Winter of Faith Collection

by Rachel Stoltzfus

  “Ask him to bring you to my office. I’m leaving now and I should be there within the next twenty minutes, depending on the traffic,” the D.A. instructed.

  “Ya, we’ll be there. Denki,” Samuel said with a nod. As he had watched Lance leaving, he finally relaxed. I’m glad we realized Miriam was telling us the truth, or she would have been seriously hurt!

  Twenty-five minutes later, the D.A. was sitting at his massive desk, facing the two Amish families.

  “Okay, we just won the first round here. What I mean by that is that the judge decided we presented enough evidence to bring Mr. Newman to trial. All of you did well, testifying. The next step is for us to develop the evidence we have to the point that we can put on a full trial and prove that he intended ill will toward Miss Beiler, that he tried to kidnap her and that he was stalking her. The judge will set the trial on his own calendar and let everyone know. As soon as I know, I’ll be sending letters out to each of you. Now, does my office have phone numbers for one or both families?”

  “We have a phone in my carpentry shop,” Joseph said. He gave the number to the D.A.

  Miriam, hearing that there would be one more hearing, was stunned.

  “Excuse me, sir, but I thought this was the hearing that would send Mr. Newman to prison,” she said with a look of confusion on her face.

  “I’m sorry, but this was only the hearing that determined if we had sufficient evidence for a trial,” the D.A. said. “This next hearing is the one that will determine Mr. Newman’s guilt or innocence. Hopefully, a jury will find him guilty and the judge will sentence him to prison. Then, it’s over.”

  “Oh. So, you mean a jury could decide that he’s not guilty? But . . . how?”

  “We have to make sure our evidence is so strong that a jury will have no choice but to decide he’s guilty. My assistant will be working with you on this over the next few months. We will be getting even more evidence from you and your family. We have the physical evidence that we will present at trial. We have to prove that Mr. Newman had the motive, the means and the opportunity to stalk and attempt to kidnap you. When the jury sees this, it’s more likely that they will come back with a guilty verdict.”

  “So we have to meet with your office more? And come back here for a trial?” Joseph asked.

  “Exactly. We’ll make this as easy for you as possible. Miss Beiler, are you OK?” the D.A. asked with concern.

  Miriam’s mouth opened and closed.

  “I . . . facing him was frightening. When he turned and looked at me when I came in to testify, I saw hatred in his face . . . Mr. Williams, he frightens me!” Miriam said, trying to keep tears from falling.

  “He should . . . but every time he comes into the courtroom, he’s very securely handcuffed. He can’t get to you. I don’t think you saw it from where you were sitting, but his handcuffs are connected to his ankle cuffs with a heavy chain. That, along with the deputies stationed in the courtroom, makes you and everyone else safer.”

  “Mr. Williams, what measures have you taken to protect everyone in the courtroom? Just in case Mr. Newman tries to do something, I man,” Joseph clarified. “I, too, saw the hatred in Mr. Newman’s eyes today. He could still try to harm my daughter.”

  “As I said, Mr. Beiler, we have security in the courtroom should Lance Newman try to do anything,” the D.A. said, pushing a pen back and forth on top of his desk.

  “Well, that’s good. But I think you need to have a talk with Mr. Newman and remind him that, if he hadn’t tried to force his will on Miriam, he wouldn’t be facing Englischer criminal charges. Now, would he?” Joseph asked with a keen look in his eyes.

  “I’ll have the defense attorney have that talk with Mr. Newman. In addition to that, I’ll have him remind Mr. Newman that, if he tries anything, he’ll be facing even more time behind bars,” the D.A. promised.

  “Mr. Williams? If Mr. Newman is found guilty, for how long could he go to prison?” Miriam asked.

  “That depends on the severity of the charges that he could be convicted of. See, there’s degrees of severity. Say he murdered someone. If he was found guilty of premeditated murder, that’s murder in the first degree. He gets more time behind bars for that than he would for, say, involuntary manslaughter. For what he’s accused of doing to you, he could be facing about 10 years behind bars,” the D.A. said, giving Miriam a solemn look.

