As the three entered the von Ludendorff home early on Sunday morning, they were warmly welcomed and then ushered into a living room in which there were about two dozen chairs facing a wooden table. When Jerry sat down, he felt strangely peaceful. On the table rested a large opened Bible, a small loaf of bread and a silver cup. His eyes were attracted to one side of the chairs at the only picture on the wall.
"Fresh from the bakery this morning." Jerry turned to see a smiling Karl standing by the bread.
"Have you ever taken communion before?" he asked, as he walked towards Jerry. Jerry explained that he had often taken communion when he attended Sunday school at a small Baptist church in Texas.
As the boys sat down, Karl explained that they were closely linked to the Baptists and that their church was called the International Bible Researchers. He smiled and said,
"Sounds impressive doesn't it?"
As they were talking Mr. von Ludendorff entered the room, winked at his son, leaned forward with an extended hand and said,
"Jerry Adamson, I presume," in English, but laced with a strong German accent. Jerry shook his hand and said in his best German,
"Nice to meet you, sir." Karl’s dad smiled warmly then looked at his wife who was talking to Esther and Lilian while Samuel flicked through a small book he had found on his chair. It was time to begin the meeting.
As the tall man stood behind the wooden table, the dozen or so people took their seats. He grinned broadly and said in his native tongue,
"We are so excited to have such distinguished visitors with us this morning . . . " His voice then cracked with emotion. He composed himself and through tear‑filled eyes continued,
"We are truly thrilled to have members of the Adamson family with us today. After I have opened in prayer, for the sake of our honored guests, the rest of the service will first be in German and then in English." He then looked directly at the guests and said,
"This is not only to help them understand what is going on, but to show off the English skills I picked up while studying for my degree in Great Britain some time ago." He smiled again, then opened in prayer.
To be continued.
