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Why pick on me?

Hilda J. Born

On the second day of her Mexican holiday, Eunice Brant and her husband Len headed for town. Just as she stepped off the bus, Eunice felt her purse slide from under her arm. Startled, she saw a young man knock over a nearby ice cream stand in his rush to get away.

“Polizia! Polizia!” Eunice shouted in hopes of getting attention. Len followed the robber through irregular alleys, facing down fierce dogs, but the thief got away.

The Brants’ repeated calls for help brought two men with guns, who offered a ride to the police station. At least, that is what Eunice hoped they meant since she did not understand Spanish.

“Should we trust them?” she asked Len.

“What choice have we got?” he retorted.

At the police station, they reported the theft of Eunice’s purse. It held her passport, her camera, a bank card, a Four Spiritual Laws witnessing booklet and some money. The Spanish-speaking attendants gave them papers to fill out.

Visibly upset, the Brants came back to notify their hotel of the robbery. Eunice lamented her loss. “Of all the people on that bus, why did he pick on me?” she wondered. “I just hope the guy reads those Four Spiritual Laws that are in my bag. Too bad they’re in English.”

Three days later, word came that the purse had been found and the thief caught. When the Brants returned to the police station, they were greeted by a bilingual clerk. She listed the purse’s contents, including the gospel pamphlet.

Eunice asked her, “Will you please translate it into Spanish and give a copy to the young thief?”

“May I read it, too?” the policewoman asked.

“Certainly,” Eunice answered.

Then, she mused, “Maybe this is why my purse was snatched.”

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

Hilda J. Born is a member of Central Heights MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Last modified May 23, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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