  Miriam was stunned. “Ten years! That’s . . . that’s all? But he could come back and try to hurt me when he gets out!”

  “Hopefully, by then, he will have forgotten all about you, Miss Beiler. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can offer right now,” the D.A. said with a look of regret on his lean face.

  CHAPTER SIX

  After returning to Ephrata, Miriam, her parents and the Fishers all struggled to understand and come to terms with the short sentence Lance Newman was facing. After thinking about it for several days, Miriam realized that she needed to let go of her very human reaction and allow God to take care of the situation.

  “You look like you’re feeling much better, Miriam,” Sarah said, mixing cookie dough one afternoon.

  Miriam had come into the kitchen for a glass of cool water.

  “Ya. I cannot do anything about what might happen to Lance Newman, mamm. All I can do is give it to God and allow him to handle the situation,” she said. And she knew that God’s strength would be enough. She stood as living witness.

  “I think we all realized that, daughter. We want to see him spend the rest of his life in prison, but it’s not up to us, is it?”

  “Nee. I’m tired of thinking about that horrible man. Instead, I want to think about my baptismal instruction. Bishop Stoltzfus will begin working with me next week!”

  “Ya, I know! You’re beginning about four months of instruction, my girl, so make sure you attend to what he teaches you. That will give you the basis for a life as a good Amish woman,” Sarah said as she added walnuts and raisins to the cookie dough.

  ***

  The following week, Miriam met with the bishop in her home.

  “Let’s begin with Christ’s forgiveness of those who wronged him,” the bishop said, opening his Bible. “What do you remember from your Bible lessons?”

  “He forgave Judas and made the Pharisees forgive the fallen woman,” Miriam said, thinking of what she remembered.

  “Ya. And, how can we apply that willingness to forgive to our lives today?” the bishop asked, seeming to look deep into Miriam’s soul.

  Miriam shifted uncomfortably, thinking of her recent struggle to let go of her anger at Lance Newman.

  “Bishop, we went to the preliminary hearing for Mr. Newman a few weeks ago. When we talked to the district attorney, he told us that Mr. Newman could get – maybe – 10 years in prison if he’s convicted by a jury. I . . . I have to admit to you that I am having a very hard time, or at least I was, when I heard that.”

  “And, what have you remembered from your Bible reading?” he asked.

  “That God is the only one who decides whether to hold people bound to their sins or not . . . it’s so difficult for me! He tried to kidnap me!”

  “Ya, ya, I know. I was there, remember? I don’t really like to talk about this very much, Miss Beiler. But do you remember the shooting of the ten female scholars in Nickel Mines back in 2007? What did the residents of that district do after the shooter injured and killed those children? Hmmm?”

  Miriam’s stomach squeezed uncomfortably and she shifted, feeling the weight of her anger.

  “I remember that day. It was . . . horrible. I also remember that, even though everyone in Nickel Mines was hurt so badly by the shooter’s actions, they forgave him. They took a meal to his family. They held his father when he started crying. They didn’t want to make things any worse by hating an innocent family, bishop. But . . .”

  “No, Miss Beiler. No ‘buts.’ You remembered everything perfectly. Even though they were hurting so badly at the loss of ten such precious lives, t
hey forgave the shooter and his family. Now. I know you struggle with anger and forgiveness in regards to Mr. Newman. Despite the Englischer trial that’s coming up, will you be able to forgive him? Remember, if you cannot unbind him from what he tried to do to you, you will be bound to your own sins forever.”

  Miriam sat, looking down at the smooth wood floor of the kitchen. As she did, she rubbed one finger against the binding of her Bible and thought.

  “Ya. I know. I’m working on forgiving him, but it is so hard!”

  “You are human. It is natural for it to be hard. Just think – when you finally do manage to forgive him, the feeling of lightness will be so precious to you! I have another question for you. When you have to testify at Mr. Newman’s trial, will you be able to do so truthfully?”

