We have all been in those situations where we need to be reminded that God is somehow with us during our times of need. Brent continues his story by sharing how God provided encouragement to his wife Leah, when she needed it most!
I find Leah and said, “Babe, can you and Lilly go get some food at that little market right there?”
She heads off to the market and I step back into the police station. By now all of the officers have left except for one – Nelson.
“Nelson, can I stay here all night, sleeping in front of this door?”
“Yes, you can. And when your madam returns, I can let your son out into the lobby here and you can all eat together.”
“Thank you so much.”
I tell Bo the plan up to this point through the door and let him know I am going to make some phone calls. I start calling everyone I can think of that might have some sort of wisdom, experience or pull in this situation. Then someone mentions the US Consulate. Great idea! I just so happened to have the US embassy’s emergency phone number in my phone. I saw it on a piece of paper when I was at the embassy a few weeks ago getting a Texas DPS document notarized for my daughter Amy.
“You have reached the US embassy in Kampala, Uganda. We are currently closed. If you are an American citizen and you are having a serious emergency, please press one.” Of course, I pressed one and anxiously awaited someone to pick up the phone. A very nice gentlemen picked up the phone and asked me what my emergency was. I explained to him the situation and he promptly sent me through to another gentleman.
“Special Ops. Agent ________. How can I help you?” I explained the situation again. He reassuredly explained to me that this is not right and ended the conversation with, “I will call you right back… and we will get your son out tonight.”
As I hung up the phone, I was starting to get a bit worried why Leah hadn’t shown up yet. She had been gone longer than it should take to get a bit of food. She later told me that she was crying in the store as she was gathering things up. As she went to pay, another customer in line straight up asked her if she could pray for her. Leah told her briefly what was happening, and the clerk shared that the same thing happened to her father – wrongly accused and thrown in jail. After a month her dad was released, and everything is fine now. A month? Leah thought, I could barely handle a night. Oh God, please release my son. The customer shared their journey of getting him out and how God had used this situation to bring others in jail to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Then she encouraged Leah that it would be OK. They prayed together outside the store and my wife was so thankful for this angel who encouraged her in a dark hour. About the time I felt I needed to send someone to go find Leah, she shows back up. Once again, we are all together.
I have always been convinced that God does his best work through people. Leah is a great woman of faith and has always known that God was with her but as Dr. Henry Blackaby says, “There is a world of difference between knowing something to be true in your head and experiencing the reality in your life.” In that moment of despair God put a total stranger in her path to remind her that God was with her when she needed him most. May you experience and be encouraged in knowing that God is with you today.