My Kidnapping Testimony - January 25, 2001 Psalm 56:12-13.."I am under vows to you, O God;I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life." I am often asked to speak about my kidnapping experience and I wish to give you my testimony to the awesome power of our Father in heaven who preserved my life on January 25, 2001. The following is my "thank offering" to Him as He deserves praise for considering my life important to Him. Praise the Lord for pursuing me! The excerpts from this testimony were written back in March 2001. All of the events mentioned took place between 1:15 and 3:00AM on January 25, 2001. "I certainly didn't expect to be kidnapped. Just like most people, I heard about stuff like that on the news every night and figured it couldn't happen to me. When I came home, got out of my car and was halfway to my apartment, I saw them and it gave me a sick feeling inside. There were only two guys at that point in time. God gave me a warning signal, but I just didn't have time to elude them. I tried to quietly walk past them and they said hello to me and I returned the greeting and walked about two more steps past them before they called me back. It was a 9mm handgun pointed at me and they ordered me to give them my keys and cell phone. They told me to come with them and they went to my car and ordered me into my trunk. Even with an upstairs neighbor wide awake, nobody in my complex seemed to be there so as I took a quick look around for anything I could think of to get me out of it, I conceded because I knew they were capable of shooting me and I thought I could buy some time to think by complying with them for the short term. That worked! I am thankful God has always given me the gift of compassion and patience. Patience is a virtue has a different meaning for me now. As they locked me into my trunk, they carjacked my vehicle and as I rode in the back, I heard them talking to each other and boasting about what they had done and I heard enough of the conversation to learn that the gun was loaded so God opened my ears enough to hear that I couldn't overtake them by myself. Shaking and trembling, I thought of the many possibilities that could happen now that I was totally at their mercy. Thoughts about where we were going turned into thoughts of my family, my closest friends and how they would cope if something happened to me. I come from a very close family. Back and forth I went as I wondered what they were going to do to me. It's so weird to re-tell it, but I wondered if they would drive my car into a river with me in the trunk. Would we be in another state? So many questions ran through my mind. After 15 minutes or so of being back there, I finally regained my senses enough to settle down. It had been almost unreal up to that point, but now it became necessary to keep a clear head. I resorted to deep prayer at that point. I knew I couldn't do anything to change the circumstances of my situation so I expressed my concerns in prayer to God. We stopped and they got out. I could hear whispers and after a minute or so, they got back in and drove some more. This is the scariest part for me. Another five minutes of driving went by and eventually I could tell we were no longer on pavement. It was rough and I was bouncing around and I knew for certain that this was going to turn ugly. We were going someplace secluded. The car finally stops. I know that this is going to be the final destination for them because they stripped my car and trashed it here. Again I hear "Is the gun loaded?" and I hear "yes" That's very comforting! I closed my eyes and prayed. I asked God to forgive me of my own sins and asked him to handle the situation as he saw fit. There's more whispering in the background outside of the car as they got out. I hear the key go into the trunk latch and I know things are fixing to happen quickly now. As the trunk begins to open, the gun goes right to my left temple. It felt cold to have the iron touching my head and this is what wakes me up in my sleep some nights. It's hard to bury the images and emotions of that moment. There are three people here now including another vehicle. They demand my wallet and rip my watch off my arm and get rough with me here until that third person recognizes me. They go back and discuss what they want to do with me and this was where God took over. I carry no cash with me. This frustrated them and in a surprisingly calm manner, I asked them if money was all they were looking for? I told them if cash was all they needed, then I would take care of that. I suggested the ATM machines for two reasons. I wanted surveillance should something happen later on and I wanted to calm them down. I felt so out-of-body. Only God could accomplish what happened after that. They trusted me. At gunpoint, they gave me my keys and allowed me to drive my car. We went to three ATM machines in the Harbison area. They got $600. They were scared of me by then because they thought I had hidden cameras in my car or something. On at least 5 or 6 occasions, they asked about being able to trust me to keep things quiet. I had to assure them that I wouldn't tell. Of course that changed. They did show remorse surprisingly and apologized to me as we drove along. Finally, they asked me if I was scared? I said yes and they said..even now? I said yes. They asked me why I had complied with them and I told them that I'm a Christian and if this is my time to go, then it's my time to go. They were quiet for a minute, but they did show more remorse after that conversation. I pray for them too because they were so young. At the end of the ordeal, we were at the Piggly Wiggly on Lake Murray Blvd off I-26. I got another $100 from the ATM machine there and they finally decided to let me go. Peacefully, they got out, shook my hand and apologized for everything. They got into another vehicle that had been following us. In one final move, they flagged me down once more to give me my cell phone back. I felt some guilt about calling the police even though it was the right thing to do. I learned afterwards how the guy before me suffered stitches to the head and would be permanently scarred. I do believe that some good will come out of this for even the young men who committed the crime and I pray that happens."