The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites to Central Asia, 1880-1884, Fred Richard Belk, 1976

gins a Revival The day after this incident, Claas Epp arrived with several 100 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites preachers from the Trakt to bring encouragement to his Molotschna brethren and present a series of Bible studies on prophecy. Many Molotschna people had never heard Epp preach, and his startling predictions based on the books of Daniel and Revelation were new to them. Some of his premillennial studies in which he outlined what would happen in the “‘last days’ were astounding revelations to the more conservative element. Peters had never been so specific or dramatic in his preaching. Consequently, Epp gained a deepening respect from many in the Molotschna party. While in camp Epp also instituted a new communion service which he called a “Love Feast.’’ Everyone shared their food and then participated in the Lord’s Supper. The rich and poor sat together and ate the meat they had previously wanted to auction. Epp ex- plained that Mennonites should share their sustenance equally be- cause in heaven all would be equal. After this communion of sharing, Epp and his companions set out for the Trakt. Wishing Godspeed to his brothers going before him to Tashkent, he promised to join them as soon as he could conclude business and religious matters at the Trakt.' It was mid-September when the Peters group left the Volga for the city of Orenburg. Supplies to last them until they reached the gateway city consisted of 3,000 pounds of white flour, 1,000 pounds of potatoes, 4,000 pounds of rye flour, horse feed, and hay. It took them a day and a half merely to load the supplies on the wagons." Stopped by a Magistrate En route to Orenburg the wagon train was commanded to stop by officials at the small Russian village of Zaritzyn. They were told the local magistrate had been ordered by higher officials to detain them. The worried group elected Cornelius Unruh, who spoke flu- ent Russian, to be the spokesman before the magistrate. As he stood before the court, the authoritarian judge informed him that the wagon train should return home and asked perplexing questions about permits and travel papers. Unruh ably argued their case even though he could show no permits or other papers, and the magistrate dismissed him with a strong warning that the wagons camped near the town graveyard should have plenty of guards that night because of the hostility of the local populations. This hostility was a combination of fear and xenophobic mistrust of Germans. That The Trek Continues 101 night many local people did come to their campsite, but merely out of curiosity, and no incidents occurred. As a matter of fact, at least one Russian was ready to join their band. Later in the evening a young Russian boy approached Unruh about going with them on their journey. One of the men with Unruh suggested in Low German that they keep the boy overnight, since he was probably a runaway, and take him to the magistr