More "root" gathering

While Al was at the Grand Canyon with our son and grandson, I kept myself busy with various things.  One thing I did was go on a little excursion with my dear friend, Sarah.  She and I teach a young mom's Bible study at our church.  We needed to get together to do some planning and decided to make a day trip of it, checking out a couple cemeteries of our ancestors close to Moundridge, Ks, not too far away.  She has many ancestors buried at Lone Tree Cemetery.

My mother loaned me this book several years ago and it was fascinating!

It is a historical fiction story about the Becker family.  The Beckers are Sarah's family!

Below is a photo of the gravesite of her grandparents on her mother's side.  They were involved in a tragic car accident on December 5, 2000.  They were going with another couple to Carriage Crossings in Yoder when they crashed.  The other couple were pronounced dead at the scene.  Nina was hospitalized but never made it out.  She died about a month later. 

Lewie remarried 2 years later to a Marguerite Schmidt, who had never been married before.  They were only married a little over 3 months when he died in June of 2002!  How sad for her!

Nina was an Unruh.  (I am guessing that we are distantly related as my grandmother was also an Unruh.)  Nina was one of 17 children!!  And I thought I was busy with my 3 children!

Most of Nina's 17 siblings are buried in this cemetery, except for 1 buried in Oklahoma and 1 on the east coast.  Only 2 siblings remain; 1 in Canton and 1 in Massachusetts.

I was rather surprised that they allowed non-pacifists to be buried here at the Holderman cemetery.  This is another of Nina's brothers.  He was killed in the Korean war.

Nina's sister.  I've never heard this name before.  Mollie yes, but not Mulvena.  I think I'd want to go by Mollie too.

Lena was Sarah's great-grandmother.  She passed away when her grandfather, Lewie, was around 12 years old.

Below, this is her great-uncle and great-aunt but on the other side of the family.  Norma was a sister to her Grandmother Elizabeth Koehn.  Let me tell you, Mennonite Anabaptist roots get really complicated!  A bush, not a family tree!

Her grandparents on her father's side.

This is an active cemetery and people are still being buried here.  We wondered if the modern laser design would last longer?  Time will tell.  

Several gravestones we could not even read what they said.   If you bring a plain sheet of paper and a crayon, you can rub the crayon lightly on the paper ( apply more pressure as needed) to transfer some of the words onto the paper.

I am pretty sure this guy was not Holderman, but they must have some ties to be able to be buried here.

We spent about an hour here then we drove to the First Mennonite Church cemetery, except the GPS had it wrong and sent us out to the middle of a country road with field all around.  

We called the church and got the right directions.



Here is the head stone of my great-great-great grandfather, Christian Voran, who immigrated here in 1874.

and great-great-great grandmother Katarina (Goering) Voran.

These markers were put up to thank our immigrant relatives for making the decision to leave present day Ukraine to come here.

Quite a few Vorans (my maiden name).  We are all related.

Downtown Moundridge is pretty cute!  

My parents lived in this town the year before going to Japan.  Dad pastored the Hopefield Mennonite Church.

This picture above is right before they went to Japan.

Sarah recommended going to The Hub for lunch.

There was enough for me to take home for Allen and I to share another meal.

We going to study the book of Haggai.  There are about 20 of us studying this every other week.  It will take us until the Spring to study this 2 chapter book of the Old Testament!  We decided on our schedule and what we'd do on the first day.

In this world that seems to be falling apart, we will learn how to take courage as Christians.  But as the saying goes, "the world is not falling apart, it is falling into place."

"Fear not.  I AM with you always." is His promise!