Santiago church robbed

"Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Jesus' words in Matthew 24: 42-44 became more vivid this past Tuesday morning as I arrived at our ministry center in Santiago at about 7:30 am to get ready for seminary classes. I unlocked the padlock and took off the chain from the gate along the street thinking it was another normal weekday morning. My heart sank as I arrived at the top of the stairs to see the gate to our front porch wide open and the front door ajar. Everything became slow motion for a moment as I saw that both door locks had been pried open and were now lying on the door mat in pieces. All I remember thinking was: "Oh, no..."

Seminarian Freddy had hitched a ride with me that morning, so we went in together to check out the damage, expecting the worst. The thieves had gone through the entire building opening cabinets, dumping out boxes, breaking into a locked storage room looking for anything of value.

They wound up dismounting and taking a window air conditioner unit, an inverter (battery backup system for the building), DVD player, radio/CD player, computer speakers and a wall fan.










Despite the feeling of being "violated", we thank God as we recognize that He was still protecting us and our resources:

• Noone was injured.
• Everything they took is replaceable.
• The thieves took computer speakers, but not the computer itself.
• They took the DVD player, but not the TV it was hooked up to.
  
• One of the few boxes the thieves did *not* look in was the one containing a small lockbox with the congregation's offerings.
• They left a mess, but did not vandalize or break anything other than locks.

I wasn't expecting thieves to break in on Monday night. What a vivid reminder that the Son of Man can come at any time also, even when we least expect him!!!

We are trying to prepare ourselves to prevent the thieves from returning--stronger locks on the doors, a security system, possibly a night watchman. What amazing grace that God himself prepares us through the Gospel to actually welcome his Son's return!!! Jesus has saved me from my sins. I am forgiven. I am ready for Jesus to return.

[ There is more to the story, even with a few unexpected twists. But you'll have to wait a day or two until I can write more... ]

The Lord bless you with His peace,
NW