  Miriam realized that, if she was going to truly have God in her heart, she needed to release her anger at Lance Newman – that her anger bound her, not only to his sins and hers, but to Lance Newman himself.

  “Do you mean that I’ll be able to testify without hatred or wanting bad to come to him?” Miriam asked. As she asked this question, her forehead crinkled.

  “Exactly.”

  “If . . . if I am to be a true Amish woman with love in my heart for everyone . . . I . . . I will have no choice but to forgive him completely,” Miriam said slowly, thinking as she spoke. Nodding firmly, she said, “Yes. Yes, I can. It won’t be easy, but I can . . . and I do . . . forgive him.” Miriam felt a strong sense of relief as she made this realization.

  “Do not forget, Miss Beiler . . . forgiveness is not just a one-time event. Your memories and fears will come back. You will experience more anger and frustration at him. And . . . you have to work at forgiving him, day after day. Make it one of the first things you do when you rise in the mornings.”

  “But, bishop, that means I have to think of a man every day that I just want to forget!” Miriam said, dismayed.

  “Ya. Christ struggled with the same issues. I imagine that, when Judas Iscariot betrayed him, the Lord knew he had only a few short hours to forgive him. And, as he went through that horrible pain before he died, he had to forgive Judas, again and again and again.”

  “Oh,” Miriam said on an outward breath. She realized that her own experiences paled next to what had happened to Jesus.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Within a few days of this baptism instruction, Miriam received a letter from the D.A.’s office, announcing the date of Lance Newman’s criminal trial. When Sarah came in, Miriam showed her the letter.

  “Good. I am glad we have this now because it allows us to plan and finish everything we have to do,” Sarah said as she scanned through the words.

  “They say the trial will take several days. Mamm, I can’t be away for a long time. I have to finish the last two quilts,” said Miriam as she looked at her progress on the third quilt.

  “Your daed will not want to stay in any hotels. He’ll want to come home every day, so we’re probably going to hire a driver,” Sarah said, looking at Miriam.

  Miriam sighed in relief, knowing that, in the evenings and on Saturdays, she could finish the quilts.

  When Joseph came in from tending the livestock, they talked about the trial.

  “Nee. We won’t stay in hotels,” Joseph decreed.

  Sarah glanced at Miriam, who nodded.

  “We will ride back and forth from home to the court house, every day until the trial is over. We’ll have to compensate the driver well for taking us back and forth. We’ll come home every evening to take care of our chores and remember what God has taught us.”

  ***

  The next few weeks were very busy for both the Beiler and Fisher families. Miriam worked from early morning until after it was dark, finishing the third quilt for her wealthy Englischer customers. Once she finished that child’s quilt, she began on the lavender and purple child’s quilt, cutting the pieces and beginning to stitch them together.

  Sarah took care of the household chores and cooking on her own, relying on her older daughters to help her out. Joseph, who was working on a large set of bookshelves for an Englischer professor, finished putting the pieces together and staining the furniture just days before the trial was set to begin. The professor hired a van to pick up and transport the bookshelves to his university office, paying Joseph handsomely for his work and finishing a few weeks earlier than originally planned.

  John and Samuel were facing an even harder deadline imposed by nature. Knowing they needed to keep caring for the corn crop while they were at the trial, they hired a neighbor who promised to take care of the crop and ensure that it would be ready for harvest by the time the trial came to an end. At the Amish market, Miriam was hired to make a quilt. Knowing the trial would take up at least one week, she told her customer that she wouldn’t be able to start it until October. The customer, eager for an Amish quilt, agreed to Miriam’s terms, making her down payment.

  ***

  While John and Samuel Fisher were hard at work, making their corn crop ready for their neighbor to tend, Esther Zook, who had been unable to get John out of her mind, decided it was time to try and get his attention one more time. She was unaware that John was so hard at work in preparation for the Newman trial. Putting on her best dress and newest prayer kapp, she boarded the buggy after telling her father that she had to run errands.

