>> Welcome to It Is Written
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Canada.
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Thank you for joining us.
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Our special guest is Jacob
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Hiebert, a successful
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businessman, pastor, and
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administrator who lived during
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World War II under the rule of
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communism when being a
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Christian was illegal.
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>> Though it was illegal to
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practice Christianity, that
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did not stop Jacob
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and his family.
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They were like Daniel's three
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friends who said, "Our God
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whom we serve is able to
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deliver us."
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Jacob, we are so looking
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forward to hearing your
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intriguing story, so welcome
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to It Is Written Canada.
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>> I'm happy to share my
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experience with you.
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[MIKE] Jacob, part of your
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story that's so important is
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your heritage, so tell us
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about your heritage.
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>> My ancestors came from
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Holland and during The
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Reformation, they changed from
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Catholicism to the Mennonite
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faith, the reason being they
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believed that the Bible and
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the Bible only should be the
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rule of faith in all matters
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of religious practice.
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But shortly after they had
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done that, the religious
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persecution arose in their
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homeland and they were forced
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to flee and leave their
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homeland, and go to Northern
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Germany.
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They stayed there for some
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years and enjoyed religious
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freedom and enjoyed the many
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years of family life when, in
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the later part of the 18th
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century, Catherine the Great
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of Russia, who was of German
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decent, gave free homesteading
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to all the Mennonites because
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they were known for their
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tilling of the soil and they
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knew how to raise good crops.
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And my relatives, or my
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ancestors, decided they would
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take up that challenge as well
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and so they accepted that
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offer and they moved to the
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Ukraine.
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They were also promised
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religious freedom and they
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were promised that they would
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not have to bear arms in case
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of a war.
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It was after, around the time
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that the Second World War
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started, that I was born and
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everything suddenly changed.
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We no longer had religious
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freedom, the war, of course,
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was everywhere.
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I come from a family of five
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all together, three of my--
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two of my siblings, my sister,
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brother, and myself and I'm
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the youngest of the family.
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I was born as the war, as the
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Second World War started and
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after a miraculous escape from
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east to west, which took place
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in 1946, we were happy to
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cross the border and come to
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West Germany where we had
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partial freedom.
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Then in 1949, our family
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immigrated to Canada and
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Canada is now my home.
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[MIKE] So, Jacob, you were
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living in communist Russia and
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you were promised religious
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freedom, you were also
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promised that you wouldn't
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have to bear arms, but that
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changed with World War I.
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>> Yes, my father was in World
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War I and it was an
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interesting experience
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that he had.
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The officers asked him to take
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a gun and to shoot at a
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certain target and so my dad
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aimed and he hit the target
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right on and then the officer
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said, "Very good.
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Try that again."
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And so my father immediately
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realized, "What am I doing?
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If I hit that target again,
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I'll be in the greatest part
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of the fighting."
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So my dad aimed at a target
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way off and he hit that
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target, but the communist
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chief said, "Oh, that's not
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good, that was luck the first
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time," and so he didn't have
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to bear arms, he was a cook.
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And so in the First World War
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as well as the Second World
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War, he did not bear arms and
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that was a leading of God, I
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believe.
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[MIKE] Absolutely.
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But here you are, Second World
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War, now you're born at that
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time...
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>> Yes.
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[MIKE] ...leading into the
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Second World War.
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Now, looking at that situation,
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your dad had to leave, but you
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were in the middle of real hot
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battle, I mean, the Germans
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were coming in, but you were
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German living in Russia.
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How did that work out?
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[JACOB] Well, sometimes we
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were neither fish nor foul, we
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were not Ukrainian, we were not
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Russian, we were German, and
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yet we were in a different
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country.
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But the Lord saw us through
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all of those experiences and
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it also affected us as far as
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the people around us.
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When we spoke German, they
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felt that we should have
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spoken Ukrainian.
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[MIKE] So you weren't accepted
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by the people from the Ukraine
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and then when the Germans came
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in, what was that like?
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>> When the Germans came in,
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they accepted us and they
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said-- and of course, the
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Germans, as we know from
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history, they went far into
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Russia and drove the Russians
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way back.
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And so then when the Russians
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decided to strengthen their
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forces and drove the Germans
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back, the Germans said,
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"You are Germans,
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come out with us."
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[MIKE] Did you wanna go
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with them?
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>> We wanted to go with them,
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but the Germans had Jeeps and
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tanks and motorcycles and all
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kinds of vehicles and we were
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on foot, we had nothing, we
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were refugees.
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And so they retreated a lot
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faster, not because of their
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choice, but because they were
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forced to retreat.
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And so we stayed behind and
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that was a deterrent for us as
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well because now the Russians
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saw what the Germans had done
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to their own people and then
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we became their bitterest
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enemies.
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[MIKE] So you weren't accepted
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by the Russians, you weren't
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accepted-- well, now they
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fled, they wanted to take you
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back, but you were stuck.
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>> We had no country.
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[MIKE] So how did this journey
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for you, this journey to
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freedom, how did it take place?
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Now you're in Russia, how do
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you get out?
