Mission to Amish People

P.O. Box 128, 575 St Rt 250 N • Savannah, Ohio 44874 • (419) 962-1515 • WWW.MapMinistry.org • JKeim@MapMinistry.org

September 2011 Dear Friend:

Ever since my early teens, my dad and I have

had a stressed relationship. Dad was a man of

dreams and many talents, which led him to

getting involved in every thing under the sun.

He was known as the community blacksmith,

machinist, veterinary, dentist and doctor. He

also owned a 200 acre farm, wrote several

books and developed a burn salve that is now

in most Amish households in the US and Can-

ada. His salve has even gotten the attention of

medical doctors in various hospitals across

America.

In my struggle to find acceptance from my

father, I found the Lord and received him as

my Savior—a love and acceptance I had sel-

dom experienced during my growing up years.

In 1987, Esther and I clung to our Savior and

left our families and Amish community be-

hind, knowing we would never return.

During the next 25 years, dad mailed us letter

after letter, reminding us that we would end up

in divorce, turn our backs on God and end up

in hell. We were told not to ever come home

for family reunions, weddings and funerals.

Five years ago, however, two of my Amish

sisters invited us and three of my brothers who

also left the Amish to attend a family reunion.

There are only two stipulations, they said:

“you have to dress in Amish clothes and park

your cars a mile away from the reunion.”

As the years went by, my heart ached for one

more visit with my parents before they passed

away. Several months ago, I asked my brother

William if he would go with me, if I drove to

PA where they had moved to a few years ago.

On August 5, we found ourselves heading east

toward Ulysses PA. While many people

prayed, we prepared ourselves for rejection.

By the time we found dad and mom’s place

way out in the middle of nowhere it was al-

ready dark. Both dad and mom were out doing

chores, and when we walked up to them, they

wanted to know what brought us there.

It would take up a small book to tell you all

that happened during the next 18 hours, but in

short, here is the email I send back home to

our wives, children and prayer partners:

To all: Where do I start? We just left dad and

mom's house. I cannot even begin to tell you

how awesome and powerful our visit was. We

got there at 9pm and talked until 3:30am.

Per their invitation, we got to sleep in their

house. This morning we got up and ate a big

mom style breakfast; of course at a separate

table. And then we continued talking until

3:30 this afternoon.

We tried to leave at least 6 times and always

got called back. The last time we tried leav-

ing, we were already in the car and dad came

out and asked us to come back to the house.

While there, we hugged each other, wept on

each other's shoulder until our shoulders were

completely wet. We apologized and forgave

each other for all the pain we caused each

other. At one point, dad and I wept on each

other’s shoulder so loudly that

people on the outside of the

house could hear us. We held on

to each other and made up for

25 years of separation. Even

now as I write, the tears are

running down my cheeks.

Thank you all for praying, and

please go see your parents eve-

ry chance you have. Love them!

Hug them! They love us.

During our time with them, I

asked if they would allow us to

pray for them. They said, “that's

fine”, however, mom said,

“maybe we should let dad do the praying.”

We all knelt and dad prayed without a prayer

book. He prayed and wept; all of us wept too.

It was one of the most powerful prayers we

had ever heard dad pray.

Brother William quoted John 3:3 and asked if

they are born again. To which dad and mom

replied, “we can say, we have a very strong

hope that we are.” As much as we wanted to

hear greater assurance, we did not hear it.

At the very end, dad said, “thank you for liv-

ing godly lives all these years; I give my bless-

ings to you and your families. Please tell your

wives and children that we love them.”

As we walked away for the last time and got in

our car to leave, William said, “after hearing

dad pray and describe the new birth, our trust

in their salvation rose from 20% to 90%.” We

could tell, they struggled with the idea that we

were so confident of our salvation.

What more could we have asked for?

Thank you Lord for all the work you did in

both our hearts during the past 25 years. We

messed up thousands of times but, today, we,

the Keim family, rejoice together in the Lord

Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer and Sav-

ior. All praise and glory to our King! The

painful past has been forgiven; we look for-

ward to what lies ahead.

We are so glad that we were able make things

right with one another before one of us laid in

a coffin and it was forever too late.

There is so much more to write, but this in a

small nutshell explains

how our 18 hours went

with our precious and

beloved parents.

—Joe and William

Keim

The day after we got

back from visiting our

parents, I started writing

a letter to dad and mom,

explaining all the things

that God has done in

our lives. Literally, tens

of thousands of lives

have been touched

through the MAP ministry. No, it’s not being

done dad’s way. And no, it’s not being done

Joe’s way. It’s being done God’s way. He

alone gets the credit for all eternity.

After my letter to dad and mom reached

15,000 words, I got this crazy feeling inside:

this is not a letter; it’s a book. And some day,

if the Lord tarries, you might get to read about

the many things God has done and continues

to do through clay vessels such as us.

