Leaving Amish Paradise


Leaving Amish Paradise

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Transcript


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'You're supposed to have it'

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long here. You're not supposed to...

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You're not really supposed to shave it much, and you're not supposed to wear a moustache.

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Two years ago, I filmed an extraordinary family going through a life-changing experience.

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When I first met Ephraim and Amanda, they lived in a culture that shunned the modern world.

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They were Amish, an ultra-conservative American church

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where cars, electricity and modern clothing are totally forbidden.

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The Amish look like they're from another century.

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But when Ephraim and Amanda challenged the beliefs of the Amish, they were thrown out of the church.

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They were shunned by their friends and family, cut off from the world they'd been born into.

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It hurts to see my family struggling, and my family...

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..going upside down about it.

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When I last filmed with them, they were on the brink of leaving the Amish way of life for good.

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But they had yet to join the modern world.

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I'd often wondered if they could ever really get away

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from the culture that had made them who they were.

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I wanted to know if they could ever really leave the Amish.

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OK, let's go to the water.

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It's been a few years since I last saw Ephraim and his family,

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and I caught up with them on a tour of the British Isles.

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They'd been invited over by people who'd seen the first film, and had wanted to meet them.

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This is the first time they've been to a beach, and it's the first time they've ever been abroad.

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Leaving the Amish has transformed their lives.

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CAMERA CLICKS

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I hated my Amish clothes, I hated wearing suspenders, I hated everything.

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'I guess I can be myself now, whereas continuing'

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to go back to the Amish church was... I was trying to be someone that I'm not.

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My heart wasn't there any more.

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Being away from home for the first time

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has made them think hard about what they want to do with their lives.

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'It has been a time of sitting back and reflecting and saying,'

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"What is our life supposed to be? What are we supposed to be doing?

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"Where do we go from here?

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"Where does the Lord want us to be?"

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Don't you know that we're all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ...?

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There's one thing Ephraim IS sure of. He wants to save souls.

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..everything that we've done. If you hear my voice, please consider, every day 150,000 people will die.

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It's this kind of thing that got him thrown out of the Amish church in the first place.

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There's coming a day that God is going to judge the world in sin, righteousness and judgment...

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Here you go, buddy, a fake trillion for you.

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Above all, the Amish believe in humility.

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They consider Ephraim's preaching to be nothing but pride.

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Take it and read it, there's a little test on the back.

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You've got to turn it around,

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and when you get some time, just do the test there and you'll see if you'll get to heaven.

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-It's the gospel...

-Ephraim's spent his time here in Britain spreading the gospel.

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He hasn't had to work at all, and it's been a revelation.

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..the gospel message for you.

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It's amazing.

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The Amish are famous for their fierce work ethic,

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and Ephraim's always worked hard to support his family.

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But no more.

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Shall we pray?

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Our Father, thank you for this food.

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We ask that you would bless it to our bodies, Father.

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He's now decided to only do God's work,

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and to trust completely in God to provide for all his family's needs.

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I've always had a secure job where money has never been an issue.

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And I expect the next couple of years will be different.

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You got your jackets? Put your jackets on, children.

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'I don't want to have a seven to five job.

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'But if the Lord just provides for us, that's all we need.

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'He says, "Follow me, seek my kingdom and my righteousness, everything else will be added,"

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'and that's my confidence.'

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And so now we're ready to head back home and really...

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..think about our life, and, yeah, walk the plan we have now.

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Relying only on faith to sustain them,

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Ephraim's bringing his family back to Pennsylvania, home of the same Amish community that rejected them.

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Ephraim was born and raised in Lancaster County,

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home of the first and oldest Amish community in America.

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Over the centuries, America has changed dramatically.

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But the Amish have not,

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and their old-fashioned ways are nostalgically envied by their modern cousins.

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The unofficial capital of Amish country here in Lancaster is a small town called Intercourse.

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It's an ironic name for a town that attracts millions of tourists

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who come to see the wholesome lifestyle of the Amish.

