AR01 - A Road Unknow
Page 22
A little more than a day later and he stood on the doorstep of Elizabeth’s home waiting for someone to answer his knock and wishing he hadn’t dropped his gloves on the bus. Indiana felt colder than Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth opened the door and he watched the mixture of emotions sweep over her face. “Saul? Is it really you? Pinch me, I must be dreaming. Ouch!” she cried and spun around. She shook her finger at a little boy. “What was that for?”
“You said ‘pinch me’ so I did!”
“It’s an expression!”
He laughed and scampered away.
She turned back to Saul. “Come in. What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to take you home.”
“This is her home.”
Saul looked over her shoulder. A big, burly-looking man stood behind Elizabeth and he didn’t look friendly.
“Come in, Saul. Daed, this is Saul. He came from Paradise to see me.”
Her father just stood there staring at him. “I believe he said he’s here to take you home.”
“I did,” Saul spoke up.
“Daed, can we take the buggy for a ride?”
He regarded them, his arms folded across his chest. “As long as it’s not back to Paradise.”
Maybe the man had a sense of humor. Maybe. Saul gave him a wide berth as Elizabeth took his hand and led him through the kitchen where she introduced him to her mother. Then she grabbed her jacket and slipped it on as they went out the back door.
Together they hitched Agnes, one of the family’s horses, to the buggy. Elizabeth pulled blankets from the back seat and they covered their laps with them.
“I was afraid you weren’t coming back. Are you coming back, Elizabeth?”
“I told you I was.”
“I came to make sure.”
She searched his face. “Tell me why, Saul.”
He pulled the buggy off the road and turned to her to touch her cheek. “Because I love you and I want you to marry me. I decided not to take any chance you’d be persuaded to stay here.”
Tears sprang into her eyes. “You’re sure? We haven’t known each other very long.”
“I don’t need any more time. Do you?”
She shook her head and a smile bloomed on her lips.
He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. Then he was drawing her closer and kissing her the way he’d wanted to for a long time.
“So when can we start home?” he asked her when they drew back.
She grinned. “What if I said I bought a ticket before I even left Paradise?”
“Really?”
“Really. And it’s for the nine a.m. bus tomorrow.”
“Not soon enough.” He grinned at her. “Now all I have to do is figure where I’m spending the night.”
“You can stay with us,” she told him as he checked for traffic and got the buggy back onto the road. “You’ll probably have to share a room with the boys.”
“With the pincher?”
She laughed. “There’s never a dull moment in this house.” She sighed. “I’m glad I came back. I apologized to my parents for leaving the way I did. They didn’t look happy when I said I was going back to Paradise, but I think they know they have to let go and allow me to find my own way.”
“Gut,” he said. “So it was worth it coming here to talk to them.”
“Family’s always worth it, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
She slipped her arm in his and leaned against his shoulder. “Take me home, Saul. Take me back to Paradise.”
RECIPES
Amish Pennsylvania Dutch Apple pie
1 (9-inch) pie crust, unbaked
Filling:
5 cups apples, cored and sliced (about 5 small, Granny Smith apples work well)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup raisins (optional)
Topping:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter (at room temperature)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a 9-inch pie pan with unbaked crust. Core and slice apples. Sprinkle the apples with the lemon juice. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and raisins, if desired. Mix well to evenly coat. Fill pie shell with apple mixture.
In a small bowl, mix the topping’s flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Rub the topping ingredients and butter together with fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle topping over pie.
Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until crumb topping is browned and apples are soft, approximately 50 minutes.
Serves 6-8
Amish Chicken Casserole
8 ounces medium egg noodles, uncooked
½ cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (to save time you can use a rotisserie chicken)
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain, and set aside.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat; gradually add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add chicken broth and milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt and pepper, set aside.
Combine noodles, chicken, and mushrooms in large bowl; stir in sauce. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish; sprinkle with cheese.
Bake uncovered, 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Serves 6
Shoofly Pie
1 (9-inch) pie crust, unbaked
Crumb Mixture:
(reserving ½ cup for topping)
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon solid shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling:
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup boiling water
1 egg, beaten
1 cup molasses
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix brown sugar, shortening, and flour and set aside ½ cup for topping.
