Book details story of forgiveness

On a Saturday in July of 2020, Tim Rogers learned online that his brother-in-law, Justo Smoker, had been arrested for the kidnapping of Linda Stoltzfoos, a young Amish woman abducted in Bird-in-Hand and later murdered.

Tim and his daughter, Megan Shertzer, who was the only other family member at home, were reeling from the shock of the news when the doorbell rang. "My first thought was that I didn't want to go to the door," recalled Tim. Waiting on the front step was an Amish neighbor who had heard the news and brought her family along with flowers and vegetables from her garden. The woman had been the teacher in the Nickel Mines Schoolhouse on the day of that tragedy in 2008. "She said, 'I want you to know that there's hope and God will take care of you,'" Tim reported. "We could see the tears in her eyes, and they were in mine too," he noted, adding, "(That she would be) the person at the door offering what she offered," recalled Tim. "It was simple, but the gift of presence in that space was really powerful."

That day was the beginning of a journey that would show the Rogers family the depth of grace to be offered by the family members of Linda Stoltzfoos and the greater community. Those experiences would lead both Tim and Megan to begin journaling - recording events as well as their emotional reactions and the questions the situation forced them to examine. The result of those writings is "Beechdale Road," a self-published book that represents Tim and Megan's goal to share with others the hope and mercy they found in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Because Stoltzfoos was an aide to children with special needs in a one-room schoolhouse, part of the proceeds from the sale of "Beechdale Road" will help support Amish special education in Lancaster County.

For Megan, the crime committed by someone she knew and cared for brought her face-to-face with questions she never anticipated having to answer. "(Justo) was a fun uncle," she recalled. "One of the biggest things I have wrestled with is what to do when someone has done such a horrific, evil thing when that's not who you know them to be." Megan pointed to memories of an uncle she knew to be silly, safe, funny, caring, and supportive. "What do you do with that when we often want to define people as good or bad?" she asked. "What do you do when they're both?" What Megan learned through the experience is that "we are all both good and bad." "It's easy to forget that because then it affects us and it's about us and not just those bad people out there who do bad things. It was a battle for me to learn (that)."

After Tim and Megan each discovered that the other was recording events and feelings, they began sharing their writings with each other. They discussed working together on a project in an open-ended manner. "It was never, 'We are going to write a book and this is how we're going to do it, and it will be done by this time,'" said Megan.

One day Tim told a therapist who was helping the family deal with the situation about the understanding he and his family had received in the wake of the tragedy. "I shared a vignette of a moment that had happened with the Amish community," recalled Tim. "(The therapist said), 'That is so powerful; you need to write this down.'" That conversation led to Tim and Megan beginning to put their writings into order. "We thought there was enough that could be helpful to put out to people," said Tim. "The story for us is the grace of the Amish community and the mercy they offered to us in the middle of such a terrible tragedy. It was such a gift to us," he said.

"Beechdale Road" is available at the Gordonville Book Store and all Good's Store locations. More information about the book, including upcoming speaking engagements, may be found at http://www.beechdaleroad.com.