Skip to main content

Stop, Stop!

Have you ever heard about the time Uncle Byron got robbed at gunpoint?  There are three different versions of the story.  There is the real, true tale told by Uncle Byron.  There is the version told by missionaries Uncle Tim and Uncle Doug.  And then there is the version repeated by one of Uncle Doug and Tim's cousins who lives in Winston-Salem NC.  Each time the story was repeated it grew like a fish in the account of a fisherman.  The fish was this big... No, it was thisss big.  No, it was THISsss BIG!

I'm going to try to recount the event without a lot of embellishment.

When we first came to Sobradinho, Uncle Byron would go into town at least once a month to buy parts and what not and to get money out of the bank.  We could get cash out of the bank machine here in town but the limit per day was lower and the fee per transaction was higher.  So one fine morning, Uncle Byron went into Petrolina over the barragem (the big hydro-electric dam) to go into do several things.

After you go over the dam there is a road of about 6 miles before you get to the big two lane highway.  It's not a very busy road and frequently is in need of repair with a lot of pot holes.  Robbers seem to like to hang out at the one end to stop cars and take all the valuables of the passengers.  Rarely do they take cars, just money, cell phones and maybe jewelry. 

As Uncle Byron got close to the favorite spot of the thieves and almost to the end of the road, he saw a man step out of the brush on one side of the road and start waving his hand.  Uncle Byron saw that the man had a handgun, so he stopped the big red truck.  After he stopped the man started waving the gun as if the robber wanted him to pull off to the side of the road. So Uncle Byron started to pull over.  The man waved for him to stop and started pointing towards the other way with the gun, going back and forth as if he wanted Uncle Byron to go to the other side.  So he did, and the man started waving the stop-stop sign again and hollaring for Uncle Byron to turn off the motor and get out of the car.

No, here you need to know two things.  Uncle Byron rarely rolls down windows in cars, especially if the windows have tint.  Rolling down tinted windows scratches the tint.  The big red truck had tinted windows so he couldn't or wouldn't just roll down the window to hear what the man was saying.  Next thing, the old red truck had lots of problems.  One of those was a bad battery.  If he turned off the motor, it may or may not restart - so he didn't turn off the motor but he did stop and opened the door of the truck.

The man asked him to turn off the motor and step out of the truck.  Uncle Byron explained that he couldn't do that but he did step out. The man asked about money.  Uncle Byron had about BR$120 and handed it over.  The man asked if he didn't have anymore.  He explained that he did not and was going into town to go to the bank.  The man said - Oh, are you going into Petrolina?  Uncle Byron said, Yes, do you need a ride?  The man said no because he was going to Sobradinho.

The thief asked for Uncle Byron's cell phone.  Uncle Byron showed him his very old, beat-up, out-dated phone.  The man said he didn't need that.  He peered inside the truck and saw the overhead stereo system and radio and asked Uncle Byron to take it out.  Uncle Byron said he couldn't without tools because it was screwed into place.

So then he asked what was in Uncle Byron's hip bag that he always carries.  He pointed towards it and said something about having more money in there and what was in there.  Uncle Byron got a little nervous at this point because he knew he would have to put up a fight if the man wanted his leatherman tool which was in a little pouch attached to the belt part of the bag.  So he opened the big pocket of the bag and said look.   He showed the man that there was a calculator and a lighter and his wallet.  The man said there's money in there.  Uncle Byron opened it and showed him there was no money.  He said, See, there is no money here.  I don't lie.  I'm a pastor of a church and I don't lie.

The man said, Oh, you're a pastor in Sobradinho?  Maybe I can come to your church sometime.  Uncle Byron said you know this is a bad life.  You need to stop what you are doing.  The man said, I know, pray for me, pastor.  So Uncle Byron said, Okay, I'll do it right now.  Bow your head.  So the man did and right there beside the truck in the middle of the road they bowed their heads and Uncle Byron prayed for the man's soul.

When he was done the man told him good-bye and walked back into the brush and walked away.  Uncle Byron got back into the truck and went on to do his business in Petrolina, only now he didn't have any small bills to buy lunch so he just ate what was in a little snack bag I had sent and drank the water I had given him. 

We never saw the man in church, that we know of!  He had his head covered with an old shirt or something during the robbery.  Who's to say?

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for stopping by! Leave me a message if you would.

Popular posts from this blog

My Promise Verse

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take:  when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. This verse has been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager. When I was a high school senior at a Christian school in Virginia, Job 23:10 was chosen as our class theme verse. At our graduation commencement, the valedictorian and saludatorian in their addresses that day divided the verse in its two natural parts as a basis for the core of each one's address. I was the salutatorian of my senior class that year.  I chose to speak of how God would one day reward our faithfulness and thus, we should always strive to remain true. For many years though, the first part of the verse haunted me in a way. As a missionary especially when times were lonely or difficult, I assumed it was my "trial" or "test," and as such must be accepted in all humility. As I have grown older, I have begun to look more toward the pearly gates and have reconsidered the thr...

Old Film, Same Message

A missionary colleague recently uploaded some old films made about the work in Brazil by Baptist Mid-Missions many years ago in the 1950's. Yesterday I was able to watch the first of the series.  All I can say is "Wow!  Things haven't changed much in Brazil.  And things haven't changed too much with the work of missions in Brazil either!" There are still donkey carts in the street.  They have better wheels nowadays! There are still people who live in grass huts and high apartment buildings, too. Bicycles are still many people's only means of transportation, if they are that lucky! Many roads in the interior towns are still paved with cobblestones, if they are paved at all. And yes, chickens are everywhere, even in big cities. Brazil still needs missionaries! That's right, Brazil is not evangelized and in no need of foreign missionaries today.  It still needs workers to spread the Good News of the Gospel and the Risen Saviour!  Sadly that part of t...

Happy Valentine's Day to You!

These pictures are from a few years ago.  My boys don't make valentine's for their mama anymore.  Guess it's my own fault.  But I can enjoy these from the cyber photo treasure box.  Brazil doesn't have a Valentine's Day in February.  They do celebrate a sort of lover's day in May or June, can't remember which!  But it's not the same thing.  No little candy hearts with silly phrases about loving and liking, and no cards to pass out at school to all your friends either. Some times it's hard to remember that it's time for a certain American holiday when no else is celebrating.  Guess that's what those special send a card automatically websites are for, eh? Well, in case I forget before the right day gets here this month, Happy Valentine's Day to you!  You, whoever you are out there in the great big world.  You, relatives and friends.  You, readers and blog jumpers.  You who happen upon this silly little post on my silly litt...