March 2014 MAP Update

In This Issue

Personal Greetings                                               Wondering Why?

Missionary Update (Melvin Schrock)                       Welcome to MAP, Rosa

Missionary Update (Jonas Yoder)                           Bible Club Update

Volunteer Recognition                                           In Memory of Esther Gray, Longtime Volunteer at MAP

Housing Update                                                   Amish Awareness Conference                

Slight Misunderstanding?

In January, I was invited to meet with some local nurses and doctors who work with the Amish in our area. The primary reason for our meeting had to do with helping the medical staff understand the Amish ways and not wanting to offend those who come for help.

For example, one question that came up was, “Why do the Amish refuse life-flight?”

I answered that many believe that Satan rules and reigns the airwaves between earth and heaven, and for that reason, they reject the idea of traveling through the air. Others believe that technology has advanced too far in some areas; therefore, they draw the line by staying on the ground. Still others say that if it was good enough for our forefathers to stay on the ground, it is good enough for us.

Other questions that came up had to do with women wearing head coverings during and after surgeries, releasing patients too early, and having to deal with outhouses vs. indoor bathrooms when they get home.

These medical professionals also wanted to understand how the Amish communities deal with catastrophic medical bills, how the Amish grieve, how the Amish use folk medicine and modern medicine, and whether comments and questions should be directed toward a male as opposed to a female, or if that matters.

I praise the Lord for opportunities like this, because it is only natural for me to share my testimony and include what Jesus did for me when He saved me from my sin and gave me everlasting life. Every year, God provides opportunities for me to speak to professors and students at secular colleges and other secular arenas. I look at it this way: when the Amish close the door in my face, threaten me physically and even chase me out of their homes and businesses, telling me to never come back, God opens the door to hospitals, colleges, police departments, TV documentaries, radio interviews, and even private meetings with attorneys and judges.

Almost daily, I deal with hurting people from all walks and backgrounds. Almost daily, I deal with people who believe strongly about various issues in the Bible—such as speaking in tongues; whether miracles and healings are for us today; being baptized in Jesus’ name vs. in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; faith plus works or faith alone; head coverings or not; going to war or turning the other cheek; meeting in house churches vs. church buildings; worldliness vs. true humility; denominational vs. non-denominational churches, etc. The list goes on and on. I respond with the Apostle Paul:

“For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

The truth is, we can have all our ducks in a row, but if we miss knowing Jesus and Him crucified, we miss it all! Do you know Him? Does He know you?

—Joe Keim

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Greetings from Wisconsin in Jesus’ name. It is an honor to serve God as a MAP missionary. I am currently without a regular job, and so lately I have been able to invest a lot of time for the ministry. For example, I have been busy contacting churches seeking opportunities to present Mission to Amish People, and God has opened some doors for me to present the ministry in many churches. I am still working mostly on raising support for the ministry. Our goal is to do ministry full-time as soon as we get our support raised. Please continue to pray for us that God would provide for us and bring many individuals and churches our way to pray for us and support us financially.

God has richly blessed our efforts presenting the ministry in churches and scheduling more for the future. We are excited, too, to be part of the upcoming Amish Awareness conference in Savannah, Ohio, at the Mission to Amish People headquarters. We hope to see many of you there.

We want to thank those churches and individuals who are currently supporting us financially and with prayers. May God bless you! Thank you all for your prayers. We want you to know that we greatly appreciate you and we are praying for each of you, too.

—Melvin and Ella Schrock

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Dear Friends, I have recently been involved in the lives of several Amish people — something I at one time thought would not be possible. We have many Amish people migrating from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to our area in western KY in search of new opportunities and cheaper land prices. We had a young family move to our local area this past year whom we have gotten to know well. Because of bad weather this winter, I have had several opportunities to chauffeur their children to and from school, and I have been able to take the entire family different places, as well. It is all about building relationships!

In the past month, we had a former Amish mission team here for a day. The men helped clean up a yard for an older gentleman who had gotten his house re-shingled, but the roofers had left all the old shingles lying in the yard. The ladies spent the day sorting clothes and shoes that were given to us by the prison. Most of the clothes are sold at a local thrift store, but we have the opportunity to sort out t-shirts, sweatshirts, and shoes that the Amish will be able to use, which we then sell to the Amish. This does two things for us: it supplements our ministry financially, and it gives us the opportunity to build relationships with local Amish people. Please continue to pray for us as we minister to these people. Pray that we will have opportunities to share the Gospel with them. May God bless you!

—Jonas and Mary Yoder

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In this issue, we would like to recognize a volunteer, Tom Thomas, who has helped us on many occasions with printer and copy machine problems, phone line and internet issues, software upgrades, and so many other things that happen in our day-to-day work at the office.

Tom and his wife, Pat, have served on the MAP board, taught several computer classes for the former Amish, financially supported the ministry, and helped us fold and tape tens of thousands of Amish Voices. In addition to volunteering and getting his Sunday school class involved, he serves as the plant manager at a large tube manufacturing plant in our area. It is not uncommon for Tom to spend a Saturday at our office or show up very early in the morning to fix things before he heads out for his full-time job as plant manager.

Volunteers like Tom leave us awe-struck and cause us to marvel at the goodness of God’s people and how they continue to go so far beyond the call of duty to serve and bless others in the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of the gospel.

From all of us at MAP: Tom, we love and appreciate you beyond words. Truly, God has something great prepared for you for all you have done to serve Him in using your time and skills for His ministry to the Amish. God bless you, dear brother in the Lord. You are loved and cherished at MAP!

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The above picture shows Joe Keim and two board members (Bill Dunn and David Mast) discussing plans for the housing project. We want to keep you updated, and so wanted to let you know that MAP recently received a grant toward the housing project. Please pray that we would continue seeking and following God’s will, waiting patiently for His timing, yet being ready to move forward in faith as He leads. At this time, we are praying about and seeking the appropriate land in Ashland County for this project, we are seeking more funding and donations to move forward, and we are seeking a mature and Godly couple willing and able to be in charge of this housing ministry once the land is obtained and the housing is built. If you can help in any way, let us know!

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We are grateful for those of you who appreciate and support MAP Ministry. As you can see from the above picture, not everyone feels the same way. While we receive much mail of support, it is not uncommon for us to also get mail from those who do not embrace our goals. As you may have guessed from the words, “Not Interested,” “Stop sending this,” and, “You are a cult!!!,” we got the hint that this person was not eager to receive the Amish Voice. Of course, we removed this person from our mailing list, but it also shows how much work there is still to do to reach the Amish with the truth of Jesus and to have them understand that we are their friends and not their enemies. Continue to pray for us and for the Amish that their hearts might be opened to the truth and love of Jesus Christ!

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Hi, I have been following you all for a few months and getting your e-mails. I live in TN. I am not Amish, but have been interested in the culture for decades. I came across the information about how different it is than I had once thought, on the religious facts, at least.

The reason I am writing is that just in the past 2-3 months, our community has been just swarmed with a group of Amish moving here, directly from Lancaster County, Pa. Already there have been over 5 families which have moved in, buying up dilapidated houses and offering to buy people out. There are supposed to be at least 50 families moving here. Some promise to buy land and houses, but then they never show back up. They seem to pay outrageous prices for the unlivable houses. Money seems to be no issue. I have seen the purchasing of beer, cigars, playing country music, some rudeness from an elder, etc. For the most part, everyone is nice, except one in particular. All have the same last name. What would be the reason for such a drastic move and the drinking and smoking and—yes—cursing? I appreciate the opportunity to ask these personal questions, but I have lost respect for them. I also have received your package explaining the culture. I just am lost on why they came here and are so much more wilder than my neighbor.

Thanks, Name Withheld

Dear Anonymous, your questions and observations are not uncommon. The drinking, loose talk and disrespect is more noticeable among conservative groups. It once again reminds us that rules and regulations do not change the human heart. The Amish move around a lot; sometimes a family will move up to 5 times in their lifetime. It usually has to do with struggles in the church and/or land prices. Ultimately, I believe many are searching for true salvation and don’t know it. That is why we must not quit preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It sets people free and provides true meaning in life.

—Joe Keim

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After six years of faithful service, Forrest Conrad has stepped down from being our accountant. Rosa Warner has jumped in to take his place, and she is doing a great job.

Rosa grew up and lives in Ashland, Ohio. She met the Keim family while attending high school with Rachel (Joe and Esther’s daughter) in 2006 and began working for MAP part-time before attending college.

Currently, she is taking classes at Malone University and is in the process of earning a degree in business and accounting.

Rosa is very thankful for the opportunity she has been given to work at MAP and to put into practice the skills that she has been learning at Malone.

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We can never say enough how much we appreciate our many volunteers who join us in sending out the Bible Club Bible lessons to thousands of Amish children each month. Some volunteers help once a month and some help several times a week. We are grateful for every single volunteer. More than 30,000 students have been enrolled in the Bible Club courses at one time or another. Already this year, we have mailed out over 8,500 Bible lessons and have received over 50 salvation testimonies!

If you are interested in joining our volunteers in grading and sending out Bible lessons, let us know! Also, if you are interested in sponsoring one or more Amish students ($25/student for one year), let us know. If you sponsor a student, we will send you the first name, age, and state of the student so that you can pray specifically for the students whom you sponsor. Maybe you, your family, or even your Sunday school class would like to sponsor and pray for some of these Amish children who are learning God’s word. Contact us at (419) 962-1515 for more information or go to MapMinistry.org and sponsor a desired number of students.

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On February 19, 2014, one of MAP’s most faithful and beloved volunteers went to see Jesus face to face. Esther Gray served with the ministry for nearly a decade and loved working with the Bible Club students. She was also very involved at her home church, Bethel Baptist, as a Sunday school teacher, and taught most every child that came through. We miss her much, and ask that you join us in remembering her husband, Glenn, and the rest of her family in prayer. Good-bye for now, Esther. See you soon!

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It is very important that everyone understands our true motive for putting on the Amish Awareness conference.

In a nut shell, it can be said that God has given us at MAP an undying burden to make the one true gospel of Jesus Christ (His death, burial and resurrection) known to our people, the Amish.

Without question, there are Amish people who know the Lord and have a clear salvation testimony. However, there are still tens of thousands and thousands and thousands of Amish people who have added Jesus to a long list of things to do and follow. They reject salvation by grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone. They are forbidden to have Bible studies or talk too openly about spiritual things, fearing that it leads away from the religion that was passed on from previous generations.

Lastly, please understand that it is not our goal, and never has been, to pull Amish out of their box and place them in ours. It is our goal to evangelize and disciple all those whom God gives us.

Register today at AmishAwareness.com

—Joe Keim

Two Full Days of Teaching On:

1. Anabaptist History Statistics
2. Culture and Traditions
3. Beliefs
4.  Effects of Legalism
5. Evangelism
6. Helping Those Who Leave
7. MAP Ministry

* Effective Teaching Sessions!

* Amish-Style Cooked Meals!

* Inspiring Testimonies

* Receive your own Workbook!

* Bluegrass Music!

Come learn how to share the Gospel with your Amish Friends and Neighbors.

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