‘Surrounded By Fire’ – God Meets The de Weerds In a Crisis

When Tammy and Jan de Weerd dealt with a family crisis, God was in their midst. (Photo by Chris Dixon) 

By Steve Bertel 

Editor’s note: The subjects of this article, Tammy and Jan de Weerd, agreed to share their personal experiences and testimonies so that, when we face seemingly insurmountable challenges or crises in our own lives, we, too, can trust in the same unshakable faith they did – and know that God is already guiding our way through the difficult situations, even when we may not immediately see it. However, we are respecting the parents’ privacy wishes and not revealing their daughters’ real names. 

 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew they faced impossible odds when they defied the orders of the mighty and powerful King Nebuchadnezzar. But they also knew they served a God more mighty and more powerful than any earthly ruler. 

Bound and cast into a fiery furnace – with the heat cranked up, on the angry King’s orders, seven times more than usual – the three men faithfully knew God was at their sides. 

Even when they were surrounded by the blazing hot fire. 

Even when it seemed there was no way out. 

At least no way out they could immediately see. 

Until, as we read in Daniel 3:25, Nebuchadnezzar peered into the furnace and, astonished, told his counselors, “Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt – and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!” The furnace was then opened and the three men were allowed to emerge. To the amazement of the King and all his men, they were totally unscathed!” In fact, Daniel 3:27 tells us… “the hair of their head[s] was not singed, nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.” 

Such was the faith of former Meridian mayor Tammy de Weerd and her husband, Jan. 

It started in the early morning hours of Monday, February 22, 2021, when they received a text from their youngest daughter, Taylor, who was living in Amsterdam at the time. The text said only: “Can you please call me in the morning? I have some news about Hanna.” Taylor knew the time difference between Amsterdam and Idaho; it was 8 a.m. in the Netherlands – and midnight in Idaho. 

But Tammy couldn’t wait. She snatched up the phone and called her daughter. 

And what Taylor told her was every parent’s worst nightmare. 

Hanna is Jan and Tammy’s oldest daughter. And she was in jail. On suspected drug possession charges. In a foreign country. 

Hanna had chosen to travel to Egypt for her first working-abroad experience. For years, the U.S. State Department had warned American citizens “to consider the risks of travel to Egypt due to threats from terrorist and violent political opposition groups” (from https://eg.usembassy.gov/travel-warning-egypt-071917/). What’s more, Hanna would be an attractive, young American woman traveling alone. Knowing Hanna wanted to go there, Jan and Tammy had had the same reservations any parents would, but knew they could not talk their daughter out of going; Hanna had traveled to many foreign countries throughout her twenty some years – sometimes with her parents, sometimes alone. She was always cautious and careful when she traveled. She knew how to take care of herself. She was always aware of her surroundings. And had always stayed in touch with her parents along her solo journeys. So that gave Jan and Tammy at least a modicum of confidence. 

Plus, they knew God would be the hedge of protection around their daughter during her travels. Tammy had come to know the Lord back when she was a teenager in high school; Jan had grown up in the Netherlands in a Protestant environment. 

But still, they had concerns. Especially when Hanna told her parents she wanted to spend up to eighteen months in Egypt. “In school, Hanna always liked to differentiate herself from other students. She really liked to learn. She liked to explore. She wanted to live life to the fullest,” her mother says. 

True to her word, Hanna had texted her parents as her flight was leaving Amsterdam, telling them she was “starting her journey.” 

“We expected her to text us back in about eight hours, which would have been our Saturday morning, when her plane would have landed in Egypt. But the text never came,” Jan remembers. “Then, Saturday turned into Sunday morning, afternoon, and evening … and still no text. We kept checking our phones. But no text. No message. Nothing. Zero.” 

Then came the midnight text from Taylor. 

Hanna had aspirations of becoming a “digital nomad” of sorts; as a marketing specialist and web analyst, she could work virtually anywhere. In fact, she once told her father, “All I need is a web connection and I can work anywhere in the world.” During COVID, she had been recruited to do temporary work for a Treasure Valley-based health supplement company. As a result, she became a huge believer in “gut health” products, and later started her own company – to maintain her health routine. 

Through the call, Jan and Tammy learned that Hanna had been detained by customs officers at an airport in Egypt, officials who were suspicious over the health supplements she was carrying: a large number of capsules (vitamins) and a bag of white powder, which was a healthy protein pancake mix. 

While at the airport, Hanna had texted a friend: “They’re taking too long with the search. They’ve called more people over. Everyone’s looking at my bags, and I can’t even see what it is they’re looking at.” Later, she typed, “If you don’t hear from me in a day or two, tell my parents what happened.” 

When the communications stopped after two days, the friend reached out to Taylor, who texted her mother. 

Tammy says, “My first reaction was to give comfort and peace to our daughter. We could tell in her voice she was very anxious. She was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. So we gave her the reassurance that we were now all on the same team; that Jan and I were going to do anything and everything we could to help. And that she didn’t have to carry the whole burden herself. 

