Woke up an hour ago and found a text message from my mom. A girl who once went to your church met an accident yesterday. There was a hold-up in the jeep she was on so she jumped out of the speeding jeep and bump her head on the concrete. Now she is in coma (I read in FB, in critical condition, hope she’s out of danger now) in Chinese General Hospital.
What an unfortunate event. Praying that she will recover and be back on her two feet. In the name of Jesus.
Can’t help but remember my own mishap with hold-uppers last January when I visited Daet, Camarines Norte for Chi Alpha. It’s very important to always keep calm, and know that God is with you even in times like these. The following is an excerpt I wrote before about that experience.
January 30, 2012:
The night of Monday was a memorable one, of how God protects His children. Yesterday morning, I woke up from a bad dream, someone’s chasing me and trying to do harm on me. I told this to my teammates, and I said it’s been a while since I had a dream, and I just brushed it off and went on the days activity. That night, I boarded a Philtranco bus from Daet to Manila around 9PM. Because the bus had still empty seats, it took more passengers along the way. I was nudged to place my backpack where my laptops and gadgets are under my seat, and I slept. By approx 11PM, I woke up to a commotion on the bus, there was an ongoing hold-up situation on the bus! Everyone was looking down as instructed by the robbers—there were 4 of them toting guns and icepicks. From the back they started making their way to each passenger.
Silently I began to whisper and pray, I began to pray, “In Jesus Name, In Jesus Name!” I began to pray in tongues. And suddenly there was this clear assurance in my heart as if God was saying “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” The word was as clear as day. And I felt this security envelope me, my fear slowly removed from my body. When the robber turned on me, he asked me for my money, so I removed my wallet and opened it up for him, hoping he would just take the money and leave my wallet and important ID and ATMs behind. And he did. He took less than a thousand from me. Thank God because I didn’t place all the money that I had in my wallet. I had more in my suitcase. He also patted my pants pockets hoping to find a cellphone which was on my right pocket. I was praying Lord don’t let anyone text or call me or I’ll be in trouble. Because the cellphone was lodged deep in my pocket, he didn’t find it. I was also worried about the backpack that had my laptop and other gadgets, I was able to hide it under my seat and it became invisible to them. After they got want they wanted, they went down the bus and we hurried off to the nearest police station to file a blotter.
Thank God for His protection because nobody was hurt, and only a few amounts of cash were taken from me. After the incident, I found myself surprisingly calm. And I began to thank God for His protection, His wisdom and presence at that time. He is not just the God of my future or my past, He is God of my Now. I have once again proven that we have an awesome God!
