Just have to share my
most recent adventure in replacing the lock on the apartment door with you all…
it’s a long story… but it’s a good one (grab a snack and read away..)
I’ve become accustomed
to living a FAR LESS streamlined life in Guatemala, so when my key broke off
INSIDE the lock of the apartment door yesterday I expected there to be a few
twists and turns in getting the lock replaced… but the adventure was a bit more
exciting than I expected.
Let me set the stage
by saying that the door to the apartment is a testimony to security. There is
no knob, just a lock welded into a metal door that would be difficult for ANY
SWAT team to breach (trust me on this one). So, when the key broke off INSIDE
the lock yesterday I expected there to be a bit of a struggle.
However, after hours
of prying, peering, and trying every tool known to man (and the groundskeeper
taking his turn doing the same) I sadly admitted defeat and decided to “call in
the professionals”…. But there is no locksmith in the village… or in the next
village… or in the village three rivers away… in fact… I’m not sure there is a
locksmith within thirty minutes BY CAR… Fortunately the key broke off with the
door open, so we were able to rig a temporary fix until I could locate whatever
professional existed for such situations.
So, I started to ask
around the school and discovered that there IS a man who can replace the lock…
but no one had his phone number… in fact… when I finally tracked down the
teacher who KNOWS HIM PERSONALLY (Ruth), she told me that he DOESN’T USE HIS
PHONE… so we would have to go see him PERSONALLY… Ok… no problem I don’t mind
walking through the village… then she told me… he lives on the OTHER SIDE OF
ALL FOUR RIVERS (without bridges) I cross to get to the village where I work…
Well… it’s a good thing I have a four-wheel drive truck… and we planned to go
see him after school today (around 3pm if it didn’t start to rain)…
At 3pm, I found Ruth
as well as Zoila, Dulce, and Michelle waiting for me as word quickly got out
that I was going on an “adventure” to go talk to the man who could fix the
lock. I had to laugh as we all loaded into my truck (with all their personal
items) to drive the bumpy dirt road, crossing through four rivers to go find
the lock man… So the adventure began!!
We chatted away as we
made our way down the dirt road, through the jungle, through each of the four
rivers, and arrived at the lock man’s house. I only imagine what all five of us
(four Guatemalans and a white girl) looked like piling out of the truck and
descending on this poor unsuspecting soul who was working in his driveway when
we arrived.
Ruth took the lead and
explained to the man what had happened, as I stood back and “watched”… then the
man asked me if I knew what brand the lock was and if it was “short or long”
(and of course I didn’t)… the part that amused me about the entire exchange was
that Ruth served as the “translator” between the lock man and I even though we
both understood clearly what was being said and the only language being spoken
was Spanish. The other teachers inserted comments too (and their version of the
translation) as we exchanged information before ultimately deciding that I
would have to drive the lock man back through all four rivers, through the
jungle, and to the school to inspect the lock and see exactly what was needed…
So, we loaded up… and
back we went… down the bumpy dirt road… through the jungle.. and through all
four rivers to see the lock. Upon arrival, the lock man briefly locked at the
lock… confirmed the needed size and brand… and began the discussion of price…
Ultimately, thanks to
Ruth’s (and my) ability to convince the man that I am not a wealthy white
tourist but rather a missionary of limited means… we settled on a price and agreed that I would
drive to the nearest city (down the dirt road… through the rivers.. and the
jungle) to purchase the lock. However, it would need to be done quickly because
the store closes at 5pm (it was approximately 4:15 at this time)… not to
mention the dark clouds encroaching and threatening an afternoon storm (the rivers
rise quickly and may not go down for hours leaving cars stranded at times)
So, off again we went…
four Guatemalan teachers, myself, and a lock man in tow through the jungles,
through the rivers, and to the city to purchase the lock. As the minutes crept
closer to 5pm I became increasingly nervous… If we didn’t make it I would have
to make ANOTHER trip through the jungles and rivers tomorrow to get the lock
which would delay the installation… Dulce noticed my growing tension and
encouraged me to calm down and assured me all would go well. The teachers distracted
me with worship music and singing our favorite songs… and when I pulled into
the hardware store at 4:57 I praised the Lord out loud for letting us arrive in
time.
Dulce was nominated (by
the group due to her charming personality) to do the purchasing (I was told if
I got out of the car or was seen that they would charge me more) so I hid
behind the darkly tinted windows and watched the exchange from afar. The lock
was purchased and after a brief discussion with the lock man about what time he
would return the following day to install it (and if I would drive him back and
forth through the rivers and jungle to do the installation), we came to an
agreement and were off again to race the storm clouds home.
As we reached the halfway
point back to the village, the rain began in sprinkles. The teachers (again
seeing my concern) assured me that it was just raining in that location and not
closer to the village. I have heard stories of buses getting stranded in the
rivers and feared that we may be waiting for hours for the rivers to go down if
we got stuck between rivers. I sped up a bit to try to race the rain home…
We hit the dirt
portion of the road as the rain continued to pick up… and my tension grew…
images of tidal wave type water surges filled my mind as I raced to cross the
rivers in time. I held my breath as we approached the first river crossing
(also the river that is the most dangerous and rises the fastest of all four)…
as I rounded the corner I breathed a sigh of relief… the river was only slightly
wider than usual… Thank the Lord…
With each subsequent
river crossing the rain intensified as did my prayers… after forging the last
(and deepest) river, I breathed a sigh of relief and declared “We arrived,
thank You God”… to which the whole car cheered!! I dropped the teachers at
their perspective houses, and returned to the school. I couldn’t help but laugh
as I climbed the stairs to the apartment and thought… WHAT AN ADVENTURE…
I am so thankful that
God has called me to live this life of adventure for Him in Guatemala… besides…
crossing rivers and racing rain storms is FAR MORE EXCITING than just calling a
locksmith!! J
