Hi,
If you want to circulate details here it is the event of Monday night.
I came home from the pizza parlor where I had spent time with the Leduc Gateway team and their sponsored children. I pulled in at about 10 pm. Jeri had not gone because she had been at a bridal shower all afternoon in 38 C. heat. After I had parked the truck I noticed that the garage was empty so suggested to Jeri to have her put her car in and then I would pull my truck over on the outside patio between the garage and the outer gate to give room for Jessica our daughter, to park her car. When I was completing this operation and lowering the gate a car pulled in and the passenger got out with a gun announcing the hold up. They made me sit on the step of the front door. At that point Jeri stuck her head out of the living room window because she heard me speaking to someone. They announced the holdup and the taller one who did not have a gun jumped through the window and starting demanding that she open the non existent safe. He also demanded that Jeri open the front door. She has keys for two of the three locks, while I have keys for all the locks on my keychain. My keychain was on the dining room table but Jeri did not know this. The thief that was hovering over me with his 9 mm semi automatic pistol tried forcing the door knob from the outside. I knew they were getting more and more nervous and I was getting angrier as well. At one point I quickly jumped the fellow when he was not looking, pinning his arms to his side. I thought that the pistol could also be a perfect imitation. With his wrists pinned and with me below him rising to a standing position he managed to squeeze off a shot with his finger trigger. The shot was wild and could have gotten him as much as me. With this shot they panicked and took off with their stolen car. They saw the spreading blood stain on my shirt and high tailed out. I had thrown my truck keys in the flower bed when they were not paying attention but was able to find them quickly.
Jeri dialed what is equivalent to 911 and then closed up the house while I backed the truck out onto the road. Then she drove me to emergency where she also filled in the police report while I was under going close observation and testing. After running several tests it was determined that the bullet had been shot from above. It had entered the belly structure but did not enter the belly cavity. It went in and exited this portion and then entered the right upper (innerside) thigh area, only to exit the right lower side of the rear end. No veins, nerves or bone nor organs were affected. The doctor said I won the lottery but we know that God´s hand was at work. All that needed to be done was to clean up the wound and suture the entrance and exit areas.
We recognized one of the assailants as a son of a couple that we had evangelized several years before. He seemed very uncomfortable and most likely recognized us once he was in the house. It was a chance hold up which happens often. While people are entering their front gates the thieves take advantage of the open gate and invade their residence. We knew this to be by chance as they repeatedly asked if there was anybody else in the house. I spent most of the night and the next day under observation and was released from the hospital at 3 pm on Tuesday with orders not to walk till Friday and then to progressively increase my activity level as well as walking.
During the whole episode I felt only a stinging sensation but no pain. I want to thank you for your prayers. This could have ended up in tragedy. In the end, this event caused many people to come together for prayer as well as to recognize that we only continue to exist because of God´s mercy. Ken Bayer
