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What a Difference One Connection Can Make, Conclusion
Then, sadly, the enchanted summer did come to an end. As my classes wound down, David and I began preparing for our departure. Our last full day there, we had brunch with the Kaisers in their garden. What a lovely couple! We talked about Fussball (soccer), and what it had done for Germany to be…
Read MoreWhat a Difference One Connection Can Make, Part III
Lucinda’s love of flowers fit right in to German culture — her balconies were laden with flowers of all shapes and colors. She and I had many talks among her flowers. We had intellectual discussions about German and American culture and about religions such as Quakers and Anabaptists. We discussed her research on Pietism. She…
Read MoreWhat a Difference One Connection Can Make, Part II
We first met over lunch in Hamburg. Lucinda had moved to Germany to carry out research for her PhD and then stayed when she was offered a job at a German university. A few years later, she met and married Helge, who grew up in middle Germany. Lucinda is energetic, vivacious, has a great sense…
Read MoreWhat a Difference One Connection Can Make, Part I
In January 2006, when I was doing my internship with Donald Kraybill at the Young Center, I was staying in a little house within walking distance of the YC. On a table in this little house, there was a guest book. Near the end of my six-week internship, I was preparing to leave when I…
Read MoreSarah’s Courtship, Afterword
“Sarah” and “Jacob” did get married and lived on his family’s farm in a small building for the first few years of their marriage. Their first child was born less than a year later. Her name was Katie. She was only two years younger than her Aunt “Mary.” My grandparents moved to a farm on…
Read MoreSarah’s Courtship, Part VI
Days turned into weeks and then into months. Sarah looked out at the windmill on the hill above the barn and watched it turn around and around as she did the dishes. Her life was like the windmill, turning in circles, yet staying in the same place. It will be at least eight…
Read MoreSarah’s Courtship, Part V
The morning after the funeral, Sarah stared straight ahead, through the bars of the empty crib in the morning light. It had been moved to her room after her mother became ill. She had thought nothing would be as hard as losing her mother. She remembered the day before when Aunt Amanda had said, “I’d…
Read MoreSarah’s Courtship, Part IV
“Influenza,” the doctor said as he snapped his satchel shut. “Has she been caring for someone who was sick?” he asked Sarah. “No.” “Has anyone else gotten sick in this house?” “No.” “Good. You need to keep the little ones out of the bedroom. This flu is the one that came…
Read MoreSarah’s Courtship, Part III
The next morning Sarah’s mother didn’t feel well. She called Sarah to her bedroom to give her instructions for the day. After breakfast Sarah took a piece of toast and a cup of tea in to her mother. The four school children were walking up the hill towards the school. Baby Mary was playing on…
Read MoreSarah’s Courtship, Part II
Sarah’s mind came back to the basket of wet clothes waiting to be hung on the line. She hung the dishtowels together, then the underclothes and socks. She remembered the conversation with Aunt Martha several days after that first date. Sarah was peeling potatoes and Aunt Martha was frying chicken. Martha asked, “How was your…
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