Note: If you Google “John Keim B&W Oint-

ment”, you will find that dad’s ointment infor-

mation is all over the internet. When we were

at his house, he informed us of two other natu-

ral remedies he is working on. One removes

radiation from the human body; the other

helps people overcome depression.

Dad and Mom

Page 2 Mission to Amish People — www.MapMinistry.org

Online testimony

Hello Joe, In recent times I have

read articles and watched a docu-

mentary on Amish communities. My

heart went out to them and I could

see the desperate need for the undi-

luted Gospel. I searched online for

missionaries who are reaching out to

the Amish communities.

I came across your website and have

spent time going through the various

sections. I am very impressed by the

work you are doing and how God is

using you and your wife.

I know that in God's Work there can

be many discouragements, like the

79 negative letters, so I just wanted

to drop a line to say that someone

from Northern Ireland found your

website, and is now subscribed to

your newsletter. God Bless, Ruth

Lydia Miller, New MAP Volunteer —by Bea Kennedy

Lydia Miller, a new volunteer with MAP, received

Christ as her Lord and Savior while going through

one of our Bible Club courses.

She started receiving the Bible correspondence

lessons when she was still Amish; her sister-in-

law, Esther, sent her name in. It was during her

second Bible lesson in February of 2010 that she

realized that just knowing about Jesus

and His death on the cross was not

enough; she must make it personal by

receiving Him into her life.

Now that Lydia has left the Amish

church, she continues to receive the

Bible Club lessons in the mail. She

says, “They are encouraging, and

they help me to grow spiritually.”

Since Lydia’s family owned a tarp

shop, a lot of non-Amish would come by for help.

One particular gentleman visited a lot, and one

day, he told her about a Christian radio station and

handed her a Bible in English. For the first time,

she was able to understand what she read, since it

was not in German.

The radio and Bible helped her to grow in her

faith. Her brother, who had also become a Chris-

tian, pointed out various Bible verses and told her

to look them up for herself. He would say, “It’s

there for you to see.”

Lydia says that her greatest desire is to follow

God’s will and to learn more about the Bible and

grow in her faith. As part of that growth, she was

baptized recently. Speaking to her beforehand

about her baptism, Lydia was a little unsure of

what to expect, but she was also

excited to be taking this important

step of faith.

It has now been 2-1/2 months

since Lydia left her Amish com-

munity, and as she puts it, “All

those rules drive you away, I

guess.”

As stated before, Lydia started

volunteering at the office after

seeing a flyer in her church bulletin. After grading

and sending out the Bible Club lessons to other

Amish students, she said, “I didn’t realize so much

work went into this.”

Lydia has three brothers who are no longer Amish

and one brother and five sisters who are still

Amish. Her next goal is to obtain her GED, and

she hopes to begin studying for that in the near

future.

The Power of God —Joe Keim

MAP is often bombarded

by national TV stations,

asking for interviews. Most

of the time, we do not give

them the time of day. How-

ever, several months ago,

the National Geographic

(NG) started bugging us

non-stop.

We kept saying no until, one

day, they informed us that, Mose

(sometimes known as Holly-

wood Mose), from Columbia

MO desired to meet up with me,

since he too is helping those who

leave the Amish in the mid-

western states. The NG went on

to say how Mose was traveling

with one of their film crews and

making a film on Amish leaving

the culture.

Note: Mose is a former Amish

man who has been involved in

several documentaries as well

as Amish in the City, a reality

show that played in 2004.

When I heard that Mose was

coming along, I immediately

thought, “wow! wouldn’t it be

great if he came to OH, heard the

gospel and got saved.”

From that moment on, many

people joined in prayer, asking

God to use us in giving out the

gospel to Mose.

On Saturday morning, during our

weekly Bible study, we began to

notice that Mose was under con-

viction. He told us, “I have been

on a journey to find fulfillment

and purpose in life, but so far, I

have not found it.”

Several of us began to share the

immeasurable love of Christ with

Mose, and all of a sudden, he put

his head down on the table and

began to weep. Oh, the power of

God was overwhelming!

We gathered around Mose and

started praying for him. Next, we

led him in a prayer, asking Jesus

to save him. About 15 minutes

went by and finally Mose

lifted his head and said,

“during the prayer time, I

felt a heavy load lift away

from me and I feel free!”

Later that evening, Mose

asked if he could come

over to our house and do a

Bible study on assurance of

salvation. The next day, he went

to church with us, and the third

day he asked, “can we meet for

another Bible study?” That night,

we didn't get to bed until 1:30 in

the morning.

Several days later, Mose and the

film crew headed to WI.

This morning, I received the

following text from Mose: “I’m

thinking and talking different. It

took me several days, but I know

without a doubt, I was saved by

the grace of God on Saturday!”

We are working with a support-

ing church in Columbia, who has

been more than willing to come

along side Mose and his family.

