I was robbed

June 11, 2014

God is good to us.

On Wednesday night, May 14, Grace was robbed in our local Food Lion parking lot. She had just gotten into the car and a man suddenly appeared and angrily said, “Give me your purse, or I'll kill you.” She fumbled with the bag, and he reached over her to the bag on the passenger side. He ran to a waiting SUV and they sped off. The two men then robbed three other women about 10 miles from Waxhaw in Indian Land. He got our keys, her billfold and phone. The next day a woman saw our keys on the highway and we were called by the Aquatic Center. Her keys had an id card on them with Grace’s name and the phone number of the gym. That was a big relief, as the thieves had our car key, house key and our address. We were able to replace the important things in her wallet.

A week later, the getaway car was spotted by the police in Columbia, South Carolina. They were caught and are in jail. Grace is doing well, by God’s grace. Oh, there was one thing that disturbed Grace. The local TV news called her an elderly woman. She’s not elderly!

We have both been very busy the last few weeks.

Grace and I were asked to be hosts for Francisco and Matilde. They were here to help Willis and me develop some radio programs in Spanish. Francisco will use these to promote further recording in Colombia and Peru. The recording went well, and they were very happy to be here in the US for the first time. But they were also very happy to return to their two children, Thomas and Ana, and Francisco’s parents.

Matilde wrote us: “God bless you and give you much more happiness than you offered to us. Now we tell the people in the church and the family we have two friends named Paul and Grace Closius, two beloved children of God who protected us and showed the pretty face of this huge country. I remember you fondly.”

Dear family and friends, I’m extremely happy to be serving here. Thank you for your part in prayer and gifts.