One night my girlfriend and I were accosted by three armed men in front of her house.

They got into the car with us and told me to drive around. Then they started to ransack my briefcase, my wallet, and the car. Through the rearview mirror, I watched the two men in the back seat, and I noticed that my girlfriend, seated between them, was praying. They didn't allow us to talk, but they couldn't prevent us from praying.

The young man who was with me in the front seat asked a lot of questions: Was I armed? Where was I going? I told them to take whatever they needed, and let us go. I was able to pray, calmly, the first two words of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father," which instantly assured me that we all have only one Father. He was protecting each one of us at that exact moment. I knew that divine Mind was, in reality, our only intelligence, and enabled us to think and act with calm authority.

The young man took the money out of my wallet, examined my checkbook, which contained no blank checks, then asked for my bank cards. I continued to pray, because the cards were in my wallet, but he threw everything over to the man behind him, and neither one of them saw the cards. My girlfriend was talking to the two men in the back, but since the radio had been turned up, I couldn't hear what they were saying. The man in front kept asking the one in the back, "Shall we let them go?"

Suddenly he made me turn into a dark street. Trustingly, I thought, "Father, everything is in Your hands." God has already given us dominion, a wonderful inheritance. As beloved sons and daughters of God, we have the divine right to accept it. However, this inheritance is not only ours. It belongs to all the children of God. And He leaves no one out of divine Love's omnipresence.

The man in the front got out of the car, with the money, and told me to continue driving with his friends, and they would release us. They made me turn back and drive around the city of Sao Caetano do Sul. After almost an hour they let us go. They took a few of our belongings. We returned home and found out that the family had already called a Christian Science practitioner, who had prayed for the situation to be resolved.

Danger and violence seem to be "out there," but they're nowhere, because God is everywhere, and in His presence they have no reality or foundation. God's spiritual creation is the only real creation and it is completely good. There isn't a second, material creation, subject to a power apart from God.

God's children are governed by God, infinite Spirit, who always gives us safety. His children are always loved. The Christian Science Bible Lesson that week included this passage from Luke, "... Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (1:78, 79).

I am very grateful for the working out of this situation. The three young men could see that we weren't afraid—we spoke to them calmly and firmly. We were certain that God was with us, that He would never abandon the five of us. I'm thankful to God for Christian Science. It has transformed my life.

Valdir Iamnhuqui
Sao Caetano Do Sul, Sao Paulo Brazil

I am the girlfriend mentioned above, and I confirm this testimony. During this experience I constantly prayed that Valdir would feel the presence of the Christ, and that a sense of calm would be maintained. I saw in his face that he was calm. He answered all of the man's questions as if he were talking to a friend.

I prayed also for my mother, who was alone at home. I knew that the same God who created us, had also created those young men, and that we were all enveloped in the same love. Then I felt great compassion, as I thought that they could be leading a much better life than what they were experiencing. This encouraged me to talk a little bit to the men who were sitting next to me. I asked them to let us go, because I didn't want anything bad to happen to them. I wanted them to be happy, and I was praying for them as well. I feel certain that something touched them deeply, because not too long after that we were released and there was no violence. They didn't even take the car.

When we got home, we found out that a neighbor had seen what had happened, and had told my mother immediately. Very quickly my mother, my family, and the practitioner were praying for us. My mother remained very calm, and was certain that everything would turn out all right. I am very grateful to God for everything, and for the teachings received during class instruction in Christian Science.

Margareth Aparecida Vancetto
Sao Caetano Do Sul, Sao Paulo Brazil