WINKLER, MB
The Wiebe family of Rosenort were excited to take the trip out to Steinbach to hear Brother Yun speak at a local church, but after entering the location into Google Maps, the family was led an hour in the wrong direction to a mall in Winkler instead.
“It was the wrong Southland,” said Mr. Wiebe. “And the worst thing is the Southland in Winkler is not even open on Sundays!”
Miles from home and with nowhere to worship, or even to shop, the Wiebes decided to zip over the border to Grand Forks for the day.
“We figured since we were so close, we’d just hop on down to North Dakota and check out that Columbia Mall everyone’s been raving about,” said Mr. Wiebe. “It’s been three days now, and it still keeps telling us to head south.”
After a marathon of driving that led them all the way through Central America, the Wiebes were spotted early this morning at the Panama-Colombia border.
“I’ve heard this is a great place to shop,” said Wiebe, handing his passport to the officer. “It’s a little out of the way, though.”
Colombian border guards say this is not the first time an unwitting Canadian couple has shown up at their border expecting Chick-fil-a and JC Penny, while managers at the Southland Mall in Winkler estimate that 30-40% of their business comes from people trying to get to church in Steinbach.