If we, with our parents and ancestors together, cannot thank our God and father in heaven enough that we have been spared physical pain, martyrdom, and torment, and that we have not had to endure such heavy persecution as the first Christians, even so they [our people] have been constant wanderers in this world, as the following words demonstrate: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus must endure persecution” [1 Timothy 3:12], because only in so doing do they experience that they have only been guests and foreigners in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope (1 Chronicles 29:15).

The true origin of the Mennonites, where they had their beginning, appears, according to all trustworthy chronicles, old texts, and church histories, to be Holland, where our founding father Menno Simons lived during his time, and where he founded the congregation and restored the light of the gospel to the lampstand, which at that time had been completely obscured. Menno Simons was born in 1496 and, after he left the Roman Catholic Church, received the Christian baptism in water only in the year 1536, which was in the fortieth year of his life.

By whom he was baptized, when he went over to the Anabaptists, is not known. (It was later learned that Menno Simons was [likely] baptized by Obbe Philips.) His most faithful co-worker was Dirk Philips. On January 13, 1561, at the age of 66, Menno Simons entered his eternal rest as a weary warrior. He was buried in his own garden, as was the custom among the early Christians who were heavily persecuted. It was after this zealous witness for Christ, this loyal fighter for the truth of the gospel, that his first followers were named Mennonists, from which our name Mennonite was derived in later centuries.

We find the first persecution of the Mennonites in Holland. And though, as previously mentioned, our parents and ancestors had to leave the places of their birth with much grief and sorrow, it often seems that Christianity has only been spread through the walking stick; namely, from Holland to Germany, from Germany to Russia, from Russia to America and Canada, and from Canada to here, our present home in Mexico. The dear Lord has always ensured that if the freedom of conscience of the true Mennonites was revoked in one country or place, they were always able to find a new place which granted freedom in the churches and in the schools; the dear Saviour did not leave his promise unfulfilled, which was recorded in Matthew 10:23: “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

We cannot thank our God enough for giving us such wise leadership, which up to this date has not burdened our consciences and has not demanded anything of us that is contrary to the teachings of Christ and his apostles; rather, it has allowed each of us (and especially in this Mexican part of the world) to live under the shade of his own vineyard and fig tree, and to serve the Lord without guilty conscience. If things would be right among us, then we would praise and thank God without ceasing, and we would never forget what the good he has done unto us. Psalm 103:2: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

And if we would search for the origin of the guilty conscience, and explore the texts of the martyrs, we would see that it does not come from God; rather, it comes from man’s great fall, through which the lord of darkness, as an enemy of human well-being, had ample opportunity, with the permission of corrupted humans, to introduce hellish evil into the estate of the human soul.

Therefore, let us not take this unfathomable grace of God for granted; rather, let us beseech God that he might enlighten all people who come into this world more and more with his righteous light (John 1:9). That we would in this dark hour of evening desire to be in his light alone (Psalm 36:9). “But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils” (Luke 11:22). Therefore, O you great Lord of eternal light and salvation of all people, especially the believers, speak into us all without ceasing your omnipotent word of creation, which you spoke at the beginning of time into the dark void, when you said: “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Let the crystal light river, with all its sweetness, flow forth from under the threshold of your holy temple (Ezekiel 47:1), so that all the salty, cloudy, and unhealthy streams, rivers, and seas of all humanity would be made clear, bright, healthy, and sweet, so that nothing unhealthy would remain, except those who maliciously continue in their sin and have no use for your great grace and salvation, which has been granted to the entire human race. And therefore wish to remain in stinking frivolity, an eternal dwelling for all impure and hostile spirits (Revelation 18:2). “O that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12–13).

