December 2020 Update
575 US Highway 250 | Greenwich, OH 44837 | Office: (419) 962-1515 |
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Ministry in the Trenches A New Beginning for Mary Ann
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Ministry in the Trenches |
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! I really do hope and pray your time with family is extra special during Christmas and the new year. When we sit around the table with our loved ones, let’s just plan on sharing testimonies of God’s goodness. Truly, God has been kind and merciful to all of us. We could start with Titus 3:4-7: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Celebration Dinner: In November, we gathered our staff and volunteers together and celebrated 248 salvations in 2020. We ate together, enjoyed each other and shared testimonies.
Bible Club and New Beginnings Directors: In 2021, we will be looking for two people to fill positions at MAP. (1) Tina, Bible Club Coordinator and Director, is looking for someone she can train for her position. She plans on stepping down in November of 2021. (2) Velda, Director of New Beginnings, is also looking for someone who will take over her position at New Beginnings. Both Tina and Velda have done phenomenal jobs. We are thankful for the years they have both given to the ministry. Please join us in praying that God would send us the right people to head up the Bible Club and New Beginnings. Secondly, if you know of someone who walks with God, is already doing the ministry and loves Amish people, please have them contact me. We have job descriptions for both positions. 2021 Conference: For over a year, we have been planning out a conference with one goal in mind: Do you know your purpose and calling, and what are you doing about it? It looks like March 26 and 27, 2021 in Holmes County is it. Please consider coming to this life-changing event. More on this next month. Breaking the Silence: If you desire to be blessed, have your faith strengthened, and gain a greater love for Amish, go to our home page and look for the Breaking the Silence image. People from many Countries around the world are watching the series. Joseph Graber, producer and editor, comes from an Old Order Amish background. The MAP Ministry is very much a part of the series. — Blessings to you! Joe Keim |
A New Beginning for Mary Ann |
I grew up Old Order Amish in a small Indiana community - the youngest of nine children. At the age of seven, I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer know as rhabdomyosarcoma. In the Amish world, any person who is not Amish is referred to as “English.” Having cancer exposed me to an English world that I knew very little about. I met lots of new people, but two of the older women had a big impact on my life. In 2006 there were only three cities in the US that offered proton therapy, some-thing I desperately needed if I was going to survive. Gretchen owned the apartment where Mom and I lived during the six weeks I underwent therapy. She encour-aged us to participate in the Wednesday night activities in her church of 2,000 where I met several girls my age. The thing that impacted my life the most was listening to the choir practice. Their music was like nothing I had ever heard in an Amish church and sounded like heaven! Another woman who came into my life was a friend of my Aunt Lydia. When Melynna found out I was in the hospital, she called a toy store and had a stuffed bunny named Faith delivered to my bed-side in Indianapolis. Faith arrived right after I came out of surgery. Melynna continued to help my family by writing and publishing a children’s story and do-nating all of the proceeds for my medical expenses. During the next fourteen years we kept in touch with an occasional letter, phone call, or gift. In January 2020, she sent me a copy of her favorite Bible, the Life Application NIV translation, not knowing I had asked God to send me a Bible that I could read and understand. Over the years I have come to realize the depth of God’s love as I experienced Him caring for me through the lives of these women and the prayers of my mother. His love for me and my love of music gave me the strength I needed to survive the months and years that I fought cancer and the residual effects of the treatments. My love of books and reading caused me to question the Amish set of rules and regulations - the Ordnung - that governed every aspect of my life. I could no long-er mesh what I was being taught in the Amish church with what I was reading in my Bible. They were not one and the same as I had been led to believe and I felt trapped. I wanted out, but did-n’t know where I could go nor how I would get there. So I told God, “I will go wherever you want me to go, but You will have to tell me where and will have to arrange everything because I can’t. I put everything in Your hands.” The next day I received a letter telling me about a ministry to the Amish. It was a place where I could study the word of God and ask all the questions that rattled around in my brain. If I so desired, they would help me get my driver’s license, further my education, find a job and teach me how to live on a budget. That letter offered me hope, a future and a chance for freedom where I had none. I know God led me to New Beginnings where I have lived for five months, completed my GED courses, gotten my driver’s license and currently work at Beyond Measure Market as a cashier. I dare to dream big. My hope is that God will help me pursue my interest in music, art and writing with a college education. |