![]() ![]() I can now look back on my life and recognize a number of such “journeys” I have taken over time. What I have just told you is an experience that is to me a very precious journey. What a glorious day that was! Journey Stories This time we didn’t dare stop until we knew with certainty that we had reached the other side of the border.Įven though each member of our family had taken very different routes and experienced very different hardships along the way, eventually all of us made it to safety. My mother frantically packed up our lunch, and we hurried up the hillside as quickly as we could. It was still far ahead of us! We were having our picnic on the wrong side of the border. It was only then that we noticed the border sign. For the first time that day, I’m sure, she breathed more easily. When she finally felt safe, we sat down and started to eat our picnic lunch. Surely, she thought, we had passed the border by now. I helped carry her heavy bag filled with food, vital documents, and family photos as we climbed up one last, long hill. With each step, her legs and knees seemed to become weaker. She observed the area intensely to see if we were being followed. The borders were tightly controlled, but we had a map and knew of a time and a place where it might be safe to cross. We took a train as far as we could and then walked for long hours, getting ever closer to the West German border. I remember that she packed a lunch as if we were going for a hike or a picnic in the mountains. I was the youngest child, and my mother decided that she and I would walk across a mountain range separating the two countries. They paid a porter to unlock one of the doors for them, and after the train crossed the West German border, they jumped from the moving train to freedom. My sister-who would have been the age of many of you here today-together with Helga Fassmann, her teacher in Young Women, and some others took a train that passed briefly through West Germany. My older brothers headed north, and each found his own way west. Since my father was at greatest risk, he took the quickest journey, through Berlin. It was decided that the safest plan was to leave at different times and follow different routes to the West, leaving all our belongings behind. When I was about 11 years old, my father fell under increased scrutiny as a political dissenter, and my parents felt that the only safe choice for our family would be to flee to West Germany. I grew up in Zwickau, in the former East Germany. Surely the Lord is mindful of you and looks lovingly from heaven upon you. You have radiant spirits and contagious smiles. It is a joy to be with you precious young sisters, together with your mothers and your wonderful leaders. All was so inspiring and so fitting for Easter, the sacred season we celebrate this week. My dear sisters, thank you for the music and the spoken word. We are honored this evening with the presence of President Thomas S. ![]()
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