How clear and distinct we see our church and our congregation depicted in this mirror. For it used to be, according to our previously mentioned words, that under the pressure and persecution, we immigrated to this country with such a good reputation, almost as a light of the world and as the salt of the earth among the people here (Matthew 5:13). But what is she [our church] now? Practically as if sunken in the impotence of the spiritual life, lying in a bed of sin, and the great equalization with this world, deathly ill. But you, daughter of Jacob! What a dangerous walk you have taken in your free time (Genesis 34). Because of this you have made a mockery of all of the ornaments of your virginity and your beautiful crown, because you abandoned your first love for your heavenly groom, and so your salt has lost its power and your light has gone out. Therefore, let us turn back, and gather oil, before the door of grace is locked. For:

He will not disappear for long,
Therefore do not stay asleep.
One sees the trees are blooming,
The spring’s most lovely light
Promises of refreshing times,
The evening sky’s red shows
The beautiful day in the distance
Before which the darkness yields.
Who would then be sleeping?
He who’s smart is then awake.
God comes to the world to punish,
To practice fury and wrath
On all those who aren’t watching
And who along with the dragon
Pray to the creature’s image.
Therefore even the lion roars.

Now what do our hearts have to say about this? My dear children – and grandchildren – “for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now” (Galatians 4:19–20), how I have grieved for you, and borne a thousand worries because of you, even as your weak father. Do you not desire to be blessed? Will you not walk willingly together with me on the narrow way? And if that is what you want, then there is no other way than that which we are taught by the Saviour when he says: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23–24).

The way of the cross aids greatly in enabling us to become disciples of Jesus, for it is far easier to tame and control our evil flesh and blood on the cross and in suffering than it is during good times. Therefore, dear children, do not wish for yourselves only good days, for during good times and times of great affluence, when in the temporal life things are good and happy, then the person is in great danger of losing his salvation. It was for this reason that Paul said: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). Rather choose the prayer of Solomon as the motto for your lives: “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:5–9). Pray along with the poet:

The precious cross makes indeed each Christian precious.
It stays that way, do not try to persuade me.
If you, my God, still want me
To live my little life,
Do not let it be without crosses.
You children of God, so that you know:
The precious cross alone makes a precious Christian.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4). I have had, however, no greater sorrow than when my children walked in pride. For I have always experienced great displeasure from pride, for pride is an abomination in God’s sight (Amos 6:8). “But if you do not listen I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive” (Jeremiah 13:17). Therefore, dear children, protect yourselves from all pride and conformity to this world, and seek instead (even after my death) to walk in humility, so that you may “receive mercy and find grace to help [you] in [your] time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). For who has been put to shame who has hoped in God? Who has been abandoned who feared the Lord? “For gold is tested in the fire, and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation.” (Sirach 2:5) If we consider the effusive love and grace of the heavenly father, which has demonstrated to us for our entire lives, has it not been sometimes wonderful, and almost inconceivable?

God is never so near,
As when the need increases,
When human reason ceases,
His help does then appear.

Let us look now to the past; are not the monuments of God’s goodness and kindness proclaimed and obvious? It was said to Israel: “O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old – what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us” (Psalm 78:1–3). And Deuteronomy 32:7 states: “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will explain to you.”

So I, too, can only proclaim or share in one part of the old stories of God’s glory, and his omnipotence and wonders, for I was born over there in Canada (July 15, 1889: “Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth” [Jeremiah 15:10]). But as soon as I matured and gained understanding, I eagerly loved to hear the dear elders tell old stories. My curiosity was especially awakened by the stories my dear mother would tell me in my younger years, about how she along with her dear parents came across from Russia to Canada and how they travelled across the big ocean, and about how they were on the water for twelve whole days. It is no wonder that I listened to such stories with wonder, because in my entire life I had never even seen a ship, never mind an ocean. She told us often about how they travelled on a ship together with the dear Aeltester Ohm Johann Wiebe, and that she had so much faith in her leader in her younger years that she had been totally without worry or care, and was of the opinion that if Ohm Johann Wiebe was on her ship, then it would be impossible for it to sink. But one evening, as a big storm rose on the sea, and the ship – especially in the bow – began to shake, everyone became very afraid. But before she went to bed for the night, she noticed that the loving Aeltester went to every room on the ship where our people were, and encouraged them all to pray that the ship would not sink on the raging waves, and reminded them all of how the disciples were with the Saviour on a boat that was covered with waves, and Jesus was sleeping: “And the disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23–27).

