August 2022 MAP Update

In This Issue

Salvations, Baptisms, Wedding, and Independence            Sewer Update 

From Canadian Amish to Christian                           ,               Out of Egypt

In one sense, it was just another evening in the week.  A few of us had planned the week before that we would get together and talk about the upcoming baptisms. 

Jonathan and Rachel (left): Rachel is the young lady that you prayed across the Canadian border a few months back. Michal, who serves on staff at MAP (sitting next to me), has spent countless hours helping Rachel on her journey to become a US Citizen. 

Eli and Susan (right): Esther and I have invested 15 hours of our time, coming along side of Eli and Susan, to help them prepare for what comes after their wedding day. We covered five important sessions — love, roles, communication, conflict, and intimacy in marriage. 

Most importantly, it was in this setting, at the MAP office, on August 2, 2022, around 7:30 p.m.,  that God saved Jonathan and Rachel! Jonathan, Rachel, and Eli are getting baptized on Aug 28^th. Today, I’m doing Eli and Susan’s wedding!  —Joe Keim

From Esther Keim:

Please pray for Mattie. Joe and I recently traveled to attend a former Amish reunion in Columbia, MO, update a couple of churches in the area, and visit our good friends, John & Dorothy Wagler, in Bloomfield, IA. While we were at the Wagler’s, they decided to host a former Amish gathering. Mattie came with her Uncle John and Aunt Polly.

I was immediately drawn to Mattie. She had a quiet, shy spirit, but was very open and willing to talk. Mattie shared how she had left the Amish three years ago, never to return, knowing that the abusive home she left would only become worse if she were to go back. Since leaving, she has obtained her GED, driver’s license, and a car. Currently, she is a bakery manager at a local grocery store. I invited Mattie to visit us and the ministry in Ohio. I will let her share her experience...

From Mattie:

I met Joe and Esther Keim at the end of May, 2022 and thought that I would like to visit them sometime. Things came together for me to take a vacation. I had never made such a trip alone, but the time was right and I was excited and confident that I could do it!

I started off early in the morning on July 4, 2022, and arrived at the Keim’s home ten hours later. We then went and watched the fireworks in Ashland. That was new to me - how everyone comes out for fireworks and other things, too. The people are so friendly.

During the week, I volunteered at Beyond Measure Market and also at the MAP office. I was very observant of a lot of things there. It is a great environment. I enjoyed bulking food and stocking shelves at the market and getting letters ready to send at the MAP office. I had not realized what a big busy place it is at the office!

I stayed in the Keim’s home and also at New Beginnings Homestead. The apartments are very nice!

I do not regret going! It makes me feel independent to have gone all the way out there by myself, and I could feel God’s presence with me. God is so good!

Have a great day.     

—Mattie

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Sewer Update: We are so thankful for the $19,446.20 that has been given toward our $120,000 sewer project.

To get involved, go to:

https://bit.ly/MapSewer

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Rachel grew up in an Canadian-Amish household and made the decision to leave the Amish lifestyle earlier this year. On May 27, 2022, as many of you prayed, Rachel crossed the border into the United States. She is currently working on permission to stay in the states with the hopes of eventually becoming a US citizen. MAP has been assisting Rachel by helping her gather the needed documents and also by providing employment for her once she gets approved. Following is her testimony:

I have good, fun memories of growing up Amish with my twin sister. I enjoyed working at home and having fun with my siblings. I have fond memories of going out for some fun with my sisters and friends, or just simply sitting down and talking the afternoon away!

As I grew older, life lost its fun and intrigue. I was glad to leave my naughty young days behind, but I started to see that living life as Amish was not the only life I could live. The decision to leave the Amish was more difficult than actually leaving. My twin was the only person that knew I was leaving. Though she didn’t feel good about me leaving, she didn’t say much to me about it, and she kept my secret. I left a note for my parents telling them that I didn’t want to be baptized in the Amish church.

Growing up, I thought of God as a kind, powerful, and creative man. As I got to know Jonathan, he talked about God and helped me see my need to receive God.

On the evening of August 2, 2022, as Joe Keim opened his Bible app on his phone and explained verses, I understood what it meant to be saved. I made the decision to receive Christ. A verse that stood out to me was Romans 10:13 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I had always thought that I would be baptized someday, but now I understand baptism does not help a person get to heaven.

As a Christian, I hope to serve God and make every day bright while I enjoy all His creation.

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On Sunday, June 28, 2009, I walked into an old church house in Bland, VA. On this particular trip, I was by myself. Esther stayed home. 

As I began to set up our ministry display that Sunday morning, I suddenly became distracted and looked up. There, before my eyes stood Bill and Carol Kaufman with all six of their children, dressed in plain clothes - an Amish family who had come to hear this former Amish man share about Mission to Amish People.

That was the beginning of my relationship with the Kauffman family. Over the years since than, we stayed in contact, and on more than one occasion, I did little more than listen and pray as Carol struggled to keep her marriage and family together. 

Recently, Carol's book, Out of Egypt, became available in both paperback and Kindle—Amazon.com/dp/1387837656. Let me just say, it is a MUST read.

Here are some reasons why:

• Your faith in God will be strengthened
• You will be challenged to not give up, ever
• In buying the book, you will support one of God's daughters
• You will say to yourself, if Carol Kauffman can do it, I can too

I  read it in one setting—all 20 chapters. 

Out of Egypt is full of tragedy after tragedy, and then more tragedy. Just when you think that it could not possibly get any worse, it does get even worse and more heart wrenching. But in all of the darkness, in all of the pain, and in all of the devastation, Carol stands true and faithful to her Lord and Savior. She raises her children without a husband. She faces opposition from her old culture back home. She goes on and gets an education and joins the field of nursing. Never once did quitting enter her mind, nor did she ever think of giving up on God.

That is what Coming Out of Egypt is all about. Buy it. Support Carol. Become her friend on Facebook (Carol Yoder Kauffman). Pray for her and the children.  I promise, Carol's life will forever impact yours.

—Joe Keim

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