This morning I was in Tijuana.  I wanted to get home at a descent hour so last night I considered getting up at 2 or 3 am to take a taxi to the border and walk across so I could be at the airport before 6 am.  Well, I wake up at 2 am and think I am too tired to get up now, sleep for another hour.  At 3:30am I wake up and say ok lets get going.  I wake one of the volunteers to lock the hospital back up as I leave.  With my 2 suitcases, I walk down to the taco stand and wait for a taxi.  Of course, I didn’t call for one thinking they would be running up and down the street all night.  I also thought last night that I would be all alone on the street corner and could be mugged, murdered or kidnapped being all by myself.  I am on the corner looking both ways for a taxi and after 10 minutes I realize that the street is totally dead.  Two dogs are rumaging through the trash at Flash Grocery store.  No people no cars.  I rest easy, no mugging, murdering or kidnapping.  Finally a car comes towards me  and sure enough it is a taxi.  I step out on the curb and waive my hand for him to stop.  No stopping.  I yell ALTO and PARE but no stopping.  What do I do now to get down to the border so I can walk across and make it to the airport on time.  I thought I could walk to the nearest gas station, 1.5miles away and get a taxi there.  Wow, that is a long walk with luggage.  I thought I will wait 5 more minutes and then start to walk.  There was a pay phone on the corner but of course I had no number for a taxi and no coins to run the phone.  I am locked out of the hospital to get someone to drive me down.  No cars.  4 minutes and finally a car 8 blocks away is heading towards me.  Yes, it has a taxi light on top.  This time I get out in the road and waive him down.  He stops and I ask him if he can take me to the border to walk across.  In perfect English, he says yes.  I just about hugged him.  On the way to the border he turns on his radio.  He tells me it is a Christian Radio station.  He proceeds to tell me he is a member of the Apostolic New Life church in the neighborhood by the hospital.  He also told me that he was heading home for the night but had prayed for one more passenger.   I looked at him and told him that I was standing on the corner praying that a taxi would show up to take me to the border.  We smiled at each other and he said that goes to show you who is in charge.  Such a nice guy.  He lives 5 blocks from the hospital.

I made it to the border, crossed in 30 minutes, took the trolley and made it to the airport on time to catch my first flight.  Little things like this tell me that I am on the right road.  It reassures me that faith and prayer works.

BE GOOD AND DO GOOD.

Gordon Carter