I was invited to an Amish Barn Raising!
Seeing the men and women pull into the Amish homestead in their horse and buggies, with cheerful smiles upon their faces, touched my heart!
The men gathered together with their tools and each was assigned a task. As soon as they arrived they immediately got to work!
I gathered with the women as we cooked and baked for the men who would be very hungry come noon time.
We had so much fun giggling and laughing as we shared news of new babies and upcoming weddings in the community.
The children were delighted to have a day with their friends playing outdoor games, running around and also doing errands for the hard working builders.
They were so proud to help!
The ladies helped set up tables, each one next to the other, to make one long table, with benches on either side of the table.
The long table stretched across the entire yard !
I helped , along with the other sweet Amish women , set up bowls of potato and macaroni salads, jello salads, casseroles, sandwich platters, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and many other side dishes. Jugs of water and lemonade were placed along the tables.
At exactly 12:00 pm, Sarah rang a bell and Every man put down his tool and came to the table.
Nobody ate until all heads were bowed and a silent prayer of thanksgiving was held.
The men ate heartily. I watched them laugh and talk while enjoying their meal.
Next it was the children’s turn to be fed and finally all of the women sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor while the men were once again back to building the barn.
After cleaning up the lunch dishes the ladies reset the tables and this time they put massive plates and platters of cookies, pies and other sweet treats along the tables.
This was for the afternoon break.
Oh what an incredible experience that was for me, one that I’ll never forget!
Susan Hougelman
Simple Life in New Wilmington, Pa