"Have you ever cracked a safe?" she asked.  

"Not yet," he replied.

"Well here's your chance!"

Typical husband and wife conversation, right?

An email went out to the mission community. Did anyone know of a good locksmith?  Preferably one who speaks English?  And Mama Alice quickly responded.  Her favorite locksmith speaks English and would be most happy to help out.  What exactly needed breaking into?  Was it a door?  A cabinet?  What?

She allowed as how it was something unusual.  

How unusual?  

With a red face she whispered [is it possible to whisper in an email???] that it was her office safe.  A large sum of money and her passport were inside the safe.  She needed help getting it out. 

When Papa Jim arrived, he met a damsel in distress sitting in her office next to her wall safe, hoping against hope that her troubles would soon be over.  He had spent a considerable amount of time searching the web for hints on cracking safes.  Did you know you can learn such things on line?!  But her safe turned out to be key operated.  Piece of cake.  He can open nearly any kind of key operated lock known to man.  And he has.  Many times.  For many people.  In many places around the world.  It's a shame Papa Jim is a missionary.  He would have made a terrific thief!

Turns out this particular safe is key operated.  Takes a special kind of key.  Cannot be picked by your standard lock picking tools.  Which he has of course.  You can't call yourself a locksmith and not have the official tools, after-all.   But he was not intimidated by the problem presenting itself.  He has actually fabricated a special tool for picking special locks before.  Several times.  In several places around the world.  This is not a challenge for him.  

Somehow this older missionary lady (even older than us), working for another mission agency, managed to misplace the one and only key for her mission's office safe.  Having recently sold a truck for her mission, a large sum of money is locked inside the safe.  And now she has to remove said large (really large) sum of money, but cannot get inside the safe without the key.  

It's sure a good thing that Papa Jim can break into most anything.  The damsel in distress is wearing a smile now.   And thus ends another one of those typical days that we regularly have here at Shiloh.