SHAUN AND DESHNI PILLAY | NORWICH, CONNECTICUT
SELLING
OUT
Missionaries leave everything behind in South Africa to reach North America
By Sara Shelton
No one understands doing whatever it takes to reach people for Christ better than Shaun Pillay. Born and raised in South Africa, he and his wife, Deshni, arrived in the United States in 2007 as newlyweds. Having sold their possessions to finance their move, they brought only two pieces of luggage, a Bible, their wedding album and a resolve to follow God’s call wherever it led them.
“It was a jump, a crazy leap,” Pillay explains. “Everything was so different here, but Jesus remained the same and He saw us through. Every morning when we woke up we knew that this is where God wanted us to be.”
As a young man in South Africa, Pillay was surprised when he heard of the need for missionaries in the United States. Even more surprising was that he knew God was calling him to be one of them.
“I never thought of it to be honest,” says Pillay. “We hear of all that God is doing in Africa and other places like that, but it’s sad to see what’s going on in places like Europe and America with regards to church. When I heard about the need, I just felt God telling me, ‘Shaun, you go.’ And I said, ‘Yes Lord, I will go wherever you send.’”
God sent the Pillays to the small town of Norwich, Conn., a far cry from the home they’d known in South Africa. With a population of 40,000, the city is full of history and diversity. Once marked by money and influence, it is now equally marked by economic struggle, homelessness and drug use.
ON MISSION • Spring 2012 15
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