A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

as permitted to address a cavalry regiment (on horseback) for fifteen minutes just before they rode on into bloody battle. There was no abatement in lleimer*s zeal and compassion when the Bolsheviks regained control in November, 1920. When the church council of the M.B. Church in Alexandertal met during this time, Adolf Reimer pled with his co-laborers: "Brethren, the Reds also have a soul that needs to be saved, and we have to preach the gospel to them."" Against the advice of his friends, he preached to the soldiers of the Red Army, and God protected His servant. During the time of the great famine he labored for four months in the city of Kiev and the surrounding area. Here he contracted the dreadful spotted-typhus disease; he died four days after he returned home. His last words, which he repeated three times, left an indelible impression on the members of his family: "Lord Jesus, how is your gospel so simple, and your grace so marvelous." 32 Heinrich Enns, a personal friend, and Daniel Reimer, his son, continued the fruitful ministry begun by Adolf Reimer, the former dying a martyr's death. 33 Another pioneer missionary among the Russians in the immediate post-war period was Jacob J. Dyck (1890-1919), the leader of the tent-mission (Zeltmission). Dyck's vision for this mission was born IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH 117 during the war, when he served as a conscientious objector in the medical corps (Sanitaetsdienst) in Moscow. A group of young men, including Dyck, organized a society for the distribution of Gospels, New Testaments, and tracts among the Russian soldiers. Dyck hailed the March Revolution (1917) as the dawn of a new day of religious freedom and of new missionary opportunities. 3t After the armistice, many Russian army units disbanded and soldiers returned to their villages. Dyck and his faithful associates decided to follow them into the villages and hamlets with the gospel. But in most Russian villages there were no halls or facilities to conduct public meetings. When the brethren were able to obtain five tents from the Russian Red Cross without charge, they accepted them as a special gift of Providence to meet their need. Immediately a number of teams, usually composed of five members, were sent out." Among the members of the tent-mission there were Mennonites, Jews, Latvians, and Russians. The Mennonite Brethren in the Molotschna manifested a special interest in this mission. When a new call for volunteers went out in the early summer of 1919, twenty-four young people responded — twelve men and twelve women. In a special dedication service in the Rueckenau M.B. Church, they were commissioned for the work of evangelism among the Russian people. Anarchy and Civil War soon led to the termination of this unique ministry. Dyck and several of his coworkers were executed in a brutal manner by the roving bandits after an evangelistic service in the village of Eichenfeld. 36 In t