We arrived Thursday afternoon into Santo Domingo, DR.
It was said to us that this was a safe neighborhood, so me and three of my squadmates embarked on an estimated 30 minute walk to Burger King. It was around 7 PM.
About 20 minutes into our journey, we turned down a street that was lined with houses on one side and a wall on the other. We started walking by the wall in a straight line, so we wouldn’t be in the road.
A motorbike with two men drove by us. I don’t remember if a noise alerted us or if it was the Holy Spirit, but a couple of us turned around to find the motorbike turning around and driving towards us.
The guy on the back jumped off, ran over to me, and pulled my purse in hopes of taking it. Not sure if he didn’t notice it was literally across my shoulder, so it wasn’t really going anywhere, or what his thought process was, but he was unsuccessful.
I immediately responded by grabbing the strap of my purse and pulling it towards me while Ian got involved to get the guys to leave. Marissa and Bethany jumped in front of me since he was most likely only interested in getting my purse.
They left, and my friends so graciously accepted my desire of walking back to the apartment without arriving at our intended destination.
Fear got the best of me. We had about a 20 minute walk back that I assumed everyone we passed was going to do the same thing that guy did. I couldn’t find the balance of trusting the Lord and walking in confidence and just wanting to get home and be safe.
After arriving home, I tried to process what happened. Per usual, Satan convinced me it was my fault. I felt so guilty that my friends had to experience that and protect me. Why were they so brave and I was terrified for the rest of the night? Why couldn’t I just trust the Lord was gonna get me home safely? Why did I think every person we passed was gonna attack me?
I’ve been to so many different countries, and I have never been that scared. Why am I scared now? People aren’t all going to try and mug me. And that guy isn’t bad; he is just lost and needs the Lord.
Satan was up to something. My thoughts later went from not wanting to go out at night at all, to how am I supposed to be back home in America and go to Walmart alone at night, to how am I supposed to serve the nations when now I’m afraid when I walk the street and have people stare at me (we stick out in majority of the countries we go to).
That’s when I had to stop Satan in his deceiving little tracks and turn to the Lord. Perfect love casts out fear.
Right now, that’s so much easier said than done, but the Lord is teaching me to trust Him again. If you knew me prior to the Race, you know it took a lot of trust and a huge leap of faith to step out of my comfort zone. My trust in the Lord has grown so much this year, and now it’s time that He grows my trust even more.
After externally processing that night, I asked my friends if they had any recommendations on verses on “comfort” that I could reflect on, and Marissa shared Psalm 23. This verse stuck out to me:
Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff — they comfort me.
God doesn’t promise all of our valleys to be filled with flowers and sunshine. There are going to be moments where we walk in some pretty dark times, because the reality is we live in such a broken world. People sometimes make stupid decisions to jump off a motorbike and take purses from innocent people that are just trying to get some Burger King. That’s just the way it is. Yes, we should take precautions, but the Lord is with us and we don’t have to live in fear that will keep us from reaching His people.
I may still be shaken up right now, but I love seeing what the Lord is doing through it and how I’m going to come out so much stronger in my faith and trust in the Lord. He is still good. He is in the midst of casting out fear that has no place in me.
I am so thankful that the Lord protected us that night and gave me friends who come beside me when I feel afraid.
Spiritual warfare is real, and X Squad is about to bring kingdom to Santo Domingo, and Satan is not a fan. He wants to deter us, and he wants to instill fear into every part of our lives.
Please be in prayer for our squad’s safety this month and for all the things that the Lord has in store for us!
