Arriving at CAG (Christian Academy of Guatemala) early one morning, I felt the sense of urgency when the principal told me that the staff would meet in front of the office. I wondered at this out-of-the-ordinary request when students were already in the school building. A coldness gripped my heart when I heard the word kidnapped. The coldness intensified when I learned that one of my students had been kidnapped that morning. With few details and fighting tears, I brace myself for my students. I had never thought of such a thing happening, and I certainly didn’t have any training for such a crises. My mother’s heart felt pierced. I called out to God for help and wisdom. Lord I need the right words to say, and help me not to provoke more fear in the hearts of these children. Help me to remain calm and be a source of comfort. Keep me from falling apart.

Soft sobs and long faces surrounded me in the classroom. “Children, this a time when the power of prayer goes into action.” No further words were necessary as everyone went before the Lord requesting the protection and rescue of Linda*.

Linda lived with her family, in the country, a short distance from a village near San Cristobal. I later learned that her father, sisters, a friend, and she left for school as they had daily for many months before this. But this day was different. Armed men stopped the car a few miles from their home. One man shot a tire to keep the father from returning home for help. Then another grabbed Linda and shoved her into their own vehicle. They kidnapped her with the plans to get ransom money. Even though the tire had been shot, it didn’t go flat until the family reached the house. The father rushed home and called the US Embassy. Within minutes, that task force went into operation.

We continued to pray in our classroom for the protection and covering of this young girl. We serve a God who wants to protect us, and there are many places in the Bible that show He is our refuge. We declared these Scriptures for Linda and her family. We prayed that they would find a calmness in knowing who God is and that He had Linda in the palm of His hand.

I will conclude the story about Linda in the next post, but I have a question. Have you had your trust and faith stretched during a crises or even during a hard situation that life seems to deal out at times? Our testimonies are an encouragement to one another. We never know when we may be caught up in a difficult time and then remember the words someone shared—the exact words that we needed for the moment.
*Name has been changed.