I just had to write about her. I met the cutest Amish girl this week. I sat beside her in a lobby and she was sitting with her dad, I'm guessing she was around 7. I asked her about her summer and what she's been doing. She answered my question with this information....."we are getting ready to have church". She seemed excited about it.
If you have never been around the Amish people and how they live, you would not have understood what she meant.
In the Amish culture, they don't have a church house but instead take turns "having church" in their homes, or in their sheds or barns. The neighbors and friends get together to help the host family prepare for this by cleaning the house from top to bottom and they actually clear the spaces in order to set up backless benches for everyone to sit on. The church services are not preached in English; but rather they preach in a mixture of Pennsylvania Dutch or High German. The services normally last a long time and about half way through the sermon a few women bring around a container with cookies for the children to eat. Those are awesome cookies!! I think there's even a recipe called..."Amish Church Cookies".
They don't have any musical instruments in the service but sing German songs. If you wanna hear "Gott is de libe" sung in German -I can give you my sister Leah's cell number.
Last but not least, is the lunch that they serve before you go home. It's not a big meal but they often have homemade bread, Amish Peanut Butter, veggies, cheese, etc.....A lot of the menu probably depends on which Amish community you live in.
So, if you have ever been told that the Amish life is simple. Don't believe them. They work very hard. I see nothing simple in having to go catch a horse (to hitch up) to a buggy in order to go anywhere. I see nothing simple in sewing clothes for the whole family. I see nothing simple in the truck patch size gardens. I see nothing simple about not having electricity or air conditioning.
The things that are simpler for the cute little Amish girl. She knows how to have fun without being entertained by a tv, radio, xbox, ipod, ipad, gameboy, internet , etc.... and I love how excited she was about "getting to have church".
I wonder..........if I would go to church (at her house) this coming Sunday.....would they bring me cookies???
How funny... I just had a similar conversation with one of the Amish families I work with. The room where I normally meet with them was filled with those backless pews so I asked about them and they told me exactly what you did about church. The mother told me how long they have been preparing to host church (a really long time!). Then she asked me about my church setting and was especially curious about how we do kids' church. It was really neat to talk with her about this, and yes just like the girl you talked to, these girls were super excited to host and even enjoyed doing the chores required to prepare. My 8 year old detests chores- maybe I should send her to their house for awhile? Anyway, it was a cool culture clash.
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