Scary situation on the way to adoration :(

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MercyMia

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Last night I had a very scary experience on my way to adoration. I am still a bit shaken up. I was driving towards the adoration chapel around 8pm. At some point I was behind a red van (a work type van, with double doors in the back, sort of cranberry toned and it had a little deer logo on it but not a logo I could recognize) I don’t know how long I was behind it, but suddenly it swerved to the side to let me pass it out. I remember thinking, that’s odd because it wasn’t even going slow and usually cars let you pass them out only when they are going slow and holding you up. So, I passed it out and looked to at the side of the road, I got an eerie, dreadful feeling, I remember having this feeling because I pressed on the gas really hard as I passed it out and sped away. At this point, I may have been 2 or 3 miles or so away from the chapel, on a road that is a main road but it has only houses on it and is quite dark and windy. Then I went on my merry way and kept driving, forgetting about the van. The area near the church is very wooded and dark… even though there are a lot of houses. It is the type of place where you know if a car is behind you because headlights really cut across the night. I did not see any cars behind me as I drove. So, as I usually do, I pull into the parking lot of the church, not seeing anyone near me. I wasn’t on alert about anything being behind me or anything, but I just didn’t see anyone behind me and would certainly have noticed if that van was behind me. The parking lot is very vast and spread out, with a bottle neck entrance…so you always know when another car pulls in the lot by their headlights - especially at night with the poor lighting. When I pull in there is one car in the lot, it is the usual of one of the scheduled adorers. So, as usual I walk out of my car towards the entrance to the chapel. I am half way between my car and the door when, out of nowhere, the red van that let me pass it out a few miles back comes out of literally nowhere and drives towards me! I did not see it enter the parking lot. I had a moment of sheer terror when my mind replayed it letting me pass and I suddenly knew why that car wanted to be behind me, so it could follow me. It must have had its lights off and been following at a safe distance in order to follow me and then creep into the parking lot. I can’t explain the terror I felt at the moment. I knew that the van was there to harm me. I bolted for the door to the chapel and bang on it (there is a pass code that I don’t have, so I always have to knock). Luckily, the lady let me in and we closed the door. The chapel only has a set of stained glass windows that you can’t see clearly out of - so I have no idea what the van did in the parking lot at this point and I was not about to poke my head out the door to find out. I called my husband and had him come, when we looked around we did not spot the van again. My husband tailed me home to make sure nobody was following me. I can only think that this person saw me in their rearview and liked what they saw either me (I am a petite 25 year old women) or my car, which is cherry red and convertible. People who are masters at this type of stuff know what they are doing. Since it was 8pm on a Sunday night and I was in a residential neighborhood, driving away from the direction of the commercial part of town, I am assuming that he thought I was on my way home and intended to follow me to my home. He probably did not think I would be going to a church at night… so that might have thrown him for a loop enough that he did not pursue me. I guess I may never know why that van did what it did…but I cannot help but feel that my life was in danger last night. Oddly, I never saw the driver’s face and don’t know if there was just one person in the van or more than one. When I try and picture the window… I just see black (maybe tinted side windows). I have been asking around at work this morning of anyone who knows what kind of van that is, or what company it belongs to.
My husband thinks my car is too high profile and he wants to go shopping for a station wagon this week. Also, I am never going to the chapel alone again. OH and totally weird thing… a couple minutes before I called my husband he was at home, working on a freelance project on his computer and listening to music. He suddenly had an image in his mind of black vans circling a little car on the road and it made him think he should put his cell phone close to him in case I called him. Can you believe that!?
So, mostly I am posing this as a reminder that we can never be too careful… even when we feel we are in a safe area. There are predators everywhere. We may not be noticing them, but they sure notice us. St. Michael, protect us!
 
Wow, I’m glad your safe now. Whoever was in that van was up to no good, for sure. I think maybe you should contact your local police dept. and let them know what happened. My bet is this person will strike again, or at least attempt to strike again.

I’m envisioning a host of angels chasing that creep away from that Adoration chapel parking lot, lol. If your going to attempt to commit a crime that hurts an innocent person, my bet is the last place you want to end up is near the Eucharist. What an army! 😉
 
I am so sorry you went through that!! I really think you should call the police and let them know. They should be keeping their eye our for the van. Who knows who all was in it or what they were planning. Tell everyone you know, so they can be careful and keep watch!!
 
Yes, I am typing up an account of this to give to the police and also printing out a Google map and highlighting my exact path and where I encountered the van. At least the police might be familiar with the description of the van, if it belongs to a local business or something. I looked online to see if there have been any suspicious things or attacks in town, and nothing came up. But this person could be testing the waters or just getting started. I am also going to let the priest know, since many of the scheduled adorers are elderly women.
 
Wow, that certainly is scary! I agree, call and at least make a police report to have on record in case something like this happens again to someone.

I think you had your guardian angel out there looking out for you last night!
 
MercyMia said:
Yes, I am typing up an account of this to give to the police and also printing out a Google map and highlighting my exact path and where I encountered the van. At least the police might be familiar with the description of the van, if it belongs to a local business or something. I looked online to see if there have been any suspicious things or attacks in town, and nothing came up. But this person could be testing the waters or just getting started. I am also going to let the priest know, since many of the scheduled adorers are elderly women.
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Yes, you should let the priest know too. You would like to think that you are safe at church, but sadly in this world, you really aren’t safe anywhere!!
 
Cultivate a friendship with your guardian angel. God gave him to you and you to him as friend and helper. Also, never fear anything, for Jesus’ Love and Mercy is Omnipotent.
 
