangelistic
campaign at the current church that I'm part of, that I've been sent out from.
(03:49):
They met in a circus tent, so about 5,000 people in the circus tent,
so very large gathering.
And they were doing this week of evangelistic meetings in the circus tent.
And my neighbor asked me to come along with her and her family.
And I thought, okay, yeah, happy to do that.
You know, it was the evening and we had got there, a few of our friends,
(04:12):
and it was very very full as we got to the meeting.
We somehow managed to get a few minutes late. And as we arrived,
there was hardly any seats anyway, except towards the front of the tent towards the stage.
Now, I think one thing is noted, I'm an introvert by nature.
I really struggle with lots of people being in public. That's my struggle.
(04:35):
So I was a bit embarrassed walking through this crowd to go get seats in the
front and on, and kind of got there. And to be honest, I don't really remember
the message that person was speaking.
He was preaching and the person was from the US, that I remember.
But I also remember very distinctly the title of what he was talking about.
And the title was Jesus the Champion.
(04:58):
That's all I remember was the title. So as he was speaking,
he kind of stopped halfway and he
looked at a certain section of the crowd and he kind of stepped forward
and he came down and he started to pray for
different people and it so happened that
the group he came to pray for was where I was sitting
and I was even more embarrassed because now you had everyone looking at what
(05:21):
this guy was doing and I'm kind of being self-conscious but of course I was
I put my head down and I raised my hands and this man put his hand on me and
he prayed I don't remember the prayer but John I tell you something happened happened as he prayed.
I couldn't articulate what had happened.
I felt something within me change, whether some call it a sense of peace,
(05:44):
a calmness, but something had happened.
And I remember going to the pastor of the church that week.
I knew him and I asked him, why would this person do that? Why would he stop
his message? It's a bit disrespectful. Everyone's waiting.
And then he proceeded to explain really who Jesus was, what he had come to do
and how he invites me to become part of his family. family and then said to
(06:09):
me, Ceylon, would you like to follow Jesus?
Because I'd asked him, you know, why, when he prayed something had happened,
this preacher, and he started to explain the work of the Holy Spirit.
He started to explain what God was and really God's heart for all people to want to follow him.
And it was at that moment when he made the invitation to me that I said,
yes, I wanted to follow this Jesus and to understand more of what I was experiencing.
(06:34):
Experiencing right i'd gone home and then of course
i told my mom and dad and they were okay with it they
said as long as it doesn't interfere with the prayers at home okay
and i said okay sure it wouldn't of course not knowing anything else and then
i got very very committed to attending this current church sunday school i became
somewhat more revelational for me in terms of saying i really wanted to know
(06:59):
more about who this person had done something in my life
I had this deep desire to know, who was this Jesus? Right.
And learning more, and then somebody at the age of 16 at church,
I would attend church religiously, every meeting you can think of,
whether I was a part of it or not, I'd just attend. Mm-hmm.
The church had a prayer time where they would start at five in the morning to
(07:19):
six, and I attended that, just praying for different things,
not really knowing what I'm praying for, to be all honest about it.
I just was deeply passionate about pursuing who this Jesus was.
And of course, very soon we started a prayer gathering, and a few of my friends
that we took to a high school, which was across the church, and from three of
(07:40):
us, it ended up with 150 attending a prayer meeting after school.
School, and I'm not quite sure what I was doing, to be honest.
And they had asked to say something about the Bible. I didn't know much about
what God was saying in His Word.
But all I knew is that I had this desire to learn who was this person Jesus,
and I wanted to follow Him.
That led to challenges at home. So, while I had this experience with Jesus,
(08:04):
and He really started this transformational work in my life as I started to follow Him,
a brother of the pastor of that church took a keen interest in me and started
to disciple me he didn't tell me that but he befriended me and now i know it
was discipleship he didn't say anything about let's read together he simply.
Modeled someone that was in love with jesus and had this outward look at people
(08:28):
always looking out for people in the margins that was his disposition and i
remember asking him why he says but that's what jesus is about jesus is always
about bringing those in the margins to the call,
And through his life modeled for me, inviting me to help him to go and visit
a family and take some things or pray with people, he became very pivotal in
(08:50):
my life in discipling me and helping me understand who this Jesus was.
I wasn't the greatest of preachers, didn't know his Bible very well,
but someone that I saw Jesus in and that I said, now I understand.
So, I started to follow him and that's where my introduction to mission,
because he started to do some work in Mozambique and he took me along with him.
Okay. Now, in between that time, while I had this experience with Jesus,
(09:14):
life at home, while dad was a religious person and seen as a priest for certain
times in this festival, dad was an alcoholic. He could not live without alcohol.
So, we had tremendous turmoil at home. So, mom and dad separated.
My brother was involved with another lady and my mom involved with a drug lord.
So, I come from a community that's really broken, lots of challenges,
(09:37):
etc. And it was when I came to know Jesus that, you know, people said this was
the best decision I'd made, right?
But then the reality at home was a little bit different. But I was deeply in
love with who this Jesus was and why they changed my life.
And then I had this too, where some people said to me, the best decision of
(09:57):
your life, but the reality at home didn't really corroborate with that, they would say.
And then it was through this Uncle Bobby, who's the guy that really discipled
me, came, my mom and dad separated five years, huge challenges at home.
From the last two years of high school, I did without electricity,
so a huge challenge there.
And I come from a community where bullying was a big deal. They saw my mom with
(10:21):
a drug lord, all sorts of names.
My uncle said to me, the reason your family is like it is, is because you left
the religion of your father. Wow.
