2002 January

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Well, it’s good to share with you again what the Lord has done. Last night I laid awake thinking and wondering at all the amazing things that God is doing. In Jeremiah 31:3 it says, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.” It sure is good to be a Born Again Christian—not because of what we are doing but because of what Jesus has already done for us on the cross.

Thank you so much for your partnership in prayer and financial support during the past two month. Thank you for standing with us, and for sharing our burden. Some day when we get to heaven we will be able to see the lives that were touched and changed because we all cared enough to make a difference.

The MAP Board Meeting is planned for the end of this month with lots of good things on the agenda for discussion. We sure appreciate the members who come out for this important time.

The Lord has been burdening us to expand the MAP Tape Ministry. We are looking for a new or good used cassette duplicator, as well as 25-50 used battery-operated cassette players & head phones that we give out to those Amish people who are willing to listen to good preaching. We are asking the ladies to keep us in mind when they go garage sale-ing this Spring.

As you probably know, most of the Amish have German Bibles and have a hard time understanding what they read , so we are looking at having English New Testaments printed up that would have up to 32 pages of Bible lessons right inside the front cover. These Bible lessons will focus on the simple plan of salvation versus the ordinances, scriptural baptism, and other topics.

The Former Amish Reunion at the end of last year was probably the best we have seen since it started 5-years ago. Ada Lendon, the fourth photo from the left, heads this up each year and does a mighty fine job. Former Amish from several different states showed up for the reunion. One after another, young men gave their testimonies of how they were saved out of the Amish and now serving the Lord. We had a husband and wife come by to sing Southern Gospel music in the afternoon and the man ended up preaching for an hour. The message was one from the heart and very anointed by God. People were praying together in groups for one another and for their unsaved family and friends.

The 14 year-old boy in the photo allowed me to present the Gospel to him. He didn’t get saved, but told me that he plans on getting baptized and joining the Amish church when he turns 18. His name is Samuel and he was plowing right across from an Amish graveyard where two Amish people were buried outside the graveyard fence because of suicide. Esther and I were in the area because of yet another suicide in that area just three days before. While talking to some of the people in the area, we found that two others had just recently taken their lives and left their wives and children behind. To think that they passed into eternity without any hope of going to heaven. Oh! But there is hope for those who are still alive.

You may remember us writing about Barbara Borkholder from Pennsylvania. She made the big move to Ohio last week and will be helping us organize an Education Assistance Program to those who have left the Amish and want to further their education. As you may know, the Amish only go to the 8th grade and when they leave, some struggle with reading and writing. Barbara taught five years of school before getting saved and then left the Amish and went to college. She will be transferred to the First National Bank of Ashland, a Bank she has been with for the past several years. Plans are, Barbara will teach GED classes and help out with financial assistance for college.

Several weeks ago we were informed that a young Amish girl was molested by here father and needed help because she was threatening to either leave the Amish or commit suicide. Well, to make a long story short, before I got there the preachers from this particular Amish community had already heard that we were aware of the situation and were talking about visiting the family. They immediately went to this family and told them that they were not to let us in on any condition. Please pray for this young teenage girl named Naomi.

In no way do I want to come across to you as if the Amish people are all bad people but it seems as if we have had an over abundance of phone calls from people in the last two month of situations where fathers have molested their own children. It just goes to show that no matter who we are, the Bible clearly says that “...all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. As it is also written, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” It is our desire to become a place of safety to all those who need and want it.

What a blessing it was for us to have Joe and Rachel Shrock from Missouri come to our place for the night last month. They shared how it had been for them when they were saved out of the Old Order Amish. Joe shared of how he was 40 years old when the Amish people first heard that he and his family were having Bible studies and talking about being saved. He also shared how groups of Amish would come over to their house and sleep there overnight and try to keep them from going to the Bible studies. The day finally came when they laid their lifestyle, family and friends down to follow their Savior. All ten of their children have attended college and a couple of the boys are now in full time ministry. Joe and Rachel explained to us that when their parents passed away, the family did not share any inheritance with them but like Joe said there is a much bigger and better inheritance already promised to them. I am reminded of Gods Word in 1 Peter 1:4 “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” 1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

It is our great pleasure to provide a place where the former Amish can come and be a part of a family get-together over the holiday season. Between Christmas and New Year’s, we had people at our house every day. None of these guys were able to go home to be with their families for the holidays. Esther did an outstanding job at cooking food and making this all possible. Jonathan and Rachel had a great time playing games with the Coblentz’s. Most of these guys are in our weekly Bible studies and it has just been great to see them come out each week and discuss what they learned during the week when doing their homework assignments. We have split up into 3 groups and are going through 26 Bible lessons called the ABC’s of Christian Growth. It has been great to see my own brother William lead one of the groups as well as teach a Sunday school class at church on Sunday morning.