July 2013 MAP Update

In This Issue

Personal Greetings

Building Volunteer Testimony

Amish Awareness

2013 Goals: Six Month Follow-Up

Jonas Yoder Update

Burkholder Family 

Amish Voice Conference Call

The Few, the Humble, the Missionary

Prayer Partner

How Do I Join the Amish?

In May, Esther, Jonathan, and I joined our adopted family and went on a week’s vacation in Corolla, NC. It felt great to rest our minds and bodies from the daily grind. Esther beat me at miniature golf (gulp), we saw wild horses, spent time on the beach, relaxed in a rented home and just had a bunch of fun together as family.

As much as we enjoyed our family vacation, we are also excited to be back in the saddle and doing what God has called us to do. Jesus said in John 9:4: "I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." —Joe Keim

"I was there a few weeks ago and helped with the sheet rock. I just wanted to let you know that I still tear up with joy every time I think of your ministry because of the mighty way God is using it! All I can do is praise God for everyone’s hard work, dedication, and selflessness that is being put towards the work of His Kingdom. Thank you all for all you are doing! Also, keep in touch on when you are going to be flooring the new addition. My father-in-law expressed interest on coming and helping." —Ben Kunhart, Greenwood, WI

The latest statistics show that there are 281,675 Amish living in the US and Canada. Of that number, 179,815 live in OH, PA, and IN. The rest are scattered in 28 other states.

Sadly, there may be as few as 5-10% who truly understand salvation. Many follow and depend on their traditions and man-made rules as a means of earning salvation.

Make plans now to join us April 10-11, 2014 for a two-day Amish Awareness Conference. For more information, contact our office at (419) 962-1515, or visit our Facebook page.  While you are there, you can like us too.

Before we begin, let me say thank you so very much for your continued and faithful partnership, and thank you for sharing our burden. It is with pure joy and excitement that I give you a mid-year update on the goals we set at the beginning of the year. Would it not have been for your involvement and big heart, we would have little or nothing to write about.

Office Addition

January: With the total amount almost completely provided, we hope to build the office addition early this spring. Many churches and individuals generously contributed toward the cost of the building materials, and many willing volunteers are planning to help us with the actual building of the much-needed additional office space.

July Update: We began the construction of the building addition on March 28 and have been steadily working at completing the building with the help of many volunteers. We hope to have the addition fully completed by the end of July. To see pictures, click here.    

Housing

January: We need to have some apartment-type housing where 10-15 singles can stay while preparing for a fresh start in life.

July Update: This remains a major need for us here at MAP. Far too often, singles end up moving in with other runaways. Without mature supervision and guidance, they often turn to the party life.
     
GED Classes

January: Continue providing GED classes for the former Amish.

July Update: This has been going well. At least five people have completed their GED’s. Currently, we are shut down for the summer to give our volunteer teachers some rest.
    
Conference Calls

January: We plan to begin having regular conference calls in which the Amish and others can call in and discuss Amish Voice articles, Bible passages, and other relevant topics.

July Update: We have had five conference calls so far this year. The last two were highly attended with guest counselor, John Regier, dealing with the topics of Sexual Abuse and Moral Addictions. We plan to continue these conference calls on the first Sunday night of every month.

Listen to previous conference calls by dialing (641) 715-3800 and entering access code: 89752.

In addition to the Amish Voice conference calls, Joe Keim hosts a weekly conference call for fellow Christian leaders who are burdened for the Amish and former Amish. This provides a helpful time for encouragement, accountability, and prayer.
     
Administrative Assistant

January: Since our former administrative assistant moved on, we are currently in the process of hiring Iva Miller, a former Amish woman, to take over her duties.

July Update: Iva Miller joined us at the beginning of May and has been a very welcome addition to MAP. Iva keeps the web site updated, oversees the Cross Point ministry (bi-weekly activities and fellowship), and is involved in mentoring and discipling single women. She also helps Tina and Joe with the Bible Club and administrative duties.

