Katie Gingerich

June 1, 2018

Growing up as a young Amish girl, I felt like any other child. I was taught about Jesus from the moment I could remember; I was told that in order to be a child of God, I had to obey all of his rules, which were taught by my parents and the church. I never questioned anything my parents or the church taught me.

Only when I became a teenager did I begin to question the rules that were being enforced. I would ask my parents a lot of questions but would never really receive a satisfying answer. I started going to my Bible in search of answers, but nothing I found helped me to understand the rules that I was being placed under.

I started to ask my parents why it would be wrong for me to leave the Amish, and they convinced me that I could not leave the Amish and still be a Christian. This worked for a little bit, but eventually, I saw that I couldn’t be in the right if I stayed Amish either.

I continued to struggle a lot with trying to obey everything I was told to obey. Finally, at the age of seventeen, my dad told me that I should just leave if I would not be willing to become a member of the church and obey everything I was told to. I left that day still very confused about what was right but not hesitant about the fact that I would never be able to become a member of their church and now didn’t have to pretend to agree with everything they taught.

Luckily, I had a very nice Christian couple, who took me in. I started going to church with them and became very interested in what was being taught. We would do Bible studies together, and soon, I wanted to become saved.

This was only the start to my new life. I moved in with Don and Rosie Morrison after getting saved, and they were a blessing; they were always there with advice when I needed it.

I struggle a lot with leaving my family and everything I was taught about religion behind. With the help of Christ, family, and friends, though, I have been able to work through the struggle and allow my relationship with Christ to grow every day.

Recently, I was baptized as a follower of Christ. I now live by the verse found in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

This testimony has been published with permission from the owner.

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