It is 7:25 a.m. Marlea Kauffman steps onto the porch of the brick row house where she lives, ready to head across the street to Tidings of Peace Christian School. This time of day, the streets are emptier than usual–fewer smells, fewer sounds. A white lady in tight snakeskin leggings and hoop earrings passes her […]
Women in the Trenches: Marlea Kauffman, School Teacher Read More »
In the front corner of our front yard, beside the driveway and the road, are two huge rocks. In the opposite corner of the yard, also facing the road, are two more. When I say huge, I mean rocks that are almost as tall as I am (five foot, three and three fourths inches) and
While cleaning my bedroom the other day, I came across a torn-out pink page of notes I’d taken from a sermon once. I would have forgotten the sermon if I hadn’t found the notes, but seeing them, I remembered it–could picture the chiseled face below gray hair, the glasses, the thoughtful manner of speaking, the
I met Awa in the Mall of America, among crowds of jostling people. I was with my siblings, trying to eliminate boredom from one of the endless days of the endless months of midwinter. She was caring for an autistic boy who loved to come to the Mall. She had never seen conservative Mennonites before.
Reading Somalia in Bayfield Read More »
I was twenty-two when I first wanted a baby. There were many young mothers in the church I attended at the time–some of them not much older than I–and I would stand squished between two pews after the service, holding a baby. I would smile down into its round raspberry face, stare at the triangle
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