Someone stole our car

[inkartinc]

Our car was stolen the other night. We waited for them to bring it back, I mean it does bottom out on all the tope’s (Spanish word for the speed bumps that are in place of stop signs, next to stop signs, after stop signs…)but they haven’t yet so I think that means they aren’t going to. I think the most disturbing for me, besides our passports that we left in the glove compartment (since we have been driving back and forth so much this last 2 months since our 16 year old grandson is recovering from heart failure:cry:), is both my service bags, Spanish and English, were in the trunk. They were nice bags I got from one of the JW shopping sites and I really liked it in vinyl (Spanish) so I bought one in leather for English…ouch! My leather bible/reasoning book, double ouch, and we had the whole JW video set in the trunk for bible studies. Which brings me to my next grrrrr, all my studied literature, the new brochures and bible teach book, with tabs for where my studies are for their next lessons. A few other things like chairs that fold up into tubes that are really nice for a stop at the beach on the way home from service and they tucked really nicely into the way back. Our GPS and, Jess’s prescription sunglasses, back up reading glasses, you know, the stuff that is going to nickel and dime us for the next month. Even if they kept the car maybe they could bring us back a few things and drop it over the gate?!!! I am being unrealistic aren’t I. Time of the end, lovers of themselves. So how does this work, do I get to count like 5 book placements and 20 mags or something? After going through my English bag do I get to count a return visit for the other bag and box in the trunk full of extra books and mags? Just wondering.

[Cherie]

Oh Cindy, that's really crummy! I'm so sorry that happened to you guys. I hope you get your car and contents back! Wouldn't the best possible outcome be that you and the thief have a part on the next Assembly on how the thief began to study!!

[boodles]

Bad news! Did you fill out a police report? Keep your eyes peeled for your stuff at the swap meets and flea markets. Maybe you'll even see your car being driven around!

My sister-in-law, also named CIndy, had to come to "town" from their rural village about 30 minutes away and stayed the night with us so she wouldn't have to drive back alone at night. She left her VW bug, which barely runs, on the street and that night some thieves stole the spare tire and the oil she had just bought for an oil change from the trunk, which is of course in the front of the car. We were just glad the people didn't take the jack and the battery!

[Tazenergy]

Oh Cindy, that's really crummy! I'm so sorry that happened to you guys. I hope you get your car and contents back! Wouldn't the best possible outcome be that you and the thief have a part on the next Assembly on how the thief began to study!!

Cindy I am sorry. I have to agree with Althea, that would be a great story.

[inkartinc]

Turns out the police found our car Friday (it was stolen Thursday night) but didn’t get back to us until Monday, weekend and all. It was about 3 blocks from us. The car was emptied, so we lost all our stuff and they took the battery. So we had to cover the tow and storage over the weekend, duh. Not bad on the car part but I was disappointed they took my bookbags. Funny I felt more let down about that then when they took the whole thing. I guess once I knew we had the car that I just assumed they wouldn’t take the bags, not of much use to them. They were exclusive bags for JW’s, no one else can use it for anything unless they carry around a lot of “magazines” and “tracts”…bible…not much of that going on. Well maybe some sweet Mexican sister will find it at one of the segundas and think she has majorly scored a fine. She will talk about it for years to come. Sort of like an angel story…“I really needed something to carry my books in they were getting all dog eared and you wouldn’t guess what I found, it’s perfect.” (Nice, would you be interested in trading that bag for this white car?)

I will go back to my old bible and some bag that will carry my stuff for me. Jess told me to order a new one… No I don’t want a new one, if you have nothing, then you have nothing to lose, right?

So we need to replace our passports and our “stuff”. I will even go back to my GPJess and not worry about getting lost, look at all the people getting lost on iMaps…we have always done better than that over the years without having to listen to some guy in a disgusted tone say… “Turn around when possible”…. “Recalculating”…

So that ends the car saga.

It would have been more fun if Danny had found it instead. A young brother at our hall was sure he would find it by the 3rd week.

