Read this email from Bob Nilsen (our partner for the Great Commission) and see:
One wonders some days if it was even wise to get out of bed. Know what I mean? Even as I brush the spider off my leg and put my foot on the ground, it’s going to be a bad day. As I sit sipping my coffee, only slightly blurry eyed, watching an endless trail of ants, I wonder ‘what part of my life are they carrying away this time?’ God is good.
My mind goes back to the night before when Anna and I were playing Scrabble and heard a strange sound outside out apartment door (Which is really bad ~~ since Tim and Evelyn are in the States, it can only mean a burglar). It was a thief. The burglar entered thru a window in the hall between our apartments. I rush out into the hall with a large stick to confront the perpetrator. With Anna cringing behind the door, I maneuvered myself into the right position and finally bludgeoned the B&E artist with a 4 ft. piece of board! Our God is good.
Having downed a rather large cup of coffee, I drive to the clinic. I think the car feels a little ’loose’ in the backend. After getting out of the car I note I have a flat tire. ~~Sometime back our bus had 6 flats in 8 days!!~~ The problem with this flat tire is that I have a conference to set up. I have snacks to prepare, sound system to get ready, gas to buy, people to transport. I don’t have time for a flat tire. So I race thru changing the tire and then race off to the conference. Our God is good.
In route I discover I have lost my wallet. I should have hugged my pillow longer-like all day! So I call Anna and have her cancel the bank cards, and start trying to figure what else I have lost. How much money was in there? Didn’t I just go to the bank? Oh, no, my wallet was full. God is good.
Well, that was last week. Maybe this week will be better. This week is our anniversary and both of our birthdays. Monday, 36 years to the day. Ah, marital bliss. As a dutiful husband I turned my phone to vibrate. No interruptions. Anna and I are enjoying the shore line drive to the capital. The phone begins to vibrate and I am undistracted as we talk and enjoy one another’s company. It vibrates again. I ignore it again. I’m now feeling quite good about myself. I set the phone on the dash. It begins to vibrate non stop. Anna checks. I have a call from two pastors and one Score missionary. Wonder what’s going on? After arriving in the capital and viewing a photo art exhibit in the old city we begin to look at the old fort. My phone is vibrating non stop and I’m considering taping it to my back for a massage. Finally, Anna says: "You better answer that." (I have been a very good husband up to this point, even though every few minutes my fingers would twitch out of reflex trying to answer the phone).
After calling the Score missionary I discover there is something wrong with our storage facility in Monte Cristy. So I call the pastors. It seems a thief cut thru the metal outer door then cut the hardened steel locks to the inner door, many things have been destroyed. Would I come and check things? Did I mention we just emptied a 40 ft. container into the storage building and there was close to $100,000 worth of supplies in there? Many valuable medical items, along with baseball equipment for next week's Annual Baseball Conference and Outreach! Where’s my pillow? God is good?
Yes, our God is good.
Now the rest of the story. The B&E artist? It was the BIGGEST RAT IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. The stick I beat the critter with caused it to stick to the sticky paper Anna had put out earlier to trap it. (There had been telltale droppings earlier in the morning.) The little vermin! God is good.
The flat tire? The car had had a strange vibration for a couple of weeks and I couldn’t find it. When I got the flat tire-caused by the one of the 10,000 screws on Dominican roadways-I had to check the right rear tire. It seems the steel belts on this tire had separated and the tire had a large bulge. It was due to explode at any time. It took a flat to get my attention. God is good.
What about the wallet? It seems someone picked it up off the street and got on the next bus that passed by. After taking the money, he threw the wallet on the floor of the bus. The driver found it, discovered my SCORE business card inside and called me. The next afternoon he drove it to Score, delivered it and was given a reward. God is good.
All the pesos were gone. But the credit/debit cards were there!! My driver's license and nursing license were there! Along with everything else!! I checked my secret flap and the $100 US was still there!!! God is good.
Oh, and the pesos I had withdrawn from the ATM, Anna found them in my pants pocket while doing laundry a couple of days later. It seems after leaving the bank I put them in my pocket (which I never do!!). God is good.
Having enjoyed our day in the capital, Anna and I decided it would be a wise thing to visit the storage facility in Monte Cristy. After arriving, the pastor apologized and asked me to check the inside to see what might be broken or missing. After checking the building out, nothing was damaged or missing. NOTHING!! God is good.
I’m even wondering what our good God was saving us from by having us cancel our bank cards? Identify theft is huge down here. Even several of our missionaries have had problems. By cancelling and having new cards issued, we eliminated the old numbers. We also took this time to come up with a new plan to avoid using the cards in the future.
God is good.
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