Confessing the Sins - a Painful Forgiveness

One of my favorite stories of forgiveness comes from George and Hanna Miley. She was rescued as a child at the last possible minute; her parents deported to Auxchwitz and died there. Visit George's website ( you'll find it at the end.)

Many of you were specifically praying for Sunday, September 30, in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia. We are still processing what took place, but wanted to share with you a few initial impressions:

• The day began for us with the morning service at the Lutheran Church. On a typical Sunday in Dolny Kubin the churches are full.

• That afternoon a public service to remember the Jews deported from this town to Auschwitz 70 years ago was held in the former synagogue, now a cinema. It was a familiar place; we had been there two to three times each day from Tuesday to Friday to speak to school groups.

• The gentle presence of the Lord was pervasive. The mayor and the Lutheran pastor each openly confessed the sins of the city in the treatment of their former Jewish citizens. The Roman Catholic bishop sent a letter. Four elderly Jewish survivors then recounted their stories with dignity and restraint. There were even Jewish representatives from Israel.
  
• The Jewish day of repentance, Yom Kippur, had taken place the same week. In this holy setting Hanna was given the privilege of being the final speaker. She shared the concluding words from the Jewish liturgy for repentance: For you are the Pardoner of Israel and the Forgiver of the tribes of Yeshurun in every generation, and aside from you, we have no King who forgives and pardons.

• The crowd then walked to the large Jewish cemetery where a new stone was unveiled in memory of the Jews who would have been buried there had they not been deported to Auschwitz. A selection of their names was read and each of us according to Jewish custom left a small stone on the memorial.
  
  

Prior to this significant week in the history of Dolny Kubin the local community of believers had given themselves to prayer and fasting, asking the Lord’s mercy on their town. What will God do there in the coming days?

Please pray for the Lord’s will and his kingdom to come:

Website: We have been blessed by how many of you (and others) have already visited our website www.georgeandhannamiley.com. Audio recordings of a number of the teachings have now been added. We welcome your responses and suggestions—how can we make the site more helpful?
Bound together in prayer,
George and Hanna