March 2019 MAP Update
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| 575 US Highway 250 | Greenwich OH 44837 | Office: (419) 962-1515 |
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Staying Busy Katie Gingerich: Beyond Measure Market Assistant Manager Keep Praying Kailyn Ritenour: The Market's Marketer Driven to Succeed Rachel Garwood: Joe and Esther’s Favorite Daughter |
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| Staying Busy, By Joe Keim |
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Esther and I continue to keep up with much of what goes on at MAP, but the Beyond Measure Market certainly adds to our responsibilities. When the general manager left last year, Esther and I stepped in and took over as managers. Since neither one of us has ever had retail or food experience, the first five months were brutal. We both worked fifteen hours a day and felt great if we got five hours of sleep. Little by little, and with the help of friends and co-laborers, we have gained a grip on retail food management. We still have a long way to go and many obstacles to overcome, but we do this for the sake of paying our lenders back and helping young men and women who come to MAP for help. Right at the end of 2018, some men broke into Beyond Measure Market. Two individuals were caught on our surveillance system, but because of their hoodies and face masks, neither we nor law enforcement were able to recognize the individuals. The two thieves shattered a window to enter. They then took fourteen shopping baskets of cheese and meat from the deli, several hundred dollars’ worth of beef jerky, and the money safe from the office. In all, it cost us about $6,500. It appears that insurance will cover everything but the $500 deductible.
At the end of February, Black Creek Baptist Church in Belfast, New York, hosted an Amish Awareness Conference for us. The Belfast area is home to a large number of Amish families, also known as the yellow-top community; their buggies stand out because of the yellow canvas tops.
Our next Amish Awareness Conference is planned for October 4–5, 2019, in Croswell, Michigan. Be sure to mark your calendars for this event. Esther and I have been discipling two young couples by taking them through the ABCs of Christian Growth Bible study materials; Lord willing, all four will be baptized on Easter Sunday. We leave you with two very needed prayer requests. Join us in praying every day that:
Thank you for caring and serving the Lord with us. — Joe and Esther Keim |
The Belfast Amish community is deeply rooted in legalism and traditions. Today, God is burdening Christians in the area to begin sharing the agape love of Christ and His great salvation with their Amish neighbors. These are exciting times!| Keep Praying, By Samuel Girod |
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Greetings of love from the Girod family! Thank you again for your continued support and prayers for our ministry. So far this year, another person has pledged to support our ministry, and we are very grateful for that. We currently have three churches scheduled for 2019, and we hope to add additional churches as the year goes on. We were also blessed to have been able to speak at the Amish Awareness Conference that was recently held in Black Creek, New York, and we look forward to another conference this fall in Michigan. We are expecting our sixth child in July, and we definitely covet your prayers. At times, Polly and I feel overwhelmed, but then we stop and realize we can continue on, but only in Christ. We recently hired a local Amish man and his crew to put in the foundation for our house addition. They had done a couple of jobs for me in the past. They moved here from Missouri two years ago, and they are looking to move again because of opposition in their community church. They are definitely searching for answers, so please add this family to your prayers. By the grace of God, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to them and to openly share the gospel with them a couple of times since I met them. And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Matthew 19:29). May God bless you! — Samuel Girod and family |
| Driven to Succeed, By Velda Miller |
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Life here at New Beginnings Homestead has been busy, but good. All of the young women here now have jobs, so that is a blessing. Two of them have their driver’s licenses, and three others have their permits and are working toward obtaining their licenses. Several are working on getting their GEDs as well. One of the young ladies that we are housing is ready to move on, and though it will not be the same here without her, I am happy that she is seeking and following our Father. I believe she will do well wherever God takes her. It has been a wonderful experience watching these young women grow and blossom emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. This happens to be my favorite part of my work! It does come with its challenges, but the rewards far outweigh the challenging times.