All glory to God!!!

The NG film will run for ten con-

secutive weeks and is scheduled o

come out in the spring of 2012.

Mentoring Conference

We are quickly approaching our 3rd

annual mentoring conference, which

will be held at Bethel Baptist Church

in Savannah OH.

Date: Saturday, October the 8th

Time: 8:30 to 1:30

Cost: $45/individual and $60/couple

The cost includes a workbook and a

meal for each person.

2 Timothy 2:2 says: And the

things that thou hast heard of me

among many witnesses, the same

commit thou to faithful men, who

shall be able to teach others also.

At MAP, we have always had a tre-

mendous burden to come along side

young people and walk with them

through the early years of their

Christian life. In our ministry, it has

been proven over and over that men-

toring works. Not only does mentor-

ing make a difference in young peo-

ple’s lives, it makes a difference in

the lives of older Christians.

For more info, call (419) 962-1515

or go to www.MapMinistry.org.

Mission to Amish People — (419) 962-1515 Page 3

In late 2005 my wife Chris and I became ac-

quainted with MAP Ministry. We lived in

Elyria, OH, at the time and were traveling one

hour south to Ashland three or four times a

week for prayer meetings and Bible studies.

This began to take a toll on us, and we decided

that it was time to move to the Ashland area. I

knew that this could only

occur with the Lord’s help,

and one day He laid out a

plan to me, a five year plan,

which I recorded.

We put our house in Elyria

up for sale and began to

look for a home. We

looked at what seemed to

be hundreds of properties

finding many that we liked but few we could

afford. At that point we took our home off the

market. We had trusted God to bring a buyer

for our home but that did not occur, so we be-

gan to wait on Him to show us what He wanted

us to do.

I was doing my devotions one morning, read-

ing in Genesis 12:1, where it reads, “Now the

LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of

thy country...unto a land that I will shew thee:”

It was as though God was speaking directly to

me, “to the land I will show you (Ashland).”

Then, for some reason, a few days later, I read

in Joshua 3, where it says: “And it shall come

to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the

priests...shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that

the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the

waters that come down from above; and they

shall stand upon an heap.”

It was as though the Lord was saying to me,

“Prove to me, you are serious about this move

and I will provide a home and a buyer for

yours. Put your foot in the water!”

Now I know that sounds a little far fetched, but

within 10 days of my saying “yes” and surren-

dering to Him, He did pro-

vide a home for us and at a

lower price than we were

asking.

And remember that five

year plan, which was writ-

ten in June of 2006? What

was recorded has come

about. We moved in June

of 2011, exactly five years

later! Our house in Elyria had been for sale for

over three years. There was a lot of interest but

no offers. But we knew God was in control of

the entire situation, because He had been since

the beginning. And as He promised, we now

have a pending sale agreement on the house

one month after moving to Ashland! Our pray-

er now is that everything will move smoothly

and quickly to the closing date. To God be the

Glory, now and forever!

Note from Joe: Since 2005, Wayne and Chris

have been involved in leading Bible studies,

participating on the board and spear heading a

weekly prayer meeting. They love the former

Amish and the former Amish love them. Now

that they live in our area, they have already

held several birthday and GED parties at their

home. MAP is blessed beyond words to have

them on the team. Thank you Lord!

Our Move to Ashland to Help with the MAP —By Wayne Vallowe Bible Club Testimony

Like we have written before, baptism is a huge

step for those who get saved out of the Amish.

But once they understand the Scriptures and

are willing to forsake all, baptism quickly

becomes a desire in their heart.

At first, only Lydia (page 2) and Lena had

plans on getting baptized.

After they were baptized, Pastor Jerry asked if

there was anybody else that wanted to be bap-

tized and Rudy, who has been involved in our

Saturday morning Bible study, came forward,

kicked his cowboy boots off and went into the

pool and got baptized.

Then Pastor Jerry asked again, is there any-

body else that wants to get baptized. About

that time, Sam (Lena’s husband) walked to-

ward the pool, kicked his shoes off and got

baptized too.

By the time everything was over and done, six

people got baptized while the Lord's people

sung "Gathered at the River".

It's been a long time since I

heard so much crying for joy,

singing and praising the Lord

going on as we did that Sun-

day night around the pool.

Not one of us wanted it to

end. It felt too much like

revival and we wanted it to

go on and on. Pastor Jerry (right) was so excit-

ed, he dove into the water and started swim-

ming with neck tie and all.

At times like this, God’s people get charged

up and excited, knowing that God continues to

move mountains which are too difficult for

man to move.

I have decided to follow Jesus

The world behind me, the cross before me

Though none go with me, still I will follow

No turning back, no turning back

Revival in the Land —Joe Keim

Dear Bible Club, My name is C. Miller. I’m

Amish. I go to C. R. School I will be in 7th

grade. My family consists of 4 people. My

Dad, Mom, me and my brother Ryan. I also

have a pony named Sandy and a dog named

Rocky.

