Friends, Family and Faith

Good Morning

This last weekend I ended up in Greenville, OH with Grandpa & Grandma Flora. Beautiful drive down there, but a bit deserted at 11pm when one is returning home late Sunday evening. That aside, it was an awesome weekend filled with family, church and friends. Got to make some new friends, catch up with old friends, and take pictures of PEOPLE!! So here are a few snapshots from all the activities...

Beauty

Yes, it really is that green...

No, it's not the tropics...

Yes, it feels like it is...

Order

Power at Rest

Shell

U. Tim & A. Krysta's house in progress

Walls and Imagination

Dreams and Progress

many hands = light work and good times

a VERY determined individual

...he will go far...

Big, Chocolate Brown, Tired Eyes

Church Home (Bradford, OH)

singing friends

family:) and lunch friends

church friends AND family

working friends

bEaUtIfUl friends

"ahem"... my apologies to the rest of you...

this picture was taken for a certain someone:)

AWESOME friends

matchy-matchy friends

young friends

"...the firmament showeth HIS handiwork..."

Teamwork

Sorry that last picture is so far away. That's as close as I dare get without offending or sticking my foot in my mouth (something I practice quite frequently...). The horses here are amazing! Giant draft horses that pull and work together. It's a good lesson to me to learn to work with those around me, even though I may not want to sometimes. You get a lot more accomplished when differences are put aside and the focus is on a common goal.

Work has been just that....work... This week has been filled with endless paperwork and cleaning out of old files. It's a real chore for those of us who are not the world's organizers, but it must be done and done it shall be. Actually, it's been raining all week, so inside with a cup of coffee isn't so bad.

Also finished mapping family trees for all the kids with Brittle Hair Syndrome. They all track back to one man... Jacob Hochstetler... Born in 1704 in Switzerland. Listening to the stories about this man is fascinating.

Jacob had several children, most of which were sons. Not all of the children are recorded, because shortly after he, his wife and children moved to America, their cabin was attacked by Indians. The girls and mother were killed. Jacob and his sons were captured, and separated among different tribes. Jacob lived with the Indians, and gained their trust. He also went around biting his bullets in half in order to save some so that he could escape and survive. He did not plan to, and never did, use the bullets on his captors. They were for food only. Jacob did escape, and ended up back in Pennsylvania, floating down a river on a make-shift raft past Fort Recovery. By the time Jacob floated past the fort, he was so weak all he could do was raise his hand. The last meal he'd had was half of a dead opossum. A soldier spotted him, and took him in to rehabilitate in the fort. Jacob Hochstelter did rebuild a cabin, and again, Indians appeared. He gave them what food he had, and went out to talk to them. One of the braves looked up at him and said in perfect German... "My name is Christian Hochstetler"...

It was one of Jacob's sons.

Despite everything that happened to Jacob, his faith in God never wavered. And his love for all people never wavered, despite past offenses. He eventually found many of his sons by creating alliances with the same tribes that killed his wife and daughters, and went on to live and prosper among them. The Jacob Hochstetler descendants are many, and their faith in God is still alive and well today.