July 2022 MAP Update

In This Issue

Plowman's Academy, Wedding Bells, and Honoring Friends              Sewer Update 

Update by Samuel Girod                                                                 ,               Gerald Hochstetler

Quite often, I’m invited to do interviews with various magazines and news outlets.  Most of the time, I have no interest and turn it down.  However, in June I had an opportunity to do a one hour interview with Joseph Graber, producer and editor of Breaking the silence and Amish and the Reformation.  The heart of our interview centered around the fact that so many who leave the Amish tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Year’s later, they realize that some of what we learned in our upbringing was really good and important to hold on to.  I can hardly wait for the sequel to Breaking the Amish to come out and will keep you updated. 

In the meantime, you can read a recent interview by Kim Henderson for World News Group https://wng.org/articles/plain-truth-1656217623.

Along those same lines, I want to prepare you for a book that is coming out in the next month or two.  The book, written by Carol Kauffman (former Amish), is titled  Out of Egypt.  You will not want to miss this book.  It is filled with double portions of trials and blessings.  Carol allowed me to read the transcript—I read all 20 chapters in one setting.   My desire and goal is to help Carol sell 1,000 of her books.  More in the next update.

Plowman’s Academy

During this year’s Step Out of the Boat Conf, we took up a $2500 love offering that went to Bumba in Nigeria.  Bumba took that money and printed 500 courses of our Plowman's Academy Bible study materials.  Almost weekly, for two months, Bumba has updated me with pictures and testimonies of the hundreds of students who have enrolled in the Plowman’s Academy and are going through all 25 lessons in each course. 

In the coming months, we would like to share what God is laying on our hearts to do with the Plowman’s Academy.  It’s big!  It will require you and me to step out in greater faith.  Can’t wait to tell you more. 

Wedding Bells

On June 18, a group of about 75 former Amish gathered at a  nearby property and celebrated Chriss and Saloma’s marriage vows to each other.  Saloma’s dad is a brother to Esther; her mom is my oldest sister.  As we were preparing for the wedding ceremony, a few months earlier,  Esther and I shared the gospel with the young couple; both prayed and asked Jesus to save them.  That night we cried tears of joy and thanked God for His great gift of salvation.

Honoring My Friend and Co-laborer

We so value and cherish each one of our prayer warriors and donors.  Tom and Wilma have been donors for many years.  More than once, they have traveled to 35 minutes to the MAP office and hand- delivered their gift.  This time, I went to their home because Tom is not doing so well and may soon go to be with the Lover of his soul. 

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Sewer Update: We are so grateful for the 15 donors who have given $8,896.20 toward our $120,000 sewer project. We finished one fundraiser and have others scheduled.

To get involved, go to:

https://bit.ly/MapSewer

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And every one 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

The week of June 20^th we got word that our Amish neighbor girl is wanting to leave the Amish so I knew she had a Facebook account so I messaged her and let her know that we are here to help if she needs anything and I sent her links from the MAP Ministry website and explained what we do, well she came over the very next evening and we had a great discussion I then asked her if she has a relationship with Jesus and she said that she accepted Jesus as her Savior when she was 5 years old through the Son-light Club, and she always knew she didn’t want to be Amish, she then made plans to leave the 4^th of July since it was her 18^th birthday on that day, but as time got closer she then left the 28^th of June instead and stayed with us until July 1^st and we then took her to New Beginnings because we felt that it would be better for her since her parents are only a half mile from our place, but while she was here for a day or 2 she wanted to go tell her parents what and where she is going so we took her home and she explained everything and her parents were very civil about it unlike many other sects of Amish want nothing to do with you after a person leaves so I’d like to ask you to pray for her parents and me as I might get a chance to minister to them as well, God Bless

Gerald Goes to Amish Funeral

As I sat there on the wooden bench for a couple hours it got a little wearisome. I’ll be honest, a bit boring too. The Amish all kneel to pray, it’s a bit of a break. After the prayer I got up, kerplunk, my wife and I sat down. That’s the wrong thing to do. You’re supposed to stand up and they do another short prayer. I messed up twice.

After several hours I found myself glancing at the clock, and peering out the window at the wheat field. It struck me, I’ve been here before.

Many many years ago I sat on that bench, I heard the sermons, and looked at the wheat fields and dreamed of freedom. Someday, someday, I would be free. I felt it. That old feeling I had as a youngster. I can’t describe it.

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I remember my first “English” hair cut. I remember walking into bars, loud music, I was free. No bishop, no rules, I felt liberated. It was a new life, it felt SO good. I was ready to live. At least so it seemed for a while.

Nearly 40 years after those feelings i find myself back on the wooden bench, I checked the clock, I peered at the wheat fields, the freedom I had longed for I had found. But it was not what I had thought. Freedom is not a life circumstance. Earthly carnal reasoning assumes that somewhere, somehow, under a certain life condition you will be free. It’s not doable, we are trapped by our self. Freedom is the living Lord Jesus. He is the path to freedom. 

When I was a child I sensed God had His spot light on me. I wandered, I strayed, for many years I sought freedom in SO many different ways. About the only way I know to describe it, God slowly backed me into a corner where eventually I collapsed. And then I saw. The chains began to fall and bit by bit I began a journey of freedom. Freedom from myself.

Jesus spoke of Himself "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and He also spoke of knowing the Truth, the truth being HIMSELF that sets free.

The old fashioned gospel will set you free, free from yourself, and set you on a good path of freedom. What a glorious gospel! There can never, NEVER be freedom apart from God and the provision for freedom through His Son. Never!

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