DAY TWO - Sat. Dec. 27, 2008
As the sun rose over Europe we began to wake ourselves. We looked through the window at the sea of white clouds as it gave way to icy whitecaps and the highlands of Scotland. After disembarking in Amsterdam, we took a train to Haarlem and found delights by the hundreds to feast our eyes upon. Dutch architecture is anything but dull - ornate and fancy. Houses line both sides of the canals running through the town. Windmills are definitely a national landmark, and it was awesome to see one up close. I was, however, surprised at how dirty most of the streets were.
It was bitter cold with an icy wind, not something three weary travelers cared to encounter as they walked the narrow crowded streets making their way to their destination. Bicycles lined the streets, both occupied and not. Almost every shop had one “parked” on the sidewalk in front of it while the owner patronized inside.
We wandered the narrow, cobble-stoned streets with a purpose. In time, we found the tall, brick building with a narrow door in a side alley - the Corrie ten Boom house - at the back of a watch shop facing the main street. The next tour did not start for an hour and we had to decide whether to wait it out in the cold or not. It was definitely worth the wait. To hear the story of how one family helped a few Jews survive death in the Nazi concentration camps by hiding them in a false wall, how they sacrificed their own lives so that others might live, to see the narrow, tiny room where six people survived two days without water or light - unforgettable. It brought tears to my eyes more than once. It brought conviction of how I might not be so selfless in my own life toward strangers, which is our calling in Christ.
Sitting in the Haarlem train station waiting for our train, I was sobered realizing that it was into this very depot that thousands of innocent people were herded like sheep, loaded like cattle, and slaughtered without mercy, just because of their race. It was here that Corrie saw her father for the last time. . .
In her book, Tramp for the Lord, Corrie tells the story of how she was approached by one of the cruelest camp guards after one of her teachings. She wrote that, For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then. . . It is those who are able to forgive who are best able to rebuild their lives. When I think of what Corrie and others like her have had to forgive, I have nothing comparatively to forgive.
We rode the train back to the airport where we met Molly, our fourth traveling companion. Molly is a calm, gentle woman from Nova Scotia. Her mild demeanor brings a stillness and a peace to our group.
The plane ride to Tel Aviv from Amsterdam was almost 4 hours, but it was a long ride. By this time I was very tired and badly in need of some sleep. I sat next to a nice, young man from Norway who was in the army there. He and a friend (who was sitting next to Molly) were on their way to Israel for some training. Talking with him helped make the time pass quicker.
Finally, the multi-colored lights of Tel Aviv loomed in our windows and we were here - Israel, land of destiny and promise.
