Years ago, in a small fishing village in Holland, a young boy taught the
world about the rewards of unselfish service. Because the entire village
revolved around the fishing industry, a volunteer rescue team was needed
in cases of emergency. One night the winds raged, the clouds burst and a
gale force storm capsized a fishing boat at sea. Stranded and in
trouble, the crew sent out the S.O.S. The captain of the rescue rowboat
team sounded the alarm and the villagers assembled in the town square
overlooking the bay. While the team launched their rowboat and fought
their way through the wild waves, the villagers waited restlessly on the
beach, holding lanterns to light the way back.
An hour later, the rescue boat
reappeared through the fog and the cheering villagers ran to greet them.
Falling exhausted on the sand, the volunteers reported that the rescue
boat could not hold any more passengers and they had to leave one man
behind. Even one more passenger would have surely capsized the rescue
boat and all would have been lost.
Frantically, the captain called for
another volunteer team to go after the lone survivor. Sixteen-year-old
Hans stepped forward. His mother grabbed his arm, pleading, "Please
don’t go. Your father died in a shipwreck 10 years ago and your older
brother, Paul, has been lost at sea for three weeks. Hans, you are all I
have left."
Hans replied, "Mother, I have to go.
What if everyone said, ‘I can’t go, let someone else do it?’ Mother,
this time I have to do my duty. When the call for service comes, we all
need to take our turn and do our part." Hans kissed his mother, joined
the team and disappeared into the night.
Another hour passed, which seemed to
Hans’ mother like an eternity. Finally, the rescue boat darted through
the fog with Hans standing up in the bow. Cupping his hands, the captain
called, "Did you find the lost man?" Barely able to contain himself,
Hans excitedly yelled back, "Yes, we found him. Tell my mother it’s my
older brother, Paul!"
