Take nothing for the journey

Nov 01, 2024

By Carmel Dominic
When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal the sick, He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except the tunic on their back and sandals on their feet. This was to teach them to rely entirely on God’s grace and providence (Luke 9:1-6). Jonathan Charanraj embraced this same spirit when he answered his call to missionary work. The 28-year-old who is a member of The Seeds Ministry, was commissioned to be a full-time Catholic laymissionary by Cardinal Sebastian Francis in July 2024.

The Seeds Ministry (The Seeds) is a non-profit organisation under the Diocese of Penang, made up of young men and women from diverse backgrounds. Their mission is to share and spread the Gospel, focusing on reaching youths aged 18 to 40.

Since its humble beginnings in 2016, The Seeds has earned recognition for running programmes that are relevant and responsive to the needs of today’s youth. While some members balance day jobs and volunteer, others, like Jonathan, serve as full-time missionaries. As a result, they rely entirely on God’s gracious providence for their sustenance.

According to Paul Julianose, the founder of The Seeds and a full-time missionary, their ministry is sustained in three key ways: first, through love offerings collected at the end of their programmes; second, through mission partnerships, where The Seeds full-time missionaries approach past supporters who share their mission of spreading the Gospel and ask for financial backing based on their capacity; and third, through what they call “God’s surprise,” when God provides for them in unexpected, creative ways.

Jonathan has been a member of The Seeds since 2016, but his journey toward becoming a full-time missionary was marked by uncertainty, anxiety, and moments of miraculous victory. A native of Ipoh and the eldest of two brothers, Jonathan first felt the stirrings of his call during a session he led for youths at a Seeds programme at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Penang. There, he sensed a deep longing among young adults for someone to truly see and connect with them — both spiritually and emotionally. As he got to know them better and learned about their struggles, he realised how much they needed Jesus in their everyday lives.

However, Jonathan was uncertain whether it was the Holy Spirit prompting him or if it stemmed from his own ego. To discern his calling, he embarked on a spiritual journey. Initially, he sought clarity on his own through daily devotion, immersing himself in the Word of God. He also turned to his long-time friend Paul Julianose for guidance, asking him to help identify whether his motives and intentions were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Just as Jonathan was preparing to embrace life as a missionary, he faced an unexpected challenge: he needed to resign from his job to pursue this calling but was still under contract with the company. This situation prompted him to delve deeper into his discernment process. Recognising the significance of this phase in shaping his future, Jonathan reached out to Fr Robin Lomangkok, a former advisor of The Seeds who is currently serving in Australia.

The period of discernment is when an individual takes time to determine their purpose and role as servants in God’s Kingdom with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is a crucial and an important part of their decision-making process, to hear God’s voice and call over one’s life.

Lovingly dubbed ‘the Indian Jesus’. Jonathan submitted himself to intense self-reflection sessions via zoom with Fr Robin who acted as his spiritual director for ten days.

“Throughout the ten days, through all the sessions, personal reflections and daily readings, it became increasingly clear to me that I was meant for a life of a missionary. It was also in this time, that God showed me in various Bible verses that I could trust Him to always provide for my needs.”

The aerospace engineer who graduated from USM, was at that time, working with an airline company as a management trainee. The contract that he signed with them stated that he was bonded to the company for four years since he started working for them in 2021. Though he had already served two years of the contract, he would have had to fork out an exorbitant amount of money to get himself out of that bond. He then spoke to his supervisors and the human resource (HR) department and told them of his decision to become a missionary. They respected his decision but told him that he would still have to honour the terms of his contract.

It is common knowledge that all big companies have policies in place for situations like this which can make it challenging for employees to leave. So now, Jonathan found himself in a legal situation. The terms of his contract required him to pay the remainder of the bond within the next two years. That would mean, he would have to come up with RM 1,800 a month for 24 months. Jonathan felt that this payment plan was too much for him to bear. Consequently, he made a counter offer whereby he would pay a lesser amount for a longer period of time. But the legal department didn’t agree to it. However, his friends at the HR department helped him by appealing his case to the legal department.

Anyone who might find themselves in a situation like this, would understandably look for loopholes to sidestep the financial hassle of paying back the bond altogether. And this is what Jonathan did too. But, the Holy Spirit convicted him to honour the terms of his contract and trust God to provide.

Jonathan obeyed the promptings of the Holy Spirit and proceeded to concentrate on appealing his situation with the legal department. Now, because Jonathan was obedient, God’s showed up with so much grace and favour.

Jonathan’s friends in the HR department not only helped with appealing his case but took it upon themselves to gather all the relevant documents he would need for his appeal. In essence, Jonathan didn’t have to lift a finger for his appeal. Then, miraculously, the legal department agreed to Jonathan’s suggestion of the payment plan which gave him the green light to put in his resignation letter. To date, Jonathan has made two payments to his former employer while going about his mission work and trusting God to provide for his monthly payments and other financial needs.

On the family front, Jonathan had a hard time convincing his parents to let him become a full-time missionary. They had hoped, that as the oldest son, Jonathan would now take over the family’s finances now that he had a promising career. They were also concerned how he was going to survive on his own without a stable income.

“I prayed very hard for God to touch and change my parents’ heart. I wanted their blessing. It is important to me that I have their support in my life’s choices. This time, God provided by sending other family members to reassure my parents of my choice because they had been exposed to missionaries like Martin Jalleh and Jude Antoine and saw how God worked in their lives. My parents finally relented and were extremely proud at my commissioning.”

As part of his work as a missionary, Jonathan is also involved in men’s ministry, reaching out to young men who do not have strong male figures in their life such as growing up in a fatherless household either emotionally or physically. He recognises that there is a deep cry in the young men today to rediscover their identity in masculinity and to be faithful to God’s calling over their lives, as they work through their griefs and trauma.

If you would like to know more about Jonathan’s mission work and/or would like to support him, kindly contact him at 010-3806270

For more information on The Seeds Ministry log on to www. theseedministry. com