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>> It was around 1925 when
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religious freedom really was
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taken away.
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Of course communism started in
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1917, but as we get closer to
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1925, the Soviet Union borders
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were closed and things took a
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turn altogether to the worse.
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My aunt and my grandmother
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then immigrated to Canada, to
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Ontario, Canada, and for a
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long time we did not know
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where they were, but later on
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we found each other and that
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later on helped us to know
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where we wanted to immigrate to.
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>> So, Jacob, can you take us
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back to the miraculous story
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of your escape as a family
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from East Germany to West
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Germany?
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>> Yes, it was a rather
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long procedure.
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When communism first started
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and we realized that religious
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freedom was being taken away
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and that increased or became
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worse, we were under Stalin's
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regime and Stalin, as you
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probably know, was very
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ruthless, a very ruthless
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leader.
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And so my father said, since
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he was a minister, he said,
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"We have no future here in
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Russia or in the Ukraine.
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We need to lay plans
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to escape."
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But it was easier said than
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done because the war was
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raging everywhere and we
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couldn't just simply go on a
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plane or even take a train.
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All the trains were used for
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the army and any
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transportation, the war came
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first and we came after that.
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But my father said, "We need
00:09:36.37\00:09:37.94
to have a plan.
00:09:37.94\00:09:39.67
Let us decide that we are
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going to go toward freedom as
00:09:41.81\00:09:44.11
much as possible."
00:09:44.11\00:09:45.91
And so we were in the southern
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part of Ukraine and so
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gradually we made our way from
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Ukraine up to Poland, from
00:09:51.52\00:09:54.06
Poland over to East Germany
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and from East Germany to West
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Germany, that was the crucial
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border-crossing.
00:10:00.83\00:10:02.53
Had we been caught there, I
00:10:02.53\00:10:04.17
would not be sitting here
00:10:04.17\00:10:05.47
and telling my story.
00:10:05.47\00:10:07.57
And my father said, "If we
00:10:07.57\00:10:10.37
ever get separated, we need to
00:10:10.37\00:10:13.84
have a plan so that we know
00:10:13.84\00:10:16.08
how to find each other."
00:10:16.08\00:10:17.75
A lot of people located other
00:10:17.75\00:10:20.25
members of the family through
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the Red Cross, but our plan
00:10:21.85\00:10:24.25
was if we ever lost track of
00:10:24.25\00:10:26.39
each other, we would write to
00:10:26.39\00:10:28.06
our headquarters office in
00:10:28.06\00:10:29.69
Berlin, the church
00:10:29.69\00:10:32.36
headquarters office, and would
00:10:32.36\00:10:34.36
ask, "Has anyone seen a lady
00:10:34.36\00:10:39.20
with three children and
00:10:39.20\00:10:41.50
another lady with them?"
00:10:41.50\00:10:44.44
Or my-- or we would say, "Has
00:10:44.44\00:10:48.94
anyone seen a tall man, David
00:10:48.94\00:10:52.11
Hiebert..." and so forth.
00:10:52.11\00:10:54.42
So what will happen then is if
00:10:54.42\00:10:57.59
we would write to the
00:10:57.59\00:10:59.12
headquarters office and my
00:10:59.12\00:11:01.26
mother would write to the
00:11:01.26\00:11:02.79
headquarters office, and
00:11:02.79\00:11:04.59
supposedly both letters would
00:11:04.59\00:11:06.43
arrive there somewhat around
00:11:06.43\00:11:09.60
the same time, one letter
00:11:09.60\00:11:11.97
would be put into the other
00:11:11.97\00:11:13.37
one and sent to the other party
00:11:13.37\00:11:15.17
of-- and then one party would
00:11:15.17\00:11:17.21
know where the other one is.
00:11:17.21\00:11:19.71
And so in the meantime now, of
00:11:19.71\00:11:21.64
course, we had lost track of
00:11:21.64\00:11:23.45
each other, but as we were
00:11:23.45\00:11:25.75
getting closer to our goal, we
00:11:25.75\00:11:28.72
did find, and I will tell that
00:11:28.72\00:11:30.75
story shortly, of how we were
00:11:30.75\00:11:32.85
reunited with my father.
00:11:32.85\00:11:36.09
But at the time that we
00:11:36.09\00:11:37.96
crossed the border, he had
00:11:37.96\00:11:40.00
been with us for only a few
00:11:40.00\00:11:42.03
days and we decided that we
00:11:42.03\00:11:44.37
need to cross now.
00:11:44.37\00:11:46.17
My father was now in charge of
00:11:46.17\00:11:47.77
the family and he inquired,
00:11:47.77\00:11:51.61
"What would be the best way
00:11:51.61\00:11:52.94
to cross?"
00:11:52.94\00:11:54.58
He heard about a man who was a
00:11:54.58\00:11:56.28
guide, acted as a guide, to
00:11:56.28\00:11:58.78
lead people across for a small
00:11:58.78\00:12:00.85
fee because most people didn't
00:12:00.85\00:12:02.82
have much money at that time.
