“I know, I sometimes get scared too. The ocean has waves that go like this.” Danika took her hand and moved the water around in a wave-like motion. “The waves are very powerful and they'll come crashing down on you – that is, if you don’t know what to do. And if you're not really careful, the waves will carry you away and nobody will ever see you again. But if you know how to do it right, you can get on a surfboard and ride on top or inside of the waves.”
“What's a surfboard?”
“It's a board made out of special material. People use them to stand on to ride the waves, like this.” Danika put two of her fingers on top of a bar of soap as if they were surfing. “They have different sizes, but the one I used was about three feet taller than your daddy is. It is called a longboard. Surfing is a big deal in California, and it's so much fun! I've always been too scared to ride on the really big waves, but my friend Cindy does it all the time. She lives right next door to the beach...” Danika's voice trailed off and she was lost in her thoughts for a minute, but she soon snapped back. “Anyway, I better hurry up and get out of here so we won't be late.”
<><><>
Philip let one of the young men from their district lead their horse to the Fishers’ barn. The Sunday-Go-To-Meetings were always held every other week at various homes in their church district. This week, Gideon and Esther Fisher would be hosting the service. The inside walls of the house had been removed and the porch had been closed in, with the benches set up inside.
Philip went to the barn to join the other men, and Danika was taken aback when she saw the men giving each other a kiss...on the lips! “Uh, Naomi, why are the guys kissing each other?” Danika asked as they headed toward the main house.
Naomi laughed. “The Bible says to greet one another with a holy kiss and they do it literally.”
“Oh,” Danika said worriedly. I hope nobody tries to kiss me.
Naomi and Danika stepped up onto the porch, entered through the back door, and came into the kitchen, which was bustling with Amish women. Naomi found Esther Fisher and offered her assistance. Dani noticed Joanna was helping prepare the food and asked if she could help.
“It's not necessary, but denki. I'm just about finished up now. Would ya like to sit with me and Chloe during meeting?” Joanna offered kindly.
“I'll have to ask my aunt first,” Danika answered, and then walked over to Naomi. She returned a short while later with a disappointed look. “She said maybe next time. I guess she doesn't trust me yet.”
“That's okay. We'll have plenty of time at the common meal after the meeting,” Joanna encouraged.
Naomi joined Danika, when she noticed the men were heading toward the house, and they sat down on one of the wooden benches toward the back of the living room. The ladies with small children and babies often sat in the back in case they needed to get up and leave during the service. Oftentimes, diapers needed to be changed and the babies needed to be fed, so the women would go to an upstairs room to care for their little ones. Naomi's reason for sitting in the back was two-fold. She not only sat back there for PJ, but also for herself. Women who are 'in the family way', as they call it, often need to use the restroom much more frequently than others, Naomi had informed Danika.
The men, women, and children all dressed in their for-gut clothing, filed in and took their seats. Danika thought it odd that the men came in first, and that males and females sat on opposite sides facing each other. She noticed that the young, single men and women sat in the first couple of rows nearest the front. She would have been with them, had she not needed to sit near Naomi.
The Ausbund hymnals had been passed out prior to their arrival and an older man with a long white beard began singing in a slow chant-like style. The others joined in singing shortly thereafter. Danika had no clue what they were singing but she tried to follow along in the German hymnal which contained no musical notation. It seemed as though she tried to sing everything too quickly, so she kept her voice low. The church leaders congregated in an upstairs room, as the congregation sang.
After two long hours of singing, praying, and preaching had passed, Danika wondered if the service would ever come to an end. Her back started hurting and her bottom had fallen asleep. She thought about joining Naomi, who had gone upstairs with PJ, but she decided against it. She looked over to where the men and boys sat and tried to locate Eli, to no avail. She could see the backs of Joanna's and Chloe's prayer kapps. Oh well, I guess if I can endure being in school all day then I can get through this.
