Doris, and others who haven't heard this yet,

both my mother's parents were first generation Germans.  they were
Mennonites and their parents came over to start life in this country.  My
mom's parents, both of whom I knew growing up, farmed in Kansas.  They had
11 children.  They were all German children, of course.  A little humor
there, very little.  Anyhow, my grandmother died first when I was a young
teenager.  Grandfather died a few years later but I spent a lot of time with
him as I grew up whenever we went to visit.  My father's parents were gone
before I was born so we spent most of our holidays and vacations going to
Kansas from Iowa to spend with my grandparents.  I got grandma to teach me
one or two German words but to answer your question, no, I never learned the
language.  Mom said, although the family grew up speaking English, her
parents spoke German to each other and often to the children without
realizing it so my mother, although she couldn't speak much German, she
could understand it quite well.  My mother passed away about three years ago
at age 80 but a few years before she died, mom and my sisters all got to go,
along with some of my mother's sisters and brothers, to Germany.  My sister
and her husband were in the Army and stationed in Germany for three years so
several of the family flew over to see them while they were living there.
My mother was thrilled to get to see her heritage.

so, here is what happened to me as a kid.  I was pretty little, too, but
even back in the early fifties, I was born in 1952 of February, there were a
lot of war stories on television.  so, of course, with an apple orchard in
our backyard just perfect for playing, I was always fighting the Germans
with my friends in that orchard.  I didn't know at the time I was half
German and this is where it gets funny.

I must have been maybe 6 or 7 at the most, if not even younger.  We went for
Christmas to grandma and grandpa's in Kansas.  They lived in a big house
compared to our home so there were lots of rooms and places to hide.  I had
on some of my army equipment, rubber knife, plastic gun, and most of all, my
little boy's soldier's heart.  I came running into the living room where my
dad and mom and grandparents were visiting.  Grandma had gotten up to do
something so I stopped and started telling her all sorts of things about who
I was and the war I was fighting.  I said, "Grandma, you know what I would
do if I saw a German?"  She said, "Tell me,"  So I pulled out my knife and
my gun and was not only describing but was demonstrating my hand movements,
too.  Grandma was smiling, I could still see then, and bobbing her head and
showing total interest in everything I was saying.  Finally, my mother said,
"Philip, did you know that you are German and that I am German and that your
grandma and grandpa are German?"  It is funny now but it wasn't funny them.
My father had not had good enough sight to be accepted into the military so
I didn't hear any war stories at home.  This was a first for me.  I was a
German?  Holy cow!  And here I am, I thought, standing in front of my poor
grandmother telling her I was going to kill who?  they all laughed and
thought it was funny and I remember how much grandma laughed at the look on
my face.  More than that, three or four years later, before she died, I led
one of my cousins to Christ when I was spending the night at their farm.
The next day, after I came back to grandma's my mother told her.  I'll never
forget my German grandmother, which I knew real well was German by this
time, smile, hugged and kissed me and thanked me over and over again for
leading my cousin to Christ.  I asked mom later what the big deal was all
about.  She told me that although they were raised in a Christian home, they
were, her parents, quiet people as Mennonites and they were raised not to be
so pushy like we were as Baptists back then.  then I understood why grandma
was so happy.  I got to go to her funeral and then a few years later, after
my first year of seminary, I went to Kansas to stay a couple of weeks with
my dad's oldest brother.  My father died when I was eleven years old.  His
oldest brother became like a father to me and in fact, Uncle Fred had raised
my dad because their father died two months before my father was born.  so,
Uncle Fred dropped me off at grandpa's and I spent an afternoon and evening
with him.  It was one of the most important spiritual times in my life.
Grandpa loved the Lord and he and my dad, when he was alive, talked about
nothing but the Bible when they were together.  I used to lay on the floor
and listen to them argue.  I knew when I grew up, I wanted to be just like
these two great men who knew the Bible.  That time I spent alone with
grandpa was special because we not only talked the Bible like I used to hear
him do with my dad, but he told me parts of his life I had never hurd about.
When he died shortly after that meeting, I wrote a story about him in high
school as an assignment.  the preacher read my story to everyone at my
grandfather's funeral.

Since then, my sister, the one who lived in Germany for three years, has
done some family tree research.  Apparently, our grandparent's heritage
stretches back into eastern Europe and Asiatic Russia.  Each of my great
grandfathers all had a love for the Bible and were known for their love of
the Scriptures and their dedication to God clear back to my great great
great grandfather.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I knew when my sister read
this history of our family to me, that it was no accident I had a love for
the Bible, too.  From all we have now learned, my dad's side of the family
were English.  It is quiet amazing how something as terrible as war still
brings people together.  My dad did not become a Christian until a few years
after he married my mom.  Once he was born again, he devoured the Scriptures
and tried to lead everyone to Christ that crossed his path.  He died at age
46 unexpectedly from probably something like a bleeding ulcer or something
like that.  But I learned more by watching him in my childhood than I ever
learned from church or school.

So, that's my funny, sort of funny, German story.  I know grandma is still
laughing and grandpa was about the biggest teaser on the planet.  He also
loved animals and took me with him when he worked partime at an animal
clinic.  He told me about each animal, what they were, and I bet I wasn't
over 4 years old.  He was always fun to be with.  I'm sure glad I'll get to
see them again some day.

Phil.


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