Christmas Eve Story - True Story
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec. 19 a terrible tempest-a driving rain- storm hit the area and lasted for two days.
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sunk when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 6 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor & not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale, for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crochet table cloth with exquisite work, fine colors & a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall.
He bought it and headed back to the church. But by this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church, for the next bus, 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc. to put up the tablecloth, as a wall tapestry.
The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a white sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG, were crocheted into it there. They were.
These were the initials of the woman, & she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it, as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison & never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island & was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music & the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor & his wife greeted everyone at the door & many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested & put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again for all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island & to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
By Pastor Rob Reid.
SABUAI PUAN (Christmas a time for Reunion) Translated By Daniel Shoute
Pasian nasem Pastor a ngah thak khat leh a zi pen Brooklyn khuapi khuanawl lam a biakinn lui khat a puah kik in a hong kik dingin mawhpuakna ki pia hi. Amaute zong lawp tak mah in October kha in tua mun ah kisuan pah uh hi. Biakinn a muh uh ciangin kisia mah mah in nakpi taka puah ding a kisapna thu mu uh hi. A hih theih zah un puah in December 18 ni in zawh pelmawh sawm uh a, zong zo takpi uh hi. Kamsiatna lianpi tawh December 19 ni in Huihpi leh guahpi kithuah in tua a biakinn zong ni nih sung bang hong nuai gawp hi.
Khua a phat kik ni Dec 21 ciangin Pastor pa pen biakinn ah hong pai a, a biakinn puah sa pen a buahban gawp ban ah, a tunglam munkhat vang in tua in a biakinn pulpit , biakna tau tung teng mun zapi khat siasak lai hi. Pastor zong lungkia mah mah in, a cihna ding theilo a hih manin Christmas Eve pawi bawl ding ni zong a ni khel in inn lam hong ciah kik ta hi. Inn lam a ciahna lampi Bazar khat ah Van lui mite piak ding zuakkhiat na khat om a tua tak ah khawl in van kisam lei ding hong kipan hi. A biakinn pulpit tung lutan khawng a sang mun awng zapi khat a khuh zo ding puan pi hong zong a, khut tawh a kigan ngiat Sabuaipuan lui a hoih lai a puang phiuhpheuh khat, tua a kisiatna mun teng khuh zo dingin lam en a hih manin hong lei hi. Tua puan tawh biakinn ah pai kik in a kisiatna mun pen hong khuh in ding in kahlei la in hong kipan hi.
Tua hun lai tak pen vuuk kiat hun hi in , nupi khat biakinn mai a bus ngak khat in a bus lap lo a, bus kik pen minute 45 sawt ding a hih man in, khuadam sa in biakinn ah tawmvei khawl dingin a sung ah hong tum hi. Hih piteek nu pen biakinn nunggual ah hong tu in pastor nasep pen en zel, a pua lam en zel in hong om hi. Pastor pa in zong Sabuai puan pen pulpit nung ah hong zaak khin in, lungkim takin a sepna sa pen hong en pha pha hi. Tua laitak in piteek nu in tua puan limtak hong et khit ciang in, lamdang sa lua in maikhing kawm in, " Pastor aw" ci in hong sam hi. " Hih Sabuai puan pen koitak pan in ngah na hiam?' ci in dong a, Pastor in zong a ngahna mun hilh hi. Piteek nu in tua Sabuai puanpi pen hoih takhong en a, a nuai lam taklam kiu khat ah lai mal "EBG" cih laimal ki-at a muh ciang in lamdang sa sawn sawn hi. Hih laimalte in a khiatna nei in, hih puan pen tuma kum 35 lai a Austria gama om lai a gat a hih lam a thei hi. Piteek nu in hih bangin Pastor in "Sabuai puan" a ngah pen up hak sa mah mah hi.
