January 2015 MAP Update

In This Issue

Personal Greetings                                  Church Sign           

Jonas Yoder, 2015 Goals                        Volunteers at MAP: Dick and Lois 

Melvin Schrock, 2015 Goals                  Voice your Support

MAP Staff Goals                                       New and Exciting Amish Awareness Conference!   

Butterflies and Sparks                     

First, thanks for blessing our lives during Christmas.  We thoroughly enjoyed the cards and special gifts you shared with us directly. 

As we enter into the new year, each one of us would like to share some goals with you.  Setting goals, accomplishes four things:  1) gives us something to shoot for, 2) helps us stay the course, 3) gives you a glimpse of where each one of us is headed, and 4) it provides accountability to our donors. 

—Joe Keim

Goal #1, Personal:  Continue having daily Bible and prayer time with my wife, Esther.  Secondly, continue meeting with my accountability partner, Mark Hess, once a month.  Between the two, they’ve helped me stay on track, both spiritually and physically. 

Goal #2, Housing:  The housing ministry could very well be one of the biggest decisions we have made in the history of MAP.  For that reason, we are going slowly, covering all our bases, and most importantly, walking with God.

Not only are we looking at a huge expense up front, but ongoing.  The reality is, we have to find ways of generating income to pay for living expenses.  Even greater is the fact that we are working with youth who are often unsettled and unpredictable as they search for acceptance and identity.  The truth is, many of the ones who leave the Amish culture do so for the sake of freedom.  Oftentimes, the last thing they want is to be placed in some sort of a controlled atmosphere.

For now, Esther and I are continuing to share our home with three young adults.  They are as much a blessing to us as we are to them.   We try our very hardest to meet with each one on a weekly basis.  Sometimes, we talk about life and other times we just do devotions together.  Rachel and Mary have full time jobs and work at the same place Esther does.  Anna is still working on her birth certificate.  Ashley went to live with her birth mother.  Ella lived with us earlier in 2014 and then went back to the Amish; recently, she started texting us, wondering if we would have room for her. 

Goal #3, Mentoring and Discipleship:  One of my passions in life is to come alongside a young Christian and help him go further than he could have gone on his own.  When I see that person excel and make something of him/herself, it gives me a feeling that cannot be described. 

Several months ago, the Lord gave Enos and Rachel a desire to learn more about real love, dating and marriage. At first we met every couple weeks, but then decided to meet weekly.   We are studying a 22-lesson series on the local church.  More in the coming months!

Goal #4, Train a former Amish individual to speak in churches on my behalf:  For several years, I have prayed and sought someone, preferably former Amish, to take my place.  Three times, we thought God provided that person; three times, it did not work out.  It has been disappointing.  However, as we enter 2015, I call on you to join me in prayer as we wait upon God to provide the ideal person or couple. 

Goal #5, Amish Awareness:  Our next conference is planned  for March 26-28, 2014.  Join us, by registering at AmishAwareness.com today.  It will be a blessed time!

Ongoing Ministry: Monday morning conference call with the MAP missionaries.  Tuesday night prayer meeting.  The Amish Voice and Bible Club mailings.  Church presentations and Amish Awareness conferences.  Sunday morning Bible study class.  Family worship, prayer and testimony night on the last Friday night of the month.  Provide help and support the ones who need a birth certificate, Social Security number, and employment.  Amish Conference Call on the first Sunday night of the month.

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1. Start a weekly Bible study/discipleship program in our local Amish and Mennonite community. I already have a couple contacts I want to follow up with to get started.
   
   
2. Work on my own personal development through more personal Bible study and also by reading a book called, When Helping Hurts, so that I may become better equipped to help those who are struggling to deal with life.
   
   
3. Share my testimony with churches to raise awareness of the need to share the Gospel with Amish and Mennonite people.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. If you would like to have me present MAP Ministry at your church, please contact me:   

  Jonas@mapministry.org  or  (270) 625-6093

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Greetings in the name of our dear Saviour. The Lord has richly blessed us spiritually & physically, and we thank you for your prayers and financial support.  

At the beginning of the year, our goal was to present the ministry at 24 churches in 2014, but we only were able to speak at 17 different churches.  

I had only a part-time job when I set my goal, but later in the year I saw the need of getting a full-time job to provide for my family. So having that in mind going into 2015, we will set a goal of presenting the ministry in 15 churches. God has been burdening me to spend more time making some connections with Amish and former Amish with  hopes of sharing the Gospel.

So if anybody wants us to come and present the ministry,  please contact me:

 Mel@mapministry.org or (715) 558-2883

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Our goal for 2015 for the Bible Club is to have more volunteers come in on a regular basis to help grade, match, and otherwise help with the Bible lessons. If you are retired or have some spare time that you want to devote to reaching the lost, give us a call. We need you!

We have a promotion coming up to encourage the students to send in new names of students. They can earn prizes depending on the number of names that they send in. This, of course, is more work for us, but lots of fun for the students. May 2015 be a blessed year for you!

—Tina

I began working at MAP over the summer as an intern, and was able to help four young ladies get their birth certificates, Social Security cards, and find jobs.

