“From Today, I Believe That There Is a God”

A UKRAINIAN woman named Alexandra, living in Prague, Czech Republic, was on her way home from work. At a streetcar stop, she noticed a small case on the ground, being kicked around by passersby. When she picked the case up and looked inside, she could not believe her eyes. There was a stack of 5,000-koruna notes! No one around her seemed to be looking for the case. As a foreigner living in Czech Republic, Alexandra had a hard time making a living. What would she do?

After returning home, Alexandra showed the case to her daughter, Victoria. They searched the case for the name and address of the owner but to no avail. However, the case contained a piece of paper with some numbers written on it. On one side of the paper was inscribed an account number, and on the other side, more numbers. The case also contained directions to a local bank and a note stating “330,000 koruny” (about $10,000, U.S.). That was exactly the amount of money in the case.

Using what seemed to be a phone number, Alexandra failed in her efforts to telephone the bank. So she and her daughter went to the bank and explained what had happened. They asked about the account number that they had found in the case. However, the bank had no record of that account. The following day, Alexandra returned with the other number that was in the case. Indeed, the bank had a customer, a woman, with that account number. Alexandra and Victoria contacted the woman, and she verified the loss. When they all finally met, the woman thanked them warmly and asked, “What are the conditions for returning the money?”

Victoria replied: “There are no conditions. If we had wanted the money, we would have kept it.” In her limited Czech, she explained: “We are returning the money to you because we are Jehovah’s Witnesses. Our Bible-trained conscience does not allow us to keep what does not belong to us.” (Hebrews 13:18) The woman joyfully said, “From today, I believe that there is a God.”