00:12:02.82\00:12:05.05
And so he immediately got in
00:12:05.05\00:12:07.26
touch with that guide, he
00:12:07.26\00:12:09.22
wasn't very far from where we
00:12:09.22\00:12:11.06
were staying right then, and
00:12:11.06\00:12:13.29
he asked the guide, "Would you
00:12:13.29\00:12:15.23
lead us, our family, across
00:12:15.23\00:12:17.00
the border?"
00:12:17.00\00:12:18.10
"Well, how many of you are
00:12:18.10\00:12:19.33
there?"
00:12:19.33\00:12:20.10
"Well, there's six of us."
00:12:20.10\00:12:21.10
"Six of you?
00:12:21.10\00:12:22.30
Well, that's not going to be
00:12:22.30\00:12:23.54
so easy."
00:12:23.54\00:12:24.51
"Alright," he said, "I will
00:12:24.51\00:12:26.81
consider it."
00:12:26.81\00:12:28.24
But as the time came closer,
00:12:28.24\00:12:31.68
he told us he changed his
00:12:31.68\00:12:33.65
mind, he will not do that
00:12:33.65\00:12:35.42
because just the night before
00:12:35.42\00:12:38.09
when he was planning to lead
00:12:38.09\00:12:39.79
us across the border, he led a
00:12:39.79\00:12:41.86
family across and they were
00:12:41.86\00:12:43.83
almost caught and he said,
00:12:43.83\00:12:45.66
"It's not worth it to me, you
00:12:45.66\00:12:47.23
can give me all the money that
00:12:47.23\00:12:48.76
you have," which we didn't
00:12:48.76\00:12:50.20
have anyway, "but I will not
00:12:50.20\00:12:52.93
lead you across.
00:12:52.93\00:12:54.27
We would-- it's too
00:12:54.27\00:12:55.57
dangerous."
00:12:55.57\00:12:56.94
My father was not a man who
00:12:56.94\00:12:58.71
would not be put off too
00:12:58.71\00:13:02.51
easily and so he said,
00:13:02.51\00:13:04.48
"Alright, if you won't lead us
00:13:04.48\00:13:06.08
across the border, tell us
00:13:06.08\00:13:08.75
when would you lead us across
00:13:08.75\00:13:10.52
the border if you did?
00:13:10.52\00:13:12.25
What time would you go?
00:13:12.25\00:13:14.02
Where would you go?
00:13:14.02\00:13:16.16
What advice would you give us?"
00:13:16.16\00:13:18.43
The guide told us, "If I would
00:13:18.43\00:13:20.70
lead you across the border, I
00:13:20.70\00:13:22.13
would lead you across early in
00:13:22.13\00:13:23.63
the morning.
00:13:23.63\00:13:25.17
You see, there are several
00:13:25.17\00:13:26.37
shifts of the patrolling
00:13:26.37\00:13:27.80
officers.
00:13:27.80\00:13:29.24
The early shift, or the night
00:13:29.24\00:13:30.84
shift, by about 5:30 in the
00:13:30.84\00:13:34.38
morning, they are tired and
00:13:34.38\00:13:36.54
they are ready to go off the
00:13:36.54\00:13:38.25
shift and they're not as
00:13:38.25\00:13:40.38
careful as they were when they
00:13:40.38\00:13:42.68
first came on the shift and at
00:13:42.68\00:13:45.42
that time the morning shift
00:13:45.42\00:13:47.12
hasn't taken over and so that
00:13:47.12\00:13:48.79
is your best time.
00:13:48.79\00:13:50.59
Also, you need to cross in an
00:13:50.59\00:13:52.93
area that is quite wooded,
00:13:52.93\00:13:55.03
a lot of trees, not thick
00:13:55.03\00:13:57.40
forest, but a lot of trees,
00:13:57.40\00:13:59.33
and what you need to do is you
00:13:59.33\00:14:02.07
need to follow this particular
00:14:02.07\00:14:03.97
road and, presently, you will
00:14:03.97\00:14:06.21
come to a railroad track on
00:14:06.21\00:14:07.88
the side."
00:14:07.88\00:14:09.54
Now, on each side of the
00:14:09.54\00:14:11.55
railroad track there were
00:14:11.55\00:14:13.08
little stakes and with
00:14:13.08\00:14:15.38
insulators they had a wire
00:14:15.38\00:14:17.15
attached to those stakes.
00:14:17.15\00:14:19.72
And so he said, "If you touch
00:14:19.72\00:14:21.72
those wires, they don't have
00:14:21.72\00:14:25.49
electricity in them, but they
00:14:25.49\00:14:27.60
send off a signal, sort of a
00:14:27.60\00:14:29.40
"zing" signal, and if that
00:14:29.40\00:14:32.30
happens, that alerts the
00:14:32.30\00:14:34.27
guards right away and your
00:14:34.27\00:14:35.97
escape story is all finished."
00:14:35.97\00:14:38.37
We were travelling at this time
00:14:38.37\00:14:40.14
with all our earthly goods.
00:14:40.14\00:14:41.78
We had two bicycles, we didn't
00:14:41.78\00:14:43.68
ride them, we packed bags of
00:14:43.68\00:14:46.61
clothes and whatever we had
00:14:46.61\00:14:48.25
left onto these bicycles and
00:14:48.25\00:14:52.09
guided them on our way and
00:14:52.09\00:14:54.49
were walking toward the
00:14:54.49\00:14:55.86
border.
00:14:55.86\00:14:57.29
He said, "When you get to that
00:14:57.29\00:14:59.23
railroad tracks, make sure
00:14:59.23\00:15:01.00
that you lift those bicycles
00:15:01.00\00:15:02.46
over that wire.
00:15:02.46\00:15:04.10
Otherwise you're in trouble."
00:15:04.10\00:15:06.53
So we did as we were told and
00:15:06.53\00:15:09.40
we would follow his directions.
00:15:09.40\00:15:11.81
But before we started, my
00:15:11.81\00:15:13.58
father talked to my brother
00:15:13.58\00:15:15.28
and me, we were young boys at
00:15:15.28\00:15:18.28
the time, you know, and so he
00:15:18.28\00:15:20.78
said, "Look, boys, if you fall
00:15:20.78\00:15:23.85
in the process of us crossing
00:15:23.85\00:15:26.19
and you hurt yourself badly
00:15:26.19\00:15:28.06
that the blood is even
00:15:28.06\00:15:29.52
running, do not make a sound
00:15:29.52\00:15:32.96
because if you make a sound,
00:15:32.96\00:15:35.03
if you cry, we are all dead."
00:15:35.03\00:15:37.77
Well, we understood that.
00:15:37.77\00:15:39.90
And so early in the morning we
00:15:39.90\00:15:43.34
had prayer and we decided to
00:15:43.34\00:15:45.21
follow the directions that the
00:15:45.21\00:15:46.61
guide gave us.
00:15:46.61\00:15:48.14
He also told us that this path
00:15:48.14\00:15:50.01
that we would see after we
00:15:50.01\00:15:51.55
crossed the railroad tracks
00:15:51.55\00:15:53.01
was a path that would lead us
00:15:53.01\00:15:54.58
into the wooded area, but we
00:15:54.58\00:15:57.09
needed to be careful not to
00:15:57.09\00:15:59.19
veer off that path because as
00:15:59.19\00:16:01.62
we continued on that path, we
00:16:01.62\00:16:03.96
would presently come to a
00:16:03.96\00:16:05.63
broken-down fence and gate and
00:16:05.63\00:16:08.93
as we crossed there, then we
00:16:08.93\00:16:12.03
would come to German territory.
00:16:12.03\00:16:14.57
And so it seemed very simple.
00:16:14.57\00:16:16.91
Of course, early in the
00:16:16.91\00:16:18.57
morning, 5:30 as I recall, we
00:16:18.57\00:16:21.24
had special prayer and we
00:16:21.24\00:16:23.01
asked our guide who'd never
00:16:23.01\00:16:24.81
lost a battle, who never left
00:16:24.81\00:16:27.78
us alone, we asked Him to
00:16:27.78\00:16:30.42
guide us and to direct us.
00:16:30.42\00:16:32.29
And we were off.
00:16:32.29\00:16:34.06
Well, presently, we saw
00:16:34.06\00:16:35.36
everything as the guide had
00:16:35.36\00:16:36.83
said, there were the railroad
00:16:36.83\00:16:38.83
tracks, there was the wire, we
00:16:38.83\00:16:41.66
were very careful, we were
00:16:41.66\00:16:43.33
successful crossing that and
00:16:43.33\00:16:45.83
then we saw the path and we
00:16:45.83\00:16:47.84
were excited.
00:16:47.84\00:16:49.47
We went down the path.
00:16:49.47\00:16:51.61
The sun had not come up yet
00:16:51.61\00:16:54.08
and so it was a little dark,
00:16:54.08\00:16:57.41
but we proceeded on the path
00:16:57.41\00:16:58.95
and we were all excited.
00:16:58.95\00:17:00.68
Soon we would be free.
00:17:00.68\00:17:02.25
When all of a sudden, in the
00:17:02.25\00:17:04.12
distance, we saw the form of a
00:17:04.12\00:17:06.86
man and we froze, as it were,
00:17:06.86\00:17:10.09
but we had gone too far, he
00:17:10.09\00:17:11.99
saw us and we saw him.
00:17:11.99\00:17:13.86
We did not know exactly who he
00:17:13.86\00:17:15.93
was and as he came closer, we
00:17:15.93\00:17:17.93
realized that he was in a
00:17:17.93\00:17:19.57
uniform and that caused even
00:17:19.57\00:17:22.20
more fear to our hearts.
00:17:22.20\00:17:25.21
So as he approached us, he
00:17:25.21\00:17:28.88
said to my father, "Escaping?"
00:17:28.88\00:17:32.35
What could my father say?
00:17:32.35\00:17:33.72
"Yes."
00:17:33.72\00:17:35.38
"Oh," he said," not that way.
00:17:35.38\00:17:37.22
You are headed right toward a
00:17:37.22\00:17:38.79
patrol guard.
