I AM MY BELOVED'S "Freely you have received, freely give..." Matthew 10:8 Under no circumstances is this book to be sold. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible; and in Chapter 21, from the Jewish Publication Society of America, according to the Masoretic Text. Some names of people have been changed. At the time of the books publishing the authors name was Esther Dorflinger and since has been changed back to her maiden name of Esther Korson. Phototypeset by Barry Segal International Ltd. Jerusalem, Israel. Originally printed by Maor-Wallach Press, Jerusalem. First Edition September 1985 2nd printing 3rd printing Second Edition September 1988 4th printing 5th printing Third Edition September 1992 Fourth Edition August 1997 The Author gives permission to freely copy and share this book with the following stipulations. This book is not to be altered in any way and under no circumstances can the book be sold. Contact: Esther Korson, PO Box 8426 Jerusalem Israel 91083 or [email protected] This book is dedicated in love to Joseph and Michael (The Lord will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten . .) Joel 2, 25 This book was written on the island of Patmos and in Jerusalem, Israel. I pray that the peace and beauty of God's love that is present in both places will be felt as well by the readers of this book CONTENTS Part I 1 The Case of the Stolen School .......................................................... 1 2 A New Beginning ................................................................................. 13 3 From Darkness to Light ....................................................................... 19 4 Songs of Love .................................................................................... 25 5 The Lamb .................................................................................................37 6 New Horizons .................................................................................. 47 Part II 7 What Are We Doing in the Desert? ................................................ 57 8 "Little David": a Synopsis ................................................................ 64 9 Thy Will Be Done ............................................................................. 83 10 In All Things Give Thanks ................................................................ 91 11 I Trust Thee ...................................................................................... 99 12 The Flower Blossoms ................................................................... 109 Part III 13 The Father's Care .................................................................. 119 14 Lessons of Love ............................................................................. 129 15 Further Lessons of Love .............................................................. 135 16 Journey Home ................................................................................. 147 Part IV 17 Councils and Kings ...................................................................... 157 18 Roses have Thorns .................................................................... 169 19 Israel, We Love You ...................................................................... 177 20 "Thou Art the Son" ............................................................................ 207 21 Dorflinger vs. Burg ........................................................................ 215 22 Hinds' Feet ............................................................................. 229 23 People in High Places ........................................................................ 255 Part V 24 Watchmen ........................................................................................... 295 25 To the Uttermost Parts ........................................................................ 309 26 "The Old Country" ......................................................................... 321 27 Learning to Wait..................................................................................... 333 28 "From the Land of the North" ..................................................................... 351 29 Russia Re-Visited ............................................................................ 359 30 Winter Lessons ............................................................................................377 31 Patmos and Other Places ...................................................................... 387 Part VI 32 Rozia .......................................................................................... 421 33 "Two Crosses" .................................................................................. 453 34 "The Lord is High Above All Nations" .......................................... 459 35 Repentant Tears ............................................................................................473 36 Restored Years ....................................................................................... 497 37 Emmaus .................................................................................................... 507 38 Lessons Continued ................................................................................ 515 39 Just for You ............................................................................................. 529 Bits of This and That .............................................................................. 532 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 537 FOREWORD ne summer I visited a family in the centre of Finland. They welcomed me to their 0 absolutely beautiful home, built for the express purpose of welcoming the Jewish people when they leave the U.S.S.R. in great numbers for Israel, and also to welcome Christians who are in need of a rest. It was one of the most beautiful homes I had ever seen. "Oh, dear, no one who comes here will ever want to leave!" I told my hosts. But the thing that really touched me is that they made no apologies for the beauty of their home. They were thrilled to have it to use for the purposes of God. And that is what I have done with this book. Many, many things have happened to me in recent years and, like my friends in Finland, I make no apologies for them. I simply wish to tell you the story, with the prayer that it will place a new song within your heart. May the Lord grant you an extra measure of His love. "My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand... Yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalem..." Song of Solomon 5:10, 16 1 THE CASE OF t was the summer of 1973, and my oldest son, Joey, was to begin school in the fall. We Ilived in the United States in a small New England town, and the school system was very antiquated. It seemed to me that there was very little understanding of the needs of children, or of their natural desire to learn. As a matter of fact, I received the distinct impression that the principal and the teachers at the local school didn't even like children! I loved my little son's enthusiasm for life, and I hated to see it destroyed by six hours of sitting in a chair learning abstractions on a blackboard! I was discussing this one morning over tea with a close friend, a delightful Welsh girl named Yvonne. Her oldest son was already in school, and doing poorly; and a younger son was Joey's age. Very matter-of-factly, she said, "Well, why don't we start a school of our own? If you start it, I'll teach it!" And that was how the Creative Learning Centre was born. By the time school was due to open in the fall, we had been licensed as a pre-school; we had two classrooms in the basement of a church; a French teacher and a music-and-gym teacher, both willing to work without pay; and twenty students, all of kindergarten age. We opened the school in Bristol, a large city close to the small town in which we lived. We had tuition based on a "sliding scale", so that lack of finances would not be a deterrent to any parents interested in enrolling their children. Yvonne had been a school teacher in Britain before coming to the States, and the system of teaching that she used was excellent. The school was very structured, as it is important for children to know exactly what is expected of them. But within that structure, there was room for each child to grow at his own rate, with a learning program geared towards him; and with much positive reinforcement so that he could feel successful, even if he could not as yet manage to hold a pencil as well as his more developed classmate. All in all, the school was a huge success. The children were learning rapidly and happily, and before we knew it our first year was at an end! During the second year, our kindergarten students would move up to first grade, and we would welcome a new kindergarten class. We soon learned that this would then classify us as a regular elementary school instead of a pre-school, and therefore we would have to find facilities that would meet all the health, fire and building requirements for a regular private school. "I hope you find something really great!" Yvonne teased, as she, her husband and her children were packing for a summer of visiting relatives in Britain. All too soon they were on their way, and I was left behind in Bristol to find a new location for the Creative Learning Centre! It's difficult to describe exactly what I'm talking about, but somehow I had the unmistakable