Paving the Way

Published: agosto 12, 2025

“I will go in front of you and pave the mountains; I will break the bronze doors and cut the iron bars.” – Isaiah 45: 2

How do you go where nobody should go before?

In 1976, the year of the Bicentennial of the United States of America, I was preparing to produce a television miniseries with Gene Roddenberry, famous for “Star Trek.” To do this,my wife Lili and I traveled to Yucatán,Mexico,to see important archaeological sites with a member of the Board of the main history of Mexico City. Once there, to complete the inquiry for ABC, we needed to go to Guatemala to visit the ruins of the old Mayan city of Tikal. So, we rented a Volkswagen and drove hours from Mérida to the border between Mexico and Belize, arriving at the border on a Sunday at lunchtime.

The border guards said the car was not approved by the rental contract to cross the border. The only way to cross was to find the officer in command in the city of several hundred thousand people at the time of Sunday’s lunch and get a signed permit. They didn’t know where the commander lived, and they probably just wanted a bribe. So, rather of doing something illegal, I prayed so that we could find the commander.

We drove directly to the port and in the middle of the people God said: “Turn left up a hill.” After a few streets, God led me to turn right and stop next to a gorgeous townhouse. I climbed the steps, knocked on the door, found the commander and obtained the signed paper.

“I will instruct you and teach you the path you must follow; I will advise you with my eye on you.” -Salmo 32:8

Do not enter…

The roads in Belize and Guatemala were full of gigantic potholes that almost swallowed the rented Volkswagen.

We arrived at Tikal late in the afternoon,climbed the closed doors of “Do not enter” and saw the ancient ruins with the diminishing light of dusk and the night,with jaguars and hundreds of monkeys surrounding us while the monuments sang as the cold air shrugged the stones very slightly.

1776 all again

On the way back from Tikal to Mexico, we arrived at the border between Guatemala and Belize. Guatemala considers Belize another province of Guatemala, although Belize has been its own country for years. Americans provide help to Guatemalans, and British provide help to