A Walk With God...

Kidnapped

2009-01-25T12:00:00.008-05:00

I havent posted to my Blog in a while because something extraordinary happened in my life. Im now ready to share what happened...

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October 29,2008, I got off work late at night, stopped by a store to pick up a few items and headed home. I parked in my driveway, got out, took a few things inside and came back outside to get a few items from my vehicle. When I turned around there was a man standing beside me, another in front of me holding a gun and a third guy lurking in the shadows. That night, I was kidnapped from my driveway. They placed me in the trunk of a car and headed off towards the bank. During all of this, I was not afraid. I was calm and able to think clearly about what my next steps would be. I have a habit of putting my cell phone in my pocket. As soon as the car took off, I reached in my pocket, grabbed my cell phone and called 911. I explained to the 911 operator I had just been kidnapped from my driveway, was in the trunk of a car and need her to send help fast. I couldn't see where I was going so I couldn't be very much help to her. She was able to track me using the GPS in my cell phone and relay to officers my approximate location. Officers began heading my way looking for any suspicious vehicles. One officer passed the car I was in and later told me, "Something told me to turn around." I said, "God told you to turn around." As soon as he turned around, the car took off. He clocked the car at over 100 MPH … and I was in the trunk! They were driving so fast that the men lost the officer in the high speed chase. The car wrecked and the men fled the vehicle leaving me in the trunk. I was still on the phone with the 911 operator. She and I working together helped the officers locate me. She used the GPS in my phone and I listened for the sirens on the police cars. The officers pried the trunk open and I was able to climb out to safety. The whole thing happened in less than 15 minutes.

A few weeks later, the men were apprehended and are currently in jail awaiting trial. Prior to them being incarcerated, I asked a Pastor if he would visit the men if they were arrested. I humbly asked, "Will you go? Will you go - and minister to them? Will you tell them about God and Jesus?" He said he would, and he did once they were arrested. After so many weeks, the 911 tapes became public record. I was given the opportunity to listen to them before they were released to the public. The day I went to listen to the tapes, I took three Bibles with me. I asked the Sergeant if he would give the Bibles to the men. I said, "I don't think they know Jesus, but maybe if they read these, they will get to know him." He said he would give the Bibles to the men and later did. The jail also has a program the men can sign up for and go to church inside the jail. I pray they will read their Bibles and attend church there.

I never would have thought that something like this could have happened to me. I've often thought, Why me? I'm just an ordinary woman. The answer is, God allowed it to happen on purpose. Thinking about the disciples of Jesus, they too were just ordinary people. God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things through, as long as they are willing vessels. This way, we know its God and not an act of Man. I'm not sure what extraordinary things God has in store for me, but I'm eager to find out. I think if God would have consulted me about the whole kidnapping thing, I would have politely declined. Since I chose to follow Christ, my life has been an awesome adventure. I wouldn't trade it for anything. He has blessed me in so many ways, beyond what I ever could have imagined. My kidnapping is my most recent gift from the Lord. I have learned a lot about relying on God all the time, not only when I find myself in "sticky situations". I have also learned about a true peace that only God can give, faith, patience, waiting on Him, consulting Him in even the smallest matters, seeking wise counsel, praying for those who intended harm for me, showing these men and others grace and mercy, and discipling others.

Related News Links

10/29/08
http://www.wxii12.com/news/17832566/detail.html

10/30/08
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/oct/30/911-was-dialed-in-trunk-of-auto/news-local-kernersville-journal/

11/12/08
http://www.wxii12.com/news/17964974/detail.html

11/13/08
http://www.wxii12.com/news/17974481/detail.html?rss=gws&psp=news

11/14/08
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/nov/14/police-think-crimes-related/news-local/

01/25/09
http://www.wxii12.com/news/18565049/detail.html

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/530147.aspx

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jan/26/kidnapping-victim-says-faith-helped/news/

Kernersville News Article

http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-story-kidnapping-victim-speaks-090126,0,5354596.story

Thankful

2009-01-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

Kidnapped Kernersville resident shares her story
By Jennifer Schneider
Features & News Editor

