My mom-in-law, Maria, was born on August 7, 1917 in Blumenort, Siberia, Russia. Being the oldest, her childhood was short-lived when she had to quit school after just one year. Her help was needed with housework and care for younger siblings. In 1929, aside from the fact that life was difficult, it became unbearable when the government took over farms, closed churches and banned preaching. The following year the family with six children, moved to Moscow and eventually on to Germany and then by ship to Paraguay in 1930.
Their joy of a new homeland soon diminished when they realized what kind of a place they had come to. A hot wilderness with sandflies, mosquitoes, rattlesnakes and, to their surprise, Indians with loin cloths roamed the land. But even here God’s presence and provision was real. Bush was cleared with wild oxen, wells were dug and land was divided. They made bricks to build ovens, houses, schools and church buildings.
The family’s spiritual life became alive during this time also. Mom remembered church services held under the trees and prayer becoming meaningful. Six more children came along. When the first one died at infancy, mom’s father committed his life to God and began to lead the family in daily Bible reading. A year later, Mom also invited Christ into her heart at a church service in 1932.
As a girl and young teen, mom was a “daddy’s girl” in that she was the one to work alongside of him. They cut down palisanto trees and then peeled them and sold the wood for oil-extraction. She helped him plow, seed, hoe and harvest, never realizing that her schooling was realized in real life. She helped milk the cows and feed the horses. One would think there was no time for socializing, but that was done at youth meetings, weddings and Sundays.
Mom was baptized at the age of sixteen and when she was eighteen she went to serve at the Lengua Indian Mission for a short term. She told of how some enemy Indians of the ones they were serving, came to the door and patted their tummies. Fearfully, she led them to the kitchen and gave them some bread and beans. Later on she found out that she was the first white person to have been in contact with this particular tribe.
Mom married Dad on March 6, 1937 in Fernheim, Chaco, Paraguay. Once the newlyweds were able to afford it, they began to make bricks and cut down trees to build their home, their first child lying in a cradle, under a tree. Their second son was born soon after the home was plastered and window frames put in.
The first years of harvest were devoured by ants, until they discovered pesticides. After three more children the family moved to another farm, where they planted cotton, peanuts, wheat and corn. Four more children, including my H were added to the family and a new house was built on the farm. For many years mom entertained boarders. She also baked Chipas and sewed shirts to sell at the Co-op.
The oldest two sons got married and moved to Canada. With Dad’s health failing, it was advised that he also move. In 1967 Mom and Dad, with their four youngest children moved to Canada, settling in Vancouver. After five years they moved to Abbotsford, where Mom worked at the Tabor Home for several years before retiring. She had a revolving door of regular visits from grandchildren, always ready with Borscht, Rollkuchen and Peppermint cookies. When I joined the family, she was expecting her 18th grandchild.
Even after retirement, Mom was not one to sit idle, ever. She found great pleasure in walking to the supermarket at nine in the morning, having her batch of buns cooling on the counter already. For years, she baked Zwieback to sell, collected clothing and sewed patchwork blankets, out of free remnants donated to her, for needy children in Paraguay. Closer to home, she served at the Community Kitchen Center for more than ten years. I think these years, when she had time to give in this way were her best years.
Mom (and Dad) did not miss out on too many celebrations. Birthdays and other special days were kept track of and we’d be sure to get a call, asking when the party was happening. She was never happier than when she was having someone over of was invited. We had the privilege of celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary as a family, before Dad passed away in 1997.
In 2007 Mom moved into the new Assisted Living quarters at the Tabor Court. She was hospitalized in 2009, due to many falls, eventually having to move into the Menno Home. At around midnight, on May 17, we were at her bedside, singing her favorite songs, talking in her ear, praying and reading words of hope from the Bible. It was a peaceful time. She slipped into eternity on the morning of May 18, 2011 at 8:45 AM.
These days her life is signified by a dash between two dates. But her family knows more of the breadth of a life well-lived therin.