My goals for 2015 are to:

• Research and organize a GED study program that could be widely used for those who have left the Amish culture. 
• Help the three young ladies whom I have been teaching pass the GED test.

We are thankful for the three computers that were donated to MAP, and the $2,500 gift to pay for GED software.

—Rachel

We began the Plowman’s Academy (Bible correspondence courses for older teens and adults) a little over a year ago; this year we hope to add a couple new courses and increase the enrollment, while maintaining the current active students.

Our monthly conference calls (averaging 25-40 callers) continue to go well, and we hope to keep having more former Amish and others host the calls in areas of specific interest and expertise to them. 

I plan to continue doing the layout and editing work for the Amish Voice and Ministry Update.

—Paul

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We were all gathered around, watching the fireworks on the 4th of July, when Henry appears out of nowhere, and said, “Joe, I want you to marry me and Pam on March 29, 2015.”  The picture shows us doing part two of five premarital counseling sessions.  Henry is former Amish.  Pam, on the other hand, was never Amish.

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This past November, I did a mini-conference in Farmersville, NY where about 30 churches were represented.  Before leaving, I took a picture of their church sign.  Pastor Mack said while he was putting the letters up, an Amish lady drove by.  The majority of those living in the Amish culture would have read the sign and thought . . . I already have Jesus, because:

• I don’t conform to the world’s technology and dress styles.
• I’ve obeyed my parents and followed their teachings from childhood.
• I was baptized into the Amish church--the one closest to Bible times and God’s will.
• I don’t believe in war, divorce, and remarriage. Our women wear head coverings and dress modestly. I work hard for my own bread and butter.  I go to church every other Sunday. 

A good Amish person would then conclude with: and since that is better than most people in the world, I must have Jesus!  

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I, Lois, am a 70-year old retired factory worker. I began volunteering at MAP with my friend, Carol, around April of 2013. I help grade the children’s lessons. I find the work we do to be very enlightening. Not only do we get to help the precious children grow nearer to Jesus, but we learn from them, too.

I, Dick, am 87 years old and am also a retired factory worker. I began volunteering here around September of 2013, doing whatever needed to be done. I am thankful that I’m able to help out at MAP, serving God wherever I am needed.

We both find our time here at Mission to Amish People to be very enjoyable. We love being around fellow Christians and doing the Lord’s work. We love reading the little notes and prayer requests that the children sometimes send back with their lessons. It is a privilege to be used by God in the lives of so many wonderful children.

We at MAP appreciate the faithful and loyal service by the Ewings, who volunteer their time every week to help us send out Bible lessons.

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The Amish Voice ministry could easily be compared to Christian radio, TV, and internet broadcasting. It is also safe to say, at least in most cases, that it is by far the most profitable way of presenting an Amish family with the Gospel, on a one-on-one basis. When an Amish family receives The Amish Voice, they are able to read it on their own free time, without pressure from another member of the community.

At this point, we have over 35,000 names and addresses in our database who have not yet been adopted.

The Amish Voice, a bi-monthly publication full of Bible teaching and other articles,  has fast become one of the most popular tools in spreading the gospel among the Amish and former Amish communities.  Would you consider helping us reach all 35,000 households by sponsoring 100 families at $25.00 a month? This is the amount it takes to cover the cost of printing and postage.

Consider that Sunday school groups, churches, individuals, businesses, and families can sponsor the Amish Voice.

If you are interested in sponsoring the Amish Voice, contact us at: (419) 962-1515, through our website: MapMinistry.org/get-involved/more-information-amish-voice, or by mail:

MAP
PO Box 128
Savannah, OH  44874

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Whether or not you attended last year’s conference, we invite each of you to our 2015 Amish Awareness Conference. This year, while some of the content is the same, we have added different sessions and speakers, and we hope you will join us in learning and helping encourage each other to reach the Amish with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What to Expect:

Plan to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 26, and end around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 28. Come and be educated and entertained, and enjoy the time of fellowship. Be prepared for:

• Good preaching by Pastor John Bouquet and Ephraim Stultzfus.
• Sessions by former Amish Joe Keim, Melvin Schrock, Jonas Yoder, and Samuel Girod.
• Testimonies from Ephraim Stultzfus, Andy Burkholder, and other former Amish.
• Teaching by Chuck and Diane Breznau from Healing of the Heart Ministries.
• Panel Discussions:  English and Amish learning from each other.
• Amish-style meals.
• Tour of the MAP office.
• Resources and Breakout Sessions.

Registration and Cost:

• Before 3/01/15: $65 per person (Groups of 4 or more = $55 per person)
• After 3/01/15: $80 per person  (Groups of 4 or more = $75 per person)
• At the door: $95 per person (no group discount at the door)

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Register online at: AmishAwareness.com

Or

mail contact details and check to:

Mission to Amish People
PO Box 128, Savannah, OH 44874

(419) 962-1515

Please provide names and email addresses of all who register for the conference.

Exhibit tables are also available this year (must be approved in advance). The cost for a display is $125 (which includes one conference registration).

 Former Amish struggling to fit in?

Dealing with pain from the past?

English wanting to share the Gospel with your Amish neighbors?

Desiring to better understand their values, beliefs, and traditions?

Come to the conference!