Skip to main content

Robbed

We are asking for your prayers again, friends.  We were robbed this week.  While we have had chairs stolen from our patio, clothes stolen from our clothesline and shoes stolen from our front porch, this is the first time in seven years (we celebrate our 7th year anniversary in Paraguay today!) that we have had someone steal inside our home.

We arrived home from a funeral (we were the choir) around dusk and as we pulled up to gate of our house, Norberto's mother said she saw a light go off in the house.  Norberto ran into the house and our door was wide open and our curtain had been pulled down. 

Also, as we were pulling in there was an unknown man in front of our house texting on his cell phone.  When Norberto greeted him, he looked down at the ground.  We have no neighbors and since this man was just "hanging out" that was our clue that he was working with the person inside.

We realized immediately that although we arrived before they could take much, the thieves grabbed the money ($209) that Norberto and his mom had just been given from teaching/gas money at the Bible school in Posadas, which was on the kitchen table.


We also believe they took several house keys and his extra set of motorcycle keys.  This poses a huge concern for the security of our house and we will be changing the locks on our doors asap. We are also trying to close the rest of our home (we are still under construction and don't have all the windows in yet) so we are going to press to finish that now.

Our friend, who farms the land next to our house, had told us that he heard whistles the other day and saw a young man jump our fence, so we knew that people were scoping out our place.   It is a terrible feeling to be violated this way.  It is easy to start worrying about what will disappear next and whether or not someone might break in while we are home.    We are asking the Lord to calm our spirits, keep us safe and we love what the Psalmist David wrote in chapter 27:

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
       whom shall I fear?
       The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
       of whom shall I be afraid?
-Psalm 27:1

We ask that you pray with us that God put his guardian angels of protection around our home and around us and pray that whoever has stolen from us will come to know the love of God and turn from crime.

Comments

  1. Julie, I am praying. I was broken in on while John was out of town one night. I awoke and the thief was standing at the foot of my bed. It was just Daniel and I at home. It was very traumatic to say the least and it was a miracle I survived because the man had a knife. I am praying for your emotional healing because for someone to plot the theft and to enter your home like that is very violating. The scripture that helped me the most was John 10- you can find your good pasture in HIM- in spite of the thieves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. julie- i LOVE you, and i am so very sorry that this has happened. i am prayng- for you and your family's safety,and that God and his protection will be so real to you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Julie, I am so sorry this happened to you. It's terrible the feeling of violation when someone works so hard to wrong you, I pray God will grant you peace in the midst of this hard time. Hugs from the Chaco.
    Shilo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Definitely brings up lots of scary feelings and conflicting emotions! Praying for healing and a sense of peace and protection...also that you can finish your house quickly! So sorry to hear about this...

    ReplyDelete
  5. It almost seems like it's not an "if" but "when" in terms of being robbed in our 'neck of the woods'. So glad you arrived before they had time to take any more. And how cool is it that the Candle project is just about exactly the amount taken?! I had written Heidi earlier that it is so great to see God supply in unexpected ways -- could write a book about it! But will be praying for your peace of mind and the ability to move beyond the experience and not dwell too much on it {which is my tendency :-(}.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Julie, So sorry this has happend. God will provide I know as we have had our car stolen before. This is such a problem in Latin America. Praying for you all. So glad no one was hurt. Bendiciones!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas in Paraguay!

If you're wondering what Paraguayans do at Christmastime, they have some great traditions , including the " noche buena " meal on Christmas Eve at midnight.  They eat lots chipa guasu (a type of corn casserole, stay tuned for a recipe), asado or grilled meat (some eat it cold), salads, especially fruit salad, watermelon and drink mucho terere . Families travel from all over the country, many even return from working in other countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Spain, to celebrate with loved ones. This is us at last year's Kurrle celebration in Asuncion. Festivities are anything but a silent night with fireworks, loud music and drinking cidra (hard cider).  Most Paraguayans do not decorate Christmas trees (we decorate ours in shorts!) or emphasize Santa Claus.  Instead, they put beautiful nativities " pesebres " in their yards and in store fronts.  Kind of novel to focus on Christ at Christmas, isn't it! To beat the heat, many Paraguayans g

Fighting Discouragement in the Busyness of Life

Hubby and I have made an agreement not to talk about sensitive issues after 10:00 p.m. It’s a rule in our household because when we were first married our late night talks would turn into fights and we would say hurtful things, because we were tired and our reasoning senses were shot. We eliminated almost all arguments with that simple rule. Exhaustion takes the best out of a person. Another new book on the market,talks about the high burnout rate among pastors. In reading reviews of the book, the author says that lack of sleep is one of the main causes of burnout. I’m reading this book that also deals with the correlation of sleep deprivation and discouragement. It’s a book for overactive people who are seeking to strengthen a love relationship with the Lord. Being in the ministry, I feel the demands of people’s needs constantly. Daily, we hear claps at the door to pray, to chauffeur people around, to do weddings, funerals, to lead Bible studies, to counsel just about any pro

Paraguayan Weddings

On Valentine’s Day, we had the joy of attending the wedding of Sandra and Anastacio, young leaders in the church. Sandra is my assistant with Children of Promise and Anastacio, apart from his carpentry job, has a popular youth-focused radio program every night at 8:00 on our station. We’ve been to quite a few weddings, and these are some of the uniquenesses of southern Paraguayan wedding celebrations from our North American culture: 1. Nothing is fancy. Emphasis is placed on the act of marriage and not on the decorations or food. 2. It is not an expectation that parents help pay for expenses. Most families just make it each month with regular expenses and cannot afford to pay for eleborate feasts. Most couples have to spend months saving for their own wedding. 3. Borrow as much as possible. Many times wedding dresses are borrowed 5-10 times, because few women can afford their own. Flowers, decorations, shoes and ties (Norb loans out his ties often...since he never wears them!