OUR BURDEN

Acts 16:9-10 "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them."

Our burden began as a desire to see our Amish customers step into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As we asked God to send someone to share Christ with them, we soon saw that while our churches were sending missionaries all over the world, none were reaching the Amish people. Because they abstain from as much contact with the outside world as possible, little is known about their religious beliefs. When people look in from the outside they can only see what lies on the surface. However the more we became involved with the people, the clearer it became that they were trying to earn God's favor through a system of good works. That which had at first begun as a desire, grew into a vision in which we saw and heard the cry of the Amish People calling from the darkness, saying: Come over and help us.

After recognizing that God planed for us to be his Missionaries, he brought us into contact with Brother Joe Keim, the Founder and Director of (MAP) Mission to Amish People. While getting to know Brother Joe, and counseling with our Sr. Pastor, we were advised to begin building a working relationship with the MAP ministry. This was our Pastor's advice for several reasons.

1. The MAP ministry had already been established and knows how to reach the Amish for Christ.
2. It is clear that God is blessing the MAP ministry.
3. The MAP ministry can provide us with the training and guidance that is needed for ministry within the Amish culture.

We had no desire to reinvent the wheel. We also understood that God's people can accomplish more when they work together. After graduating, as a family, from Missionary Training School, nearing the end of Andy's Liberty Home Bible Institute schooling, and working closely with Joe Keim for about 3 years, our home church took us on for full time support. This has given us the confidence that God has placed us, our home Church and the MAP ministry team together for the purpose of sharing Christ with those whom our hearts have been burdened.