Homeschooling Against All Odds: Our Faith-Walk Experience: Journals from an Audacious Mother

By Nancy Huber

What Would You Do?

When the author and her husband began homeschooling in the year 2000, their world turned upside down.

They decided to remove their children from the German public school system, fully knowing this was illegal.

Parents were either incarcerated, or their children taken away.

Despite knowing the danger, th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Jan 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781647466305

Nancy Huber

Nancy Huber is the author of Days of Fire, Escape Through Time, and Kingdom of Eternity. She studied Egyptology at the University of Manchester, England. She has four grown children and is the grandmother of two adorable grandsons. She and her husband reside in the beautiful mountains of British Columbia, where they share their home with numerous critters.

Book preview

Introduction

Homeschooling Illegally in Germany

Dear Reader,

Before you read the journal in front of you, I want to confess that I am not the perfect mother, nor even the perfect homeschool mom. But – I was fearless and would have done anything to protect my children. That does not mean that fear never entered my heart. Absolutely not.

I never had planned to homeschool.

When we decided to take our children out of the German public school system, we had absolutely no idea of what we were up against.

When a person defies the laws of any country, one enters a dangerous zone – like that of a battle field.

Our heavenly Father, who loves us so much, allowed us to be thrown into a battle we ourselves could not fight. It was as if He placed us there, on His training grounds, so we could learn everything we could from Him.

And I surely believe that our Almighty God – my heavenly Father – was watching over us in the midst of a fierce battle when we decided to teach our children ourselves. We had the full knowledge that this was against the law in Germany. At the time, some parents were thrown in jail, some parents lost their children, and other parents were financially destroyed.

We had to learn to fully trust Him, no matter what. We had to learn to let go, and fall into His arms. We humans have such difficulty with this. We (especially myself) want to be in control of our lives. I had to painfully learn what it meant to fully let go and give up my control. We needed to let Him take over the rudder and lead us out of the troubled waters.

By beginning to homeschool our children, we moved into deep, dangerous, troubled waters. Fear was never far away.

But, despite of what we knew, and what the government could do to us, we plunged deep into His arms, and trusted and hoped for His protection.

I have kept our story in its original form. I have kept it simple, yet I hope it still captivates you and encourages you, dear reader.

It is my sincere prayer, that you too, trust Him, too. I am not going to promise that it will be easy. Following Him is one of the hardest things to do, especially when material losses loom.

But I do promise you endless rewards. He will never let you down. He will never fail you. He is always near.

When you face stormy seas I will be there with you with endurance and calm; you will not be engulfed in raging rivers. If it seems like you’re walking through fire with flames licking at your limbs, keep going; you won’t be burned. Because I, the Eternal One, am your God. I am the Holy One of Israel, and I will save you.

Isaiah 43:2+3a

* * *

August 23, 1998

I am 9 weeks pregnant, expecting our fourth child. And our house is a turbulent, busy place – constantly. Our oldest is ten, her brothers are eight and two and half.

Three weeks ago, my father-in-law, Herbert, passed away unexpectantly. I still can’t believe he’s gone. We had visited him on that fateful Sunday, bringing him the good news of another grandchild; and that my due date would fall on his birthday – March 26. He grinned, sitting on his favorite couch, happy about the news.

On that evening, the poor man suffocated on his couch, not being able to reach his puffer in time. All his life, he had been a heavy smoker. He had quit a few years ago, but unfortunately, the damage had been done.

This had been the second funeral I attended. My step-grandfather had died a few years earlier.

A few days after the funeral, we experienced water issues in our house, and learned soon after that one of the water pipes had broken. Now, you must understand one thing. We live in a very old farmhouse which dated back to the late 1700’s. You don’t fold away your linoleum and take away some boards to fix the problem.

Basically, everything is good, old concrete floor and ancient rock foundation. The leakage was directly underneath our long hallway. The entrance was on one side, the bathroom at the end of the hallway. Workmen had to come and rip up the entire hallway and bathroom with concrete pressure machines, drilling to a depth of 1.5 meters. Dust was everywhere, and the noise was unbelievable.

As if this wasn’t enough, I was experiencing heavy cramping with a light discharge the evening before the work crew was due. Worried that something was wrong, Andreas, my husband and I went to the hospital. The doctor who examined me told me that I needed absolute rest. How do you do that with a toddler and two young children, and water leakage in your house, I wondered?

Thankfully, we have a holiday apartment attached to the house we live in, which our landlord uses when he comes for a visit. The children and I escaped there on the day of the water repair apocalypse. The sound of the drill reached us through the thin walls, while I tried to ignore the heavy cramps.

In the afternoon, I went to see Frau Dr. Hauser, one of my gynecologists. She explained to me after she examined me that something had loosened inside the womb but, she reassured me, that the baby was fine.

Not sure if that was to make me feel any better, I went home again, trying not to worry. But she had pointed out again that I needed rest; and the situation at home was not ideal.

I phoned my friend Katrin, asking if we could come and stay with her the next few days, and she gladly said yes.

Turned out, the four days we stayed with her was the best thing we could have done under the circumstances. I did get lots of rest and the children enjoyed Katrin’s company. Katrin used to be Vivien’s and Jesse’s Kindergarten teacher when we had lived in Bad Bellingen, Germany, a few years prior, and we had connected as friends immediately.

After a few days away, we returned home, enjoying the silence. When we arrived, no more ripped open hallway or loud pressure machines drilling constantly; but our bathroom is in total ruins. Thankfully, we can all use the washroom in our landlord’s apartment.

Hardy, Katrin’s husband, thankfully arrived and has begun tiling our bathroom. At least, out of this whole crazy thing, we will get a beautiful new bathroom. (I was getting sick of the pink tiles.)

I painted the doorframes in a beautiful plum shade. Leaning back, I admired the new color, and smiled. But then, I began worrying again. The bathroom needs to be done by Friday because our landlord is coming on Sunday, which means he will be staying in his apartment. It was always one thing or another.

Before I could relax for two minutes, I needed to run upstairs and have a little word with my little son, who does not want to sleep.

* * *

February 27, 1999

This pregnancy is taking a slightly different turn than my other ones.

In January, everyone in this household was plagued by the flu. Joshua was the bearer of good tidings, spreading it to his big sister, then to Jesse, then Andreas and myself. I was hit the hardest, struggling with a persistent cough for over two weeks.

With every racking cough torturing my entire body, I fear for the welfare of my unborn baby. I have felt an unusual pressure down below. Walking has become painful. I am really getting worried.

I made another appointment at my gynecologist; this time Frau Dr. Eberhardt-Lutze attended me. She took one good look at me and revealed that the head of the baby has dropped, pressing on the cervix. This is too early. I am only in my 30th week. The doctor does not want to place me in the hospital, but I need