From Street Lights to Stars

Here is a beautiful success story of a family successfully integrating into a plain Mennonite church community.Becky with her husband Joe and their four children grew up in the large city of Buffalo, New York. As their neighborhood digressed and became more and more dangerous, they sought the Lord’s guidance for the physical andspiritual well being of their family.Through an amazing chain of events they found themselves first in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, then later in the mountains of Pocahontas County in West Virginia where they serve the Lord in the small Boyer HillMennonite Church.Becky is adept at portraying embarrassing and difficult experiences with humor. You will be laughing out loud as she colorfully tells her story.From the Forward:I sat in a doctor’s waiting room a few years ago pretending to not notice the man who was staring at me from across the room. It was one of those years when “Amish” novels were hot sellers, so I had a pretty good guess as towhat he was thinking.——“Ma’am?” he asked when I finally looked over at him and smiled.“Ma’am, do you know what college is?”It was hard not to let out a giggle. “Yes. I’ve been to college.” He looked surprised.“Do you know what biology is?” I suppressed another giggle and answered, “Yes, I had to study a bit of biology to get my degree in Chemistry Education.”The poor fellow looked like I had just told him that they were selling babies, two for a dollar, at the local hardware store.We spent the rest of a good hour talking together about biology and poetry and the incredible beauty of the Psalms. And I don’t doubt that by the time we parted my new friend had laid to rest some of the commonmisconceptions he had picked up about just who Mennonites really are.

About the Author

Bernadette (Becky) Noonan was born to Irish parents in Buffalo, New York. She received her elementary and secondary education in the public schools of the city, and received her BA degree in chemistry education from Canisius College of Buffalo, a Jesuit college. She is presently writing curriculum for Christian Light Publications in Harrisonburg, Virginia.