Another Peek Into My Family (From Russia to Paraguay)

I just finished reading The Last Train to Leningrad  by David Funk, who lives in Abbotsford. I found it interesting because he tells of the hardship that our grandparents faced in Russia before they were miraculously given permission to leave. The story he tells is of his own family (who happened to go through Leningrad before moving on to Prussia and to Canada) but they intertwine with other families in such a way that my own family history comes alive. 

When David Funk's grandparents and family left on November 1, 1929 there were thousands still left behind in Moscow, waiting and hoping for emigration papers, many being sent away and never heard from again. My great-grandparents were given permission to leave at the end of the same month as did my H's grandparents along with their children. By that time South America had opened its doors for these refugees and that is where they went after a short stay in Germany. 

This book gave me a glimpse of how this event in history has determined the course of my life, the fact that I'm here, and makes me ever so grateful!

My aunt recently sent me a photo she found while trying to find out more about our past. It was one that I had never seen before and sums up so much of what I have written about earlier.

Study it a bit with me here:

It is 1930 - and the inscription reads that the Neufelds are celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary. I went to check my own records and saw that they were married in 1905 in Russia, so it made sense.
What I am intrigued with is all the rest that this photo tells ...

It's the year that my Oma (my maternal grandmother, age 16, siblings and parents) immigrated as refuges from Russia to Paraguay. They came by ship and went by river boat, train and then by ox-drawn carriage to this barren wilderness where they set up camp with many others in the same boat, literally. The makeshift shelter shows that they have not been there long. Yet, they have made tables, and stools and decorated for this occasion. The table has a white tablecloth and everyone is dressed in their best.

Great grandma and grandpa Neufeld are sitting at the head of the table. My grandmother is standing closest to her father, leaning against the shelter. Some siblings are married, others are younger. Friends have also joined them, the older ones dressed in their dark warm clothing from Russia. I was able to zoom in and see that they have Zwieback on the table! It amazes me that everything they needed to celebrate was taken care of.

One of Oma's brothers became interested in photography while still in Russia and did his own photo processing. Photo credit goes to Jakob Neufeld.

For more background you can read  http://foreverythingaseason.blogspot.ca/2009/11/from-russia-to-paraguay.html 

Good Friday

On my walk this week I was amazed, yet again, as I saw life springing up all around me. The cycle of death and life - a profound mystery.

Less than a week before Jesus was arrested He predicted His death in this way, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds... “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” John 12: 23 -28

No one truly understood what He was talking about until after the week was over. That's when they said, "Didn't He say ...?" 

Today we have the whole scene behind us. We don't need to grieve, as did His loved ones when they laid Him in the grave, because we know that His death led to life. He arose, the Victor over death. The mystery is this, that through His death we can have life. Life abundant and forever.  Hallelujah, What a Savior! 

I was reminded this week of a poem written by James Allan Francis, One Solitary Life. The following verses sum up the idea in the poem in the best way. 

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2: 5-11

Spring is Here

 The first batch of Paska gets mixed,

patted down by Evy,

then covered and left to rest and rise ...

 while we meander down the hill and to the park.

Spring break means a bit of extra time with the big kids too.

 What do you do when there are four kids

and two swings?

You make up a run-the-gauntlet game

while Mimi takes pictures.

So responsible!

We head back with the stroller 

and other wheels.

 At home I'm happy to see that they still like to

do workbooks - while Evy has her quiet time at the computer.

Paska gets baked and sprinkled and enjoyed.

And another day - another memory - is tucked away. 

Happy 10th Birthday, Landon

These days, there's hardly a time goes by when I see you 

and don't marvel at how tall you are getting! 

Energetic, usually a ball in your hand or at your feet,

I think back to the day we got the call and flew to Phoenix

to welcome you, just weeks after Makenna was born here.

Such an exciting time!

Then came the first year of your life when you flew up to Canada

several times, because there were just way too many reasons to.

I remember visiting you when you were two,

growing into the character that you are ...

smiling blue eyes, teasing us
and having us in stitches

as you held your casted and good arm behind you

asking us to guess "which one is holding something?"
Your one-leg-up dance, had me as well!

You moved to Canada
and we enjoyed daily life here, such as washing Papa's car
 raking leaves and weekly play dates.

Your tender heart is something that has warmed my heart.

I loved watching your fascination with cars.
You could examine the workings of wheels
and moving parts for a long time.

You started school and what I noticed
in your discussions with your sister in the back seat,
is how you cared about the feelings of anyone who may be different.

One of my favorite memories is meeting
as a family in Hawaii,
flying in from two sides of the Pacific,
and the shiny eyes ... between you, our twin grands ...



In the kitchen, your gangly legs hang off the counter or not,
as you've learned to flip crepes just right.

And how can I not think of the balls
 that have been kicked or thrown around our yard,
 knowing that you could always count on Papa to join you
while others sat at the table still.

Landon,
these thoughts just skim the surface
of the privilege of sharing life with you -
a grandson whom we are so proud of!
We wish you a very happy birthday
and pray you share the love of God
through the gifts he has given you.

Love,
Papa and Mimi

A Mini Piano Concert Today

On Sunday afternoons, Abe has sometimes been asked to play the piano for the little church service at the home. They hand out hymn books with no music and he accompanies them by ear. At 86 he is quite amazing!
A few Sundays ago, they asked him to play something just for fun after the service and he played a favorite Spanish melody called Cielito Lindo. I will share a segment here, because if you listen carefully, you  can hear my mom humming or singing in the background.
I was not trying to get her voice in there, but when I heard her ever so faintly here, the sound reminded me of how she used to sing in the kitchen as she worked. A beautiful memory!

Photo Sharing

My H sent me some photos he captured recently

and it struck me how different the scenarios ...

sharing with the oldest in the family

to sharing with the youngest.

 I brought mom an old album of hers

in which she had photos of  a holiday spent with

siblings in South America. 

It gave us a little bit of something to do 

and she enjoyed it

even though the concept of pictures confuses her.

Then comes our littlest one ... intrigued with the photos on my phone.

 Again and again he leaned back to see if I was liking them

as much as he was!

I have no idea of his concept of photos,

but at this point it's the interaction,

whether old or young, 

that's special.