Dear Editor,
Last Friday, December 18, someone broke into my vehicle and stole our possessions. We had gone into a supermarket for about forty-five minutes and when we returned to the vehicle, the lock was broken, it was open and our bags, clothing, footwear and some extremely valuable personal and business documents were all gone.
Of course we informed the management at the supermarket and the police. However, the incident left my daughter very traumatized. Some very kind persons who heard what had happened came and comforted us and assisted in calming my daughter; I wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to those very sweet individuals.
However, the story did not end there; the thief brought back our things. Oh yes, I said that the thief brought back our things. On Monday, December 21, I received a call from someone who said that they had some documents that belonged to me and if they can bring them over. Mind you, this was just someone who occupies premises in the vicinity where the things were left. The person brought all of my documents, our bags ‒ even the bag that contained the clothing was neatly folded in one of the bags. The only things missing were the clothing, footwear and another item.
Now Editor, if you see a woman walking on the clouds it is me. I am so delighted, ecstatic and besides myself that the thief brought back our things.
Here is a bit on why I am excited: after the incident, we started to pray for the salvation of the person or persons who committed the crime. We prayed that that would be the last time they would ever steal anything; we prayed that they would no longer have a desire to commit crimes and that they would come to understand God’s plan and purpose for their lives and become engaged in honest work. We prayed that they would have no rest and no peace until they returned our things, and that the mother who might have been praying for her son or sons or child to stop being involved in criminal activities would have her prayers answered.
Apparently, since Friday night the thief took the things into my community and placed them two streets away from my home in an area where someone could have seen them. What is remarkable about this story, is that the same person or persons who a few hours earlier wanted to harm us by breaking into our vehicle and stealing our possessions, a few hours later were moved with compassion to return our possessions and put them in a place where they could have been easily found, all intact.
This is the second time thieves broke into my possessions and brought the things they stole back. Oh yes, these experiences have taught me to be more security conscious and careful, but I also learnt about the power of God.
I would therefore like to say a big thank you to the thief! We will continue to pray for them and their family.
This incident and the rising crime rate have caused a group of us Christians to say enough is enough; while previously we were merely praying that crime be reduced in our country, we are now getting enlisted in the fight; we are putting on our ‘fatigues’ and are going to war on crime. However, our approach is not to fight with persons who commit crimes but we will fight for them; for their souls, because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds of the enemy.
Hence, we will bring together a community of persons into a group called for now, Christians Affected by Crime (CABC). The objectives would be to pray for the salvation of persons who have committed crimes against us and others and to provide spiritual support for the mothers who are praying for their sons to stop committing crimes. We plan to find a place to meet, even if it is once per month, where mothers and family members of persons who commit crimes can come and get support.
We realize that at some point we have to get more involved. We want the criminals to know that Christ hath come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
We join with the authorities and others in the fight against crime and we echo the Commissioner of Police’s plea that ‘a life of crime doesn’t pay’. We declare that crime has to be reduced in our beloved country!
We can be contacted on email address iam_guyana@yahoo.com
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas