I became a missionary teacher and then a nurse and escaped to the mission field, the one avenue open to single women.

I became a confused believer with a heart for Jesus but drowning under a sea of rules, regulations, and legalism.

Faith, step parents and unquestioning obedience is a dangerous combination when mixed with mental illness, legalism, and heavy handed physical correction. My teen years took a drastic turn when my mom got saved, got married, and joined an ultra-conservative Mennonite church. Devastated, Callie cries herself to sleep, only to be awakened a few hours later by her uncle with the startling news that Noah Koehn has asked permission to court her.Raised by a fun loving, atheist single mom who struggled with depression and mental illness, I spent my childhood backpacking around Europe, visiting yoga communes, eating vegan, living on a houseboat, then an old pony express outpost in the backwoods of Montana. The prayer has barely left her mouth when she finds a stack of letters with secrets about her parent&rsquo,s lives and their excommunication from the Mennonite church. She longs to do more to alleviate the poverty and sickness that surrounds her, but tradition and her uncle forbid her.On the eve of her twenty-third birthday, struggling with hopelessness as another year passes, Callie pleads with God to open a door for her.

Raised by her aunt and uncle after the death of her parents, Callie works beside her aunt cooking, cleaning, and sewing each day as the men head off to serve the community. Is one of these things the answer to her prayer? Would exploring her parents&rsquo, past mean losing a future with Noah? Is the exploration worth the risk?_,ĭoes Exploring Her Past Risk the Future?For a young Mennonite woman who wants to make a difference in the world, growing up on the mission field in Haiti should be the perfect fit. Devastated, Callie cries herself to sleep, only to be awakened a few hours later by her uncle with the startling news that Noah Koehn has asked permission to court her. Does Exploring Her Past Risk the Future?For a young Mennonite woman who wants to make a difference in the world, growing up on the mission field in Haiti should be the perfect fit.

Tremors of Doubt by Lael Harrelson