Showing results by author "Wanda E. Brunstetter" in All Categories

Rachel's back in school in Lancaster County! And that's where trouble finds her once again! Except this time, trouble has a freckled face and an unruly cowlick. His name is Orlie, and he seems determined to humiliate this 10-year-old Amish girl at every turn.

Rachel's not enjoying her school year - there are so many other things she'd rather be doing than schoolwork! As she shirks her responsibilities, Rachel encounters everything from cows escaping the pasture to an overflowing sink, dirty sheets, and rotten eggs. Rachel wants to be all grown up, but she's having a hard time accepting the responsibility that goes with it. Will she ever learn the value of growing up into a dependable adult?

School's out! And so is an energetic Amish girl with trouble following close on her barefooted heels! When nine-year-old Rachel Yoder isn't bringing frogs to church or taking wild buggy rides, she's setting fireflies free and trying out new skateboads in all the wrong places. Will Rachel's friends and family survive the mischief she brings into their lives - and will Rachel learn any life lessons along the way?

As summer is coming to an end, Rachel’s troubles are just beginning. Not only does she have a new baby sister to deal with, but she has an ornery cat on the loose, too. Rachel begins to feel that life just isn’t fair. When her jealousy leads her to take a trip to an amusement park with her English friend – without her parents’ permission – her problems only get worse. Will Rachel ever learn to be content?

Rachel Yoder has been out-of-sorts ever since her best friend moved away. What will she do without her? When a new girl named Audra shows up at the Amish schoolhouse, Rachel soon finds herself with a sticky sandwich, a mud-spattered dress, a sore nose, and a rotten attitude. As things go from bad to worse, Rachel is in danger of losing more than one friend. Will she ever learn the value of forgiveness?

Ten-year old Rachel is driving her Amish friends and family “buggy” with her lack of patience, which brings her trouble at every turn – from sledding into a creek to ruining a yummy shoofly pie, to flunking a test in school, to being dragged facedown in the snow. Will Rachel spend the entire winter getting into more trouble than her Lancaster County family and schoolmates can handle? Or will she finally discover that patience has its own rewards?

Three lone wagons on the California Trail become trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by a sudden snowstorm. Stuck in tight quarters with others makes Cynthia Cooper reevaluate her reasons for being engaged to fellow-traveler Walter Prentice. When a widowed father heading to a California ranch and a gold prospector both show an interest in Cynthia, she has to reconsider here dreams for marriage alongside her responsibility to care for her mother. Can love win over her timid heart?

In book one of A Mifflin County Mystery series, Rosa Petersheim has disappeared from the Big Valley without a trace. Norman always considered himself his sister's protector and can't believe she would have left home of her own accord—so he must have failed her. He throws all he has into helping the authorities search for Rosa, while trying to support his parents and siblings who are struggling both mentally and physically. Salina Swarey loves Norman and hopes they are headed towards marriage, but his obsession with Rosa's whereabouts is driving them apart.

Irma Miller thought having a family of her own would bring her joy and a sense of accomplishment, but she struggles with memories of the abuse she suffered as a child at the hand of her stepfather. When she becomes physically and emotionally abusive to her own children, she reaches out to her friend Doretta for prayer and wisdom. But Irma may find herself at an even darker emotional place before she will admit she needs professional help to heal the past traumas. Will Doretta’s letters of wisdom help Irma and her family, or will too much be broken to ever be repaired?

Doretta Schwartz used to be so happy and passed her positive attitude along to friends in several letters she wrote each month. But that all changed the day she learned of her fiancé’s death and a heavy weight of depression fell upon her. Feeling empty, she puts away her letter writing and won’t even respond to calls from friends. William’s twin brother, Warren, is also grieving his loss, while at the same time, trying to be supportive to his parents and Doretta. Doretta responds to Warren’s friendship, but is he just becoming a replacement for the once-in-a-lifetime love she lost?