Attack and Robbery

Living Through an Attack and Robbery

Johannes Adendorff, the author of A Different Plan, recalls the attack and robbery at his family’s farm in South Africa.

My father hired a farmhand named Samuel who liked to drink. He’d commonly come to work hungover or drunk.

One day, he was so drunk he could hardly walk straight. As he tried to go about his duties and milk the cows, he grew agitated and started whipping a cow. My father walked right over and told him to go home, to which Samuel tried to hit him with a milk bucket!

As I drove down the driveway after a long day at work, Samuel told me to pull over. “What is it, Samuel?”

Samuel explained what had happened, his words slurred. “I’m going to go to the sangoma to make a white goat offering against the boss!” he screamed.

The sangoma was an African witch doctor who often performed special “spells or curses.” Little did I know that Samuel’s threat would play out in a very big, frightening way.

It was only a week after Samuel’s drunken incident when my father turned around to find a gun pointed at his head. Two robbers tied him up with an old pair of police cuffs, demanding him to lead them into the house. There were two other robbers as well, all standing around without masks to conceal their identity.

They didn’t care if their hostages could identify them, because they were going to kill them.

At that point, my father began to pray.

Soon, the robbers had awoken my mother. The robbers filled up my mother’s car with all sorts of electronics and other valuables, clearly excited with their finds. As they piled all the goods into my mother’s car in the garage, they realized my dad’s pickup was in the way and grew frustrated. One of them slammed on the gas pedal, making my mother’s car tires squeal.

I’d been upstairs asleep, but woke at that sound. As I peered out the window, I saw a few men shouting to each other as they worked to push the pickup out of the way. Why didn’t my dad tell me he employed two new workers? I wondered, walking toward the door.

As I entered the garage, I found two men sitting in my mother’s car. I rose both of my hands to my mouth, booming, “Why do you make so much noise early in the morning?!”

When they greeted me with a pistol in my face, I realized I’d made a huge mistake. One robber led me away from the house, pointing a gun at my back the entire way. Tears rolled down my face as I prayed to Jesus, thinking I was going to meet Him in moments.

The man soon passed in front of me, looking for his friends who had scrambled to get out of the area. As if intentionally, a large cow walked across the road, blocking our way. The robber eased past the cow and began to run. I ran in the opposite direction, hardly believing what had just happened.

When I reached the house, I found my mother and father—bruised and shaken, but alive.

A former military man and professional skydiver, Johannes Adendorff shares his experiences of overcoming adversity and bullying in his memoir, A Different Plan. After years of life in the skies, Adendorff commits his time to spreading God’s message and encouraging others to live for Jesus Christ. You can contact Johannes here.

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