Amish Dilemma Read online

  “Danki daed Jacob.” Adam smiled relieved.

  “Gern gschehn (you are welcome).” It is wunderbaar (wonderful) to see a young couple doing so well and taking care of each other. Dochder, your mamm will be relieved to know the truth.”

  Charity was almost skipping she was so happy and relieved. “Sitz (sit) both of you and I’ll give you a piece of pie and a cup of coffee.”

  “This is so appeditlich (delicious), and I’ve enjoyed our talk, but I must go.” Jacob pushed his chair back. “By the way I hope you’re planning on joining your mamm and me tomorrow for the July 4th celebration.

  “Ja,” Adam answered. “We will be there and I will have some of my wooden animals for sale and Charity has potted plants for sale. We’ll see you for sure.”

  “Gut. Da Herr sei mit du (Good, the Lord is with you). Gott segeneich (God bless you) Wiederschen (Goodbye).” Jacob took his hat off the peg in the kitchen and left.

  Charity laughed out loud and leaped at Adam to hug him. He returned the hug with both arms and laying his cheek against hers.

  The following morning, Juli 4th, Charity and Adam were up early. He fed the animals, gathered the eggs and completed outside work She was fixing a hearty breakfast and packing food for their midday meal and later.

  She packed plenty for them and enough to share.

  Driving into town was a headache. Cars, buggies and people walking everywhere. Finally Adam found a section where the buggies were being parked with a fenced-in area for the horses to rest and exercise. He found a good spot for their place to sell their items that was not far from the food booths and arts and crafts booths.

  Adam unloaded twelve wooden animals he had made as well as four bird houses and two dog houses. He carefully lifted twenty-four clay pots of flowers, ten pint jars of honey, and four faceless dolls. Leaving Charity to set the booth up he drove the horse to the designated area and unhitched him.

  Walking back to Charity he passed a booth of cakes, cookies, pies and breads run by Tobias and Meredith Retstatt who had married early in the spring before planting time. Meredith was plump and jolly and showing signs that a boppli would be with them soon.

  Adam called a pleasant greeting to the young couple and appreciatively sniffed the air. “Guder mariye,” he called to them. “Webishtew? (How are you?)”

  “Wunderbaar,” they answered. “Wie geht’s?”

  “Gut. Gut, danki. To smell your appeditlich kichlin (delicious cookies) makes my mouth water. I’ll get some later.” He hurried back to Charity.

  Charity was thrilled that she had already sold two of his animals, one of her dolls and several flowers and all the honey. Surprisingly they sold out fast to the Englisch. These were tourists buying the dolls to take home and display.

  To hers and Adam’s delight, they sold out quickly.

  Adam asked Charity if she felt like walking to the other booths and looking. She laughing said, “Can you keep up with me?” They had not gone far until they became aware of a disturbance. Adam was appalled to discover an unpleasant confrontation between Amish young men and town young men. As he drew near he discovered Kyle Snader, Gerry Raber, Connie Lehman and Cordero Slabough were involved. He recognized the faces of two of the townies, but didn’t know their names. He was upset to see several young men from town and several Englisch adults standing around not trying to stop the angry jeering and name calling. His heart gave a quick jump because he knew Kyle had a bad temper and could control it only so long in spite of their Amish teaching.

  “Stay back here where you won’t get hurt,” he cautioned Charity. “I’m going to try to reason with them.

  “Oh, Adam, should you? I’m afraid you might get hurt.”

  “I need to help my friends,” he smiled walking off. As he drew near he heard two of the town boys calling out insults and shoving the Amish boys.

  “Where’d ya get that funny haircut? It looks like a bowl was placed on your head and cut around it.”

  “Yeah. Why do you wear such funny clothes? They look uncomfortable.”

  Adam stepped in front of Kyle still smiling. “Good morning, gentlemen. Is there something I can do for you?”

  “Hey, look. Here’s another funny looking one and he’s trying to be like all the rest of us.” One of the boys shoved Adam. He just stood firm and didn’t answer.

  Rachael Snader, Rosemary Raber and Charity had slipped closer. Charity had heard all she could take. She hurried to Adam’s side with a determined gleam in her eyes.

  “Shame on you. You’re picking on men who are taught to be peaceful and not be abusive to anyone. They are not bothering you. Why are you being so cruel? What have any of us ever done to you?”

  Adam sucked in a startled and angry breath. “Charity, this concerns the men. Please go back and wait for me.”

  “Hoo eee. Would you listen to this? Your women have more guts and courage than you men do. Are you going to let them stand and fight for you, too?”

  Adam placed a firm arm around Charity and backed off with her. He glared at her and left her standing beside the other girls. All three girls immediately pushed forward. Rachael and Rosemary to stand by their brothers and Charity by her husband.

  Luckily for them Sheriff Micah Fleming had been summoned and he arrived just as the girls stepped forward. Two deputies followed.

  “What’s going on here?” his deep voice boomed out. “I have a county to take care of and you young men are not making my job any easier.” He glared at the town boys. “I know all of you and I know your parents would be upset with your actions.”

