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Fall 2002
Homeless and declared "rubbish" by her family. That was what happened to Reneé Kaur when she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Saviour. Her loving family of wealthy
Sikhs in India wanted nothing more to do with her. Reneé, however, was willing to trade all this for the cleansing and joy she received with her new faith in the creator of the universe.
Reneé’s spiritual journey began 12 years before her conversion when she became acquainted with a missionary family who loved her and consistently prayed for her. Her own family worshipped
many gods and laughed at the idea of only having one god. Reneé could see, however, the difference in daily life that Christianity could mean and finally took a step of faith to be baptized.
At this point her family threw her out of the family home and cut off all financial support.
Reneé came to America and lived with the missionary family while she attended Bible School.
She missed her family terribly and had to struggle financially though her family was wealthy. Bitterness came to be her constant companion though her pastor counseled her to forgive her
parents. When her father died, there was still no change in the family and they were adamant that she get no money. Finally, she saw that the only way to find peace inside was to sign away
her rights to any of the family money. She realized that material wealth will run out, but she was trusting in the "Bank of the Lord Jesus Christ." This she was willing to do on the
one condition that the remaining family listen as she explained the way of salvation--which they did.
From her own experiences of being away from her family, she came to realize how
important to it is to reach out to international students. Most are here without their families and are more open to hearing the Gospel. They warm to hospitality and friendship. She met a
student who had come to this country with a suitcase full of gifts, but who had received not a single invitation into an American home. Reneé feels great compassion for these students and is
anxious to invest all she has and is in their lives so that she might hear, "Well done," when she sees Jesus face to face.
Reneé Kaur was a speaker at the 2002 Royal
Treasure Symposium. She holds a B.A. in Christian Education from Trinity Bible College in Florida and an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Fresno State in California. Since 1980 she has
been involved with international students. She currently lives and works in Columbia, South Carolina.
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