Super Guests/Friends Staying At Hasseman House

One of the biggest blessings of being Innkeepers is the wonderful people we meet coming into our home on a daily basis. Many come as guests but leave as friends! I wanted to highlight some of the super guests/friends we've had in the past weeks.

We were really glad to have Tina Miley and here family stay with us for four days about 3 weeks ago. They were all the way from Louisiana and biked the whole way. It was a wonderful time of Christian fellowship and left us with a lot of joy about innkeeping :)

Then we had Sam & Jill stay with us. They are international missionaries who have been back in the States for the past year. We spent hours of encouraging and challenging conversation that left us uplifted in the Lord.

Daniel & Sara Adkins had stayed with us earlier this year and then returned with a whole house of family. Daniel and his two brothers, and parents stayed with us a night. It was a great time for Joy and Faith as they had a lot of fun playing with two of the Adkin girls who are about the same age.

Kevin & Alison Lee along with their daughter Lydia stayed with us earlier this year. Lydia had seen our porch kittie, Sweetie, in the window and urged her Mom & Dad to stay:) The girls became fast friends and they returned for two days this past week. We really have enjoyed building a friendship with them. They are also a fellow homeschooling family so we have a lot in common.

New Friends and a New Dulcimer

Wow! This week was such a blessing. We had Rick and Rita stay with us, a couple celebrating their 50th year anniversary!! God bless them for keeping the course that so many aren't in today's society!! They were our only guests before 5 nights fully booked starting today when they left. So we know God wanted us to get to know them. Of course they know the Lord Jesus as Savior and He is their Hope. The girls really enjoyed playing games with Rita a few of the nights. I really enjoyed playing Rick's handmade dulcimer that he brought with him. I was blown away when one morning he told me that he and Rita felt that God wanted them to give me the dulcimer. What a gift! It is beautifully made of solid black walnut and maple for a sound board and has hummingbirds built into the sound-hole. If you look at a previous blog I had mentioned that humming birds our one of our favorite birds. The sound is amazing on this dulcimer and I am really enjoying playing it, especially some hymns like I'll Fly Away, and Behold What Manner of Love. Be Thou My Vision also sounds especially nice with the D droning while I strum. Anyway, one more unexpected blessing that God bestows--But, the Christian fellowship was the best blessing of all :)

Visiting Schoenbrunn

A few weeks ago we started up our homeschooling year for Joy & Faith. One of the assignments is to visit an historic settlement in Ohio. We decided to visit Schoenbrunn Village. In a previous blog entry I shared about our seeing the outdoor play Trumpet in The Land which told the story of David Zeisburger at Gnadenhutten. Schoenbrunn was the other settlement he worked and lived at.

"First settled in 1772 by Moravian Missionary, David Zeisberger, Schoenbrunn (or "Beautiful Spring" in the native Delaware language) has become the window into our states past. Schoenbrunn Village grew to include over sixty dwellings and 300 Delaware Native Americans and Moravian missionaries. These residents drew up Ohio's first civil code and built its first Christian church and schoolhouse."

It was a really neat trip. The village has been reconstructed in detail based on historic findings. The buildings and layout of the village was very peaceful and conveyed a sense of what it would have been like to live there. The above picture is of the girls at the schoolhouse. They had fun with a scavenger hunt of places and things found throughout the village tour. Definitely worth visiting when you are in the area or staying with us at the Hasseman House. http://amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php.

I had shared in our first blog about the garden that Joy & Faith planted. We've had an abundant harvest of tomatoes from the four plants we put in - hundreds of them :) We bought a water bath canner and were able to can 12 quarts of tomatoes for the winter which was a new experience for us. Truly God provides us with what we need in all things.

Summer is fast fading away and Fall is almost here. We are thankful for the many blessings that the Lord bestows upon us and look forward to what He has in store for us as we serve Him together as a family here at the B&B.

Camping in Mohican

We were blessed this past week to have a getaway to Mohican (which is about a 45 minute drive for us and is in West Holmes County) for a 4 night camping trip. This was a great opportunity to spend some time together as a family and enjoy God's creation. We went to Camp Toodik, which is one of our favorite Camp Grounds. It has very clean bathrooms and, best of all, an outdoor heated pool that I guess they must keep about 85 degrees. We spent most of our time at the pool just enjoying the great weather and splashing around :). Camping is one of our favorite things to do together as a family.

Mennonite Relief Sale in Kidron

We just went to the Mennonite Relief Sale in Kidron that is a yearly event in the area. All the funds go to relief efforts throughout the world. Our first stop was at the used book sale. It is a great place to find books for the girls and is by a donation basis. The highlight for me was the Laotian egg rolls. They are wonderful. Last year I liked them so much that I've been really looking forward to them. I even brought my own soy sauce :) The fresh lemonade is also a real treat. Also the Gerbers chicken is very popular and the homemade ice cream. Joy & Faith really enjoy the train ride. Pulled by a tractor train, about 15 little trolleys made from oil barrels go zooming in and around all the people at the sale. It was hard to pull them away after their ride. The Mennonite Relief Sale is definitely something worth going to if you are in the area the first Friday and Saturday of August.

