Sukant covered his ears to block out his father’s shouts and his mother’s screams. Mohammad was beating Haseena—again.
Haseena and Mohammad had prayed to Allah for seven long years to receive a son. They loved Sukant, but Mohammad’s addiction to alcohol and drugs controlled his life and left no money to send Sukant to school.
After an especially violent beating, Haseena packed her things and took ten-year-old Sukant to live with his aunt several hundred miles away. They were in search of a new life.
Haseena couldn’t afford to send Sukant to school, so he hung out in the streets. He began to steal, swear, and chew tobacco.
His mother watched helplessly, fearing that her son was lost on a destructive path.
Then one evening Sukant’s cousins invited him to a Children’s Bible Club made possible through your support. The Club leader greeted him enthusiastically and introduced him to the other children. Her loving attention was so different from the hostility and bravado Sukant was used to on the streets. The leader was joyful and free—she even played soccer with the children.
Sukant warmed to the group and began to participate in the games and action songs. It felt good to drop his “tough-teen” mask and play like a care-free child again.
As a Muslim, Sukant was intrigued by the love of Jesus that he heard about and saw in the lives of the Bible Club leader. Sukant’s behaviour changed as the Bible-based stories and lessons worked their way into his heart. He prayed frequently and stopped swearing and stealing.
Pressured by relatives and neighbours, Haseena returned to her husband—but Sukant refused to go home. He had tasted hope and couldn’t stand to live under the cloud of his father’s addiction and abuse any longer.
Sukant’s love for Jesus grew and he excitedly told his aunt about Christ. Together they attended church, where they learned more and more about a loving Saviour who wanted the best for them. It wasn’t long before Sukant and his aunt both surrendered their lives to Jesus.
“Someday I want to be a pastor,” says Sukant. “I want my whole family to know the true God.”