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'Yeah, we went on a tour through Amish land'

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and saw how the people lived, the Amish people, very interesting.

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They just fascinate me, the way they operate, everything is done the old-fashioned way.

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Maybe we should go back to that way of life.

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Maybe we'd have more peace in this world if we did.

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The tourists who come here see a chocolate-box version of the Amish.

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'They don't fight amongst each other, they don't have a whole bunch of politics,

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'they all eat the same way, they all dress the same way,'

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they all work the same way, they all travel the same way.

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There's no competition, which makes life happy.

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But the Amish are anything but simple.

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Just like any other group of people, they have complex problems and deep divisions.

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But this is kept hidden from outsiders,

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because the strict rules the Amish live by forbid them from being filmed.

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I filmed these shots from quite a distance.

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This is about as close as you can get without causing offence.

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The only way to see the true nature of Amish life is to film with those who are on their way out.

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Elsie Miller has been Amish all her life, and so has her husband Jesse.

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But that's about to change.

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Just before I came to film with them, they'd had a visit.

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Their Amish ministers had come to warn them they were about to be thrown out of the church.

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How did it go last night, Jesse?

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They said that the church has agreed...

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-..together on a group...

-..as a group...

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..that we're ordered to come to church.

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And I feel that's where the excommunication is going to come in.

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Excommunication is the punishment for attending a non-Amish church.

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They face being shunned by their friends and families, cut off from the only world they've ever known.

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What they're going to do probably then is like,

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they're actually, er...

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They're actually going to say that they're now handing us over to the devil.

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I don't know if you've ever heard that, but that's how they do.

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I mean, um...

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So according to the Amish church, the old order Amish, you are sinners.

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Yes, because we're...

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..leaving the church and going out into the world is how they look at it.

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We have chosen to take a deeper faith,

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take a deeper Christian faith...

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..so we can walk with God and Jesus...

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..which the Amish, they don't do that.

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They came to this new faith with the help of Ephraim.

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When I first met Ephraim,

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he'd become involved in a growing evangelical movement with a clear target.

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I filmed him, along with other born-again Christians,

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setting up a huge tent right in the heart of Amish country.

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They call them tent meetings, a bunch of churches being together, singing and preaching the word of God.

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They were here on a mission to convert the Amish, and at the centre of their campaign was the Bible.

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Amish Bibles are written in an old form of German that few understand.

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But reading the Bible in English is prohibited.

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It breaks the Amish reliance on the authority of their elders.

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THEY SING

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It is a sin to do it today,

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keep the people in darkness,

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by giving them a Bible

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in a language that they do not understand,

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and telling them and warning them not to read it in English.

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God have mercy!

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These tent meetings were just part of a larger conflict

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between the Amish elders and the new faith of Ephraim and others like him.

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There's a lot of Amish people that have been warned not to come to them,

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for fear that they would then desire to leave the Amish culture.

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They could be excommunicated for attending.

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Elsie was amongst those who were won over to this new faith.

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Jesse followed.

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He got on his knees and started praying.

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After he stopped praying, I said, "So, would you go to heaven?"

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He said, "Yes, I would," and I said, "Why would you go to heaven?"

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He said, "Because of what Jesus has done for me."

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And that's not what he said an hour before. So I knew he was a new man.

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So I asked him, if the community is going to reject him,

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will he still follow Christ, and he goes, "Yeah." He said, "I have no choice."

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It was just like,

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the fear of rejection was gone.

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Jesse and Elsie started coming with Ephraim here,

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to Charity Christian Fellowship, one of the main evangelical churches campaigning to convert the Amish.

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Father, help us during this time of need,

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need for fellowship and wisdom and guidance.

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Thank you for this.

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Their Amish family are unhappy with their decision and don't want them to go.

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Amen.

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Thank you, Lord.

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Elsie, Jesse mentioned earlier that you've received a phone call from your father.

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Well, I guess it was one last attempt to see what he can do

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to get us to change our minds before we get excommunicated.

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If he doesn't agree with anything I believe and I can't agree with his view, you know?

