SEVENTY HIGH LIGHTS OF MY LIFE

                                      (From Icons of My Life, A Celebration of 70 Years)

1. When Grandpa Bender gave me a set of blocks on my second Christmas, I enjoyed playing with them on the living room floor and did not know who gave them to me until someone came and asked me if I knew who gave them. Likely a name sake gift as I was named after him.

2. When I was sent upstairs one morning, or did I go on my own, more likely the first, I told the older boys that we had a new baby sister just that night; probably Marietta.

3. When we played in the water in our yard using wash tubs as swimming pools; splashing around as kids still do, when I was a preschooler; and at age ten, “swimming” in the stock tank behind the woodshed when Mom came home from the hospital with my youngest brother- it was a great time to be a kid.

4. When I was 5 years old and we went on a train trip east with my parents and younger sister, and traveled in 6 States: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, (including crossing the Chesapeake Bay twice, likely, once in a ferry, and once in a passenger ship) Virginia and West Virginia, remembering enough memories for several pages, written recently. 

5. When I had Miss Miller for my First Grade teacher at Clinton Community School; I didn't always know the right English words.

6. Perhaps two “low Lights” of my elementary grades, if there are such things: getting a D in health in the second grade, and getting a low swat by Leonard Conrad, the janitor, for playing in the class room at recess when it was a very beautiful day outside.

7. Being in the first year when Clinton Christian Day School in opened 1951, in grade 7.

8. When Principal Norman called me to his office in the 7^th or 8^th grade and asked me if I was a Christian, which made me uncomfortable, but made me think seriously.

8a. In 1951 or 52, first noticing a cute 13 year old with funny sense of humor while our families socialized at Uncle Elmer’s, probably one Sunday evening. In school I would inscribe her initials, L.B. in the palm of my hand, guarding my secret love.

9. When I attended the Brunk Brother Revivals in about 1952 and made a public commitment for Christ after attending about 17 times, or was that 17 times in all that we went? Going usually with Albert Miller in his fancy Studebaker car.

10 When I was baptized by David Helmuth at 16, in the house where I was born, having to answer the questions twice because the bishop forgot to have us kneel for the vows the first time, in the Amish church.

10a. In 1954, some of our family traveled to the west coast, visiting I-W youth in Denver, Hutterites in Montana, Dad’s cousins in Oregon and Sacramento, seeing the Grand Canyon, and visiting brother Daniel in Arkansas, as well as other places of interest along the way, about 5 weeks by train, the barn back home burning while we were far west.

10b. The same year Grandpa Sam died, having spent his last 7 years at our home; an Amish bishop, a man of principle, a leader of the Sunday School movement in the Amish church; a man of peace who would move his family to Brown County to avoid strife over Sunday School issue, until it was no longer a divisive issue

11. When we attended youth project at Dan Beachy's, picking and cleaning lima beans and husking pop corn, and I would frequently just co-incidentally be working along side Loretta, (L.B.) and would often give her a ride home- what other way would she have?

12. When we got married, December 22, 1957 at Clinton Christian Day School auditorium, as we did not yet have a church building, or for what ever reason, I don’t know.

13. When we attended Berlin Bible School in Ohio, beginning about a week after we were married, and there had what ever honeymoon we had before our people went on honeymoons.

14. When we traveled to Red Lake for a two year term of service, alternate to military service, only a week or so after the 6 week Bible School in Ohio, she being so sleepy most of the way there, I could barely talk to her, my young wife.

15. The whole Red Lake experience that exposed me to another culture with innumerable interesting experiences and a specific life of service without reference to monetary pay.

16. The birth of our first child, Paul, rushing off at 2:30 am to the hospital on a cold November morning in a 1949 Ford sedan, being present there when he came into this world, as they say, only about 2 and a half hours after we arrived at the Red Lake Hospital.

17. Starting off on a full time college career in January, 1961, the month our second son Conrad was born, as we were living at the Daniel S. Bontrager home where his mother was born 22 years before.

18. Grace came only 16 months after Conrad, a happy and expressive baby, exuberant as she would be, and a welcome complement to the two boys we had.

19. Rachel, the second daughter, coming in August, 1963 giving us the ideal two of each: too quiet, not demanding as what she would need, as she would be latter on as well.

20. Graduating from Goshen College in 1965 with a B.A. degree, majoring in English, teaching at Clinton Christian Day School the last year before graduation.

21. Also in 1965, buying our first house in north Goshen for $5,000, a place all our own; it wasn’t much, but it was ours.