And this is what my mother said! She said that they all prayed earnestly that the dear Lord would protect and keep them and that the ship wouldn’t go down. And the next morning as they awoke, the storm had subsided and the ship sailed on the smooth sea, so that it was impossible to imagine that such a storm had taken place the previous night. And they sang a song of praise to the dear God, and thanked him with a happy disposition for his goodness and for the miracles that he performs for his earthly children. “Others went out on the sea in ships. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the Lord in the trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders” (Psalm 107:23–32).

The dear elders, the loyal leaders, those with grey hair, of whom only very few are still living, and most of whom have already fallen asleep, what did they not experience as they came in the year 1875 from Russia to Canada. And the thing that seemed to be the worst of all was the immense poverty. For they only owned enough supplies for the journey, and as soon as they touched [Canadian] soil, most of their supplies were gone, and yet bread had to be provided for the entire congregation. And yet, how happy and thankful were the dear elders that after a difficult six-week journey they could once again settle down on firm ground.

But it did not take long for the anxious question to arise as to how they would provide bread for the large families, the elderly and the crippled, which depended on the congregation for their care and welfare, when there was hardly any to be had? So the dear leaders – Aeltester Ohm Johann Wiebe and his fellow servants – out of concern and not knowing what else to do, often went into the small quiet room and, encouraging the congregation to pray earnestly and to seek guidance from our loving heavenly father, they did the same. And many times they had to ask, just as the disciples asked of the Saviour: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5). But just as wonderful as when the Saviour fed the five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish, and according to the measure afterward there were more pieces left over than had been distributed, in the same way our heavenly father helped our forefathers in their need. He heard their prayers and saw their tears and opened for them the windows of heaven and let his grace and his blessing flow down like streams upon them. They were such fruitful times, such beautiful years that he gave them, that everything in the new land grew mightily. Each diligent farmer, after he had cared for his own plot and had helped those who were in need, still had his fill of bread. Not only that, but there were some who over time had gathered a nice surplus, in which the best and the most splendid intentions of our God were hidden, that the one who had reaped so richly and to whom so much had been entrusted should give to and help that more richly those who were poor and in need: to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves (1 Timothy 6:18–19).

The dear God and heavenly father fulfilled his promise to our ancestors, just as he once spoke to the children of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will become my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:4–6). Our fathers tasted this; they experienced the nearness of God in themselves, and even if in great poverty, things nevertheless went well for them, because they followed the call of God out of Russia and often sang:

That which has come to pass,
Is truly for us not woe.
It should still get better,
Even in isolation.
Children don’t be anxious,
Disdain a thousand worlds,
Your enticing and your scolding,
And follow on your course.

And the thing that the dear Aeltester Johann Wiebe reminded them of right at the first meeting of the brotherhood, right after their arrival in America (as they gathered under a free sky), and which was unanimously advised, was that they must now take a step back – they had already gone too far in the world’s direction in Russia. He was referring to the higher education in the schools, the note-singing,¹ and in general the great conformity to the world. And that is how it actually happened – they began building their homes in humility and lowliness, building first out of the earth and then building their huts on the ground. But did things remain in this lowly estate? How sad and wretched the situation became. It seemed that, as much as things improved in temporal wealth, in the same amount they moved away from humility. This soon became evident in the brightly painted houses, the worldly buggies with fine upholstery and ornamented harnesses, and the automobiles that soon were everywhere. And the trade industry grew like wild among us, out of which the necessity of learning the language of the land arose, and the public schools began to be seen as a need.

But keeping God’s word, following and obeying his voice, to this the eyes and the hearts became deaf. But for his part the Lord did not fail to punish us with various afflictions; he snatched away many elderly, middle-aged, and especially many innocent children from their mothers’ laps. Even the elements were unleashed upon us as a way of imposing the seriousness of God’s judgment. There were such terrible storm winds that huge trees in the yard were uprooted or cracked almost as if they were making way for, or bowing before, this omnipotence. And with many deadly, hot lightning bolts, here and there a house burned, in addition to a few costly human lives being offered up through deadly bolts of lightning.

