A Shining Light by Judith Miller Read Free Book Online

where they were planted, ja?”
    â€œTheir reason for leaving was very different, Werner. Our people were being persecuted because of their faith. Brother Christian Metz received a word from the Lord that our people were to come to this new land. You have learned this in meeting, ja?”
    Werner bobbed his head. “Ja, from the time I was a little boy, I was taught in meeting and prayer service about the inspired messages Brother Metz received. But that doesn’t change what I feel in my heart.”
    â€œI don’t challenge what you feel, but maybe you should ask the elders or your Vater to help you understand the difference between a worldly desire and God’s truth.”
    The boy’s frown deepened. “How do you know the difference, Brother Dirk?”
    I inhaled a deep breath. “If what I want doesn’t align with what is the truth of God’s Word, then I know it is my own desire and not what God wants for me.” We were nearing the farmstead, and I slowed the horses. “Does that help?”
    â€œA little, but what if the Bible doesn’t say?” His lips curved in a mischievous grin. “I do not think I’ll find a verse that says it isn’t gut for me to leave the Amana Colonies, do you?”
    â€œNein, but you will find a verse that says you should honor your Mutter and Vater and submit to authority. You are still young, Werner. When you are a full-grown man, you will think differently.” I pulled back on the reins, waited until the wagon was at a halt, set the brake, and jumped down. “Come on. Let’s get the trunks loaded so we can get back to work.”
    Werner shuffled behind me. I sensed my answers hadn’t pleased him, but I’d done the best I could to give him proper direction. It wasn’t my place to tell the boy what he should or shouldn’t do, but like any member of the community, I had an obligation to lead him along a righteous path.
    â€œWho owns these trunks, Brother Dirk? Were they pulled out of the fire?”
    â€œNein. By the time we got over here, the fire was too hot to go into what was left of the house. These trunks belong to the daughter and grandson of Mr. Neumann, the man who owned this land.”
    Werner hoisted one of the smaller trunks onto his shoulder. Sunlight filtered through the open doors, and shadows danced across the straw-strewn barn floor. “How come their trunks are out here in the barn? Did they die in the fire, too?”
    I repeated what Brother Bosch had told me when he’d cometo the shop. Werner shook his head. “I doubt they’ll stay with us for long—not after living in a big city. How come they’re going to live with us? Why not return to Baltimore?”
    If nothing else, Werner was full of questions—questions for which I had no answers. “I told you all I know, Werner.”
    â€œYou should ask more questions, Brother Dirk.”
    I grinned at the boy. “And you should not ask so many.” I waved him back to the barn, where the two of us hoisted the remaining trunks and carried them out to the wagon. Once we’d loaded them, I motioned toward the barn. “Run back and close the doors.”
    Arms pumping, Werner raced and closed the doors and then galloped back to the wagon. He was gasping for air when he pulled himself up and onto the wagon seat. “I was thinking maybe I could ask the new lady what it was like where she lived before. You think it would be improper?”
    I released the brake and called to the horses to move out. “She has a son. I think it would be better to speak with him rather than the woman. She’s an outsider and—”
    â€œAnd a woman,” he said, interrupting me.
    â€œJa, she is a woman, but I was going to say, she is an outsider, and it might cause her discomfort or pain to be asked questions about her past. Brother Bosch did tell me her husband died at sea.”
    The