No Distance Too Far (17 page)

“There’s something else to be thankful for.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t see a single rock in this ground.”

“Farther west you’ll find rocks, but not here in the middle of the valley. I was amazed at that too. I would have built stone walls with them had we any. Haakan wasn’t too enthusiastic about hauling in rocks for me to make a wall.”

Freda chuckled with her.

Andrew made the last pass with the disc and stopped to lift Emmy down from the horse’s back. “There you go. Mor will teach you how to plant.”

“Not Mor. Gamma.”

“She’s almost as opinionated as Inga.”

“She has a good teacher.” Ingeborg took Emmy’s hand. “Tell Andrew thank-you for the ride.”

“Thank you.”

“All right, little one, let’s plant the peas.” Ingeborg handed her a pint jar with dried peas. “I’ll show you what to do.”

THEY WOKE TO drizzle the next morning, after a downpour during the night.

“Great day for the meeting,” Ingeborg grumbled from her place by the window. With the rising sun obscured by the clouds, what she’d really like to do was to crawl back in bed, sleep a while longer, and wake to sunshine.

“It might pass by then,” Haakan said from beside the bed.

“The roads will be bad again.”

“It didn’t rain hard for very long. Most likely it’s seeped in by now.”

She could hear him getting dressed. Why was it that when she felt like a grumble, he always saw the brighter side? But was it the rain she was grumbling about or the upcoming meeting? Most likely some of each. She didn’t hear his footsteps, but when his arms sneaked around her middle, she succumbed to the invitation to lean back against his strong chest.

“I think someone once said, ‘All will be well,’ ” he whispered into her ear.

She clasped her hands over his. “Takk. I just don’t like people arguing and getting angry. You know that.”

“Maybe God will work another of His miracles, and everyone will agree and leave to enjoy dinner. Then if it is dry enough, we can play baseball. I was sure hoping to have that backstop up before now. You’d have thought with the late planting we would have found time to do that.”

“Maybe if you weren’t so busy helping Mr. Landsverk on his house . . .” She let her words trail off. One thing about Haakan, he always led the brigade to help those who needed it. She turned in his arms and kissed first his cheek, then his chin, and finally his lips. “I’ll go get the coffee on.”

“I think Freda already did that. Chokecherry jelly with sour cream on bread would be an easy breakfast and a real treat.”

“You shall have your treat.” She patted his cheek.

“LET US STAND for the benediction,” Pastor Solberg said at the end of the service. “The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord lift His countenance upon us. May He give us wisdom and joy for doing His will. And above all, may we know His love that covers every one of us and all that we do. Lord, we praise your name. Amen.”

Hearing those words, Ingeborg hoped the congregation would say something very similar. She still thought the women’s quilting group should have settled this, but as Haakan reminded her, they were being asked for a lot more than a barrel of clothing and bedding. So instead of filing out as they usually did, everyone sat down again.

Pastor Solberg stood before the congregation and smiled at everyone. “If there is anyone who does not want to stay for the meeting, you are now excused. This won’t be a long meeting, so children, you can be patient a few minutes longer too.” While a slight groan went up from the younger crowd, no one moved.

Ingeborg wished that Elizabeth could have come, but since she herself was the one who had put her daughter-in-law on bed rest, she could hardly be the one to complain. Thorliff and Inga sat on her other side, with Emmy between her and Haakan.

“Now, I know this request has brought some dissension to our family here, and if we are to live according to God’s Word, we can’t allow dissension to create problems for us. You know, dissension and his first cousin, bitterness, are like crabgrass. They love to get into a fertile and well-tilled field and send runners out to choke the corn or wheat or whatever is sown there. You all know how difficult it is to get rid of it once it has made a solid invasion. While I understand the need for help is great, my greater concern is the discord in our midst. So let us pray against that first. Let us search our hearts and confess unto our mighty God what has invaded our midst.”

Ingeborg closed her eyes. Leave it to John Solberg to do something so unexpected. As the silence lengthened, she confessed her resentment of Hildegunn, who she felt was the instigator of the anti-Indian movement. She heard someone sniff and realized she was not the only one caught in this crabgrass.

After what seemed like an hour but had likely been only a few minutes, Pastor Solberg cleared his throat. “Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you for this opportunity to grow closer as a family. We thank you that you invite us to come before you with our problems, and when we leave them with you, you will solve them and absolve us of our sins. We confess that we have sinned against you by thought, word, and deed. And against your Word and one another.”

After a pause his voice changed. “I have good news for you. By the power of the almighty God, I grant to you loving forgiveness of the sins you have confessed these past few minutes. God has for us the unlimited grace to live forgiven lives, to walk in His ways, and to do His will here on earth. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.”

Ingeborg blew her nose and felt a small hand creep into the crook of her elbow. She looked down to see Emmy staring up at her, little worry lines binding her brows into one line. Ingeborg leaned closer and whispered, “It’s all right. There are good tears too.”

Emmy nodded and leaned the side of her face against Ingeborg’s arm.

“Now, Mrs. Valders, I believe you have the letter sent by Dr. Bjorklund, in which she pleads for our help. Would you please read it aloud?”

