This was exactly the way it all happened; it seemed that when our need was the greatest, God’s help was there. We received word from God, a message, that we might find our freedom in Mexico. It wasn’t long before we heard that a man from Mexico had come up to our congregation in western Saskatchewan and had cordially invited us to consider moving to Mexico, where we would be granted everything that we requested.

This man’s name was Salez Lopez, and he established himself as a mediator between us and the Mexican government. At first we were all very skeptical of him, because the thought of moving to Mexico didn’t suit our tastes, because we had heard that the Mexican government was very unstable and that thieves and robbers had free rein and that criminals from other lands sought solace there. The news from this man caused a stir among the congregation members. The thought of moving to Mexico was contrary to our nature. Many were scared away immediately by the news, and others later on, so that it seemed that only a small percentage remained who wished to demonstrate their loyalty to God and the congregation. And most of the people determined that they would rather give in than make a new home in that foreign, thief-infested land. They would rather have the delightfulness of sin than share in the adversity of God’s people. They would rather send their children to the district schools, to let them be raised as proper citizens of the world, than to leave and let their children be taught in the ways of our dear Saviour.

It was just as our Saviour said: “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another (even if it is not physical persecution but if the Word of God is forced out of the schools and we can no longer teach about Christ). I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10:23). But in spite of all the unfounded rumours and frightening news that circulated through the towns about Mexico there were a few God-fearing men and women who saw this call from Mexico as a sign from God, as a route whereby we would preserve our religion. Surely through this the words of Jesus would be fulfilled: “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Even I wondered to myself, would the words of the dear Aeltester Ohm Jacob Wiens finally be proven after so many years? For a long time ago he had said to Peter Harms that he believed that we Mennonites would find our freedom in a land of heathens. And as an example he cited our predecessor Menno Simons who, when he was most persecuted, and denied refuge everywhere even though he had a wife and children, finally found solace with a cruel and greatly feared nobleman. He allowed Menno Simons to live on his land in peace in what had formerly been a forest of oak trees. For this protection each family had to pay one silver coin a year, and were then free of all taxes. God, in his great foresight, saw that it was fitting that these poor refugees be protected by such a cruel man, a man who was feared by all who lived in the region.

If our argument was that all who wished to live a godly life had to endure persecution, well, we had to know that the dear Lord would accompany us even down such a path. But even this could not deter us from following the Lord, and instead of becoming disloyal, it made us all the more loyal. After many changes, with much fear, doubt, and hope, the first group of delegates set out for Mexico in the fall of 1920. At first there were only a couple of delegates from the West: Preacher Ohm Johann Wall and Vorsteher Benjamin Goertzen. And though they did not return with a written Privilegium, they were quite certain that after seeing the land, meeting the people, and negotiating with the federal government, we had finally found that for which we had searched for the last three years.

In January of 1921, shortly after New Year’s, the three congregations each selected two delegates and sent them on their way. From our congregation we again sent Uncle Klaas Heide and Uncle Cornelius Rempel. From the Swift congregation, minister Ohm Julius Wiebe and Uncle David Rempel were chosen, and from the West, minister Ohm Johann Loeppky and Vorsteher Benjamin Goertzen. They returned from Mexico sometime in March full of joyful hope, because in their hands they brought back a written Privilegium, signed by President Obregón himself with his left hand. They said it had been very difficult to obtain these privileges, but after much patience, and about ten days of pleading and imploring the president and high government officials, their requests were granted, even though these men could not understand why we were insisting upon such privileges. The turning point came when the president asked what sort of people we were. That we were Mennonites he knew, but he wanted to know what characteristics the Mennonites possessed. The answer finally came that we were just simple farmers and to this the president exclaimed: “It is precisely that sort of people that we desperately need.” As simple agriculturalists we were more than welcome, for the country had its fill of tradespeople.

But where has our side of this agreement gone? It seems that now the spirit of commerce has poisoned almost the entire congregation, the effects of which may be felt all over in the drinking establishments that our brethren introduce into their stores. I must admit that many of the tradespeople in our congregation are more worldly than we ever were in Canada. And those who sell alcohol and tobacco contribute to the triumph of the Babylonian whore that is mentioned in Revelation 17. It is written about Israel: “So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey, and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord. But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. . . . By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuary. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.” “You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more than the stars of the sky, but like the locusts they strip the land and then fly away” (Ezekiel 16:13–15, 28:18; Nahum 3:16). And through the powerful struggle to be respected, and an unjust desire for Mammon, the charity of God is restricted and repressed. And although the loving God has given us the day for work and the night for rest, many, in their desire to increase their wealth more and more, ignore this arrangement.