Amish: Our Friends, But Are They Fellow Believers?

January: We would like to provide Sunday school classes and individuals with a set of DVD’s to go along with our seminar workbooks.

July Update: This project is now complete and has been selling. The DVD’s provide five 30-minute presentations on video, for equipping fellow believers to reach out to their Amish and former Amish friends. Let us know if you are interested in a set of two DVD’s and a workbook for $60. Additional workbooks are $6 each.
     
Bible Training

January: For a long time, it has been our desire and burden to provide biblical training for those who desire to get involved in ministry, whether part- or full-time. “How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:14-15)

July Update: This remains an area of concern and prayer; however, things are not moving as quickly as we would like to see. We thoroughly appreciate the churches who are giving to this important ministry. Everything that comes in for this goal is put in a savings account and will be used toward start-up costs. Let us know if you would like to join by sponsoring a student.
     
Counseling Center

January: Our goal has been to provide our own counseling by using John Regier’s five-day program. We are in need of the right person to be trained to do the counseling; the funds to do so have already been given.

July Update: This ministry continues to be at a standstill. We have been connecting young couples and individuals with The Harbor (local ministry) and several other out-of-state locations. If you are one of the MAP prayer warriors, would you join us by making this a matter of prayer?
     
Expand MAP

January: We’d like to continue training missionaries for full-time ministry to the Amish. We had our first MAP missionary training weekend recently, and hope to have more in the future. It was a great weekend of training, fellowship, and preparing God’s servants to take His message to our people.

July Update: We have continued to stay in touch with those who attended our missionary training weekend. Jonas Yoder has been representing MAP in some local churches as well as working for H.R. Ministries. Several others have presented, or are planning to present, MAP in their local churches. Thanks to Sean Ronnenberg, also an attendee in January—he is helping us put together a map of all the Amish communities in the United States and Canada.
     
Long Term Goals
(These remain goals and areas of prayer for us.)

Training and Activity Centers: We are seeking God’s will regarding facilities for teaching things like computer classes, life skills, and preparation for life and death. We are also in need of indoor/outdoor facilities for youth to hang out and play games, sports, etc. while staying out of trouble and being supervised by good and Godly examples.

Home School Away from Home: Often when families leave the Amish, the parents cannot afford to send their children to a Christian school, and they prefer not to place them in public school. So we are praying about a qualified missionary-type teacher to teach these children in a one-room homeschool-like situation.

Thank you for your continued volunteering, giving, and praying as we continue seeking God’s will.

Greetings from Kentucky, in the name of Jesus! The Lord has promised to supply all our needs, and we have found Him faithful. In the beginning of this year I wrote out some of my ministry goals. I am happy to report that I am still working on each one of them. I will share each goal and how we are accomplishing them, but first I would like to take a minute to share my heart with you about the current state of our ministry.

As many of you may know, we are involved with HR Ministries—a prison ministry here in Kentucky and Tennessee. Prison ministry has been a good training ground for us in learning how to work with people and in seeing the need people have for mentors in their lives. A mentor seems to be especially needed when one is experiencing a major life change. We coach many inmates on a weekly basis to become better fathers to their children. We also encourage and assist Amish people who are being rejected by their community because of their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So what has been happening in the last six months? We have been transitioning from working a fulltime job to doing more ministry. My weekdays are filled with part-time jobs, going to many different prisons (often several times a week), and trying to keep up with things at the office, such as scheduling speaking appointments at churches and preparing my presentations.

Goal 1: In the past six weeks we have had the opportunity to share with several different churches and groups about Amish history, culture, and beliefs, and we have several more engagements scheduled in the upcoming months. We really enjoy doing that as a family, and we have already been blessed by it. If your church would like someone to share with them about the Amish, we would be happy to do that for you.

