@Enso Back then it wouldn't be difficult to hear from the other side of town, when you bare in mind these communities were built with their homes close together and there wasn't half the noise pollution or even a quarter of it that there is now. Coupled with how the buildings themselves were constructed at the time. Further she didn't hear it from inside the church, she heard it from the church doorway as she was cleaning, the doors having been wide open at the time. With nothing but plains around them and on one side the woods sound can travel incredibly far and I didn't say it was loud to her, it would be the same as hearing the person down the road dropping a bottle in the middle of the night. It's not loud but you still hear it. 

@Crya hope the post is okay I'll be making a post for the other two soon, going to finish Nechemia first though andh ave to take my kids out for our towns celebration day.