Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

The Wiebe Family.
Grandmother came with her family to Canada
from Russia; arrived at Quebec on July 30,
1876 on the S.S. Sardinian (Bergthal Gemeindebuch).
The family included her parents, Abram
and Aganetha Wiebe, sons: Jacob (17), Johann
(9), Gerhard (5), Bernhard (3), daughters: Aganetha
(14), Elizabeth (13), and Heindrich (8),
who died at sea, and was buried there.
I must have been somewhere in my teens
when I last visited my grandmother. She was
spending time at her only married daughter’s
place. She was concerned about how all the
people were accepting Family Allowance
(Rejierungs Yelt) She asked me if we were also
accepting it. I said “no”. Then she asked, if we
had applied for it. I said yes, but so far we had
not received any money.
I also noticed what beautiful hands she had,
and they must have done an awful lot of washing
with lye soap and a scrub board. Grandma your
hands were beautiful. Grandmother had an eye
problem. She always wore a head covering (Duok)
and had a blue patch covering her one eye.
Writing this brings back so many memories.
est well, grandma.
- Granddaughter, Pauline Unger Penner
Endnotes
1 He did not include the date of his third marriage. The
date has been taken from The Bergthal Gemeinde Buch, 94,
B29.
2 Revelation 20:13, KJV.
A Useful Instruction for the
Beginning of a Christian Marriage
written for their Children by Heinrich and Elisabeth Plett
Beloved children, Jakob and Gertruda, in remembrance.
Your wedding day was October 4th,
1931; [we] began to write on the 18th of January,
1932, from Heinrich and Elisabeth Plett.
I feel constrained to provide you, our beloved
children, with a short memorial to take
along with you, as you commence your life’s
journey, with the wish that you might take the
same to heart and that you would receive it from
your parents, who love you dearly, knowing well
that during the course of your wedded life, much
wisdom and good advice will be beneficial for
you. Do take note, that your current status can
be associated with all manner of circumstances;
you can await joyful and blessed days, as well as
sorrows and cares. That is, if the Lord will allow
you to live together for a time in this sorrowful
world. Yet, we are of the firm conviction that you
have set out upon your wedded life in sincere
prayer unto God, and have sought out His leading
in this most serious undertaking. Therefore,
you can also be comforted and assured that our
God of peace and love was with you and will
bless your beginnings. From then, henceforth, it
will also be your duty and obligation to articulate
your lives according to the word of God and to
always have God before you and in your hearts
and to live in the fear of the Lord.
Since young wedded people are often in
need of instruction for their inexperience, I
thought I would put before you several writings
and citations from the Word of God, although
they might have already been mentioned during
the course of the betrothal, of which I have to
instruct you. There are a number of scriptures
necessary to know in the laws of Moses: in
Leviticus chapter 18, verse 19, and chapter 20,
verse 18, and Ezekiel 18, verse 6; and after that
the Apostle Paul provides some clarification in
Corinthians 7, 1 Peter 3, verses 1-7, and Colossians
3, verses 18 and 19, defining the nature of
the obligations of the wedded couple, bringing
forth the love and mutual trust which is to arise
there from by the will of God. And yet, we
should exert ourselves in our faith to always
exercise the virtues enumerated in 2 Peter 1,
verse 6, in order to carry out the admonishments
of Paul and 1 Thessalonians 7. And in this vein,
there would be many directions applicable to
marriage. For this reason I also advise you to
diligently read in the Word of God, and to regard
it as your road guide in all circumstances,
which may well come upon you. Also that it
might shine as a bright light throughout all the
days of your lives whereby you will also be
able to comfort yourselves in many a joy and
blessing. Particularly, for the present, may you
truly feel blessed that your hearts have been truly
betrothed to each other, and, as we hope, have
mutually been surrendered to each other.
On! What an unspeakable good fortune it
is to have found someone who wishes to be
entwined with us from their innermost being:
who wishes to take mine, and I theirs, with everything
that they have and are, to stand together,
mutually sharing and carrying joy and sorrow
and out of love and responsibility to accept and
to entrust everything to each other, and that not
only for a brief time, but until your last breath.
Oh, beloved children! May God preserve you
in such good fortune in everything which may
befall you. Indeed, our wish would be that it
might—on both sides—increase from time to
time. Oh, how we parents from both sides will
rejoice when we see our children walking in
love and harmony, being glad one for the other,
and serving each other as God has commanded,
each one serving the other in joy and sorrow,
according to their gifts.
Beloved children. Would that God might
grant you such grace, for the wedded life holds
within it so many aspects, and for which reason
it does not unfold without much effort. Yes, there
is the exercise of the sunshine, blessing and joy,
as well as its many obligations and duties: [but
also] various trials of the flesh as well as of the
spirit. Yes, there is much concern and work in
taking heed to constrain the [fleshly] nature - to
deny oneself and break one’s own will and so on,
as a willing sacrifice, making the one indebted to
the other. It does not do any damage and, indeed,
brings good fortune to the marriage not to cease
from so doing. To the contrary, this is good and
wholesome in the Spirit and according to the
will of God, shall bring the well-being of the
marriage to fruition, and is generally productive,
as is demonstrated by the experience of all
properly constituted marriages.
Therefore, beloved children, trust in the help
of the Lord at all times with good courage for
He cares for his virtuous children, and do not
forget the God who is your shepherd and call
upon Him without ceasing. Thank Him always
for everything which He might bestow upon
you. Go about your work with diligence and
sincerity, but never without care and take with
full appreciation that which is entrusted unto
you. To you, our beloved son, that you would
here and there make your wife feel she is the
most precious and holy goodness in your life;
the one whom you care for, cherish and treasure
above all else, next only to God. And to you, our
beloved daughter, regarding how you can manifest
to your man, a true, servant-like, submissive
and friendly love and that you might come to his
support with good advice and joyful deeds, and
that he might nowhere feel as blessed as when
in your presence.
Therefore, beloved children, take heed of
and avoid the first accusing word or dissatisfaction,
which would be your greatest good fortune.
Indeed, consider for the moment, the difference
between a happy and an unhappy marriage,
for there is certainly nothing more miserable
in all the world than strife and disputation in
wedded life, and conversely, there is nothing
more blessed than peace, love and harmony.
For this reason, beloved children, be diligent
for the sake of love and harmony and gladly
acquiesce to deny your own intentions, so as
not to disturb the peace, for thereby one can
avoid much [evil].
Therefore, children, take into consideration
in thought and deed, and learn from the outset to
mutually carry each others character weaknesses
and misdeeds in love or to circumvent the same
in order not to disturb the peace and the glorious
and worthy blessing of the home. Undoubtedly
this will provide both of you with daily trials,
for certainly at times the situation will occur
were it is necessary to remain silent, yield, endure,
confess, apologize and to deny yourself.
But make haste to do so and contemplate only
the best thoughts one towards the other, and
Preservings No. 26, 2006 - 59