THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

g to their wishes; they encountered many difficulties. When the settlers left their homes, it was the beginning of seeding time. About two-thirds of the way to their destination, they met some snow and increasingly they encountered winter. “Many became unhappy.” The train arrived at their destination, Platovka, on March 25, and on the 26th the settlers reached the village Pokrovka. From here they were taken by Russian sleds to their place of settlement, 60 versts away. This was no pleasure trip. The snow began to melt and often the sleds upset as they slipped off the built-up roads. Children had to be held lest they should fall out of the §253 562 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH sleds. Brother and Sister Neufeld had a sick child which died on the way from Pokrovka, in a village of the Bashkirs, Konakbai. “These people would not let us stay in their homes when they saw that the child was deathly ill. The pain of this experience will remain unforgettable.” The settlers looked for lodging on the estates and in the villages. They had to wait a whole month before they could begin the work on the land. Until then there were blizzards and the temperature dropped to 25 below. This was a harsh welcome for the new arrivals. Many had to suffer much from the weather; the possessions of many were thoroughly soaked because of the poor accommodation, and a variety of sicknesses were encountered. Many prayers and cries ascended to God out of the depths of their hearts. A few returned immediately to their former homes. With joy the settlers finally saw the snow disappear. Now they went to work on the land. As soon as the seed was in the ground, the village plans were surveyed and laid out. Each settler drew a lot and thus received a piece of land on which he could establish his temporal home. Huts, “Semlianki” (sod shacks), were now built and also a few houses. “The spiritual prospects were poor. Altogether there were thirty-five members of the Mennonite Brethren Church scattered over the five villages which were established in the first year. We met in our huts and sought to edify ourselves according to I Thess. 5:11 and I Peter 2:5.” Sometimes they all came together from the five villages to strengthen their faith. "Sometimes we were soaked in our huts, but we were happy and rejoicing in the Lord.” The first harvest was good, but the settlers could not get much benefit from it. The snow came early and much of the grain remained in the fields under the snow. “But the Lord cared for us.” In the first year two people asked for baptism. Because there was no minister with the brothers and sisters, they wrote a letter to the Mennonite Brethren in the Molotschna settlement, in the Province of Samara (see above, #242, 4). From there, the brethren Daniel Friesen (formerly Crimea) and Jakob Fast, both of whom lived about seventy-five versts away, came and baptized the two and received them into the membership of the chu