First off I want to apologize to ya’ll for just now
getting in touch with you. The last couple days have been hectic and stressful
to say the least. And my TOP priority has been getting the squad moved out of
the hostel and into a location where the folks can feel safe. Not to mention,
some of us have been scrambling to get new passports and visas for our upcoming
trip to India. So thank you very much for your patience in all this. I can’t
even imagine the worry ya’ll must have been going thru and are still going
through.
I’m sure you have heard all sorts of things about
what happened two nights ago, so let me just give you the facts. Tuesday
afternoon the whole squad, minus Patrice’s team, (Patrice, Nate, Angie, Andi and
Jen) arrived at The Brown Sugar Hostel in Johannesburg.
I realize it’s got a funny name, but the hostel is
not in a bad part of Jo’Burg plus we have stayed there three different times
while in Africa. So I felt safe about bringing the team here. Anyway, around 8p
that evening probably four, maybe five men came into the hostel armed with
pistols and told everyone to get on their face in the lounge area. That’s where
about 12 of us were and the rest of the squad was being held in their dorm room.
Guns were pointed at people, threats were made, but
NO ONE was physically harmed. Praise the Lord! However, LOTS of our stuff was
taken: cash, cameras, computers, passports, phones, clothes, IPOD’s, etc. I’d
say the whole thing lasted about 20 minutes. As soon as it was over, the first
thing we did was to make sure everyone was OK. Then we started taking an
inventory of what was taken, I called AIM, and then people began calling and
canceling cards. So anyway, things are just now settling down.
Just so you know, I got the squad at a missionary
base an hour away from Jo’Burg. Luckily, when we get to India our team coaches
Michael and Kathy Hindes will be there to help us process thru everything.
Believe me, we are taking this matter seriously and we do understand the need
for counseling at this time.
of your kids so much and their safety and well-being is my main concern. So if
ya’ll have any questions please email me or our team coach Michael. His email is
[email protected].
