BLOWN OFF-COURSE BY THE WIND?

An unknown small village called Tellippalai, in the Jaffna peninsula, North Sri Lanka was
the home of my childhood. My paternal grandfather, Sinnapodi was a stone-mason by
trade. He became a Christian due to the influence of American missionaries who came
to Ceylon, or Sri Lanka when they were driven off-course by winds while on their way to
India. But God was on-course because if they had not been forced into Ceylon, our
family would have continued as Hindus and never found Salvation or education. We
won’t be what we are.

Daddy, or “Pappa” had been a teacher when he decided to give way to his
entrepreneurial nature when he took to becoming a builder and contractor. Business
brought him great money and he made much to the admiration and surprise of all in the
village. He loved the poor and used his money to help the depressed class of people
(low caste) like him to fight for equality.

In order to make still more money, he moved to other parts of the island but at the
zenith of his career Cerebral Malaria incapacitated him and he lost almost all his money,
sold his three houses in Katugastota and returned to Tellippalai. Right at this time my
brother was pushed by a woman servant into the raging waters of the Mahaweli river
and killed, while she committed suicide rather than face Pappa’s mad fury. He then had
heart problems and finally gave in to God. I was then 11. I too was found

by the Savior, independently.

Mom, Aurelia Paul, was a qualified doctor from Vellore Christian College, India and she
started practicing medicine and put food on the table. We then moved to Colombo and
then to Trincomalee where we lost Pappa. Back we came to Tellippalai. My brother,
Sam and my sister Daisy (Indra) left home and will tell their stories separately. Mom sold
the house and went to work in Madras, India.

I got a job as a teacher in Trinity College, Kandy and later found the best girl in the
world, Kamala Paul! Hers is a marvelous story too. We also found that teaching could
never make us financially independent and started a business, part-time. We learned
about our product, precious and semi-precious stones, and tourists flocked to our home
and went away with the finest of gems and jewelry! We became extremely rich, with
God’s blessing. Meanwhile I became a gemologist (F.G.A.)

Terrorism made us send away our eldest son, Michael Paul to Houston Baptist
University in Houston, Texas. I then retired and we decided to sell our property and
house and joined Michael and Femmy in Houston. We arrived here with our youngest
son, Ebenezer Paul who turned 21 on the day we arrived in Houston in 1999. David Paul
who is our expert for all our computer needs followed us later and he has found another
Filipino, Melissa, as his life companion. They too are in Houston. I expect their stories
will also be seen in posterous with their preposterous and unbelievable stories.

We find that people need Jesus even in the US and so we are dedicated to helping them.
We are also needed to help people become a success in life and we have found ways of
doing this. We are problem solvers for all and want to be seen as consultants.