Once the classes started, new opportunities as well as new difficulties came up. Many have told me that if no opposition comes up to a new Christian ministry, then one should seriously question why Satan endorses this ministry.

RTI was definitely not a ministry that Satan endorsed. It was clear that its graduates are going to be dedicated believers and powerful communicators shaped by the everyday activities that inculcated strict personal discipline in them. Thus minor problems like headaches, cold and cough, and fever started interfering with the effective studies of students.

Some of them had brief training in other Bible Schools and they were upset about the strict discipline at RTI. They wanted the quality of RTI and the liberty of their former institutions. These are problems faced by administrators in all educational institutions, and we were fully prepared to face these things.

I had selected Saneesh Cherian to be next to me in command because for almost a decade he had received managerial training from me and I was confident that he would handle these problems effectively. He did not disappoint me. Every night we used to spend time discussing the activities of the day and the problems that came up. Most of the times he was able to solve them in a brilliant manner. On the rare occasions that he was unable to solve them he sought my counsel.

Thus we were able to effectively manage the academic side of RTI in a very efficient manner. What is more, since he was there to do the managing, policing, and firefighting, this gave me plenty of time to teach and counsel students.

Meanwhile, James Williams did his work efficiently as the Secretary of the Steering Committee. This included correspondence, record-keeping, and such non academic administrative activities that are vital for the functioning of any educational institution.

VM John the Chairman, CJ Mathai the Join Secretary, and MP Godly the Treasurer, kept paying regular visits to keep up our morale and also to have a general oversight over the institution.

Food, firewood, and many other matters did give some difficulty as happens initially in any large project. Miss Treasure as able to anticipate most of them, and she took care of of these things, courtesy Rehoboth Orphanage.

Meanwhile Saneesh decided to get married as he felt that he would be able to look after the students better that way. He felt that his wife can help with many of the day to day challenges that they faced. My wife Santha brought forward a proposal with Mini, a girl from our assembly who was known for her hard work and deep commitment to the Lord. On 9 September 2002 they got married. Within a week they settled in a rented house close to RTI.

Pic: Mini and Dr. Saneesh inside the Rehoboth Campus

Mini’s arrival gave us many advantages, and they continued to live close to RTI till Saneesh and I were involved in the development of RTI. [To Continue…]