TEA WITH MR. TUMNUS

Tonight David and Ellen had a Royal Ranger's sleepover. The theme was missions, and the children dressed in foreign costumes. David and Ellen dressed in Chinese outfits. Ellen brought a girlfriend home from school. So we first stopped by her house so she, too, could change into her clothes for the festivities.

After dropping off the kids, Dan and I first stopped by his work to meet a coworker friend and tour the office where they sort the mail in the mornings. Then we visited his friend Herr I--. He met him on his postal route. Herr I-- is 84 years old. I enjoyed getting to know him. His apartment was amazing! His late wife collected art, so the walls were filled. He has traveled the world, and he gathered souvineers from each country he visited, filling shelves and curios with his collection of oddities. And the books he has collected! He owns many volumes, and lots were picture books, so I didn't have to worry about language barriers.

First Dan and I helped him asseble a secretary he bought via mail from Ikea. Then we straightened up the room, while Herr I-- made tea. When he brought out the tea, I saw that it was one of my favorites - orange spice - accompanied by a tin of chocolates, cookies, and stollen. (Here's a LINK to an article about stollen at Wikipedia. I love stollen!) The chocolate was also my favorite chocolate; the Germans call it bitter chocolate. But the best thing he served us was the marzipan potatoes. They aren't really potatoes, but look like miniature versions of this vegetable. They are actually made of delicious candy!

Herr I--'s kindness to us was remarkable for more than the great food and nice surroundings. He served under Rommel. He was taken prisoner by the allies at the end of the war. Not so unusual for someone his age, but here's the kick: he was abused by the Americans. They left him and the rest of his comrades in a field without food, water, or shelter. They eventually were given starvation rations, but Americans still denied them shelter. They were held in the open in barbed wire enclosed fields for weeks. He thought he would die from exposure, and some did die.

And tonight he served two American men tea. Can you tell that he is a Christian?