Thankful For My Country Bike

For the past week and a half our car has been in the shop as we mentioned our breakdown and God's provision in our last post. I am so thankful for my bike, as it has been my way of transportation and hauling cargo. The Amish in our area ride bikes alot. There are many Amish owned bike shops and there is one right over the hill from the Hasseman House. You'll notice on the picture my bright orange milk cart attached on the back. I bought this from my Amish neighbor's bike shop. This is what they do to carry groceries. etc. It works really well. Just the other day I carried 4 gallons of milk plus books and produce home from Winesburg.

I also worked out a pannier set from some luggage duffel bags that works really well and I can carry alot of laundry and supplies for the Bed and Breakfast. Still, I will be glad to get the car back. But it's good to know I can get by with my bike if I need to. Plus it's good exercise :)

Piano Music at Amish Door Restaurant

I like to let our guests know that I play piano twice a month at the Amish Door Restaurant http://www.amishdoor.com/. I play the 2nd and 4th Saturday every month from about 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Amish Door has an 8 0z. sirloin special on the 2nd Saturday and a 10 oz. prime rib special on the 4th Saturday. So you are sure to get good food while I trust you listen to good music :) I really enjoy doing this and play a lot of my own arrangements. I have arranged many of the older Christian hymns into my own style. I also play classical, some jazz (Charlie Brown!), waltzes, show tunes, and many other well known songs. The piano is positioned in the front of the restaurant so ask for a seat that is close enough to hear.

I am always getting requests for a CD, so this is a project that I plan to undertake in the near future. Also requested, I like to play for our guests here at the Hasseman House Bed and Breakfast http://amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php.

I wanted to share a testimony of God's faithfulness this past week. On Tuesday all four of us were heading to a Dr. appointment, when in Kidron the car broke down. We were just able to get into the Lehman's Hardware parking lot. Since AAA only takes one person, we prayed that God would provide a way to get the girls home. Amazingly, when I was on the phone at Lehman's calling AAA, our only guests staying with us walk up to us and ask us what is going on. We told them about the car situation and it turns out they were on there way to Sugarcreek which means that our home at the B&B is on the way. What are the odds? They could have been anywhere in Amish Country. They could even have been at Lehman's - but it is such a big store they could have missed us. But they come right to where we are. God is good!!! Our guests were also encouraged to see God moving them in answer to our prayer and need. Be encouraged that when bad things happen, God is still working.

Trumpet in the Land

A few weeks ago we were blessed to be able to go to the Schoenbrunn Outdoor Amphitheatre in New Philadelphia, Ohio and see the famous play Trumpet in the Land.

One of the neat things about being Innkeepers is that you occasionally get to go to something for free if you are willing to tell others about your experience. Going to this play was one of those times. We are very glad we went and it would have been worth it to pay even if we didn't get a free viewing.

It is based on the true story that happened concerning the massacre at Gnadenhutten. At Gnadenhutten there was a Christian mission. David Ziesberger, the leader of the group, is faced with the great tensions between the Indians, Americans & Britains during the Revolutionary War. Being outside is really a unique experience while watching the play. It was very well done and there was a lot of realistic effects with fire and the shooting of guns.

It really helped us to grasp the situation and drew us in to the plot. The call to live out the commands of Jesus to love and pray for enemies is shown to be very challenging in times of war, but it really comes through authentically. We would definitely recommend it to our guests staying with us and we hope to go back for future plays - possibly the Fiddler on the Roof- sometime.

Flowers Blooming at the Hasseman House

Here at the Hasseman House Bed and breakfast

http://amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php we are blessed with some beautiful flowers that are planted and tended every year by our Amish "Flower Ladies" They do a great job. I uploaded a picture of our hydrangeas and they are really pretty this year.

We have flowers all around the house and they stay watered by our 12 zone sprinkler system.

Also right now the country side is full of wild flowers and is fun to walk in :)

Anniversaries Abound at the Hasseman House

As innkeepers we have a lot of times when we see people come with amazing things in common.

Last week was one such experience. We had three couples stay with us last Saturday night. They did not know each other and all were celebrating their anniversaries. What's more, the years were 33, 34, and 35. And they were all followers of Christ. Amazing. Coincidence? What are the odds? I think when things happen like this it is a small way that God reminds us that He is in control and that nothing really happens by chance. It is also an encouragement to Jenny and I who just celebrated our 13th anniversary last month. We are young innkeepers :) I'm 32 and she's 34. I joked with our guests that if you reversed our numbers to 31 it would have been in the ballpark to theirs.

