Call the Locksmith!!

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