The First Winter Friday, November 16, 2007

The Pilgrims arrive in America under fair weather. Many men fall on their knees and bless God for delivering them from the perils and miseries of their past.

A few of the men who were hired by the pilgrims as laborers (free passage to America for seven years of work) have threatened to take back their promise to work. Before anyone is let off the ship, the Pilgrim leaders draft the “Mayflower Compact.” It gives praise to God and states their intentions to advance the Christian faith and establishes a very basic government by the people. This document established a democracy: a group of men agreeing to govern themselves by the will of the majority. It is the first document in the history of the American Government. The document is agreed to, and signed by all the men on board the ship.

The ocean is cold, but many can't wait to set foot on land. They wade through the icy waters and rejoice when they reach the shore. Some catch colds from the experience. A few men take a smaller vessel known as a “shallot” that was stored in pieces in the Mayflower's belly, and then explore for a place to start their colony. Eventually they find a place with a freshwater stream, an elevated lookout for protection, and fertile soil for planting. The men get together and pray about making this place their home. They decide that this is the place to stay. The place is called Plymouth.

With no time to spare, everyone begins working on the colony. Each person builds their own house and spends some time and materials on a common building where the colony's provisions will be stored.

A few people start to get sick...Then a few more. Soon some die from their sickness. The weather gets brutal. As the months go by, more get sick and more die. Throughout the winter, half of the colony dies.

Spring comes, and many are still sick. They can't afford to lose any more people. If they are to survive, they need help. They pray.