Growing Concerns

In October the house where Mary, Lori, Joy and I live was broken into. They cut through the chain on the back door and took over $7,000 worth of stuff from computers, cameras, tv, DVD player, phones, cash etc. Thankfully we were able to "secure" the back door better and invested in an alarm system that has functioned more or less for the past few months.

They cut through the bars and slid into the house

Today the alarm company called us to say that one of the sensors in the house had been activated. I ran home to find the guard from company outside our gate. I opened the house and we proceeded to check out where the alarm was activated. Everything was fine on that end of the house but as I looked in our rooms it was obvious that someone had gotten in.

The thieves cut the bars on the outside of one of the windows of the house and got in. They were rummaging through things when one of them tripped the alarm system. It appears that they went running. They left things where they were and made their escape. Thankfully they did not get either Lori or Mary's computers which were in the house. They did get my US driver's license and some bank cards but thankfully they are replaceable.

Stop, Drop and RUN!

While we are thankful that our alarm served its purpose this event raises some big questions for us and our safety. The economic situation is becoming more and more difficult and driving people to look for alternative means to supplement their income.

• Please pray for Mary, Lori and I as we evaluate the situation and our decisions about security.
• Pray that we would rest peacefully and not live in fear.
• We would be able to work together with the police to find out who is breaking in and what we can do to prevent it.
• That we would give all the praise and glory to the Lord even in the midst of trial.
  

Praises in this situation are:

• Because we haven't replaced much from the first robbery we didn't have much for them to take.
• The alarm served its purpose
• The welder is on his way right now to fix the window where the thieves got in. (This is amazingly fast!!)
• Once again no one was harmed in the event
• Also a huge praise that while we were gone over Christmas and for the Sea to Sea tour nothing happened. God has protected us from so much.
  

This is Life in Nicaragua

This past Wednesday I was in a meeting and received a phone call from my roommate Joy. It was the kind of phone call that you hope you never get but in the back of your mind know that it is always a possibility while living in Nicaragua. We had been robbed. The thieves had broken into our house through the back door. They pretty much got all of the electronics that we had in the house as well as all the cash that we had hidden in various places.

We called the police and boy oh boy was that an experience. Honestly, the way they treated us felt worse than being robbed. This left us to do some of our own detective work. We canvassed the neighborhood talking to all our neighbors and getting the word out that we would offer a reward for information leading to the recovery of some of our goods. More than anything we wanted Lori’s computer back which had all of the files for the organization she works for Manna Project International. Thankfully in the process we also found our dog Chaco who escaped during the robbery.

In the meantime we are trying to get back to some type of life as usual although we have struggled a bit with feeling insecure while we are at home. Little by little I think we are sleeping a little better at night but we could use your prayers. Please pray that we would submit our fears and worries to the Lord and not let fear overpower our thoughts and actions. Also pray that our landlord would be willing to make some necessary repairs and changes to the house to make it more secure. Of course please pray that we would be able to recover Lori’s computer.