Wanda’s Journal

Fellowship

Last month two of our dear Amish friends traveled by train and came to visit us in our home in Washington. We had a great time showing them around our state and introducing them to some of our friends and family members.

For the last week, my husband and I have been fellowshipping with some of our Amish friends in Northeastern Indiana, where I was invited to do several book signings and speaking engagements. We’ve had a wonderful time sharing meals in their homes and getting caught up on one another’s lives.

Despite the fact that we dress differently and live a different lifestyle than our Amish friends, we have many things in common and enjoy spending time together. When we are not with each other in person, we stay in touch through letters and phone calls. The strongest thing that binds us together with our Amish friends is our love for God and His people. What a blessing it is to fellowship with other believers.

When was the last time you did something special with your friends, and what did you do?

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54 Comments

  1. Fellowship with good friends is very important, actually commanded of the Lord to encourage each other. Thus we don’t grow weary in doing good and we encourage each other to love and good works ! My friend Amanda Todt came here and we had a wonderful visit and another time she and her pastor and daughter brought me wood for heating we needed ! She is a joy to me and i have mentored her for 14 years now…smile
    Blessings
    Linda Finn

  2. It was great to meet you at the Blue Gate Theater. I know it was a special thrill for my mom. It was a great way to finish our mother/daughter get-away. I love the way that the Amish were respectfully integrated into your story line. I was at an Amish fabric/general store on my way home and the store was not busy. The young women attending the store was reading one of your books. I was tickled to see her engrossed in the book so much I don’t think that she wanted to stop to wait on me. I almost apologized to draw her away from it. 🙂 Cindy

  3. Went to dinner with friends the other night and enjoyed hearing about the classes that were being given at my friend’s church. I think it is important to try to keep in touch with friends.

  4. My friend Will Kiffer takes me to church every sunday. And one day we went to Hackman’s in Pennsylvania, then to his house, then to Burger King. I had a great timw.

    Christy Walk
    139 s franklin street
    Fleetwood, PA 19522

  5. We just celebrated our youth choir reunion (20 years plus). There were events all weekend and the finale was a concert at our church. It was so much fun and such a blessing to reconnect with many friends.

    I also want to say how much I enjoy reading your books! Thank you 🙂

  6. Hi Wanda,
    so happy to hear youare having such a wonderful time with your friends. I have always wanted Amish friends, but when I try to carry on a conversation they just nod or say very little. We have quite a few that live south of us. They go to the chriopractor that I go to. But I keep praying GOd will send me an Amish friend. I can hardly wait for book 6 to come out it the Discovery Saga…
    Take care God Bless,
    Nancy Burgos

  7. If we are truly of Christ we should be able to have fellowship with other believers no matter what Christian fellowship we worship with.
    Also I have read a number of Wanda’s books and one of the things I appreciate is how she weaves the Gospel into the story so that can “hear” the good news. Whether one needs to hear it for the first time or to remind believers of a biblical truth.

  8. Hi Wanda,
    First off I would like to say that I love reading your books and am always looking forward for the next one to come out. I am a driver for the Amish in my area, which is Harrison County, OH. I have made many wonderful Amish friends in the past year that I have been driving in this area. I am originally from Holmes and Wayne counties of Ohio, so I have been around them all my life. They really are amazing people. I thank god every day for my friends both Amish and English. Later this summer I am taking one of my families to KY for a couple days and staying on their family’s farm with them, should be a great time.
    God bless and have a wonderful day.

  9. Being a preachers kid, we have moved many times and I always enjoy catching up with dear friends over dinner usually. It gives us time to sit, relax, and enjoy each others company. Love this series. Can’t wait to see what happens.

    Blessings to you,
    Sherrie

  10. I’m getting ready to have a great week with my extended family in New England and can hardly wait…. wish we had the time to go to Lancaster again… love it there…
    Can’t wait to read this series…
    Blessings,
    Lee

  11. I’ll be getting together w/a dear friend of mine on Friday!! I can’t wait!! She lives out of state. So, I only get to see her every now * then. But, we’ll be going to Kings ~ to go shopping!! ~ We’ll also be going out for lunch. maybe @ Yoder’s. Whatever we do, we’ll have a great time. Because it’s 2 good friends spending time together.

  12. Wanda fellowship is important . Nice to hear you had a good time with your Amish friends . We are going to Virginia in a couple of weeks to visit some friends of ours . So looking forward to the visit . Thanks . Would love to win your book . Thank you , I love this series .

  13. On June 19, 2013 my husband & I went miniature golfing @ 222 Dutch Lanes. It was to celebrate our 32nd year since our 1st date. (That’s where we went for our 1st date.) We had a wonderful time. We were the only ones playing!! 🙂
    On August 13,2013, we will celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary!! I’m very blessed to have my Love ~ Ron~ in my life. God is so awesome! 🙂

  14. I really enjoy spending time with family and friend. Godly fellowship is the best. I’m glad you are having fun with your friends.

