Ellie (15 page)

Read Ellie Online

Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

Tags: #Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #test

BOOK: Ellie
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mother speak in such a tone. Immediately, she removed her skates and ran for the house. David followed, as did the twins and Roy and Sam.
Lizzie met them at the door. "It's Papa," she said. Fear creased her face. "I can't wake him. He laid down for a nap and said I should wake him at four o'clock, but I can't. I think he is...." She could not say the word. Everyone just stood there. Then Ellie reached for David's hand and led him to the room where her father had gone for his rest. Roy and the twins followed. Sam stayed at his mother's side. It was very silent in that bedroom.
Then the young people returned to the kitchen, where Sam and Mrs. Maust still stood waiting. A low moan escaped Ellie's lips. Mama heard and asked, "Is he?"
"Yes, Lizzie," answered David. "He is gone."
Mama would have fallen had it not been for Roy and Sam. They led her to a chair, and one of the twins brought a cool washcloth for her forehead.
Things happened fast after that. From everywhere, neighbors and friends arrived. Many more young folks came to help with the chores. Roy and Sam told them what to do, but there was not much difference between work at the Maust home and other Amish farms, so there were no problems. Women brought food, and soon the evening meal was on the table. No one in the family was hungry, but out of gratefulness to the concerned friends, they tried to eat.
The body was removed to prepare it for burial, and the family gathered in the living room to make
 
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final arrangements. Ellie asked David to join them. He didn't know if he should, but Mrs. Maust assured him that her daughter needed his support at this trying time. So he found a seat beside her and sat in silent meditation for a short while with the bereaved.
Tears flowed freely. When Lizzie Maust could finally speak, she said, "Children, I need your help. We have so many relatives in other states that need to be contacted. I don't know where to begin."
"Shall I see that they get the message?" asked David.
"Oh, would you?" asked Lizzie.
"Yes, I'd be glad to. Just make a list and I'll call them." Ellie, too, was grateful for his help.
The bishop and his wife arrived and were shown into the room where the family had gathered. Together they planned when and where the funeral services would be held, as well as who would be the pallbearers, what text was to be used, and the hymns they wished to have sung. One of the church members had a shop where he made plain caskets.
Ellie slept very little that night. There was an ache in her chest that would not go away.
The body was kept in the home, and many people came for the viewing. In the evening, the young folks came to sing and comfort the Maust household. The morning of the funeral was cold and cloudy. Snow had fallen during the night, and a sharp northeast wind was blowing. The funeral was held at the Maust home, for they had ample room.
At eight-thirty buggies began to come up the lane,
 
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and soon there was a line of them as far as you could see. Mother and the children sat on the benches closest to the casket. Promptly at nine, the service began. The minister reminded everyone that this gathering was not one of their own choosing; but God had planned it thus, and he makes no mistakes. The text was from Hebrews 9:27"And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
The minister preached to the living, and no flowery words were spoken about the departed one. The bishop said that because of the life this man had lived, he had good hope for him. "Father's place at the table will now be empty," he continued. "His rocker, too, will be vacant, and his place in the church will leave a great void." This caused much weeping, not only by the family, but by many sympathizing friends. "Father's heart just gave out,'' the bishop continued, "and now the circle is broken."
One last time, the family looked upon their papa's face, then the casket was closed. It was a slow and cold journey to the grave site. Ellie was concerned about her mother, for she knew that yet another child was on the way. She didn't like to take the chance of Lizzie's catching a cold. But Mrs. Maust seemed unaware of the icy wind and snow that kept falling. The twins were caring for Andy and Esther, so Ellie and Roy stayed close by Mama. She seemed to linger as others began to leave the cemetery, but then she looked around and saw her family shivering in the cold.
"My children need me," Lizzie said. "I must go
 
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on." And she walked toward the waiting buggy.
That night after everyone had gone, Ellie asked, "Mama, would you like me to sleep down here with you?"
"Would you? I need to talk," Lizzie said. They talked way into the night.
"Remember what Papa said to us Saturday night?" asked Ellie. "Do you suppose he knew this was coming?"
"Oh, Ellie," said her mother. "I don't know. But I'm glad he had peace and forgiveness in his heart. And I'm glad, too, we took that trip to visit our relatives. He enjoyed it so much."
After a long silence, she added, "The bishop is right. The circle has been broken. But we are still a family."
Ellie held Mama's hand until sleep came.
 
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19
Baptism Sunday
Home was never quite the same after Papa was gone. But life went on, and so did the Maust family. The boys were good farmers and went on with the work just like Papa would have done. Mama felt very thankful that she had grown children who faithfully stood by her.
In the spring, another boy was born. "I'll name him Jake," said Mrs. Maust. The rest of the family agreed. They knew their mother was, in a small way, trying to hold onto that which had been taken from her. Little Jake weighed ten pounds at birth, the biggest child Lizzie ever had. She seemed unable to gain her strength back as easily as usual. Her family, however, showered her with consideration.
"Mama," said Ellie one evening, "I would like to join the church this summer."
"I'm so glad," answered Lizzie. "I had hoped you would. You are plenty old enough, you know."
 