Finally, the service ended and the men moved some of the benches into make-shift tables with the benches for the seats. They filed outside and the women and older girls put a place setting out for each person, and set the food out on the tables. After patiently waiting for the men and older folk to eat, the women and children took their turns. Danika’s stomach roared voraciously when the delicious smells assaulted her senses, making her doubly glad she had eaten an extra portion at breakfast.
Chloe and Joanna joined Danika after the meal. “Would ya like to play volleyball? Some of the young people set up a net and they're going to start a game soon,” Chloe said.
“You guys actually play volleyball? Oh, I'd love to!” Danika’s face brightened. “Naomi, may I please, please, please go play?” she begged.
“Go have fun, but don't get into trouble,” Naomi said.
The girls scampered off to where the game was just getting started. They jumped in, and Danika spiked the ball down quickly to the opposing side of the net. The other players looked at each other in disbelief. When Danika's turn to serve came she pitched the ball flawlessly over the net, then jumped back in when the ball flew her way. She bumped the ball up to the front row where her teammate spiked it over to the other side, resulting in another point for their team.
After winning two games in a row, the girls decided to take a rest. “I didn't know you could play so well,” Chloe complemented.
“We played all the time back home. Aside from surfing, volleyball is, like, my favorite sport,” Danika stated.
“What's surfing?” Joanna asked.
“Well, it's not that easy to explain. Why don't you guys come over sometime and I'll show you?” Dani offered, and the girls nodded in affirmation. “How about today?”
“I'll have to ask my dat,” Joanna stated.
“Jah, me too.” Chloe nodded.
“Dude, that would be so cool. You guys will love it.” Danika smiled. “Hey, what are you guys going to be for Halloween?”
The girls now sat down on the grass, not far from Jonathan and his friends. “Halloween?” Joanna asked.
“Ach, she must mean the Englischer holiday,” Chloe offered.
“Yeah. You know, when kids dress up in costumes and go door to door for candy,” Dani explained.
“Nee, we do not do that. It is wrong to dress up as someone you are not. That is a very bad day. Mamm said it is a holiday for the devil,” Chloe insisted.
Joanna changed the subject. “We'll go ask if we can come over to Philip King's house now.” She and Chloe stood up from their places in the grass, leaving Danika to ponder the differences between where she'd come from and this strange new place.
“Hey, Danika!”
Dani looked up to see Jonathan Fisher and his two friends standing near. “Yeah?”
“What is this Halloween?” Jonathan wanted to know.
“Well, most of the kids dress up in costumes and go around to people's houses and ask for candy,” she said.
Jonathan's eyes lit up. “Candy?”
“Yes, they give you lots of candy,” Danika said. “But I guess I won't be getting any this year, because it's coming up this Friday night and I don't even have a costume. Hey, I bet I could go dressed just like this and everybody would think I dressed up.”
“Where do the Englisch children go to get all this candy?” Matthew Riehl asked, looking at Jonathan and Joshua, then beck to Danika again.
“Just to the houses in
town. I wish I could go, but I'm sure Uncle Philip wouldn't let me.” She shrugged. “Well, I better go. It looks like they're getting in the buggy now.”
<><><>
Later on toward evening, Joanna and Chloe knocked on the door.
“I wonder who's here,” Philip commented to Naomi.
“I'm not expecting anybody,” Naomi stated.
Danika came running down the stairs toward the door and was nigh unto opening it when Philip spoke, “Whoa, there. Danika, did you invite somebody over?”
“Yes, I invited Joanna and Chloe,” Danika stated.
“Next time, you need to ask us before inviting someone over,” he stated, raising his eyebrows.
“Okay, sorry.” Dani felt bad, having let her aunt and uncle down again.
There was another knock at the door and Philip nodded. “You may let them in.”
As the girls came into the house, they greeted Philip, Naomi, and the children. Danika decided she'd better ask before taking the girls upstairs. “Do you mind if we go upstairs to my room?” she asked, looking at Philip with pleading eyes.
