How a train driver found the right track
Alain Petitmermet, a train driver with the Swiss Railway SBB, intensively asked for God already in his childhood. But when his search into New Age and occultism ended when he began to read the bible. And God was found!
Alain tells his story:
“I wasn’t brought up in a Christian tradition. Already in my childhood – I was born 1962 -I suffered from a lack of answers to my existential questions. Therefore I was interested in supernatural practices early. But in every esoteric system I came in contact with, doubts about the presence – or non-presence - of God came along. I was longing for Him and because I didn’t find him I continued to search in another place.
1988, during my training for train drivers in Geneva, I was invited to spend an evening with friends. Among the guests were also a spiritualist and a healer from France. We criticized the church very hard and considered it to be a bastion of the obscure from medieval times. But on the way home I reproached myself for slandering an institution I knew nothing about. The very next morning I bought a bible to fill my lack of knowledge. But what this book taught me was a great discovery! Nothing at all corresponded with the image I used to have of it! Compared to all other religious books I had, the superiority of the biblical revelations seemed so very clear to me. At a public dump, I burnt all my spiritualistic, occult and mystical books.
I was on my way to finding the path to God, but I hadn’t met him yet. From then on I concentrated all my efforts on understanding the bible. And quickly I came to the main thing: the cross! What a mystery! There was a secret to discover, about the deeper meaning of the death of Jesus, and I inserted all my energy to understand.
One night during a dream a man stood in front of me and blew over my face. I felt that my hair was blown away by the power of this wind. This experience was very real. I knew immediately that this man was Jesus because he looked similar to the religious pictures I had seen of him. Later on, I realised that on this night he had sent the Holy Spirit to me so that I might be able to understand the gospel. More and more light came into my mind and spirit, until that evening when I cried out with all my soul “I’ve found it! Now I can understand! It’s for me! Instead of me, he was crucified! He took the punishment for my faults upon him – because he loves me!” After this turnaround toward God; I searched for other Christians and was baptized.
A short time later I left my job to study theology. I wanted to be a pastor. But it couldn’t be realized because my Christian advisor thought it to be too early. So after one year of studies, I decided to go back to my profession as a train driver.
Today I can testify with all my heart that Jesus is the truth. Faith in Him only can save us from all alienation of God. He asks neither for money nor for sacrifices, but just for faith in his Gospel. Crazy are men when they do without it! Today I’m a train driver and a pastor simultaneously. In order of the RailHope association in Switzerland, I’m on my way as an honorary RailPastor. My task is to accompany railway staff in a Christian manner and help develop local RailHope groups within the French-speaking part of Switzerland.”
© RailHope International 2019