Surrendering gods, Finding Jesus: Sameer’s Story
Sameer is a friend I met from our ministry in Nepal. He is a 17-year-old man who’s lived a life that made him grow up too quickly, so if you met him, your first guess would probably be that he’s 22 years old instead of 17. He spent a lot of time with our squad during ministry and sometimes during our off days, so I got to know him well during our time in Nepal.
When Sameer was born, he was considered a “dead child” because his mother was unable to produce milk. Because of this, a lady in his village who had a nursing child of her own fed him to keep him alive. He was then admitted to a hospital because he was malnourished, and this hospital helped him to get the nutrients he needed in order to survive. Sameer was originally given the name Amar, which means “the man who never dies.”
He was born into a Hindu family, and for a while that’s all he knew. Sameer told me that he used to fear all gods because his father made idols for a living, but inside he always knew that they were just stones and couldn’t answer his prayers. He told me that as a Hindu, he was influenced by society and fear. Because of that, he would worship everything, even though he knew in his heart that it wasn’t true.
He told me that he had a rough childhood with abusive parents who drank too much. At the age of 7, he ran away to live on the streets. He told me he did many things he
shouldn’t have in the streets, but when you live on the streets, you do what you have to in order to survive. He told me that from age 7 to age 10, every day he just wished for tomorrow to come. Each day on the streets was a new day of expecting miracles that never happened and each day he waited for something to change.
When Sameer was 10 years old, he was rescued from the streets by Brian and Ruth (our ministry hosts this month) and raised in a Christian household from then on. He was taught the Gospel and came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior when he was either 11 or 12 years old. He said that becoming a Christian and being rescued by Ruth and Brian were the most dramatic changes in his whole life. He told me that they allowed him to chose a new name for himself to symbolize this change in his life, and he chose Sameer, which means “entertaining companion.” Sameer told me that there have been ups and downs in his life as a Christian, but that, “God has always been there for me, even in the terrible things.” Sameer also told me that he has struggled with certain sins as a Christian, but said, “God was always there for me, no matter how big the sin looked in my eyes.”
Brian and Ruth have 2 biological sons and two adopted sons, the adopted sons having been rescued from the streets. Sameer loves his new family very much, but he told me that growing up in his culture has been good but challenging, because many people look down on him and his adopted brother Sujan because they’re adopted. From an outsider’s perspective, it’s hard to tell which of the brothers are adopted because they all just fit together so well as a family.
Sameer dropped out of school in the 10th grade to follow God’s plan for him to be more free to help with the short-term and long-term missionary teams who partner with their ministry. As of now, he has become his father’s right hand in their ministry, but he hopes to continue his education when he is ready to go back to school.
Sameer told me, “A lot of my life has been changed by World Racers.” Many teams who come in think he’s trying to be American by the way he acts or how well he speaks English. Sameer said that after doing ministry with World Racers for 5-6 years now and befriending many of them, he doesn’t try to act American, it just happens after being in ministry with them for so long. He told me that he picked up English (and now is basically fluent) from listening to and interacting with World Racers.
Sameer hopes to someday visit America. Our whole squad knows that he’ll have many, many references to get there with all the friends he’s made over the years, including all 50 of us. Besides that, he dreams to someday join the Nepali army and serve his country. Then he hopes to use his street smarts and military training to someday become a spy.
The most interesting thing to me about Sameer is when he told me that he doesn’t want to be known by everybody, just a few close friends. To me this seems so counter-intuitive because I am usually quiet around people I don’t know or in large groups because I prefer to observe the conversation before jumping in. Because of
this, I sometimes struggle with finding my voice in large groups as well as feeling seen and heard. Despite that, I have a desire to get to know people deeply and learn their stories. But in Sameer’s case, he’s made friends with so many people that it’s impossible for all of them to get to know him well. I am just blessed that Sameer felt comfortable enough to share this much of his story with me to share with all of you.
From being a “dead child” to “the man who never dies” to an “entertaining companion,” Sameer has a unique perspective that challenges the Hindu norms in Nepal. He’s gone from a near-death situation as a baby, to an abusive home life, to life as a street fighter, to a life rescued, to a life redeemed by Jesus. He’s still learning and growing, like we all are, but he’s lived a very tough life for still a young age. And yet, every day he wakes up smiling and meeting the world head-on. He has a very playful and sarcastic personality which does make him a very entertaining companion to all who meet him. To anyone who ever visits Nepal, to you Sameer might just be another face in the crowd. But to me, I am honored to call him my friend.
