Leyder Tello Jiménez is a family man who works as a cab driver in Trujillo, Peru. His work on the city's roads began 12 years ago. "I know all the streets and roads to get to my destination faster," he says with a laugh.
A few months ago, Jiménez joined Movilizando Esperanza ("Mobilizing Hope"), an initiative of the Nuevo Tiempo Bible School in Trujillo, where around 60 cab drivers joined the plan to share Radio Nuevo Tiempo’s signal in their vehicles while their passengers travel to their destinations.
"When I wake up in the morning, I ask God to use me and put the right words to speak to the people who will get into the car," says Jiménez. His watch reads 6:30 a.m., and it is time to start the engines to drive around the city.
With this job, Jiménez not only supports his family economically but has also managed to train his daughters professionally, but he considers being part of Movilizando Esperanza is the best job. "Radio Nuevo Tiempo is always playing in my car so that my passengers travel with another motivation," he says.
Beyond Being at the Wheel
"One day, a lady named Maria came up with her daughter. A song about couples was playing, and, when I noticed, the lady was crying, hugging her daughter," Jiménez accounts. At first, he did not understand what was going on, and when he asked, the lady told him the music made her think about the problem she was going through with her husband and that she did not know how to solve it.
"I felt bad at first, but she asked me to keep listening to the radio because she was understanding that she could find peace," Jiménez recalls. When they arrived at the destination, Maria asked him to turn off the car engine because she wanted to talk to him. "At that moment, I thought it would be a delay because I could take other passengers and earn more money; but then I realized it was an opportunity to talk to her about Christ."
After listening to her, Jiménez opened the Bible and read Isaiah 41:10, encouraging her and explaining that Christ was by her side. At the end of the short message, he invited her to visit an Adventist church to learn more. Two weeks later, Mary was entering an Adventist church.
Victory of a Cab Driver
Maria’s visit became frequent, and she began her Bible courses to deepen her knowledge. Months later, she was baptized and today attends the Las Quintanas Adventist Church in Trujillo.
Like her, Jiménez meets several people with different problems. “One day, a young man got out of the car and said to me, ‘You have done what no one else has done for me,’" he says. That young man was shocked after listening to Pastor Alejandro Bullón on the radio and then tried to pay Jiménez to read the Bible with him. "I definitely did not accept because I am only an instrument who only plays the radio; the rest is done by the Holy Spirit," he says.
It has been about 15 hours and is 9:30 p.m. Jiménez returns home tired but happy to have fulfilled the mission of sharing Jesus through Radio Nuevo Tiempo, his ally and companion in his travels. "Thank you for making me part of Movilizando Esperanza. Talking about Christ is a delight for me," concludes the cab driver.
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Spanish-language news site.
