Salvation At The Scene Of A Deadly Accident

Recently, we received the following testimony from a Gideon in Ohio.

A call came over the police radio of a young Kentucky Department of Transportation officer. According to the emergency dispatch, there was an accident with injuries just outside of Hazard, Kentucky. The officer rushed to the scene.

Two cars were involved. One vehicle had been carrying five family members, none with serious injuries. However the driver of the other vehicle was not so fortunate. He had sustained massive injuries. He was conscious, but unable to speak.

Emergency personnel attempted to remove the injured driver from his car. “Try to take it easy, an ambulance is on the way,” the officer told the victim. Struggling to breathe, the man nodded in response.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, the young officer asked the man the most important question any Christian can ask a friend, family member or stranger: “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?”

The crash victim shook his head “no.”

The officer quickly reached into his own pocket and pulled out a New Testament he had received from The Gideons International. He read aloud from the back inside cover of the Testament. He shared with the man that God loved him, that all are sinners, that God had a remedy for sin and that all could be saved.

“Would you like to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” the officer asked him.

The man nodded his head “yes.”

“Do you want confess your sins? And do you believe in Christ and accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior?” the officer asked.

The man again nodded “yes.”

Then the young officer spoke these words: “Because you have confessed before God and me your sins, and have accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I welcome you to God’s eternal kingdom where you will now have eternal life.”

The man looked at the officer and briefly seemed to smile. Moments later, as he was loaded into the ambulance on a gurney, the man drew his last breath.

Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, that officer was able to use that Gideon New Testament to lead a dying man to Christ. Thanks, in part, to a church somewhere in Kentucky that cared enough to take an offering to donate to The Gideons International. And from that offering, a local Gideon camp purchased New Testaments to place into the hands of Emergency Service personnel, including that young officer.

It was like a jigsaw puzzle, and God’s Hand was on each piece.

How do I know all this occurred? Because I was that young officer. The year was 1980. Today, I am in a different field of work, but I am honored to say that I am a Gideon. God is still leading my life to distribute His Holy Word throughout the world.

He continues to use my life like a jigsaw puzzle, adding pieces every day as He leads me. I hope churches will continue to give, camps will continue to distribute, and people will continue to care enough to witness.

To God be the glory!

Dr. Glenn Casteel

Cincinnati, Ohio