Mom’s Story Is Told

21 Dec Mom’s Story Is Told

This morning at church, I interviewed my Mom so that her testimony could be told. She was born on December 27, 1933 in Magdeburg, Germany (East). History buffs will know that Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January of 1933.

The oldest of 7 kids, she lost one sister to tuberculosis and one brother. I don’t remember how her brother died. She mentioned one way in first service and another in the second service.

I know that it took a lot for her to tell her story. It was very emotional and I could tell she was a bit tired in the second service.

She told of memories of her home being bombed out three times during her childhood. At one point, her family was rounded up and placed in a concentration camp for three days because her father (a soldier in the German infantry on the Russian front) refused to join the Nazi party. She has a scar on her back that she doesn’t remember getting, but her mother told her she got it in the concentration camp. When you look at it, it is a very fine scratching that looks like someone played tic-tac-toe on her back.

At the age of 16, she and a group of friends planned to escape East Germany into West Germany by swimming over a river. The first time, they backed out.

The second time, they were caught and returned to their parents. The parents were told that if they were ever caught again, they would be sent to Siberia and never heard from again.

On the third attempt, they were shot at while swimming, and one of the boys was hit and later died. They did make it across, where she remembers that volunteers were stationed at the top of a hill to help any escapees make it safely into West Germany.

After living with a doctor’s family for a few motnhs, she wandered West germany a little, singing in night clubs and waitressing. She met my Dad while he was stationed in Ramstein with the Air Force for four years. They married on November 12, 1963.

They relocated to Rapid City, South Dakota in 1964. That’s where I was born in 1965.

She went on to tell the stories of my younger brother Steve’s miraculous healing from Hirschsprung’s Disease in 1973. She was also healed herself in 1979 of an undiagnosed back problem that had her on her back for over a year.

Her story really is quite a testimony to the faithfulness of God. I encourage you to listen to it here.