On Friday, we were blessed to tour the Mennonite museum in Steinbach, Manitoba. The city of Steinbach, founded by Mennonites, is packed full of Christian history.

Our conference coordinator was very kind to take us to the museum. We enjoyed the indoor area of the museum that informed us of the Mennonites’ lineage and culture.

My favorite part of the museum was the outdoor village. Replica houses, churches, printers, blacksmiths, barns, and a restaurant lined the streets. It was fascinating learning about their lifestyle. I couldn’t imagine the struggles they endured as they immigrated to Canada often during the autumn resulting in many deaths during the winter.

We were amazed at the small kitchens, knowing how much work those women would have done without electricity! Houses which attached to the barn, were called housebarns, which nicely described the functionality of the two buildings.

Thankfully the rain mostly held off till we were finished!

Jesus’ Girl,
Mary

A survival chest with basic items.

This quilt depicts a Mennonite settlement. It looks really pretty, but wait until you see the pictures below.

See how the squares look like fields, some with crops?

Now see the houses!

An old printer!

The blacksmith’s shop

Can you imagine working in your fields with this tractor?

A housebarn, looking down the hallway into the barn area.

Here’s where that hallway leads you to.

And finally, you end up here!

A summer kitchen. Don’t you love the floor?

The pioneers used Roman numerals to determine the correct location for the logs. In fact, because of that system they were able to transport this original house to that location. Here the family’s finding those numbers.

A replica of a house partially underground.

“We will not hide them from their children,
shewing to the generation to come
the praises of the LORD, and his strength,
and his wonderful works that he hath done.”
Psalms 78:4

We arrived safely in Ft. Wayne last night. It was a pretty drive from Canada. We have a few days to work on projects (including two books!) before the Expo. The weather was gorgeous, and we are grateful for all the Lord allowed us to accomplish.

Rejoicing in Jesus,
Sarah

Spot Joseph, John, Anna, Jesse, and Mary. Hint: if you look closely, check the picnic bench to the left of the bus.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready always to give an answer to every
man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is
in you with meekness and fear.”
1 Peter 3:15

We pulled into the church’s parking lot Thursday night, just before dark. The border crossing went smoothly. I had pre-filled import paperwork ahead of time, and all that was left was one form, which had to be done on their computer. We were grateful for how quickly everything moved along!

Manitoba definitely has more daylight hours this time of year than we experience in Kansas. Friday morning, we awoke feeling refreshed after a solid night’s sleep.

Here  are some aspects of being in Canada that I especially enjoyed this weekend.

• When we were out walking and passed a sweet older couple, the man remarked, “It’s a lovely day.”
• The Canadian accents, along with some who had German and Russian accents. Canadians also have great voice inflection.
• Signs in French.
• Quaint town names such as St. Jean Baptiste.
• Hometown restaurants, bakeries, speciality shops, etc.
• Friendliness, generosity, and Canadian hospitality.

God is very gracious to us, and it was again exciting to see Him work. Set up went smoothly. I don’t know how the time went so quickly on Friday, but before we knew it, it was 5 pm. This business session was our first time giving it in Canada, and it went fine. There were several business owners, but most were just interested in entrepreneurship and home businesses. After that, we moved into the sanctuary for the concert and Be Inspired! The younger five added an acapella Holy, Holy, Holy to their repertoire. I know I’m biased, being their sister, but I thought it was beautiful. They invest much time in practicing and refining their music, and they bless many families through it. We enjoyed meeting blog readers and making many new friends.

On Saturday morning, it was cold and windy. Since the end of February, we’ve been in winter, spring, summer, autumn, spring, winter, spring, and winter (all in that order). The bus’ heaters kept it nice and cozy, though.

The Saturday sessions ran smoothly. God has such clear purposes in every location He brings us to, and we know He will use the words spoken for His work. This weekend, the number of young people outnumbered the parents, which was unusual. In addition, they were very attentive, which is a delight.

We had many opportunities to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ. May the Lord bring fruit for His glory.

We also heard many incredible stories: a young lady who was in a severe accident five years’ ago, but her life was spared, and she is a living testimony to Him; families that have immigrated to Canada and overcome hardship, including learning another language; and families that began life in Manitoba with virtually nothing.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer. God works above and beyond what we could imagine or think.

Delighting in Jesus,
Sarah

Practicing Friday afternoon.

Taking the coat-rack route to the next session. That’s one thing about being up north: they have tons of coat racks, another sign of the cold winters.

Fellowship.

Dad’s room was full.

There were many babies and little children at the conference.

I walked out of the sanctuary and grabbed this picture.

Jesse saying good-bye to someone.

“Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.”
Psalms 40:5