Combine soda with boiling water, then add egg and molasses. Stir well to create a syrup. Add crumb mixture, except for ½ cup reserved mixture. Pour into unbaked pie crust and cover with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes (until firm).
When cut into, the bottom may be “wet.” This is okay because it is called a “wet bottom shoofly pie.”
Serves 6-8
Amish Applesauce Cake
½ cup solid shortening or butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ to 1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
1 cup flour
1 cup raisins
½ cup chopped nuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the shortening or butter with the sugar. Add egg and beat until light. Add the applesauce and mix in. Stir in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, mixing well. Stir in the flour, raisins, and nuts. Mix well.
Pour into a greased 8-inch pan (round or square) and bake for 45 minutes.
Serves 6-8
Amish Pork Chops
4-6 pork chops (about 3/4 -1 inch thick)
¾ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
<
br /> 1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup chopped onion
Directions:
Brown the pork chops in a skillet with a little cooking or olive oil, then transfer them to a baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over chops.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 ½ hours.
Glossary
ab im kop—off in the head. Crazy.
Allrecht—all right
boppli—baby
bruder—brother
Daed—Dad
Danki—thank you
Dat—father
Der hochmut kummt vor dem fall. Pride goeth before the fall.
Englischer—what the Amish call us
grossdaadi—grandfather
grosseldere—grandparents
grossmudder—grandmother
guder mariye—good morning
Gut-n-Owed—good evening
haus—house
hochmut—pride
kaffe—coffee
kapp—prayer covering or cap worn by girls and women
kich—kitchen
kichli—cookies
kind, kinner—child, children
lieb—love
liebschen—dearest or dear one
maedels—young single women
mamm—mother
mann—husband
nee—no
Ordnung—The rules of the Amish, both written and unwritten. Certain behavior has been expected within the Amish community for many, many years. These rules vary from community to community, but the most common are to have no electricity in the home, not to own or drive an automobile, and to dress a certain way.
Pennsylvania Deitsch—Pennsylvania German
rumschpringe—time period when teenagers are allowed to experience the Englisch world while deciding if they should join the church.
schul—school
schur—sure
schweschder—sister
sohn—son
verdraue—trust
wilkumm—welcome
wunderbaar—wonderful
ya—yes
Discussion Questions
Spoiler alert! Please don’t read before completing the book as the questions contain spoilers!
1. Elizabeth finds being the oldest in a large family to be too much. Where do you fall in your family’s birth order? Oldest? Middle child? Youngest? How did this affect how you grew up and the choices you made?
2. Elizabeth decides she wants to change her life. She believes God has a plan for her life and acts on it believing everything will be all right. Have you ever done this? If so, what happened?
3. Amish young people get to experience Englisch life during a period called rumschpringe. While some youth use it as a chance to break out of the strict rules of the Amish community, most do not. Do you think teens of either culture need a period of unrestricted time to mature?
4. Many Amish believe God has set aside a marriage partner for them. Do you believe this? Do you believe in love at first sight?
5. Elizabeth goes to work at a store owned by Saul, a man she’s attracted to. Do you think it’s a good idea for a couple to work together?
6. Sometimes family is made up of our mother, father, and siblings. Sometimes it’s made of friends who become family. Do you have friends who are family to you? How did this happen?
7. Elizabeth watches a CPR video with her roommate and later performs CPR on Saul’s father. Have you ever had a situation where you felt you were put there to help a person?
8. In the Bible, Martha complains to Jesus she is doing all the work while her sister, Mary, does not help. What did Jesus tell her? What can women learn from this?
9. Elizabeth never dated back in Goshen and suddenly two men, one Englisch and one Amish, are interested in her. Do you think she would have ever dated the Englisch young man back in Goshen? What did Elizabeth learn from dating Bruce?
