Jane Haining was born in Dunscone, near Dumfries in 1897. She worked for ten years in a threadmaker's in Paisley, but it was in Glasgow at a meeting about the Jewish Mission that she turned to a friend and said, prophetically: 'I have found my life-work'. In 1932, she got the call to work at a Church of Scotland mission to the Jews in Budapest, where she took charge of the Girls' Home.

Famous for her Scots accent, she became popular with the 400 children who attended the school - a mix of Christian and Jews. Many were orphans from broken or poverty-stricken homes, while others were sent simply because they got an excellent education from the Scots.

Her love for the children is evidenced by her letters: 'We have one nice little mite who is an orphan and is coming to school for the first time. She seems to be a lonely wee soul and needs lots of love. We shall see what we can do to make life a little happier for her.' In another letter, she wrote: 'We have one new little six-year-old, an orphan without a mother or a father. She is such a pathetic wee soul to look at and I fear, poor lamb, has not been in too good surroundings before she came to us... she certainly does look as though she needs heaps and heaps of love.'

She was on leave in Scotland when World War II broke out, but immediately embarked on the hazardous journey back to Budapest and the children. When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, she ignored the Church of Scotland's warning for missionaries to come home to safety. 'If these children need me in the days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in the days of darkness?' Her sister, Nan O'Brien, later recalled: 'It was no surprise that she refused to come back. She would never have had a moment's happiness if she had come home and left the children.' During the war, Jane protected the children to the best of her ability.

In early May, the Nazi authorities raided the school. They searched her office and bedroom, gave her 15 minutes to get ready and took her away. She was jailed on the charges of British espionage and helping Jews. She was accused of working amongst Jews and of weeping - she wept as she had to sew the yellow Stars of David onto the dresses of her children. One of her former wards later recalled: 'I still feel the tears in my eyes and hear in my ears the siren of the Gestapo motor car. I see the smile on her face while she bade me farewell. I never saw Miss Haining again, and when I went to the Scottish Mission to ask the minister about her, I was told she had died. I did not want to believe it, nor to understand, but a long time later I realised that she had died for me, and for others. The body of Miss Haining is dead, but she is not alone, because her smile, voice and face are still in my heart.'

She was soon deported, along with some of her Jewish children, to Auschwitz. In the space of three months 1,300,000 were killed in Auschwitz - among them #79467, Jane Haining. Refusing to reject her children, she died for her beliefs on August 16, 1944 in the gas chambers along with a group of Hungarian women. The Church of Scotland was sent her death certificate from Auschwitz: 'Miss Haining, who was arrested on account of justified suspicion of espionage against Germany, died in hospital, July 17, of cachexia brought on by intestinal catarrh.'

Ben Helfgott, a Holocaust survivor and Chairman of Yad Vashem Committee of Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: 'When the children were taken away she went with them to Auschwitz. She was not able to save them, but she looked after them. What she did was a supreme act of mercy and kindness.'

In 1997 Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Memorial in Jerusalem, awarded Jane Haining a medal and a place in the Righteous Among the Nations for her selfless dedication to the children. The award was presented to her sister, Nan O'Brien of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, by the Israeli Ambassador to Britain at a ceremony in Glasgow.

Other Scots born persons known to have died in Nazi concentration camps:
• Jean Fletcher: b. Dundee 12/12/1892 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Martha Hildesheim: b. Glasgow 1872 - d. 1940, Theriesenstadt
• Herman Eskovitz: b. Glasgow 1927 - d. Auschwitz
• Deborah Pollock: b. Glasgow 1892 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Bernard Pasha: b. Edinburgh 1907 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Paula Herzfeld: b. Glasgow 1900 - d. Theriesenstadt
• Bessie Davis, or Beugelmans: b. Edinburgh 1896 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• her husband, Boris Beugelmans: b. Edinburgh 1896 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Jacques Blokjesman: b. Paisley 1921 - d. 1944, Belsen Bergen

LIGHT A VIRTUAL CANDLE at http://www.hmd.org.uk/

Okay, I got absolutely nothing done the past week or so due to, yes, the US Open  . On a random note... the graphic novel is coming along much better - I actually have a realistic publishing date set for July 14 '07.

