God Talk

And where in Poland were these friends to whom the letter was delivered? We can't be exactly certain, but the documented origins of Arzis colonists can give us some possible clues. Arzis' 1848 chronicle indicates that the colony's two main groups of founding families came from the Kingdom of Poland, specifically the district cities of Kulm in Marienwerder Province, and Kronin in Kalisch Province. Depending on where the letter writer was from, chances are that these friends could have still been living in these areas.

God Talk

I was struck by the number of times the Arzis letter writer refers to God. (When was the last time you received a letter, or e-mail, that did so?) The letter begins and ends with such references— not surprising, since our ancestors were devoted Christians. The first reference says, "In God, beloved Friends!" The writer wants to emphasize that he, and presumably his friends in Poland, are in God's care, being in the fellowship of believers. In the last reference, a reliance on God's care is also underscored, as the writer commends the letter's recipients to "the protection of the Almighty." The lives of our early Bessarabian German ancestors were difficult and uncertain, prompting them to depend on the Heavenly Father as a shelter and refuge.

Two other phrases also emphasize this in other parts of the letter. The writer praises God for good health and trusts "that with God's help we will progress further" in prosperity. He hoped for this, not assuming it was a certainty. Life was extremely uncertain in the Bessarabian Germany colonies, so the colonists looked to God. This kind of life-and-death dependence on God is difficult to relate to in our smug, self-sufficient Western world of plenty, with ready access to advanced medical treatment and other luxuries.