God Likes to Ride in Cabs in Bangalore (by Brent)

Last week my father came to visit Savannah and myself in India. I was really excited for him to see the place Savannah and I have called home for the second half of the year. His flight came in at 1:20AM from Frankfurt, so I left my apartment at midnight to pick him up. On the way to the airport I began talking with the driver named Vishwanth, or rather he started talking with me. I know it sounds bad, but while living in India I’ve learned to only go beyond the formalities with locals that are conversational in English. It may seem like typical American arrogance, but it’s actually driven more out of practicality. Specifically saving both of our time with confusing conversations that sound like:

Brent “So did you grow up in Bangalore?”

Local Indian “Uh, yes sir”

Brent “That’s nice, what part of Bangalore are you from?”

Local Indian “Uh, yes sir”

Brent “No, I mean what part of Bangalore are you from? Where in Bangalore?”

Local Indian “Uh, yes sir, Bangalore”

Brent “OK thanks”

Based on our initial greetings, I thought Vishwanth was the type of guy I should just avoid conversation with. Boy was I wrong. Instead, Vishwanth initiated a conversation with me. He started with questions like “Where are you from sir?” and “How do you like Bangalore sir?” Then out of nowhere he straight asked me if I knew anything about Jesus. My response was “I know a lot of things about Yeshu (Jesus in Hindi). What do you know about Yeshu?” to which he replied “Yeshu was born in a cow barn and gave himself for the people”. What a perfect synopsis! On some further probing I realized that was the entirety of Vishwanth’s knowledge of Jesus. Vishwanth and I talked for the next hour about Jesus: why He came, what it’s like to know and be known by Him, why He had to die…. It was an amazing time with Vishwanth and as we were pulling up to the airport Vishwanth allowed me to pray for him. On the way home I spent most of the time catching up with my dad, but I made sure to ask Vishwanth if he could drive us to the airport the following night.

The next day, I told Savannah about the conversation I had with Vishwanth and she was excited. We spent the day praying that the gospel would work in Vishwanth’s heart and that fruit would come from the seeds that were sown. Since coming to India, God has taught us in deeper ways the necessity of prayer and being fervent in asking for the Spirit. This is so basic to Christianity, but often gets washed away with the knowledge and do-it-yourself focused culture of the U.S.

The night before our flight to Delhi, we set our alarms for 3:35 AM and tried to get to bed as early as possible. I was tired from picking my father up from the airport the night before and knew I didn’t have much time to sleep, but as soon as I laid my head on my pillow God told me he wanted me to give Vishwanth a Bible. He also told me to get up and start making notes in the Bible to help Vishwanth. So I apologized to Savannah, turned the lights back on, and started highlighting key passages. It took me about an hour, but I got some of the key verses and teachings highlighted and then went to sleep.

I awoke from my sleep at 3:33 AM, two minutes before my alarm went off. For some reason my body has this amazing ability to wake itself up moments before the alarm when I need to be somewhere important. Savannah, my father, and I staggered out of our beds, collected our belongings and met Vishwanth at his cab. A few minutes into the cab ride I asked Vishwanth if he had thought about what we talked about during our last cab ride. He said he had thought about Yeshu a lot and that in all his years in driving a taxi he had never had a conversation like ours. So we asked him if he had anymore questions which sparked a conversation that was clearly from the Spirit. So much so that it felt like one of those cheesy training videos from the 80s. Vishwanth asked questions like:

·   Why did Yeshu have to sacrifice Himself for the people?

·   What is the purpose of the cross?

·   Can Yeshu understand me if I speak in Kannada (local Indian dialect)?

·   What was Yeshu’s favorite food?

o  Our response was we don’t know, but He hung out with fishermen and there are several stories of Him eating fish

·   How do I have a relationship with Yeshu?

The last question was clearly the kicker and one that confirmed above all that the Spirit was working in Vishwanth’s heart. So as Vishwanth was asking the question I gave Savannah a quick nudge and told her to respond. She shook her head conveying a definitive “no”, ensuring that I would not confuse it with an Indian head bobble, meaning “OK”. I nudged her again and smiled to encourage her to try. Savannah slowly stepped out and began to tell Vishwanth how he could have a relationship with Jesus. This was a new experience for both Vishwanth and Savannah; Vishwanth hearing it for the first time and Savannah proclaiming it for the first time. After hearing Savannah, Vishwanth said he wanted to know God, so Savannah, my father, and I prayed that Jesus would reveal himself to Vishwanth and become part of Vishwanth’s life.

Vishwanth said he couldn’t explain the way he was feeling, but said he had a feeling of happiness that he had never felt before. He said that he would always remember us and pray that God would be with us. Then as we were pulling up to the airport he said my favorite line of the night “I like Mr. Yeshu. One thing that we have in common is that we both love fish! Fish is my favorite food and I will tell others about my new friend Mr. Yeshu.” What an amazing statement! It reminded me of people in the Bible that met Jesus and than immediately went and told all they knew about Jesus. As I write this, I am not sure if Vishwanth has told anybody about Jesus, read the Bible we gave him, or prayed to Jesus since we spoke, but hey it took Savannah a quarter of a century to tell someone about Jesus and I’ve gone through seasons where I refuse to pray or read the Bible. What I do know is God’s timing is perfect and He alone can move people’s hearts. I also know that He chose last week to move in me and my family’s hearts and graciously allowed us to be a part of His work in Vishwanth’s life.