Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings from “The Land of the Lost.” I am writing a January prayerletter rather than the usual bi-monthly one to inform you what has befallen me here, and to ask for your prayers.
They say, “The test of a man’s character is how he reacts to adversity.” And this month I learned more about my character, and just how I would react in a life-threatening situation.
On January 7th, I was in San Pedro Sula with Missionary Homero Romero putting new shocks on my car. As we were working, two armed gunmen entered the garage and forced us go into the house and sit down. As one guarded us with his 9mm pistol, the other one began rummaging through all of our things and proceeded to take all we had of value. As we were seated, I didn’t know what else to do, so I began singing, “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” in Spanish. Bro. Homero and his family also joined in.
Afterwards, I preached to the robber guarding the window for about 20 minutes and stressed to him his need to be saved. He listened, but told me to keep my voice down, as he didn’t want anyone to hear us. My heart was racing about 100 times per second, but I found that the more Bible verses I quoted, the more boldness I received from the Lord.
Then the overwhelming thought struck my heart, “This could be the day that I’m going home to heaven!” With that in mind, I decided my last sermon would be my best, so I preached even harder and told him, “If you kill me, I’m going home to heaven to be with my Lord! And where will you go when you die? You’ll be in Hell with your buddy if you don’t get saved! But I’ll be in heaven with my Lord and Saviour! If you shoot me, you’d really be doing me a favor!”
Then I preached about sin, righteousness and judgment. And concluded with The Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for him as He willingly shed His blood for his sins. The boy at the window never looked in my eyes. He kept looking down at the floor when he wasn’t glancing out the window, but I could tell he was listening.
When the other robber emerged from the bedroom with all that he wanted packed in a suitcase, he took Romero’s cell phone and called for a “get away car.” As he was talking, we heard him ask his boss, “Should we kill them?” The reply was, “Yes!” Obviously they wanted no witnesses.
The thieves then told us to go into the bedroom and get on the floor. I kneeled by the bed instead and began praying and telling God how great it would be to see him in just a few short seconds. But as I was praying, I heard the door slam, and then they were gone.
From Bro. Homero, the thieves took his money, wedding rings, cell phone, video camera, family heirlooms and more. They were completely devastated.
I guess I got off easy, as all they took from me was about 70 dollars, my laptop computer, and a few electronic devices. They wanted to take my truck, but since the tires were off they could not.
Afterwards, I was very disappointed. It might sound strange, but it’s the truth. They had gotten my hopes up to see the Lord, and had even robbed me of that as well!
Please remember the Romero family in your prayers. They are doing better, and their church has been helping them. I’m doing fine, but just a little discouraged, as I was really looking forward to finally looking upon the face of Him, that loved me enough to die for me!
Maybe it’s just not my time yet to go home. The other Missionaries here keep telling me that God has a plan for me and that’s why he spared me. That might be, but I’ve found new meaning in Paul’s words in Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” How much better it would be to go on home to heaven than stay down here in this ungodly world of sin!
Although all of this was a terrible tragedy, and I haven’t been able to sleep very well for several weeks afterwards, I do believe some good came out of it. We did give tracts to the robbers before they left. (And I ask you to join me in praying that they will get saved). We also handed out tracts at the Police Station to both the officers and those in jail.
A week later, a Television Reporter from channel 63 News interviewed me in Tegucigalpa. I told him what happened, and what I preached to them, as he recorded me on video. A week later I learned that it aired the day after at 6:00 P.M. So praise be to God! I was able to preach the gospel via T.V. to all in Tegucigalpa!
Even though I miss my laptop computer, which was a real blessing to my ministry here, I felt it was worth the trade to be able to get the gospel to Policemen, prisoners, and ultimately all of Tegucigalpa. God knows what he’s doing, and sometimes it’s hard to see at the time why God allows certain things. But looking back, I see that it did “work together for good” (Romans 8:28), and God used it to get the gospel to many who otherwise might not have heard.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support. Part of me wants to ask you to quit praying, as maybe if you hadn’t been praying they would have shot me and I would be at home in heaven right now! But your prayers are keeping me here and allowing God to use me to get the Gospel to hundreds and thousands of people here in Honduras. For this I am truly thankful, no matter what the cost.
Yet, I find myself selfishly thinking how great it would be to be up in glory in my mansion of pure gold, rather than living here in this house of adobe. No, I’m not suicidal, just saved and looking forward to going home! But until then, I’ll keep busy trying to take as many as I can with me!
Because He suffered for me on that old rugged tree,
Robert Breaker III
Missionary in Honduras
1 Sam. 12:24!
