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A Bomb
This story is true, but the names of the people and the country cannot be revealed due to sensitivity.
One night, missionary Herb Jones and his family were hungry and in need of food. They decided to go to one of their favorite restaurants. As they walked there, it seemed as though the entire city had gone sour. There was fighting everywhere. But they continued on their way to the restaurant and sat down. It was easy to find a table—they were all empty. Usually the place was very busy, but this time the Joneses were the only diners.
The restaurant was eerily quiet. No one else had come to eat there. Herb and his wife, Judy, along with their children, were the only ones there. This was very strange. Usually the little restaurant in Southeast Asia had tasty food and a pleasant atmosphere. Many people came to enjoy a meal there. But not today. What’s wrong with this place? they wondered.
Not only was it quiet, the food seemed to have gone sour. The rice was cold and stale. Herb could hardly choke down the chapati (a flat bread), it was so inedible. They could hardly drink the tea, and the service was bad. Something was terribly wrong. But what?
The Joneses were serving their first missionary term in Southeast Asia. They spent months studying the language and getting to know the people. But things in that part of the country were not going well. Fighting between the Hindu and Muslim people grew into nightly bombings and other acts of violence. Because of all the fighting, the government had set a nightly curfew at 6:00 p.m. The Joneses had to learn to live with this tense situation, and they had to be careful to follow the rules.
Upset by the poor food and bad atmosphere, they finally decided to leave. They got up quickly and walked out. Only fifteen minutes after they walked out the door, an explosion rocked the city. The restaurant had been bombed! Later, when they returned to the site, they found only rubble. They had narrowly escaped becoming buried under that rubble.
About two weeks after their narrow escape from death, the Joneses received a letter from a friend in Yakima, Washington. “Friend,” he wrote, “the other night I awoke with a burden to pray for you. I didn’t understand it, but I got out of bed and spent some time in prayer.”
Reading the letter, Herb realized that his friend had prayed at exactly the same time the bomb exploded in the restaurant.
During their years on the mission field, the Joneses have often faced difficulties. But no matter what the situation, God has taught them that His grace is always sufficient. He was watching over them and helped them escape from death.
The information for this story was supplied and is being used with permission from the Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2002 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission.
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