Hi. It is Sunday afternoon here. We have been to church and had Sunday dinner. I just talked with the pastor in Belgium where we will be heading tomorrow. We will drive there in the morning. I know we will be going to another country, but it’s like driving to another state. All the details are coming together for the week. We will do the Bible Seminar on Monday and Tuesday evenings. He is pastor of two churches and we will minister at the Wednesday and Friday night services there. Then we will minister in the Sunday morning service next week. So, we will have a busy week.
The pictures included in this posting today are from our visit yesterday. The one fun food picture shows the amazing cream filled pastries that we had to sample. It was a struggle to eat it, but I forced myself to finish it. It’s too bad I can’t e mail one of them to you. We went to Haarlem and toured the ten Boom Museum. It is the house that Corrie ten Boom grew up in. It is the place where their family hid Jews escaping from the Nazis in WW II. If you have not read The Hiding Place or seen the film, you must read it. It shows the amazing love of Jesus for people. Casper ten Boom was the father, the patriarch of the family. God had so burdened his heart with love for the Jewish people that, when all the Jews were forced by Hitler to wear a yellow star on their clothes, he wanted one for himself.
We sat in the living room of the house and heard how the soldiers raided the house and brought them all in to that room to question them. I was trying to imagine the confusion, probably shouting at them demanding information about where the Jews were being hidden. They were safe in the hiding place upstairs. And, all of them in that secret room survived. The pictures are of the hiding place, the front sign and the alley that leads to the entrance to their house.
I also stood in front of the building and looked at the street lined with stores and houses. Hundreds of people were coming and going. A street musician was sitting at a keyboard playing classical music (she was really good). I tried to imagine what it was like when all the cars pulled up to the house to raid it. That sad day was the complete opposite of yesterday. We had enjoyed beautiful weather and the market at the town square about a block away. That horrible day back then was anything but peaceful.
The amazing thing about all of the sacrifice of the ten Boom family was that God has impacted countless people around the world with the story of God’s love. When Corrie was born, she was extremely small. Today she would have ended up in a special nursery unit in a hospital. Some people back then said it would be better for her to die, for she would always have health problems. One of her Aunties said no, she would do whatever it took to see her survive. She believed that God had something special for Corrie, and she was right.
Again, I encourage you to read the book or watch the film. It will not be easy, but it will show you the depravity that sinful people can reach. And, it will show you the power of God’s amazing love.
Tonight (Sunday), I will be preaching at the English service at Turning Point, where we heard Dutch this morning. I trust that the people will be there, because they made a mistake in the bulletin this morning and gave the wrong time. Another interesting glitch.
Thanks again for reading. I’m trusting that we will have some kind of internet connection available to us this week and that I will be able to continue my posts.
The pictures included in this posting today are from our visit yesterday. The one fun food picture shows the amazing cream filled pastries that we had to sample. It was a struggle to eat it, but I forced myself to finish it. It’s too bad I can’t e mail one of them to you. We went to Haarlem and toured the ten Boom Museum. It is the house that Corrie ten Boom grew up in. It is the place where their family hid Jews escaping from the Nazis in WW II. If you have not read The Hiding Place or seen the film, you must read it. It shows the amazing love of Jesus for people. Casper ten Boom was the father, the patriarch of the family. God had so burdened his heart with love for the Jewish people that, when all the Jews were forced by Hitler to wear a yellow star on their clothes, he wanted one for himself.
We sat in the living room of the house and heard how the soldiers raided the house and brought them all in to that room to question them. I was trying to imagine the confusion, probably shouting at them demanding information about where the Jews were being hidden. They were safe in the hiding place upstairs. And, all of them in that secret room survived. The pictures are of the hiding place, the front sign and the alley that leads to the entrance to their house.
I also stood in front of the building and looked at the street lined with stores and houses. Hundreds of people were coming and going. A street musician was sitting at a keyboard playing classical music (she was really good). I tried to imagine what it was like when all the cars pulled up to the house to raid it. That sad day was the complete opposite of yesterday. We had enjoyed beautiful weather and the market at the town square about a block away. That horrible day back then was anything but peaceful.
The amazing thing about all of the sacrifice of the ten Boom family was that God has impacted countless people around the world with the story of God’s love. When Corrie was born, she was extremely small. Today she would have ended up in a special nursery unit in a hospital. Some people back then said it would be better for her to die, for she would always have health problems. One of her Aunties said no, she would do whatever it took to see her survive. She believed that God had something special for Corrie, and she was right.
Again, I encourage you to read the book or watch the film. It will not be easy, but it will show you the depravity that sinful people can reach. And, it will show you the power of God’s amazing love.
Tonight (Sunday), I will be preaching at the English service at Turning Point, where we heard Dutch this morning. I trust that the people will be there, because they made a mistake in the bulletin this morning and gave the wrong time. Another interesting glitch.
Thanks again for reading. I’m trusting that we will have some kind of internet connection available to us this week and that I will be able to continue my posts.
