Hungarian Banker's Bible Thrown From Train Leads to 30 New Christians

The "Train Story" of Ivan Martos

• 🇭🇺 Ivan Martos, a Hungarian banking official, was a beloved figure within the Eastern European Mission (EEM) team for his cheerful demeanor.
• 🚂 During a train journey out of communist territory, two guards confronted Martos, confiscated his Bible, and threw it out the window at approximately 60 mph.
• 💔 Martos was deeply distraught, not just because the Bible was gone, but because it contained his personal markings and notes.

The Bible's Return and Unexpected Harvest

• 📬 After two years of absence, Martos reappeared, overjoyed to report that his Bible had been returned by mail.
• ✉️ A letter accompanying the Bible explained that children found it near the railroad tracks and gave it to older women in their village.
• ✍️ These women painstakingly made a handwritten copy of the entire Bible over two years so their community could also have God's word.
• 🙏 As a result, 65 people in the village had come to faith in Jesus and were meeting daily.

Divine Providence and the Parable of the Sower

• 💡 The story illustrates the parable of the sower, where the seed (the Gospel) lands on good soil and grows, regardless of the circumstances.
• 🌍 Even an act intended to be evil by a communist guard, under the influence of evil spirits, was transformed by God for good, planting seeds of faith.
• 🌱 The EEM team recognized this as a powerful example of how the Gospel's message can spread and take root unexpectedly.