Page 73 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels
P. 73

The churches in this district were built of stone and were typically simple
                  rectangular structures with a peaked slate roof, a modest steeple, and no
                  heating.  In the winter, the humidity could condense and freeze on the
                  walls, making a crust of ice!  To keep warm, people used foot stoves.  The
                  stoves were wooden boxes with air holes and a metal liner.  Into the box
                  you placed an earthenware receptacle filled with glowing chunks of peat.
                  These "warme stoven" could be rented for two or three pennies from a
                  little store next to the church.  If the peat was not hot enough it would
                  smoke terribly and give a most unpleasant odor.  The women were
                  prepared for this, and brought cologne, which they sprinkled upon their
                  handkerchiefs and waved to freshen the air.


                  Children can have some rather creative interpretations of their religious
                  faith, and Willem was no exception.  He recalled a childish notion he had
                  about the location of God.  "The church building was behind the
                  parsonage and could be clearly seen from the upstairs bedrooms.
                  Halfway along the edge of the roof was a box-like catch into which the
                  eaves poured the rainwater."  Perhaps it was the strange noises it made
                  in the rain, or perhaps it was the mystery of a small box able to accept
                  limitless amounts of water.  In any case, he said, "I often looked at this
                  box and thought of it as a place where God was.  Anyway, it gave me a
                  sense of his nearness."


                  An early portent of Willem's future in the ministry occurred when he was
                  perhaps six years old.  The church services usually lasted for two hours.
                  There were some preliminary activities that preceded the entrance of the
                  pastor.  Typically, the village schoolmaster would read a chapter to the
                  congregation before the clergyman entered to give the sermon.  It was
                  at the end of these preliminaries that young Willem decided to take
                  charge.  In his own words: "One Sunday morning I managed to slip away
                  from my mother and went to the pulpit of my father's church.  I had to
                  stand on a stool to be seen, and announced a hymn to the congregation
                  and they sang - that pleased me.  After the hymn I offered a prayer, (and)
                  after that I announced a second hymn.  During the prayer I noticed my
                  father standing in the rear.  During the singing of the second hymn he
                  came to the pulpit and carried me down to my mother's pew.  I don't
                  know what I would have done beyond announcing a hymn because I
                  couldn't read."


                  One morning, when the children were walking to the Christian school in
                  the other village, they could see that they would pass near a group of
                  cows in a pasture.  For some reason they felt intimidated or afraid of this
                  herd.  They decided to close their eyes and pray for the scary cows to go
                  away.  When they opened their eyes, they were pleased to see that the
                  cows had turned around and were walking away.  Though it may seem a
                  childish incident, it served to reinforce their belief in a God who answers
                  prayers.


                                                     - Childhood - page 6 -
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