Nearly three months after she was kidnapped from her home, Kernersville resident Susan Patrick, 32, decided to tell her story.
“Back in October 2008, I got off work late at night and decided to stop by the store,” she told members of the Calvary Chapel of the Triad congregation Sunday. “Once I got home, I took a few items into the house, just like I had done a million times before, and when I came back out to get the rest of my things there was a guy standing next to me and another right in front of me with a gun. Initially when I turned around I screamed because it startled me.”
In shock, Patrick asked the men what they wanted.
“They told me they wanted my money, and when I told them I had already taken my purse inside they proceeded to make me walk down my driveway and down the street to their car,” she said. “They picked me up and put me in the truck.”
Although frightened, Patrick said she felt a calm come over her that allowed her to think of what to do next.
“I prayed throughout the whole thing and my next thought was, what do I do next,” she said. “The first thing I did was take the phone out of my pocket and call 9-1-1. I told them I had been kidnapped and they needed to come find me. I was really calm throughout the whole ordeal. The Bible talks about peace only the Lord can give you and you really cannot describe that until He gives it to you. At one point an officer passed the car and later he told me something told him to turn around. I told him that was God who told him to go back.”
Authorities were able to find Patrick’s approximate location from her cell phone transmission and Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Kernersville Police Department officers were dispatched.
The police units chased the car until it was wrecked and the kidnappers fled from the scene on foot. After a few minutes, officers were able to free Patrick from the trunk unharmed.
Within two weeks, three men were charged with the kidnapping and are currently being held in the Forsyth County Jail.
Orlando Joshua Wesley, 17, is charged with felony kidnapping, armed robbery, first-degree burglary and felony possession of a stolen vehicle. Eric Carlyle Farmer Jr., 16, and Demario Andrew Johnson, 18, are charged with felony kidnapping and armed robbery.
Although many would have been angry at the men who attacked them, Patrick was more worried about making sure they knew the Lord.
“My heart is broken because they are living in the world, so to speak,” she said. “They have allowed bad things to happen by not listening to the Lord. At a certain point the 9-1-1 tape was going to be public record so I had an opportunity to listen to it. When I did that, I bought three Bibles and took them with me to the sheriff and asked him to give them to the men. The most important part of this is God’s grace and mercy, because everybody messes up in life and whether it is big or small, it is important for people to realize that not only can you be forgiven for the little stuff, but for the big stuff as well.”
When asked if she put a personal note in the Bibles given to each of her kidnappers, Patrick said she didn’t have to because the Bible itself was a personal note.
Although at first she wanted to remain anonymous, Patrick said a lot of thought and prayer went into her decision to finally share her story.
“I think it is important to wait and see what God is going to do with the situation and not act right away,” she said. “I have been praying about it since it happened and many people I know have come up to me and said because of what happened to me, they are more careful in their own lives. Another thing I consistently thought about is that God kept me safe through the whole ordeal. A lot of times you have fear and it’s all in your head and if the Lord’s plan for me was to have this happen than that is His plan. I don’t know what God’s plan is for me, but obviously He had me go through this for a reason and I came out of it safe for a reason.”
Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor David McGee said he is impressed at the steps Patrick has taken to move forward and share her faith with others.
“To take what happened and then speak about it takes guts, but she wants to give God the glory and we believe the Lord will do something special with this,” he said. “When someone goes through something like this, they have a natural tendency to have hard feelings toward those who did something to them, but not Susan. It would have been easy to draw into her shell, but that is not what she did. If it wasn’t for her taking the Bibles to the men or getting the church to pray for them, I don’t think we would have encouraged her to tell her story and put her name out there. This says so much about her heart.”
Patrick said she feels blessed to have the support of her family, friends and church and she hopes that one day good can come out of such a tragic situation.
“I am thankful that God is my God, that Jesus is my savior and that Pastor David is my pastor,” she said. “The Lord has blessed me with awesome people in my life. After all of this, it would be great if one day we were all in heaven and I could sit down with these men and talk about everything that happened. The one thing I have learned is you cannot rely on yourself. You have to rely on God and I consult Him now more than I used to.”

This story was previously posted at: http://kernersvillenews.com/feature_detail.asp?ID=648
It also appeared on the front page of the Kernersville News - Tuesday Edition 01/27/09
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