Part 2 Spiritual Attack: Meant For Evil, Turned For Good In Africa!

 

 Later that afternoon as the Delta crew gathered down stairs for crew pickup to the airport. They were surprised in seeing me walk down with Bob with my things. Especially after getting my passport stolen the night before at the restaurant.

As Bob and I smiled, we shared that God had heard my prayer to then answer it at 11:30am that morning.  A fact that brought mixed reactions as some looked to Bob to explain as if to find a logical reason for the outcome other than God coming to my rescue.

For those who wanted to know, Bob then gave a brief run-down of Graham's call, and his amazing reaction in the retrieval of my passport.  News that was met with praise and awe with some, while others reasoned away the outcome to nothing more than a stroke of "good luck." 

In what-ever place the story hit within their hearts in their understanding about God. Had somehow, managed to move them to a place of reason in seeing that God could possibly be real, and their godless views a lie.

Another thing I had learned from my experience was the fact that it wasn't until I had prayed in faith that things began to change.  Seeing this brought to light the importance to never assume that God will intervene without our invitation.  Which reveals how God respects our free will even if it's a choice that would help us meet our own demise. 

Which brings to memory the verse in the Bible, "He is patience with you, not wanting anyone to perish, (2 Peter 3:9)."

For in our lack to call on God for help will always produce a negative reaction. Which then brings us to a point of utter despair in time.  Why?  Because in doing so, will many finally turn to God for help. Something I witness in counseling, when the counselee realizes the importance of involving God in every area of her life. Once that happens things begin to change.  As clarity is seen in things God begins to illuminate to deal with while other things to remove.

That was the reason (I believe) after I had prayed asking for Gods intervention God immediately illuminated my need to cancel my cards in my wallet.  So as too begin the process to correct the wrong done in protecting what was left to keep safe. Because if I did not right then, I know the outcome would have been far worse than it was.  

However, God was gracious to prevent that from happening until I closed the accounts. For later, once back in America, I found out that the thieves did try to use my cards soon after they were taken, and when they did found the accounts - CLOSED!

So in situations beyond our control we are to pray and ask Jesus to change our circumstance.  Then to remain constant, and unchanging, which God will give supernatural peace to sustain us.  I believe that peace is a sign to the enemy of his impending downfall and destruction of evil plan.

Then as the Delta driver arrived and I took my seat within the crew van to the airport, my mind started running wild with questions.  And as I watched the African landscape go by I pondered to myself, "what would of happened if I did not pray as I did? ... Would I be riding with the crew then? ... What if God chose not to respond?...  Would my faith still remain as strong? ... Could I trust God to help me again?"

Then taking control of my thoughts, I rebuked those questions.  For it made no sense to reason any outcome other than the one that happened.  To do so, would begin to cast doubt on something that was clearly supernatural from God.  So I began to focus "instead" on praise! 

In how my faith had been strengthened, which then gave me more power to believe.  Power for  Sharm, and for those silently believing within Bob's crew. Because the outcome was obvious, and that obvious was nothing short of a miracle!

Which brought me to wonder how countless people everyday can go through life without any tangible faith at all?  In leaning only on their own understanding in themselves and the world.  Without ever experiencing any real power or experience from God, that they could excitedly want to share with others to encourage.  Cultivated in a shallow existence that I remember well before I was saved, or God's Spirit had come to live within me.  For afterwards, what a difference it made in me and my life.  In the beginning of a spiritual growth that had removed the darkness that once gripped my mind and heart. That kept an emptiness within me nothing could fill or satisfy.  No matter what I did or tried.

At the airport I walked with the crew as my husband then escorted me to the place where Graham had my passport waiting for me.  Still amazed in not having to miss a beat on the trip that day. 

At the counter the agent hands Bob a plastic bag he then looks into. Smiling he then hands it to me as I look inside.  Surprised in seeing most everything from my wallet was there; my license, military ID, voters card, insurance card, everything I was dreading to replace once I got back home.  That now I don't have too. It was like getting an extra hug from Heaven that moment.

Then pulling out my passport to examine in, as I wondered where it had been. But its condition was as if it had never left my wallet.  For there were no visible signs of damage from being on the side of the road all night.

