soon their discussion had turned to the rite and merits of baptism by immersion.
Chapter Seven
Changes
Something had changed! Anna had expected to come back home to things as they had always been, but the familiar rut now seemed uncomfortable. She didn’t seem to fit anymore.
Her family wanted a full account of all she had been witness to, and Anna was able to accurately and vividly describe the sights and the sounds of her adventures, but she was unable to share the change that had taken place within her. She didn’t understand it herself.
Outwardly, she was the same Anna, back to simple garments, swinging a hoe or lifting laundry from boiling lye water in a steamy kitchen. She was still an obedient daughter, quick to respond when her mother gave an order or her father voiced a request. She was there when her little brother stubbed his toe on a rock, or one of the older ones needed a hand with forking the hay up into the loft. But a part of her, a very small part of her, was somewhere else, reliving another world. A world that she could not dismiss now that she knew it actually existed.
But it wasn’t “her” world. It was the world of Reverend and Mrs. Angus. The world of the Willoughbys. The world of Austin Barker and the other young men who soon would be taking up the challenge of the ministry. Anna felt a sadness steal through her whenever she thought of this new world.
She had not been home for long when she received a letter from Pastor Barker. He had been given his assignment. Excitement spilled out from the words on the page. He would be starting one of those new churches in a small town called Carlhaven. Anna left her room and entered the kitchen to ask her father where Carlhaven was and learned that it was a little town, roughly forty miles away, but forty miles to Anna seemed like a very long way.
“Used to be called Carl’s Haven when my pa was a boy,” went on her father. “Fellow by the name of Carl Pearson settled there. Liked the spot, I guess, to give it such a name. Name got changed some over the years. When the town finally put up its little sign over the railroad station, they forgot the s and just made it one word.”
Anna was glad for the bit of information. She wondered if Pastor Barker knew that piece of local history. She decided that she would pass it on to him in her next letter. She went back to her room to finish reading.
“I am to start right away,” he enthused. “I can hardly wait to see if ‘the preaching of the Gospel’ works as well in practice as it does in theory.”
Forty miles. He would be forty miles away preaching the Gospel. Anna began to pray for him and his new church every night.
The Anguses did retire. A new pastor and his wife were sent to their little community. It was the first pastorate for Reverend and Mrs. John Clouse. They brought with them enthusiasm and plans for growth, and Anna enjoyed her trips with the milk deliveries in spite of the fact that she missed the Anguses.
She had just returned home from one of those deliveries when Mr. Trent came in the door from a trip to town and handed Anna a letter. She had just received a letter from Austin Barker and couldn’t imagine two coming so close together, so she looked at the handwriting and realized at once that it was not from him. But in the corner of the envelope was an unknown address, and there above it was the name, plain as day, “Barker.”
Anna frowned as she tore open the envelope. Was someone trying to play a strange trick on her? She certainly knew Pastor Barker’s handwriting after all the years of correspondence.
But the letter was signed simply, Austin’s mother. Anna’s frown deepened. She did hope nothing had happened to Austin.
It was so nice to meet you after hearing about you for so many months. I must say that I was a bit surprised, as our son had described you as a young girl—but as he said, two years does make a big difference. I must admit that I was rather
Chapter Seven
Changes
Something had changed! Anna had expected to come back home to things as they had always been, but the familiar rut now seemed uncomfortable. She didn’t seem to fit anymore.
Her family wanted a full account of all she had been witness to, and Anna was able to accurately and vividly describe the sights and the sounds of her adventures, but she was unable to share the change that had taken place within her. She didn’t understand it herself.
Outwardly, she was the same Anna, back to simple garments, swinging a hoe or lifting laundry from boiling lye water in a steamy kitchen. She was still an obedient daughter, quick to respond when her mother gave an order or her father voiced a request. She was there when her little brother stubbed his toe on a rock, or one of the older ones needed a hand with forking the hay up into the loft. But a part of her, a very small part of her, was somewhere else, reliving another world. A world that she could not dismiss now that she knew it actually existed.
But it wasn’t “her” world. It was the world of Reverend and Mrs. Angus. The world of the Willoughbys. The world of Austin Barker and the other young men who soon would be taking up the challenge of the ministry. Anna felt a sadness steal through her whenever she thought of this new world.
She had not been home for long when she received a letter from Pastor Barker. He had been given his assignment. Excitement spilled out from the words on the page. He would be starting one of those new churches in a small town called Carlhaven. Anna left her room and entered the kitchen to ask her father where Carlhaven was and learned that it was a little town, roughly forty miles away, but forty miles to Anna seemed like a very long way.
“Used to be called Carl’s Haven when my pa was a boy,” went on her father. “Fellow by the name of Carl Pearson settled there. Liked the spot, I guess, to give it such a name. Name got changed some over the years. When the town finally put up its little sign over the railroad station, they forgot the s and just made it one word.”
Anna was glad for the bit of information. She wondered if Pastor Barker knew that piece of local history. She decided that she would pass it on to him in her next letter. She went back to her room to finish reading.
“I am to start right away,” he enthused. “I can hardly wait to see if ‘the preaching of the Gospel’ works as well in practice as it does in theory.”
Forty miles. He would be forty miles away preaching the Gospel. Anna began to pray for him and his new church every night.
The Anguses did retire. A new pastor and his wife were sent to their little community. It was the first pastorate for Reverend and Mrs. John Clouse. They brought with them enthusiasm and plans for growth, and Anna enjoyed her trips with the milk deliveries in spite of the fact that she missed the Anguses.
She had just returned home from one of those deliveries when Mr. Trent came in the door from a trip to town and handed Anna a letter. She had just received a letter from Austin Barker and couldn’t imagine two coming so close together, so she looked at the handwriting and realized at once that it was not from him. But in the corner of the envelope was an unknown address, and there above it was the name, plain as day, “Barker.”
Anna frowned as she tore open the envelope. Was someone trying to play a strange trick on her? She certainly knew Pastor Barker’s handwriting after all the years of correspondence.
But the letter was signed simply, Austin’s mother. Anna’s frown deepened. She did hope nothing had happened to Austin.
It was so nice to meet you after hearing about you for so many months. I must say that I was a bit surprised, as our son had described you as a young girl—but as he said, two years does make a big difference. I must admit that I was rather
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