by Ashley Emma
My mother and I speculated about whether he had a car or if he was taking a horse and buggy. We really had no idea what to expect. I had read that most Amish did not own cars, but I had heard that some New Order do.
To pass the time while we drove, we called a relative to tell her about what we were doing.
She was shocked. “I wouldn’t go live with a strange family in this day and age! They could be dangerous! You never know. What if they aren’t even Amish and they murder you?”
We tried to explain that I’d done my research and due diligence. I knew they actually were Amish, and I knew how non-violent the Amish are. We would be completely safe with them. In fact, they are probably some of the safest, gentlest people in the world. I read in an article that there had never been an Amish murderer until the early nineties.
I then realized how surprising it was that Caleb didn’t ask me questions like why I wanted to live with them or if I was a Christian. How extraordinary! He trusted God enough to let two strangers into his home and be around his children—without question.
They must have had incredible faith to let strangers into their home.
During the last few miles of our drive to Unity, I excitedly watched for signs of Amish life. So far, everything looked like any other small town. There were run-down gas stations, houses with cars in the driveway, and pizza restaurants. No buggies in sight. Were we in the right place?
We took a turn down a long road. The GPS said we only had a few more miles to go. I started to wonder if we typed in the right address. This looked nothing like what I had expected. Where were the black and white houses and the horses and buggies? Where were the men with beards and hats, and where were the women in long dresses?
I watched for houses with no shutters, no power lines, and no cars outside. I knew Amish houses usually don’t have shutters, but they do sometimes have brightly colored curtains in the window.
Though some houses did not have shutters, almost all the houses we passed had cars in the driveway. I started to think the Amish here were New Order and owned vehicles. Had I made a mistake in coming here? I wondered how much information I could use to write my book from Amish who used electricity and cars. That was not really what I wanted for my book. People wanted to read about the Old Order Amish because that lifestyle was so foreign to them.
Just when disappointment settled in, I saw a yellow street sign with a horse and buggy on it.
“Approaching destination,” announced the GPS. “Your destination is on the left.”
So we were in the right place. The disappointment I’d felt lifted, and a smile crossed my face. This was what I wanted.
To the left of us was a gray house with white shutters. I had always thought Amish houses were black and white. That’s what I had seen in movies. Already I learned something, and we hadn’t even reached our destination yet.
We found Caleb’s community store at the next driveway over and pulled in. “Is this it?” I wondered out loud.
The store resembled a log cabin. It had a metal roof, and there was a large assortment of wooden furniture and bird feeders on the porch. Behind the store were two houses surrounded by wide fields with horses.
I looked around, got out, and followed Mom into the store. A friendly black and brown dog greeted us on the porch. We entered the store and the first thing I noticed was that it was so…eerily quiet.
(Below is a photo of the store taken from down the street.)
(Caleb’s house is pictured below and part of the store’s porch is on the right of the photo.)
No music played. There were only two other customers in the store.
I never noticed before how much music makes a difference in a public place. I guess I’d grown so used to excess background noise from TV and radio that I usually didn’t notice music in stores.
But I noticed its absence in this one.
Click here to buy and find out what happens next!: https://www.amazon.com/Ashleys-Amish-Adventures-Outsider-community-ebook/dp/B01N5714WE/
