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

in, August 1881 After overcoming their sorrow at the death of one of their chil- dren and setting aside their concerns over being in a minority, they left the Trakt in the late summer heat. Having already learned of the extreme hardships encountered by the previous wagon trains, they probably exercised great care to be well supplied and equipped. At any rate, they had a much easier journey than any of the other parties. Wagon master Jacob Funk, who was the leading inspiration of their group, led them admirably over a route similar to that that the Molotschna migrants had followed, and they arrived in the city of Tashkent on October 9, 1881. Most of these nine families later decided to join the Peters faction in a move to a completely new area.’ Fifth Wagon Traian The fifth and final wagon train, including the major portion of Claas Epp’s ‘Bride Community,’ were very cautious about leaving the Trakt and decided to leave after the Funk party. Like the others, they were seeking Christ, the “Bridegroom,” in Turkestan, but they 130 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites had many affairs to settle before joining in the migration. In pre- paring for the trip, many problems had arisen; many within the inner circle of the Bride Community had doubts about the wisdom of leaving at all. Some frankly dreaded the expedition because of reports coming back from Kaplan Bek, while others cherished mis- givings about the reasonableness of millennialism itself. Still a smaller faction could not withstand the criticism of friends and rela- tives who called it a ‘crazy venture.” To compound their prob- lems, moreover, permanent rifts had developed over these issues. One ‘of the most serious divisions that afflicted them from the be- ginning was over the conflict between Claas Epp and the respected Trakt minister, Jacob Janzen. Though he had planned to go with one of the first two wagon trains, Janzen had changed his opinions and did not leave. Courageously, because his was a minority opinion, he followed his personal convictions and began denouncing Epp as a “false prophet.” He warned the people that only disaster would come to them if they stubbornly followed Epp and believed in his teachings as the only way. Epp reacted harshly to Janzen’s open denunciation. He formally excommunicated Janzen and his family, as he would others in the future, because said Epp, he was no longer a worthy member of the Bride Community. Anyone who tried to challenge the authority Epp held from God was not suitable to meet Christ in Turk- estan. After this expulsion, the Janzen family were informed by the majority that ‘nobody will care for them or help them, no matter what happens.” This rejection was such a shattering experience for the formerly well-respected Janzen that he made plans to leave his beloved home. Although he did not agree with Epp’s pretensions to the role of prophet, he still believed in the second coming of Ch