ProQuest Dissertations - The University of Arizona Campus Repository

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This dissertation would not have been possible without the cooperation, patience and
interest of the Old Colony and General Conference women, men and young people of the
Bustillos Valley in Chihuahua, Mexico. In their generosity, women opened their homes
and let me come into their everyday lives. I am grateful for their hospitality, for hours of
spatsearen, and for lasting friendships. To the Mennonite women in the Cuauhtemoc
area, I dedicate this dissertation.
My deepest gratitude and appreciation go to my dissertation committee. I thank
Professor Mark Nichter for his constructive criticism, caring encouragement, and mindful
mentorship. Professor Herman Bleibtreu has provided me with first contacts to the
Mennonites of the Cuauhtemoc area, and with insights pertaining to the "men's world."
He also introduced me to then Ph.D.-candidate Kelly Hedges, whose academic generosity
and enthusiasm for the Mennonites in Mexico strengthened my decision to work with this
fascinating group of people. I thank Professor Helen Henderson for her expertise in
women's studies and her insight into women's everyday struggles in men's worlds. I am
also grateful to Professors Daniel Nugent (who passed away untimely in October 1997,
but who lives on in the memory and work of his students). Ana Ortiz, and Richard
Thompson, who served on my Prelims Committee. In addition, I want to thank INAH
Chihuahua, especially Jose Luis Perea Gonzalez, Silvia Ortiz Echaniz and Ben Brown,
for their interest in and support of my project.
The Graduate College Graduate Student Final Project Fund and the Edward H. Spicer
Research Fund, both from the University of Arizona, have partially funded this
dissertation. I greatly appreciate their support.
My fellow graduate students and friends Elea Aguirre, who first alerted me to the
presence of Mennonites in Mexico, Paola Sesia, Eda Saynes, Maribel Alvarez, Sophie
Frishkopf, Hortensia Caballero, and Jose Luis Moctezuma Zamarron made graduate
studies an unforgettable experience. In particular, I thank Sophie for her enthusiastic
proofreading of this dissertation. Naturally, I take the full responsibility for any
remaining mistakes. Julia Gousseva-Goodwin has been a loyal friend since the very first
day I arrived in Tucson, when destiny brought us together. She and her family occupy a
special place in my heart, as do Martina Schaefer and Andreas He0, whose frequent
cheering across the ocean brightened my days. In Tucson, the Shalom Mennonite
extended family not only was interested in their more traditional sisters and brothers in
faith in Mexico, but also offered much fnendship and practical support in times of
difficulty. Leah Stauber greatly helped during the final days of writing this dissertation.
From Germany, my parents, my two brothers and my in>Iaws throughout the years
have made efforts to stay in touch with me via weekly and surprise phone calls, letters or
e-mail messages. These efforts meant a lot to me. I was especially pleased when my
parents visited me in Chihuahua during my fieldwork because for the first time I could
show them by example the kind of work I have dedicated myself to.
Most of all, I am indebted to my husband Michael for postponing his own research in
Korea and instead coming to Mexico in order to be with me. I am grateful for all the
many ways he has supported me and my work, for his patience, for his faith in me, for his
infinite love, and for being my solid rock in the raucous river of life.
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