Therefore the Lord says: “Woe to you who add house to house, and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.” “They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance” (Isaiah 5:8; Micah 2:2). Now let us return to the point when our delegates returned home with the written Privilegium, which initiated a movement among the people. Many were of the opinion that after wandering around in the dark, as a blind person wanders at midday, we were finally able to see the red glow of morning light on the horizon (Deuteronomy 28:29). Many hoped that we had found the hope that would not disappoint us (Romans 5:5) and that the day was breaking when we would once again enjoy the costly freedom in our churches and our schools for which we had searched for so long. Listen to the words of the poet:

He will surely spoil you
With his comfort for a while
And act on his part
As if in his mind
He had negotiated with you.
And if you in fear and troubles should waver,
And if he doesn’t ask about you,
He nevertheless will find
That you have remained faithful,
And he will then deliver you,
If you believe it in the least.
He will absolve your heart
Of its heavy burden,
Which you have hitherto carried,
Without an evil end.

It didn’t take long before the brotherhood was called and the proposed Privilegium was read aloud to all three congregations and the decision to move was discussed. I can still remember it so vividly, as our Aeltester Ohm Johann Friesen asked our two delegates to report on their findings, on the land, the people, and the government, on whether we would be able to find our daily bread there, etc. Uncle Klaas Heide took the floor first and said that because Uncle Cornelius Rempel was older than he, and because he would be able to give a better description, he should speak first. Uncle Rempel, God bless him, stood up before the brotherhood, and in a quiet voice began to share the following: “I will try, as far as I am able, to share with the dear congregation our impression of Mexico. We travelled through many cities and rural areas, visited many different regions, where the Mexicans try to sustain themselves with such a simple lifestyle that it would shock many of us. For to live as we do here in this richly blessed land of Canada, to live in such comfort and excess, would be impossible in Mexico.”

He began to speak about how likeable the people there were. And if a farmer there had a wooden plow, a couple oxen, a few acres of corn and beans, he was content and could feed his family with that. It was also similar with the food. When the woman finished baking the corn cakes they would spread some beans and Pfefferschotensirop¹ on it and they would sit (often without a table and chairs) and eat that, and that would be the whole meal. And both parents and children appeared nice and healthy. As Uncle Rempel was talking, I thought of the poet who said:

God knows a thousand ways
To rescue one from death.
He nourishes, he provides food
In periods of hunger.
He makes cheeks nice and red and rosy,
Often with the slightest meal.

And those who now are trapped there,
He pulls them from the anguish.

He closed his speech with the remark that the freedoms of church and school were a sure thing in Mexico, and if he had to choose between living with his family in much poorer conditions in Mexico or staying in Canada and living in fortune and comfort, but having to sacrifice his children to the world through the district schools, he would far rather live in Mexico. And with this he took his seat. Everyone sat in contemplative silence, considering the things that we had just heard.

At this point the Aeltester asked them what their opinion of the government was. Now Uncle Klaas Heide stood up and said, “It is just as Uncle Rempel has described. As for the government, it seems to be run according to the Russian style.” He then turned and faced the men and added, “Many of the older men will remember how in Russia there were always night watchmen, and how there was a lot of theft. I imagine it would be quite similar in Mexico.” Again a heavy silence hung in the air, for what did we, who had been raised in Canada, know about stealing and break-ins? For even those of us who had come from Russia were either in our parents’ arms at the time or were held by their hands. What could we know about such crime, we who had been raised under the shadow of our own vines and fig trees (Micah 4:4)? One could rightly say of us:

We who were born in the foreign land
Coddled and nourished,
A land came to our ears in spirit
A land of great worth;
Therefore we set out upon a journey
To the place, which we chose,
For the rest of our lives.

This last comment was only experienced by many in the later years. And regardless of whether the comments of these two men were favourable or not, it was apparent that both of them had determined to leave Canada and to make a new home in this foreign land. This example influenced the congregation more than the words that the men spoke. Alas, a piece of land on which to start their new lives was still missing. This, however, did not concern the leaders or the delegates, for they knew that in Mexico land was plentiful. But we knew that it would be impossible for us all to live in one single colony. And so many trips were made back and forth in preparation of the move southward, and as the delegates later told us, there is no way everything could have worked together without prayer and supplication. For the needs of the entire congregation needed to be taken into concern, particularly those of the poor and landless. Finally land was found and purchased for us and the Swift Current congregation in the state of Chihuahua, where the colonies have lived in peace and quiet – at least by all appearances – to this day, thank the Lord. But though they may appear to be peaceful and quiet on the outside, on the inside the enemy has wrought much unrest, misery, and need, and has caused confusion, and has launched some dangerous bombs and grenades into the human soul. And then we recognize that we are in this deep valley, surrounded by steep sides and high mountains, and we think about God’s precious promise with an inner joy and sense of peace, which he has given to his church here on earth, and we remember what is written in the Scriptures: “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forevermore. The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. But to those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel” (Psalm 125).

