Omas Pages #5, August 8, 2011

Oma’s Pages #5

Opa was born in the Netherlands. He was born in Amsterdam. His mother and father were living in a city called Zandvoort when he was born. Opa’s father, Egbert Van Komen, was born in a city called Groningen. All of the Van Komens came from the area around Groningen. What an amazing coincidence that we were sent to live in Groningen for our mission? Do you think maybe God and the angels arranged that for us to live here?

I have been collecting the histories of all of these people because they are the stories of your ancestors. It is important to know the things these people did, the sacrifices they made, the mistakes they made and what they learned from them.

These things help all of us to have a better life. When Jesus was resurrected he had one apostle named Thomas who did not believe that Jesus had been resurrected. He had to see it with his own eyes. When Jesus appeared to Thomas and let him see the nail prints in His hands and feet from being nailed to the cross, He said to Thomas, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.”

In other words, sometimes in our lives we make mistakes and hopefully we learn from them. But what Jesus is saying is that it is much better if we can learn from what other people say and do, having faith in what is true without having to make all of the mistakes ourselves.... Not having to “see” for ourselves in order to learn something. We can see, or hear, or read, what other people did and learn from their stories, and their mistakes, and their experiences.

That is one reason why it is important for us to learn about our family members who lived before us. We can learn things from their lives, so we don’t have to make all of the mistakes they made.

We can also get to know them, to know who they are. Many times they are the angels God sends to help us. They are our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who love us. They want us to be part of God’s forever family when we all get back to heaven. If we know who they are then we will recognize them when they are helping us. 

If you have read, or studied, or learned about your family members who have died, you will begin to know them. They will feel like your best friends. Then when you have a very difficult test in school, or you have the idea you should be nice to somebody, or your friends tell you to do something sneaky that is bad instead of obeying your mom and dad, and you have a feeling not to do it, you will know that this is your Oma, Maria Van Maare Van Komen, or your Opa, Egbert Van Komen, your Grandma Belle, or even your Aunt Sarah, who is talking to you, who is prompting you, or helping you, or trying to tell you what to do.

What does any of this have to do with Oma and Opa going on a mission?

Do you know who these people are? Can you guess? Ask your Mom or Dad, and see if they know who these people are?