A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

life of the people was in shambles."16 Spiritual Renewal Material prosperity before the war no doubt also had im- pacted their spiritual vitality. Dietrich Doerksen and Peter Ko- melsen, writing from Russia to America, noted that 4twhile life in general was still like a colorful apple on the outside, it showed decay on the inside. Such virtues as humility, sim- plicity, compassion and selflessness were replaced by such vices as pride, extravagance, uncharitableness and selfish- ness."17 The persecutions and hardships of the civil war and its af- termath brought a revival of spiritual concern to the churches. Countless hearts turned to God, crying, "Lord help, lest we perish."18 Renewal sprang forth in many Mennonite settle- ments. Jacob A. Loewen, a contemporary observer, described one such awakening: Suddenly, there was lightning and thunder in the spiritual sense. The Word of God struck mightily. Even many of the strong men and women were overwhelmed by the Word. , , . Thirty-six souls were saved. ... At one point during the meeting nearly the entire congregation stood on its feet. Many were weeping and wailing; others were throwing their arms around one another, asking each oth- 143 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH er for pardon. Here and there people simply cried to God for forgiveness, while elsewhere they shouted praises to the Lord. Still others sang quiedy among themselves, literally causing an audible sense of the movement.19 A letter from Gerhard Doerksen to minister Jakob Thiessen described the moving of God in the village of Alexanderthal, Molotschna: During these last days we are under the distinct impres- sion that the Spirit of God is at work among us, that the field is white for harvest and that the Lord has given us a wide, open door There is a moving in our midst. The meetings are crowded, sometimes overcrowded- In deep humility we ask ourselves: "Lord, what is it that you would have us do?" This evening after prayer meeting several of us brothers stayed together for awhile and were clearly directed by the Holy Spirit to invite you, dear brother Thiessen, with these words, "Come over and help us/ We anticipate special blessings from the Lord; but he still needs messengers to bring those blessings. Who will be that messenger of peace for usP The revivals brought cleansing for the Mennonite people in Russia. Friction between individuals and churches, including tension between the Kirchliche and the Mennonite Brethren, subsided. Ministers from both groups joined together to preach and provide guidance. The renewal also to