I am thankful for what God is doing, and I ask that you would continue to pray for all of us here at New Beginnings. Partner with the New Beginnings ministry by clicking HERE. Blessings, — Velda Miller |
Although we do focus on and tend to the spiritual aspects of life first and foremost, we also try to spend some time together and have a bit of fun in the midst of the day-to-day life. One such event was a trip to the mall. Another one included a pizza and movie night (games were a disaster, so we decided to try a movie). It can be a challenge to coordinate schedules, but it’s worth it. I firmly believe that mentoring includes all aspects of life—physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, etc. Sometimes it means having difficult talks, and sometimes it means just having fun together.| Welcome, Arlen! |
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Arlen plans to use his skills at MAP one day a week to apply for grants and help raise funds to help support the work and ministry. If you are interested in Arlen’s ministry, $5,000 can support him for an entire year at MAP! You can help pay for Arlen’s grant writing and fundraising, and that can grow into more resources for MAP as Arlen applies for more grants. There are many fine companies and foundations out there interested in reaching the lost and helping ministries like MAP. We just need to find them! If you know of any places where Arlen can seek a grant, contact him at ayoder@mapministry.org! |
We want to introduce you to Arlen Yoder, the newest MAP team member. Arlen grew up in Holmes County, Ohio. His father was Amish, and his mother was Mennonite. He attended North Central State College and spent the last twenty-seven years working for the Appleseed Community Mental Health Center. He and his wife, Dee, have been longtime friends and supporters of MAP.| Katie Gingerich: Beyond Measure Market Assistant Manager |
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I began seeking a part-time job when Beyond Measure Market was just opening, so I was hired in early April 2018. I never realized how attached I would become to this quaint little store. I was hired to work full-time in August, and in September I was promoted to assistant manager. We have been through a lot, but we have grown as well; I love being a part of helping that happen. On a more personal subject, four of my siblings (two sisters and two brothers) have also chosen to leave the Amish culture. This is in addition to two in-laws and two nieces who have also made the decision to leave. One of my sisters works alongside me at Beyond Measure Market. I have almost completed my GED. I only have one more test to go, and I am hoping to get that finished before graduation in June. Finally, I would like to ask everyone to keep Beyond Measure Market in their prayers. This store has grown so much since I started working there, and I think we can all say that God has everything to do with it. Thank you for praying, giving, and supporting us through it all. — Katie Gingerich, Assistant Manager |
I first met Joe and Esther in the fall of 2015, but we did not often cross paths until the beginning of 2018. We started doing a Bible study together, which led to my baptism.| Kailyn Ritenour: The Market's Marketer |
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Our email list has grown a lot since July, especially from events BMM has attended, such as the Ashland County Fair and the Crestview Craft Show. Our Facebook page has also grown from 442 “likes” in March to 1,250 “likes” currently! I am working on getting a direct mail flyer to go out sometime this month. The flyer promotes “The Way Café,” our products, our purpose, Facebook, and weekly emails. It also includes a couple special deli sales to encourage people to visit the store. I am glad to have the opportunity to help promote Beyond Measure Market and to be part of helping with such a great cause. If you are ever in the area, I hope you will visit us! I would love to meet you! Come help us support the New Beginnings Homestead! — Kailyn Ritenour, Director of Marketing |
I have been managing Beyond Measure Market’s advertising since July 2018. My weekly duties include creating the BMM weekly email, posting regularly on the BMM Facebook page, and writing an occasional 30-second radio script and ads.| Rachel Garwood: Joe and Esther's Favorite Daughter |
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In addition to managing social-media sites, I also manage and maintain the MAP, Amish Awareness, and Beyond Measure Market websites. Whether it be adding a buggy accident to our article bank, posting our bi-monthly newsletter and Amish Voice, adding event information for upcoming Amish Awareness conferences, or updating weekly specials and adding new pages to Beyond Measure Market’s website, this side of my responsibilities has kept me very busy. My husband, David, has also been hard at work alongside me in maintaining the website and working at MAP. He has helped create graphics and promotional videos and also manages the MAP podcast library. Together we make a great team! This past year, my goals entailed receiving 1,000 new Facebook followers and gaining the remaining $35,152.87 that was needed to finish our New Beginnings’ housing fundraiser. As of January 1, 2019, we had 1,103 additional followers and had completed our New Beginnings’ fundraiser goal! I would like to continue my goal of increasing Facebook followers by at least 1,000 per year. In addition, I have a goal of increasing traffic to our Beyond Measure Market website and adding features and products in order to make buying online and picking up at the store an option for our buyers. —Rachel Garwood, Website and Social Media (Joe and Esther’s daughter) |
I continue to handle my responsibilities of monitoring and managing MAP’s social-media pages. Nearly every day, I post articles, testimonies, and resources to educate and inform our Facebook followers about the Amish and our ministry. I also enjoy administering Facebook prizes that we are now doing bi-weekly.| Plowing Through, By Paul Miller |
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Our Plowman’s Academy offers free correspondence courses. It is the teen/adult version of our Bible club for children. Our current courses include Bible Basics, Verse-by-Verse study, Foundational study, Topical study, Life’s Struggles, the Book of Books, our popular ABCs of Christian Growth study, and a new Church History course. Last year we sent out about four hundred total lessons from all our courses. While there are not as many students as in our children’s Bible club, the Plowman’s Academy has been rewarding and beneficial. The current students seem to be learning and growing in Christ, and while we never really know the full impact that we are having, we know that people need Jesus and eternity is forever. We were reminded of this last year when the sister of one of our students wrote us a letter informing us that her sister (our student) had been killed in an accident. This student, Regina, wrote to us a few years ago that she was not sure if she was born again, so we sent her some materials to read. In 2016, she had written to us, “These lessons are awesome. They help me go a lot deeper than I normally would. Thanks for taking time to read them and comment!” She was a current student up until the time of her death. She was only nineteen years old. We hope to see Regina in heaven. Some other student testimonies from this past year include the following:
In addition to the Plowman’s Academy, we send our Amish Voice publication to about 8,000 Amish families every other month. We publish articles about the Bible, articles from readers, and other information of spiritual benefit. We have recently been printing chapters from D. L. Moody’s Overcoming Life book that was published by ANEKO Press. We continue our Amish Voice sermon line, too, where the Amish can call in and listen to new sermons every month. We have had sermons by Charles Stanley, Focus on the Family, Adrian Rogers, and others. People can call in and listen to the sermons and even leave us comments. Thank you for praying, giving, and supporting the Plowman’s Academy. You are helping us send the love of Jesus and the truth of God’s Word to Amish families all over this land. Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). May you continue to faithfully and fully follow Jesus, helping us sow seeds for eternity. —Paul Miller, Plowman's Academy Director |
Some of my responsibilities at Mission to Amish People include running the Plowman’s Academy, helping get the 