  “Not mine,” Ashley Wilkins sneered. “My father thinks they should be run out of the country.”

  “Why?” the sheriff asked. “What have they done to you?”

  “Nothing to us, but they won’t pay taxes, or vote or take responsibility for the rules and regulations of our country.” Douglas Winthrop sneered. “My dad says so and he knows what he’s talking about.”

  “You’ve been given some terribly wrong information. They DO pay taxes and they uphold law and order. They don’t draw welfare or accept food stamps; they take care of their own. Therefore, they are not a liability to our country. In fact they work hard, improve the land and teach their children to be respectful, law abiding citizens. We need more like them.” Fleming said.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just wait. With your attitude, you’ll be voted out of office next fall.” Darren Kennedy boasted.

  “I’m not worrying about the election,” he said. “If I do my job and serve all citizens and protect all citizens, then my conscience is clear. Go on now and don’t cause any more trouble or I’ll have to arrest you.”

  That evening the Amish banded together to sit on quilts to watch the fireworks and enjoy the music from a band and a choir.

  There was a beautiful display of fireworks ending with a red rose in the sky and the American flag. They all shared the food they’d brought. When everyone stood to place their hands over their hearts and sing the National Anthem, the Amish stood respectfully and proudly participated. This ended the day’s activities.

  Chapter Four

  Two days after the fourth, Charity was still upset that the town people were so cruel to them for no reason except the Amish were different. Her parents had taught her to be kind and forgiving to everyone even those outside their faith.

  Charity was weeding her vegetable and herb gardens while Adam was, as usual, working in the field. She was astonished to see a bright red, expensive car driven up their driveway and parking near her. She stood still and watched a woman step out.

  The woman was dressed in a light blue silk sleeveless shirt with darker blue shorts. She wore big gold hoop earrings and several dangling bracelets.

  There was even a gold bracelet around her left ankle. She walked in high-heeled sandals to Charity with a big smile on her face as if she thought Charity should be impressed with her.

  Charity waited for the woman to speak.

  “Good afternoo
n. I hope you’re Mrs. Kime. Sheriff Fleming told me your name and where to find you.”

  Charity nodded but still said nothing. She rubbed one bare foot against the other and took a slow step toward the woman.

  The woman stepped closer with her hand held out. “My name is Lisa Kennedy. That naughty boy, Darren Kennedy is my son. I must apologize for his behavior in the park. He was certainly not raised to act in that manner. His father, Dr. Willfred Kennedy, is a dentist in town and he is very ashamed at the behavior of our son. Sheriff told the parents of all the boys about the misfortune and I wanted to ask your forgiveness.”

  Charity took a deep breath not knowing what to say. She had never in her life been face to face with an outsider like this.

  “Ma’am----”

  “No. Call me Lisa.”

  Charity smiled. “My name is Charity.”

  “Charity! What a beautiful name. Do you live up to the name? Oh, how rude of me. I meant nothing by it; I was just trying to be friendly, and, to tell the truth, I’m a little nervous about coming here, but my husband insisted, and you know how husbands can be.” She gave a nervous giggle.

  Charity smiled weakly and said, “Mrs. Kennedy, it is our religion and how we’re raised to not show anger, not quarrel with anyone and not be ugly to anyone for any reason. We are to be passive, forgiving, and kind. I was upset because, even if your son had hit one of our men, they would not have been allowed to hit back.”

  “That is wonderful. Do you really live by that?”

  “Oh, ja. If we did not the church would punish us for it.”

  “I take it yah means yes. How would the church punish you and why would they make it their business?”

  “The community, all the families, make up the church. We have a set of rules and regulations that we must follow. If we do not, it brings shame to everyone. We would be punished by being meidung, that means shunned.”

  “What does it mean to be shunned?”

  “You are ignored by everyone. Family cannot eat with you or have anything to do with you. If you’re married the husband, or wife, cannot have any contact with you until the shunning is over. It’s almost as if you died or moved away.”

  “That’s awful. I am a member of the big church you saw on the corner. We would be careful not to do anything that we would be ashamed of. If we did do something wrong, the church members might talk to us and pray with us, but they would never act as if we did not exist.”

  There was a short silence as the woman thought and Charity tried to assimilate the rules of the woman’s church. While there was silence, Adam ran to them. He placed an arm around Charity and looked at the woman.

  “Hi. I assume you’re Mr. Kime. I’m Lisa Kennedy. I was just telling your wife that Darren Kennedy, my son, was one of the bad boys who gave you and your friends a hard time at the park. My husband and I are so sorry about it and hope you’ll be understanding.”

  Adam was pleasant but not friendly. “We do not hold grudges and we cannot fight or return bad behavior if it comes to us.”

  “Your wife, Charity,” she said with a big grin to them, “just explained all of that to me. Well, I know you’re busy. I must be going. Oh, could I visit your church some time?”