00:17:38.79\00:17:41.29
You need to retrace your steps
00:17:41.29\00:17:43.26
and then you will come to that
00:17:43.26\00:17:45.19
path you were told to go on."
00:17:45.19\00:17:48.33
Well, my father was really
00:17:48.33\00:17:50.80
afraid and fear always seized
00:17:50.80\00:17:53.30
us so as he, at first, hadn't
00:17:53.30\00:17:57.67
noticed that the uniform that
00:17:57.67\00:18:00.81
this man had, he was a
00:18:00.81\00:18:03.01
forestry officer, not a
00:18:03.01\00:18:05.15
soldier and so we were much
00:18:05.15\00:18:07.48
relieved.
00:18:07.48\00:18:09.25
And he was very kind, he told
00:18:09.25\00:18:11.19
us not to be afraid, to correct
00:18:11.19\00:18:13.69
our steps and then we would
00:18:13.69\00:18:16.69
get back on the right path and
00:18:16.69\00:18:18.39
keep going.
00:18:18.39\00:18:19.49
Well, we were excited.
00:18:20.56\00:18:22.03
How could we fail now?
00:18:22.03\00:18:24.50
And so we kept on walking.
00:18:24.50\00:18:26.90
We found where we had gone
00:18:26.90\00:18:28.77
wrong and as we continued on,
00:18:28.77\00:18:31.34
again we met someone in
00:18:31.34\00:18:34.11
uniform and we were really
00:18:34.11\00:18:37.01
in fear.
00:18:37.01\00:18:38.55
What would happen now?
00:18:38.55\00:18:41.18
Again, the second time, it was
00:18:41.18\00:18:43.15
a forestry officer, not the
00:18:43.15\00:18:45.12
same man, a different man.
00:18:45.12\00:18:47.49
And this repeated three times.
00:18:47.49\00:18:51.23
The third forestry officer
00:18:51.23\00:18:53.50
said to us, "Now, don't be
00:18:53.50\00:18:55.16
afraid," I think he recognized
00:18:55.16\00:18:57.17
on our-- the expression of our
00:18:57.17\00:18:59.10
face that we were-- we had
00:18:59.10\00:19:01.14
gone through quite an ordeal
00:19:01.14\00:19:02.74
and we just couldn't take
00:19:02.74\00:19:04.11
much more.
00:19:04.11\00:19:06.07
He said, "Don't be afraid."
00:19:06.07\00:19:07.88
"You don't have very far to go.
00:19:07.88\00:19:09.91
Very soon you will see that
00:19:09.91\00:19:11.58
broken-down fence and that
00:19:11.58\00:19:13.18
gate that's hanging on one
00:19:13.18\00:19:14.88
hinge, you cross there
00:19:14.88\00:19:16.62
and you will be in German
00:19:16.62\00:19:18.09
territory, West Germany,
00:19:18.09\00:19:19.82
you will be free.
00:19:19.82\00:19:21.42
Well, we were excited and,
00:19:21.42\00:19:23.49
true to his word, very soon we
00:19:23.49\00:19:26.03
saw that broken-down fence and
00:19:26.03\00:19:28.03
gate and we crossed there and
00:19:28.03\00:19:30.73
we were so excited when, all
00:19:30.73\00:19:33.74
of a sudden, we saw an army
00:19:33.74\00:19:36.14
officer on a bicycle,
00:19:36.14\00:19:38.24
whistling a tune, coming right
00:19:38.24\00:19:40.21
toward us and we were just
00:19:40.21\00:19:43.21
frozen in our tracks.
00:19:43.21\00:19:45.11
But he didn't pay any
00:19:45.11\00:19:46.55
attention to us.
00:19:46.55\00:19:47.92
He whistled a tune, kept right
00:19:47.92\00:19:49.58
on going and we realized, oh,
00:19:49.58\00:19:52.12
this was a West German officer
00:19:52.12\00:19:54.29
and he was used to the fact
00:19:54.29\00:19:55.92
that quite a few refugees
00:19:55.92\00:19:57.59
escaped and he was quite happy
00:19:57.59\00:20:00.10
to welcome us because we, too,
00:20:00.10\00:20:01.83
were Germans.
00:20:01.83\00:20:03.60
>> So, Jacob, there were six
00:20:03.60\00:20:05.37
of you.
00:20:05.37\00:20:06.80
So it was you, your mom and
00:20:06.80\00:20:08.67
your dad...
00:20:08.67\00:20:09.50
>> Yes.
00:20:09.50\00:20:10.77
>> ...and then your auntie...
00:20:10.77\00:20:12.14
>> Yes.
00:20:12.14\00:20:13.54
>> ...and then two-- another
00:20:13.54\00:20:15.61
brother and a sister.
00:20:15.61\00:20:16.85
[JACOB] Brother and a sister.
00:20:16.85\00:20:18.31
>> OK, so what were your ages
00:20:18.31\00:20:20.12
roughly?