A slight gasp stirred the quiet air.

Hildegunn stood and read the letter, only stumbling once.

“I am writing this to all of you because I need your help. Well, not really me, but there are people in terrible need on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. I know you’ve been sending quilts and clothing and food to the Indians northwest of Blessing, and I hope you don’t quit doing that, but could you please find it in your hearts to do more? This winter has been terribly hard on people who are already weakened by lack of food, housing, and medical care. Please gather up what you can and have it shipped down there. I know God will bless you for being His hands to these people. As Jesus said, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me.’ ”

“One of the daughters of Blessing sent this to us.” Hildegunn spoke with emphasis on
daughters of Blessing.

Ingeborg hoped her astonishment didn’t show.

When Hildegunn finished and sat down again, Pastor Solberg stood. “I just want to remind us all of something Paul wrote in his letters. He said that when we choose to give, we should give freely and with a joyful heart. Now, the way I understand this, not everyone has to give to this need if they don’t want to. So search your hearts. Secondly, I know some of us look on our Indian neighbors in a different way than perhaps God has instructed us to do. I would love to see all those feelings and opinions healed by the blood of Jesus so we can all walk forth in the glory of His love. The Bible says that Christ died for all.” He let his gaze roam the room. “If anyone would like to talk privately with me regarding our neighbors, I would be more than happy to talk with you at another time. Yes, Thorliff, what is it?”

“I have here a letter from my wife that she asked me to read, since my mother won’t let my wife out of bed.” A healing chuckle rippled around the room.

“Go ahead.”

“Dear friends and family,

“I’m sorry I cannot be there to speak from a medical point of view, so this will have to suffice. First of all, I have heard so many of you often say how blessed we are here in Blessing. Through the years I have seen your wonderful generosity to one another and to the strangers who have come to our town, some to stay and some to go on but always richer for having been here. Our neighbors to the south are starving, and that makes them prey to all sorts of diseases. I know we don’t agree on everything, but if it were any of our own children dying of hunger or disease, the rest of us would put a stop to that immediately. I plead with you to consider these people as part of us without judging how different they might be from us and without recounting stories and excuses that close our hearts. Please, let us be God’s hands to His hurting children.

“In His service,
“Dr. Elizabeth Bjorklund”

Thorliff sat down to some rustlings and muttered comments.

Ingeborg glanced up to see Joshua Landsverk sitting with his arms clamped across his chest and a frown digging into his face. What had happened in his life to cause a reaction like this? He was not a happy man right now. One could surely see that.

“Any more comments?”

“Well, since food seems to be the first problem to be dealt with, I’d like to know how many families are on the reservation,” Lars Knutson started. “I’d like to know what has happened to the food supplies promised by the government and what kind of man is running that reservation. Is he a good man or a crook?” He glanced around the room. “I know that letters would take far too long and are easily ignored. Now, the reservation northwest of us has improved since we took an interest in them. So perhaps we can help Rosebud in the same way.”

“How will we get this information?” Mr. Valders asked.

“We could contact the young man at the hospital in Chicago.”

“We could send a few men down to the reservation to look into the matter.”

“Especially if those men were herding a few head of cattle and driving a wagon with beans and other staples in it.”

Various men had offered these suggestions, making Ingeborg wish she had sat in the rear for a change so she could watch what was going on.

“But once that is gone, then what?” Hildegunn asked.

“That is a good question,” Pastor Solberg said with a nod. “The needs are many. That’s for sure.”

Hjelmer stood up. “I would be willing to go if we can gather up the supplies and someone else would come along. We don’t have cattle or hogs, but we do have beans and other supplies.” He sat down, and Penny patted his arm. “Surely we can get down there faster by railroad.”

Mr. Geddick stood. “I’ll go with you. I can drive a wagon.”

When the volunteering came to a halt, Pastor Solberg stood again. “All I can say is thank you, praise God, and I know we are all hungry. Let’s close with prayer. Haakan, would you pray for us, and then we’ll sing the grace before we leave the room.”

Haakan stood and turned to look around the room. “First I want to say how proud I am to be part of this family.” He closed his eyes, and stillness eased its way back into the room. “Father in heaven, you know us all from the inside out. You know our hurts and our hearts. Thank you for all the heaped-on blessings you have sent to us so that we may send them on to others in need. Let this draw us closer together, Father, knowing that we don’t have to agree on but two things, that we love you and want to serve you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Thank you, Lord, that I am married to this amazing man
. Ingeborg stood with the rest of them, and they sang the grace.

“All right, while the ladies put the food out, I suggest the men join me out at the ball field. I have need of some suggestions there. I expect the children will help put things out too.”

Ingeborg found herself walking out with Hildegunn. Without thinking she took Hildegunn’s hand in hers and whispered, “Please forgive me?”

Hildegunn stiffened. She stopped and faced Ingeborg. “I . . . I must ask the same.”

Ingeborg hugged the still stiff woman. “We don’t have to agree. We just have to love each other.”

“We do. Your Astrid gave us Benny, and now she is asking for help. How can I say no any longer?”