And when the Lord took from the congregation the dear old Aeltester Johann Wiebe in the month of February in the year 1905, and the dear Aeltester Peter Wiebe in September of 1913 through death to be with himself in eternity, then the emptiness was felt by some God-fearing brothers and sisters, so that some sunk to their knees as if abandoned and orphaned and called out to the Lord, “But why?” It was truly a sorrowful time when the dear Aeltester Ohm Peter Wiebe crossed over into eternity after a seven-day, very serious illness. I could hardly believe it, for I thought that the dear Lord would surely know better than we people how necessary it was that he remain with us and with the congregation. It was for that reason that I waited a few days before I drove to visit him. It was partly because it was during the dry period of harvest, and partly because I wanted to comfort myself with the thought that he would not die so quickly. For these reasons I wished to wait until Sunday to visit him, for then I had to drive to Gruenthal anyway for church, which is what I did. But what a shock I received when I drove onto his yard on Saturday evening! It was full of people, as much in the house as on the yard, and the deep sorrow and grief that could be read on the faces of the guests confirmed for me that the dear Aeltester’s sickness must be very grave. And as I hesitated to enter (for I felt totally depressed, because I hadn’t pictured it this way), the dear Aeltester Ohm Abraham Wiebe from “Swift” (Swift Current, Saskatchewan) came out, and hurrying over to me, said, “If you still wish to see Ohm Peter Wiebe then don’t put off going in any longer,” for he believed that he would die soon.

And so I followed the Aeltester Ohm Abraham into the house, and as I approached the threshold, I could already hear Ohm Peter Wiebe wretchedly whining, sighing, and groaning, as one who was in great pain and danger. And so I walked through the large room to the doorway of the little room, where he lay in his bed, and his wife and children stood crying around him. I could not go forward, but stood still, believing that he must have already wrestled with death. But then I noticed that he raised his right hand a little, and gave me a small wave, motioning for me to come closer. And as I offered him my hand in greeting, he took me with both hands around my neck and drew me to his sick chest, and said with a groaning voice: “Now then, always remain very diligent and work for the Lord, so that we may see one another again in eternity.” After me another elderly father came to say goodbye and asked him if he really wanted to leave the congregation and us. To this he replied, “I am reaching my hands out to the Redeemer.” These were the last words that I heard from him in this lifetime. At approximately ten in the evening he gave his spirit up and went as a weak and tired servant into his eternal rest.

The next day, when I returned from the church in Gruenthal, I drove to Peter Harms’s home for vesper [Faspa, the traditional Mennonite Sunday meal], where I met up with the dear Aeltester Ohm Jacob Wiens from the West,² who upon hearing the news of his sickness had already come to Manitoba, and who now wanted to stay for the funeral. And, as usual, the dear Aeltester was not restrained or silent, but sought to comfort us concerning the all-too-early death of our dear Aeltester Ohm Peter Wiebe, and sought to wipe away and dry our many tears by speaking of the words from James 5:10–11, where it is written: “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” How comforting and refreshing it was to me to hear the sweet words that came out of his mouth.

At one point he spoke of Russia, and began to praise God’s great works and told of how God had so successfully brought us over here from Russia to a free America, where the authorities left us to live quietly and in peace. I soon noticed that a prophetic meaning was to be understood in his story. It was when
he mentioned that one day during the lovely summertime, he was busy making hay at this very address where the Peter Harms family now lived in Reinland, for this had been his
farmstead, before he had been called to the West at the request of the Aeltester Ohm Johann Wiebe to serve the congregation there with God’s word. What sorts of thoughts he had while looking out over the fields and observing the beautiful high grass, and the swaying wheat fields with their beautiful ears. It was as if a voice from above said to him: “We will not be able to stay here forever; the congregation will once again have to take up the walking stick.” But where? That was the question that arose in this time of deep reflection. And in his spirit he received the following answer: “If the congregation wished to maintain itself in the pure gospel, it would once again have to come among a heathen people.” He did not mention a specific place, neither did he determine the country nor the government, where we would be led by God’s all-wise direction. He kept repeating one thing: “Mennonites have never been under such a government, one which didn’t know anything about our faith or our walk as followers of Jesus.” Upon hearing this I had to take captive my reason and make it obedient to the rule of Christ. It seemed unbelievable to me. It was for me as it had been for the ancient father Jacob regarding the dream of his son Joseph. He did not believe what he had heard, and yet he kept all of the words in his heart (Genesis 37:11). The words of the dear Aeltester seemed to me like nonsense, and I did not believe it (Luke 24:11). And yet I held his words in my heart and pondered them there.

