SCENE 1

Old Corrie (addressing the audience) It is in retrospect that our lives take on meaning. When we look back we can see the hand of the Father, guiding and leading us, but at the time (chuckles) we can wonder what on earth is going on, and ask questions like "Why me?", and "What is the purpose of this?". But His ways are higher than ours, and His purposes are unfathomable. And He is always there, and His ways are always the ways of love. My own father would often remind us of the passage in John3:16 - the ultimate sacrifice of love. That God sent His only son that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life. Aaaah, amazing love. My father, Casper, would read to us every night from his beloved bible. All who were in the house were expected to be there, unless you were sick. And so we learned all that God had to say to us through His word, the bible. Aaaah, what a time that was, such peace and security. But peace and security in the hands of men never lasts. The only thing we can put our trust in is God.

SCENE 2

(cross fade to dining room, where Young Corrie (Y.C.), Betsie, Kik, and Casper are seated around the table. Casper is reading from a large bible)

Casper (reading from Psalm 32: 5-7) “ I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall everyone that is Godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” (he closes the book and prays) Lord thankyou for your mighty Word, the book of truth. Lord, we pray for your chosen people, the Jews, at this time. We thank you Lord for the gift of your Son and your great sacrifice of love to us. Lord lead us onward to glory. Amen.

Y.C.  Miep committed her life to Jesus today.

Betsie Oh Corrie! That’s wonderful! And what about Pietje? I have been praying for her a lot recently.

Y.C.   Keep praying. I know the Holy Spirit is tugging at her heart. But she's confused, and is tempted by other things. But she has said that she will join us on our walk tomorrow. I know she has a lot of questions.

Casper Where will you walk to tomorrow?

Y.C.     I thought we would go outside of Haarlem, across the dyke and into the fields. It will be nice to get out of the city. We’ll take a picnic lunch and be back for tea.

(The mantle clock chimes, Casper takes out his pocket watch crosses to the old radio and turns it on. It crackles to life)

Casper Time for the radio.

Old Corrie We listened to the radio every night - Father had been given it as a gift from the people of Haarlem. But that night, in 1939, the news was of war and soldiers, and a man named Hitler, who wanted to raise Germany up and make her proud again. Holland had remained neutral in the first world war, and we all hoped it would be the same again. If indeed there was to be a war.     (cross fade)

Kik  Father says war is inevitable. The German Nazis are getting stronger all  the time. And the Jewish people will suffer. Hitler is wanting to wipe them off the face of the earth.

Casper He wouldn’t be the first one to try, Kik.

Kik Already we are hearing stories of German Jews being forced out of their jobs and homes.

Y.C.   We have had mail returned from one of our suppliers saying they have "gone".

Kik Father says it will only get worse.

Betsie But what about the home that Willem runs? What about those Jews?

Kik I don’t know, Aunt Betsie, and neither does Father. But whatever happens, I will be ready to help!

Casper But God knows. We must pray for the Jewish people now more than ever.

SCENE 12

(crossfade to doorbell. Y.C. hurries to get it)

Y.C.     I’ve got it.(opens door) Aaah, Mr Smit. Come in.(Casper enters)Father, this is Mr Smit. My Father, Casper ten Boom.

Casper (shaking hands) Smit? I know several Smits in Amsterdam.

Y.C No Father, this is the man I told you about. He’s come to...aah.. inspect the house.

Casper Oh, then you must be the Smit with the Building Inspection offices on the Grote......

Y.C.   Father! He’s not a building inspector, and his name is not Smit.

Casper Not Smit?

Smit It is easier if you don’t know my identity.

Y.C.   They are all called Smit. It’s for protection.

Casper All who? All the Smits are not Smits?

Y.C.   In the underground, Father. They are all called Smit.

Smit   It’s easier that way.

Casper (pause, looking at them) How is it easier not to have your real name? (pause, looking at Y.C who shrugs) Aah well, I suppose (as he exits) Maybe he is one of the Smits from Koning Straat, they were strange.

Y.C.  It is hard for the older ones to understand.

Smit Yes. Now show me what your layout is here.

Y.C.   The spare ration cards we get from a friend, Mr....

Smit  Don’t tell me his name! Only what I need to know.

Y.C.  We hide them beneath this step here (pries loose a board in the stairs)

Smit  Good. What about a warning signal?

Y.C.    That sign over there (points off) When it is in the window it is safe to enter. In here (inside a cupboard off) is a secret cubby hole. We hide jewelry, silver and any other valuables there. We think a person could             probably get in there if...

Smit No! It’s the first place they would look. Keep your valuables there though. It’s only silver. We’re interested in saving people not things.(looking up stairs) It’s a very odd place you have here.

Y.C. Yes. It was two houses that were joined at some stage, and the staircase was put in.

Smit  It’s perfect. If all houses were constructed like this one, you would see before you a less worried man. (sets off up stairs. Comes to Y.C’s room) This is it! You want your hiding place as high as possible. Gives you a greater chance of getting to it.(looking and measuring) Yes. It will go here.

Y.C.  But...Mr Smit? This is my bedroom.

Smit (not hearing her) If we put the wall in  here....two feet....with a trap door here.....Yes! The false wall will go here!(draws pencil line across the floor) That’s as big as I dare.

Y.C.   My room. It’s my bedroom. You can’t put...

Smit It will take a cot mattress though. Easily.

Y.C.  But where will you get the wood to build it?

Smit   Wood? Wood sounds hollow. Brick’s the only thing for false walls. We shall bring in the material gradually. It will be done in about a week. You shall also need your telephone re-connected. I will seeto it. (turns to Y.C.) What you are doing is a good thing. Good luck.

