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Sri.
Jakki Devaraju was
born on 6th August 1938 in the bucolic and idyllic town of Dachepalli,
Palnadu Taluk, Guntur District. His early education was in ULCM High
School, Guntur. He graduated in Science from Andhra Christian College,
Guntur in the year 1953-57. Later he acquired his Master’s Degree in
Education. In the year 1959 he was appointed as a Mathematics B.Ed Asst.
in Lutheran High School, Rajahmundry and thus began a thirty seven
year-long tryst with teaching. After a distinguished career as a teacher
of high repute he retired from service in 1997.
Interests:
He is a man of varied interests and music stands out to be his prime
area of concern. His passion for music was engendered when he, as a
young boy of eight, followed for quite a distance a street vendor of
flutes, who was playing a lilting tune on one of his flutes.
Subsequently he learned Karnatic on flute and mesmerized everyone with
his artistry in playing the instrument. His flair for music was not
confined to just the flute. He developed extraordinary skill in playing
the guitar and made everyone spellbound with his wizardry in playing the
instrument. Being a versatile musician, he could also pass off as an
accomplished keyboard player. He is a multifaceted man. He is an avid
sports lover. He was the captain of his college team in Football. He
represented Guntur town team in Hockey. He was a notable gymnast and
weightlifter in his heyday. On the whole he liked music and sports
besides teaching.
Life
before Salvation: His life before salvation was typically worldly.
He was a member of a cine orchestra and toured from place to place
captivating people with his prowess in playing various musical
instruments. He also participated actively in various sports
tournaments. Over all he indulged in temporal pleasures with little or
no restraint.
Family Information: He was born in an orthodox Lutheran
family. He was the youngest of the seven children in his family. His
father, a strict martinet, was a teacher and his mother a loving
housewife. He was later married to Murari Mary Angeline, a Secondary
Grade Teacher in the year 1964. He has three children, two sons, Sunil
Rocky and Christian Kanakaraju, and a daughter, Phoebe Ratna. His
upbringing was typically Christian. In his early childhood, a strong
foundation was laid in the Word of God and prayer. A memorable incident
in his life was that of the Missionaries of God, who visited India at
that time, putting their hand on his head and praying for him. He was
just a five year old then. But as he entered his teenage the doorway for
sin has also been opened. Another unforgettable incident in his life was
at the age of 14 he used to weep inconsolably filled with remorse
towards his wayward ways. As he grew up his heart had also hardened with
age and he led a life of unrestricted freedom until he turned 30. But God’s
love for him has never changed. In the month of May, 1969 God awakened
his conscience and the Spirit of God convicted him of his sinful life.
One day he repented of his sins and knelt down and prayed God to speak
to him. He opened the Bible at random and began to read it expecting to
hear the voice of God. He was reading Isaiah 54 and when he came to
verse 10, he realized that God was speaking to him through that verse.
God told him that his grace shall not depart from him as would his
covenant of peace. The Word came to him by the illumination of the
Spirit of God and he realized how gracious God has been towards him, an
awful sinner and that was the turning point of his life. From then on
God gave him many spiritual experiences through the Word of God. God
endued him with the gift of evangelism ever since. The Lord has used him
for the past 46 years as an evangelistic teacher cum preacher. God also
endowed him with the gift of composing and writing gospel songs and
hymns. The Lord has allowed him to compose more than 150 songs and use
them for his glory. In his humble ministry of evangelism, God gave him
much fruit with regard to the salvation of souls.
Association with UESI: He was introduced to the ministry of UESI
in the year of 1970. Since then he has served in UESI in all cadres in
camps, conferences and in seminars. God strengthened him much through
his preaching. He received much by giving much to others. He is still
serving God through UESI and through many other independent churches
across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Tamilnadu,
Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra etc. In the year 1996 he visited Billy
Graham’s Association in Amsterdam, Holland.
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