Heartbroken

Note: this happened August 28th and I typed it then, but lack of electricity and internet delayed the post. Read on...

If you read my last blog, recall that I said August has been like a roller coaster emotionally. This past weekend was like the big peak that you creep up to and drop over the top at full speed.

We went to the city on Friday for very positive reasons. Next weekend, two of our friends are getting married and Raegan is one of the bridesmaids. Last Saturday, the ladies were going for the final fitting of their dresses and picking out shoes and jewelry. It was to be a fun day.

Since we had to be there early on Saturday morning and had other things to do in the city, we went on Friday night to spend the night. On Friday night, at 10:48pm Pastor Johnson called. Now, since we know Pastor Johnson, calling so late was a bit alarming. Apparently he had received a call from the head of police in Kapeeka. Our neighbor had caught someone stealing from our property and called the police. The initial description was very brief and being translated, but from the information it appeared that the thief was one of our own workers that we have been employing for many jobs over the last 6 months. He was a friend. We know his wife and his children, and Floyd has a good relationship with him. We were shocked.

Here’s the story we got: someone had taken a lot of materials from our property and hidden them in the bush just on the other side of our fence. When the neighbor was moving around his side of the fence, he came upon the materials. He recalled seeing two men there earlier in the day. He contacted the local police and recruited his adult son to help him set up an ambush. They figured the thieves were going to come back in the dark to take the stuff that they had hidden. Sure enough, he was right and they caught the thieves red handed. The police arrived and took it from there. The head of police knows Pastor Johnson, so he called him right away.

Floyd called our friend/employee who had been accused and he actually answered the phone. Our friend said that he had left at 8pm (this was confirmed by our security guard), and he had no idea what had happened. He said that he hadn’t stayed the night at the property because he needed a specific tool that was back in his shop. He thought he’d go home to see his family, spend the night, and come the next morning with the tool he needed.

The next morning, Pastor Johnson picked Floyd up from the hotel and they headed back to the property. They talked to the rest of our staff that was around and to the police. The men who had been arrested and released for the night failed to show up at the police station (it’s like getting out on bail but failing to appear when required), so now there is a search for them and they’ll have the stealing and the failure to appear charges.  Our friend was actually not one of the men arrested but the police had brought him in on Saturday. Apparently, the thief was the man that was assisting him with the job and another guy that none of us knows.

It really did appear that our friend was not the one caught red handed but that he had been an accomplice, helping to make it happen. We were heartbroken, especially Floyd. Countless times we’re told, “Don’t trust anyone”, “don’t trust a Ugandan.”

This is a good lesson for us to teach our children. The first words from Tyler were quoting what others have said, “You know, they say, ’never trust a Ugandan.’” I couldn’t let that go without an honest discussion.

 If you don’t trust anyone, how do you live? How do you follow Christ without putting yourself out there? The fact is, you can’t. If you choose to love, you will get hurt. If you choose to trust, you will experience betrayal. If you choose to give, you will be taken advantage of.

BUT…if you choose to live like Christ – loving, trusting, giving, etc. – you will also know the greatest joys of life.

The blessing of holding someone’s hand through the hard times; crying when they cry and laughing when they laugh; and celebrating the good times when they come.

The blessing of good friends that know you and love you as you are.

The blessing of seeing others the way God sees them…you can’t see them as he does if you’re looking through cynicism.

 The blessing of giving and seeing how God turns your small token into a huge treasure.

The words of the Bible are clear – Christ was betrayed. He was taken advantage of. He was abused and beaten by those he loved. To live as Christ did, means to suffer as Christ did. But take heart, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory! (Romans 8:17)

Added note: the situation turned out better than it could have been. Our friend was actually not involved. He had brought a helper to work with him the last two days and that helper is the one who stole. Our friend’s only part was in not paying attention to what his helper was doing at all times. We were so glad that Pastor Johnson came to us to say that he felt our friend was innocent, because on our own, we weren’t sure. Our desire for him to be innocent could have been clouding our judgement. Pastor Johnson’s equal assessment allowed us to trust our feelings and maintain our working relationship with our friend.