Page 21 - The Diary of A. H. W. Behrens

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Nasty rumours later had it that the farm had been indebted. My father told me that when the inheritance shares of the children were paid out he had wanted to take up a mortgage but had intended to pay this from the forest that he wanted to cut down and the yield of which would have been more than enough to pay for the mortgage. But, unfortunately, Pastor Louis Harms kept the forest and took over the payment of the mortgage which amounts to the same. The farm in every respect served the Hermannsburg Mission well all these years from 1853 until now 1938 and will continue to do so.
God, our Lord, blessed us abundantly – as stated in Matthew 19 – for the donation made by my father and we never had
any shortage and the promise of our Lord Jesus, as contained in Matthew 19 literally fulfilled itself, as I will be telling you later. To him be praise and thanks!!
Now, in the old mission house, while my father was studying,
I was born on 16 May 1854 and was baptised by Pastor Louis Harms in the old church. Pastor Louis Harms often came to the mission house, my parents told me, often held me in his arms, kissed and blessed me. Unfortunately, my mother suffered from a bad breast so that I grew up on cow’s milk. My sister Maria was also born in the mission house.