Anna realized that, had she come upon herself at a Mennonite hymn sing a year ago, she might have wondered what she was doing there. But, new though the experience was, she was enjoying the wonderful music. Two fellows played guitars, and in addition to a piano, there was even a set of drums on the platform. As Mart sat next to her, his deep baritone joining in, Anna felt relieved to be familiar with nearly all of the worshipful, joyful hymns.

Anna pictured her Beachy church back home, where the men and boys always sat on the right side of the congregation, and the women, babies, and young children sat on the left, rather than all together or even paired up as couples, like people were here. Her church taught that being segregated in church helped attendees to keep their focus on the Lord during worship, rather than on their spouse or family.

Paying attention again to the singing, Anna decided she wouldn’t let any of this distract her further. After all, the words of the hymns pointed to Christ, and that was what really mattered.

After the hymn sing, Anna strolled out to the lobby with Mart, where he politely introduced her to two other couples, who warmly welcomed her. Anna noticed several young ladies standing near a wall rack of missionary prayer cards and other items, eyeing her and Mart.

Charlotte Meck and her fiancé, Austin Howell, came over to talk, as well. All of them stood around and fellowshipped a bit longer, and soon the group of singles and couples decided to go out for a bite to eat. Mart invited Anna to meet him and the others at a nearby diner, and she agreed, happy for the opportunity to spend more time with all of them.

At the restaurant, Anna ordered a piece of strawberry pie with vanilla ice cream, as did the other two young women. Mart and the other young men ordered burgers and fries while continuing their conversation. Anna especially enjoyed Mart’s interaction with Austin, who said that he and Charlotte hoped to be married within the year. “Charlotte and I really want my minister-uncle to marry us, so we’ve been talking with our pastor about how to go about that,” he informed them.

“What if your uncle simply officiated over your marriage vows, and the pastor gave the wedding sermon?” Mart suggested. “It can’t be uncommon when someone has a close relative who’s a minister.”

Austin and Charlotte appeared to like that idea, and Austin said he’d look into it. It struck Anna how engaging and agreeable Mart’s circle of friends was—all very supportive of one another.

“How about we all go to the Hershey Story Museum sometime and take the tour? I’d be up for a visit to the Chocolate Lab,” Mart suggested with a glance at Anna.

“When?” one of the other fellows asked.