  15. Just today I had lunch with 2 lovely ladies from church – we are all on the Presbyterian Women’s Council and are beginning to plan our fall kick-off dinner – meeting with the rest of the council on Thursday. Being an only child with no children, my friends are my lifeline.

  16. My husband has a large family. I came from a very small family. I LOVE seeing my children fellow shipping with their cousins! They all have such a wonderful relationship!

  17. Our friends granddaughter paid for them to fly down from MO to FL to visit us for a week. Lucy doesn’t get out of the house much when she’s home, she has all 5 of the Collagen Vascular Diseases, Lupus, Raynaud’s, Scleroderma, etc. along with diabetes and heart problems. The Lupus has begun to attack her lungs. I knew that her husband needed a new computer and since they do a lot for my mother-in-law since we don’t live close to her, I wanted to give him one but knew he wouldn’t take it for doing those things, I asked if he would rebuild our ‘rotting’ back porch while he was here (we also needed a ramp since my husband is now handicapped) and we would buy him a new laptop, he agreed. So while he was enjoying the construction work, and they both insist that he really enjoyed it, I took his wife out of the house every day, we went to lunch, we did some crafts at Clayz Arts and just did some shopping. He was very happy that Lucy got out and did things daily and we all enjoyed our visit immensely, the visit was not long enough.

    wfnren(at)aol(dot)com

  18. It is a beautiful thing to be able to share your faith with others. It is nice to see that others can get along well with you because of your faith. It sounds like you have a lot of beautiful friendships!

  19. Today we spent the day with our dear friends. We went to lunch in Alliance, O. and afterward they took us to a butterfly garden. We enjoyed it so much. At the end of July, we will be going on a bus trip to Lancaster with them. Can’t wait. After him having a long siege with his heart, it is nice to be able to get out and go with them again. Thanks for the great stories. Can’t wait for number six. Thanks again.

  20. It has been a while since I’ve been together with family and friends. When we do get together we always have so much fun getting caught up on everyone’s comings and goings, if any new grandbabies have been born, etc. Such fun!

    I really enjoy your books. I was hoping to come to Shipshe to see you again but plans just didn’t work out!

    Blessings!
    Judy B

  21. Today I went to a doctor’s appointment with a friend then we went shopping. She is a quilter and I am new to quilting, we both enjoy looking at fabric and trying to see what a quilt might look like. I so enjoy your books and have enjoyed sharing them with friends. Looked forward each of the last five months to finding the new one that has come out in this last series.

  22. I am ashamed to say I have very few friends. The couple I do have I don’t get to do very much with them because I am a caregiver for my mom. I can’t remember the last time I did anything out of my usual routine. I need a vacation. LOL Have a great time with your friends!

    Wanda Barefoot
    flghtlss1(at)yahoo(dot)com

  23. I stay close to family. 8 grand kids and i clean & cook for my mom who will be 80 this summer. She needs extra help an so do my aunt & uncle and my brother & sister in law. We help each other with food, getting to dr, etc. it’s something I’m glad I can do for them. plainfancy4@yahoo.com

  24. This past Saturday, I went to a corn frolic with some friends from church. At the end of the day there were 704 pints of corn bagged for the freezer. On Thursday’s some of the ladies get together at the home of a widow in the community. She is the mother-in-love to two of the ladies, but she is “Mom” to the ladies and Grandma Sarah to all the children.

  25. My good friend from church and my niece spent this past weekend in Nappanee, IN at Friend Fest. It was an awesome time! We stayed at a hotel in Goshen and spent all day Friday and Saturday listening to awesome Christian music and spending time with other believers. It was such an uplifting, encouraging time!

  26. We really enjoy having friends.You never have too many friens. The Lord has blessed us with a lot of friends. We do alot with our church people. We love Bible studies. We have them once a month. We learn so much about the Bible. We learn about different peoples output. We also visit the nursing homes once a week. It uplifts the peoples spirits and we have joyful hearts doing it. We also love reading your books. We have read everyone so far.
    May the Lord bless you and Richard
    Linda and Richard Roberts

  27. I love your books Wanda, I have them all. Please keep up the great work. Back in March myself and seven other friends took a Caribbean cruise it was our first and we had a ball.

  28. Almost every Wednesday a couple lady’s and I get together for Card making, or what I like to call crafting. We don’t always make cards, we like to make crafts too for upcoming church baby showers or weddings coming up. For me its not just about getting together for card making but also for a time of fellowship, and getting to know each other and being able to talk about what is on our mind and hearts.

