Transition and Amish

October 27

It rained throughout the day Friday so we took some time to catch up on details. Barb and Linda attended Linda’s grandson’s preschool Halloween party then visited a quilting demonstration in Chambersburg. Lou and I took the RV in to get serviced. This sounds uneventful but it turned out not to be so. On the way home from retrieving the RV, I was rear ended and considerable damage was done to the bumper and a rear cargo hold door. It is drivable and temporary repairs were done by using the cure-all duct tape. We will get it fixed when we are in the Atlanta area, I hope. The lady admitted fault to the police so I pray that the process of getting it fixed will go smoothly.

October 28

Lou and Linda drove us to Lancaster County for a day of exploring the Amish country. We drove through Bird in Hand, Intercourse, Paradise and Soudersburg. Amish carriages, although frequent, were greatly outnumbered by tourist cars and buses. We stopped at many “homecraft industry” shops. Barb and Linda surveyed the linens, quilts, and other handicrafts while Lou and I watched the tourists mingle with the locals. The farms were small by eastern Washington standards but the buildings, barns, sheds, and houses were huge. The houses and yards were well maintained. Efficiency and productivity appeared to be the norm. Extended families live on the farms and it appears that several homes, built in a tight cluster around the barns, were present on most farms. The main crops were corn, alfalfa, and canola and each farm and village home appeared to have extensive gardens. Dairy is a major industry. Amish farms, as they lay mixed in with other farms, could be identified through a variety of ways. The men, boys and young girls were easily identified doing their chores around the farm and buildings. Amish farms usually had no electric lines leading to the buildings. If there were lines, the lines only went to the barn or workshop. There were carriages and wagons instead of cars and trucks. Motorized balers and choppers were present but the hitches were modified so they could be pulled by horses. Sometimes there were tractors on the farms. The tractors, however, had steel wheels, something which remains unexplained to me. And the major indication of an Amish farm, yards of laundry hung to cables strung high into the air on this fair weather Saturday. Pictures show the Lancaster area, an Amish farm with steel wheeled tractor, an Amish farm yard with carriages and man using gas blower, and a family in transit. The picture I missed was a young Amish man driving his carriage down the road while he was talking on a cell phone. Somehow, I don't understand the evil of modernism vs. the tools that makes one prosper. Did God say if a convenience however unholy, makes one prosper, than it is acceptable? Did He also say that a convenience, if one makes one comfortable, is sin? I missed that in scripture. Remember, you can click on each picture to enlarge it.