So I'm sitting there thinking, okay, my sister's gone away, my brother's gone
away, my father's gone away.
I have to work and support my mom, who was not working, unemployed at that time.
And then I met this Jesus.
(10:42):
I've been taken to all these places to help other people that was as desperate
as me in the family sense or even more desperate.
I couldn't understand what God was doing. But still, there was this deep passion
to know who this Jesus was that had changed my life.
And after I finished high school, the church then came to me and said,
(11:03):
Selin, we would like you to go and be our missionary in Mozambique.
I had a huge dilemma.
I knew God was doing a work. I understood somewhat of what he wanted to do in
the life of people outside and draw them.
But I had this huge dilemma internally. Do I obey what God was saying and go?
(11:24):
Or do I have to stay at work and support my mom?
One of the most challenging decisions I've had to make. And I spent a long time,
three, four months praying, asking people.
And it was not really clear until I had already made the decision to go and follow the church.
And my mom in tears says, you know, you are abandoning me.
But I knew God wanted me to do this.
(11:47):
And the first few months of course as you can imagine was
hugely challenging mom alone at home
had the struggle of a boyfriend that would beat her up right
before that dad would be tough and he's gone away and so
all these things are going through my mind and heart and as
i arrive in mozambique in maputo with with a friend
living at this college just outside of the capital city one
(12:09):
of the workers there that i'd befriended asked me
about why i'd come in my story and he prayed a simple prayer
and his prayer was lord jesus seal and
loves you will you show him your power the
lord gave me the promise then of acts 16 where
he says to peter you and your household will be saved i could not under make
(12:30):
sense of that at that stage but john as i'd went a few months i had served there
stayed in touch with my mom unbeknown to me while i was away my sunday school
teacher was visiting with my mom regularly, weekly,
just simply to go and provide some food and bread with her.
And as I was serving, she kind of opened her heart more and more to the Lord
(12:51):
Jesus and decided to give up her lifestyle and follow Jesus.
While I was away. And I got really ill in Mozambique.
And that's where, incidentally, I had the doulos visit, an OM ship in 1995.
I was living in this college, and I had a team of five young guys come and live
at the college for the seven days that we were there.
(13:12):
It's part of a challenge to let them leave the ship and stay in the community for a while.
So, I got exposed to this group of people, and I thought, wow,
these are people that are similar age to me.
I was impressed with how they love Jesus, how they serve one another.
They were normal, ordinary people.
And I thought, this is brilliant. I want to come and learn as much as I can
(13:33):
like these guys do and live life like these guys.
So that was my exposure to OM and OM ships.
Then I visited the ship once and they invited me to a meal on board and I was
just in awe of all these nations, young people had a desire to serve God and etc.
So after the ship went, I got malaria really bad. They advised me to move back to South Africa.
(13:54):
And I remember coming home and I hadn't seen my dad for five years at that time.
So I came home and I knocked on my door, it was evening.
And my dad opens the door where my mom was. And I was kind of startled, right?
And then I said, hi, dad.
And he brought me in. He says, Celan, I'm so sorry for all the pain and the
(14:15):
hurt I've caused the family. I'm back home.
So, mom and dad reunited in my absence.
And God did something. Mom, by that stage, had started to become very committed
to going to church and discovering for herself who Jesus is.
She got baptized with my friend's presence, unbeknown to me as well, when I was there.
And then it was in 1998 that I had come back home.
(14:39):
I got a job in a restaurant. I became the manager, and they wanted to give me this owning rights.
But it was still not where I believe God wanted at me there was a sense of something
missing and I said to my boss then,
I'm resigning because I believe that I need to go to the ship and learn and
he laughed at me and he said I'll have your job here one year when you come
back it's not going to work out for you,
(15:00):
I went to my church pastor then, and I said, you know, I'd like to go to OM.
Would the church be willing to pray with me, support me? And he says,
no, don't resign, don't go.
Because at the church, I said, well, I already did.
So that was a bit of a challenge for him. Nevertheless, you know,
the Lord brought many other people to support me in the church,
(15:20):
then eventually said, we'll pray for you.
And in my commissioning service, 1998, I remember this, it was June,
that I was going to OEM in South Africa and then joining the ship.
My dad comes to me that morning as I'm ironing my shirt to go to church.
And he says, Celan, I'm coming to church today too with you.
It's the first time my father would ever set foot in a church.
(15:40):
Okay. And to hear what you're going to say, he says.
And of course, ever since then, he hasn't stopped going to church until he had
his stroke. My father is late now.
And he had renounced everything else and decided he wanted to follow Jesus.
Amazing. And within overnight, I've not seen anything like it.
When he accepted Jesus, within overnight, he stopped alcohol from one day to cold. That's it.
(16:04):
Incredible. And the Lord, of course, restored a whole family together.
My brother, my sister, my mom and dad are all following him today.
And through the ship, I joined Dulos two years, and then they invited me to different roles.
So i find myself here with
the same desire to pursue and find
(16:24):
out who is this person jesus that has
changed my life and that's been my pursuit really all these
years in all the roles that i've had my desire is to help others pursue this
love and to find out who this person is yeah so that's part of what i do and
how i've come to be where i am right now john yeah sorry for the a long story.
(16:46):
No, it's a great story. Amazing.
I knew little parts of it, but man, it's just so good to hear.
Well, I hope that episode really encouraged you. And I'm going to pause us here
and we'll pick up again next time with a little bit more of Celan's story and
a story from the ministry that he's involved in and leading.
And so I hope you'll tune back in then. And as always, please share this with
(17:07):
others who you think may be interested.
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