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    A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember: Lancaster County Seasons (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga), #1
    A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember: Lancaster County Seasons (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga), #1
    A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember: Lancaster County Seasons (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga), #1
    Ebook121 pages2 hours

    A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember: Lancaster County Seasons (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga), #1

    By Rachel Stoltzfus

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    About this ebook

    Will Luke find himself and love in one amazing Amish summer?

    Sixteen-year-old Luke King has no idea he's throwing his life away, one video game at a time. But when Luke's Wall-Street father decides to send his son for the summer to live with his twin brother Hezekiah on his Lancaster Amish farm, Luke's life is turned inside out. Will Luke find the strength in God to turn his life around? And what about Luke's growing interest in their neighbor, 16-year-old Amish neighbor Hannah Yoder, whose dreams of an English life may end up risking both of their futures?

    Find out in A Lancaster Amish Summer by Rachel Stoltzfus. If you're looking for an Amish Christian book you can't put down, start A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember now!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGlobal Grafx Press
    Release dateJan 13, 2015
    ISBN9781507017937
    A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember: Lancaster County Seasons (An Amish of Lancaster County Saga), #1

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      Book preview

      A Lancaster Amish Summer to Remember - Rachel Stoltzfus

      PROLOGUE

      ––––––––

      Jeanne King sighed as she wove through morning Philadelphia traffic to the real estate office where she worked.  The persistent sound of sirens and beeping horns was a common background to her drive, drowned out by the increasing feeling that her life and marriage were falling apart.  Her husband and son seemed to be at loggerheads all the time.  Her greatest desire was for the two men that she loved so much to get along as they had before when Luke was still small, but ever since Luke entered his teen years, it seemed as though his father found fault with everything about him, from his clothing, to his music, to his walking style, and even his eating habits. 

      Jeanne did find her son to be a bit on the lazy side.  Still Jeanne found herself defending Luke in the face of his father’s constant stream of criticism, and lately Michael had begun accusing her of loving Luke even more than she loved him.

      Of course, I love my husband, Jeanne said to herself, but she couldn’t help but feel that in spite of her love for the man she had married seventeen years ago, they were drifting apart.  And most of their fights centered around Luke. 

      You mollycoddle the boy too much, Jeanne, Michael was prone to saying almost every morning as they had breakfast.  It’s no wonder that he does nothing besides lay around the house and play video games.

      As usual, Luke was still asleep, and even though the summer holidays had begun, Michael expected his son to be up early and accomplish something.  Luke needs to realize that he is growing up and begin to act responsibly.

      You know how easily Luke gets ill, Jeanne protested.  He has a weak constitution, and he shouldn’t overstrain himself.

      Weak constitution, indeed, Michael clicked in disgust.  "He checked out just fine with the doctor.  That boy is just plain lazy, and hard work will quickly cure him of that ailment you are calling a weak heart.  Why, if he was living on the Amish farm where I grew up, he would be choosing his bride right about now, and getting ready to take on responsibilities as a real man."

      If you feel being Amish is so good, then why did you leave? Jeanne knew that would shut her husband up, and it did, as usual.

      Michael stood and picked up his briefcase from where he had leaned it against the leg of their kitchen table.  He blinked and then pressing his lips together, put the suitcase down on the table beside his plate. 

      What is it? Jeanne asked, taking a bite of her toast. 

      She had expected her husband to walk out as he usually did, and that he was still here meant that this was bothering him more than usual.  Michael hated being reminded of the life on the farm that he had lived until he was twenty. 

      Michael pulled up a dining chair and sat next to his wife.

      Jeanne put down her toast.

      Jeanne, this time I am not walking out. Michael touched her cheek.  We need to talk about this.

      Jeanne held his hand and pressed it to her cheek briefly, closing her eyes before letting it go.  I am sorry, Michael, for talking about that...things... she said softly.  I don’t know why we argue so much these days.

      I’m sorry too, my love. Michael reached for her hand.  It is just that I feel that I have failed as a father.  Our son is turning into a selfish, and self-centered, person, who only thinks about himself and his comforts, and I am afraid, in the future, we will weep bitterly.  He is our progeny, and our posterity lies in him, Jeanne.  Can you imagine what our grandchildren will turn out to be if we allow Luke to go on the way he is?

      Jeanne shuddered visibly.  She had hopes of one day cuddling and enjoying her grandchildren, but, as her husband said, grandchildren, coming from Luke as he was right now, would be disastrous.  As much as she loved him and wanted him to have a good, happy life, she knew in her heart that her husband had a point.  He wasn’t moving forward with his life.  Instead, he filled his hours with superficial entertainments but had no more direction or purpose than he had as a child.  He was a child in the body and mind that should have been reaching, like a flower, towards adulthood. 

      What can we do? Jeanne asked, her small hands trembling in her husband’s, and he squeezed them gently. 

      I may have a solution which..., Michael held up a hand as she opened her mouth to speak.  Please hear me out, and at least think about it today, and we can talk more this evening when we get back home.

      Jeanne nodded. 

      I grew up in the Amish community.  And yes, I ran away from it all, but not because I hated it.  I left because I felt boxed in, and that there was a better way of life outside of those strict rules.  And yes, I still resent the way my whole life was controlled up until the time that I left, but I have to admit that growing up as Amish gave me a certain discipline.

      Jeanne nodded.  She could see that.  Michael was one of the most disciplined people she’d ever known. 

      "It is true that I chose the English way of life, but the years of hard work, frugal living, and discipline are what have made me who I am today.  Though I say it grudgingly, I must admit that the Amish way of life has, in its own way, contributed to my being a successful Wall Street investment banker.  I wanted Luke to have the freedom I never had a child, but I think we’ve both given him too much.  He needs to learn the value of hard work and sacrifice, whatever life he chooses to lead."

      Jeanne agreed with that.  We could send him to volunteer somewhere... Though where, and if her son would agree Jeanne had no idea.

      A few weeks ago, I wrote to Hezekiah.

      Jeanne’s eyes widened.  Your twin brother?  Why?

      "I am forty-nine, Jeanne.  I left home when I was twenty-one, during my rumspringa, and have never looked back.  We were in Europe fifteen years ago when my parents died in the fire, and I couldn’t face them after we missed the funeral.  It was just after you and I got married and had Luke, I just couldn’t go back and face them... He was blinking rapidly, his head bowed.  He swallowed and took a breath.  I have missed my brother.  It’s time to mend fences, and reconcile with my brother."

      Jeanne nodded in understanding.  She had two sisters who lived on different continents.  Anna, her elder, was married to a British man, and they worked for the Red Cross in Burundi.  Miriam, who was younger than her, lived in Australia, with her Australian husband.  Even though the three sisters were so far apart, they made every effort to travel and be together each year.  From the time she had met Michael, and known about his estrangement from his brother, she had prayed that they would one day be reconciled, and now her prayers were being answered. 

      Baby, won’t Hezekiah get into trouble with the church for communicating with you?

      No.  I never took my Kneeling Vows, so while some may not be happy with my choices, it won’t get Hezekiah in trouble.  I just thought that I should write and tell him all about you and Luke.  He needs to know that I love him, and have missed him, and I would love for us to be a family once again.

      Oh, baby. Jeanne took his hand and held it to her cheek.  I will be praying for things to go well.  But what do we do about our son?

      "When I wrote to Hezekiah, I told him all about Luke, and how his behavior is of much concern to us.  His poor grades, his bad behavior, how he spends his allowance so recklessly, without a thought for tomorrow, and I am so fearful that he may have

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