Perilous Journey: The Mennonite Brethren in Russia 1860-1910, John B. Toews, 1988

und gefunden," Zionsbote, X (1894), no. 21, 3; K. Boschman, "Wie mich der Herr aus der Finsternis zu seinem wunderbaren Lichte gebracht hat," Zionsbote, X (1894), no. 21, 2-3. 13 "So lebte ich froh und konnte auch die Biblestunde fuehren und ueberlaut beten und danken." Peter Friesen, "Meine Bekehrung," Zionsbote, X (1894), no. 19, 2-3; Heinrich Penner, "Meine Bekehrung," Zionsbote, X (1894), no. 38, 3. M Herman Neufeld Journals, II (1904). 15 Wilhelm Loewen, "Alexanderkrone, 20 Feb. 1891," Zionsbote, VII (1891), no. 16, 3. J. Fast, "Reisekizzen," Zionsbote, VII (1891 ), no. 17, 1; Heinrich Friesen, Reisebericht aus Russland," Zionsbote, VII (1891 ), no.A22, 2-3. is Klaas Enns, "Sparrau, 1 Febr. 1894," Zionsbote, (1894), no. 12, 2. 17 "Margenau," Zionsbote, X (1894), no. 15, Beilage. 53 18 David Duerksen, "Reisebericht," Zionsbote, X (1894), No. 49, 3. 19 A number of these reports can be found in the Zionsbote, which published them on a regular basis. See for example Hermann Neufeld, "Russland, Nikolaijewka, im Maerz, 1895," Zionsbote, xl (1895), no. 17, 2; Heinrich Friesen, "Reisebericht," Zionsbote, XI (1895), no. 18, 2. 20 Wilhelm Loewen, Reisebericht," Zionsbote, VI (1890), no. 16, 1. 21 David Duerksen, "Reisebericht," Zionsbote, X (1894), no. 49, 3. 22 Hermann Neufeld Journals (Centre for MB Studies, Winnipeg, Manitoba), "Rechnung von der Missionreisen 1888-1919," ™ Ibid. 24 Neufeld Journals, "Unsere Lebensgeschichte" I, 348-350. 25 Ibid., II, 488-490. 26 Hermann Neufeld Journals, I. Band, 199-200. 27 Ibid., 208. In January, 1889 Kargel visited Friedensfeld and conducted a month long "Missionschule" which was attended by 16 Brethren. Jakob Janz "Jahresbericht von der Gemeinde Friedensfeld 1889," Zionsbote, Vol. 6 (1890), no. 10, 1-2. 28 For a condensed autobiography in English see Abram H. Neufeld (translator and editor), Herman and Katharina: Their Story (Winnipeg, The Christian Press, 1984). 54 CHAPTER VI NEW HORIZONS AND OLD VALUES The Russian Mennonite world expanded with unprece- dented rapidity as the nineteenth century drew to a close. The growth of the milling and agricultural machinery industry forced some urbanization. Stable grain prices not only brought prosperity to older established farms, but ensured the survival of most new settlements as well. There was also an expansion of the Mennonite mind. This was not only due to influx of educational and religious literature from Germany but related to the Mennonite young men who studied in German and Russian institutions of higher learning. These developments coincided with government demands for state service and closer Russian cultural identification. The Mennonites responded by resorting to an institutionalism unparalleled in their history. They erected a vast, privately supported educational complex beginning at the elementary school level and culminating in a broad array of welfare, medical and adva