De-Robbed

A miracle! This week at a nearby mission compound (not our mission), my documents, credit and bank cards, photos and some of my house keys were found? They had all been put into a plastic bag and thrown over the wall where they would be found by those living inside. How in the world did they know these would get back to me? Well, likely they looked inside my residence visa, which says "missionary" and knew that lots of missionaries live at this particular compound.

Hooray! A dear friend found them and called me and and we all did the dance of happiness at our house. This saves all kinds of hassles and money, and puts us out of the danger of not being able to procure all that we need. I was a little perturbed to see that I only received back a few of my house keys, though. THankfully they were the keys to the front and back doors and padlocks, which seems very strange. Kevin thinks that perhaps they kept those other keys to use on interior locks of houses they break into. I don't know - anyway, I'm glad to have what I got.

Why did they give the stuff back? Well, in asking around I got various theories. A missionary colleague who has been here over 15 years tells me that in years past, you always got your documents back. The thief wasn't interested in them and would simply throw them down somewhere, and the police would find them and return them. These days, they are more likely to be burned so as not to leave a trail. One Mozambican suggested that the people feel kindly toward missionaries and wanted to "help" by returning my documents. Someone else refused to answer when I asked, and looked nervous. This makes me think that perhaps the thief is afraid of me - afraid that I will put some kind of curse on him for stealing my purse. Another person suggested that the thief didn't return anything, but someone else found my things and threw them in a place where they knew I would get them, and did this to be nice.

Whatever reason, we are thrilled. Nampula is a city of almost a million people, not a small town, so my hopes of seeing these things again were very low. Thanks to God for His mercy toward us in this thing! Of course, we'd rather not be robbed. But these things do happen. We feel so thankful that it has ended in a way that minimizes the difficulties for us. All praise to Him! - C