I wanted to post this article here, not just because I'm still jazzed about the Open, but because I thought it said a lot about life, as well:

Choose How To Play Great Tennis

"From birth to the age of eight to ten, children live in a state of deductive awareness. They lack the ability to respond to circumstances like we as adults do. Their responses will be based on what they have learned from the environment they are surrounded by.

When it comes to tennis – particularly if you are a tennis playing family – it is important to realise and accept that the behaviour of your child on the tennis court is largely due to what they have learned…from YOU!

For a young player to “Be their best” rather than focusing on “Being the best” can make a significant difference in their emotional upbringing.

A child who focuses is on becoming ‘their’ best develops high self-esteem and greater emotional mastery. A child left to focus on results alone, slowly becomes a product of their results. Tennis can serve (pardon the pun) many great life lessons. Because in tennis, you cannot control 100% of the game. There are certain things that we totally control, semi-control and have zero control over.

Focusing solely on results means you are focusing on something that you influence but do not have total control over. You only influence how another person plays. Time spent dwelling on things outside of your control can cause feelings of diminished self-esteem, helplessness and eventually lead to feelings of unworthiness.

Champions focus heavily on the things they can control (80%). The remainder is spent on the things that they can semi-control (20%) and the things outside of their control receive very little attention. Here is an example from another sport to illustrate how these same principles of success apply regardless of the sport.

Swimmer Ian Thorpe rarely talks about world rankings or gold medals. He only ever talks about fulfilling his unique potential as an athlete and as a person. He knows that there are factors outside of his control when it comes to the outcome of an event. Tennis matches are no different. There will be days when the other player is just too good. Learning to accept this and learn from it is the key to success."

**Source: Scott Groves

I'm sure there are a lot of other ways the game relates to life...

"I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ arose before day and went into a solitary place. David says: ‘Early will I seek thee’, ‘Thou shalt early hear my voice.’ Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness, and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then when in secret prayer the soul is often out of tune. I feel it is far better to begin with God-to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another." - Robert Murray M'Cheyne (I plan on writing a post concerning him soon)

"The greatest thing anyone can do for God and for man is to pray. You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. Prayer is striking the winning blow ... service is gathering up the results." - S. D. Gordon

"Prayer is not a monologue, but dialogue. God's voice in response to mine is its most essential part." - Andrew Murray

"Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all." - D. L. Moody

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?." - Corrie ten Boom

From The Christian Poll Center

• What is the biggest problem facing today's Christians?
Indifference - 53%
Political Correctness or Modernism - 31%
Charismatics and Pentecostals - 10%
Cults or Sects - 4%

• Is the Church in apostasy today?
Yes - 79%
No - 20%

• Do you think most Christians are able to defend their faith intellectually?
Yes - 13%
No - 86%

• Are evolution and Christianity compatible?
Yes - 39%
No - 57%
Maybe - 3%

Just had to add this...

Song for Josiah
(Keith Green)

Oh my son, you were born in a world that hates you,
And I swear I will never forsake you.
But there was a father centuries ago,
Who watched his beloved son die. Oh, die.

Oh my son, I am weak and I'm trembling,
For the Lord I am always remembering.
Oh what a strong shepherd holds you in His arms.
He'll break you and make you His own.
And then take you home.

Well if I could I would protect you from what you will see.
This world will promise love and beauty, but it lied to me.
And I will show you, if you will listen.
And I will promise, to listen too.

Oh yes, there are some who love the lies, they will kill you if they can.
Though you speak the truth in love, they will hate you like the man,
Jesus, although he was God, he allowed himself broken for you.

Well if I could I would protect you from what you will see.
The world might seem so alive, but it's dead to me.
And I will teach you, if you will hear me.
And I will promise, to hear you too. Yes I do.

Oh my son, I am only your brother.
For a sister, God gave me your mother.
But just like a mother, so long ago, had to watch her beloved son die,
Oh son, we will try, to let you go.