Robbery

Robbery...It always happens to someone else. But not this time. Wed night we had a staff meeting to discuss the meeting we would have with a few of the employees the next day. It ended around 10 and I still needed to type up a few things. I went to bed right around 12. I had a hard time sleeping, which is usual right now being 8 months pregnant. I would doze off and then wake up again. I heard the dogs barking all night but thought nothing off it. They often bark at rats or cats. There was a time or two I thought of yelling out at them to be quiet but I was too tired. At 2:30 I woke up and had to go to the bathroom and like usual I slipped into my slippers and headed for the door. I had just opened up our bedroom door and stepped outside when I heard glass SHATTERING!!! I quickly rushed back into our room and closed the door. I woke up Doudou and frantically told him that something is in our house. He was sleeping deeply and said it's nothing until I shook him again and he jumped up and glanced out our bedroom window. We went out into the living room/kitchen and didn't see anything but I told him it sounded like it came from the spare room. He glanced in the bathroom first and then turned the light on in the spare room. What we saw next will forever be branded in my memory and still gives me goosebumps. There wasn't a window pane in the window and the screen was busted in. Two dresser drawers were hanging half open, a suitcoat and a pair of pants were strung over the open closet door, a backpack and a few items lay strewn on the floor, and several books lay on the bed. We stood there for a split second before we could move.

We rushed back into our room and Doudou called Don and told him and Dale to come down that someone is in the yard. I called the staff girls and told them come over right away. I think everyone thought I was in labor. We waited until we saw Don come out and then we ran out and told them what happened. The girls soon came out and we stood there in the middle of the yard. The men walked around the yard with flashlights to see if the robbers had left or if they were hiding somewhere. They searched everywhere and couldn't see anything. They discovered tho that he must have come over the back wall since some of the razor wire was pushed aside and some vines were hanging over the side. It also looked like a shoe print against the wall. That corner of the yard is very dark behind our house and made it easy for him to climb in unnoticed. Of course we were sleeping so we didn't notice.

The sound of me opening our bedroom door scared him and he seemed to have dove out the window. He had neatly taken out the bottom four window panes and crawled in but in his panic to get out he must have burst thru the remaining window. Outside we found broken glass as well as the four window panes he had laid aside, a box of batteries and a box with a baby carrier in it. There were also dirty hand prints on the wall underneath the window. After making sure noone was hiding inside the wall we went inside and sat there waiting for dawn. Elizabeth and Carrie sat with us until it was daylight out. We discovered he took money out of the mission pouch we had laying on the table which was approx. $250 US, he also took all the cash in Doudou's wallet wich equaled around $25 US. Doudou's backpack was missing plus our computer case. He must have been in the middle of filling my backpack with toothpaste and deoderant when he got scared off. I'm not sure why he didn't take more costly items like computers and cameras instead of cosmetics. We think he escaped over the front gate since we saw shoe prints going up over the gate and the razor wire was parted a bit.

Why this happened, we don't know but it seems there is an enemy trying to destroy the work here. It would be easy to pack up and go home or move somewhere else but are we giving in to fear then?

I have really been struggling with fear, even during the day. Please pray that God would take away that fear and replace it with PEACE.

Don and Dale have been taking turns being night guard, sitting up and making sure noone sneaks in again. Bless their hearts for being willing to do that until we find someone else to for the job.

We find strength in your continued prayers!!!!