Jo opened her eyes to find herself in completely unfamiliar surroundings. The walls of the room were painted blue, and the ceiling was white. Printed curtains, which matched the bed's quilt, hung at the window.

Curious, she looked down to see that she was wearing a light blue gown. She slipped her feet into matching fluffy light blue slippers and stepped out into the hallway.

She seemed to be in a large house, larger than her parents', about the size of the Kirke's. Yet something about it was different. It seemed older somehow, as if from a previous era.

Delicious smells led her to the kitchen, where she saw a plump, matronly woman of about sixty. She had short, curly white hair that was neatly styled. She was standing at an old fashioned stove, making pancakes. She glanced up as Jo entered the room.

"Ah, Magda! We were wondering when you were going to join us. You can take your usual place at the table. Horst will turn thanks."

At the table sat a pale, thin teenage boy with light brown hair and spectacles. Beside him sat a plump teenage girl with darker hair that was in braids.

The boy bowed his head and began to pray. "Dear Lord, Bless this food of which we are about to partake, and thank you for your many blessings. Amen."

On the table sat platters of sausage and pancakes. The teenagers began to pile them onto the plates sitting before them, and after a moment's hesitation, Jo timidly reached for a sausage with her fork.

"What's wrong, Magda?" The girl gave a friendly chuckle. "It isn't going to bite you!"

My name is Magda, Jo thought in wonder. The boy's name is Horst. What's the girl's name? Are they my brother and sister? Is the older lady my grandmother?

She noticed that the clothing of the others looked as old fashioned as the house's furnishings did. She'd seen pictures of similar outfits in advertisements for vintage-era shops, but she'd never seen such clothing actually worn.

"Better hurry up and finish eating," said Horst. "We're going to Spandau to hear Reverend Baumgartner preach this morning."

"Who?" asked Jo.

"Reverend Baumgartner," the girl told her. "We've been going to his church for a year now. You'll like him. We all do, especially Granny."

Jo looked at Granny, and Granny smiled at her.

After breakfast, Jo helped the others clean up and then went back to her bedroom to get dressed. The other girl was already there, looking through the closet.

"Why don't you wear your lavender dress that's made just like my sea green one," she suggested. "That way, we'll match!"

Jo found the lavender dress and took it from the closet. As it had no tags inside, it seemed to be homemade and of 100 percent cotton - typical for this time period, whatever it is, she supposed. She went to the mirror and gazed into it at her own face. She saw that she looked much as she had ten years or so before.

So am I ten years younger now? she wondered.

She donned the dress, added pantyhose and black flats, and then set out with Granny and the others for Spandau. As they walked along, she marveled at the passing scenery - parks, half-timbered houses, charming little cafes. She felt like she'd stepped right into a fairy tale. Unused to walking such distances, her legs and feet began to ache, but she was so fascinated by the scenery that she barely even noticed.

At last they arrived at the chapel, which was painted white and had a high sloping roof and tall steeple. A tree grew on each side of it. When they entered the building, Jo saw that the walls were also painted white. The wooden beams of the roof came together to make a triangular, upward-sloping ceiling, and long, plain wooden benches lined each side.

The only other occupants were a young couple with several children, an elderly couple, and a middle-aged man who sat alone. Granny led Jo and the others to a seat about halfway back on the left. Gradually, more people began to arrive, until there were perhaps twenty or thirty in all.

At last, Reverend Baumgartner entered and stepped up to the podium. He was of average size, with short blond hair combed over the top of his head and spectacles behind which his intense blue eyes gazed. He wore a gray tweed suit with a white shirt and black tie.

Although she'd never seen him before in her life, Jo was sure she already knew him.

"Greetings, beloved, in the name of the Lord," he said. "I'm pleased to see you all again, and I rejoice that there are several new faces here."

He caught Jo's eye and gave a fleeting smile, and it warmed her heart so much that, for the first time, she felt completely comfortable in her new surroundings.

"My text this morning is from Acts 5:27-32," he began. "Peter and John have been arrested for preaching the gospel. They are released, but arrested again soon afterwards. When asked why he refuses to obey the authorities, Peter responds that as Christians, we are to obey God rather than man. A similar situation has arisen today. Our nation's leaders are demanding that we violate the Bible's principles by turning against our Jewish brothers and sisters."

Oh dear God, I've gone back in time to Nazi Germany! Shocked, Jo almost fell from her seat.

Suddenly, she was desperate to know the exact date. She wracked her brain trying to remember whether she'd seen a calendar in the kitchen of the house she'd awakened in.

She listened to the rest of the sermon with rapt attention. The minister talked of love and compassion, one's duty to one's fellow man, staying true to one's values and beliefs even in the face of persecution.

Jo glanced nervously behind her every few minutes, expecting soldiers to burst in any second. She sighed with relief when Reverend Baumgartner began the closing prayer.

As the congregation filed out, the minister stood at the door, shaking hands with each person as they left. When it was Granny's turn, he took her hand in both his own, just as Fritz had done with Jo.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Klein," he said.

"Good afternoon, Reverend," Granny replied. "You know my grandchildren, Horst and Renate Weber, and this is their younger sister, Magda."

"How do you do." As he clasped her hand and gazed into her eyes, Jo knew that right here at this time was where she was supposed to be.