Salvation in a Faulty Elevator

While in Guatemala Gerri and I got in an elevator, thinking to ourselves what an uneventful day it was. We got to the level we were looking for, and there were people waiting to get on the elevator who said that the place we were going was closed. At least I think that's what they said (my Spanish is still coming along). So all those people (maybe 7 or so) decided to join us in the elevator, and on we went... in total there were about 16 or 17 of us. The elevator's capacity was 12, maybe 13.
We began our ascent... and stopped. The elevator jolted a couple of times and then stopped. It jolted a few more times. And then stopped. Gerri and I looked at each other wide eyed, and then looked around at the other "sardines" in the elevator with us, and began wondering how long we would be spending with them. To say there was "standing room only" is an understatement - but quite common throughout Guatemala. After all, in Guatemala, there is always room for one more!
Gerri and I agreed in prayer together, quietly, but I just had this sense in my spirit that I needed to pray so everybody could hear me. So I asked, "are you all Christians in here" (although my first guess is that they were going out partying, by their attire). Two guys replied that they were, although quite hesitantly. I was thankful to find that they spoke English. So I told them that I was going to pray. There was a girl in the other corner having a panic attack, and a couple guys in another corner trying to find the alarm or phone. To no avail.
So I prayed loudly, thanked God for protecting us, for helping us get out, and so on. Everyone had obviously been listening, despite the language barrier. I mean, come on, when someone's praying, you know it. Language doesnt' matter. A girl in the corner seemed to quiet down a bit, but she was still very distraught. I told my newly appointed translator (lol) to tell her that, "the girl in the corner said to say that every thing's going to be alright. God is here."
Some guys found the alarm, so off it went, then a couple of them decided to jump. I was thinking, "Are you serious?" The jolts were intense, it made the chains sound loose. The last thing we needed was people jumping.
Two guys pried the doors open. We were completely between floors, all we could see was the elevator shaft.
We were trapped.
My "translator" looked at Gerri and I and said, "My family are Christians, but I am not anymore. But something is happening in my heart." I couldn't believe my ears. Were we actually getting an opportunity to minister to this guy while being stuck in an elevator? He didn't care one bit that we were stuck, that we could get hurt, that we were sardined together in a very small space, this guy was having an encounter with God. So right there, inches from each other - well inches from each other's faces - we talked about it.
More jolts.
Gerri started praying for God's Angles. I joined her. Together we prayed that Angels would come beneath the elevator and take us to the floor. Thirty seconds later we were stepping into the parking lot.
But God wasn't done yet.
I turned to ask my "translator" for directions, since I didn't expect to be arriving to this particular floor. He gave us directions and then started asking more questions, so we kept talking.
Another guy from the elevator walked up and said, "hey, thanks for the prayer... when we were in there I realized I was living in sin, and if something happened..."
I said to them, "Where would you have gone if the elevator had plummeted and we'd all died?"
One replied, "I don't know."
I told them, "I know I would have been with Jesus. But at anytime any of us could be hit by a car, we just have to walk into that parking lot." I looked at them for a minute and then asked, "do you want to make it right with God right now?"
They both said yes with NO hesitation.
So Gerri and I grabbed there hands, we all closed our eyes and I led them in a prayer, Gerri said it with them. Once we were done I told them to get a Bible, and to get into the Word. We started making our way out of the parking lot, me talking to one guy, Gerri to the other.
Before we walked away I told them, "God has things for you to do. You need to do them. Don't go back to your old ways."
"I'm going home," one relied to me. Meaning, he was changing his plans, and not going partying.
I couldn't help but wonder how long their families must have prayed for them.
I will never forget those two guys. God knew right were they were at, He knew their number, their address, their exact location, and He knew that they would be reunited with Him through a faulty elevator and two crazy Canadians.

PS - I'm not sure how long we were in that elevator. Maybe only 10 minutes.