Tonight we have a couple coming who are celebrating their 38th anniversary. In an age when marriages are falling apart in record numbers, it is great to be able to host people who have stayed the course for so long.

So Thankful For our local Amish Fruit Market

We are so thankful for our local Amish Fruit Market, especially because of the groundhogs. I shared about my girls planting their first garden a few weeks back. Things are, or should I say, were growing very well. About a week ago I looked out the window and saw a nice row of beans sprouting up. The little leaves were really big for only a week. A few hours later I look out the window and they're gone. So when I went to inspect, they are all nipped off, including the parsley and cilantro. Thankfully, the tomatoes and basil were spared. I realized we either have a rabbit or groundhog eating our produce.

Later, I saw the culprit. A little baby groundhog. Oh well, at least we'll have tomatoes and basil to make pizza sauce.

Thankfully, only a few miles West of us on Route 62 is our favorite fruit market, Alpine Produce. Amish run and owned, they open in June and close in October. All Summer long they have great local grown produce and fruit. We've been eating strawberry shortcake almost every day for the past week! Mmm good! Also, when in season we can be sure to get great beans from them that the groundhogs didn't get. We send our guests there a lot as well to pick up some great local produce to take home with them.

Birdwatching in Amish Country. The Hummers are Here!

A few months ago we had some guests who were in to bird watching. She had a digital device that gives you samples of bird calls and pictures. We were fascinated by this. We use the local library a lot and I was able to order a really neat book, The Backyard Birdsong Guide, for Eastern and Central America.

Wow! Is it neat. It has about 75 local species of birds and a digital sample of their calls.

At the Hasseman House B&B we have a lot of birds. I'm learning to identify the sounds of Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds, Killdeer, and others. Of all the birds, though, the Hummingbird is our favorite. We recently put out a feeder and are amazed how much activity we are getting from Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. They are the main type in our area, but are beautiful to behold. We plane on putting out some more feeders to attract even more.

About a month ago a past guest stopped in who lives at nearby Sugarcreek. She told us how last Fall a rare Hummingbird that had never been sited came to her feeder. It is called the Allen Hummingbird. When word got around she had over 600 people/ornithologists come to document this finding. The bird is usually found in Mexico but must have gotten way off course :)

Anyway, if you are a bird watcher, Amish Country Ohio has plenty of birds for you to see.

We are on about 300 acres of farmland and woods and also there is a Wilderness Center less than a mile from us that has a lot of birding opportunities. Truly God's creative genius is displayed in these amazing birds!

A Little About the Innkeepers

This is my first blog for the Hasseman House Bed and Breakfast we have run the past 6 1/2 years, which is a 1900 historical B&B located in the largest Amish Country settlement in the world (Holmes County, Ohio. You can check out our website at: amishdoor.com/content/hassemanhouse.php

My name is Jason Fawks, the Blogger. :) My wife is Jenny. We have been married 13 years and have two girls, Joy & Faith. Joy is 9 this coming week and Faith is 7. They are such a blessing from the Lord! We are followers of Jesus Christ and see what we do as innkeepers as not just a job, but a ministry of hospitality (Hebrews 13:2).

I have a lot of interests and hobbies. I am a pianist and I play regularly at the Amish Door Restaurant ( http://www.amishdoor.com/ ) which we are owned by (every 2nd and 4th Saturday in the after noon 4:00 - 7:30 pm). I enjoy anything outdoors like biking hiking fishing, archery, camping, etc. I also enjoy RC planes and have been having fun flying my new Super Cub around the big back yard.

Jenny is an avid reader and enjoys home life with the girls and me! She is a gifted teacher for the girls and we enjoy many of the same interests. She has a talent for ballet and for the past two years has taught a small home school group for local girls.

We feel truly blessed to be innkeepers. This blog will not just be an attempt to market the B&B, although I do hope it creates exposure for us. My focus will be to share stories from the life of an Innkeeper in Amish Country and also just share about our lives. God will always be a part of our story, because He is the Author of our story, but we're just people like everyone and want to share some of our journey with others, hoping it might be a blessing.

Yesterday my girls planted their first garden. It's not a huge plot. Maybe 10 by 4, but it's theirs. We planted it on the back patio that is down from the house and faces the alfalfa fields. The Amish "flower ladies" have been hard at work putting in gorgeous flowers around the house. I mentioned we would like this spot for the girls to work at. We home school, so this is a great opportunity for them to learn.

They did great. They planted four tomato plants, some herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, catnip) and two rows of beans. An added bonus is that the garden is right next to a sprinkler head, so there you have it. More to come and thanks for reading...................:L)