January 2021 MAP Update

In This Issue

2020 In Review                                                   Help for a Haven

Get Out of the Boat Conference       

Bible Club

Another year has gone by and we are  turning the corner into 2021. When Covid hit, we learned to work with a minimal office crew—and set work outside the office door for volunteers to pick up and bring back completed. Most of the Volunteers are back now.

We end the year having sent out close to 94,000 Bible lessons and having recorded close to 270 salvation decisions! That sounds like a GOOD year to me! Thank you Lord, and thank you, Volunteers!

Testimony from a Parent  of a Bible Club Student:

“I want to say thank you for giving the children the opportunity to participate in the Bible Club. I remember doing it as a child as well. This last lesson was a direct help from God. I felt it was time to tell Colson about Satan, but I just didn’t quite know how or where to start. This was just what I needed to gently open the subject. May God Bless your work!”

—Tina Duffield, Office Manager

Plowman Academy

We are excited to share that the Plowman Academy saw over a 58% increases in lessons sent this year.  How exciting it is to know that more people are delving into the Word of the Lord and learning the truths of Scripture.

Each lesson that we send has a space for students to ask questions and share prayer requests. What has amazed me the most is the level of trust the students have as they share some of their deepest needs – physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

One dear lady shared her heartbreak at the death of her daughter through an accident.  Her daughter was in an abusive marriage and this dear mother told us that she had prayed for years for the Lord to remove her from this abuse.  Although she missed her daughter desperately, she knew that her daughter – who was a believer – was now safe and spending eternity with the Lord.  What faith!!!

Please pray for the students in the Plowman’s Academy, that more will take advantage of these wonderful Bible lessons and that those who need the Good News of the Gospel will find the freedom that only a life fixed on Jesus can give.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God…”  2Timothy 2:15

— Ducia Hamm, Plowman Academy

Amish Voice

Last year, 71,576 copies of The Amish Voice were sent out, largely to Amish  addresses—an increase of 49% over the previous year! This exciting hike in bimonthly mailings was made possible by a sponsorship of 3,000 to 5,000 additional address for each  issue!  We are so thankful for the donor who aided MAP in getting solid teaching from the Word into many new Amish homes this year.

Sponsorships

Are you aware that you can sponsor an Amish household receiving our 16 page publication, The Amish Voice, for only $3 a year? Students in the Bible Club can be sponsored for $30 a year! Further information can be found at mapministry.org (“Get Involved” tab. Choose “Creative Giving” from the dropdown menu.)

New Beginnings

Employment Opportunity

Velda, the director and mentor at New Beginnings Homestead, will be stepping down very soon. Please join us in prayer to find a replacement to step into the very big shoes that she is leaving! If you are interested, the MAP office can be contacted for a job description.  We desire an older couple with a heart for evangelism and discipleship.

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We recently received an email from an Amish woman requesting help. She said that she had been in an abusive relation-ship with her husband and that she left him two years prior but decided to stay within the Amish community.

She told me that she had been forced to go to counseling against her will with a counselor that the Amish church selected. She stayed with the counselor for one month before going home. Soon after, the church tried to force her to go to counsel-ing again, and she refused. She later heard that the Amish church was planning to grab her and force her to go again in fear that she was planning to leave. However, she managed to get a new job, and things calmed down. Now, it seems that the church trusts her to stay Amish.

I had the privilege of talking to her for two hours on the phone one evening. I let her share her story, and after an hour, I asked her if she had an English Bible. She did have one, so I asked her if she knew where she was going to go when she dies. Her response was that she hopes she will go to Heaven but wasn’t entirely sure.

I asked her to read John 3:16, a verse that she said that she had never really heard of. I explained the verse to her in a lan-guage that we both know very well (Swiss). Before I could even finish trans-lating, she began to sob uncontrollably. I paused to give her some time to recollect herself. I then continued to explain the Gospel, and she accepted Christ right then over the phone! Later, when I asked her where she would go when she died, her response was, “Heaven with Jesus.”

At this time, she doesn’t want her name or picture out, but we have plans to meet her during the first week of January. She has many questions and has been married for nineteen years with no children.

The reason I am sharing her testimony is that she now wants to leave the Amish, but has no place to go. We have an apartment that we have been working on for the past two years, but it has not been finished due to a lack of funds. If you, or anyone you know, would be able to donate toward our apartment ministry, we would greatly appreciate it. Our current needs include:

• Fridge
• Vanity
• Toilet
• Hot Water Heater
• Floor Covering
• Pillows
• Blankets

If you would like to donate towards our apartment ministry, follow the links at mapministry.org (“Get involved”, “Give Online”). Please make a note that your donation is for Samuel and Polly’s apartment.      

—Sincerely, Samuel and Polly

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Step Out of the Boat Conference!

March 25—27, Savannah, OH

Details online at /step-out-of-the-boat-conference

The Lord has been burning a conference in my heart.  Today, I want to invite you to seriously pray, mark you calendar, — and prepare to GET FIRED UP!  It is time to get out of our Americanized Christianity comfort zones and get busy win-ning our desperate world to Christ.  We cannot continue to sit idle!  We have the answer, but  lack passion and zeal.  I chal-lenge you to make the first step towards getting out of the rut!

• 15+ Speakers
• Prayer, Worship, and Great Fellowship
• Children’s Ministry and Food Provided

My prayer is that you will make the choice to come, to bring friends (saved and unsaved alike), and that your soul would be lit on fire for God! 

— Joe Keim

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