They came through the roof (and possibly even tried climbing from the back first before trying the roof?!).

What I first saw after disarming the alarm was the ceiling broken through … I suspect this is how they came through … I’m not sure whether they escaped the same way or just climbed out from the back.

Later I discovered when the police arrived that they actually wrecked the kitchen door. Perhaps looking for money or they assumed that there were valuables because the door was locked.

I had quite a number of theories at work on how perhaps at least two individuals (or maybe more) tried to get in to the church premises and hoped to steal some cash (at least) or other items.

each time I told my “story” to the police and inspector and engage in conversation we would come up with a clearer “theory” or possible scenario.

after all is said and done … we don’t REALLY know how they did it or what made them leave (especially without taking anything with them) … perhaps they didn’t have enought time to ransack the place! … Perhaps they heard me coming from the front door? or even saw me (now the dangerous thought was what if they hid and then attacked me when I stepped in the door? Hmm …)… or perhaps they had a shock when they saw the “Cross” when they jumped down from the ceiling? More questions than answers here …

sure we’ll spice up security and hope this won’t happen again … but we’ll never know. I recall how I was totally “shocked” the during the first break in 5 years ago … of course it was more dramatic with the old grill torn down and the sound system wrapped in cloth but then left behind. This round, I was calmer and less “shocked” but still frustrated and tired by this whole ordeal.

I’m glad our Aussie council member David managed to come over in the afternoon after all the police reports and later Choong Hai (our previous contractor) and his worker came to fix the little damage on the roof and ceiling. I can’t imagine handling all this by myself.

Had to skip a seminary “curriculum review” meeting which I was looking forward to … but that’s life. The week didn’t start very well even though tha last weekend was promising … but the messiness of life is real as well. I’ve been thinking a lot lately on how we Christians often think in “preventive” terms because we want to avoid mistakes, harm or failure. Or more positively we want to make sure things go right. But, Reality sets in and often what we’re left is to live in “redemptive” terms … and I think that’s even more crucial as so often we can’t “prevent” things that are beyond our control … and so often, we still land up making mistakes or others making mistakes that will affect us …

And as I immerse myself more and more in the story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection … I find his “redemptive” qualities seeping into the every days ups and downs, Hi’s and Low’s of my existence. So while being “preventive” is still important, being “redemptive” gives hope and strength to live forward and not get stuck … so perhaps, the more important “curriculum review” needs to take place in what we learn in the midst of often “uncomfortable” or even “crisis” situations. So, there may be a 101 theories I’m trying to make sense of this thing called “life” but at the end of it … Christ came to give us “life” not just some “theories”. That’s terribly redemptive!