Sarah had no idea what he could be talking about. They began walking again.
“Just over here,” said Ezekiel. “We just need to pick these berries that you see. It is really as simple as that. With the two of us it will go much faster.”
At first they picked berries without talking. Sarah found the silence to be refreshing at first but then thought it was awkward. Who is so comfortable alone in silence?
She looked around to find Ezekiel. He was behind one of the bushes. he was humming to himself. She recognized the tune as one that her mother had sang to her when she was young. It was a hymn, it was “Amazing Grace.” He looked so content to be by himself and lost in his own thoughts. And his thoughts didn’t seem to torture him or consume him, but rather to uplift him. But what does he know. He has never experienced real tragedy in his life.
She was beginning to tire of picking the berries. Ezekiel came over.
“Are you ready for a short lunch break?” He asked
“I didn’t know that you people take breaks. I thought that you gained some kind of power from working so hard,” she said sarcastically.
Ezekiel laughed, “we take plenty of breaks. It is good for the body to rest after doing work. It is God’s way. You do know that he rested on the 7th day right?”
Sarah nodded, “but what does that have to do with anything?”
“He set a precedent,” explained Ezekiel. “He was telling us that rest is ok. And what’s more he was telling us that the 7th day is sacred. That is why one day a week we rest and just enjoy fellowship and our time worshipping the Lord. But that is enough of a Bible lesson. Eat up, take a breather.”
Sarah could not believe what she had gotten herself into. Ezekiel was a good enough looking guy, but he was a total square. Where is the fun in his lifestyle. he worked, and then he rested, and it was all scheduled out. There was no spontaneity. Oh well. Sarah did enjoy the lunch though, as she expected. It was corn bread with jam. She also ate some of the berries that they had picked. They were extremely good.
After lunch they picked berries for a few more hours. They didn’t do much talking, because Ezekiel seemed focused on what he was doing and content to hum in his head some crazy worship tune. “Alright, I think that is enough for today, let’s walk back and check on the cows,” he said.
Finally, thought Sarah. They started back, but to what? More work. Sarah was already dead tired and couldn’t imagine milking cows for hours. Don’t farmers have machines to do that? She then thought that the real reason for every invention was to increase laziness. She laughed to herself. Maybe it wasn’t true, but the thought was funny.
“Do you know how to milk a cow?” Asked Ezekiel.
Sarah gave him a look that she thought couldn’t be misinterpreted in any culture. “No Ezekiel, I don’t know how to milk a cow. I know how to buy milk at the supermarket though.”
Ezekiel smiled, taking no offense. “Okay, it is really simple…” He showed her the proper technique and they ended up finishing in no time at all.
“Okay that was quick, you are a really big help,” he said. “having an extra worker really makes a big difference. The next thing we are going to do is feed the chickens.”
“And I’m sure you have free range chickens,” said Sarah.
“Actually we do. I saw your chicken eggs that you eat on my rumspringa and even tasted some of them. Trust me, the ones we have here are much better. I could tell that you enjoyed them during breakfast this morning.”
“You know, for once I can’t disagree with you,” said Sarah. “Okay, show me how to feed these chickens.”
Ezekiel showed here how to spread the feed on the ground and how much to use. “It is really not much harder than that.”
“Okay now what,” asked Sarah.
“Look at you Sarah, anxious to get started on the next chore. I knew that you would come along.” Ezekiel was Amish but he still had a sense of humor. “Actually, that is it for right now. We finished early and were able to accomplish more than we needed. We can just go back now and see if mama needs any help inside the kitchen.”
“Why do you call her ‘mama,’” asked Sarah.
“Well we have a few different ways of saying things here. For the most part we talk the way that you do, and especially when you are around. We don’t want to confuse you. But, for example, we call God, Gott, sometimes. You will get used to it Sarah.” Everything he said was with a smile.
The walk back to the house was not too far, but Sarah’s feet were beginning to hurt. She didn’t understand how they could do so much every single day without breaking down. Where were the lazy Saturday morning cartoons, or the sleeping in on a snow day or just blowing off a school assignment because you can. Sarah thought that Ezekiel must take pride in everything that he does. What a loser, she thought to herself. But that was a term for someone back home that wasn’t popular. Ezekiel was handsome and well liked and industrious and nice. Sarah was beginning to realize that the world she was living in was really completely different than anything she had ever experienced before.