I’d like you to meet my guest today. Can you introduce yourself, please?

Guten Tag. My name is Lena Neubauer. My Momma named me Magdelena after her mother, but I have always been called Lena.

 I grew up as the oldest girl in a house with seven children.  My father provided for our happy childhood in the small German town of Frohn.

Have you lived in Germany your entire life?

Well, my adventurous older brother moved to America with his bride but when she died in childbirth, he sent for me to watch over their children there. Watching the younger children has always been a privilege to me. My own siblings were growing up, so I willingly traveled across the ocean to see to my brother’s needs. That is how I ended up here in America. 

So, are you a nanny?

 I’m not sure I’d call myself a nanny, only a helpful sister and aunt. We were taught always to put family first.

Was it scary to cross the Atlantic alone?

A young woman traveling alone in the mid-1800s was daunting. I knew no one else and tried to stay to myself but was befriended by a young family who took me in as if I were a nanny to their children. Isn’t it wonderful how the Lord provides in our time of need? 

Of course, America was nothing like my brother Herman described in his letters.  The treatment of the dockworkers in New Orleans alarmed me. I had no experience with slavery except the Bible passages about it. Being face to face with such ill treatment disturbed me.

Did you stay in New Orleans?

Fortunately, my brother lived upriver on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. We spent some time on a paddle-wheeler after only a brief stay in New Orleans. It was a very pleasant adventure.

It looks like there is more to that story. Would you like to elaborate?

Well, I met a young abolitionist Karl who became a sort of tour guide. He helped me understand much of what I was witnessing in this strange land. He was an unexpected Godsend for me.

Did you stay friends after the trip? You seem to be blushing.

I really cannot say. My story is yet unfinished with him, I think. His wild abolitionist ways are a bit frightening, yet intriguing. It is difficult to explain the hold he has on me, but I am in no position to give in to those thoughts. 

What do you expect the future to hold for you, Lena?

I pray that the Lord will lead me to always do the right thing. My brother Herman needs me and that is where I will stay until I am not needed there anymore. Whether that leaves me adrift in a strange land, only God knows. However, He has never left me nor forsaken me before and I am sure He will be beside me all the days of my life. 

Is there anything else you’d like everyone to know about you?

I am a child of God. He can take ordinary people like me across oceans to brave injustice and love through the most difficult circumstances. Always be open to how God can use you. That’s what He did for me when I trusted Him.

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Terri writes in the Idaho mountains where she lives with her husband and two big dogs. After raising three children and retiring as an English teacher, she now is a national speaker and Bible study leader for women’s groups.  She is also a successful writer of articles, devotions, retreats, and church programs. When she is not writing or kayaking down the MiddleFork of the Payette River, spending time with her grandchildren fills her heart.