The Gospel Vision

Raised by a Hindu mother and atheist father who immigrated from India, Suprina Walvekar, 36, struggled with her spiritual identity from a young age. She searched for something, or someone, to fill a gaping hole in her life. After 30 years, she found the solution: Jesus.

At the age of 12, Walvekar watched a television show about the supernatural and became convinced of God’s existence. That’s when her journey searching for truth began.

Through her teens and 20s, Walvekar studied prophecies from many world religions, and eventually became part of the New Age movement.

“I still felt restless,” says Walvekar, of Bloomfield, Michigan. “I kept going to astrologers, psychics, and tarot card readers.” She even kept Hindu idols above her bed.

In her late 20s, Walvekar had a falling out with a friend that caused a crisis of faith. She prayed for God to remove all deception.

Like a three-dimensional movie, she saw the number four burst into view, and behind it an image of Jesus. The meaning of the vision didn’t become apparent until two years later.

An evangelist on television encouraged viewers to accept Jesus into their lives, and not wait another day. Inspired by the miracles attributed to Jesus, Walvekar committed her life to Christ.

“I felt the Spirit of God enter into my heart in an instant, knowing without any doubt Jesus died for me,” Walvekar says.

Afterward, she realized that her vision of the number four referred to the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Walvekar says she sensed God had been with her during her entire spiritual quest. She didn’t share her salvation experience with her parents immediately, and kept secret her plans to be baptized. They disapproved when they learned she wanted to join a Christian church.

Despite the conflict in her family from her new faith, Walvekar says she wasn’t afraid. Soon after being saved, her Hindu idols fell off a shelf in her room three times in one day. Walvekar says she knew this indicated she had started a relationship with the one true God.

“I knew that God was giving me a choice, and I had to proclaim my faith,” she says.

On the day of her baptism, her father followed her to her church and tried to prevent her from going through with it. As she shared her testimony with the congregation, her father stood crying in the back of the sanctuary.

Walvekar says her parents briefly kicked her out of their home near Detroit, but their attitudes have improved as they’ve seen a change in her. They now believe her Christianity is acceptable. Walvekar is trusting God for the salvation of her family members.

In July, Walvekar shared her testimony with 600 people at the Assemblies of God India Fellowship of North America  annual conference in Detroit. The opportunity came from her mentors, Assemblies of God minister Sam Mathew and his wife, Susan Mathew.

Mathew lauds Walvekar for sharing her testimony in front of the large crowd at the AG India Fellowship convention. He says Walvekar is deeply committed to the cause of Christ.

“She is one of the strongest believers that I’ve met, even with all the challenges she faces with her family,” says Mathew, who is on staff at International Assembly of God in Warren, Michigan. “We are praying the whole family comes to the Lord.”

Walvekar says since accepting Jesus she feels as though a burden has been lifted and replaced with joy.

“He has pulled me out of so much darkness, words cannot even describe it,” she says.

IMAGE: Suprina Walvekar (center) has been discipled by Sam Mathew (left) and Susan Mathew.

Christine Temple

Christine Temple is a writer based in southwest Missouri who works as the features editor and audience development director at the Springfield Business Journal. She previously managed communications at Ozarks Food Harvest, worked as a reporter at the Springfield News-Leader, and served as editor of Evangel University's student newspaper, The Lance. Temple graduated from Evangel with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism and was named the Student Journalist of the Year by the Society of Collegiate Journalists in 2013.