  29. Dear Wanda the last time I did something special with my friends was on June 22nd my Amish friends took me to different stores in Middlefield Ohio she bought me and my sister a trance balloon and some candy and she bought some Rachel yoder books for my sister and then we took her to Walmart to get some eggs then her husband and all of her family and I played a game called skittle. Then her husband took my sister and I into town on his Amish buggy. I would love to get book #6 to give to my Amish friends as a thank you gift
    Sincerely
    George

  30. Wanda your books are great. Can’t wait to see how things turn out. So nice to be able to share your beliefs with friends. I think its such a wonderful thing. Keep happy and don’t stop writing. Would love to win that last book! Sonja

  31. Wanda your books are great. Can’t wait to see how things turn out. So nice to be able to share your beliefs with friends. I think its such a wonderful thing. Keep happy and don’t stop writing. Would love to win that last book! Sonja

  32. We adopted a dog…such a cute little guy. His other family had to give him up because of health reasons. Long story. We invited them to come up and spend the afternoon with us and play with Rusty. Great food, great conversation and the chance to watch two special people play with the dog they had to give up. Now, we have new friends, close Christian ones, and a dog who brings us joy and fun each day. We are going to have them over again and again…and I hope to be able to continue sharing a little brown and white dog for years to come.

  33. Spending the day catching up with a friend and her kids. Eating pizza and planning our next year of homeschooling. Loved book #6! Thanks!!!

    1150 S Colony Way Ste #3 PMB 209
    Palmer, AK 99645

  34. Camping is my favorite means of fellowship. Whether it be with family, friends, or just hubby and me….I absolutely love this kind of fellowship!
    Love your books, Wanda! Book 6 is all I need!! Going to Camp in Holmes County, Ohio, in September. Can’t wait!

  35. June 23rd the ladies of the Woman’s Missionary Union,(WMU) in our church hosted a tea for our church family. It was to celebrate 125 years of the WMU. A lot of work went into this celebration. We used,real China and served finger foods. We enjoyed setting the tea up and used nice table clothes and center pieces. We had 4 ladies from our church act out the parts of different missionaries from the past. Lotti Moon and , Annie Armstrong being two that were featured. We had a retired missionary come in as the main speaker.
    It was a lot of work but we enjoyed planning the tea , setting it up and hosting it. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. A time of Christian fellowship and learning about life in the mission field and sharing memories of the past.

  36. Hi Wanda…I really enjoyed reading your books they are very inspirational and when I read them it’s like i’m right there…They help me to remember that God is in control and we have to have faith in him. I enjoy fellowshipping with my family and friends we quote scriptures and sing songs…

  37. I really love reading your books and I can’t wait to start reading on your new Amish series. Amish fiction is my favorite genre to read.

    Fellowship is very important, every year my friends and I plan a picnic get together in the summertime. Its always great to catch up with each other since we live quite a ways away from each other and getting together is sometimes difficult.

  38. My family got together on Father’s Day! We had a great time catching up and hanging out! I love having that fellowship with my family! We are a pretty close-knit family, which I love! I just wanted to say that I LOVE all of your books! I find myself re-reading some of them just because they are inspiration to me! I am patiently waiting to get my hands on A Vow for Always! I absolutely love this series!

  39. I was recently introduced to two very nice young women and actually we got together to just sit and talk with one another. We also played the card game Uno and Kings in the Corner but we ha the most fun getting to know one another and then playing Uno.
    Mary Lou K Would so love to win your book! I love the title and it sounds great!
    flowersmarylou85@gmail.com
    Thanks so much for offering us this wonderful contest! Blessings

  40. Spent Monday evening with a friend enjoying a milk shake while we caught up with each other. It’s nice to spend time with friends even when life styles and beliefs are different. We were all created equally in God’s eyes and He loves each one of us. We can gain insight from others if we are sensitive to the Lord’s leading and why He has placed our friends and acquaintances in our life’s journey here on earth. Love your books and anxious for book 6 to be released.

  41. I just love your books. Really look forward to reading your new book. My friend in Tenn. and I are sort of competing against each other trying to read as many Amish books as we can before meet again in the fall for a vacation together.

  42. I love reading your books but I have heard names of the families in the books. My mind is asking the questions is this Lapp family related to that Lapp family. It is hard to keep them together or separated in the different books. I know this is hard to explain what I am talking about. I was wondering if you could do a book on the family trees of the families. It is the way my mind thinks–who belongs to whom!!!1

    1. Unless the families I write about are in the same series, they are usually not related to other characters I have written about in my other series. An exception would be my Kentucky Brothers series, which does have a family tree at the beginning of the book. This series is a spin-off from my Daughters of Lancaster County series.

  43. I visited our church members today with my husband, the church friends were doing okay, they had a rough week. We didn’t stay long, had a wuick prayer and came home. I would like to visit more people more often but that is hard on my salary..,my husband doesn’t work so it makes it hard to do. Hopefully soon.

  44. I brought lunch to a friend today and we spent our time together playing games.

    I would love to win on Oct. 21 since that is my 50th Birthday!

  45. I live in a retirement community of independent living. Most of the residents are in their 80s and 90s. One friend gets “bored” on the weekends as the staff isn’t present to have activities so five of us join her to play Dominoes on Sunday afternoon. March 2 was the 89th birthday of one of the ladies. We surprised her with cake and ice cream and all signed a card. It made her feel special.

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