Never a Dull Moment...
This morning, this was the devotional that Nate and I read, from the book "Jesus Calling" (I love this book!):
"Be prepared to suffer for Me, in My Name. All suffering has meaning in My kingdom.....Bearing your circumstances bravely -- even thanking Me for them, --is one of the highest forms of praise....do not try to hide from problems. Instead, accept adversity in My name, offering it up to Me for My purposes."
We should have known that something was coming today when we read this.
Because today, we were robbed.
This morning we went to church and planned to take some new missionaries to market after church, to help them buy some stuff. So after church, we quickly came home, dropped the kids off, and Nate and I took off to market.
When we got home, the kids were upset. They suspected that someone had robbed us but they weren't sure. When we dropped them off we just handed them the keys. The kids unlocked the gate to the yard, went in the front porch, and found that the front door was wide open. They thought that was odd and then realized that the puppies weren't roaming the yard, the way we had left them before we left for church. Then they found the puppies locked up in the back porch. (I don't think the puppies can lock doors.)
They didn't think anything of it until they went outside with the puppies and found Nate's watch and Ethan's good jack-knife in the grass. Then they started to get worried.
We were about an hour at the market and when we came home, they told us what they had found. The computers were here, the ipods were here, the cameras were here, so we weren't sure they really took anything, until I went into our bedroom. One of the drawers of our dresser was open and a bunch of American money was coming out the top (I had placed it in there when we moved in.) We had hidden a bunch of francs (in bills) in Nate's travel shaving kit -- and they found that. So, although we don't have an exact number, we think they took about about 500,000 francs -- which is about $1000.
We called Adam, who is the guy to call in situations like this because his French is perfect and he knows everybody in town and within a few minutes, he had spoken to the mayor and showed up at our door with a "gendarme" (sort of like military personnel) and the chief of police. They did a thorough investigation and told us they thought they might be able to find the "perps." (I've always wanted to use that word....)
Now this is where the story turns funny. Word spreads like wild fire in Mango and before we knew it, a local guy, Esau, who has "connections" (his uncle is an imam here) was at our door to help. He made some phone calls and then went around talking to our neighbours while Adam and Nate talked with the police. A few minutes later, Esau gets a phone call. A buddy of his in market noticed someone purchasing items with large bills (of francs) when typically, this person wouldn't have access to large bills. This friend was going to hunt down this suspicious fellow. Everyone knows everyone's business in this town!
A little while later, Adam gets another phone call. Another buddy of his has heard the news, and he wants to take Adam and Nate to meet a buddy of his ~ who is a bounty hunter. (You can't make this stuff up, people!) So Nate and Adam head over to meet the bounty hunter, who promises that he can find the guy (or guys) who did this to us and have them by morning!
Don't worry, the story gets better.
THEN the Bounty Hunter pulled out a bunch of sea shells and threw them on a mat on the ground and started reading them and told Nate and Adam that he "saw" that it was two guys that did this ~ in the sea shells. Adam and Nate realize the Bounty Hunter is also (wait for it!) the Witch Doctor! Adam and Nate are like "whoa, whoa, whoa...we don't do that stuff" and the Bounty Hunter starts to cry!! He is so ashamed of the guy who stole from us that he is overwhelmed with emotion!
Nate and Adam left the crying Witch Doctor/Bounty Hunter and met the rest of us at the pool for a swim. After we came home, we had neighbours drop by to hear the tale and tell us how very sorry they were that someone has done this to us. They were so embarrassed that it happened! But it gave us an awesome opportunity to tell them that GOD IS GOOD. Because He is - and here's living proof:
THE KIDS WALKED INTO THE HOUSE WITHOUT US.
WE WERE NOT HOME FOR ANOTHER HOUR.
THE THIEF HAD ETHAN'S KNIFE.
That's why.
And all that was taken was money. It's just money. Money is replaceable.
So...really, life in Mango, this sleepy village a-way off in northern Togo, is NEVER dull.
Praise God for His grace in our lives.
(And if there is a guy, hog-tied on my front porch tomorrow morning, I'll let you know!)
"Be prepared to suffer for Me, in My Name. All suffering has meaning in My kingdom.....Bearing your circumstances bravely -- even thanking Me for them, --is one of the highest forms of praise....do not try to hide from problems. Instead, accept adversity in My name, offering it up to Me for My purposes."
We should have known that something was coming today when we read this.
Because today, we were robbed.
This morning we went to church and planned to take some new missionaries to market after church, to help them buy some stuff. So after church, we quickly came home, dropped the kids off, and Nate and I took off to market.