Yeah, I mean, I don’t think the Church was the target per se, it was more of him following me to the Church - but since he did follow me in the surronding area… and also, this person may now realize that there is a 24 hour chapel with sometimes only one person in there at a time and see it as a ground for easy pickings. So I feel kind of bad that I may have lead him there, and now the other adorers are at risk.
I considered going to the police station last night or calling them…but I was afraid that I was overreacting - sometimes the police have a way of making you feel that way. Sleeping on it, I now think I have to tell them and I will either drop off a letter or get one in the mail by the end of the day.
 
Praise the Lord for his protection and that you are safe! Very bothersome indeed!
 
Should something like this happen again - do not drive to a deserted parking lot (even the Chapel parking lot). Drive to a police station, if you do not know where that is, drive to a well-lit area with people, a McDonalds, a mall a nightclub, a gasstation, anywhere there are people. Then, call the police from your cell phone.
 
kage_ar - Thanks for the advice…which is what I would typically do IF I knew someone was behind me. I didn’t know he had followed me… he didn’t make his presence known until I was already out of the car. If I knew I was being followed I would have driven to the police station, not continued on to the chapel. Like I said, he must have been stalking from a distance without the lights on. Before I go to adoration, I always check to bulletin to make sure an adorer is scheduled so I am not alone.
 
MercyMia said:
I considered going to the police station last night or calling them…but I was afraid that I was overreacting - sometimes the police have a way of making you feel that way. Sleeping on it, I now think I have to tell them and I will either drop off a letter or get one in the mail by the end of the day.
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Definitely would NOT be overreacting…and even if the police officer felt that you were, that’s his/her problem.
 
“MercyMia” I’m so sorry that you were so frightened… and I praise God, that you are safe. :hug1:

Your scary tale reminded me of the film “Duel” where this traveling salesman is terrorized by a trucker. SO scary.

In future, if you will be scheduling a late Adoration slot… perhaps, your husband or another adorer can go along with you?

I don’t believe that a woman should EVER go out at night, alone. Maybe my thinking is prehistoric on this… but I’m a native of Los Angeles (high crime rate) and I know it’s not safe.

God bless you, dear soul.

MarieVeronica
 
Wow. I am so glad you’re ok. Definitely call the police. They should classify it as a possible abduction attempt because the person in the van obviously had no other intention but to do you harm. First, he deliberately stalked you with his lights off. Second, if he wanted your car, he would have waited in the dark until you had gone inside. He had no interest in your car.

Thank God you are ok.
 
If the chapel is in a lonely, deserted place and there are people coming and going at all hours of the night, it might be a good idea to let the police know so that they can make a routine pass every so often. Our church has perpetual adoration (I used to have the 2-3 a.m. shift once a week) but we are fortunate that the police station is right across the street from the church! Especially if the people in the van figure out that there are people there, alone, late at night, they might consider it a prime place to attack or rob someone. If they see police patrolling it regularly, they might become discouraged and leave the place alone. St. Michael and all of our guardian angels, protect us!
 
Wow. It’s so sad that evil can lurk so close to the presence of our Lord. My parents told me that a few women have been injured and robbed leaving the adoration chapel in the town where I grew up, and that shocked me! I think of the adoration chapel as such a safe place, but I suppose the devil is working overtime at tricking some souls into harming those that adore Christ there. You must be so thankful! We should also pray for the person(s) in the van that they may turn away from evil if that was truly their intent.
 
mountainman99 said:
Wow. It’s so sad that evil can lurk so close to the presence of our Lord. My parents told me that a few women have been injured and robbed leaving the adoration chapel in the town where I grew up, and that shocked me! I think of the adoration chapel as such a safe place, but I suppose the devil is working overtime at tricking some souls into harming those that adore Christ there. You must be so thankful! We should also pray for the person(s) in the van that they may turn away from evil if that was truly their intent.
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I agree mountainman… when I got home, I prayed and prayed that whoever that person is, their soul will be changed by finding themselves before a chapel when they intended to do something menacing. I prayed that the power of the Eucharist grabbed them somewhere in their heart through the brick wall of that chapel… that God’s mercy just beamed right over them in a shower and they would be sorry. I may never know who they were or what they had planned, but maybe God used me as a means to get that person closer to Him in the Eucharist. You know what they say about mysterious ways…
 
So glad you are safe! Our adoration chapel requires 2 scheduled adorers per hour in the evenings. We also do not have permission to keep it open all night regularly because of the safety issue. Other parishes near here that have a better set up–chapel within main church building etc–are allowed to have nighttime adoration. I always go with my husband if we do adoration after dark. It’s too dangerous otherwise!
 
What a scary situation; I know how you felt, as I was followed home years ago, when I was in college, by someone who got behind my car at a light, tailed me for several miles through dark streets, and then stopped and waited at the end of our (long, thankfully) driveway. I sat, terrified, in the car, up by the door, and then when the creepy guy’s car started moving slowly down the street, I jumped out and ran into my house, as I knew he couldn’t quickly turn around, as the street was so narrow. He shortly came back down the street and stopped at our driveway again, clearly checking to see if I was still in the car, and then slowly drove off.

I have never been so scared before or since. To top it off, when I finally moved away from the hallway where I was flattened against the wall, peeking out the locked door, I walked into the kitchen, to find my mother sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me. She startled me so much, I nearly had an attack!

I think you’re absolutely right to let the police know, and you had a pretty good description of that vehicle. Asking for them to occasionally patrol the church in the evening is an excellent idea. Perhaps additional lighting would make the parking lot a little safer, and act as a deterrent to evildoers.

Guardian angels were watching out for you, as they were for me.
 
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