But again we began to see how the enemy attacked us, through the sinful desires which warred against our souls (1 Peter 2:11), and that the high mountains which surrounded us did not protect us. The enemy was paying close attention and knew exactly when to attack. As we enjoyed the outward peace and quiet we grew indifferent and sleepy and forgot to watch and pray. It was just as the poet had written:

He who seems, he lets keep standing,
Watch that he doesn’t fall;
The tempter creeps after us everywhere,
Wherever we go.
Peter, if he missed it,
With the Lord in death to go,
And forgot to keep watch,
Would soon stand in tears.
The enemy stands armed,
He doesn’t ever slumber;
So why would we then sleep?
That wasn’t well done!
You keeper of your children,
You who do not sleep and slumber not,
Make us into conquerors,
To avoid every sin.

I am sad to admit, the lusts of the flesh began to reign. Not only were we becoming like the world through our arrogance and luxury, but there were also obvious sins and vices among us. Even those sins for which 24,000 Israelites died on one day (as we read in Numbers 25:9) began to manifest themselves among us, and we began to wonder if the threat of the Lord would be fulfilled among us: “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways. . . . And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. . . . Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourself with them. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 18:24, 28, 30).²

For the congregation in Saskatchewan (the Hague-Osler settlement) a parcel of land in the state of Durango was selected and purchased, and they were granted the same freedoms that we received in Chihuahua. For as the president signed the Privilegium, he told the delegates that they were free to search out land which they felt best suited our needs, for the Privilegium was valid in all of Mexico. And thus we did not hesitate long before making decisions. But as usual, after a period of clear and sunny skies, a thunderstorm was bound to strike. In autumn of that same year, Uncle and delegate Cornelius Rempel took ill, and after two weeks of suffering, his dreams of emigrating were over. And how many times he had counselled us to hurry with the emigration, and even on one particular Sunday, when we were visiting at his home, he said to me: “Hurry, hurry, and flee for your lives. Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain” (Genesis 19:17).

No one would have thought that he would have left Canada under such circumstances and that he would have moved on to that blessed land, about which the poet writes:

I often think with expectation
About what awaits our people there.
There in the lovely land of Canaan
Where everything is beautifully natured.

It was a very sad funeral. As the coffin was being carried out, the dear friend Salez Lopez pushed his way through the crowd, stopped at the coffin, and spoke the following words in English: “The dear congregation has lost a lot through the death of this good friend. I have seen his great seriousness and his untiring enthusiasm for the congregation. I rode with him on the back of a donkey over the high mountains in Mexico. One time when he was sick and the other travellers rode on ahead, I alone stayed back with him. I myself placed a rock under his head as he tried to rest in spite of his pain. It is a real shame that he had to die.” And with this the coffin was covered with the tears shed by members of the congregation, and quietly carried to the cemetery.

And we thought of the word, which was spoken by the prophet: “The righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death” (Isaiah 57:1–2).

Preparations for the move were made more quickly. But the congregation was forced to make an important decision. Because the revolt in the congregation was so big, and because those who had fallen away were wreaking havoc, and if they had had their way, would have squelched all thoughts of moving away, the Aeltester Ohm Johann Friesen had to act. He issued an announcement, stating that whoever wished to maintain his membership, which had been entered into via holy baptism, had to identify himself to the Aeltester and move with the church to Mexico. Whoever felt that too much was required and wished to go over to another church, he would no longer be considered a member of the church.

But how many of those, who signed that book, have since left Mexico and returned to Canada, and are now sitting in the lap of the world, because like Demas, they loved the world and could not leave it? (2 Timothy 4:10). And they accept whatever the world demands of them, even though they entered into the communion of one faith, one baptism, and one Lord (Ephesians 4:5) with us. And they send their children to the public schools, and come here as skilled automobile drivers to visit us. And they are allowed to use anything that would here be punishable, as long as they do not misuse it. As it is written in 2 Peter, so it is with them: “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning” (2 Peter 2:20). But what does the Lord say to the disobedient Israelites? “Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols” (Ezekiel 20:39).

1. This could be hot pepper syrup or salsa. ↩︎
2. The sins to which these passages refer are sexual sins. ↩︎