Tuesday, after a most troublesome day

Well, yesterday was about the most horrible day I've had in quite a while, definitely my most horrible day in the Transkei in 4 months.

I went to Umtata to take Mydog for a checkup at the SPCA.  My friend, Lucy, also drove with to do some shopping.  I left her at the plaza, while I went on to the SPCA where everything went smoothly.  On my way back, I stopped at a shop to grab something to eat.  As I got back into my car, a man stood at the back of my car saying:"Mam, mam, someone scraped your car with a trolley and walked off."  As I had just gotten into the car, door not even closed yet, I automatically jumped out to see the so-called scrape, which there was no sign of, so I though oke, strange, thanked the guy and got back into the car.  I didn't even think anything further of it and drove off.  Only when I parked again, did I see that my bag is gone!  I couldn't believe it... I kept on looking and thinking, no it can't be, it must be under the seat or something.  But alas.

So, in my bag was my camera (my professional camera with my favorite lens, if you can imagine how much that cost!), my ID, Driver's license, wallet with debit and credit cards and my phone.  So I had no money, no proof of who I am and no ways to get money.  And my most prized possession, my camera is gone.

I first rushed off to the police station, hoping they could send someone on the street to look around for my bag, but of course no, I just had to go and wait in the queue.  I saw that that was going to take ages, so I first went to the bank to cancel my cards and then to a cell phone shop to bar my phone.  Some people were really terrible and offered no help whatsoever, but there were some really kind people like the people from the Cell C shop at the plaza.  They really helped me out and I'm very thankful for that.

Also at the ABSA, there was a friendly lady who directed me promptly to a special phone I could use to cancel my cards and the guy I spoke to on the phone was just great and empathetic to what just happened to me.

Back at the police station, it was a terrible wait in the queue as I knew I had little time and there no one was really going anywhere.  In the almost 2 hours that I waited there, the queue had only moved by 2 people and it was nearing closing time.  There was nothing I could do.  Finally, one policeman came around to ask what people's problems were to check if they're in the right queue.  When the people around me heard of my complaint, they were very kind to me and the man next to me, (who looked like a tsotsi himself, but obviously wasn't)  was so kind as to go to the officers in charge and beg of them to help me first as he could see my case was a bit serious and the time was running out!

So finally, the head officer, I assume helped me to take down my complaint and lay my case.  It took ages, but eventually I got my case nr and affidavit sorted out.

When I got to my car, which I parked close to the police station and in the shade, because Mydog was in my car for about 3 hours, I had gotten a parking ticket of R600 for parking too close to a traffic light, although  according to me, it was miles away and there was no line to show no parking.

In the meantime, I couldn't phone Lucy, or she me and when i went back to the Plaza I couldn't find her, so I just prayed that she took a taxi already and looked out for her along the road.  This morning she came to look for me at the school to see if I was all right.  And turns out she only had R10 with her and had a big mission to hike back from Umtata to Coffee Bay, but she got there safe after 3 hours....

Not a day to be repeated!

I can just add to this that on Saturday morning an Indian man came to me at the shop on the way to the school and said he had a word for me from God.

 It was Psalm 37:1-7
"Don't be worried on account of the wicked; don't be jealous of those who do wrong.  They will soon disappear like grass that dries up; they will die like plants that wither.

Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and be safe.  Seek your happiness in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desire.  Give yourself to the Lord; trust in Him and He will help you;
He will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.

Be patient and wait for the Lord to act; don't be worried about those who prosper or those who succeed in their evil plans."