The story started on board a plane

And then Colonel Hervé Cachelin’s letter came

A deep darkness covers the sea.  On the Boeing

  • Klaus: Boeing (“e” fehlt)

the passengers are whiling away the time.  Each in his/her own way: some read, while others snooze.  Because we have booked our flight with a low-cost airline the TV-screens are missing; so TV is out.  It gets hectic in the row in front of us.  A lady – roughly the same age as my wife and I – no longer knows what to do with her inner unrest.  After a while it becomes clear to us that someone is going through a withdrawal: either the alcohol level is too low or a different drug is missing in the body’s system.  We would love to help, but are not sure how.

I immediately think of the men and women who I see sitting at the Faulbrunnenplatz in Wiesbaden with their puffy faces and a bottle in hand.  I pass them surprisingly often when I run my errands in my home town and every time I think “Klaus, you must help these people!”, but sadly I do not know how.

But our experience above the ocean caused us a family to give part of our Christmas donation to Wiesbaden’s Salvation Army, where people care for others or, put a different way, get their hands dirty.  If I were wearing a hat, I would have to take it off whenever I come across one of these angels practising love for their neighbour.

A few days ago Colonel Hervé Cachelin’s thank you letter arrived.  The name rang no bells, but as I am nosey, I googled a bit and discovered that his great-great-grandfather was William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.  Absolutely amazing: for five generations now men and women from this family have been putting into practice what Jesus said: “What you have done to the least of my brothers you have done to me!”  If you want to learn more about Hervé Cachelin, read the following article. /KDJ

Read the article →

Click to access the login or register cheese