Y.C.  (seeing him off) We don’t need luck, Mr Smit. We have all we need in our heavenly Father.(Betsie enters holding a clock)

Betsie Corrie, there’s a lady downstairs called Mietje. Rolf sent her. She is worried her son is going to be picked up in the factory drafts and wonders if we can help him?

Y.C.  These factory drafts are terrible. No one is safe.

Betsie Can we help her?

Y.C.    Tell her to come for her clock tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully I will have some good news for her.(Betsie exits with clock to workshop. She returns in a minute behind a man carrying bricks wrapped in a  newspaper, who goes up stairs to Corrie’s room)

Betsie (Looking at Y.C.) What....?

Y.C.     Don’t ask. (first man leaves as another enters up stairs with bricks in a briefcase) Are we doing the right thing, Betsie? What about Father?

Betsie This has taken his mind off of getting a star of David. It’s a good thing. Come on, help me set the table. (she exits to the kitchen)

Old Corrie The next day we were loaded onto carts and taken to the prison at Scheveningen. We were separated. Betsie was taken to a cell with three others. I was still so sick, that they put me in solitary confinement. And there we stayed for four months! Me, who couldn’t bear to be alone for a   few hours! Oh, the things I learnt in that time about myself! And Betsie,of course, managed to make her dirty, damp cell look like a palace. I learnt   that my Father had died only ten days after we were arrested. I know he felt honoured to have died helping God’s chosen people. The others were all eventually released. The Jews in the secret room all miraculously escaped. The Lord is good! And then, in the midst of this monotonous life came the unexpected order to gather our things together and get ready to evacuate. As with most prisoners, my worldly possessions didn’t fill a pillowcase, but they were so precious. Oh, the joy of seeing people again.  But where was Betsie? (crossfade)

SCENE 16

(standing in rows, with guards around. Y.C. is looking around. Train sound fx)

Soldier 1   Here comes the train. Everyone on board. Now!

Y.C.  (suddenly seeing Betsie) Betsie! Betsie!!

Soldier 1 On board now! (women start moving. Y.C. and Betsie struggle towards each other and hug, laughing. Soldier 1 pushes them) On board!(they climb on the train and sit together opposite Mien and Cor)

Y.C. and Betsie  (together) How are you? It’s so good to see you. Have you been alright? Did you hear about the others? (etc. pause)

Betsie Thankyou Lord for this opportunity to be together again.

Y.C.  Amen!

Betsie So where are they taking us?

Mien   To Germany.

Y.C. Dear Lord. Not Germany!

Cor No. (looking out the window)We are going South, not East.

Mien   Then we will be taken to Vught. A concentration camp.

Cor A concentration camp? Oh no! I thought the prison was bad enough.  I’ve heard about these camps. The things they do. We will all be killed.

Betsie And do you have a place to go after that?

Cor What do you mean? If I get out?

Betsie No. I mean if you die. Do you know about the mansion that God has created just for you? Do you know how much He loves you?

Mien   Yeah. So much that He let you come here! Come on. Surely you can’t believe in a God who would allow this to happen to you?

Betsie More than ever! He is a God of wonder. His love is greater than any other thing that I could ever possess down here. He is my hiding place. A Father I can run to at any time, and He will put His arms of love  around me and hold me. He can forgive any sin, and penetrate every darkness. (Mien raises her eyes and turns away, but Cor is transfixed)

Cor  Tell me more. Can He love me like that too?

Betsie (smiling) Oh yes.(leans forward to talk to her, whilst Y.C. smiles and closes her eyes. Train noise comes up as crossfade)

SCENE 17

Old Corrie We arrived and settled quickly into camp life at Vught. We were assigned work. I went to a factory where we made radios for the German  aero planes. Betsie knitted socks for the German soldiers. And at every                opportunity we told the women about Jesus. But it was a harsh existence. Very little food and endless roll calls.

Sample text from ACT 2

SCENE 19

Old Corrie And I was being asked to speak more and more - all around Holland, and then Europe and to the United States. And then God asked me to go to Germany. No Lord, not there! Not Germany! And so I went. The land was in ruins, cities of ashes and rubble. But worse were the hearts and minds of ashes. It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him. (Lights come up on Soldier 1 as Y.C. stares at him. Freeze) And suddenly it was all there - the room full of mocking men, the heap of clothing, Betsie’s face.

SCENE 20

Soldier 1 (walking toward Y.C.) I am grateful for your message, Fraulein. It is wonderful to think He has washed my sins away.(Y.C. fumbles in her bag) I was a guard at Ravensbruck, and I did some terrible things. I became a Christian not long ago and I know God has forgiven me for those things, but I want to ask your forgiveness also.(He holds his hand out)  I am so sorry for all that you suffered.(freeze. cross fade)

SCENE 21

Old Corrie I tried to smile. I struggled to raise my hand. But I couldn’t. I felt nothing,  not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so I prayed. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. I knew I had to place my hand in his, and as I did, the most incredible sensation like a current through my body, and feeling of love filled my heart.(cross fade)

SCENE 22

Y.C.  (shaking hand) I forgive you, Brother! I forgive you!(cross fade)

SCENE 23

Old Corrie And I learned that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He also gives the love itself. And so I continued to speak all around Germany. And Betsie’s other vision of a camp came to pass. I was taken to Darmstadt to look at the camp as a possible site to set up a rehabilitation operation. Rolls of rusting barbed wire surrounded it, with drab grey barracks and rows of beds....(cross fade)