Amongst their strong Dutch accent, Jeannette’s gracious hospitality and windmill cookies, Henry begins his story at a time of great challenge and difficulty, WWII. “In 1940, at the age of 18, I was forced to work in a German factory in Amsterdam. At a time when the German officials from Germany came to make some arrests Henry couldn’t be located for he had physically fallen resulting in a back injury which landed him in the hospital. A co-worker came and warned him not to go back to the factory and to flee as soon as possible. On the day he was released the allies landed on Normandy Beach which shut the German factory down. “So many things that the L-rd did…I had no idea”, as he mentally pieced the events together.

“Times continued to be tough. No heat, no light, no food… My father, being desperate, traveled outside of Amsterdam to trade Jewelry for food from a farmer, but Germans intercepted him, stole the food and he arrived home empty-handed. It was the first time in my life I had seen my father cry.” Encountering a series of narrow escapes, he made his way to Friesland through the assistance of the underground resistance where he remained hidden, yet fed, till the War ended. American liberators continued to serve the starving by dropping tin cans of food thus saving many lives. “It was like manna from heaven.”

As the tragedies cleared, dreams for the future surfaced. He established a business, married his sweetheart, Jeannette on August 23rd, 1947, had their first son and by 1950, with one suitcase, a crib and $85 they immigrated to the USA on a 14 day journey via a troops transport ship arriving at the “Most awesome, overwhelming sight of the Statue of Liberty”. They settled in Michigan where they raised three children. Amidst the persistence of a G-dly woman, sending their 2 older children toe Sunday School, asking pointed and argumentative questions, they encountered the “L-rd”. “What the L-rd has done for me, for my family, is unbelievable. He has blessed us beyond words”, as he looks towards Jeannette and asks, “Anything to add Mum?”

“Ya,” Jeannette replies, “For years we didn’t think that deep; but, when we look back we say, ‘gosh that must have been the Holy Spirit directing exactly what we must do. The good L-rd works, protects, directs and forgives all the dumb things you do in your life, when we really don’t deserve it. He’s been there all the time, we really don’t deserve it.”

Henry continues, “The most difficult even was the loss of our son, Michael. That was the big, big shock of our lives.” “Big blow,” Jeannette interjects. Henry adds, “If it was not for the L-rd, I don’t think we could have gone through it. When Michael went, it was the most difficult thing in my life and Mums,” fondly asking Jeannette, “right Mum?” “Oh definitely,” she tearfully responds, “There’s no answer to it, yea…” Silence. “We prayed and at the very end Mike prayed saying ‘Praise You’. Then he looked right through us and boom he was gone, must have seen something”, Henry finished.

Jeannette reminds Henry of a friend, “Oh yea,” Henry conveys, “a day before she passed away, she said, ‘Now when I’m gone, when I see Mike, what do you want to tell him?’, that shocked the heck of me!” Repeating, “What do you want me to tell him?, what do you say?” Jeannette adds, “we just blubbered, what do you say?” The next day she was dead.

“In the Netherlands”, Henry recalls, “your faith, was between you and G-d. Nobody else’s business. In America people are more involved in others’ lives to encourage them. One of the things my mother said, ‘never talk about your family, but good,’ so I’ve done that all my life, and I try not to talk bad about anybody.”

Jeannette taking her turn, “I would say, I hope that everybody come to the L-rd, totally. Go to a church, Jesus is the center of everything, get the teaching of Christ, the difficult parables. Mistakes you have made, you have to say ‘I’m sorry’”, ending on a choked up note, “I not going to cry anymore.” Henry towards Jeannette, “You’re going to cry?” “No more!”, Jeannette emphasizes.

“Everyday when we get up, ‘Thank the L-rd, what can we do?’”.

They have been a beautiful compliment to each other for 68 years and counting!