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

y: without setting foot outside the house, the master or mistress of the house has access to everything even in winter or the worst of weather. Siebert, with whom I spent the following night, is only a small farmer with about one hundred and forty acres of land. When we drove onto his yard we found things just as they had been at Dirks: Siebert was in shirt sleeves, the venerable old woman stood in the doorway ready to welcome the guest, and the living room was decorated with brass utensils. All the teachers [school-teachers, non-Mennonites? ] of the surrounding area, together with their wives and some daughters, were there as well, all-in-all about forty believers among whom we soon felt quite at home. For a long time already all of them had shared in our work [homes for neglected children, etc.], so that we were no strangers to one another even though I had up to that moment hardly known of their existence. Here, too, coffee was copiously served. The long table was also covered with all kinds of pastries baked by the people themselves. Then the elder, the splendid Kopper, brought me a quarto Bible, bound in a brass jacket, and a song book. They requested the exegesis of a passage of the Bible. I chose the story of the person afflicted with gout, a passage particularly pregnant with points of contact for this group. The Lord was with us and permitted us to experience anew what He means for the congregation of His saints, for those of us who believe and yet possess. Everyone kneeled down to pray. With a pathos both gripping and devout, Kopper recited the verses of the songs before they were sung. And after Viol had also spoken, Kopper said a simple closing prayer whereupon the meal was served. With the exception of the host, the hostess and the next of kin, we all sat at long tables. The meal began with bread and cheese. Meat and other courses followed. The host himself did not eat but served industriously, like a servant, and coordinated the work of the maids who were preparing the food in one corner of the room. In the center of the room, however, the old mother Siebert sat comfortably enthroned in a large chair in order the better to observe whether or not her husband or the maids omitted anything. The next of kin also stood behind the guests and listened to or entered into the conversation. For me it was an unforgettable meal in which both body and soul were satiated. c) “When we were ready to take our leave the next morning, the old Siebert and his family kneeled down once more to commend us to the care of the Lord and His goodness. With hearts filled with thanks toward God and the brethren we took our departure. Riding in Siebert’s wagon, we drove out of the Vistula lowlands to the plateau where we met the train. ... By the way, I do not want to be misunderstood as having said 84 DUTCH-PRUSSIAN ANABAPTISTS that all Mennonites are like the ones described above. Those whom I visited constitu