When we got home, the kids were upset. They suspected that someone had robbed us but they weren't sure. When we dropped them off we just handed them the keys. The kids unlocked the gate to the yard, went in the front porch, and found that the front door was wide open. They thought that was odd and then realized that the puppies weren't roaming the yard, the way we had left them before we left for church. Then they found the puppies locked up in the back porch. (I don't think the puppies can lock doors.)
They didn't think anything of it until they went outside with the puppies and found Nate's watch and Ethan's good jack-knife in the grass. Then they started to get worried.
We were about an hour at the market and when we came home, they told us what they had found. The computers were here, the ipods were here, the cameras were here, so we weren't sure they really took anything, until I went into our bedroom. One of the drawers of our dresser was open and a bunch of American money was coming out the top (I had placed it in there when we moved in.) We had hidden a bunch of francs (in bills) in Nate's travel shaving kit -- and they found that. So, although we don't have an exact number, we think they took about about 500,000 francs -- which is about $1000.
We called Adam, who is the guy to call in situations like this because his French is perfect and he knows everybody in town and within a few minutes, he had spoken to the mayor and showed up at our door with a "gendarme" (sort of like military personnel) and the chief of police. They did a thorough investigation and told us they thought they might be able to find the "perps." (I've always wanted to use that word....)
Now this is where the story turns funny. Word spreads like wild fire in Mango and before we knew it, a local guy, Esau, who has "connections" (his uncle is an imam here) was at our door to help. He made some phone calls and then went around talking to our neighbours while Adam and Nate talked with the police. A few minutes later, Esau gets a phone call. A buddy of his in market noticed someone purchasing items with large bills (of francs) when typically, this person wouldn't have access to large bills. This friend was going to hunt down this suspicious fellow. Everyone knows everyone's business in this town!
A little while later, Adam gets another phone call. Another buddy of his has heard the news, and he wants to take Adam and Nate to meet a buddy of his ~ who is a bounty hunter. (You can't make this stuff up, people!) So Nate and Adam head over to meet the bounty hunter, who promises that he can find the guy (or guys) who did this to us and have them by morning!
Don't worry, the story gets better.
THEN the Bounty Hunter pulled out a bunch of sea shells and threw them on a mat on the ground and started reading them and told Nate and Adam that he "saw" that it was two guys that did this ~ in the sea shells. Adam and Nate realize the Bounty Hunter is also (wait for it!) the Witch Doctor! Adam and Nate are like "whoa, whoa, whoa...we don't do that stuff" and the Bounty Hunter starts to cry!! He is so ashamed of the guy who stole from us that he is overwhelmed with emotion!
Nate and Adam left the crying Witch Doctor/Bounty Hunter and met the rest of us at the pool for a swim. After we came home, we had neighbours drop by to hear the tale and tell us how very sorry they were that someone has done this to us. They were so embarrassed that it happened! But it gave us an awesome opportunity to tell them that GOD IS GOOD. Because He is - and here's living proof:
THE KIDS WALKED INTO THE HOUSE WITHOUT US.
WE WERE NOT HOME FOR ANOTHER HOUR.
THE THIEF HAD ETHAN'S KNIFE.
That's why.
And all that was taken was money. It's just money. Money is replaceable.
So...really, life in Mango, this sleepy village a-way off in northern Togo, is NEVER dull.
Praise God for His grace in our lives.
(And if there is a guy, hog-tied on my front porch tomorrow morning, I'll let you know!)
You can't make this up. Honestly, YOU MUST WRITE A BOOK about your African experiences. Praise God the kids weren't hurt and you didn't lose too many valuable things. This time YOU need a hug and I wish I could give it to you in person. Never a dull moment....
ReplyDeleteI'm so relieved that everyone is okay; this could have ended so terribly differently. You really do have Someone looking out for you! It's also nice to hear that the community has rallied for you; clearly you have garnered the respect and affection of your neighbours.
ReplyDeleteAnd "Witch Doctor/Bounty Hunter" is so going on my next passport application!
Wow, Erin. Nate. Ethan, Nolan, Kylie, Jack, and Teddy. Even little puppies. I am so thankful you are all ok, and that God has used this to bring glory to his Name. I continue to pray for each of you by name. And I'm praying that the puppies grow up quickly and become a deterrant to this sort of thing. I love you all.
ReplyDeleteEek! What a scary story. Praise God for His perfect timing. Love you guys dearly, glad everyone is okay. And you're right, it is just money.
ReplyDeletethat's some scary stuff! the whole time i was reading it i was thinking of how awful it would be for the kids!
ReplyDeleteps: love the the word "perps!"
I'm so glad all of you are safe! You really can't make that all up :) I hope you are all feeling safe and things have settled down. We will be praying for all of you!
ReplyDelete