Goal 2: The Lord has also blessed us in the area of finances. We have stepped out in faith to leave a fulltime job in order to be more available in ministry. It has been quite challenging to take that step without full financial support, but the Lord has been very faithful to us. We greatly appreciate the several people and churches who have stepped up to support us on a monthly basis. Our monthly support at this time does not cover all our living expenses, but God has divinely supplied our needs when we were not sure how we were going to stay afloat! Please pray how the Lord would have you support His ministry, whether through prayer or financial giving.

Goal 3: I have been able to set up a nice little office space in an upstairs apartment we have on our property. It has been a great blessing to have a place where I can spread out a little and be more organized.

Goal 4: Having a family of seven children and being involved in ministry makes it a challenge to find enough personal Bible study and devotional time. I ask you all to please pray for me in this area. Personal growth in Biblical wisdom and knowledge is extremely important in being effective in ministry. The devil will and does attack most with interruptions and distractions.

Goal 5: As many of you know it is very difficult for someone who has left the Amish to actively witness to them. We are blessed with a good relationship with my wife’s parents who are still Amish. We have been able to work with them recently and be a witness to them. Neither of them has yet openly confessed Jesus as their personal Savior, but I do believe they are both beginning to understand that salvation is only through Jesus Christ.

In closing, I would again like to ask you to pray for the Amish people and the work God is doing among them. Also for those of us who are working in the harvest, that we could come forth rejoicing, bringing our sheaves. May God richly bless each one of you! – Jonas and Mary

In January 2012, our lives changed in a way we never anticipated. My mother had asked us to go to a Freedom Hills seminar on marriage relationships. That day we heard a lot of inspiring information. As I lay in bed that night, I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and to live in my heart. I remember thinking to myself just before I fell asleep, “How am I going to tell John?” The very next morning, John had an experience in the living room and was born again. It was an unusual thing to communicate to each other, because we had never read the Bible much in the past. Only on our church fasting days, between council and communion services, would I try to read the Bible and ask myself if I needed to lead a better life. But my resolve never lasted long since I couldn’t lead a better life on my own without Jesus in my heart.

At first we thought we could be born again and remain Amish, but by fall it was clear to us: at some point we would have to leave the Amish culture. We left it to the Lord to work out how and when. My relationship with my family was becoming strained, and rumors were flying around the community that we had a funny belief. My mother gave me scripture she wanted me to read about honoring your mother and father. I experienced anxiety attacks whenever she called or whenever someone from my family would stop in. Going to church was so hard because our ministers knew how we felt. They would continuously preach that you can’t have assurance of salvation. The thought of leaving kept us on our knees. My one desire was for the children to finish the school term as they would have enough changes ahead. The Lord did grant me that desire. The opportunity to leave did not come until the last week of school. Then plans started to fall into place in a way that could only have been from the Lord.

John talked to a friend about our desire to leave the Amish. I and the children would have to move, but John needed to stay for work. The friend gave us Joe Keim's phone number. That evening we told the children what we had planned for the next day. Through many tears and prayers we all agreed this was what God willed for our lives, because only He could have worked it out so perfectly. The children had many questions, and we answered them the best we could. I packed up all our essentials that would fit into the back of a minivan. The next morning we left with a friend for MAP Ministry in Ashland OH. A short time after we arrived we were able to move into a house provided by the ministry.

In the following weeks, MAP and members of Bethel Church supplied us with food and clothing, helped me obtain my driver’s license, and took me to the different places I needed to go to meet the needs of our family. Associated charities gave us clothing and food that was downright overwhelming. MAP provided things for the children to do, like helping a local farmer and mowing grass. They provided Bible lessons for the children as well as for John and me.

The Lord has so richly blessed us since we left the Amish culture. We were surrounded by believers for support. When we had a need, someone was there to help us. Leaving the security of the Amish has been scary. It’s hard to not land in another ditch when you no longer have those rules and regulations of the culture to keep you “in line.” Now it is between us and our Lord to walk the narrow way. Having the veil lifted has been an awesome but scary thing. It’s such a new way of life, and it has really kept us seeking the Lord. I would request prayer for the following: for our family to find a new home where we can all be together, for our relationships with our families, for a van large enough to hold us all, for financial provision, for strength to carry on in this great journey, and for faithfulness to remain strong in the Lord.

