The other week we met a French speaking Belgian man and his wife. We live in the Dutch speaking section of Belgium – so, with the little French we know, and the little English he knew, and a few hand motions we were able to communicate. In recent years we have come to expect some animosity from Belgians when it comes to Americans and our government. After explaining to the man where we were from, we were ready for a political debate – but that didn’t happen. “Americans!” He said in broken English. “I love Americans! We love America!” And he went on to explain why. When he was a prisoner of war in Germany, it was an American who opened his door and said, “You are free.” He said he would never forget that an American gave him his freedom. America hasn’t received much thankfulness lately, and it was wonderful to hear the thankful words of this man. We’re always proud to be Americans, but his smile as he remembered his redemption from prison encouraged the whole family and reminded us of the privilege it is to be a citizen of our blessed nation! And it reminded us of the message of redemption we’re to share with the world.

Jay Bertrand, Belgium