Miriam and the Stranger

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Authors: Jerry S. Eicher

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Miriam and the Stranger
Jerry S. Eicher

Miriam Yoder is living a happy life as the beloved school teacher in the small Clarita, Oklahoma Amish community having accepted the fact that she will likely never marry. But when a local freelance reporter enters her world, Miriam is astonished to find herself attracted to the handsome
Englisha
man.

The very next week, widower Mose Stoll arrives from her home community of Possum Valley, Ohio, in search of a second
frau
. Mose has spoken with Miriam's father and is ready to meet Miriam in person. If he finds no serious flaw in Miriam, Mose plans to marry her and take her home to Possum Valley.

When Miriam follows her heart instead of her head, she finds herself facing excommunication. Suddenly her happy life has been turned upside down with no possible solution...unless God intervenes.

Jerry Eicher's many fans (more than 600,000 books sold) will delight in this concluding volume in his Land of Promise series.

Book three in the Land of Promise series

A Checklist of Jerry Eicher’s Harvest House Books

The Adams County Trilogy

Rebecca’s Promise

Rebecca’s Return

Rebecca’s Choice

Hannah’s Heart

A Dream for Hannah

A Hope for Hannah

A Baby for Hannah

Little Valley Series

A Wedding Quilt for Ella

Ella’s Wish

Ella Finds Love Again

Fields of Home Series

Missing Your Smile

Following Your Heart

Where Love Grows

Emma Raber’s Daughter

Katie Opens Her Heart

Katie’s Journey to Love

Katie’s Forever Promise

The Beiler Sisters

Holding a Tender Heart

Seeing Your Face Again

Finding Love at Home

Land of Promise Series

Miriam’s Secret

A Blessing for Miriam

Miriam and the Stranger

My Dearest Naomi

Susanna’s Christmas Wish

Nonfiction

The Amish Family Cookbook (with Tina Eicher)

My Amish Childhood

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

Cover photos © Chris Garborg; George D./Bigstock

MIRIAM AND THE STRANGER

Copyright © 2015 Jerry S. Eicher

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Eicher, Jerry S.

Miriam and the stranger / Jerry S. Eicher.

pages ; cm. — (Land of promise ; book 3)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5883-7 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5884-4 (eBook)

1. Amish—Fiction. 2. Mate selection—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3605.I34M56 2015

813'.6—dc23

2014044385

All rights reserved.
No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s and publisher’s rights is strictly prohibited.

Contents

A Checklist of Jerry Eicher’s Harvest House Books

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Discussion Questions

About the Author

Other Books in the Land of Promise Series

Ready to Discover More?

About the Publisher

Chapter One

M
iriam Yoder opened the schoolhouse door and looked across the ball diamond where only a couple of hours ago the children had played softball at recess. The sunbathed, open Oklahoma landscape stretched off into the horizon. Miriam paused with her hand on the doorknob. This little one-room schoolhouse had been hers for the past two years. She was the teacher, and the Clarita Amish community had become home to her. Here she had found a land of promise in which to heal and to grow after the tragedy of her beloved Wayne’s death—even if that now meant she might have to walk alone as a single woman for the rest of her life.

A smile filled Miriam’s face when Star’s whinny from the small weather shelter broke into her thoughts.


Yah
,” Miriam hollered. “I know I’m late, but you don’t have to be in such a hurry.”

Star tossed his head as if he understood, and Miriam closed the schoolhouse door behind her. Aunt Fannie would have supper on
the table by now. She shouldn’t have worked so late, but at least she had managed to finish correcting the last of the arithmetic tests. Tomorrow the scholars would be happy with their grades. Her entire third-grade class of four students had received scores above ninety, which was an accomplishment after last year when all four had struggled so hard. She had spent time this term with the students whenever there had been a spare moment. The other grades also needed a fair share of her attention, but the extra effort with the third-graders had paid off. Their faces would glow with happiness when she told them the news, and further joy would fill her own heart. Her fourth teaching term had begun this fall, and what grace the Lord had granted her that she could play even a small part in the development of these precious children’s lives. The Lord had surely been with her since Wayne’s passing during that awful tornado.

Star lifted his head as Miriam approached, and she rubbed his nose. The white mark on his forehead was highlighted in the soft afternoon sunlight. Miriam traced the outline of the imprint while Star held his head perfectly still, fully enjoying the attention.

“The Lord has guided me well these past years,” Miriam whispered to him. “And this is one of my signs that the way was opened by His hand. You are my Star.” Miriam brushed the silky hair on his neck.

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