Day in Court

This afternoon was the preliminary hearing for the robbery case which happened back in December, so Jeff had to go to testify. I did not have to go...but I wouldn't have missed it for the world! I knew that, if I didn't go, no matter how many questions I asked Jeff when he got home, I still would not have been satisfied but would have wanted more and more and more details. Better to go and see for myself!

It was very interesting...and very intense. Jeff and I, as well as our neighbors (who both had to testify), are simply exhausted tonight!

Some impressions from the afternoon...
~ actually seeing the robbers in person was very strange
~ passing the mother and girlfriend of one of the defendants on the courthouse steps was also strange, especially after they had just seen Jeff testify against their son/boyfriend
~ seeing utter lack of remorse, especially in the case of one of the defendants, was very sad
~ passing the house of one of the defendants on my way home was unnerving
~ seeing so many Old Order Mennonites in a courtroom in our town was historic
~ hearing the attorneys ask various Old Order Mennonites to describe the robbers' car and hearing the Mennonites (who drive buggies) answer mildly, "I don't really know much about cars," was humorous and quite an understatement!

All who testified did extremely well. They were factual, truthful, not willing to venture a guess if they weren't sure of a detail, calm, dignified, etc. I was so proud of them, and I know a lot of prayers were ascending on their behalf.

It was an interesting peek inside a different world--the world of court, where the players (judge, DA, defense attorneys, police officers, etc.) all seem to know each other, but the witnesses don't have a clue about how things work.

The next step is the indictment which will happen next week. If it goes to trial, that probably won't start for a few months...but I think all of us are hoping and praying that it does NOT go to trial because none of the witnesses wants to go through the time and ordeal of testifying and being involved in a trial that could stretch out for weeks. It was hard enough to get up there and testify once, much less go through an extended situation.

One thought that has comforted me today is that God did such an amazing job of protecting us the day of the robbery, and in so many ways He orchestrated it so no one was hurt. He hasn't stopped doing that! He's still in control of this situation, and He's still taking care of each piece of this puzzle to work it all out for the good. I'm so grateful for that!