Crossing the Border

We are settling into our home away from home.  The trip was long but uneventful.  On Saturday morning we crossed the border.  There is always something intimidating about crossing the border.  There are guards, and there are questions.  Since we stay all summer we have to go inside and talk to the officials in the immigration office.  Last year Phil was called back into a room for questioning because of an incident in which he forgot to declare an item with customs.  It's always a little nerve-racking to say the least.  We crossed without incidence.

While we were driving the 502, I got to thinking about our crossing.  We were following all the rules.  We were not trying to violate any laws.  And we were nervous.  But what about those people who found themselves in extreme conditions?  What about those for whom smuggling became a way of life?

I thought about Irena Sendler who worked in Warsaw Ghetto during WWII and smuggled 2500 Jewish infants and children out of the country.  Here's part of her story:

"There recently was a death of a 98 year old lady named Irena. 

During WWII, Iliana, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto. 

She had an ulterior motive... 

She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews. 

Iliana smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box she carried, and she carried in the back of her truck a Burlap sack, (for larger kids). 

She also had a dog in the back, that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in, and out of the ghetto. 

The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. 

During her time and course of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. 

She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, and arms, and beat her severely. 

Iliana kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out, and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. 

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it, and reunited the family. 

Most of course had been gassed. 

Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes, or adopted. 

Last year Iliana was up for the Nobel Peace Prize.... 

She LOST. 

Al Gore won for a slideshow on global warming."

You can find out more about her here.

We were talking about this and Luke told me about Brother Andrew who became known as "God's Smuggler" for smuggling Bibles into Communist countries during the Cold War.  He continues to work to bring Bibles to countries that are very restricted.

Another story recently appeared on 60 Minutes.  It told the moving story of Nicholas Winton who smuggled 669 mostly Jewish children out of Czechoslovakia during WWII.  You can watch the story here.

What great risks these people took!  What convictions they had!  It is amazing to me.  Thinking of the nervousness I feel crossing legally, it's hard for me to imagine what it must feel like to be working undercover, doing something that could cost you your life or your freedom.