Below is a blog that my teammate Hollis wrote, sharing about a Serbian experience we had. She titled it “Bad boys. Bad boys. Watcha gonna do?” I just decided to re-name it because I like coming up with blog titles. =)
I want to tell you a story about how God can intervene in unexpected ways, all you have to do is pray…
The Incident
So Andrea, Kristin, and I decided to go find a cafe and get some coffee. We were walking down one of the main city streets in Belgrade and I was in the back. Suddenly I felt a tug on my purse and my stomach dropped. I had been pickpocketed. I knew without even looking what had happened. I calmly told Andrea and Kristin that my wallet had been stolen, and that the three men standing to our left had done it.
I don’t know why I was so calm, but because I was not panicking the girls did not believe me at first. They kept asking if I was sure and to check my purse again. A woman standing at a safe distance away silently motioned that I was correct. Those men had reached into my purse and taken out my wallet. Although she was not much help, her confirming what had happened was enough to convince all three of us to confront the men.
The Showdown
So now picture this with me if you will. Three young American girls marching up to three Serbian street thugs demanding my wallet back. As you can imagine, we did not accomplish much. We knew they had taken it, yet they insisted they had no idea what we were talking about. It felt like we were ten years old and having that ridiculous argument of “yes you did,” “no I didn’t,” “yes you did,” “no I didn’t.” Just throw in some swear words and that was the situation.
The Chase
We were obviously getting nowhere fast, when the men decided hey had had enough and turned to walk away. Without a word to each other, we followed them. So now you’ve got three Serbian men running away from the three of us girls. Somewhere along the way, Kristin grabs this 6 foot something tall chain-smoking Serbian man to join our pursuit. In between puffs of smoke he asked what the men took while the three of us ran alongside him to keep up with his long strides.
The Dilemma
All I kept thinking was what are we doing to do? When every other day the streets were filled with police, there were none to be found now. I just kept praying for God to intervene somehow because I did not see how I was going to get my wallet back.
The Unexpected Victory
While I was silently asking God for help, the men in front of us came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly I was being handed back my wallet. Dumbfounded, I mumbled a quick thank you and then checked to make sure nothing in my wallet was missing. That was it. The pickpocketers vanished and our chain-smoking body guard said goodbye. In an instant we were alone again. Everything was back to normal and I suddenly thought, did that just happen? Did I really have my wallet stolen and then personally handed right back to me?
A few minutes later, I asked Andrea and Kristin what they had been thinking during all of this. Apparently we all had the same idea. Don’t lose sight of the three men and don’t stop praying. Well, God must have heard our prayers loud and clear. How else do you explain why a young American girl was lucky enough to get her wallet back from a seasoned pickpocketer so easily?