  “We do not have a special building. We meet in each other’s homes. You would be welcomed, but I don’t believe you would be comfortable. Our services are three to four hours long with a meal following.”

  “Wow! That long.” She laughed. “I get restless when ours lasts an hour.”

  She told them goodbye and left. Charity had felt uncomfortable being in the company of a grown woman showing her legs, arms and neck in that manner. And those shoes!

  Adam looked at Charity with raised eyebrows. She told him of the entire conversation.

  “I’m sorry you had to face that. The poor woman has no shame to come out in public and in front of men dressed like that. We will pray for her and her family.”

  Adam trudged back to the field while Charity continued her work.

  The next Saturday Adam came running into the house breathless and looking distressed. “Cordero Slabough just came to tell me bad, very bad news.” He stopped to get his breath. “Kyle, Gerry, Buckley and Lawrence took some produce into town to sell at the market. Those Englisch boys saw them and started in on them again. They kept pushing Kyle until he fell backward. He got up angry. When the Sheriff got there the Kennedy boy had to be taken to the hospital and the other boys were cut and bruised. Kyle had taken a bad beating, as had the Amish boys, trying to stop the fight, got hurt as well. They are all now under arrest, Amish and town boys.”

  “Lawrence, my bruder?!”

  “Ja.”

  “Oh, daed will skin him. Mercy they will all be meidung.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. When the Bishop hears about it, he’ll make the decision. I’m sure he’ll understand the situation,” Adam comforted.

  “I need to pray a lot about this,” Charity moaned.

  “We’ll both pray, and I know the families and the church will be praying.”

  “Adam, please go with me to my parents and find out what is happening to my bruder.”

  “Give me a few minutes to put my tools away and see to the animals, and I’ll be happy to go with you. Why don’t you take some of the baking you’ve been doing to share while I get the buggy ready.”

  Adam ran out to tend to his business while Charity wrapped two loaves of Friendship bread and some special cookies she had baked.

  At the Startz home Charity was astonished to see her daed out working in the fields and her mamm hanging a wash. She jumped down from the buggy in such a hurry that it worried Adam.

  “Charity, don’t do anything that will hurt the boppli.”

  She ran to hug her mother and ask why she was doing her usual work. By the time they got settled in the house, Jacob came in. Her grandparents came out of the dawdi haus (grandparents house) to join them. Charity was so worried she was gulping to keep from crying.

  Grossdawdi Mishler (Grandfather) suggested they pray before they talked.

  He held the Biewel (Bible) while he prayed.

  Charity could hardly wait for the prayer to be over. “But why were Kyle and Lawrence arrested for just defending themselves?”

  Jacob looked sternly at her and quoted: Jesus said, you have heard an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, but I tell you do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38-39) He then quoted: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15)

  “That’s all true and good,” Charity blurted, “but they did fight to defend themselves. Won’t the Sheriff understand that?”

  “Ja,” Jacob answered, “but he has a job to do and he had to arrest all that were involved until it can be settled in court.”

  “In court! You mean there’ll be a trial? That is not something we approve of and will not take part in.” Charity was breathless with concern.

  “Dochder, calm down. Sometimes things happen that we cannot control and we have to cooperate with the Englisch. We’ll be forced to appear in court and maybe even pay a lawyer.”

  Grossdawdi quoted: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

  Jenna Mae (Charity’s mother) timidly quoted: We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character and hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His divine love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us. (Romans 5:3)

  Jacob cleared his throat, patted his wife on the back and said: A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him. (Proverbs 17: 25)

  Charity was so upset that she jumped up and started pacing. “I don’t kno
w how all of you can sit there and calmly quote Biewel verses when your own flesh and blood is in trouble. It is my understanding that Lawrence was not part of the fight, but was attempting to stop the fight and hold Kyle off.”

  Adam got up to place an arm around her waist and bring her back to her seat. “Calm down, little mother. We’ve only just heard the news and we don’t know all that has happened. I have faith that the Sheriff will act in a responsible manner and do what is right for all concerned.”

  “For all concerned.” She spat out the words, “The Englisch have no right to be given consideration because they are the ones who always make fun of our Amish clothing, speech and the way we live.” She jumped up again.

  “Ja,” Jacob agreed nodding his head, “but that doesn’t excuse us if we lose our temper and cause more hard feelings or trouble for others.”

  Charity stamped her foot. “Why must we always be the ones who back down and be the peacemaker?”

  Her mother calmly walked to Charity. “Because we believe in the Word of our Lord and do everything we possibly can to live by it.”

  Jacob looked sadly at Charity. “Your temper is not acceptable for a good Amish woman.”

  “Daed, I’m sorry, but I’m so worried and afraid.”

  Adam cleared his throat and stated: Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall, but You, oh God, will bring down the wicked. (Psalm 55: 22-23)

  “Now you’re doing it,” Charity was almost sobbing. “We’re sitting around doing a lot of talking and quoting Biewel verses when we should be out doing something about the unfairness to our community.”

  “What would you suggest we do, dochder?” Jacob asked calmly.