Where Was I on 9/11
Dr. Ted Baehr
Since everyone asks, “Where were you on 9/11,” I will let you know that I was traveling from Sendai, Japan, where I was trying to help a wonderful Japanese American family who owned the distribution rights for Microsoft Asia, to London to speak at a conference.
One of the worst typhoons hit Japan the day I had to get to Tokyo, so the railroad shut down, so we decided to drive to the Tokyo airport. The highway was closed throughout the trip except the circle of the eye of the typhoon that followed our car all the way to Tokyo, as a miraculous answer to prayer.
I spent the night at a large Americanized hotel. In the middle of the night, I could not sleep so I turned on the TV to the American news channel and saw the first plane hit the first World Trade Center Tower, which was near where I had once worked at Trinity Church at Broadway and Wall Street. I called home and told Lili to turn on the TV. Some of my children had taken a vow not to watch TV, so they would not watch the events unfold. In Japan, I watched the next plane hit the other World Trade Center Tower while Lili watched from the Los Angeles area, Camarillo. The American news announcers slowly realized that this was an attack.
Morning came, and I went down to breakfast. The Japanese paid no attention to the 9/11 events in the USA and focused on sports and on the tsunami. Many were laughing and enjoying breakfast. I was devastated and in shock.
Many flights were cancelled, but thanks to God divine providence after much prayer, my flight flew to London. At Heathrow Airport, I took a cab. The driver was happy that the USA was attacked. The news announced that many in Parliament applauded. Again, I was shocked. The next day Prime Minister Blair apologized to the USA.
I spoke that night, still in shock. I wept in the middle of my speech.
My small home village where I grew up on Long Island lost 50% of the fathers on 9/11.
9/11 and other Jihad dates are important to Muslims but forgotten by non-Muslims.
Sept. 11, 1683, marks the beginning of the Battle of Vienna with the attack of Grand Vizar Mustafa and Turks and Tartars. The Grand Vizar celebrated the beginning of the battle by executing 30,000 Christian captives. The Christians were overwhelmingly outnumbered, but they won the battle eventually. The Muslims have commemorated 9/11 ever since by trying to conquer the rest of Christendom, just as they had conquered the Holy Land and the Eastern Christian Roman Empire.
They will not stop until they win – or…. The “or” depends on whether the freedom loving people to remember the past.
Let us pray for others, let us tell people about the love of Jesus that triumphs over fear, terror, take over. The Good News will triumph!