Join us the first Sunday evening of every month for another live discussion on the Amish Voice Conference Line.

Time: 8pm Eastern

Dial-in: (267) 507-0240, access code 409703

If you missed our previous conference calls (including our last two on Sexual Abuse and Moral Addictions with guest, John Regier), you can listen to them by dialing (641) 715-3800, access code # 89752.

Choose which recording you would like to listen to:

• Justified by Faith, Part 1
• Justified by Faith, Part 2 and Fruit of the Spirit
• Sexual Abuse with John Regier
• Moral Addictions with John Regier

Upcoming Conference Calls:

• Sunday, August 4: Discuss Amish Voice and other topics
• Sunday, September 1: Discuss Amish Voice and other topics
• Sunday, October 6: Guest Bruce Lengeman, pastor, counselor, and author of the book, To Kill a Lion: Destroying the Power of Lust From the Root.

From the time I came to know Jesus as my Savior, I wanted to do something for the Lord. I am not the smartest cracker in the box, but God gave me common sense. So being a missionary isn't the easiest for me. When I am on my way to volunteer at MAP, I am thrilled to know that I am serving God in a way I can handle. One day I came to the MAP office and opened the door, and my MAP family all said, “Hello, Dallas!” They mean a lot to me.

After saying, “Hello,” I noticed some stacks of lessons (I think there were 3,712 that day). I am amazed when I think of all the work it took to receive all of those lessons from that many kids. Our work was just beginning. We were thrilled at the 3,712 lessons. I thought of all the work that must be done in the next two weeks in order to grade the various lessons. People have no idea of all the work there is to this. Each lesson must be graded, and then the next lesson must be included for mailing. Each student’s progress must be recorded and tracked for rewards, prizes, and credits. One lady has this specific job, and at times she starts talking to herself.

There are three computers going almost constantly. My job is the easy one of putting two addresses and a mailing permit on each lesson. On a good day, I may finish 1,500 that isn't even half of them), but after 4,500 times pushing the stamp on the lessons, I have to stop to rest my arm. The graders write a message on each lesson. That message is often better for the kids than a good sermon, I think, as they review the lesson and take to heart the personal message. I wish you could see firsthand the rush and hustle that it takes to get all 3,712 lessons folded, taped, and sorted in order of zip code, state, and country before taking them to the Post Office.

I am glad that God allows me to play a part in reaching these precious children with the good news of Jesus. I am glad that God uses me in this way to be a missionary for Him!

We are glad and grateful to have Dallas volunteer at Mission to Amish People. Not only is he a missionary in his ripe old age, but he has also done his best to raise more financial support by spreading the word through email and face-to-face contact.

One day, out of the blue, a man named Furman entered our office. He walked straight to me and said, “Do you remember me?” He proceeded to tell me that several years ago, I gave him a prayer list to pray over. He said, “Since then I have prayed over the list so many times the paper fell apart. I’m wondering, can I have a newly printed list?” I immediately realized that before me stood a man of God, called and chosen to pray for MAP.

But wait; there is a multitude of people besides Furman who have been called to partner with God in reaching the Amish with the crystal clear gospel. I believe it’s safe to say that hardly a day goes by that we don’t marvel and praise God for His people and their heart for this ministry and the Amish. Each one of you is precious and priceless. God bless you for the part you play.  —Joe Keim

I am a 23-year old Lithuanian living in London. I have always wanted a peace and quiet atmosphere. I am tired of all technology and how it impacts all youngsters’ lives. I want a peaceful life with the Amish. What are the chances and what should I do next to join, live, and appreciate Amish life? —Povilas