January 2005

We wish you a blessed new year, Feliz Año Nuevo! We trust you started your new year off a little less adventurous than we did. For about three days, we, together with our daughter Marta who was visiting us, were stuck in the “Twilight Zone”, better known as the “Frontera de Mexico”.

Listen to what happened:

On December 28, 2004, we received an invitation to a wedding for Monday, January 3, 2005. The wedding was going to be close to Huehuetenango, Guatemala (but in a village only conveniently reachable through Mexico) about 10 hours drive from our home, following a rickety Guatemalan vehicle. We left our home on Friday afternoon together with four ladies of the wedding party, while their husbands rode in the back of a Mazda pick-up truck. After an hour the clutch on the other vehicle stopped working and they had to repair it on the side of the road.

Seven and a half hours later we reached the Mexican border, which, by this time, was already closed, but “We open again tomorrow at nine o' clock." Thus we had to spend one night in the border town of La Mesilla, Guatemala. That night Petra wasn’t at peace at all, but felt an urgency to return home. However, we were still about two hours from the wedding destination and the ladies relied on driving with us. We told them that we would bring them to the "Aldea" (village) where the wedding would take place, but then we would have to turn around immediately. It was a good thing, too, that we did! For when we arrived at the Guatemalan border later on Saturday afternoon, we found out, that something wasn’t in order with the previous Guatemalan import permits. After several hours we were told that the permit could not be issued on Saturday and that they have to check with other border crossings and phone the capital. "Please come back on Monday and we should have it sorted out". By that time we wondered, "Lord, what is your purpose is in all of this?"

However, we didn't have any other choice but to return to Mexico, where we spent the weekend in Comitan, Mexico, about 60km from the border, waiting for Monday morning. On Monday, after returning to the border at 8:30AM and many "come back in 15 minutes", we did finally receive a reentry permit at 1:30 in the afternoon. As the motor vehicle official issued the reentry permit he asked, if he could ride along with us for about 40 km to get too his house. "Sure," we replied. "We don't mind giving you a lift." After reaching the turn-off, we offered to drive him the remaining 10 km along a dirt road to his home in the mountains. We ended up visiting with Carlos and his wife and as it turned out, Carlos’ godmother lives in Burnaby, close to where our daughter Marta lives. Marta took a photo of the whole family and offered to present it to Carlos' godmother in Canada.

While we still wonder, "Lord, what is your purpose in all of this?" already we can see we have found a new friend, and, with anticipation, we are looking forward to what else He has in store. With this we wish you a blessed new year, Feliz Año Nuevo, and encourage you to keep on walking with the Lord! A God directed life is an adventure-filled life!
Blessings,
Charles & Petra Wirrell and family