Ramesh Sukhdeo was homeless, roaming the streets of New York City with nothing but the clothes on his back. The young Hindu man came to America to practice plumbing, hoping to earn in one month what would take him three months to make in his home country, Guyana. Back home, he had been making good money, enough to “live like a king” by local standards. However, life in America held much more promise — and that was what he was after. But the American dream didn’t materialize as he’d hoped.

“I started drinking to forget my problems,” Ramesh says of his time on the streets. “But I’d wake up, and my problems were still there.”

After being homeless for over four months, Ramesh fell ill and had to be hospitalized. Upon discharge, with nowhere to go, a social worker arranged for him to stay at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter.

Dissatisfied with conditions there, Ramesh left the shelter one Sunday morning and walked all the way to Harlem, no destination in mind. When he heard there’d be a hot meal at The Salvation Army, he decided to go, and he sat in the back row during the worship service.

“There was this short guy with white hair preaching, and I began thinking he was talking directly to me!”

The preacher was Envoy Earl Foster, and the message of Christ spoke directly to Ramesh’s heart. 

I don’t know this guy, Ramesh thought, but is he telling my story? There must be more to this. When the envoy gave the invitation, Ramesh went to the altar, unsure of what to do next.

“I knelt at this bench at the front, and at once, I felt hands on my shoulder. I thought, Wow, they’re praying with me! No one came to me on the street with love and care!”

With no family or resources, Ramesh was taken to a Salvation Army shelter. Major William Edmonds, who became a mentor and father figure to him, faithfully transported Ramesh to Sunday worship and midweek Bible study at the Manhattan Citadel Corps. He was later referred to the Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Manhattan.

“I was so excited to be at the ARC. Imagine: I had a job in the sorting room, a warm bed to sleep in, and three square meals every day. I never wanted to leave!”

Ramesh soon became a fixture at the corps. A faithful soldier, Dorothy Carter, offered him an apartment on her property when his time at the ARC ended. Miss Dorothy became a mother figure to Ramesh (“I never knew what a mother’s love was before!”) until her promotion to glory in 2019.

He began faithfully praying and reading his Bible. He particularly loved the fellowship at the corps — the corps family making Ramesh feel “like royalty.”

His participation at the corps increased, and he eventually became Miss Dorothy’s assistant community care ministries secretary. Though still a “babe in Christ,” he was asked to teach a Bible class one week, and after intense preparation, did a great job. He was enrolled as a soldier in February 2020 and installed as assistant corps sergeant-major a few months later.

“My transition from Hinduism to Christianity wasn’t hard, but it was very different from what I had known,” Ramesh admits. “I realized that Christ died for me so that I could receive grace for forgiveness—Hinduism offers no such thing. Faith in Christ’s atoning work assures me of eternal life in Heaven. Hinduism says that if your karma is ‘good,’ that’s fine; but if it’s ‘bad,’ then  you are reincarnated, coming back as a donkey or something!”

Looking back, Ramesh realizes he had spent his life searching for something worthwhile — something he needed but didn’t know how to find. His life “took a full swing in the opposite direction” once he found Christ.

Ramesh was soon offered a position with the designation of envoy and then became an auxiliary captain, and was sent to pastor the New York Temple Corps. Ironically, he was “fired” and “hired” on the same day, via two emails from headquarters.

“It was all good,” he laughs “I had to be ‘fired’ from being an envoy, and then ‘hired’ as an auxiliary captain.”

Ramesh even found love, marrying Captain LeNissa Rivera in 2022. Together they serve a corps family at The Temple that has grown from 12 to 60 members under their leadership.

Understandably, Captain Ramesh’s heart is in The Temple’s impressive feeding program, where some 500 each day come through the doors for a hot meal and clothing.

“No one leaves here without something—even if it’s just juice, a snack, or a change of clothes. I won’t stand for it.”

On Sundays, they often have to add additional chairs to accommodate the growing congregation. Ramesh’s Sunday School class is always full, and the Wednesday night Bible Study is usually packed.

“As corps officers here, LaNissa and I are all about ministry to everyone. I didn’t know where I was heading when I walked from lower Manhattan to Harlem all those years ago, but God knew exactly where He was leading me!”

Captain Ramesh is not content to keep to himself the “hand-up” he received through Christ. He has taken under his wing a young man, Walner Saintilmon, whose story is very similar to his own.

“God is so faithful to me, and I’m determined to be faithful to Him!”