Dear Family and Friends:
It was Sabbath, and we were glad for it to be here. As usual, we got ourselves ready and loaded up our family and our neighbors, the Magalsos, to go to church. We had a lovely time worshiping together at the church and enjoyed the potluck.
When we got home, the whole day changed. We found that the back doorknob had been removed and the house was trashed. Our hearts sank, and we were afraid. We quickly looked around to see what was missing.
Robbery here in the Philippines is common, and we have always done what we can to be careful, and to prevent it. We have locks on our Espinosa Family doors, and bars on the windows. We keep money in a lock box that’s hidden. When we shop, we are careful with our purses and wallets and the truck to make sure it is always locked. Many people here are poor, and they see stealing as a quick fix to their problems.
As we looked around the house, we found that the money we were using to build the mission house was missing. We had just gotten some more funds, and on Friday had paid all the workers. We still had about $1,000 left that was now gone. Also, our laptop was stolen. Our hearts sank.
There are no banks close to where we are, and we have to travel over an hour to the main city to get money. There are always needs that come up at the construction site that require us to run to a town closer to buy cement, and other construction supplies. All of this means that we have to keep some money at the house so that we can continue to build.
We reported the theft to the local officials and the police. We are praying that the money will be returned; it would take a miracle to see it again. BUT, God is a God of miracles! In the end, maybe He has a plan that will turn this bad thing into something good. We are praying for that.
We will now hire someone to make steel grills for the doors, and we are going to buy a large safe where we can keep our camera, laptop, and money.
Please keep us in your prayers that God will keep us safe. Thank you!
Edgar Espinosa Base Manager
Adventist World Aviation Foundation
Visit Espinosa family’s page here.