22. Joining Walnut Hill Mennonite Church, September 1967  was like coming home to the church we always belonged to. We felt that way until we moved on to Elkhart in 1970.

23. Julie, our last one was born October 30, 1968, completing our primary family in a wonderful way, bringing us much joy with her upbeat responsiveness.

24. Graduating from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries in 1970, with an M.Div. degree, preparing for the pastoral ministry.

25. Accepting the pastorate at Roselawn Mennonite Church in June, 1970, with ordination in October of that same year.

26. Our family traveled to Canada, for Mennonite Assembly in Kitchener, Ontario in 1971.

26a. In 1971, Grandma Bender died, just 2 weeks short of a hundred years of loving everyone; never uttering a critical word that I remember; “Grandma Bender” to many, beside her posterity.

26b. Attending the Catholic Charismatic meetings at Notre Dame and the Zion Glory Barn, receiving the Baptism of the Spirit which opened a new dimension of my Spiritual life and ministry in 1971.

27. Declined continuation in ministry at Roselawn in 1973 after a 3 year term with sense of accomplishing too little, followed by nine months of visiting many churches until I returned to Roselawn on a Team Ministry, with the oversight of John Steiner.

28. 1974, the year of learning to trust God while not in ministry. Financial straits of the seventies began here while our children were in primary and high school.

29. Carpel tunnel syndrome in 1974, the most excruciating pain I ever experienced, a kind of preparation for my work beginning that year with the sick at Elkhart General Hospital, work that lasted 6 years, one of my most rewarding jobs ever; a job I thought I couldn’t afford taking until I had few options, starting while my hands were still hurting.

30. Exploring our sensitivity with an alcoholic in our home, Marge Hartman, parallel in time with carpel tunnel mentioned above and the next item.

31. One more thing in 1974, Paul’s mental breakdown, hospitalized for two months, just as I was starting to work there.

32. In the same year, we bought our first rental property, 221 Park Ave. for $4,600 in partnership with Conrad, something we had no experience in but it looked feasible on paper for even poor people with the help of a paper boy.

33. In 1975, we celebrated the 50^th wedding anniversary of our parents with a weekend retreat at Brother Laban’s place. Special to me was the reminiscing of each of our courtships, esp. our parents, and the way we were all drawn together again after some of us had left the home church in recent years, beginning Friday evening with a first ever extended family prayer meeting.

34. In 1975, Loretta began working at EGH on the evening shift, leaving me to practice cooking with Grace, age 13. We survived. Loretta working allowed us to add the split level to our house for our growing up family.

35. In 1976, the passing of our mother, which I declared to be a graduation for her, but for me it was a tragic personal loss, losing one from whom I could no longer expect comfort and love.

36. 1977, a vacation trip for our family, camping in Colorado and attending General Assembly of the Mennonite Church in Estes Park, driving up Pike’s Peak, seeing the Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge, and a western one lane, peak to peak, Sky Line Drive.

37. 1978, when it blew and burned: the blizzard of 78, living with Brother Daniel’s for a week when our house burned days into the blizzard. We bought two rentals with the insurance money and took a year to repair the house.

38. 1980, Leaving EGH, becoming a real estate broker and making minimum wages with interest at 18%, and became solo pastor again at Roselawn. Survival was still our financial goal.

39. Retiring from Roselawn in 1983 and visiting about 16 churches until we found Trilakes, which became our beloved home church after that.

40. In the early 80s, we saw each of our 3 middle children get married and establishing their own homes, with the girls graduating from Goshen College.

41. Our first grandson was born in September 1985, Zachary Nolan to Conrad and Janet, the first of 18 grandchildren.

42. Our second grandson, Nathan Paul, born January 1986, to Rachel and Bruce.

43. In January, 1986 we were off to Belize for a “2-3 year term,” three weeks after the birth of Nathan, driving 3,000 miles in the 1978 Ford Fairlane station wagon, in 7 days, without incident. Coming through the Mexican/Belizean border with such gratitude and sense of destination, we stopped the car and I bowed and kissed the Belizean soil.

44. A grandchild per year: Joshua, Kaytalyn, and Andrea, 1987-89, with Julie and Dan getting married in 1989, Andrea born while we were there in frigid December, temps down to -20.

45. No grand children this year, with a bumper crop of 4 the following year: Tanner, Mathew, Leanne, and Charity. Loretta returned in January for those first two. What a year of great joy!!