“My second reaction was to remind ourselves that God is in control. That we had to give the situation to Him. That He would take care of us and help us,” she adds. 

At that point, the family did not have much information as to what exactly had happened to Hanna. “We didn’t know what ‘evidence’ the authorities had. Or why she had been detained. Nor did we know if she was hurt, had been violated, or … was even still alive,” Jan states. 

Hanna had a former boyfriend who lived in Egypt. “Even though he and Hanna had gone their separate ways, he was there for us. 100 percent,” Jan says. Through the boyfriend, the de Weerds learned the only person who had had contact with their daughter was an attorney. (Taylor, Hanna’s two best friends, and the ex-boyfriend had pooled their finances – essentially, draining all their savings – to pay the man’s retainer.) But then the word came: he was an attorney who could maybe not be trusted. 

Eventually, they learned more details. “We were told Hannah had been detained at the airport for about twelve hours. Then she was placed in a jail cell with many other women,” Jan recalls. And the conditions were deplorable. “She was held in a 12-feet-by-12-feet room with no daylight and just a single light bulb that burned 24/7. No blanket, no cot. Just a dirty concrete floor. With a faucet to get water and a hole in the corner where the women could use the bathroom.” In fact, the cell was so cramped at times “the women would have to take turns in order to lay down and sleep.” 

The de Weerds also learned the authorities had taken Hanna’s herbal supplements to a forensic lab “to be tested.” A process, they were told, that could take more than 45 days. 

So the next day, Jan and Tammy formulated a game plan. ‘Plan A’ was to get the lab analysis expedited and have it ready to present at Hanna’s court hearing that was scheduled for ten days later; ‘Plan B’ was to prove to officials the suspected drugs were only health supplements. The tricky part was: to do this all from the other side of the world. 

There was stress, anxiousness, and the “not knowing.” And it was wearing on them. “We knew we had to do everything in our power, but I also knew I had to let it go and give it to God,” Tammy says. 

As did Jan. “One day, I went out into our backyard to clear my head a bit. And as I did, everything sort of fell away. Everything was suddenly quiet. And I felt like God was telling me, ‘Give it to Me, Jan. Give it to Me. Trust Me. I am here. Let Me carry the load.’ When I came back into the house, I was elated; an incredible weight was lifted from my shoulders. I wanted to cry, I wanted to laugh, I wanted to sing!” 

“I was sitting at the kitchen table at the time,” Tammy remembers. “And when Jan came back in, it was like he was a totally different person. It was a physical transformation. He had almost a bound in his step!” 

Jan adds, “Once the dense fog and doubt had cleared from my mind, I was able to approach the situation with surprising clarity and peace. I didn’t have all the answers. Not even close. In fact, I knew nothing more than I had moments earlier. But what I did have was a renewed sense of direction.” 

They knew the odds were against them. “Here in America, you’re innocent until proven guilty. In a country such as Egypt, you’re considered guilty until you can prove you’re innocent,” Jan explains. 

So they pressed on. 

They contacted the U.S. Embassy. But with COVID precautions in place, many Embassy staffers were working remotely. Eventually, through a friend of a friend, Jan and Tammy learned the Embassy “was aware an American woman had been detained.” 

Through her prior position as Meridian’s longtime mayor, Tammy had established a number of professional relationships with high-ranking officials. So she started working the phones – calling, among others, the offices of Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and U.S. Senator Jim Risch, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Idaho is all about helping people. So I’m incredibly grateful for our elected officials who were instrumental in helping us,” she points out. “God connected us with all the right people.” 

Throughout the entire ordeal of countless phone calls, setbacks, seemingly insurmountable challenges, complications, frustrations, dead ends, red tape, and around-the-world, back-and-forth communications, Jan and Tammy always remembered Romans 8:28, “We know that, in everything, God works for the good of those who love Him. They are the people He called, because that was His plan.” 

Jan believes, “It was His guiding hand in all of this, guiding us through all the ups and downs and twists and turns.” 

And, much like when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the furnace and surrounded by fire, “Whenever anyone faces a crisis or is going through a trial, they need to have an open mind – and an open heart – to allow God to guide them, because He can move mountains,” Tammy advises. “Through all this, Jan and I really had to rely on our faith; we had to trust in the power of the Lord, perhaps more than ever before. It was all in God’s divine timing. Like a parent loves a child, God’s love for us is deep, relentless, and unconditional. We got through it – and Hanna is now safe, through the power of family … the power of community … and the power of faith.” 

 

(Editor’s note: The de Weerd family members have chronicled their experiences in the book, “When We Could Not See the Moon: Our Daughter Locked Away in a Foreign Jail.” Some quotes in this article have been excerpted from their book. For more information on the de Weerds’ book go to https://whenwecouldnotseethemoon.com/)

 

Steve Bertel is a multi-award-winning professional radio, television, print media, and social media journalist, who retired after a 30-year broadcasting career. He and his wife of 42 years live in Meridian, Idaho. Steve can be reached at [email protected].