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 September 4, 2010 |
Update for July 29, 2002I have had a hard time knowing where to place this entry. Should it be: Update: News Flash!!! Vehicle theft on the rise in South Africa, Cheryl Ann Johnson latest victim Praise Report: Vehicle stolen but Thank God it was not a hijacking situation Prayer Request: Please pray for the safe return of the MET vehicle which was stolen from outside Cornerstone Assembly of God Church this morning As you can tell, it could fit many places. As you can also tell, a vehicle was stolen this morning. Presently I am in Pretoria, South Africa for my quarterly MET Bookkeeping trip. Usually while here I drive a Toyota Venture which belongs to MET (Mission Exposure and Training). When I first came to South Africa and was given this vehicle to drive I was warned that it is one of the hottest theft vehicles in South Africa. I never let myself think about that much but experienced it today. As usual when I am here in Pretoria, I drove to Cornerstone, parked on the street, put on the gear lock, locked the door and went in to enjoy the church service. Where the usual disappeared was when I walked out of the church and looked down the street to where I had parked the vehicle. I thought, "the Venture is higher than the vehicles I am looking at, I should be able to see it behind them." I walked to the place where I had parked it, continued past the place thinking maybe I didn't really park it there, and then walked up and down the street a couple times. It definitely wasn't there! I often wondered how it would feel to walk out and have your vehicle missing. Not great, let me tell you! I got this heaviness in the pit of my stomach, along with a lot of unbelief, thinking, "This can't be happening!" The heaviness didn't go away and it really happened! It has been kind of a "numb" day. If it is possible, it was a good place for it to happen as there were people there who could help me. Of course then a lot of other questions come to mind...What if I hadn't gone to church this morning? What if I had taken one of the other vehicles in the yard this morning? Why on my way to church this morning did I say a quick prayer, "Lord, protect me in this "hot" vehicle"...did that prayer change a hijacking situation into a "simple" theft situation? How am I going to tell Gerald & Pat Golbeck that their MET vehicle is gone? Oh so many questions! The only constant is that I know I serve a Sovereign God and He is in control! Truly I am thankful this was "only" theft and not a hijacking. As Pastor and Mrs. Watt were taking me back to the MET Center they were telling me how the Police are saying that hijacking is on the increase because that is now the easiest way to steal a vehicle in South Africa because of all the security devices people are putting on their vehicles these days. Yes, I do ask you to pray that the Venture be found and returned. I asked the Policemen about the possibility of that. They said they do manage to recover some stolen vehicles. When asked if they could arrange it before 8:00 tomorrow morning when I have to go to the airport to pick up the Rowsells they said, "That might be a little quick." Is recovery possible? Sure it is! Actually this Venture was stolen once before and recovered. With God all things are possible! Thanks for your prayers.
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