“I think that would be fine...for a little while.” To that, the girls excitedly went up the stairs to Dani's room. They looked around and noticed her laptop and cell phone sitting on the desk. The girls looked at each other worriedly as Danika turned her computer on. They had been well informed that the devices transported wickedness and were forbidden in their district. They wondered if they should speak up in protest.
“You've got to see this really cool video that Cindy's brother shot of us surfing,” Danika stated, her voice full of enthusiasm. “There we go,” she said as the video started playing. In the distance, they could see two figures standing on long boards on top of a wave.
“That looks like fun,” Chloe said looking at Joanna, who wasn't quite so sure.
As the video zoomed in close, the girls quickly looked away covering their eyes.
“What's wrong?” Danika asked looking confused.
“You're not wearing clothes,” Joanna stated matter-of-factly.
“Oh, sure we are. We have our bathing suits on. See?” Danika pointed to their bikinis.
“No, those are undergarments...unmentionables. They're not appropriate to wear in public,” Chloe said.
“Okay, okay, I'll turn it off.” Danika felt disappointed that her new friends didn't share her love of surfing. “I don't see what the big deal is. Everybody wears bikinis at the beach.”
“God does not want us to show our bodies to each other. Mamm said we are supposed to dress modestly so we don't tempt the boys into sinning with their eyes,” Joanna explained.
“You guys talk an awful lot about God. I'm not so sure I even believe in God,” Danika shared.
“How can you not believe in God?” Chloe was shocked.
“Well, I prayed to Him about something and He didn't answer me.”
“How do you know He didn't answer you?” Joanna asked.
“Because He let my mom, my brother, and my dad die. I never even got to hold my baby brother,” a tear spilled down Dani's cheek.
“Gottes ville. Sometimes God's answer is no. We have to accept that God knows what's best for us even when we don't understand. It's called faith.” Joanna sat close to Danika and put her arm around her.
“I don't have faith,” Dani stated sadly. “I can't understand why God would want to take my parents away and leave me all alone. It isn't fair. I don't think I can put faith in a God I can't see.”
“You must trust Him, because He can see things we cannot. Maybe there was a reason He brought you here. God will give you faith if you ask Him,” Chloe advised.
“I think I might try,” Dani conceded.
That's when they all heard Naomi holler up the stairs, “Who wants cookies and milk?” At once, the girls smiled at each other and rushed downstairs for a treat.
<><><>
After the girls had left and dinner was complete, Katie helped Naomi with the dishes and Danika cleared the table. Danika could hear Katie attempting to sing the Beach Boys song that she had been singing earlier in the bathtub. “Everybody can go surfing, surfing in the UFA,” she sang aloud to Naomi’s astonishment.
“Katie, where did you hear such a song?” Naomi thought of Danika and looked her way.
“Dani sings it, Mamm. And this is how you surf.” She showed her mother as she put her two fingers on a plate and pushed it around in the dish water.
Naomi chided Danika, “Ach, do you have to bring your Englischer music into this house? Now she'll probably have that worldly song in her head her whole life.”
“Sorry, Naomi. I wasn't thinking about that. I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Danika offered.
“Well, it is a big deal. We strive hard to keep worldliness out of our lives.” Naomi turned to Katie and instructed her, “Katie, we don't sing Englischer music, especially on the Lord's day.”
“We just sing the hymns from the Ausbund, jah?” Katie inquired.
“That's right,” Naomi said, giving Danika a disapproving look.
Danika sighed to herself, I can't do anything right around here.
<><><>
Chapter 6 – First Day of School
“Teach me good judgment and knowledge...” Psalm 119:66a
As promised, Joanna and Chloe showed up at the King residence early Monday morning. They had offered to escort their new friend to school on her first day. Today, they came on foot since Danika didn't own a scooter. “Maybe you can ask Philip to buy you a scooter,” Joanna suggested as they left the house, lunch pails in hand.
