Jerusalem World News

We’ve just been notified that on April 15 the Ambassador of Israel in the Netherlands will hold special ceremony of the Dutch committee of Yad Vashem at the Town Hall of Haarlem in which Corrie ten Boom’s father, Casper ten Boom and her sister, Betsie ten Boom, will be admitted into Yad Vashem’s list of the Righteous Gentiles Among the Nations.Corrie ten Boom and Oscar Schlinder are already in the Hall of the Righteous Gentiles.

Casper ten Boom, Corrie’s father, gave his life saving 800 Jews. The Ten Boom Clock Shop was an escape route on the way to Palestine, from the Nazi Holocaust for Jews.

When the Nazi’s arrested the Ten Boom family, Casper ten Boom was told he would not be arrested and could go home as long as he would promise not to save any more Jews. Casper’s response was, “I would consider it an honor to give my life for the Jewish people If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door again to any Jew in need who knocks.”

Betsie ten Boom also died at the hands of the Nazis in Ravensbrook concentration camp. Corrie ten Boom’s writings were greatly influenced by her sister Betsie, whom she considered her inspiration.

On April 15, 1986, Dr. Mike Evans, with the assistance of caring Christians, purchased and restored the Clock Shop. It was opened as a witness of the love Christians have for the Jewish people. Since those days thousands have visited The Hiding Place worldwide. Ever since the Clock Shop opened to the public, every worker has volunteered without compensation, and no visitor has ever been charged to visit The Hiding Place.

Casper ten Boom led the family in a weekly prayer meeting for the peace of Jerusalem which began through his father 1844. It ended in 1994 when the family was arrested by the Nazi’s. The Jerusalem Prayer Team was launched in 2002 to continue on the Ten Boom’s prayer meeting. The Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, inaugurated the Jerusalem Prayer Team. It is now the largest Christian prayer organization in the world, with prayer movements in over 200 nations of the world.

Mr. Evans, Chairman of the Board of the Corrie ten Boom House and Jerusalem Prayer said, “I met Corrie ten Boom in 1972. She was carrying her suitcase into a hotel. I did not know who she was and just ran up to help her with the suitcase.” Corrie told me she was a “tramp for the Lord” and thanked me for helping her. She invited me to have a bowl of soup with her. When I saw the love she had for the Jewish people, I opened my heart and told her my story about my great-grandfather who was burnt to death at synagogue in Russia and the unspeakable anti-Semitism that my mother went through.

Corrie was filled with such compassionate love and told me “no pit is so deep that the love of Jesus is not deeper still. You cannot love Jesus without loving the Jewish people.” “I also know what it is to suffer,” Corrie said. While celebrating her 51st birthday in solitary confinement at Ravensbrook, the Lord gave her a wonderful birthday gift, Psalm 91. She whispered to me the last verse, With long life shall I satisfy you.

When I went to the Ten Boom Clock Shop and saw the lock preventing people from going upstairs to see the story of The Hiding Place, I asked the owner, Mr. van der Noll, would he sell it so we could restore it as a witness of the love that Christians have for the Jewish people. All of the sudden all of the clocks started going off. He looked at me at smiled. “Do you know what day this is? It’s April 15th. This is Corrie’s birthday.” She was 91 years old when she died. I realized at that moment that God had given Corrie more than the 91st Psalm but 40 years of ministry.

Because of Dr. Billy Graham and loving Christians who supported Corrie ten Boom, her book and movie, The Hiding Place, became a household world.

In light of the anti-Semitism that is sweeping through the Muslim world, especially being led by Iran, the Corrie ten Boom Fellowship is creating a virtual reality tour of the The Hiding Place, which can be seen via the internet. It will also tell the story of the Holocaust to educate people worldwide. It will be available in Arabic, Farsi and many other languages throughout the world.

This special venture is being dedicated to the memory of Casper and Betsie ten Boom. The cost is $300,000. I’m asking every Jerusalem Prayer Team member to be a witness of God’s love to the Jewish people and make a tax-deductible contribution to the Corrie ten Boom Foundation. If 1 person gives $30,000, 10 people give $3,000, 500 people give $300 and 3,000 members give $30 we will have reached our goal. I pray that everyone will respond.

To find more information about the Corrie ten Boom House and Foundation, please visit www.corrietenboom.com.