46. We were in leadership training in Belize under Eastern Mennonite Missions 1986-1991, teaching classes in Georgetown, Hopkins Village, Dangriga, and Belize City..

47. We took a six month break in 1991, and returned to Belize in November through Kansas, with Paul who stayed in Belize with us some weeks; becoming self supporting “Co-missioners” after that under EMM, living mostly off our rentals properties.

48. We leased 10 acres along a creek 12 miles from Dangriga in the early 90’s and cleared the bush, built a bridge and a small house, pursued it for several years until floods discouraged us after we had planted several hundred orange trees, raising hundreds of plantain and a few pineapple. We still have some mango trees there.

49. We bought the 10 acre orange farm three miles out of Dangriga in 1996, and eventually planted more than 30 kinds of fruit trees there.

50. Lizzie, Elizabeth Rachel, came to Dan and Julie, in March, 1993.

51. Lauren Hope, born to Ron and Grace, July 1994, while we were there, and also, Katalyn was baptized that summer at age 5 after I questioned her about her desire for baptism at the hospital where Lauren was born.

52. We drove to Belize, in 1993, stopping at Julie’s in Biloxi, Mississippi, and also at the Ted Holmes home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Bruce and Rachel’s family was at Julie’s the same time.

52a. 1994, Dad died in Goshen, a man of Biblical principles who stressed missions, Christian stewardship, youth purity, radical discipleship, the New Birth; he loved his family.

52b, Andrew Michael, born to Rachel and Bruce, February 11, 1995

53. Shiloh Rose, born to Dan and Julie, April, 1995, in Las Vegas.

54. Niles Christian, born to Grace and Ron, December 25, 1996

55. Loretta had colon surgery for a cancerous polyp in 1997 which turned out successfully, while we also remodeled a house on Edwardsburg Ave. that year, helping us catch up on our Belizean expenses.

56. We began taking in homeless youth, and in 1997 having 4 girls and a boy for a few months, the girls only until fall as Loretta was recuperating from surgery.

57. We celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary by spending a week in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, being in Merida for Christmas and then on the northern beach at Progresso and seeing the great Maya ruin at Chicken Itza on the way home, sleeping both going and coming at Bacular with good friends at a beautiful lake with many shades of blue.

58. Dakota Luke, to Dan and Julie, in Las Vegas, February 16, 1997, surviving a prenatal crisis, with grandparents coming out, but Grandpa having to rush back before his birth for close friend Earl’s wedding in Belize, too soon to enjoy the wonderful and safe arrival of Dakota.

59. Gabriel Jordon, to Ron and Grace, March 29, 1999 in Bourbon, Indiana.

60. Anastace Faith Marie, born to Ron and Grace, May 28, 2001, the 17^th grandchild.

61. Zachary, Nathan, and Joshua came to visit us in Belize in 2000, with great fun and excitement traveling to sights in Western Belize

62. In Belize, 2,000-2005, children and youth home, with 8-10 residing with us and often 12 -15 here for the evening until we would dismiss the extras about 8:00pm. .

63. In 2001-02, four Cacho boys, ages 2-5 were living with us, a great joy and some work, 3 going with us to the US for six months and then all 4 being adopted in the next year by two couples from our home church, again giving us tremendous gratification of seeing them placed securely into Christian homes.

64. Kaytalyn, Andrea, and Leanne came to visit us in Belize in August, 2004.

65. In August 2005, we moved downstairs in the Mission House, no longer boarding youth, our work being to give assistance to about 20 kids in school and to 5-6 families, some who have children that used to stay with us.

66. In November 2005, Dale and Mary Ann Martin came to Belize to fulfill our dream of starting a youth home.

67. Chesney Raine Sautter greeted Loretta, November 29. 2005, in Albuquerque while I held the fort in Belize for 3 weeks.

68. In Belize I learned to cook rice, mush, and make many kinds of creative jams, almost like a woman.

69. In 2006, the Vanoss family in Belize for two weeks in March, enjoying and exploring many areas from Tikal Maya ruins in Guatemala to South Water Caye, about 13 miles off the coast, with Dangriga in between, as we learned to know the family better, Lizzie celebrating her 13^th in Tikal.

70. May 8, 2007, Hallelujah! I made it to my 70^th birthday.  (Written mostly in Belize)

Post script: First great granddaughter Abigail to Joshua and Natalie in 2013, and first great grandson, Little Noah, born to Andrea and Kyle Strickland in 2014.