January 2019 MAP Update

In This Issue

Year In Review                                                            Updated Statistics 2018

Keep Praying                                                              Interning at MAP for God

Moving on in Prayer                                                Amish Awareness Conference 2019

New Beginnings Update                                      

Well, here we are—alive and well—able to serve the Lord for yet another year.  I wonder what goals you have in mind for 2019.  In case you don’t have any, let me invite you to find a young Christian (individual or couple) and disciple/mentor them?  It will change their life. It will change your life.  It will change the world.

One-on-One Discipleship: “Joe, I feel as if the Lord is calling me into ministry.  Will you disciple me?” Those were the words from a young man who had lived a troubled teenage life and served time in prison.  With help from MAP and others, God had brought Joe a long way.  Of course I said yes—because, you see, I believe one-on-one discipleship is the key to seeing young Christians grow in their faith.  I also believe every mature Christian should be discipling a younger one. 

For the last six months, Esther and I have met with Joe and Emma on a regular basis.  We have studied everything from what God expects of us, assurance of salvation, the Bible, the church, daily walk, the enemy, and family—to being at the hospital when baby Victoria entered the world. 

Year in Review: 2018 will be remembered as the year of many long days and short nights.  Not only did we open the doors to Beyond Measure Market and New Beginnings Homestead, but Esther and I spoke in twenty-seven churches, colleges, and conferences.  In 2018, Tina and the volunteers broke all records by mailing out 104,551 Bible lessons to Amish children and adults; according to responses in the mail, 358 students surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ.  Five individuals moved into our home basement and allowed us to help them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  An additional six women moved into our New Beginnings apartments. 

Two young women served as interns at MAP. Magda, who lives in the Netherlands, is filling out her paperwork and plans on coming back to serve a longer term. Stephanie, who just finished her three months with MAP, is (at some point) moving to the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area to start her own ministry to the Amish. In all, we helped about thirty people with birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and jobs. Thirty-five students graduated from our GED classes. 

The Amish Voice continued to go out every other month to about 9,000 Amish people. We continue to meet together every week to pray for the Amish and former Amish. About 100 students continued their studies in our Plowman’s Academy, a Bible study correspondence ministry run under the leadership of Paul Miller.

While hundreds of people prayed and volunteered their time at MAP, more than 80 churches and 350 individuals stood in the gap financially. 

What did I learn from all this?  I learned and was reminded again and again that God has brought some of His greatest and most awesome warriors to come alongside MAP. You, our most precious warriors, stood with us on the front lines and refused to give in, even when the battle was most severe.  You believed in us when we struggled to believe in ourselves.  You are the backbone of MAP.  Thank you!  Soon you will receive your great and eternal reward.

As we enter 2019, I invite you to continue your journey with us.  Tens of thousands of Amish people are wandering this earth, spiritually blinded, caught up in a man-made religion and about to stumble into eternity without Christ.  

— Joe and Esther Keim

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Happy New Year! Greetings from the Girod family. This past year has flown by. It wasn’t too long ago that I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to go and present MAP Ministry, since at that time we did not have very many churches scheduled; but by the grace of God, we ended up speaking in almost as many churches as the year before. Polly and I want to personally thank you for all your prayers and support. We were able to pick up one more church for support, and 2019 is looking really good so far.  I’m excited about it.

This past Thanksgiving, Polly and I decided to invite some relatives, including some whom we had never met, for a Thanksgiving dinner. We also invited Saloma Hershberger from Summerville, Missouri, who left the Amish three years ago. She comes from the very conservative Schwartzentruber Amish. She has a powerful testimony. She spent a night here and left for Missouri the next day. I would like for you to pray for her. She is planning to go to Nicaragua to join another family there in the mission field. Saloma heard of us and our story through some friends, and she also watched our episode on the documentary Breaking the Silence. Her story is much like Polly’s.

As for our 2019 goals, we hope to enlarge our living room and kitchen and add more bedrooms to our house, and we need to make room for baby #6, who is due in the middle of summer. We would also like to pick up support from more churches in 2019 and continue to do Bible college.

Until next time, Happy New Year and God’s best to you.

— Samuel Girod and family

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Greetings from our house to yours this holiday season. Let us continue to celebrate the real reason for the season—the birth of our Savior, Jesus. 

After much prayer and consideration, we have come to the conclusion that God is leading us in a new direction. Beginning this month, I will be returning as a full-time staff member with HR Ministries (prison ministry) as their re-entry coordinator. We have greatly appreciated your prayer and support in the past, and we covet your prayers for the future. 

I continue to have much love and a burden for the Amish people and will continue reaching out to them with the gospel here in my area and assisting those wishing to leave the Amish culture with housing and however else we can help. 

I want you to know that beginning now, any MAP Ministry money designated to me will go to MAP, and any support sent to me will be used more for the purpose of prison and Job Corps ministry. If you would like more information, I would love to hear from you.

Again, thank you for your continued prayers and support. Wishing each of you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.  

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Thank you for stopping by for a quick update on life here at the New Beginnings Homestead! Life has been busy since the doors have opened, and much has happened since the first girl arrived in September of 2018. Over the course of these past several months, seven girls have lived at New Beginnings. Some of them have already moved on, but I am enjoying walking alongside the ones who are still here.

Elaine was able to get her permit and driver’s license all within a few weeks of her arrival. That was an exciting day—not only for her, but for me and the other girls here! It is always rewarding to see the girls reaching for and achieving their goals.

Several of the young women are seeking after God, which is another rewarding part of this ministry. While doing Bible studies, it is not uncommon to hear them say, “I have never heard this before.” As things are discussed and the truth sought out, it is a blessing to see light beginning to shine in their hearts.

Please continue to pray for the young women. Pray for salvation for those who are not saved, as well as for continued growth for those who are saved. I, too, covet your prayers for wisdom and guidance as I minister to and live life with these young ladies.             

— Velda Miller

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From a young age, I knew that I was to be a missionary. I grew up in a pastor’s home and got to visit with missionaries in a way that not many people did. This sparked an interest in missions within me that has lasted throughout the years.

When I was around sixteen, I began to feel a burden for the Amish people. I had grown up around them in central Pennsylvania for several years, so I knew a little about them. During my time there, I realized that they needed a Savior just as much as I did, as many of them were just trying to work their way into heaven. When I first felt the burden for the Amish, I thought it was just some passing thought, but over the years it has grown and has never left.

In the spring of 2018, I joined Hope International Missions, and through them I got in touch with MAP. They set up a time for an internship to learn more about the culture and what ministries are needed for work among the Amish.

I have been grateful for my time at MAP. Although I knew a lot about the Amish, seeing it from this perspective has been even more eye-opening to how much the Amish need the gospel. I have also realized that I may need to learn the basics of counseling so that I will be equipped to help people with the first stages of getting help. There are many needs that the Amish have that are unknown to the common outsider. My time at MAP has helped to show me what some of them are. With the Lord’s help, I will do my best to meet the ones that I can.

God has begun to open doors for future ministry. January and February will be months of preparation for my next phase of ministry. After that, I plan to move to Pennsylvania where I will work with the Amish through a local congregation.

If anyone is interested in learning more about my ministry or would like to have an update at your church, feel free to email me or contact me through Facebook.

Email: walter@feaministries.org

Facebook: AmishMinistryUpdate

God bless!

— Stephanie Walter

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