Ten members of Dallas's Highland Park Presbyterian Church were ambushed and robbed by four armed bandits while on a mission trip to Kenya in August. Three of the 10 members were kicked and punched by men armed with rifles and a machete. The group was travelling through remote jungle northeast of Nairobi on the way to install an irrigation system when they were accosted.
The men ordered the team members to turn over their cameras, cell phones and money, as they rifled through their belongings and forced them to lie on their stomachs. A passing truck scared the bandits away, enabling the team to get to safety. No one was seriously injured.
“I truly believe my faith protected me while I was there,” said church elder Jon Phillips in a story in The Dallas Morning News. “That is what I am called to do.”
Church members said it was the first time in 20 years of mission trips that they have had any trouble. – Presbyterian News Service and The Dallas Morning News
