The hiding place
When I was born, only a few years after WW2, Holland was still getting back on its feet, and the aftermath of the war and occupation was still visible. I grew up hearing... »
Koos Stenger
A world of silence
When I open the front door, I am overwhelmed by the silence outside. How absolutely quiet the world has become! Usually there is at least some noise and movement at this... »
Following the star
Every Christmas I picture the three wise men as they traveled through the desert in pursuit of that mysterious star. I can visualize them crossing the hot, sandy deserts... »
A card full of hope
He looked so sad when I first saw him. He was quite a few years older than I, but like I did during my first days in that impersonal hospital ward, he felt scared and wor... »
Like a dog with two tails
There she was at the door, jumping up and down for joy, barking and wagging her tail, as if to say: "He's back!” After a long and tiring day, I received the most wonderfu... »
Dare to dream
“I had seen that man before and now he was sitting in the snow outside the stadium [in Madrid]. I asked him what he was doing there. He said he’d been there for five hour... »
The One who cares
“Do you have a minute to talk? It's important!” said the young man who approached me with a big smile. Talk to me? Why? I had to admit he looked sort of friendly, but wha... »
Living the dream
“I need money—lots of money!” My friend sighed deeply, stirring his coffee at our kitchen table. “Why?” I asked him a little surprised. My friend wasn't poor and seemed t... »
Mallory’s mountain
When someone asked the famous mountaineer George Mallory why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, he simply stated: “Because it is there.” Didn’t he know that staying home w... »
Moment by moment
When our son Pete was three, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and from one moment to the next, our lives changed drastically. There are no instruction manuals that can pre... »