The singing Bontrager family of Kalona, Iowa, filled the First Baptist Church in Perry with the spirit of music Thursday night, playing and singing for a crowd of about 60 souls.
In their Iowa life, the Bontragers work a livestock and crop operation, milking cows, tending a garden and planting and harvesting crops. In their American life, they tour the country, performing gospel music as part of their Christian ministry.
“We love living all together in one — not huge — house and we are each other’s best friends,” said Rebecca Bontrager, the mother of the nine Bontrager children.
According to their autobiography, the Bontragers began singing during family devotions when the children were young, with one guitar and several voices. Now they bring complex harmonies and multiple musical instruments to their shows.
Their earliest performances outside the home were at local nursing homes Salvation Army soup kitchens. They were contacted in 2005 to perform in South Carolina prisons. We put together a short program of songs and headed for South Carolina!
“Going into the prisons was a wonderful experience for all of us,” said Marlin Bontrager, the family patriarch. His favorite verse from the King James Bible is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
The Bontragers slowly developed a longer Southern tour and now spend as much time on the road in their 45-foot bus as they do on their farm near Kalona.
Sept 24th concert?
The concert in Perry was Thursday, Sept. 8.