[inkartinc]

Ok, I said this was the end of the car story, and it is and it isn’t…

We had to go to the Police impoundment place to pick up the car after jumping through some hoops. One of those hoops was having the title translated into Spanish. Not just Jess doing that but an official form…on the other side of town. Well, actually the police station we had to go to was already on the other side of town, we had to go back to where we had basically started to the “official” document translation office is. So, I am looking at the document in question and what exactly needs to be translated? The year of the car…Owners name??? Toyota? 250 pesos for 15 minutes of translating…or about $20. Then we were back at the Stolen car section of the Police station and from there the car is that way a little bit, down that street and pass the Pharmacy and not too much farther…we finally found it. But the car wasn’t exactly there it was in a lot down the street somewhere and there wasn’t a battery in it. So we agreed to pay extra for them to put in a battery and tow it back to the impoundment shop where we were. So we had a little wait. So on the police report it says nothing left in the car except some religious literature. So in the wait, we start having a conversation with the magistrate, the one filing the report of pick up and collecting the money, he starts asking us questions. Since our Spanish bible was in the trunk of the car…now…not…he sends his nephew to get his bible out of his car. Jess starts showing him scriptures on “speaking in tongues” and then the soul. He seemed to accept and like what he was hearing, just my impression. Even the 12 year old nephew asked us about why we don’t take blood transfusions, a simple illustration and what the bible said at Acts seemed to satisfy that. It was a nice wait.

I didn’t mention this in my last email, because that is just what we do, right, not a big deal. I am bringing it up now because after we have been home for a while, we got a phone call from the man, getting Jess’s cell phone number off our official paper work of course, but he had one more question, Are there Apostles still on earth today? Filled with Holy Spirit and stuff? So he and Jess talked a bit longer. Let’s see if he has more questions as time goes by!

So maybe, someday, we will hear about someone becoming a witness after “stealing” the truth, literature and viewing videos, and the policeman, that worked with gathering our paperwork and payments etc….to the little 12 year old that was having fun talking “English” with us who asked at one point…Why won’t you take blood transfusions? And seemed to get the point.

That would certainly make this whole thing worth while, I wont even care that I have to study the Bible Teach book to myself again…

[LizzyJo]

So maybe, someday, we will hear about someone becoming a witness after “stealing” the truth, literature and viewing videos . . .

That could happen so count all your books, mags and brochures as having been placed! Just kidding!

[Shawnster]

Seriously, I would count them. Years ago a brother I know had his service bag stolen. He counted all the literature that was in it.

[inkartinc]

And...since I had a Spanish service bag and an English service bag a box with brochures and books, another with videos and misc. that looks like 3 return visits which now I can start counting it as a study???

[Musky]

I hope Shawn was kidding! That would be like dumping the literature in an public dumpster and counting the placements. Which is probably just what the thieves did with them. I'd have real conscience issues in counting them as placements, but to each his own!

[LizzyJo]

And...since I had a Spanish service bag and an English service bag a box with brochures and books, another with videos and misc. that looks like 3 return visits which now I can start counting it as a study???

Sounds like a study to me

[Joe Schmoe]

Hello Cindy,

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I have to say I love your sense of humor during this ordeal. Typically people get all stressed out and depressed. In your few posts you've actually made me laugh in a good way!

I only hope I can always keep my chin up like you seem to. It's encouraging to see other fellow brothers and sisters stay happy even when the situation is bad. Thanks for that!

[inkartinc]

well, thank you for that. I guess I feel if I am a target from Satan...thats a good thing right?

We drive an older Toyota, banging it up here in Mexico. If it is gone, we will get something that we don't care if it gets banged up. We try and make it clean on our end but there is only so much you can do. Example, how do you parallel park where you are? I was very good at that actually, there is a trick to pulling right into the spot. But here, the trick is you just drive forward into the spot you want, the back of the car still in the lane quite a bit, you pull forward until you hit the car in front of you, then you start the backing up process until you hit the car behind you, front, hit, back, hit, until you get it in place. When we though the car was gone Jess started looking for something on Craigs list for San Diego area, I told him, check the bumpers, any car with a bumper totally chipped up has obviously been used a lot in Mexico so lets not start with a car like that. Being in the San Diego area it was funny to zoom in on bumpers and see all the cars listed had this "special" touch.

My point, I have nothing that I don't mind losing (except my service bag with the studied literature and places marked for my studies, grrrrr.)

I love the new video we got, hopefully, I can just walk away from everything when I need to.

Soooooon!