00:20:20.12\00:20:21.08
[JACOB] I was six at the time,
00:20:21.08\00:20:22.42
my brother was 11 and my
00:20:22.42\00:20:24.32
sister was 19.
00:20:24.32\00:20:26.42
>> And then the two bicycles
00:20:26.42\00:20:28.12
with all your stuff that you
00:20:28.12\00:20:29.76
had to pick up over the wire.
00:20:29.76\00:20:32.46
And God obviously, those--
00:20:32.46\00:20:35.16
when I read your book, those
00:20:35.16\00:20:37.03
forestry officers, I'm sure
00:20:37.03\00:20:39.37
they were angels.
00:20:39.37\00:20:41.07
>> We want to ask, when we get
00:20:41.07\00:20:43.14
to heaven, we want to ask
00:20:43.14\00:20:44.87
which one of the angels were
00:20:44.87\00:20:46.88
sent, it'll be interesting.
00:20:46.88\00:20:49.81
But as we crossed the border,
00:20:49.81\00:20:51.65
we were, of course, delighted
00:20:51.65\00:20:54.58
when we were far enough away
00:20:54.58\00:20:56.58
from the border, we made a
00:20:56.58\00:20:58.55
little pause and thanked the
00:20:58.55\00:21:00.49
Lord for His leading and as we
00:21:00.49\00:21:03.73
met people, they asked us,
00:21:03.73\00:21:05.23
"How many of you were there
00:21:05.23\00:21:07.03
crossing the border this last
00:21:07.03\00:21:08.76
night... or morning?"
00:21:08.76\00:21:10.90
We said, "Six of us."
00:21:10.90\00:21:12.47
They said, "Six of you?
00:21:12.47\00:21:14.14
Who has ever heard that?
00:21:14.14\00:21:15.74
And none of you had been
00:21:15.74\00:21:18.01
harmed?"
00:21:18.01\00:21:19.47
"No, we all made it."
00:21:19.47\00:21:22.08
And it was really interesting
00:21:22.08\00:21:24.51
because that same night there
00:21:24.51\00:21:27.98
were about, a number of, I'm
00:21:27.98\00:21:31.49
not sure exactly how many, but
00:21:31.49\00:21:33.46
a number of young men who
00:21:33.46\00:21:35.49
decided to storm the border
00:21:35.49\00:21:37.79
and only ten of them made it,
00:21:37.79\00:21:40.10
most of them were shot.
00:21:40.10\00:21:42.43
And we talked to those people
00:21:42.43\00:21:44.70
while we were on the train on
00:21:44.70\00:21:47.07
West German soil.
00:21:47.07\00:21:49.14
As we came across, the West
00:21:49.14\00:21:51.94
German government, because we
00:21:51.94\00:21:53.54
were refugees and had nothing,
00:21:53.54\00:21:55.31
we were able to ride the train
00:21:55.31\00:21:57.45
free until they would get us
00:21:57.45\00:21:58.85
to a place where we could
00:21:58.85\00:22:00.48
have accommodation.
00:22:00.48\00:22:03.45
>> So you made it to Canada.
00:22:04.52\00:22:06.19
What was it like for you just
00:22:06.19\00:22:07.86
going to school, trying to
00:22:07.86\00:22:09.92
make it, like, it wasn't easy
00:22:09.92\00:22:11.59
for you, was it?
00:22:11.59\00:22:12.79
>> No.
00:22:12.79\00:22:14.20
We came to Canada in 1949 and,
00:22:14.20\00:22:17.87
of course, we had to pay for
00:22:17.87\00:22:20.27
our trip so that was all
00:22:20.27\00:22:22.40
borrowed money and my dad was
00:22:22.40\00:22:24.57
the only wage-earner in the
00:22:24.57\00:22:26.41
family at the time and so when
00:22:26.41\00:22:29.68
it came to my education, I got
00:22:29.68\00:22:31.88
the basic training, grade 8.
00:22:31.88\00:22:34.42
Later on I took some
00:22:34.42\00:22:36.08
correspondence and tried to
00:22:36.08\00:22:37.52
finish up high school, but we
00:22:37.52\00:22:39.45
really didn't have money for a
00:22:39.45\00:22:41.22
lot of education, especially
00:22:41.22\00:22:42.79
university training.
00:22:42.79\00:22:45.09
And so I settled down with my
00:22:45.09\00:22:48.26
family, we had a young family
00:22:48.26\00:22:49.73
at this time.
00:22:49.73\00:22:51.77
Our youngest child was born--
00:22:51.77\00:22:54.94
our oldest child was born and
00:22:54.94\00:22:57.94
we had another one on the way
00:22:57.94\00:23:00.88
and decided that we would
00:23:00.88\00:23:03.41
settle down on a farming
00:23:03.41\00:23:05.15
operation.
00:23:05.15\00:23:05.88
It was quite a rocky start,
00:23:06.65\00:23:08.98
but it ended up quite well
00:23:08.98\00:23:11.39
for us financially.
00:23:11.39\00:23:13.39
After four years we had
00:23:13.39\00:23:15.62
everything paid for in our
00:23:15.62\00:23:17.13
farming business.
