Mission to Amish People — (419) 962-1515 Page 3
Eleven Ministry Updates
—1—
Jonathan (son) and I had the privilege of speaking at a Father-Son
banquet. What a joy to minister
along side my son!
Rachel (dau) headed back to col-
lege for one last year of education.
This summer, she helped us out at
the ministry.
Esther (wife) has been working a
lot of overtime, but also going with
me on ministry trips whenever
possible. The two of us took a 10-
day vacation, in celebration of our
25
th anniversary.
—2—
Several weeks ago, Benji walked into a morning church service,
heard the gospel and went forward during the invitation and gave
his heart to the Lord. Prior to
this, he and I started a weekly
Bible study at his house.
His father, who lives in PA told
him, “I would rather see you run
with a drug gang then to get
caught up in Bible study with Joe
Keim.”
Please pray for Benji and his bud-
dy John who live in a drug infest-
ed area of Mansfield. Their house has been broken into several
times. The thieves have raided their fridge, thrown a brick through
the window—barely missing John’s head. They have also been
threatened physically and had $1,300 stolen from their house. Re-
cently, when I stopped by for a Bible study and Benji had a ball
bat, a knife and a pistol setting next to his couch.
—3—
Two young men, Marvin and Jonas got baptized. Both stayed in
our home for several months before moving on in August and get-
ting their own apartment. They work together, building barns.
—4—
Once a month, Alton and I meet for breakfast and a Bible study at
Bob Evans in Wooster.
He was a former Amish
minister and, at times,
desires to preach again.
I also meet with six oth-
er men on a weekly ba-
sis, discipling them in
the Word of God and mentoring them in life. Two are considering
ministry. Thanks to other Christians who are also meeting with
young people on a regular basis.
—5—
In July, we held our 14th Former Amish Reunion in Apple Creek
OH. Thanks to Ada Lendon who does all the organizing.
—6—
So far this year, we have shared MAP in 29 churches; 14 more are
on the schedule. We continue to get calls from churches as far
away as Oklahoma, asking if we can come and teach them how to
reach out to their Amish community.
As you can imagine, I am no longer able to keep up with the minis-
try at home and do ministry presentations on the weekend. Please
pray that God would raise up someone to help me out in this area.
Regretfully, I’ve had to cancel two appointments in IA and MO.
Special Notes:
On Friday, September 21, Andy Geesey from Plain
New Life and I are putting on a seminar in Blanchard PA for sur-
rounding churches who have a desire to reach their Amish commu-
nity for Christ. Our goal is to film the event and make it available
for individuals and churches.
On March 3, 2013, Andy Geesey and I will do a similar seminar in
Fort Scott Kansas. If you are interested, please mark your calen-
dar. We would love to see you there.
—7—
For the second time this year, a young man died because of an acci-
dent. The first time it involved a car; this time a four wheeler. In
both cases, the body was taken back to their family.
The community that Alvin Keim be-
longed to, took his body back and bur-
ied him in an Amish cemetery. This
often brings about an enormous amount
of tension between the ones who re-
main Amish and those who have left.
In Alvin’s case, the Amish were very
kind and allowed well over a hundred
of the former Amish to attend the view-
ing and funeral.
—
Continued next page—
Benji
Joe and Jonathan
Marvin
Jonas
Alvin
