A Way Through The Sea

It is during the dreaded World War II, and the story revolves around 3 friends - Peter Andersen, his twin sister Elise, and their Jewish friend, Henrik.

WW2 in Denmark meant German soldiers in the streets, German patrol boats in the harbour, and German fighter planes in the sky. Before the invasion, no one in Denmark cared whether a person was Jewish. Now the Nazis are secretly rounding up all of the Jews who live in Denmark and sending them to prison camps in Germany. Suddenly, Henrik and his family must escape!

Sweden offers the only place of refuge, but with soldiers lurking the streets and Nazi boats patrolling the sea, only a miracle can get the Jews to safety!

.A Way Through The Sea, back cover

I picked this book to read in the bathroom a few years ago mainly because I had nothing else to read.

Anyway, I thought it would be some childish adventure kind of thing, considering the fact that the heroes (and heroine) are 11-year-olds. But as usual (you'd think I'd have learned by now), I was wrong. It's a Christian book, actually. But the hints of Christianity are not as strong as some other Christian books I've read. For instance, Peter is the one his uncle Morten talks to about Christianity. But that occurs only once, and Peter doesn't come out of that scene a believer / convert or anything. His entire family, with the exception of his uncle and grandpa, is a self-sufficient family, with apparently no thoughts or talk about God. However, as the youths get themselves deeper and deeper into dark waters (literally), Peter begins to pray to the God of his Uncle Morten.

Not the kind of flowery Deliver me, O Almighty One kind of prayer, but the type we all sometimes mutter when we find ourselves driving down the wrong lane of the road with a car heading straight for us, when we find ourselves in Telok Mas and almost approaching Johor instead of getting to Semabok in Melaka for tuition, when we find ourselves in Rawang and a housing area instead of heading towards the Orang Asli village in Tapah, when we find ourselves trudging in Brinchang, the highest point of Cameron Highlands instead of happily scavenger-hunting in Tanah Rata of Cameron Highlands, or when we stub our toe against something and are struggling to stifle a cry of pain.

Well, for me anyway.

Henrik himself, though a Jew, shows no sign of dependence on the Jehovah that his family serves.

Anyway, they have a homing pigeon each, and Henrik brings his with him (Number One) to his place of refuge. While struggling to stay alive, the three make a promise to use Number One as a means of what could well be their last communication with each other. When the twins make it back to Denmark, they rush to the pigeons' cage and find Number One there waiting, with a message from Henrik. That was the part that sent my goosebump meter flying. Maybe because the author had waited till then to show how God's written Word can really speak to us not only in times of trouble, but also in times of relief and refuge, times of deliverance.

Indeed, the Lord is the Lord who delivers. And Isaiah 43:16 will always have a special place in my heart now.

Bear with me as I give you a last excerpt from the book (emphases mine) - The Epilogue:

There are many true stories of the rescue of Danish Jews during World War II, even though this one uses fictional characters. In the space of just a few days, thousands of men, women, and children were hidden in Danish homes, and the Danish people helped them to escape. The rescue of the Jews was a bright spot in the dark year of 1943; out of about seven thousand Danish Jews, only a few hundred were captured. It made the German leader, Hitler, furious.

Part of the reason so many escaped from Denmark was because everyone agreed that they would not let their friends and neighbours be captured and sent to prison or death. That had already happened in other parts of Europe. All at once, everyone in the country knew what they had to do. They weren't afraid to do the right thing, no matter what the risk.

Just like Moses. One writer has said that if the Danish rescue of the Jews had happened during Bible times, it would have been included as another chapter in the Old Testament.

Who knows?

The story does remind us of the Exodus account, when God's people escaped through the Red Sea.

God was working in special ways then, and again in 1943.

Many people are asking these days: Why do I need to read?

Because God works in special ways.

He always has and always will. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. As we read true stories, or fictional stories based on true stories, we see God's hand in everything. We see Him working.

And then something clicks.

I've read this before.

In this case, we read A Way Through The Sea in Exodus of the Bible.

Who knows what other ancient Biblical tale will reveal itself in the book you hold in your hand today?

I end with a quote from Margaret Fuller:

A man who does not read good books has no advantage over a man who can't read them.

*Picture taken from http://www.fetchbook.info/search_Robert_Elmer/searchBy_Author.html