“I'd like one, but I don't think I should ask him for anything just yet,” she said as she thought about the eggshells she'd been walking on lately. She desperately wanted to please her aunt and uncle, but it seemed like everything she did landed her in trouble. She definitely was not accustomed to all the rules and regulations her new Amish community imposed. “Let's talk about something else. You guys probably have some stories to tell.”
It looked as though Chloe was searching her brain for something interesting to say, but Joanna spoke first, “Do you like horses, Danika?”
“I guess. I've never really ridden one before. Except for the other day with El –” she stopped short, unsure of whether she wanted to divulge their secret meeting.
“Were you going to say Eli?” Chloe asked wide-eyed. “As in Eli Yoder?”
“Why do you ask that way? Is something wrong with him?” Danika wondered.
“Nee,” Joanna answered. “He's in a different church district.”
“So, who cares?” Danika obviously didn't see the point. She had been friends with people from all kinds of different churches back in California.
“It's a big deal,” Chloe stated. “And I'm sure Philip and Naomi would care.”
“So, you're saying that I can't be friends with Eli just because he goes to a different church? You guys really baffle me. I don't know if I'll ever understand this whole Amish thing.”
“That's not it.” Joanna attempted to explain, “A couple of years ago there was a huge church split. The bishop changed some rules to the Ordnung and Eli's father fought it tooth and nail.”
“What's Ordnung?” Danika asked.
“The Ordnung are the rules that the Amish church abide by,” Chloe stated.
“So, what was the big deal? Why did Eli's dad fight it?”
“Well, I guess he didn't agree with the changes. He wanted to hang on to the Old Ways, the way things have always been done. The bishop asked Philip to try to reason with him, and he attempted to explain how the new way would be better for his family. Well, Jacob Yoder became quite upset and ended up leaving our church district, convincing several other families to leave with him. They formed Bishop Mast's district as a result. He resented your uncle for trying to persuade him and his family and vowed to never speak to Philip King again,” Joanna explained.
“Oh.” Danika voiced her thoughts, “It didn't seem like Eli
had anything against Philip.”
“Oh no, Eli is real nice about it. I think he even secretly agrees with the new ways. It's just, I don't know how his daed would feel about him being friends with you – living in the same house and being Philip's niece and all.”
“Bummer. Why does life have to be so difficult,” Danika stated more than asked. “Everything seems so complicated here.”
“So, you really like Eli, huh?” Chloe pried.
Danika ducked her head to escape their knowing eyes. “He's the first friend I made here. He's so nice and really smart too.” Dani smiled as she relived the short time they'd spent talking in the woods.
Joanna and Chloe exchanged a meaningful glance. “Well, at least he still goes to the same school. Our school is a lot closer than the school in their church district, so his daed allowed him and the children to stay.”
Danika blushed. “Really? You mean he'll be there today?” She’d forgotten about that. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face now. Danika lifted her eyes to see if the school was in sight yet. She was beginning to believe the stories her mother told about when she was young she’d had to walk five miles in the snow to get to school every day. “So, what were you guys saying about the horses?” she asked, realizing the need to change the subject before her friends noticed her obvious crush.
“Before we answer that, may I ask you something?” Chloe tilted her head.
“Sure, I guess.”
“Why do you keep calling us 'guys'? We are girls, you know.”
Danika laughed at Chloe's question. “It's just something we say back in California. You know, just like you guys, oops, I mean, the Amish have their sayings. Like 'for sure and for certain' and 'ain't'.”
“Oh, I see. It just feels strange to be called by a man's title.” Chloe shrugged. “Now about the horses...me and Joanna, we ride horses all the time.”
“Race them too,” Joanna added quietly. “Just don't tell anyone I said that.”
“Your secret is safe with me. Remember, you guys know my secret too,” Danika replied while pretending to zip her lips.
Danika's Journey (Amish Girls Series--Book 2) Page 4