Smiling to myself I continued to follow Bob to the check in counter.  Where I presented my passport to the ticket agent who was smiling back at me as she checked me in for the flight to Dakar.  A clear sign the story had made its rounds throughout the employees at Delta.  For as she checked me in she mentioned she had heard what happened, and was happy to see that I got my passport back safely.   

Then as Bob and I arrived at the gate we were met by Graham.  A white man in his late fifties, with a calm personality and sweet smile.  He looked at me with such compassion thinking the whole time I must have been totally stressed-out.  Little did he know I was more at peace than anytime in my life. 

He then talked to Bob briefly who was about to board with his crew.  Graham then waved for me to follow him, as he allowed me to board the plane before anyone so I could relax and get settled in my seat. All in his effort to help me calm down after what must have been a life changing ordeal, for it was, but not in the way he imagined.  All I could think of as he walked me down the jet-way was, "bless him Lord! Bless that man's sweet loving heart!"  

As we walked Graham began to tell me about the woman who had called him, and how she made him promise to call her so she could talk to me to make sure I got my things. Something which was strange for Graham to hear, and something he did not have to do.  But being the good man that Graham is, decided to respect the woman's wishes.  So as we walked he dials the woman's number on his cell phone, and once he confirmed it was him, hands his cell phone to me.  In that process I was lost for words because I did not know her name.  So mouthing without sound the question, "what's her name?" To Graham, which he whispers back.. "Lee!"...'Her name is Lee."

The woman on the other end spoke as soon as she heard my voice.  As I took in her thick British accent reply.."Patricia!...'So good to see you get your passport back dear!"   I then jumped in with excitement to thank her, and for calling Delta.  That she had answered God's prayer for me I had prayed.  After saying mentioning that her voice became bold, as she then related what happened.

In Lee's excitement a story started to unfold of a man from Zimbabwe she calls by the name of Thomas. Who in fear despite the risk brought to her my things he had found on the side of the road while walking early that morning at sunrise.  Upon seeing something shiny flicker on the ground which had caught his eye, he walks over to investigate it. Thomas sees an unusual set of keys attached to what looks like - a beaded cross.  Seeing now it was the sun light hitting the beads that caused it to sparkle which had caught his attention. Thinking that the owner of the keys must be a person of faith in God. Something Lee and I both feel that Thomas  believes in too for him to react the way he did in getting my things back to me.  That when you look at it is a "miracle" in itself.

For today in the country of Zimbabwe one can understand the need for something to give hope.  As many escape over the boarder in search for jobs to help their families and to survive.

As Thomas reasoned in what to do was when he spotted my passport on the ground.  Picking it up to examine further when feelings come over him in the need to get these things to someone who could get them back to their owner. 

Not knowing anyone other than a white British lady who became his friend named Lee, who helps him make a living by buying his wire sculptures he makes. Thomas decides to take the things he found to her for he trusts her, as he also calculates the risk.

For if he is found with them on his possession he could be arrested, or possibly even killed by the Johannesburg police.  Policemen that do not like the men from Zimbabwe because they feel that they are coming down to Johannesburg and taking away jobs from the Johannesburg people.  So tensions between the groups are high and hostile, and have led to horrific acts of violence against the men of Zimbabwe in the past as the video below reveals.

With strong feeling of fear Thomas decides to trust in the God of the cross on the key chain he found, and bundles the things in a cloth. He then leaves to go see his white British friend in which to give them too.

When Lee got the knock on her door she was still enjoying her morning tea.  Then peering through the peep hole to see who it was she is alarmed, in seeing it was Thomas, her friend from Zimbabwe.  As Lee cautiously opens her door she is met with a man frozen with fear who hands her a small bundle of cloth.  He tells her they are things that he found and he is giving them to her.  Thomas then leaves so he isn't seen by the police.

Closing her door, Lee looks at the bundle Thomas gave her, and starts to open it to see what's inside.  She said a feeling came over her of urgency (like Thomas) in seeing the things inside the cloth.  Not knowing what to make of them she opens the passport to see the name which read: Patricia Ann Maier, an American citizen. 

