Guardian Angels on the Road
Before we officially set out on the road on Tuesday, some friends asked if they could pray for us. Five of us circled up and the couple led us in prayer. They prayed for our ministry, that God would encourage us and that we would be an encouragement to the children. And they prayed for our safety in travel.
Little did they know that we would see God answer that prayer in just a few short hours.
Randy and I are driving separately down to the border of California and Mexico. He is driving a U-Haul full of donations, and pulling our trailer full of belongings. I'm driving our Hummer, which we bought after selling both of our vehicles, since we needed something that can stand up to the roads in Mexico.
We set out on the road, me following close behind him, and stopped along the way to have an early dinner with my in-laws, after which I told Rand to go on ahead with the U-Haul. I was going to fill up with gas, and surely I would catch up.
I was delayed at the gas station because my credit card company wanted to make double and triple sure that I was where my charges claimed to be. After the third request for authorization I finally just paid cash. By that point, Randy was 30 minutes ahead of me.
I stopped a short while later at a rest stop where there was a beautiful sunset. Our dog, Jovi, and I took a short walk. But when we got back in the car it wouldn't start. It was completely dead. The keys were now locked in the ignition. Randy was 30 miles down the highway. And the sky went dark.
In my mind it didn't make sense to call Randy yet. I would get a jump and be on my way, regaling him with tales of my adventures when I arrived at our pre-arranged meeting spot 200 miles down the road.
I walked up to a truck where I could see a guy about my age texting in the driver's seat. He rolled down his window and I asked if he had jumper cables. He got out of the truck, looked in the backseat, and said they must be in his other car.
Jovi and I walked back toward the bathrooms, waiting for someone to come out so we could ask for help. A young woman who worked there eyed me suspiciously. I told her my battery was dead and I needed a jump. She disappeared for a few moments, then reappeared and told me help was on the way. Then she knelt down and played with Jovi while we waited.
An old man came around the corner. He told me they aren't supposed to help with situations like this. But he would make an exception. I pointed out my car at the end of the lot. He drove over and I popped the hood. He set his cell phone on flashlight mode and handed it to me. When he reached in to touch the battery, the plug wires came right off in his hand! He set them back in place and the lights in the car came back on. I didn't need a jump after all!
By that point I had called Randy and left a message because our cell service was terrible. You can imagine how he felt, 30 minutes away, getting a message like this: "dead battery. at a rest stop. getting a jump."
The old man at the rest stop asked a mentally challenged boy who also worked there to find him a pair of pliers. He was so good with the boy. It felt like a foreshadowing of the work Randy will do with the kids at the children's home with special needs. The former administrators were in the process of setting up a garage before they left, to teach the kids skills like how to change the oil in a car and assistance with tools, just like this man at the rest stop was doing.
With pliers in hand, the old man tightened the clamps on my cables, told me to be careful and to have Randy look at it when we met up. I told him how, just hours before, a couple had prayed for our safety on this journey, and that he was one of my guardian angels. That we were on our way to be full time volunteer missionaries at an orphanage in Baja.
He reached out and took my hand and prayed over me once again. He said he could see God's light in me, that God was watching over and protecting me always, and asked God to bless my journey and ministry to come.
Wow. I was so incredibly humbled. God's angels are all around!
(P.S. Our drive on Wednesday was completely uneventful. And for that we are grateful too!)
Little did they know that we would see God answer that prayer in just a few short hours.
Randy and I are driving separately down to the border of California and Mexico. He is driving a U-Haul full of donations, and pulling our trailer full of belongings. I'm driving our Hummer, which we bought after selling both of our vehicles, since we needed something that can stand up to the roads in Mexico.
We set out on the road, me following close behind him, and stopped along the way to have an early dinner with my in-laws, after which I told Rand to go on ahead with the U-Haul. I was going to fill up with gas, and surely I would catch up.
I was delayed at the gas station because my credit card company wanted to make double and triple sure that I was where my charges claimed to be. After the third request for authorization I finally just paid cash. By that point, Randy was 30 minutes ahead of me.
I stopped a short while later at a rest stop where there was a beautiful sunset. Our dog, Jovi, and I took a short walk. But when we got back in the car it wouldn't start. It was completely dead. The keys were now locked in the ignition. Randy was 30 miles down the highway. And the sky went dark.
In my mind it didn't make sense to call Randy yet. I would get a jump and be on my way, regaling him with tales of my adventures when I arrived at our pre-arranged meeting spot 200 miles down the road.
I walked up to a truck where I could see a guy about my age texting in the driver's seat. He rolled down his window and I asked if he had jumper cables. He got out of the truck, looked in the backseat, and said they must be in his other car.
Jovi and I walked back toward the bathrooms, waiting for someone to come out so we could ask for help. A young woman who worked there eyed me suspiciously. I told her my battery was dead and I needed a jump. She disappeared for a few moments, then reappeared and told me help was on the way. Then she knelt down and played with Jovi while we waited.
An old man came around the corner. He told me they aren't supposed to help with situations like this. But he would make an exception. I pointed out my car at the end of the lot. He drove over and I popped the hood. He set his cell phone on flashlight mode and handed it to me. When he reached in to touch the battery, the plug wires came right off in his hand! He set them back in place and the lights in the car came back on. I didn't need a jump after all!
By that point I had called Randy and left a message because our cell service was terrible. You can imagine how he felt, 30 minutes away, getting a message like this: "dead battery. at a rest stop. getting a jump."
The old man at the rest stop asked a mentally challenged boy who also worked there to find him a pair of pliers. He was so good with the boy. It felt like a foreshadowing of the work Randy will do with the kids at the children's home with special needs. The former administrators were in the process of setting up a garage before they left, to teach the kids skills like how to change the oil in a car and assistance with tools, just like this man at the rest stop was doing.
With pliers in hand, the old man tightened the clamps on my cables, told me to be careful and to have Randy look at it when we met up. I told him how, just hours before, a couple had prayed for our safety on this journey, and that he was one of my guardian angels. That we were on our way to be full time volunteer missionaries at an orphanage in Baja.
He reached out and took my hand and prayed over me once again. He said he could see God's light in me, that God was watching over and protecting me always, and asked God to bless my journey and ministry to come.
Wow. I was so incredibly humbled. God's angels are all around!
(P.S. Our drive on Wednesday was completely uneventful. And for that we are grateful too!)
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