Post by Rhonda on Sept 19, 2009 4:51:10 GMT -5
The Warning Light
It was the last thing we’d needed, our car giving us trouble in the dark Mexican jungle…
By John Tucker, McAllen, Texas
I’d never known the darkness could be so enveloping. The thick Mexican jungle loomed all around us as my wife, Trudy, and I drove toward Villahermosa, where we’d be staying the night. It was the nearest town, and we’d foolishly thought we could reach it by nightfall, but the sun had long since set and the road was slowgoing. I concentrated on the short beam of our headlights as we moved through the moonless night.
“Well, we wanted to be someplace remote, didn’t we?” I said, trying not to sound worried. Trudy and I had long yearned to serve as missionaries in a faraway locale. When we heard about the desperate needs in the most desolate parts of Mexico, we packed our car and set off down the Pan-American Highway.
But now my imagination was working overtime as I peered at the shadows along the roadside. Suddenly our headlights flickered. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, squinting out the windshield. God, we came here to do your work, and we’re trusting you to watch over us, I prayed.
A few miles farther the lights flickered again, then died. I turned the switch off and on. Nothing. I cut the engine, and we sat in stunned silence. We hadn’t seen another car for hours and there was no way to call for help. Walking anywhere in the pitch blackness was out of the question.
“I think we’d better spend the night in the car,” I told Trudy. We pulled a blanket over the two of us and went to sleep. Next thing I knew, Trudy was shaking me awake. “John, look!” she exclaimed. My eyes adjusted to the sunlight and I saw what Trudy was pointing at. Directly ahead of us the road narrowed and then abruptly ended.
We got out of the car and walked to the road’s edge. A swift river ran below. Building materials for a bridge were stacked on the bank. “We never would have had time to stop,” Trudy said.
After we made it to town I pulled over to try to fix the lights. But they worked fine. And they never flickered once the rest of the trip.
It was the last thing we’d needed, our car giving us trouble in the dark Mexican jungle…
By John Tucker, McAllen, Texas
I’d never known the darkness could be so enveloping. The thick Mexican jungle loomed all around us as my wife, Trudy, and I drove toward Villahermosa, where we’d be staying the night. It was the nearest town, and we’d foolishly thought we could reach it by nightfall, but the sun had long since set and the road was slowgoing. I concentrated on the short beam of our headlights as we moved through the moonless night.
“Well, we wanted to be someplace remote, didn’t we?” I said, trying not to sound worried. Trudy and I had long yearned to serve as missionaries in a faraway locale. When we heard about the desperate needs in the most desolate parts of Mexico, we packed our car and set off down the Pan-American Highway.
But now my imagination was working overtime as I peered at the shadows along the roadside. Suddenly our headlights flickered. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, squinting out the windshield. God, we came here to do your work, and we’re trusting you to watch over us, I prayed.
A few miles farther the lights flickered again, then died. I turned the switch off and on. Nothing. I cut the engine, and we sat in stunned silence. We hadn’t seen another car for hours and there was no way to call for help. Walking anywhere in the pitch blackness was out of the question.
“I think we’d better spend the night in the car,” I told Trudy. We pulled a blanket over the two of us and went to sleep. Next thing I knew, Trudy was shaking me awake. “John, look!” she exclaimed. My eyes adjusted to the sunlight and I saw what Trudy was pointing at. Directly ahead of us the road narrowed and then abruptly ended.
We got out of the car and walked to the road’s edge. A swift river ran below. Building materials for a bridge were stacked on the bank. “We never would have had time to stop,” Trudy said.
After we made it to town I pulled over to try to fix the lights. But they worked fine. And they never flickered once the rest of the trip.