A SPECIAL GUEST FOR SUPPER

Near downtown Honolulu, Fritz Vincken owned a bakery and handed out a smile along with hot buns and fresh bread to his loyal customers. He has lived in the Hawaiian islands for many years, but he is not just famous for his bread. He tells a story from his childhood that has since been told around the world.

December 1943 was a harsh winter in the Ardennes Forest near the German-Belgian border. Two months had passed since Hubert Vincken brought his wife and his son Fritz to the country for saftey after the family's home and bakery had been destroyed in a bombing raid.
"We were isolated," Fritz recalled. "Every three or four days, my father would ride out from town on his bicycle to bring us food." They could also tell the war was moving closer to their little house.

As suspected, The Germans surprised and overwhelmed the Allies on December 16, turning the nearby forrest into a killing field. It was a terrible time of fear and uncertainty. On Christmas Eve, Elisabeth and Fritz tried to block out the distant sound of gunfire as they sat down to their supper of oatmeal and potatoes.

"At that moment, I heard human voices outside, speaking quietly," Fritz remembered. "Mother blew out the little candle and we held our breath.

"There was a knock at the door. When my mother opened it, two men were standing outside. They spoke a strange language and pointed to a third man sitting in the snow with a bullet wound in his leg. We knew they were American soldiers. They were cold and weary.
"I wondered what in the world my mother would do. She hesitated for a moment. Then she motioned the soldiers into the cottage, turned to me and said, 'Get six more potatoes from the shed.'"

Elisabeth and one of the American soldiers were able to speak French, and both of them gathered as much news as the could. Separated from their battalion, they had wandered for three days in the snowy Forest, hiding from the Germans. Hungry and exhausted they decided to take a chance and knock on a door for help.

Not long after everyone began to warm up there was another knock at the door. Four more tired and frozen soldiers came to the cottage. The problem is that these men were German.

"Now I was almost paralyzed with fear," Fritz recalled. "While I stood and stared in disbelief, my mother took the situation into her hands. "Frohliche Weihnachten," Elisabeth said to the German soldiers, wishing them Merry Christmas. She then invited them to dinner. But before allowing them in, she told them, like only a German mama can, that she had other guests inside that they might not consider as friends.”

"She reminded them that it was Christmas Eve," Fritz said, "and told them sternly there would be no shooting around here." These soldiers, all four of them teenagers, listened respectfully and cautiously agreed.
The German soldiers agreed to store their weapons in the shed. Elisabeth then quickly went inside to collect the weapons from the American soldiers and locked them up securely.

"At first, it was very tense," Fritz said. “Every one just sat looking at each other.”
Two of the German soldiers were sixteen years old and another was a medical student who spoke some English. Fritz was sent outside to fetch the rooster he had captured several weeks earlier.

"When I returned," Fritz recalled, "the German medical student was looking after the wounded American, and one of the Americans presented instant coffee to share. The tension broke and by the time the food was ready, the men were more than eager to eat. Elizabeth invited them to the table and they all sat and said grace together.

"'Komm, Herr Jesus,'" she prayed, 'and be our guest.'
"There were tears in her eyes," Fritz said, "and as I looked around the table, I saw that the battle-weary soldiers were filled with emotion. Their thoughts seemed to be many, many miles away. They had been in war for long, they had forgotten what it was like to sit with a family.

"Now they were boys again, some from America, some from Germany, all far from home."

Soon after dinner, the soldiers fell asleep in their heavy coats. The next morning, they exchanged Christmas greetings and everyone helped make a stretcher for the wounded American.

"The German soldiers then advised the Americans how to find their unit," Fritz said. "My mother gave them back their weapons and said she would pray for their safety. They all kissed her as they left in separate directions. It was the last time Fritz or his mother would ever see any of them.
Throughout her life, Elisabeth Vincken would often say, "God was at our table that night" and I believe He was.

It wasn't until the story was featured on a March 1995 "Unsolved Mysteries" television episode that Vincken learned about a man at Northampton Manor Nursing Home in Frederick, Md., who had been telling family and friends the same story for years.

In January 1996, Vincken went to Maryland to meet Ralph Blank, who had served with the 121st Infantry, 8th Division, during World War II. "When he told me, 'Your mother saved my life,' it was the high point of my life," Vincken said of the reunion. "Now, I can die in peace.

Fritz Vincken died Dec. 8, 2002, in Oregon, 16 days before the 57th anniversary of well-publicized Christmas story but it was not the last time he sat down at a table with family. In the book of Revelation, Jesus Himself promises the same kind of sit down.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

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