Piteek nu in a tangthu hong gen a, a mah leh a it mah mah a pasal pen Austria gam ah tuma kum 35 lai, galpi nihna madeuh in kiteng in mihau innkhuan khat pan a khangkhia tuak a hih thu gen hi. Tua bangin nupa nuamsa a om laitak un German Nazi te hong pai in, a khua uh pan in paikhia ding in amah (piteek nu) thatang hatna tawh hong sawl khia uh hi. A pasal a hih leh ama paikhiat khit nipi kaal khat ciang hong pai thei pan ding hi ci uh hi. A thuzak kik na ah a pasal pen Nazite in man uh a, thong sung ah koih in, tuni ciang dong ki mu nawn lo uh a hi hi. A pasal pen Nazite bawlsiat in thongsung ah sikhin ding in a um hi. Pastor pa zong lung nuam lo lua in, " Pi aw, tua a hih leh hih Sabuai puan pen nanga dingin manpha mah mah ding hi. Lei zong kullo in tang kik in, hong pia kik ning" a cih leh, " Phamawh kei Pastor aw, tua bangin om hen" na ci hi. Pastor pa in piteeknu pen hehpih lua a hih man in a inn dong a mawtaw tawh va kha hi. Tua pen piteeknu a ding a hih theih sun hi a, tua nu pen Brooklin gal khat a hi Staten Island a teng a hi hi. Tua bangin biakinn nikhat hong puah khit uh ciangin Christmas Eve mang ding in khuasung mi a hithei teng sam uh hi.
Pastor leh a pawlpi mite in December 24 ni Chirstmas Eve hun nuam tak in zang thei uh hi. La kisate leh music te zong nop ci mah mah hi. Hong kikhawm te zong lungdam tak in Chistmas letsongte sang in innlam zuan ciat uh hi. Tua lai tak in Puteek khat , Pastor pate veng a teng khat pen ciah lo in a tutna ngei ah tu in, a pua lam khawng dak in lunglen tuak mah mah hi. Pastor in zong lamdang sa in tua puteek pa kiang va zuan hi. Puteekpa in " Pastor aw, pulpit nung a na zaak Sabuai puan pen koi tak pan na ngah a hiam? Hih Sabuai puan pen tuma kum 35 lai a, Australia gam a ka zi tawh ka om lai un ka zi gat a hi hi. A nuai tak lam kiu a lai ki at " EBG" pen ka min leh ka zi min gawm khawm in, a tomlak na in ka zi in a at a hi hi. Kamsiatna tawh Nazi te hong lut ciangin kazi pen khuasung pan paikhia masa sak in kei hong man uh hi. Tua a kipan ka zi pen kimu nawnlo in tun ka muh loh zawh kum 35 pha ta hi. Hih bang Sabuai puan a kibang lian lian nih leitung ah lah om samlo ding a?" ci in hong dong hi. " ci hi. Pastor in zong , " Pu aw ka mawtaw tawh vakni, hong zui in, holim khawm ni " ci in sam a, tua puteek pen piteek omna a hi Staten Island ah pai pih hi. Amah in tua piteek nu inn kahlei ah hong kah to in, " Pu aw, hih kong kiu in" ci in sawl hi.
Puteek pa in zong kong hong kiu a, piteek nu zong hong pusuak in, hong kimu uh a, kum 35 tawntung kikhen khin , a si khin tuak dinga kilamen tuak "NUPA" kop te hong ki kawi in , nui khawm kap khawm in.. .. bangzah tak in lungdam ding uhhiam?.. Tua Pastor pa a ding in tua kum Christmas val a manpha a sak a om nai kei hi.
Aw.. Christmas..in Pasian leh mihing a kikhen sa kigawm kikna ding in Pasian tapa mihing bangin hong suakna hi a, Nupa kum 35 kikhen khin sa te zong, a lamdang a kigawm sak Christmas...Christmas ah nang leh Pasian a kituak kik (Reunion) ding in Thupha hong pia ta hen.. Amen..
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