Car Break-In!!😱 : Travel Blog #17

Wow the last week was wild! From the most beautiful hike of my life to a weekend with good friends to an unexpected twist, this week was one to remember!

Mount Rainier

Our snowman!

MOUNT RAINIER

Coming back from Alaska, it seemed hard to believe that anything could ever be as beautiful. Then we went to Mount Rainier National Park. In a totally different way, it was easily the most beautiful hike of my life! It was sunny but snowy. Charlie and I even built a snowman much to the entertainment of the hikers walking by!

PORTLAND: CAR BREAK-IN

Security footage of the break-in.

As you can probably guess from the title of this post, both our streak of having zero theft so far and the back two passenger windows in our car (Barbie) were broken last Friday morning at 2:30 AM!

We were staying for one night at a Hyatt hotel in Portland, Oregon. As it was in a downtown area, the hotel valeted the cars to an off-site garage. At eight in the morning, we got a call from the front desk saying that the valet manager wanted to speak with us. Is there ever a good reason that a valet manager would want to speak to you? He told us that three cars had been broken into last night and ours was one of them. Our back two passenger windows had been smashed in (poor Barbie!) and there were glass shards everywhere. However, we were only missing two duffel bags! It was such wonderful news! We had taken our electronics in to the hotel room, but we still had had quite a lot of valuable goods in the car that had not been taken! It wasn’t until we all saw the pictures from the security footage that we pieced together the story…..

Mr. Thief riding away with my backpack!

A man on a bike entered the garage at 2:30 AM. He proceeded to smash open three cars and rummage through them. He grabbed our little duffel bag and my backpack and started to bike away. Then we watched him stop and decide to rummage through them first. He looked through the duffel and, seeing our Nintendo switch, put that aside to take. Then he rummaged through my backpack. Now this was my second backpack that I was using to store some extra belongings and my dirty laundry. In what I find to be the funniest part of this whole event, he saw the dress and shoes I keep in there, a bag of dirty laundry, and my Answers in Genesis Christian apologetics book. Apparently highly disappointed in what he thought was going to be a great steal, he returned to our car and dumped everything in my backpack out everywhere! I guess the saying is true: “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!”

Cleaning out the glass.

He then went through our cooler and my guitar case and decided to take nothing. I don’t know what exactly he was hoping to find. Finally, he grabbed our big duffel full of ski equipment and miscellaneous items and threw it under the car next to us. He took the bag with the Nintendo switch and was off! At 7:30 the next morning, the garage opened to the public. Mr. Thief came back in a car this time and entered the garage. He went over to the busted cars and grabbed all the bags he had stashed underneath because they had been too big to take on his bike. The garage attendant saw everything happening and recognized him as the thief from the footage. However, there was nothing she could safely do to stop him because Portland has significantly defunded their police, so they wouldn’t come and help her.

Our makeshift windows. (The pillows helped to mask the freeway noise!)

Upon reuniting with Barbie, we cleaned out as much glass as we could and filed a police report. However, since we weren’t an emergency, the severely limited police force informed us that they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it for quite some time. It is almost 100% likely that there will be no prosecution for the crime. The people of Portland walking by us on the sidewalk as we cleaned out our car looked zero percent surprised on any level. Clearly this type of thing happens all the time there! We drove to Safelite where we joined a line of people who had had similar experiences. Safelite vacuumed out our car and set us up with some temporary plastic covers for the windows. While noisy, they are extremely effective! 🎶Safelite repair, Safelite replace!🎶

We spent the last few nights in a small town where the vulnerable plastic window covers weren't an issue. Now we're in Sedona trying to get Barbie all fixed up! The process is turning out to be a little bit more complicated than expected because there is a shortage of windows due to a UAW strike.

Altogether, we lost several items. Some of them were our nice duffel bag with ski boots and helmets (as well as other miscellaneous items), our Nintendo switch, my dad's hydro-pack, and Lucy's winter coat. The other cars were completely emptied so we were very blessed to have lost so little!

I would be blatantly lying if I said that this whole situation wasn't stressful or frustrating. However, as Christians, we believe that God works everything for the good of those who love Him! As Matthew 6 discusses, our real treasures have been stored up in heaven where thieves don’t break in and steal, and rust and moths don’t destroy! Everything we have that is of real value is untouchable.

Before we were aware of what had been stolen, my siblings and I all thought together: “What would be the worst case scenario?” I decided that it would have been if the thief took Barbie herself as well as everything in her. But honestly, that wouldn’t be even close to the end of the world. People every day suffer so much worse. God has given Christians a joy and peace beyond circumstance and understanding. We don’t trust Him just when things are good, but always.

Have you ever thought about where your treasures lie? And not just your material treasures. This experience got me thinking. On earth, what could be taken from me and destroyed that would crush me? What treasures do I have that I have kept here instead of in heaven?

I don’t want to leave my treasures here on earth. It’s easy to say, but harder to put into practice. My challenge to you today is to start trying. That’s what I’m going to do. Choose today to begin saving up treasures in heaven. Begin shifting your values towards heavenly things.

Instead of loving things of the earth, start to put your joy in the unchanging fruits of the Spirit and blessings of heaven! I promise you, Jesus will keep them safe. For indeed where your treasure is, that is where your heart will be. I don’t know about you, but I want my heart to be protected in Jesus' hands in heaven!

When the world watches people who live like modern day Jobs, they are filled with wonder. How can that person have so much taken from them and still be filled with the light of Christ? People watch, and people wonder. This is how seeds are planted. The devil goes after these Jobs, but finds that he can’t harm them because they have put all of their treasures and joy in Jesus’ hands with His perfect protection. The enemy is only able to cause momentary pain, not to kill the everlasting joy that wells up in them.

I don't know about you, but I feel way more bad for that thief than I do for us. We were caused only temporary and minor affliction. He needs our prayers today. Remember him in your prayers!

Mr. Thief on his bike.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for loving your children. You have blessed us with the ability to have joy and peace above all circumstances. Please be with those who do not know You yet, especially the man who stole from our car. Open their eyes to see the joy and light that Christians get to live with and surround them with blessings. Continuously reveal Yourself to them until they come to You. Don't ever give up, but instead pursue them all of their lives. When they do come to You, offer them all of Your greatest blessings of love, forgiveness, and joy. We look forward with great excitement to welcoming them into the family! Thank you so much. You are truly an awesome God. Please fill every person in the world with Your love and wonder.

Amen

Share YOUR story in the comments below.... Have YOU ever been stolen from???