10. Elizabeth’s mother says she has a servant’s heart. What does this mean to you? Do you have a servant’s heart?
11. Have you made a decision others disagreed with, but you felt was right for you?
12. Do you believe God has a plan for you? Do you know what it is?
AMISH ROADS
The age of sixteen to approximately the early twenties is a time of major changes in the lives of Amish teenagers. Freed from attending school and starting their vocations of choice, young people enter a time known as rumschpringe, a “running around” period. During this time, since the young adults have not yet chosen to become baptized into the church—the Amish believe in the individual choosing to be baptized rather than having adults choose for their infant children—many find the freedom of being allowed to make their own decisions is heady.
In the past, Amish elders saw this as a time when their young adults would court and choose a spouse. But in today’s society, the differences between Amish and Englisch cultures continue to grow wider and the temptation for Amish teens to experience the Englisch world is great.
Amish teens are primarily rebelling against the Ordnung, the rules of the church, which—among other things—doesn’t allow the use modern conveniences. When Amish teens are exposed to the Englisch world, especially Englisch teenagers, they struggle with maintaining their Amish identities.
For three young women, this time becomes one of resistance and contemplation of staying . . . or leaving the Amish community.
In the first book of the series, The Road Unknown, Elizabeth felt she had to run away from home and a life that grew unbearable there.
In Crossroads, the second book of the series, readers will meet Emma Mae, a young Amish woman who always thought she and her childhood sweetheart would get married. But when Isaac changes as he experiences his rumschpringe, she finds things changing very quickly.
Emma Mae longs for marriage, family, and community. She asks herself: Can a good girl reform a bad boy?
In One True Path, Book 3, Katie struggles with guilt. One day she slips away to take a joyride with some friends and leaves a younger sibling in charge. Four-year-old Sam, the baby of the family, gets injured. Up to that point, Katie had been an obedient daughter, avoiding the lures of the Englisch world. The one time she goes out to have some fun, tragedy strikes. Her parents try to reassure her that they don’t blame her for Sam’s accident, but Katie cannot forgive herself. She slides into a depression. Ben, the oldest son in a Mennonite family, says he knows what she needs. He offers to give her a ride in his car and suggests she have a beer to loosen up. Despite the fact that Katie feels a ride is what started all this mess, she must admit that the attention from Ben, and the thought of escaping this guilt, if even for a little while, lures her to agree.
But when she wakes later, feeling fuzzy, she’s afraid that she’s done more than have just one beer. Ben, meanwhile, is nowhere to be found. Paradise is a close-knit community where everyone knows everybody’s business. Fortunately, Katie is relieved to find she suffers no consequence for that night she can’t remember but she blames herself for poor choices and her depression reaches a new low. She moves in with Emma Mae and only after her friend’s persuasion does she begin attending church again. With time and prayer, she starts the journey to forgive herself and Ben.
Love finds you when you least expect it. A few months later, at the meal after Sunday service, she meets John, a young man from a neighboring Amish community. He treats her with respect and courts her in the way her daed courted her mamm. But can she trust him with her heart?
And now, here’s a glimpse of Crossroads, book 2 of the Amish Roads series . . .
1
Pretty sweet sound, don’t you think?” Isaac turned up the volume of the CD player in his buggy. Heavy metal music came pouring out.
Emma Mae gritted her teeth and wished she felt brave enough to plug her ears with her fingers. Isaac called it music. It sounded awful to her. She wanted to ask him to turn it down because it was giving her a headache but instead, she smiled and nodde
d. Maybe it was wishful thinking but she hoped his taste for such music was just him going through his rumschpringe.
Isaac’s horse shook its head as he pulled the buggy down the road and Emma bit back a smile, wondering if horses got headaches.
Another buggy approached at a fast speed from the opposite direction. The driver leaned out and waved. It was Gideon B., one of Isaac’s friends. As his buggy passed theirs, the sound from his own CD player blared even louder than Isaac’s. A flock of chickens that had been grazing inside a fence near the road squawked and scurried away.
She sighed. Sometimes she wondered whether Amish boys enjoyed music or beer more during their rumschpringe.
Well, perhaps she couldn’t call Isaac Amish anymore. She looked at him and wondered where the Isaac she’d loved since she was ten had gone. He wore jeans and a polo shirt.