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| While Preaching in Florida |
Just a couple of days before our scheduled flight, we took a trip to Miami. Main reason was to say goodbye to my Grandma and other family members. We had no clue how much this visit would change our plans. While at Miami Beach, we parked our car at a usual parking lot, we just wanted to jump in the beach for a few minutes. After all, we live high up in the mountains and rarely see the beach. As we get back to our car, we noticed something was wrong. I see a mess through-out the car and the small window of the passenger seat is broken. We had been broken into. The thieves took our wallets, phones, some shopping bags and, most important, our documents and passports! It seemed unreal, but it was happening. We immediately called 911 to file a police report. Trying to make me feel better, the cop mentions he comes to this very same "city paid parking lot" every day, a few times a day to write reports about robberies. Still, the city can't afford to have a police man watching, neither can't they afford to put up signs advising tourist of the organized crime that's going on everyday in their own parking lot at Miami Beach.
As soon as we got to my grandma's place, we tried tracking our phones. To our surprise, we are able to track one of them. We were so excited! After such a disappointment, we now had a little hope we could get some our stuff back, or at least the most important, our documents. After getting an exact address, name, and a few other details about the phone location, we called the police department. The excitement didn't last long. One police department said the phone was located outside their jurisdiction area. The other said they didn't file the report, it was not their responsibility...After talking to supervisors, on-call detectives and a few other people in charge, we soon realized they were not going to help. We even started to consider the possibility of going ourselves. But was it really worth it? Just a couple of months ago a classmate from elementary school was shot to death because he claimed his dog. If they went that far for a dog dispute, what could be expected for valuable stuff?!? We decided our life and well being was far more important that anything material. After all, everything they took was replaceable. I believe it was the wisest decision to let go. This meant loosing our flight and staying with family until we got all the necessary documents, including our passports.
We immediately made arrangements for responsibilities in Ecuador and decided to make the best of our extra days in the states. Even had the opportunity to participate in RBC during a remodeling project in a nearby city. We enjoyed very much the company of friends, days in the ministry and family dinners.
After spending almost 3 months in the states, we are now back in Ecuador. Our brothers in Ecuador made us feel welcome, and appreciated . We have gotten back into our routine, and even though our family is very much missed, we are enjoying this unique opportunity to serve in Ecuador.
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