Southern Baptist missionaries Roger and Diana Gaunt are living proof that missionary couple serving in the Dominican Republic recently survived a home invasion and later found out that others were praying for them during the hours that the invasion was taking place.
“God used folks in the states … to pray for us. We know that it was the prayers that went up to the Lord … that preserved our lives,” said Gaunt, who has, along with his wife, served as an International Mission Board missionary in the Dominican Republic for 18 years.
“We are sure the Lord prompted and used prayer.”
And prayer power is precisely what the Gaunt family needed after church Nov. 5.
Frightening hours
Returning to their home in La Romana following morning church services, the Gaunts and three of their teenage children walked in on at least three armed robbers who were burglarizing their residence. At once, Gaunt said, the intruders took the family hostage at gunpoint and held them against their will for the next five hours.
During the harrowing ordeal, the Gaunts were gagged, blindfolded and bound at their hands and feet. At one point, a gunman threatened a family member, and struck and slapped others.
“There were times I thought some of us were not going to make it,” Gaunt stated.
“We had to depend on God … and believe God was in control.”
Throughout the abduction, Gaunt said he and his family prayed for the Lord’s protection, and silently recited comforting Scripture passages.
After robbing the Gaunts of many personal belongings, the intruders eventually left their home. Soon afterward, one family member managed to escape the bonds and helped untie the others.
The local police are investigating the crime, Gaunt said, but no arrests have been made.
Fortunately, the Gaunts were not seriously hurt during the incident. However, within a few days of the robbery, the family left the Caribbean island to recoup from their experiences. They are currently residing in Little Rock, Ark.
Despite the frightening episode, Gaunt said he sensed that God was in control and guarding them from harm.
“I’ve never felt the presence of God’s angels in my life like I did that afternoon” stated Gaunt. “We were not alone in that room.
“We don’t understand all the implications, but just that God used folks whose prayers … helped us,” he added.
Gaunt said he is also certain the Lord “somehow worked in the life of one of the intruders.” The man, who Gaunt believed persuaded the others not to harm them, at one point loosened the ropes on Mrs. Gaunt’s hands when he saw her weeping. He later asked family members to forgive him.
Looking to the coming days, Gaunt said he is unsure of his family’s future plans, and he is praying for God’s guidance. However, he is unequivocally confident of one thing – the power of prayer.
Calling the ordeal “the most difficult experience of my life,” Gaunt said, he has no doubt “prayer … activates and moves the arm of God.” (BP)
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