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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Mennonite History Day

Every year the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society sponsors Mennonite History Day. A speaker is scheduled and invitations are extended to Mennonite schools to participate. They register with the society and the secretary gives the speaker the schedule. 
I was the speaker eleven years ago and spoke in 32 schools. When they asked me to do it again this year I hesitated. It is a lot of work and I am eleven years older. They said there is a whole new crop of students now and I could just repeat what I did the first time. That took half the work out of it if I didn't need to make new talks. So I agreed but limited it to two schools per week. 
Eighteen schools registered and I began the tour on February 1. Now I'm at the end of the month and am half way through the list. Nine schools finished and nine more to go.
I have three topics and each one is modified so I can do it on three age levels: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The titles are Is Bigger Always Better?, What Can I Trust? and Who Is In Control? They are based on the life of my grandmother as told in my book Annie's Day of Light. I try to teach a spiritual lesson in each one, using things that happened in Annie's life and the world she lived in: World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. The answers to those questions in the titles are that bigger is not always better, God is the only One we can trust completely, and He is in control. I hope the children learn something that will steer them in the right direction in life.
I had a two-hour drive to the school where I spoke today. I went that far one other time but most of the schools are an hour or less. I meet a lot of people I would probably never meet otherwise. It's interesting work but I will be glad when I'm finished. It's really keeping this old lady stepping.

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