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Elsie and Jesse are part of a growing exodus,

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leaving their traditions and their families for modern evangelical Christianity.

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Ephraim and his family are arriving back after months of travelling.

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They don't have a house of their own, so they'll be staying with friends from his new church.

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-Hi, Esther!

-Hi, Ephraim.

-God bless you.

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So in the bedroom inside the office, right?

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-That's a huge camera.

-The first thing to do is find a place to live.

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Ephraim is praying he can find a house for free.

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We're looking at a house tomorrow.

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Let's see if it's what we want.

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I don't know, yeah, we just trust in the Lord.

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We'll take a peek at it tomorrow.

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They say they have a produce stand that we can help work,

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and feed some heifers, maybe to exchange the rent, but we'll see.

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It's not mine to figure out. I just need to pray, that's all.

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A few days later, I caught up with Ephraim.

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He'd already found a house, and wanted to get some help moving in.

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We're trying to figure out who's going to help us to move in tomorrow.

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Some of my brothers are going to come, and their wives, hopefully.

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This will be your family who are still Amish?

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Yes, my family is still all Amish.

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His Amish family won't help if it means consorting with people from Charity, Ephraim's new church.

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They wanted to know if there's other people there who are excommunicated.

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OK. I got to figure out a way... who's going to drive and my brothers can ride along.

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Even though he's no longer part of their church,

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Ephraim still finds himself having to work around the Amish rules.

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In the end, he finds a workable compromise.

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His Amish family have packed everything up,

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and people from Charity church are doing the unpacking.

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Unlike the Amish, they don't mind being filmed, if it helps do God's work.

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If somebody doesn't want to be on camera, just tell him.

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# If heaven's not my home

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# Then, Lord, what will I do?

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# The angels beckon me from heaven's open door... #

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The house is on a farm, and Ephraim's struck a deal with the owner.

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In the summer months, he'll do some work around the farm

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and run the owner's roadside fruit and veg stand.

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In exchange, they'll live rent free.

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It seems Ephraim's prayers have been answered.

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Exactly what we wanted.

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Well, we didn't, we just wanted to work somewhere so we can work for the farmer in exchange for rent.

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So we found it.

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But there's more than rent to consider.

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Ephraim is counting on God to provide for all their financial needs.

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CHILDREN SHOUT

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It is, it's still, it's a bit...

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You know, even though the Lord has given us this place

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for what we prayed for, it's still that thought, "What if he doesn't supply money?"

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-Is it still a little bit scary?

-It is a little scary, yeah.

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Ephraim's new home is deep in Amish country.

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But that's not to say it's completely separate from the outside world.

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Seeing the Amish like this in rural isolation, it might appear that they live apart from everyone else.

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But the reality is quite different.

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For the most part, they live right alongside the modern world.

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Driving around, I found the freeways of Pennsylvania regularly jammed up by slow-moving Amish.

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You'd think this day-to-day contact would be the death of their culture, but it isn't.

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Even when rebellion and teenage hormones kick in, the Amish have a way of dealing with it.

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Oh, my God!

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-These young guys hanging out are, believe it or not, Amish.

-300 horsepower.

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In their late teens, Amish kids are allowed to run wild

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before they join the church, and get a taste of living in the outside world.

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With the Amish work ethic drilled into them from early childhood,

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many of these guys are earning good money,

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which is why one particular form their freedom takes is hot rods.

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I'm told some will also be using their buying power

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to try the effects of eye-watering amounts of drink and drugs, but that's not something I got to film.

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Surprisingly enough, the vast majority of these wild teenagers

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will return to the fold, get baptised into the Amish church

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and trade in their fast cars for slow-moving buggies.

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They go back because they've been taught from birth

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they'll go to hell if they don't live by the Amish rules.

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And they believe it wholeheartedly.

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But this fear of hell which holds them together is now tearing the Amish apart.

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Born-again Christians promise them a guaranteed escape from hell, and an end to their fear.

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It's a powerful message and the Amish are ripe for it.

