He is truly an ever present help in a time of trouble. We live in a quiet suburb in Johannesburg South Africa, the economic hub of Africa.
On Sunday the 22nd January 2012, my family and I got home from church, had lunch, and were relaxing when at around 14h00 (2PM), three armed gunmen broke into our home. My youngest daughter Kacilia, who at the time was talking to a friend on her mobile phone, came out of her room into the entrance hall to see what the commotion was about. She walked straight into the gunmen. One of the gunmen immediately grabbed the mobile (phone) from her as he thought she was calling for help. He then proceeded to put the gun against her head, cocked it, and pulled the trigger. The firearm did not discharge.
My wife Muriel then got up to see what was going on. She too had her mobile phone in her hand. She also had a wireless landline phone in her other hand. The gunmen demanded the mobile phone from her, which she gave him. They did not, for some reason, ask for the landline phone that was in her other hand. Frightened, she screamed “Terry! Terry!”
I then came to see why she had called. I saw two of the gunmen, who immediately instructed us to lay down, which we did. My wife laid down about a meter from where I lay in an open-plan family room, and my youngest daughter right next to me.
They asked if anyone else was in the house. “Yes,” I said, “I have another two daughters. They are in their bedrooms.” They went and got Melissa and Lorinda from their bedrooms and brought them to where we lay. They then tied our hands behind our backs and also tied our feet. My wife was not tied up at all. She now lay there with a mobile phone in her hand and she was free to move.
The robbers then proceeded to ransack our home, grabbing valuables, asking for laptops, cameras, money, etc. and placing them in the entrance hall. They demanded my vehicle keys, and were going to load all into the family car!
My wife, by the grace of God, had the presence of mind to call the local Armed Response Reaction Unit for help, this, during the robbery and without the gunmen seeing or noticing her!
The Armed Response team arrived within minutes. The robbers had just started the car! Seeing the Response Unit, they fled on foot and were arrested a short while later, with the illegal firearms and the mobile phones in their procession.
By God’s grace, we suffered no physical injuries or loss. The Angels of God were present, protecting us!
Thanks be to God for His never failing Word of promise!
Please remember us in your prayers!
Br Terry and Sis Muriel, Melissa, Lorinda, and Kacilia