Everything I Once Held Dear, I Count It All As Loss

Of course any time that it seems like everything is going perfectly, something has to happen that brings you back to reality. Well when I was in Zanzibar, I had the unfortunate experience of my purse being stolen.  I am typically very careful with my belongings, and never carry more than what is absolute necessary, but because of a specific series of events throughout the day the evening that my purse was stolen it contained every single valuable item that I had brought with me: money, passport, debit card, digital camera, cell phone, watch, diamond ring, 2 silver rings, sunglasses, but a few other little things. It happened while I was talking with a friend during a music performance at Sauti za Busara, my purse was right next me one moment and then it was just gone. My heart dropped, and I was frantically looking all around, checking with the security guards, but of course it was to no avail. I waited by the exit, hoping and praying that I might happened to see the thief carrying my bag, but there were so many people and everyone had big bags and backpacks, so it was no use.

All of my friends tried to console me, but they knew just as well as I did that my purse was gone, and there was really nothing anyone could do.  For about an hour while I was sitting by the exit my mind racing with thoughts of how I should have left my passport at the guest house (even though the door did not lock), how I should have carried my purse the whole time even though it was heavy and hurt my shoulder, how I should have brought only my camera and a little bit of cash instead of my whole purse, how I should have put my extra memory cards for my camera in a different bag so I didn’t lose all of my photos, how I should have put my rings back on after swimming instead of leaving them in my wallet, etcetera, etcetera. I was stuck in an endless cycle of analyzing every move that I had made the whole day, and how I should have done this and could have done that to prevent the situation or at least lessened the losses. After that hour, I realized that I could sit there and sulk in my misfortune, or I could get up and get over it. The things that were stolen were very valuable, both monetarily and sentimentally, but they were just material possessions. Items like the diamond ring from my mom and the brand new camera with hundreds of pictures, held significant personal importance, but there was nothing that I absolutely needed except for my passport, and that could be replaced. So I decided to give the situation up to God, prayed for patience and peace over the ordeal, and then joined my group with a renewed attitude.

Over the new few days, my traveling companions were quite astounded at how well I was taking the whole theft issue. One girl told me specifically that she was impressed at how positive I was about my purse being stolen. I told her exactly what I told myself, that they were just things and although some items were irreplaceable and I didn’t have the finance to replace the things that could be, I didn’t actually need them, I just wanted them. So I was just happy to be in a beautiful place, and I wasn’t going to let something like that ruin the rest of my trip. Then something amazing happened. The day before we were scheduled to head back to Dar es Salaam and then back to the village, my friend got a text from Bibi Kay that the USA Embassy in Dar had my passport! It was a miracle, I couldn’t believe it. The next day we went back to Dar, caught a taxi to the embassy and they had not only my passport, but also my debit card and other miscellaneous papers and receipts that had all been in the same wallet. Apparently, my passport, debit card and papers had been found at the post office in Zanzibar, then sent over to the embassy. When the embassy received my passport they found a business card for Sunrise Children’s Home with Bibi Kay’s phone number in it, they called her and then she was able to get a hold of me in time so that I could stop by and pick up my things before the long bus ride back to the village. I was so excited and relieved! Of course, part of me wished that they had recovered more of my stolen items, but my passport and debit card were the only things that I was going to have to replace right away. Isn’t it so incredible how God can answer prayers like that? He might not always give us the things we want, but He will always provide us with the things that we need. All we have to do is put our faith in Him, and not in other things like people or worldly possessions. Philippians 3:7