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Sigfried
Meier looked out at the deep snow and listened to the howling wind. It was
Christmastime, but no, there were no holiday feelings where he was. |
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Sigfried was
in a Russian prison camp. He had been sent there with other German soldiers
during World War II. Every day they were forced to work hard as men with
machine guns watched them. They had little to eat and little to live for. |
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Life
hadn’t always been that way for Sigfried. As a boy, he remembered celebrating
Christmas. He even made a small Nativity scene from strips of wood and
colored paper. Christmas was a special time, and he felt the wonder of God’s
special gift to man. |
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Then,
Adolph Hitler came to power in |
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Now, in
the prison camp, memories of childhood holidays came flooding back to him. He
realized how far from God he was. “Oh, Jesus,” he prayed, “I am lost! I have
strayed from You. Now I am alone in this place. Will you please forgive me
and help me?” |
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God had
not forgotten Sigfried. He welcomed him back and gave him peace, even in the midst
of the barren prison camp. That night at mealtime, as other prisoners
quarrelled over a few kernels of dried corn, Sigfried began to sing “Silent
Night! Holy Night!” Again he sensed the wonder of Christmas that he had felt
as a boy. |
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“Shut up,”
the other prisoners shouted. “Stop that nonsense or you’ll be sorry.” |
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Instead of
arguing, Sigfried went outside into the cold. As he walked aimlessly in the
prison yard, he suddenly stumbled on something. Curious, he picked it up and
discovered it was a pumpkin! “Jesus has given me a special gift of food,” he
said in wonder. He cut the pumpkin in half, roasted it over a fire, and ate
it, grateful that God had seen his need. |
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But the
season held even more surprises. A few days later a Russian soldier chose
Sigfried to go with him to get some trees from a nearby forest. On the way,
they came to a village. The Russian soldier stopped there to visit a friend,
leaving Sigfried behind with the horses and wagon. |
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Seeing a
house nearby, Sigfried felt led to go to it. He knew it was risky. The owner
might not welcome a German prisoner of war coming to the door. But the urging
grew stronger. When he knocked at the door, a kind, elderly woman answered. |
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“Oh, look,” she called to her daughter, “It’s
a poor young German—a prisoner. Come in! Are you hungry? Have you heard
anything from your family?” As she talked, she hurried about to prepare bread
and tea for Sigfried to eat. How good the fresh food tasted! God sent him to
a home where He knew he would have a warm place to sit and good food to eat.
What a wonderful Christmas treat! |
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Sigfried
knew he had only a few minutes to stay. As he stood to leave, the kind woman
put a paper-wrapped object in his pocket. “God bless you, my boy,” she said
as Sigfried headed back to the wagon. |
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Before
long, Sigfried and the Russian soldier reached the woods. As soon as he was
alone, Sigfried unwrapped the object to see what the woman had given him.
There was a roasted sparerib! What a feast for a half-starved prisoner.
Sigfried knew only God could have supplied the pumpkin, cakes, hot tea, and
meat for him at Christmastime. God had not forgotten him! “Jesus, I will
serve you the rest of my life,” Sigfried prayed. |
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Sigfried
stayed in the prison camp four more years, but his faith in Jesus stayed
strong. Eventually, he was released and allowed to return home to |
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Information
for this story came from a Pentecostal Evangel article printed in 1955. |
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From: http://4kids.ag.org/ |