Jonah (the prophet) and my taxi driver


Thinking about Malatya recently brought back a memory from a taxi experience there. We would sometimes use taxis to get around the city and inevitably the conversation with the taxi driver would make a turn toward the gospel. We developed a good rapport with a couple drivers and we would call on them regularly. Murat was one of those taxi drivers. An experience that I had with him reminded me of Jonah's experience of being thrown into the Mediterranean.

When Murat bought a new cd player for his taxi he told me that I should bring some of my own music sometime so he could get an idea of what Americans like to listen to. In the summer there are often tourists passing through Malatya and he thought having the right kind of music might give him an edge with the occasional foreign customer.

The next time I got in Murat's car I took a cd with me and put it in his new cd player. Although it wasn't what he was expecting, it made a lasting impression on him. The cd I brought was a compilation of Turkish worship songs written by Turkish believers. I explained what it was when I put it in, but it took several minutes for him to realize what he was listening to. After a few songs he pointed out the obvious: "This is in Turkish!" I explained again that the songs were written by Turkish Christians. He listened quietly for the rest of the ride. When he dropped me off in town I left the cd with him and told him that I would call him later that evening when I needed to go home.

When he picked me up the cd was already playing. I'm guessing he never took it out. As we pulled away from the curb in downtown Malatya, Murat began singing the words to one of the songs, "My Jesus, My Jesus..."

When we arrived at my house Murat pushed the button to eject the cd. He returned it to its case and handed it to me. Then, after I paid him his fare and was opening the door to get out of the taxi he handed me the "tesbih," the Turkish prayer beads, that had been draped around his gear shift. I thanked him for the gift and started to walk away... and then I realized what was actually happening there. I turned back around and handed him the cd as a gift. He was delighted. Murat had given me the beads as a gesture of friendship, hoping I would reciprocate by giving him the cd that I knew he was enjoying.

It reminded me of Jonah's experience of being in a boat with a bunch of pagans on their way to Joppa. When the sailors finally realized that it was the only way to save them from the storm that Jonah's powerful God had brought upon them, they threw him overboard and the sea calmed down for them. As Jonah was splashing around in the Mediterranean these pagan sailors were praising God and making vows to him. They had seen his power at work and they were thankful to him for sparing their lives. Jonah was used, albeit unwillingly, to bring praise to God through these pagan sailors.

That day Murat, a nominal Muslim, was singing worship songs to Jesus from his taxi in Eastern Turkey. He didn't throw me overboard, but he dropped me off at the curb and drove away singing praises to God in Turkish.

I imagine God was happy about that.

A few weeks later on April 18th, when my friend Ugur was being rushed to the hospital with injuries that would prove to be mortal, it was Murat that I called to take me to the hospital to wait for news. After the media frenzy following the murders, Murat stopped taking my calls. I pray that he still sometimes sings to Jesus.

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