A Transformational Life

Few things are more frightening than being robbed in a foreign country. Having a stranger sneak into your home at 2am, take your belongings, and only find out after you wake in the morning is terrifying. It makes it even more frightening if your 8 year old daughter is sleeping alone on the couch. I tell you from experience.

Before we left on our year long venture around the world we talked to our kids about dangers, about being observant and about taking the extra step to be safe. But lessons taught and lessons learned can often be different. This most recent lesson will be hard to forget. Here is the story:

On Tuesday evening I set up my MacBook on the kitchen table for a scheduled download. We do all our downloads during the night here in the Philippines because that is about the only time the wifi works.

I got up early Wednesday morning, 5:30am to get some work done before the kids woke. I noticed my iPhone (left on the kitchen counter) was unplugged. Odd, but not “troubling”. But then, I couldn’t find my MacBook. Maybe Kari had moved it I wondered. So, I stood in the kitchen checking email on my phone.

Let me catch you up just a bit. We have been living in Sibulan, Philippines for three weeks now and have one week left. The home that we are renting is in a nice quiet neighborhood. It has over 150 identical cinderblock townhomes; each about 600 sq feet with two bedrooms upstairs, and an entry room with a small kitchen on the lower level. At 600 sq feet it is not big.

Above the kitchen is a terrace with a door in the floor; forming part of the ceiling of the kitchen. The only way up to the terrace is to go up the stairs or, as we found out, scale the large cinderblock wall.

Upstairs Kari and I share a double bed in one room and Averi(11) and Tage(5) share a bunk bed in the other. Claire(8) sleeps downstairs on the futon in the entry room. She is about three feet from from where I do my work at the table.

Now, back to the story. About fifteen minutes into my emails Kari came down. “Have you seen my laptop?” “no….????” and we both looked up at the terrace door; padlock askew. We knew immediately what had happened and ran up. Reality hit. Looking out over the banister we saw various items, our items, strewn along the ground (hand sanitizers, sunscreen, tissues, etc).

I can’t really explain the horror as you realize your most private place, your home, has been violated. The next horror is the realization that your 8 year old is sleeping 3 feet from where the missing MacBook was sitting.

We immediately ran back into the front room and were relieved to find Claire peacefully sleeping.

What next? Foreigners in the Philippines robbed at night, no phone, and no idea what to do. Thankfully the Philippine people rise early and many of our neighbors were out. We had them call the police and within twenty minutes our home looked like a stop on the “map to the stars”. People were everywhere sharing the story and checking out the terrace. All three of our kids were still asleep with no idea of what has happened.

Shortly the police arrived and the investigation began. We found that Kari’s backpack had been taken along with both Claire and Tage’s Kindle Fire Tablets. Sad, but the police think the thief could have been a child (or with a child) since removing the terrace door padlock took squeezing a hand into an opening less than an inch wide.

The police have been awesome. We wouldn’t get this much attention in the States. We have had three personal visits by the police and five different officers assigned to the case, including the acting Chief of Police. They visited every pawn shop and every electronics shop capable of reformatting a MacBook. My MacBook is gone, but the effort has been amazing.

Often with negative experiences there are miracles to observe if you look hard enough and as we have processed this we have seen miracles. Like,

1. Claire was untouched and unharmed. We can handle the loss of any material possession but our little Claire Bear is irreplaceable.
2. Our passports were in Kari’s backpack. Fortunately, we must have gotten the only conscientious criminal because he removed the passports and left them “lovingly” on the terrace. We could have been in real trouble without our passports.
3. My backpack was near Kari’s with a couple credit cards and our only Philippine money in it.
4. Our one month old Nikon camera sitting next to the Kindle Fires was left behind.
5. My phone was unplugged but then left behind.
6. None of us woke up during the crime. This experience has been dramatic for us. But, since no one “witnessed” the act personally it is less traumatic than it could have been. And heaven forbid one of us startled the thief and he turned violent.
7. We are all safe.

You may think this could never happen to you right? That is what we thought, until it did. So what can you do to protect yourself? Be prepared.

1. Before leaving we spent time with each of the children discussing possible scenarios and how we would react to them.
2. We set up our finances in case of a problem- we will post more about this later
3. We work on diligence, knowing our surroundings, being observant of suspicious persons or activities, and keeping our possessions with us at all times; even when inconvenient. This past week we went waterfall jumping and either Kari or I stayed with the backpack and the camera while the other jumped.
4. Don’t get comfortable or arrogant. We got a little casual and didn’t double check that the padlock on the terrace door was secure.

No matter how diligent you are, bad things can happen. And, despite all of our efforts and preparation we found ourselves victimized. It will not stop our trip or even derail our fun but it has taught us a valuable lesson and we are grateful that we are safe as a family and can learn and grow. If you find yourself in a similar situation here are some tips that we found helpful.

1. Most importantly, do not freak out- cry a little (or a lot) but do not loose control. Especially with young children.
2. If there is an imminent danger- get help and get out. As much Jack Reacher as I read, it is still not a good idea to confront criminals head on. There are too many unknown variables.
3. Contact the authorities- it is important to report the crime and get an official police report- even if you think they cannot, or will not, do anything. Most insurance companies require a police report for claims and you never know, maybe they will get the guy.
4. Notify the owner or operator of your hotel or residence- they might have insurance or other suggestions for you to consider.
5. Purchased travelers insurance or got an international rider on your home/renters insurance. We are so glad that we did. Note that some of the things that they will require are the official police report and receipts or other proof of purchase.
6. Gratitude- count your many blessings. For us this meant recognizing that MacBooks and Kindle Fires can be replaced but child safety cannot. We were so blessed.

Bottom line- traveling is awesome and nearly all the time is fun, safe and consists of building memories, but if you travel often like we do, you will have negative experiences. Don’t let them derail your trip. They make great stories.

Thanks for all the outpouring of love, prayers and support this week. Yes it has been tough, but we adventure on. #adventureabroad.