Corrie Ten Boom's Risky Business
 A
Nazi prison camp
A Prison Number Tattooed on My Arm
After that frightful night when our house was invaded, I was put in prison.
We slept in beds filled with fleas, and ate stale bread and thin soup.
We were not called by our names but by the numbers that were given to
us. My number was 66730. It was tattooed on my arm.
One day a guard took me to a doctor to get medicine for the high fever
and cough I had. I was surprised when a nurse asked if there was anything
she could get for me. I asked for a Bible. The nurse returned with copies
of the four Gospels. I would have been in serious trouble if I had been
caught with them, but having a Bible was worth any possible punishment.
I shared the Bibles with the other women and even held Bible studies when
the guards were out of sight.
 The
night we were taken to jail was the last time our family was ever together.
My father died of pneumonia ten days after being put in prison. My sister,
Betsie, who was with me in prison, encouraged me to keep trusting in God
and reminded me that "there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper."
Betsie, who forgave her captors, died in prison just three days before
I was scheduled for release. The Lord allowed me to survive despite the
horrible conditions. After ten long months in the forced labor camp, I
was released. Some say I was let out because of an error, but I know God
had a plan for my life.
After getting better, I started a home for people who needed help emotionally
to recover from the war. I later traveled all over the world telling of
God's love and forgiveness. Eventually, I was even able to forgive my
captors for all they had done. The story of my life and the life of my
family has been seen all over the world in a movie called The Hiding
Place.
Make It Real! Questions to make
you dig a little deeper and think a little harder.
- In what ways did God provide comfort for Corrie throughout her terrible
ordeal?
- Have you ever been made fun of because of your faith in Jesus? What
do you think kids should do if they find themselves in that situation?
- Have you ever had to stand up for a friend who was being mistreated?
- Have you heard of any places in the world today where people are
being cruelly mistreated?
- Suggested reading:
- Corrie Ten Boom: Keeper of the Angel's Den by Janet & Geoff
Benge (Christian Heroes Then and Now series, YWAM Pub.)
- Corrie Ten Boom by Kathleen White (Women of Faith series,
Bethany House
- Corrie Ten Boom: Heroine of Haarlem by Sam Wellman (Heroes
of the Faith series, Barbour)
- Video:
- The
Hiding Place, 145-minute drama of Corrie and her sister's
endurance in prison. (Order from Vision Video, 1-800-523-0226)
- Websites:
- Activities:
Return to Part One of this Corrie Ten Boom "Glimpses
for Kids" children's worship bulletin insert.
|
|
|
