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.