90 days of unselfishly loving my wife

The quest continues even after a home invasion

Yes - we had a "ladrone" (as they say here) or thief enter our home and bedroom while we were sleeping.  To clarify, I live with my family in a foreign country as a missionary.  As a recap, I started this journal to attempt to love my wife as Christ loved us - just as the Bible teaches.  In my first post, I wrote that what if I had to lay my life down for my wife just as Christ died for me.  The ultimate sacrifice for her, showing her that she means so much to me that I would die for her.  I wrote then - what a way to go out - loving my wife to the best of my ability and then dying for her while - of course, not knowing what lay ahead. (If I had died for her, I wonder how many people would follow my lead and start loving their wives like Jesus for 90 days - come on people, I believe you guys would sack up and be men.)  In a future post, I will delve into my feelings about having someone walking around in your home, near your wife and kids in the middle of the night in a foreign country - they are not good. 

    Here is what happened.  I returned on a Sunday afternoon from my first Men's retreat in a foreign language.  I had just posted an entry to my 90 day journal before I went and  (in my "humble" opinion) was doing great at my goal of loving my wife unconditionally and unselfishly.  During this weekend, God showed up mightily.  It was beautiful for me to see God change men's lives in another culture in exactly the same way he changed mine many years ago.  God also touched me powerfully and I can honestly say that when I arrived home that Sunday - I was (in my personal relationship with Jesus) at the closest to God that I had ever been in my life.  I had been up late talking with the guys all weekend so my wife and I went to bed early.  The previous Sunday night, our neighbor had been robbed of stuff in his yard but we had learned to trust that God would protect us as He had for our three years here.  At 2:30 a.m. I was awakened to my wife yelling, "He has our laptop!"  In the corner of my eye, I see a figure bent down and running out of our bedroom.  I wake up deliriously, jump out of bed immediately, and start yelling - get out of my house (with an inappropriate word thrown in, sorry or so I thought).  I am told later by my wife that I yelled something incomprehensible and that maybe I was yelling in the thief's dialect (only God knows this and possibly the thief).  I lean toward a combination of delusional deep sleep and fear equaling my loud, babbling.  The thief runs directly out the front door (he had obviously searched our house downstairs and found where we "hide" the keys to the frontdoor (in a decorative box right in front of the frontdoor - not anymore, by the way).  I went straight to check on our daughter and then our boys and realized my wife has started down the stairs so I take off after her.  She actually runs out of the house and thankfully stops and waits for me before going to the backyard (I do love you Honey for your spunk but when I let you read this, next time I prefer you stay inside).  We call the local police here and they make it within 30 minutes or so and by this time we find out how they broke in.  For 18 months, we have had this backdoor that was somewhat broken  (okay actually broken as it would not click and lock all the way- locking is very helpful in keeping thieves out) but in this country they have bars on all the windows and doors so I never worried about it.  Well, the thieves must have pushed the door and were surprised when it opened and used a car jack to open the bars enough to slip a guy through.  We believe they searched the house and must have just wanted money as they could have cleaned us out (or noticed that we do not have anything worth stealing)  So once they found the keys to the frontdoor (thank you Lord they did not take them - actually left them in the lock as they ran from my delirious yelling) they knew they had a quick getaway and came into our bedroom.  My wife awoke when she heard my car keys rattle (the thief grabbed my wallet and keys) and she thought it was our son in our bedroom and asked was he feeling alright and immediately the guy grabbed our laptop ducked and ran (yes, the same laptop and exact spot where I had typed my first four entries to loving my wife like Jesus).  The police did not encourage me by advising that if a thief enters your home while you are home they are normally armed with a gun or knife as in this country it is "kill or be killed" when a thief enters a home - lovely.   

In the more than 30 days since this happened, we have had some restless nights.  I have questioned God about His protection.  I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God did protect my family that night.  Not a hair on my wife or children's head was touched.  I have questioned whether I should leave and go back to the safety of America.  But I know that God has called my family here and I know that my entire family is "safe".  And by that I mean - as it says in Scripture - "what can man do to me?"  If I die saving my wife or daughter or either of my sons - where will I end up?  In a moment with my Lord and Savior and so would they. I have learned in these last 30+ days to trust in Jesus even more.  Understanding in a new way that I am not in control in this world.  I have prayed more.  Instead of this making me run away from God it has had the opposite effect.  I have ran toward God.  The first two weeks were the toughest.  I spent hours on our couch in the middle of the night listening to every sound because in our bedroom you cannot hear very well due to the fan blowing (no air conditioning here).  More times than I prefer to count, I felt like I was putting my life on the line for my wife and would get out of bed and head downstairs with a baseball bat in the middle of the night to check on a sound that I heard or when my wife woke me up honestly believing she had heard something.  A few nights after the incident, our power went off in the middle of the night and I had to go outside and around to the back of the house and check on what was the problem with the electricity (not fun and a reason women should be glad they are not men).  I learned that I do love my wife enough to die for her.  Sorry for the length, more coming later, just letting you know the Dominican Monk has not given up the quest to love his wife as Christ loved us.  To God be the glory.