Jonas Gihone Akula

India Bangalore Mission

September 2003- September 2005

I was born in Christian Family in Vijayawada. My Grandfather was a well-known Pastor in the Bakht Singh fellowship. He converted to Christianity from Hinduism. So, from the time I was born, I used to attend church. From my childhood, I never watched movies or used bad words,

In my youth, I actively participated in Sunday School. I learned about Prophets and many exciting stories from the Bible. I started reading the Bible when I was around 15 – 16 years with a determination to complete it at least once before I die.

My dad is a Doctor, and my mother is a homemaker. My parents were divorced. We have been living in Visakhapatnam since 1996. I used to meet my dad once or twice a month.I first saw the Book of Mormon in my father's clinic. I liked the book as it looked like the New Testament. I flipped past the pages till I came to one picture, I saw a Picture of Jesus with the People, and I read the Description below " Jesus visits the American Continent after Resurrection." This image in the book attracted me. I wanted to read it as it made sense that Jesus was God not just for Israelites but even for people in other countries. I always liked the story of Christopher Columbus and how he found America thinking it was India. I wondered many times how the red Indians got there. This book seemed to be an answer to this golden question.

I asked my Dad If I could borrow this Book. He said “Don't worry; I gave your address to the missionaries. They will visit you and give you a copy.” Then on April 12, 2002, Elder Athay and Nellapudi came and shared about the Book of Mormon. They gave us the Book of Mormon. I could not understand a single word as the names and characters were unfamiliar.

On Sunday the 14th April, we went to Church at 10:40 and the sacrament meeting concluded. So, we thought we could leave. However, the missionaries quickly caught hold of us and explained that there are two more classes. Most of the members came and started speaking with us. There were hardly 20-30 members and almost 20 of us were investigating the Church.

In Sunday school one missionary named Elder Neilsen taught us about the Plan of Salvation where he mentioned the 3 degrees of Glory. I was impressed by that doctrine. I felt shy about asking him where in the Book of Mormon this doctrine is written. I decided to read the book of Mormon to learn about that doctrine myself.

After the Church service, I went home, ate food and started reading it continuously. After reading eight chapters, I knew this book was true, and the book was fascinating, and I continued reading it. I was reading it till late at night. I was about to complete reading my Bible as well when I got a book of Mormon. I felt it was a reward from God because I read the Bible.I read the Book cover to cover in 11 days and gained my testimony. I also completed reading the Bible just a few days before finishing the Book of Mormon. I felt happy and grateful that God sent answers to many of my questions.

There was a time when I thought that I was an agnostic even though I read the Bible as religion did not seem right as there are different gods worshipped by different people. I had a great love for coffee and tea. However, I quit drinking immediately. I took baptism on the 28th April with a burning testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel.

One of the Best Mission Experiences I served in the Mission between 2003-2005 September. I served in the India Bangalore Mission. I served in Bangalore, Delhi, and Hyderabad. Few people whom I taught in Bangalore are Rohit, Karthik and his family, Charles Thangaraj’s wife Sister Glory, Brother Gnakumar’s wife Sister Usha and Sister Sathya’s Husband Brother Raghu.

One good experience that I had on my mission was when I was serving in Delhi. We had a hard week with no new contacts; we used to walk in the hot summer when the temperature was soaring around 45-50 degrees. One day, My companion felt sad that we were unable to find anyone. We said a prayer and started to walk from our apartment after our lunch. We were tired and needed someone to teach. We saw a park nearby. We were not sure if we could find anyone. However, we walked. No one seems to know English. We somehow felt like speaking with a person who appears to be in trouble. We greeted him and luckily he understood English. He spoke with us and told us that his wife left him a few days back and he is on the verge of committing suicide.

While he was thus contemplating, we spoke with him and taught the gospel. Within a few weeks he took baptism and stayed strong. My companion and I were pleased that we could save a soul from committing suicide and share the message of joy and peace.