Saturday was a day I’d never like to repeat. I woke up at 6:11 a.m. and I unlocked my bedroom door and went to the kitchen to unlock the front door. As I was unlocking the door I felt someone behind me. I turned and there was a man in our living room with a steak spear in his hand and he grabbed me.
I screamed and started yelling for our dog, for our neighbor, for anyone. He was big, almost 200 lbs, and wore a white motorcycle helmet on his head. I kicked and screamed and knocked down chairs. I then realized after wrestling with him to escape for almost 10 minutes that I should ask him what he wants. He said, “Quiero plata” (I want money).
I told him to let me go so I could get my purse. I desperately did not want him to go into my bedroom, where my four year old was sleeping. He did not let me go, instead he dragged me by the hair and took me to my room, where Timmy was sleeping and where my purse was. I opened my wallet and gave him all that I had. Since it was dark, he had turned off the power to the house, he could not see the wad of bills I gave him. He started tying up my feet and my hands. While he was tying me I felt the need to pray for this man.
I prayed out loud in Spanish:
“Lord, please help this man. Give him a good job so he doesn’t rob anymore. Bless his wife and kids and keep them in health. Prosper him and help him to change his ways. Touch him and speak to him Lord in your name I pray. Amen”
He paused as I prayed and then continued to gag me with plastic and tied cloth over my eyes. The whole time I continued to pray silently for protection over Timmy, who was only a few feet from me and who did not wake up the entire time.
The man left the room to look for more loot and I managed to get up and hopped over to my nightstand and grabbed my cell phone. I then hopped back to the fetal position on the floor where I was supposed to be and I sent a text message to my sister-in-law, Priscila, “Ladron en casa” (Thief in the house). I prayed that she would get the message, because it was only 6:25 a.m. and still early for most people to respond to calls.
The man came back into my room the moment I clicked the “send” button and I quickly hid my phone. He was angry. Apparently he saw that I had only given him $7.00 and he gagged me tightly with another cloth and shook me yelling that he wanted more money. I had paid several bills the day before and had no more money.
At that moment my cell phone, hidden under my arm, rang. Priscila had received the message! The man asked me what that was and I told him that I had called the police and they were on their way.
The man immediately let me go and asked me how to get out. He ran out the back door and I waited a few minutes to make sure he had left. My brother-in-law arrived within two minutes and untied me. The police were on the scene in five minutes.
Sandy, our dog, chased his scent to the back road behind our property, but it seems that he had an escape motorcycle hidden in the woods.
You need to know that I do not respond well in crisis situations. Norb and I joke that I’d be the last one off a burning airplane. A few years ago I was hiking with Norb and we walked into a nest of wasps. He started to run, but I froze in panic. He had to drag me into action before I was stung so severely I almost passed out. It was truly an Almighty God who gave me a sense of peace and sharp thinking in the most critical moments when the robber attacked.
I thank God that I was kept from harm, (besides some bruising) nor was our precious son touched. God kept my little light sleeper completely unaware of what was happening around him. God’s hand is watching over us and we give God praise and thanksgiving for our protection over and over!
Please pray for us fervently! We are on the front lines and we
need your prayer support. My close friend told me that she dreamed the night before the attack that a dragon was chasing me and she woke up at 4:00 a.m. to intercede on my behalf. I thank God for her sensitivity to pray. Please pray that God protects us as we serve here. Also, pray that the robber is found and that he truly has an encounter with the Lord. I really echo this prayer from Paul in 2 Thess. 3: 1-5
Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
Norberto is traveling until the 31st and I ask that you pray that I would have no fear while he is away. I give my life over completely to Christ. He is my refuge and my fortress, in Him I will trust.
