My Dad, Mr. J. Herbert Samuel, grew up as the son of an extremely strict school principal in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu. He was the last in a family of four, and grew up being loved to death by his three elder sisters. His parents (especially his Mum) were shell-shocked when he announced that God intended him to get into full-time ministry. He had been prayed for specially and received as a gift from God (by a bishop named Herbert; hence the names Herbert - after the bishop - and Samuel - Hebrew for "God hears"), but this decision was purely his. A touching moment during his college days sealed his music skills forever to be played for the benefit of Christ and His ministry.
He moved on to complete his BD (Bachelor in Divinity, a PG course) from the Union Biblical Seminary (at Yavatmaal at that time, currently at Pune). He met his future wife during his time there. When he left UBS, he was presented with two choices - become the pastor of Union Church, Ooty, or become a voluntary staff worker with Scripture Union. He chose the latter, and is still working with the organisation. There have been many ups and downs in the organisation during this tenure spanning more than 30 years, but all the ups have been reasons for our family to praise and thank God, while the downs have reminded us of how awesome and amazing God's grace really is.
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