Re-discovering God through Community
Nish’s TCR Experience

Written by Madison Martinez, Communications and Administrative Coordinator

March 27, 2024

Nish Jaykumar, a recent graduate originally from India, was introduced to A Rocha Brooksdale’s Tatalu Conservation Residency (TCR) program in 2023. Although he was initially unsure about faith and God even, after reading all about A Rocha, he felt compelled to apply. Nish booked his flight to BC and met Whitney, the TCR Coordinator, one of many people he would meet at A Rocha who would help him on an unexpected faith journey. 

Nish explains, “The first impression of Whitney was a huge deal. I was never used to nice people…Then, after I came here, everyone was so different. They’re so nice… I couldn’t tell one person that I don’t like, truly, I swear.” For example, Nish recalls meeting Romina Farrell, Operations Director, on his first day at A Rocha. Quickly, he grew to see her as a close friend and mentor. As well, Nish was also welcomed by the natural beauty surrounding the A Rocha Centre. Nish describes the area as a “beautiful, heaven-like place, made up of old buildings and green all around”. Coming to A Rocha and the TCR was a little like going back to church. 

For a time, Nish described himself as an atheist or agnostic. He recalls times when he was living and studying in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, when he would take a bike ride, end up in an open church and just sit in the pews. He would wonder about God’s existence. 

Nish had a hard time when he came to Canada; for 2 years, he would get only 3-4 hours of sleep a night. He described the experience as “mental torture”. At this point, he began attending church again and realized he wanted to become involved in Christianity. However, he wasn’t clear on how to make faith a priority with the demands of life. The TCR program gave him the opportunity to experience faith more holistically. He said, “[the program] would be nice because its nature is fabulous. But I found that A Rocha has everything: nature, community, and faith.”

During his time at A Rocha, Nish explored many churches in South Surrey and Whiterock, BC. He had the experience of attending church with other residents, and A Rocha staff members like Whitney (and her husband, Sage), David and Shauna Anderson, Rick Faw, and Steve Esau and Laura Naftel. And he would ask questions. Sage encouraged Nish to read scripture to help answer some of the questions he was asking, and Whitney actually gave Nish her bible, which became Nish’s first bible. With the support of this community and these experiences, Nish slowly began to practice Christianity. He aspired for a peaceful life and took inspiration and guidance from the people he met and worked with at A Rocha. Eventually, Nish started to consider baptism but worried that he wasn’t worthy of being baptized into the faith because he didn’t know God enough. He talked about these worries with the A Rocha community, and staff members, Shai and Steve Kroeker assured him, explaining that it is a journey to know God, and it’s more like a relationship that builds over time. After more contemplation and conversations with others, Nish decided to get baptized. Nish told David and Shauna Anderson that he was thinking of getting baptized, so David organized everything so Nish could right away. Nish was baptized in the Little Campbell River, a place where he found God and godly people who expressed love toward him. 

Now that Nish has completed the TCR program, he will move into a forestry job in Prince George, BC. Until then, he continues to work with maintenance and conservation science at A Rocha. In the future, Nish is thinking about becoming a forester, moving into forest ecology or becoming an ecologist. Wherever he goes, the A Rocha community is glad to be a part of Nish’s story.