TESTIMONY: Giving thanks within seconds of armed attack

On a Friday afternoon three weeks ago Gqeberha (PE) couple Toy and Mart van Vuuren were attacked by two gunmen who accosted them in their car in front of a township finishing school.

The men whipped open the front doors of their vehicle moments after the couple had locked the gate of the Zwide school which they started over 12 years ago at a time when most people in their shoes would have been enjoying retirement.

Mart, who is principal of Matric Academy of Excellence told Gateway News that one of the attackers tried to pull her husband, Toy, out of the driver’s seat, saying they wanted the car. But Toy shoved the
man away with his shoulder which had just been fixed through major surgery.

At the same time, the other assailant thrust his gun into her stomach and grabbed her cellphone and handbag. She grabbed back her phone and chased the man as he fled with her handbag.

All of this happened in a few seconds, she said. As shocked students who were across the road during the attack rushed to their car to check on them, Toy began to declare out loud: “Thank you Lord for what we just experienced.” Mart explained this was because they had learned to give thanks in all circumstances according to 1 Thessalonians 5: 18.

After careers of 40 years in the education field the couple started Matric Academy of Excellence in 2011 in
obedience to a plan God gave them. They even established the school at the exact spot in Zwide that the Holy Spirit literally led them to.

Since then they have helped many young people to successfully rewrite their matric exams and they have led many of them to Jesus or to a deeper walk with Him. They have also helped to reconcile students with their parents.

In earlier years of the academy the couple faced hardship and danger, including theft of laptops and equipment and being confronted by armed intruders on several occasions, with Mart once requiring stitches after she was assaulted with a revolver. In 2020 Toy experienced life-threatening health challenges, twice making miraculous recoveries after he had lost consciousness. 

But this week Mart was quick to assure Gateway News that there have been no security problems at the school over the past seven years since they had installed security gates and locked the school gate. She praised God for His protection.

She said they had learned valuable personal security lessons which they will apply and share with others through their latest experience. They lost some money that the robbers stole through her credit card. But they were grateful that a substantial amount of cash in their car boot – from school fees they had just collected – was not touched.

That evening they started receiving many WhatsApp messages from their students’ parents. One message that touched them, came from a Limpopo father, who said: “Sorry for what had happened to you. I sincerely hope that you have experienced God’s angels around you.”   

Mart said that early the next morning, as she was waiting on God for “a word”, she experienced “a wonderful time of learning, extending forgiveness and giving thanks for His protection”. During this time she made notes of a message that she received from God. Her notes became a Bible study lesson plan based on their experience of being attacked. She said students have been responding well to the study, which she has callled When a Christian goes through trials and tribulatons. She has presented it during staff and student development periods.

During the weekend after the attack she asked God for strength to endure the frustration of applying for a new driver’s licence and ID book. But when she got back to school she found her bag in the yard – with her licence and ID in it.

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