I love your Bible Club. It has helped me

understand many things. My brother likes

them too. He is doing the See & Do course

#1. Try to do mine the first day I get it.

The last 2 lessons you sent me made me

think. I always thought I had already taken

Jesus as my Savior. They helped me to un-

derstand what it really meant. I am now a

true Christian, thanks to you. My birthday in

Christ is July 31st, 2011.

Well I had better go now so that I can put

this in the mail, so I can get a new lesson.

Thanks for making my life worth living.

Love, C Miller

Lena Sam Rudy

Amish Voice Testimony

Dear Friends, I would like to receive the

Amish Voice on a regular basis.

I have known Andy Geesey for several years

and support his efforts to help the Amish

people. I am a 61 year old father of 10, plus

grandfather of 28.

We are all involved with the revival in Lan-

caster County. God bless your efforts! Sin-

cerely, S B Lapp.

Note: Andy Geesey is a full time missionary

to Amish in the Lancaster area and a close

partner of MAP. To view his web site, go to:

www.PlainNewLife.org

PO Box 128 575 St. Rt. 250 N Savannah, Ohio 44874

Hello, I’m Billy Holbrook. In

June, 2010, I moved to Claridon,

OH to pastor the New Testament

Baptist Church, my third pastor-

ate. I served in WV

for two years and in

IL eight years, and

for three years minis-

tered as a church

evangelist in KY.

Everywhere the Lord

placed me; I discov-

ered a different chal-

lenge. Always my

goal was sharing the

gospel of Jesus

Christ; which I’ve

done through door-to-door con-

tacts and tracts, radio program-

ming, a newspaper and its deliv-

ery to the homes, etc. Here in

Geauga County of northeast OH,

is one of the largest Amish settle-

ments in the world.

At first I was like the typical pass-

ing tourist; finding Amish lifestyle

fascinating and loving the atmos-

phere it cultivates and encourages

in our small town. While I enjoy

the Amish buggies, bread, cheese,

and donuts, a burden has grown in

me to reach them with the gospel

of Jesus Christ. These days it’s

hard for me to look at the Amish

without seeing people immersed

in the traditions of men, trapped

by the philosophies of their cap-

tors.

I’ve had the honor of witnessing

to some only to find they trust in

obedience to their

parents as the way to

heaven. This, my

friends, challenges

me to reach them

with truth. Many

people assume that

because the Amish

appear religious and

live a plain lifestyle,

they must be right

with God. However,

they are sinners just

as all of us. They, too, need a Sav-

ior.

As I saw the need to

reach the Amish

with the gospel, I

began wondering

what type of ap-

proach to employ.

Since radio and TV

ministry were out

(grin), I considered

the door-to-door

approach. But as I

began learning about

the Amish, I realized how private

they were and figured they may

find door-knocking invasive. I

became aware of the Bishops’

authority and once they found out

I was door-knocking they’d forbid

their members to speak to me. I

prayed for a way to contact the

Amish in our area and the Lord

directed me to mail them the gos-

pel of John and Romans.

I trust these gospels will be used

by the Lord to reveal their great

need for Him. I’m certain His

Word will not return void and will

accomplish all that He has pur-

posed. We are currently stuffing

envelopes with John and Romans

to mail to the 2,129 Amish homes

where we have addresses.

May this article motivate you to

pray for the Amish who receive

our mailing, and

consider how God

may use you to con-

tact those in your

area. MAP Minis-

tries reaches some

with the Amish Voice

but MAP can use

your help.

Please pray for our

efforts, MAP, and

the Amish - a people

in enormous bondage to sin, them-

selves, and manmade traditions.

They need someone to tell them

the liberating Good News, if you

don’t who will?

Reaching Amish in Middlefield OH —By Pastor Billy Holbrook Dear Joe, we have some exciting

news for you concerning the

Amish in our area. About 13

families have moved within a 3

mile radius of our home and are

very involved with English peo-

ple. Stuart has a repore with 10

families and their children on a

weekly basis.

We are so excited to tell you that

one family who recently moved

near my mother, has been very

curious about our faith. Stuart

had to take the father to town last

week and was with him in the

truck for about 3 hours. It al-

lowed for constant questions and

a open door.

Stuart asked him, how do you

know you are going to heaven;

he answered, we don't know. We

just hope so.

Stuart pulled over to the side of

the road and took out his Bible

and shared plan of salvation with

him.

He said he was going home and

would look up those scriptures

for himself. Very interested.

It is a beginning and we ask you

to pray for us as we minister to

this kind, loving and lost people.

Thank you again for sharing your

live with us. May God continue

to bless and you serve Him.

Your friends,

S and N Clark, NY