A Box, Potatoes, and a Bomb
Just as the people of Israel told their children over and over again about the experiences they had made and the miracles God had done for them in the wilderness, so we should relate our experiences with God.
In the German Sabbath Watchman of March-April 1999, was an article in which Brother Dieter Wegenast wrote about the value and use of the testimonies. The Lord gave us the testimonies so we can better understand the truths of the Bible. In sharing this experience, I want to encourage all of our brothers and sisters to accept and heed the testimonies of Sister Ellen G. White as God’s messages, which are valuable and binding for us.
I was a child of 14 years old when I was privileged to make this experience with God. We lived in Cologne. It was during the time of war, and there were many bombing raids on our city. Our mother had already saved all of our books by Sister White once from the Nazis by quickly hiding them under a woodpile. After that, she had put the books in a sturdy wooden box in the cellar on top of a box of potatoes.
Every time there was an air raid, we went to the cellar, which had been converted into a bomb shelter. We all, and especially our Grandmother, prayed that the Lord would protect us from the falling bombs. One time a miracle happened. Since we didn’t have any electricity, we were sitting in the cellar with candles lit. Suddenly we felt a strong shock, and our candles were blown out by the sudden pressure of air and dirt. Our brother, who was two years older than I, took a look around in the cellar to see what had happened. He found a hole in the wall of the house and in the ceiling of the cellar and told us that a bomb had fallen right where the boxes of books and potatoes were. We left the house; and after the attack was over, our mother and brother went back to see what had happened. They found the unexploded bomb, which had fallen on the boxes and demolished them. It was believed that the bomb had a time fuse, so no one could go back into the house until the bomb was deactivated.
A team came to defuse the bomb and determined that the fuse had broken off when it hit the box containing the books and now lay among the potatoes. They said this was virtually impossible; normally the bomb should have exploded. It was a 300-kilogram (660-lb.) demolition bomb. A similar bomb hit a house two doors away, and 17 people died. The house was completely destroyed, while our house was repaired and is still occupied today.
Although the box was demolished, all the books were preserved. The only thing that happened was that The Great Controversy was a little dented and creased on the bottom, as you can see in the photograph.
This experience proved to me that these books are God’s holy word and that we should heed them just as we do the Bible. By His strong arm, the Lord protected us and His Testimonies, which He gave us through Sister White. All thanks to Him!
–Karla Altwein, Australia
