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Miracle in the Mountains
Driving in Bosnia-Herzegovina is at times very dangerous because of the
mountainous terrain and narrow roads. These roads become even more
treacherous in bad weather. Many of the mountain roads have no guardrails to
protect cars from falling off the mountain.
In November 2005, missionary Jason Parnell was driving through the mountains
of Northern Bosnia with the national church president (an office like
our general superintendent) and a couple of Bosnian pastors. They were on
their way to a ministry conference. The weather was cold and rainy, so they
were driving slowly and more cautiously than they would have been in better
weather.
As they came around a curve, their vehicle ran across a slippery spot in the
road. The car started to slide sideways toward the edge of the mountain. From
there it was a 40-foot dropoff with jagged rocks and a river at the bottom.
As the vehicle began to slide out of control, they all cried out, “Jesus!” The car
hit the guardrail with the front bumper, then the side and back of the vehicle
hit as it bounced along the guardrail. The impact with the guardrail pushed
the car back onto the road.
Jason and the men with him found a safe place to pull over, then got out to
take a look. First of all, they were amazed that there even was a guardrail
there. Even more amazing was that the guardrail appeared to be new.
Then they checked out the car. The entire side of the car had hit the guardrail,
but they could only find a few scratches on the front and rear bumpers—there
was no damage at all to the side of the vehicle. Jason said it seemed as though
there had been some type of invisible shield across the side of the vehicle protecting
them and keeping them from going through or over the guardrail and
falling down onto the sharp rocks and into the river.
Jason was reminded of Psalm 34:7, which says, “The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” He knows that the
Lord miraculously protected them that day, sparing them from injury and
possibly even death. He is grateful for the Lord’s promise to watch over and
protect those who love Him!
Information for this story was provided by missionary Jason Parnell and is
used with permission from Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2007 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission. |