According to reason it was difficult to believe, for who was thinking of emigration? The congregation had peace throughout the entire country, and each worked his own land, and just as in Noah’s time, planting, building, buying, selling, and peace reigned supreme. The harvest rarely failed, and their affluence became ever greater. These facts were confirmed in a valuable letter written to the congregation by Mr. McLeod of Morden, regarding the death of the Aeltester Ohm Peter Wiebe, in which he stated: “I am mourning the death of the dear Aeltester, who remained loyal to the end. My deepest sympathy to those who have been left behind. You have no danger to fear from the outside; if there is a threat, it is from within. ‘You should live in safety in your land’” (Leviticus 26:5).³ It went for us just as it had gone for the children of Israel, so that it could also be said of us: “The Lord your God [has brought] you into a good land. . . . When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and your flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 8:7, 10–14).

The promise God made to Israel was also fulfilled among us: “The Lord will open up the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none” (Deuteronomy 28:12). Now and then it seemed peculiar to me when, in our meetings, I heard the dear Aeltesten and old ministers speak about our wise and praiseworthy government, and that we should never forget to pray for the authorities and to give thanks for them according to 1 Timothy 2, that we could live under their care in stillness and peace, and that we could live out our faith in our churches and schools. I know that others my age felt the same way as I did. What were we missing? Everything moved towards the comfort of the flesh and flourishing prosperity. The great poverty that our forefathers experienced in their first years here was totally unknown to us. And even if when the old people got together they occasionally reminisced about how difficult the settlement in America had been, it was still just a story to us. For this poverty-stricken and financially strapped time had long disappeared behind our silos that were filled to the top, and our loaded barns and cellars.

And this is how the time passed. The years ended as one year extended its hand to the next. And so, one often heard the old people say: “After one period comes another.” The prosperity grows too great. One could also hear the common saying “Gut macht Mut. Mut macht Uebermut. Uebermut ist selten gut” (Wealth breeds boldness. Boldness breeds high spirits. High spirits are seldom good). And so in some houses the word of the Lord to Israel was fulfilled: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49).

And so time went on and on, until unexpectedly, through telegram, the news was carried into all the world that a big war had broken out in all of Europe, news which shocked almost the whole world, and it was a war with which England and Canada were connected. And if in the hearts of some parents the fear arose that in the dark future their children, their sons, could be forced into military service, there was no lack of those preaching peace who sought to pacify the people and to put them to sleep and who said: “No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine” (Jeremiah 5:12). And as the highest and very famous prime minister, Sir Robert L. Borden, announced through the presses in Ottawa that the contract with the Mennonites would be kept to the letter, regardless of whether it was forty or two hundred years old, a general sense of peace, quiet, and fleshly security was restored. But as much as our freedom from the federal government was valued and highly prized, we should have realized that it was but the calm before the storm, the sultriness that announced the arrival of a big thunderstorm, and ought to have made us anxious of the things that were coming to the world (Luke 21:26).

1. Mennonites in Russia had begun to sing hymns from numerical musical notation (Ziffern). Before this, hymn melodies were taught only in worship services by the Vorsaenger (song leader). ↩︎
2. Jacob Wiens was Aeltester of the Old Colony Church in Saskatchewan. ↩︎
3. Alexander McLeod joined J. B. McLaren’s law practice in Morden, representing the legal interests of the Reinland Mennonite Association. See Albert Siemens, “A Sympathetic Lawyer: J.B. McLaren and the Hague Reserve,” Preservings, no. 42 (2021): 21–24. ↩︎