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It's Sunday morning.

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I've set up my camera down the road from Elsie and Jess's house

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to get some shots of their Amish brethren on their way to church.

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Elsie and Jesse have been summoned to appear before the whole congregation

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so their excommunication is made public.

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How are you feeling about today?

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I feel pretty positive. I mean

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since we started, you know, going this direction, we haven't...

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..once really regretted it, and I don't think we would ever.

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Despite her conviction, the prospect of standing before the Amish elders

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is daunting, and they haven't decided whether they'll attend or not.

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Jesse used to look to the Amish rules to make every decision.

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Now, he's turning to the Bible.

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"And God said to Solomon because this was in thine heart

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"and thou have not asked for riches, wealth or honour,

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"nor the life of thine enemies, as wisdom and knowledge for thyself..."

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Something in the passage he's chosen seems to have settled the matter for Jesse.

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What have you decided to do this morning?

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It really feels the Lord has laid it on our hearts that if...he...

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if we're not going to Amish Church any more, why do we need to go when we get excommunicated?

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They don't want us anyway.

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Having decided not to face the Amish, they'll be going to their new church instead.

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The preacher is giving them a lift in his car.

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The Amish will carry on without them.

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Elsie and Jesse will still be expelled in their absence.

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They've now irrevocably severed their links with the Amish.

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CONGREGATION SINGS

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Elsie and Jesse are now full members of Charity Christian Fellowship,

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despite the best efforts of their families to convince them otherwise.

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THEY SING

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The Charity Church just does not have a good name among the Amish.

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My sister said they heard from someone else that

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the church at Charity is a cult, you know, like a cult thing, it's not about Jesus Christ.

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THEY SING

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Father in heaven, we thank you this morning. Thank you, God,

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for meeting with us, Lord.

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We pray for the Muslims, across the world, during this time of Ramadan.

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We pray, Lord, that somehow you would point to them Jesus...

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All around the packed church, I see Amish in transition to the modern world.

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Most of the women have replaced the Amish head covering with simple scarves.

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Some of the men still dress and shave in the Amish way,

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while others are in the process of shedding the look.

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It's full of people just like Elsie and Jesse.

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Father, we pray for our brother Steve as he continues to minister and work with the Amish

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in the southern end of the county. Thank you, Lord. Pray the soul of Jesus.

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Ephraim was instrumental in convincing Jesse to leave the Amish.

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And so, when Jesse approached him after the service,

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I expected the huge step he'd taken to be acknowledged somehow.

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But there was nothing.

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When Ephraim was excommunicated, he'd gone to the Amish Church to proclaim his new faith.

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He'd hoped Jesse would do the same.

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Jesse's decision to come here instead has not gone down as well as he'd hoped with his friend.

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Everyone behind the trees!

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Today, Ephraim's got a bunch of his Christian brethren together to pull down a house.

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The house, which belongs to a good friend of his,

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will be torn down piece by piece and then rebuilt from scratch.

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They had mould in their house so they've closed up everything tightly,

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and they came back and the walls were all mouldy.

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And the Bible says

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that if there's mould there and it increases after you close the windows

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and doors for ten days, it increases, then you have to tear it down and burn it.

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Don't let one stone upon the other stone.

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And so, just as the Old Testament says, they're taking all the stones,

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plaster and timber to an unclean place and burning the lot.

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They're following the Bible to the very letter.

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It seems this new faith Ephraim follows is in many ways

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just as uncompromising as the Amish Church he's left.

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CHILDREN CHATTER

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Ephraim has given up working so that he can spread the Gospel.

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This morning, he's taken delivery of some car stickers and signs.

0:26:400:26:45

Maybe this one here. I like this one.

0:26:470:26:49

"The fool has said there is no God."

0:26:490:26:56

Psalms 14, verse 1.

0:26:560:27:00

If you're going to a big city,

0:27:000:27:03

you'll have 10,000 people will see your van,

0:27:030:27:05

and 10,000 people are going to have to think about something they hadn't thought about before.