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"I know I am, but I needed to be sure that this is what I really want."
"Why, Ellie! What do you mean?" asked her mother.
"Maybe it's wrong for me even to think this way," Ellie began. "But you remember when Susie Glick worked for us?"
"Yes," Lizzie said.
"Well, it's just that she was so
gut miedich
(kind) to me and seemed like a real Christian girlthe kind of girl I want to be. But she didn't stay with our Amish church. Papa thought she was not a good example for me, and that she did wrong by going to another church. But then Mattie Yoder came to work for us, too. She was very strict about church rules. Papa liked her, even if she wasn't as good a worker as Susie, and you know she wasn't nice to us children. It didn't seem like she was Christian at all."
"Oh, Ellie," Mrs. Maust protested. "We must not judge."
"They were so different, and yet both said they were Christians."
"You must understand," Lizzie explained, "that Mattie and Susie are from different families. The Yoders have always been very strict in church discipline. The Glicks, though maybe just as faithful in their worship of God, were more liberal. So who of us can say one is right and the other wrong?
"I know Susie was much more outgoing and pleasant," Lizzie continued, "but I'm sure Mattie thought she was helping by the things she did. Ellie,
 
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I hope you are not thinking of joining another church, like Susie did. Papa and I have always wanted to keep all of our children in the old church, where you were born and raised. Please, Ellie, don't do something you may regret."
"David and I have talked it over already," Ellie said. "He is ready to make a commitment too and be baptized. We both agreed that if any of our parents objected, we would stay Amish. We do want to be obedient. I know that when I was a child, I was strong willed and often rebelled, but now I see things in a different light. Can you forgive me for the trouble I caused and the many anxious moments?"
"Of course, Ellie," answered Lizzie. "Ach, you were just a child then."
There were twelve girls and eight boys in the instruction class, and they all faithfully came each Sunday until baptism day. Some folks said it was the largest such group in the history of their church. Ellie was glad that David and her brother Roy were also in the class with her. They often discussed the previous Sunday's happenings.
Three of the young folks taking the class were rather headstrong and determined to cling to some things against the wishes of the church. Hannah Beachy and Fannie Yoder had a hard time agreeing to wearing longer dresses, as well as combing their hair without any waviness. Elam Hershberger continued to wear sleeve holders and didn't want to take the white rings from his horse's harness.
After five Sundays, the young folks were told that
 
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unless they showed one hundred percent cooperation, the entire class would be denied baptism until all conformed. This was not done to punish, but with the hopes that out of consideration for their friends, those who were causing problems would be willing to obey. It worked just as the minister had intended. However, Ellie and David both felt the hearts of these young folks had not been changed, and it saddened them.
"Do you think it's right to do as the church asks just to be baptized?" Ellie asked David that evening on their way to the singing.
"Not as I understand it; it wouldn't be for me. The way I feel, I want to be baptized because I have found a new life," David said. "The things I once enjoyed, I no longer want. There are some details about the Amish church I may not agree with completely, but it's not worth causing hurt feelings."
"Oh," said Ellie, "that's just the way I feel, too. We can sacrifice a little for the sake of peace."
One Sunday morning the bishop informed the group that they would take the voice of the church in two weeks. If they received a good report, they would be accepted as members in four weeks.
On the Sunday they took the vote of the congregation the
Yunga
(young folks) waited anxiously to find out what the decision of the church would be. Finally, as they were all assembled in an upstairs room, the bishop relayed the verdict. It was agreed to baptize them into church membership in two weeks. Of course, the bishop added, "If it is the Lord's will." He always said that because one never
 
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knows what a day may bring.
On baptism Sunday, Roy and Ellie made sure they were neat and presentable. Ellie tried to push her wavy hair back under her covering, but it had a way of its own. Many Amish girls envied her and wished they were so lucky as to have naturally curly or wavy hair. But Ellie knew she must never feel pride.
In the Amish church, the men and women never sit together. But today, after the class had been given its final instructions, the young people filed down from the upstairs room and sat on five benches which were placed end to end. The boys went first. Since Ellie was older than any of the other girls, she led the girls. Thus she sat beside the last boy, who happened to be her brother Roy. She was glad they were seated together for this important event in their lives. She glanced up and saw her mother seated directly across from her. Lizzie had a smile on her face.
The minister began his sermon. Ellie tried to understand the implications of his message. Most of the sermon that day was about obedience and the seriousness of the promises they were making before God and the church.
When the sermon ended, all the applicants were asked to kneel facing forward. Then the bishop asked them one by one, "Are you sorry for your past sins? Do you renounce Satan and the world? Do you promise to abide by the rules and ordinances of the church and remain a faithful member?"
To these, each one answered yes. Then they were asked, "Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of

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