What happened?

The following is Brad's account of what happened.
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At 9:45pm Monday night, just after our kids had fallen asleep, a man came through our kitchen window with a gun and ordered me to open the front door of our house, letting enter 4 or 5 other masked men. We were told to lay down, what little we had on our persons was taken, and my hands were tied behind my back. Most likely due to our total compliance and cooperation, we were not injured or even physically treated badly at all after the initial entrance.

About an hour or so went by with the men holding guns to us and taking the Lord’s belongings. They put the items in our van and left with our debit cards and PIN numbers leaving two armed men in the house to make sure we had not lied about the banking information. Another 2 hours or so went by with the two men waiting for the others and rummaging through the rest of the house. Lindsay, Titus, and I were held upstairs with the three other children asleep downstairs. We were not allowed to be with them or see them. At 2am the men returned in the van, hid the keys to it and to our 4 wheeler, and called Lindsay and me out of our room.

We were placed in the room with the rest of the children, and I was called out. The men explained that they had not harmed any of us and therefore required that we not contact the police. They threatened they would return if we did. I was told to keep my family in the bedroom until morning and that they would have a man outside making sure we complied. After about a half hour of waiting in the bedroom, I felt it necessary to leave the house. We took diapers and wire cutters, woke the kids, and escaped through the back of the house.

Cutting through our neighbors barbed-wire fences we made our way about a half a mile through some fields as to not be seen by anyone who could have been watching until
arriving at a neighbor’s house at around 3am. They took us in and gave us a car. Lindsay and the kids lied on the floor of the vehicle as we drove the rest of the way to a highway and then to the house of a couple in our church.

In the end, all of us escaped unharmed. We did not lose everything we own, we did however lose a lot. Nearly all electronics, computers, tools, jewelry and other valuables, money, cards, some furniture and kitchen appliances, even food and toiletries among countless other miscellaneous items were taken.

Sadly the men thought it necessary to kill our dogs. Suede, our Weimaraner was two weeks from having puppies and was poisoned. Huss, our male Weimaraner was also poisoned, but was found alive, not able to walk and possibly blind the following morning. He is in a vet hospital now.

Right now we are dealing the paper work of fixing our banking accounts and cards, and enjoying the support and fellowship of some missionary friends in another town, as well as needed time together as a family.