A Wild Ride
Missionary Ronald Hittenberger read the message on a Christmas card. The message surprised him.
What happened to you last February?” the writer asked. “One day as I was returning from work, the Lord impressed me to pray for you. I felt that you were in mortal danger.”
Missionary Hittenberger turned the card over. It was from a man in Arizona. As far as missionary Hittenberger could remember, he had never met the man or heard from him before.
But he certainly remembered what had happened to him the preceding February!
He had gone with Theagene, one of his district presbyters, to minister in a remote region of southwest Haiti. They had started very early and traveled on horseback several hours to reach a mountain village in time for an afternoon service. When they arrived, the mud-and-thatch church was full of people, many of whom had walked hours to attend the meeting.
That afternoon, they enjoyed a blessed time of worship. After they dismissed the service, Theagene and missionary Hittenberger were approached by a pastor whose church was another two-hour journey further into the mountains. Knowing how seldom they were able to reach that area, the pastor begged them to go on to his church for another service while they were so near. In fact, he had already announced to his congregation that they would come
Although it was late and they were hours away from the little town of Belle Riviere where they were to spend the night, they could not disappoint the pastor by refusing his request.
When they reached his church, they found that it, too, was filled with people. The people had walked over some of Haiti’s roughest terrain to be in the service. Theagene and missionary Hittenberger ministered to them, and God sent another gracious outpouring of His Spirit.
When this service concluded, it was very late in the afternoon. Theagene and missionary Hittenberger started back to Belle Riviere. Soon they were riding through pitch-black darkness. Cautiously they picked their way along a trail that followed the brink of a ravine. They knew there were some very deep drop-offs along the trail.
It had been a long day, and missionary Hittenberger’s horse had stood for hours in the heat without water or food. Suddenly the horse went berserk and started to run. Missionary Hittenberger tried to rein him in, but it was impossible. He could only cling to the saddle and in desperation cry out, “Jesus! Jesus!”
The horse ran full speed through the darkness down that steep trail. Missionary Hittenberger knew that the slightest misstep would plunge them both to their deaths.
For two hours, missionary Hittenberger was hurtled through that starless night. Theagene, hurrying to keep up, was unable to do anything to help.
When they finally reached Belle Riviere and the horses stopped, they were exhausted and trembling. But they were safe. This, they knew, was a miracle.
But missionary Hittenberger had not realized the extent of the miracle until he read the message on the Christmas greeting. Impressed by the Holy Spirit that the missionary was in danger, this man had gone home, fallen on his knees, and prayed. For two hours he interceded for the missionary until he was assured by the Spirit that the danger, whatever it had been, was past. On the card, the man mentioned the time, and missionary Hittenberger realized it had been the very same two hours when his horse raced so madly through the night.
Missionary Hittenberger rejoiced in the knowledge that God cared enough to alert someone to pray, and that the man had been obedient to the prompting of the Spirit. Undoubtedly, that man’s prayers saved his life.
The information from this story came from Moving Mountains and is used with permission from Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2005 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.
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