Trapped in an elevator

The phrase “trapped in an elevator” has always been a figure of speech to me. Someone might say something like; “the only thing worse than diarrhea is being trapped in a crowded elevator with it”… or; “I’m claustrophobic, I can’t imagine being trapped in an elevator.” It has always been just something you say, that is, until recently.
On the way back from our missions trip to Ukraine, we had a day off in the city of Kiev. We stayed in a huge old building that served as a cheap hotel. Well this hotel’s tiny old soviet designed elevator became the location for one of my most memorable moments of the trip.
It seems that the western custom of cramming people into an elevator is not something you do in parts of Eastern Europe. This old elevator was about 3 feet by 4 feet, and 7 feet tall. Just enough room for 6 guys, we thought. The first hint of a problem came after lifting a mere one inch off the ground floor, the elevator struggled and the power went out. A silent pause, and then my bud Mike says to the rest of us; “… at least we don’t have far to plummet”. So we tried to force open the doors, but they were locked. We managed to get them open about 2 inches for air, it was getting really hot! By this time people from our team and some Russian speaking Ukranians were franticly trying to figure out how to get the doors to open, while the lady at the desk was discovering that being a Sunday – an elevator technician was not available until the next morning… Yeah RIGHT!!! – like I’m staying in here all night! But so far – no options. This is when we really started to feel panicky – not even able to sit down let alone go to the bathroom! I pulled out my trusty Swiss Army knife and began unscrewing one of the tiny vents to get more air. This enabled us to communicate a little better with our friends on the outside, many of whom were using the opportunity to take pictures of us through the crack in the door. Some were praying, and squeezing through small bottles of water. Well… after about a half hour, the father of my Ukranian friend Kolya used his car jack to pry open the doors. The doors bent and twisted open just enough for us to squeeze out one by one, to the cheers of our friends and onlookers.

The lesson in this… It is for freedom that Christ has set us free… do not therefore test the limits of sketchy elevators.