  Nearing the farm, she wished she had a mirror so she could check her appearance. Instead, she satisfied herself with a quick smooth of her fingers over her hair. Widening her mouth into what she thought was a shy and winsome smile, she slowed the buggy as she saw John pause momentarily, wiping sweat from his face.

  “Hello, John. How are you?” she asked softly.

  John turned, breathing heavily. His slumped posture showed how tired he truly was. As he saw Esther, he frowned.

  “Esther, I am very sorry, but daed and I are extremely busy, doing three weeks’ worth of work in one week here. We have to be at a criminal trial and it might last longer than a week,” he said, struggling to keep from yelling.

  Esther’s mouth dropped open. How . . . how rude! Well, all I did was stop by to say hello and see how you’re doing! You don’t need to be that rude! I know harvest is coming!” she said defensively.

  Samuel heard the young people beginning to argue. Sighing because he was just as hot and tired as John, he threw down his weeding tools and marched over to John’s side.

  “Miss Zook, we are working and don’t have time for idle visiting. I must ask you – what are you, a young Amish woman, doing visiting an Amish man who has been courting another young woman for over a year? You know this is wrong!” Samuel snapped. As he stood next to John, he crossed his arms and took a wide-legged stance.

  Esther placed her hand over the high neck of her dress, glaring at the two men.

  “Anything could happen between him and Miriam! Anything!”

  “They will take their Kneeling Vows and get married. And you are going to go home. Now! That’s what will happen. I will be talking to your mamm and daed about this!” Samuel said, glaring at the young woman.

  Esther, hearing this, quickly snapped the reins on her horse’s back. She didn’t want yet another argument with them so she pressed her lips tightly together, forcing hot words back, and drove off fast.

  Samuel, watching the buggy move down the road, asked John, “How long has Esther been trying to pursue you?”

  John, grateful for his daed’s assistance, shook his head.

  “It’s been several weeks. I told her that I’m courting Miriam, unavailable and not interested, but she refuses to listen,” he said, wiping his face again.

  “John, don’t be mupsich! You saw what Miriam went through with that Newman character! I don’t want Miss Zook to become another one like that Englischer! Let’s finish this work,” Samuel snapped at John.

  The two men finished in a glowering, uncomfortable silence.

  After supper, Samuel cleaned up, telling Emily he needed to go
talk to the Zooks. Hitching the horse to his buggy, he took off, still feeling unsettled and worried.

  At the Zook farm, he knocked at the front door and waited.

  Micah Zook answered the door.

  “Samuel! Come in!” he said, opening the door wide.

  At the kitchen table, Samuel gulped thirstily at the cool water given to him by Rebekah, Micah’s wife.

  “How are you? I understand the trial begins tomorrow,” Micah said, sitting across from Samuel.

  “Ya. John and I have been putting in many long hours, getting the corn ready for our neighbors to tend while we are at the trial. There is . . . something I need to discuss with you,” he said, hesitating to bring trouble on them. Nee, it is not you bringing the trouble. It lives here in Esther’s refusal to accept the facts.

  “You know that our youngest son, John, has been courting Miriam Beiler, right?” At two affirmative nods, he sighed heavily. “I do not want to cause or bring trouble to you. I respect and like both of you greatly. But Esther has been attempting to pursue John – even though he has been courting Miss Beiler for over a year, now. John tells me that this has been going on for several weeks, and that she refuses to accept reality. I told her that she is in violation of the Ordnung and that I would be making you aware of this – behavior your daughter has been displaying.”

  “Samuel, she has always questioned why the Ordnung is so restrictive, but we have told her more than once that it is a set of guidelines that we use to follow and distinguish ourselves from the Englischers. We have had many . . . discussions on this,” Micah admitted sadly. As he spoke, he twirled his own water glass back and forth on the table.

  “Denki. Then, you are aware that this could be a factor for why she refuses to leave my son alone?” Samuel asked, peering closely at the other man.

  “Ya. It’s not only with her desire to be courted by John, Samuel. In big matters and small, she questions the Ordnung,” Micah admitted. “We will talk to her tonight. Denki.”