00:23:17.13\00:23:19.09
And since I had always wanted
00:23:19.09\00:23:20.70
to become a minister, at that
00:23:20.70\00:23:22.53
point, the thought came to me,
00:23:22.53\00:23:25.27
"This is what you wanted to do.
00:23:25.27\00:23:27.77
If you sold everything you had
00:23:27.77\00:23:29.70
now, you would have enough
00:23:29.70\00:23:31.24
money to go through
00:23:31.24\00:23:32.61
university," that is seven
00:23:32.61\00:23:34.31
years of university, to finish
00:23:34.31\00:23:36.48
my ministry.
00:23:36.48\00:23:37.51
We prayed about it, we invited
00:23:38.65\00:23:40.95
our pastor to come and visit
00:23:40.95\00:23:42.55
with us and we told him all
00:23:42.55\00:23:44.45
the pros and cons of where we
00:23:44.45\00:23:46.62
found ourselves and asked him
00:23:46.62\00:23:48.72
what his thought was.
00:23:48.72\00:23:50.96
Just a week before that,
00:23:50.96\00:23:53.23
another young couple had
00:23:53.23\00:23:54.86
talked to that same pastor of
00:23:54.86\00:23:56.60
ours and they were anxious to
00:23:56.60\00:23:58.63
go to school to train for the
00:23:58.63\00:24:00.40
ministry and he advised them
00:24:00.40\00:24:02.74
that that would not be a good
00:24:02.74\00:24:04.54
idea because the financial
00:24:04.54\00:24:06.51
burden that they had, that
00:24:06.51\00:24:08.31
would not work.
00:24:08.31\00:24:09.78
And I said to my wife, "You
00:24:09.78\00:24:11.35
know, the pastor will probably
00:24:11.35\00:24:12.88
tell us it's a bad idea, just
00:24:12.88\00:24:14.38
stay where you are."
00:24:14.38\00:24:16.05
But no, when he heard our
00:24:16.05\00:24:18.05
story and said, "I can tell
00:24:18.05\00:24:19.82
you nothing else but go for it.
00:24:19.82\00:24:22.52
I believe the Lord is
00:24:22.52\00:24:23.86
leading you."
00:24:23.86\00:24:25.36
So we needed another miracle
00:24:25.36\00:24:27.30
now, we needed to sell our
00:24:27.30\00:24:29.60
place and I said to my wife, I
00:24:29.60\00:24:32.03
said, "You know, if we sell
00:24:32.03\00:24:33.80
our place, we can't afford a
00:24:33.80\00:24:36.07
real estate agent, if we can
00:24:36.07\00:24:38.07
sell without any commission,
00:24:38.07\00:24:41.11
we would have enough money for
00:24:41.11\00:24:43.04
seven years where I would have
00:24:43.04\00:24:44.51
no earnings and where we would
00:24:44.51\00:24:45.95
only have expenses to see
00:24:45.95\00:24:47.82
us through university.
00:24:47.82\00:24:50.72
Mind you, also at this time,
00:24:50.72\00:24:52.62
some of this time, our
00:24:52.62\00:24:54.12
children were of the age where
00:24:54.12\00:24:55.72
they went to school and we had
00:24:55.72\00:24:57.43
to pay for them for church
00:24:57.43\00:24:58.69
school.
00:24:58.69\00:25:00.26
So the Lord was good in a
00:25:00.26\00:25:02.06
marvellous way.
00:25:02.06\00:25:03.70
So one Friday afternoon, three
00:25:03.70\00:25:05.77
men came to our door and they
00:25:05.77\00:25:08.07
said, "We heard that your
00:25:08.07\00:25:09.57
place was for sale, just by
00:25:09.57\00:25:11.54
word of mouth, and is that
00:25:11.54\00:25:13.48
true?"
00:25:13.48\00:25:14.54
"Yes," I said.
00:25:14.54\00:25:16.48
"Alright, we are interested in
00:25:16.48\00:25:17.75
your place and we want to see
00:25:17.75\00:25:19.31
everything."
00:25:19.31\00:25:20.45
I said, "You know, today is
00:25:20.45\00:25:21.85
Friday, tomorrow is my Sabbath
00:25:21.85\00:25:24.35
and I have a lot of work to do
00:25:24.35\00:25:26.02
to get ready for the Sabbath,
00:25:26.02\00:25:27.56
why don't you come back on
00:25:27.56\00:25:29.06
Monday?"
00:25:29.06\00:25:30.13
Well, they would not hear of
00:25:30.13\00:25:31.66
it, they said, "Look, can you
00:25:31.66\00:25:33.19
spare even a little bit of
00:25:33.19\00:25:34.56
time for us?
00:25:34.56\00:25:36.50
Show us briefly the buildings,
00:25:36.50\00:25:38.90
the house and so forth and
00:25:38.90\00:25:41.00
then we will be on our way and
00:25:41.00\00:25:43.10
will come back on Monday."