Then turning the pages in my passport she sees a stub from my previous boarding pass that said, - "Delta Airlines."

Lee then shares it was as if she were told what to do. For immediately, she knew she could not call the police, for if she had, I would have never gotten my passport back.  For many of the law enforcement are as corrupt as the many who break the laws in South Africa.  Especially with a black market for American passports that could yield anywhere from $1000.00 to $5.000.00 American dollars.  Which could have been a lot of money for a poor starving artist from Zimbabwe.

Understanding this amazed me in seeing Thomas could have made enough money to support himself and his family for many years with the right connections. 

However, Thomas chose to believe in the God of the cross that he found despite the chances of getting caught by the police.  A chance Lee now took too when Thomas passed the responsibility for my things to her that morning.

Knowing this, Lee then searched for Delta's phone number and called them.  She was almost instantly connected to Graham, and as Graham listened to Lee, she related what she had and wanted to know what to do?  Graham immediately saw the miracle of what had happened, for in all the years that he lived in South Africa, he had never seen anyone so desperate in getting someone's passport back before which revived his faith in people.

Graham however, knew of a Delta Captain by the name of Bob Maier, so the name Maier was familiar. So Graham decided to send someone he could trust (his own brother) to get the things from Lee.  Once he had them, he would then figure out what to do next. 

So Graham sends his brother to Lee's home with some money for her effort and time. Something Lee did not expect nor wanted, but decided instead, to give the money to Thomas which she did.  As Lee then presented the money to Thomas his eyes light up with joy.  For trusting in the God of that cross despite the danger, to do what was right had already started blessing his life.

¹⁹But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, (Philippines 4:19).

Meanwhile back to the present, as Graham appeared at the planes entrance door I knew he needed his cell phone.  And I honestly didn't mean to stay as long as I had on it, but Lee had drew me into an amazing story that I knew, as well as she did, had forever changed all of our lives.   So thanking her again, I then told her to thank Thomas too for me, and to give him a hug if she could.  Then getting  Lee's e-mail, we both bid each other good-bye with the promise to keep in touch.  Then slowly returned the cell phone back to Graham we both smiled at each other when the scope of the situation hit me to see.  In how truly amazing to see how God chose so many people to not only answer my prayer but to chance our lives for good.  In deepening the faith of some while bringing many into faith for the first time, ever.  Wow!

Soon I hope to be going back to South Africa to spend some time with my sweet friend Sharm.  During which time I hope to meet Lee and Thomas, so I can personally thank them for what they both had done.  Sharm and I have been discussing in what we could do to help Thomas and his family.  Hopefully, if God allows, to meet Thomas as God like then, will guide us in what are to do for him and perhaps the people of Zimbabwe. 

And for those who may have wondered if Sharm ever got her purse I had purchased for her?  Well, in seeing what had happened in my purse being stolen, I now needed a purse to carry my things to go home.  So I had decided to keep the purse I brought for Sharm, to then once home, purchase another for her. A purse I would then send with Bob on his next trip to Johannesburg. 

However, once again, God decides to hug me again from heaven.  For when I went to the store where I had purchased the purse, seeing it was now on sale. Not just a little discount, but marked down to 50%!  So I ended up buying not one, but two, that day.  Giving one to my big sister for her birthday which was coming up.

Bob then took Sharm hers, and she finally did receive it, and I'm sure that when she looks at it today she smiles. In seeing how God had used a purse like hers to touch the hearts of many, in a way one would never expect.  During a time when evil struck and God (via faith) would turn around for good. In revealing a faith that moves Heaven into action, which proves how much God loves His children. In a process that ended up touching many around the world with the simple means of a prayer for help. 

To then via that faith, God would respond to answer. Thus touching the lives of a South Africian woman new in her faith, to an airline crew and hub employees at Delta, and head manager.  Which then touched a woman from England living in South Africa; to a homeless man from the distlet country of Zimbabwe.  Whom God would then move to reveal to him that the God of the cross on the set of car keys he found is a God worth believing in, for a God that is not only true, but -ALIVE!