JOURNEYS Mennonite Stories of Faith and Survival in Stalins Russia, John B. Toews, 1998

fe and life experience ultimately condense into an unequivocal faith in God. 23 Reminiscences by Anna Kroeker I was born in the village of Karapetan in Turkistan, Kirghizia, on February 25, 1902. I was healthy and strong, the fifth of twelve children. My parents lived as ordinary farmers, and our family experienced a number of hardships as a result of this. When I was six months old, my father became seriously ill with typhus. My dear mother, an energetic woman always ready to take charge, made use of every minute and was not willing to let the hours idle away. It was amazing what she could accomplish. She cared for her seriously ill husband while looking after five children. Since my fathers illness coincided with the wheat har¬ vest, mother also had to work with the Kirghiz on the threshing floor. I was told later how she would simply place me, as a baby, on the straw nearby to be cared for by my six-year-old sister. When I was six years old, my parents moved the family to Kazakhstan because they needed land. The journey was made by horse and wagon, and took about nine or ten days. There were difficulties along the way as father came down with a severe case of malaria which kept him bedridden. I am often amazed at the determination and courage of my mother during that journey. She managed to care for father, do all the work, and in addition to this, look after the needs of her growing family. Although father had hired a herder for our cows, they still had to be milked and the milk processed insofar as this was possible. Mother did every¬ thing with great efficiency. She even took the reins of the horses and drove on day after day. How well I remember that one dark evening. We children were asleep in the back of the wagon and my parents were sitting in front with my father (who was feeling better) driving. Sud¬ denly the horses stopped. Father jumped from the wagon, and using the lantern, tried to find out what was the matter. He dis¬ covered that the horses were standing at the edge of a gully. My parents quickly placed something in front of the wheels so the wagon would not roll forward. We children were taken out of the wagon and the horses were unhitched, only to be hitched to the rear of the wagon so they could pull it backwards. The next morn¬ ing we were able to see what danger God had spared us. He must have placed an angel in front of the horses, for if they had taken 24 JOURNEYS one more step they would have plunged into a deep crevice taking the wagon and the entire family with them. How my dear parents thanked God for His wonderful protection. We finally reached the end of our journey. Father and my twelve-year-old sister had been to the settlement earlier and had built a house for us in the midst of wild olive trees and brush, so we were able to move in right away. Settlement brought with it many difficulties as the land had to be made productive. During our fir