church robbed.

Hi! I am hoping to find you all very well. I am writing to tell you the events of this evening (thursday March 3) and to ask for your prayers. Mario, one of the guys in the church who is starting to serve, was at the church and the church got robbed. Today was to be his first Thurs to start leading worship at the evening service. We were just recently given a guitar for the church so now he has one to practice on and play on. He came by the house to pick up the guitar and headed over to the church to practice ahead of time. A young couple came by asking for Pastor Robin. He told them he wasn't there at that time and that the service started at 7:30. They said they'd come back later, but the girl asked to use the bathroom. He let them in and then the girl pulled a gun on him. They took them in, made him get on his knees, put the gun to his head and demanded the money box "with all the gringo dollars." They found the tithe box and apparently busted it up to take the money. They went around the church looking for other things of value. The only other thing of real value in the church is the sound equipment. They didn't take anything else saying they couldn't get it into the mototaxi. In the end, they only took the money, Mario did not get hurt.
I praise God for protecting Mario and for protecting our family. We are sometimes seen as big fat dollar signs because we are American. We always have our eyes open, taking every precaution to safety, but not living in fear. We trust the Lord in all circumstances, even when things do seem to go terribly wrong. He is always there with us. I ask for your continued prayers for our safety, peace in our home and protection over the church. This seems to be happening a lot in Peru lately. Just about a month ago some guys robbed the church in Lima, entered during a service with guns, made everyone get on the floor and so on. There are constant robberies in my neighborhood and all around us in Ica. But again, we do not live in fear. Thank you so much for your love and your prayers.
Tracy