“Oh I can’t wait to see it,” replied Sarah sarcastically. When they crested the next hill, her wish was granted.
The sun was setting on the quaint town of only a few thousand. It was mostly farmland with barns scattered here and there and trees and rivers and a few lakes. The houses that she could see looked very primitive and devoid of any luxuries that she was accustomed to. She fingered the earbuds in her pocket, the last vestige of her previous life. But the batteries would run out soon, and that would be the end. She was determined to only use them for special occasions.
“Well here we are,” said father, as they pulled up to one of the houses. “This is our new home. It is actually one of the nicer ones here, and the family we are staying with are very good friends with the reverend. And in a town like this, the reverend is king.”
Sarah got out of the buggy and was pleased to see that the house was not falling apart. It actually looked to be very well maintained, if not plain. But plain, she would find, is the way of life for these people.
“Welcome, you must be Jacob and Sarah,” said a middle aged man. “My name is Isaiah, you are our guests. Come, we have a meal prepared for you.”
Jacob and Sarah went inside. The house could not have been less adorned, but at the same time it had a certain charm to it. Sarah couldn’t quite put her finger on on what it was.
“I have prepared my favorite dish,” said Isaiah’s wife. “It is roast duck with a hint of cherry flavoring.”
“I thought you people didn’t believe in flavoring anything,” said Sarah.
There was brief silence at the awkwardness and rudeness of the question. Her father gave her a scowl.
“Actually, we believe that life should be full of flavor. We just have different tastes than a lot of people,” she said with grace and kindness. Sarah was caught off guard that she didn’t take more offense.
“I should have introduced my wife earlier,” said Isaiah. “This is Rebekah. She is the most industrious wife a man could ever have and for that I feel very blessed.” Isaiah looked around and then yelled out the window. “Ezekiel you can finish up with your chores later, we have guests over...Ezekiel is my son,” he explained.
Ezekiel walked in just moments later. He looked to be in his late teens. Sarah thought that he was a very good looking young man. Too bad he is Amish, she thought to herself. Everyone sat at the table and Isaiah led them in prayer.
“Great father in heaven, we thank you for the gifts that you have bestowed upon us. It is not by our hands that we are so blessed, but by Yours Father. We thank you for our guests, and that they had safe travels here this evening. We pray Father that they will feel comfortable here and that we will be able to serve them to the best of our abilities. In your name, we pray.” Everyone said ‘Amen’ except for Sarah. She wasn’t going to have anything to do with this religion stuff. Not after what had happened to her mother. If there was a God that actually cared for her, why would he have let so many bad things happen to her?
“This is really good,” said her father.
“We are really blessed,” replied Rebekah, unwilling to take credit for it. Sarah had to agree, though. The meal was incredible. The duck was juicy and the cherry flavoring added to it in a way that she had never imagined food tasting before. The potatoes were also delicious. Well they eat all organic, right. It shouldn’t be a surprise their food tastes good.
After they finished supper, Isaiah showed Sarah and her father to their room. It was a single room that they would have to share. At least there were two beds. Wow we are definitely going to be spending a lot of time together.
“Thank you so much for taking us,” her father said to Jacob.
“It is our pleasure. What would life be without guests. Furthermore, your wife was quite a wonderful lady and we are honored to help her out any way that we can. She is with the Lord now, and I know this is what she would want,” replied Isaiah. He then left to go help with cleaning up the kitchen, leaving Sarah and her dad by themselves.
“Well this place isn’t so bad,” said Sarah’s father. He wanted to make Sarah feel better. He could tell that she was not enjoying herself so far.
“Dad, this place couldn’t be any worse. Well except for the food was pretty good.” She got into her bed. It was hard and stiff and not anything like she grew to expect in a bed. How could anyone get a good night’s sleep in one of these things. It was also cold, but the covers were surprisingly warm.
“Well what about Ezekiel. Did you think that he was cute,” asked her father. He knew that she would be embarrassed by the question.