When to trust and when not to trust
Story about a dear Mennonite friend. Her name is Else. Share a little about my dear friend.
Elsie was born in the year of 1941 in the month of September. She was born in the Salford Township area, Montgomery County. Daughter of Mennonite parents Mr. and Mrs. Russel and Sarah. Else grew up in the Telford area and attended the Souderton area High school and graduated in the year of 1959.
At the age of eighteen right after she graduate she courtship a young man she met in her area she grew up at then a year later in the year of 1961 she married the young Mennonite man in nine days after her eighteenth birthday. Both were involved in caring for a dairy farm for many, many years. April 1969 the couple moved from Telford to a farm they both purchase to start their own dairy farm in Pennsylvania.
Elsie and her husband has two sons and two daughters together, adopted a boy at the age of six years old. In the beginning how she came by adopting her son Joey, Else and her husband Leroy were babysitters of Joey. Joey parents passed away, first his mother than few years later his father passed away. Before Joey’s father passed away they have sit down and asked Else if her and her husband would like to adopt his son Joey. Joey’s parents were up in age I believe according to what Else shared with me that Joey’s mother was in her middle forties and his father was in his early fifties. At the prior time Joey was only seven or eight when he came to live with Else and her husband permanently.
Else oldest son moved to New York and became a teacher, Middle son became a doctor and Joey became a chiropractor. Both daughters married and were stayed at home mothers. Joy the youngest daughter became a foster parent for she always had to desire to help other unfortunate children who was not able to stay in their homes for reasons Elsie never shared.
How did we come to know Elsie? In the year of 1989, my husband and I was having some family problems with my side of the family so we moved away in the area that Else and Leroy have bought their dairy farm. Husband and I were searching for family church to attend and bring our children up in a family home church. Our oldest son was twelve, daughters were eight and seven years old at the prior time. Over the years we have build a strong friendship bond to where Elsie and Leroy adopted our children as their grandchildren and the couple were the only grandparents our children knew. My father has passed away, as my mother she was up in age when she conceived me so was unable to give me the attention that I needed. My grandmother stepped in and played the mother role in my life.
Elsie was the most kind and compassion lady who loved the Lord and served him faithfully. She was more than a friend to my husband and I and our children. Matthew 25:35; For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me a drink. I was a stranger, ye took not me in; naked, and ye clothed me not, sick and they have visited me. Due to my past child years abuse I had trust issues so I was not open in meeting new friends. Elsie was a god-sent. At my darkest hours Else was always there for me day or night.
As time passed by our friendship grew to the point Else and I treated each other more like sisters. I can recall one warm afternoon she came to my home and knocked on the door of my home in tears. She was so distraught. I invited her in and offer to come and sit in our living-room to sit down to share with me what was on her mind. I didn’t want to seem pushy so in time as we sit there she opened up to me. What she shared with me I had a gut feeling inside it had to do something with her husband. A month before all came down I drove out to her farm wanting to visit her and she was not home but her husband was. It was very odd and strange I received by reading his body language. He seem nervous, started chatting with me provocative. I dismissed myself and told her husband that I will come back some time later in the week when his wife was home.
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