By Bill Herr

In my role as Chaplain at Mennonite Memorial Home, I was blessed to meet many special residents. Some modeled not only great faith, but also special talents. Grace Moyer Frounfelker was one.

Very sharp of mind in her nineties, she was a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and had been living in Bluffton. She was active at First Mennonite Church. She and her husband had lived in a wilderness area out west. He was an outdoorsman and psychologist and wore a beard before beards became commonplace among men.

They had no children, but Grace taught children with church school classes, taught at summer camps, vacation Bible school, and neighborhood Bible clubs in her home and church. She wrote children's church school curriculum for the General Conference Mennonite Church.

She wrote a book about children, not about how we teach them, but how children teach us. It was the only book she ever wrote, but it won an "Angel Award" from Hollywood. As a Little Child is the title of the book. It comes from Jesus' words in Mark 10:15, "Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."

Many of the stories in the book came from her personal experiences. Some of the material came from family and friends. Her stories often express the spiritual potential of every child who has not been too negatively impacted by our culture.

Grace and I became friends. In our visits, I found that she had loved her husband very much. With his beard, a little child once said to him, "Hello, Jesus." When he became ill with a terminal disease, Grace grieved the thought of losing him. She said that she would drive to the hospital to be with him every day. She once stopped by the side of the road, opened the window and screamed at the top of her lungs.

As I entered her apartment one time, she stood up from her chair and said, "Will you please give me a hug. I need a hug today." She was thinking about her husband. One of the saddest days of my time as chaplain was when a nurse told me Grace had just died. She had been healthy, not at all ill. When I went into her room she had the most peaceful look on her face. I figured God had reunited her with her beloved husband.

To give a sense of her writing, I will share two illustrations from her book:

Sophia was about fifteen months old when the family flew to Alabama to visit friends. During the visit, she was sick. On the flight home to Pennsylvania, Sophia, unhappy and cranky, tried the patience of her parents. Her father finally became exasperated with her. Big brother Jesse, four years old, turned to his father and said, "Daddy, she's tired, and she's hungry, and she just wants somebody to hold her gently and not yell at her. How often a child's compassion exceeds our expectations!

Justin, age three, sat near me in the small country church. "This is a dreary morning," said the worship leader. "Let's brighten it by turning around and shaking hands with our neighbors." Justin sat in the front row with his grandmother. Unnoticed by her, he slipped into the row behind her and moved across, shaking hands with each person. He turned into the next row, stepping carefully across feet and around knees, continuing to shake hands with each person. He finished the last pew on the left side, then moved across to the last pew on the right side.

The worship leader announced, "I guess we'll go on with the service even if Justin isn't finished." Justin continued across each row on the right, from back to front. Neighbors and visitors alike all got a courteous handshake from the solemn little towheaded boy. Justin didn't say a word. He just acted out his own sense of fairness. Everyone deserved his attention and handshake.

Grace Frounfelker's book emits a fragrance of love and compassion on almost every page. I wish everyone could read it.