CEE Story From The Mission Field
The Ride of Your Life
April 1, 2003
“This taxi had a seat that was like a virtual reality ride--you know the kind where your seat moves with the picture you are viewing. This seat went whatever direction we went--when we moved, it moved, when we stopped the seat lurched to a standstill, when we turned the corner the seat went up on its side, when we hit a bump—ouch!!! I was hanging on and praying the whole time. I wish you could have seen my face! We finally made it to my apartment building – Praise the Lord!”
Kara Kelly, missionary in Romania, hurt her foot so badly that she couldn’t drive. Thus she was forced to take a leap of faith and ride in a…TAXI!!! What worse fate could befall a person in Eastern Europe? Kara found out that not only was God sufficient to protect her but He gave her many opportunities to share the gospel while on the ride of her life!
*This taxi driver was a terror! He kept dodging the holes in the road--enough to make me nauseated. He was impatient and angry with other drivers-and very verbal about it. We did not have a spiritual conversation, but I was praying for him. He was coughing quite a bit, and I shared a piece of candy with him, which seemed to calm him down some – Whew!
*There was one who had an icon of Jesus with a halo, showing us the word of God from his left hand, and with the other had it raised like we do when we gesture “ok” with our fingers. In my best Romanian, I asked him what this picture meant to him. He told me that it was Jesus. I asked what He held in His hand, he told me God’s word. I then asked why God’s word was important, and we talked about the significance of Jesus birth, death, and resurrection, and that the will of God is for us to believe and have a personal relationship with Christ. The man agreed. This was as far as I got with him, but I am thankful that the Lord gave me this opportunity to share my belief about Christ, and His saving power.
*This driver was young with long hair. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said that he was Orthodox. We talked some about what this meant, and then the ride ended. The meter showed that he had double charged me. I gave him a copy of the New Testament in Romanian, paid the high priced fare, and left the taxi. I walked inside the clinic and not 2 minutes later he showed up inside. He told me that I had overpaid him and gave me back almost half of the money that I had paid him. I think that the Lord convicted his heart!
*I talked with one man about his son who was trying to get a scholarship to study in the US. Our conversation drifted to religion and I asked him if he was a Christian. He said he was Orthodox. We talked about how hard it is to live a Christian life with so much corruption in the world.
*Another taxi driver and I talked about people in general. We talked about the holes in the roads, and he said “what holes, these are craters.” We laughed about this, and then he told me why the roads were so bad was because people steal the materials, or sell them to others, or use them for their own houses, and then just put down a little on the road. It was sad to hear this. We talked about how men should live with lives dedicated to Christ and His principles from the Word of God.
No, God never wastes opportunities to tell of Him even with the scariest ride in a taxi with a hurt foot! May your taxi rides wherever you live and serve be anointed!