00:25:43.10\00:25:44.94
But they insisted before they
00:25:44.94\00:25:46.81
left, "We want to give you a
00:25:46.81\00:25:48.64
sizable down payment on this
00:25:48.64\00:25:51.61
property so that you won't
00:25:51.61\00:25:53.78
sell it to somebody else."
00:25:53.78\00:25:55.92
So we did that, they went on
00:25:55.92\00:25:58.95
their way and this miracle, it
00:25:58.95\00:26:02.26
was a real miracle that God
00:26:02.26\00:26:03.86
performed.
00:26:03.86\00:26:04.99
>> Jacob, unfortunately we
00:26:05.89\00:26:07.73
have run out of time and I'm
00:26:07.73\00:26:10.57
gonna have to ask you to pray
00:26:10.57\00:26:12.27
for us as we close this
00:26:12.27\00:26:14.47
episode together.
00:26:14.47\00:26:15.94
[JACOB] Alright, let us pray.
00:26:15.94\00:26:17.84
Gracious Father in heaven, we
00:26:17.84\00:26:19.41
do thank Thee so much that we
00:26:19.41\00:26:21.14
can call Thee our Father and
00:26:21.14\00:26:23.35
that You love Your children
00:26:23.35\00:26:25.18
more than even earthly parents
00:26:25.18\00:26:26.92
love them.
00:26:26.92\00:26:28.42
We thank Thee so much, Lord,
00:26:28.42\00:26:29.68
that we can look back in our
00:26:29.68\00:26:30.95
lives and know exactly where
00:26:30.95\00:26:33.69
You have intervened on our
00:26:33.69\00:26:35.89
behalf, where You have saved
00:26:35.89\00:26:37.56
us, where You have directed
00:26:37.56\00:26:39.83
us, and, Lord, we want to take
00:26:39.83\00:26:41.96
this time to thank Thee from
00:26:41.96\00:26:43.97
the bottom of our hearts and
00:26:43.97\00:26:45.57
we pray that You would never
00:26:45.57\00:26:47.34
leave us as You have promised
00:26:47.34\00:26:49.60
and continue to guide us
00:26:49.60\00:26:51.31
through to the end until
00:26:51.31\00:26:52.47
You come.
00:26:52.47\00:26:53.84
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
00:26:53.84\00:26:55.08
>> Amen.
00:26:55.08\00:26:56.85
Thank you so much, Jacob, for
00:26:56.85\00:26:59.28
sharing your story to this
00:26:59.28\00:27:00.92
point and we look forward to
00:27:00.92\00:27:02.45
meeting with you again
00:27:02.45\00:27:03.45
next week.
00:27:03.45\00:27:04.52
>> My pleasure.
00:27:04.52\00:27:05.75
>> Friends, our free offer
00:27:06.76\00:27:08.82
today was written by Pastor
00:27:08.82\00:27:10.83
Jacob Hiebert.
00:27:10.83\00:27:12.26
It is his story entitled,
00:27:12.26\00:27:14.30
Freedom's Journey.
00:27:14.30\00:27:15.76
This book details the full
00:27:15.76\00:27:18.00
story of how Jacob and his
00:27:18.00\00:27:20.77
family were determined to
00:27:20.77\00:27:22.77
follow God no matter what.
00:27:22.77\00:27:25.07
>> Their heart-stopping
00:27:25.07\00:27:26.84
journey displays the signs of
00:27:26.84\00:27:28.84
God's hand leading His
00:27:28.84\00:27:30.38
children in such a
00:27:30.38\00:27:32.21
faith-building story.
00:27:32.21\00:27:34.92
Freedom's Journey reveals how
00:27:35.88\00:27:38.05
we serve a great God who is
00:27:38.05\00:27:40.06
able to lead you, too, when
00:27:40.06\00:27:42.59
you put your trust in Him.
00:27:42.59\00:27:44.56
Before you go, we would also
00:27:45.79\00:27:47.86
like to invite you to follow
00:27:47.86\00:27:50.10
us on Instagram and Facebook
00:27:50.10\00:27:52.60
and subscribe to our YouTube
00:27:52.60\00:27:54.60
channel, and also listen to
00:27:54.60\00:27:56.64
our Podcasts and if you go to
00:27:56.64\00:27:59.61
our website, you can see our
00:27:59.61\00:28:01.88
latest programs, including
00:28:01.88\00:28:03.61
our cooking demonstrations,
00:28:03.61\00:28:05.55
our short spiritual messages
00:28:05.55\00:28:07.38
entitled, Daily Living, and
00:28:07.38\00:28:10.42
our exercise workouts called,
00:28:10.42\00:28:12.22
Experiencing Life.
00:28:12.22\00:28:13.72
>> We want you to experience
00:28:14.36\00:28:15.89
the truth that is found in the
00:28:15.89\00:28:17.56
words of Jesus when He said,
00:28:17.56\00:28:19.43
"It is written, 'man shall not
00:28:19.43\00:28:21.86
live by bread alone, but by
00:28:21.86\00:28:23.87
every word that proceeds out
00:28:23.87\00:28:25.73
of the mouth of God.'"
00:28:25.73\00:28:27.20
¤
00:28:27.20\00:28:54.56