Double Tap's friends in the Dominican Republic

[{ESC}Double_Tap]

(There email to me. We are very close and are considered family)

Dear Family,

On our way home from a lovely dinner out with Josh and Lexi (around 9:30pm), the four of us were sitting in our Toyota at a major intersection, surrounded by Friday night traffic, when we heard gun shots from somewhere behind our car. It sounded so close that I told Josh and Lexi to duck! In the next instant, two gunmen were smashing the passenger door window with a shotgun, pointing a pistol directly at my face and yelling for us to open the door. Within seconds, the two men crammed into my front passenger seat with three large bags of money, and shouted for Kent to "GO, GO, GO!" Their weapons were real and were in much too close proximity for us to argue!

We had just become the get-away car for an obviously-botched bank robbery! Kent obeyed the frantic commands of the man wearing a guard uniform, weaving through busy intersections, going the wrong way down a one-way street, nearly hitting several vehicles as we careened who-knows-where?! I quietly ordered Josh and Lexi to pray in the spirit, and Kent and I began to pray audibly - IN SPANISH! We told the men we were Christians and that we believed in prayer. I asked to pray for them, stating the obvious: "You are in trouble and you need God!"

For the next 45 minutes, the guard controlled us, making frequent calls on his cell phone. He shouted orders and curses at the phone, appearing to be frustrated, angry, and very nervous. We prayed for wisdom, as we tried to assess our situation and see if there was a plausible escape plan - none presented itself, so we kept following the guard's orders, headed out of the city toward the airport. We didn't want to upset the men further, but we also wanted to share Jesus with them. Between cell phone calls, we had the opportunity to explain that God loves them and will forgive them, no matter what they've done, if they'll only repent. The guard assured me that after tonight, there was no forgiveness for him..he drew one hand across his throat, indicating what would happen to him if they got caught.

Somewhere in that hour, one guy moved to the back seat with Josh and Lexi, taking off a mask he had been wearing. The guard changed out of his uniform shirt (Josh offered him his T-shirt) and threw his ID badges out the window. Having seen their faces, we were all quite sure we would be killed. We continued to pray for them, AND for us! At one point we sang (with their permission!) a song, in spanish, that declares: "God is my strong refuge, in whom I trust. My life is hidden in Him."

Their escape car finally pulled in front of us and one of the guys transferred to it with the money. We continued with the guard until a turn-around tunnel, where he assured us he would let us go. During the drive he had apologized numerous times for getting us involved and had assured us that he would not harm us. We weren't sure if he was lying, but prayed he would keep his word! The turn-around was dark and solitary, and I felt this might be where our lives would end. But he got out of our car and ran to the waiting vehicle, leaving us free to speed back towards the city!

Our Toyota doesn't move very fast, but Kent floored the gas pedal and we sped away, weeping with relief and praising God for His divine protection! Upon arriving safely home, Kent went with our neighbor to report the incident at the National Police Station. The colonel who took Kent's report already had a photo of the fugitive who shared my front seat! He was a bank guard. A description of our car was already on the news and police were looking for a Toyota. We were grateful that the color description was wrong (and no license plate was given), as we were certain a confrontation with police would have ended in a shoot-out and the death of us all! Once the colonel understood we had been kidnapped and were NOT part of the crime, he called off the search. Kent had memorized the plates of the other car, so they are now searching for the right vehicle!

Miguel Restituyo, the bank guard, is still at large. Please pray for him and his companions...they need Jesus. Were we in the wrong place at the wrong time...or in the perfect place in God's perfect time? We pray that our words with the robbers will bear fruit and that they will come to know Christ.

The event still seems surreal...all four of us keep asking, "Was that just a bad dream?!" We felt God's peace through the experience, even when we were quite certain we might die. We believe God still has purposes for us to fulfill on this earth, and we gratefully desire to fulfill our destiny, for the glory of God!

Praise God with us for HIS PROTECTION!!

For me to live is Christ, to die is gain!

Love,

Kent and Janet

[{ESC}Mikey]

That is something else .

Thank you for sharing