by Irene Bergen, translated by Louise Bergen Price

When we came to Canada in 1948, the only books we owned were the Bible and hymnbook we'd received from MCC, so the Mennonite periodical, Der Bote , became a very welcome guest in our home.

During the week there is no time to read, but on Saturday afternoon Mom finally has time to sit down. The house is clean, the floors washed and polished, buffed to a shine with an old soft sweater. Buns are rising on baking sheets on the table.

Saturday she does not have to cook supper--the evening meal will be fresh buns, boiled eggs, tea and coffee. So she sits on the wood box, tending the oven, waiting until it's just the right temperature to bake the buns. The first baking sheets go in, and soon aroma of Zwieback baking mingles with the smell of Johnson's paste wax. Mom leans back and reads. First the lists of new immigrants to Canada, then the devotional "Licht von Oben." Such interesting stories and poems, too--she's lost in another world when suddenly someone comes into the kitchen--"Mmm, fresh buns!"

Ach du liebe Zeit, they're too brown again! Can't put them in front of Faspa guests like that! She'll have to pay more attention next time. She shakes the buns, golden with just a hint of brown on the crust, onto the table, and slides two more sheets into the oven. She takes Der Bote and moves to a chair near the window where the light is better.

Dad comes into the kitchen, sees the fresh crusty buns on the table, nicely browned, just the way he likes them. Mom is so deeply immersed in the paper, she doesn't notice he's in the room. He takes a piece of firewood, slides it quietly into the oven--just to help the next batch turn out as perfectly brown and golden as the first.

At Sunday Faspa, along with fresh buns and coffee, the discussion centers around news and stories from Der Bote. The children have their own page: Der Kinderbote, filled with stories and poems.

In the mid-fifties, when the Iron Curtain opens, Der Bote and its cousin paper, the Mennonitische Rundschau, are filled with lists of people searching for relatives . Jakob Bergen of Sch?nhorst, now living in Germany, born 1928, looking for his family... Peter Bergen of Sch?nhorst, living in Russia, born 1931, ... Hundreds of families finally receive news about friends and loved ones.

When large numbers of Umsiedler leave Russia in the 1980's and 90's, there are lists in Der Bote, this time of people who've moved to Germany. Again people scan the lists and wonder--will there be family members, friends among these names?

For many years now, Der Bote has been a welcome guest in the homes of Russian Mennonites. Now when Mom and her friends gather for Faspa of coffee and Zwieback, they often ask: Have you read in Der Bote that this person has died, too?