0:27:050:27:09

I'm hoping that a couple of my friends will put these on their buggies.

0:27:090:27:13

I think it will look really nice to have something like that on their buggies.

0:27:140:27:19

If someone put one of those on a buggy, what kind of response would they get?

0:27:190:27:22

Yes, it would be frowned upon very much.

0:27:280:27:32

The Amish have this saying that they say, "You don't need to use

0:27:320:27:35

"words to win, you just live your life and let people see...

0:27:350:27:39

"..let people see the life of Christ in you."

0:27:410:27:43

So they would not think it's wise to have Scripture on your car or your buggy.

0:27:430:27:50

They'd think you'd be proud.

0:27:500:27:53

But if you know there's a hurricane coming and it's going to touch down in a certain area,

0:27:540:27:59

you've got to get out of the houses and move, because they'll die,

0:27:590:28:04

so I think it's important that we

0:28:060:28:08

talk about the message.

0:28:080:28:10

-Can I give you a gospel message?

-Thank you.

0:28:140:28:16

You're welcome.

0:28:160:28:18

-Can I give a gospel message to you?

-No, thank you.

0:28:180:28:21

-All right.

-There's a funfair going on in the nearby town today.

0:28:210:28:26

But Ephraim's set up his signs just outside.

0:28:260:28:29

I don't want to be connected with the fair.

0:28:300:28:32

It's a wicked place. The whole thing is about money, and they're all trying

0:28:320:28:36

to get rich, trying to entertain, trying to satisfy their longings.

0:28:360:28:41

There's the gazebo, some of the pictures are really

0:28:430:28:48

demonic, you got the dragon trains, you've got

0:28:480:28:53

the evil house on the other street,

0:28:530:28:56

and it's just...

0:28:560:29:00

It's a place where I don't want to be.

0:29:000:29:02

A gospel message for you. Do you want to be in heaven?

0:29:020:29:05

All right. Don't stay too long in there, it's a wicked place.

0:29:050:29:10

-It's what you make of it, I guess.

-OK, it's not what you make of it, it's what it is.

0:29:100:29:17

Here's a gospel message for you.

0:29:200:29:22

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

0:29:220:29:24

People are more receptive here than in England.

0:29:240:29:28

In England they've been taught Darwin

0:29:280:29:31

quite...

0:29:310:29:33

a few years more than we have here.

0:29:330:29:35

The Bible says that in the beginning God created the world in six days,

0:29:350:29:39

and that's what's true, that's the truth.

0:29:390:29:44

That's what happened in six days.

0:29:460:29:49

But Darwin doesn't believe that way.

0:29:490:29:51

Or he didn't. He does believe that way now.

0:29:540:29:57

Darwin now is saying, "Yes, Jesus was the Christ, I didn't acknowledge it in the past,

0:29:570:30:02

"but he is, and I wish I would have," you know. Darwin is in hell today, according to the Scriptures.

0:30:020:30:09

OK. How many fives are in 16?

0:30:120:30:15

This literal reading of the Bible is something he's determined to share with his children.

0:30:150:30:21

Ephraim and Amanda don't send their children to school.

0:30:210:30:24

Instead, they do all the teaching themselves at home.

0:30:240:30:28

We do books. But then we also learn through life.

0:30:310:30:35

We butcher chickens, we...plant a garden.

0:30:350:30:41

All these things are learning experiences.

0:30:410:30:44

When Amanda says that butchering chickens can be part of their schooling, she really means it.

0:30:460:30:52

CHICKEN CLUCKS

0:30:520:30:54

But the lesson today is not so much about biology as it is about theology.

0:30:560:31:00

The Bible says that the life is in the blood.

0:31:000:31:04

So what it means is...

0:31:040:31:05

..that's what makes something live.

0:31:070:31:10

Step back, Samuel.

0:31:100:31:13

..is the blood, so when the blood's all gone, children,

0:31:130:31:17

the animal is dead.

0:31:170:31:19

And when Jesus was on the cross, his life was dropped out on the ground for us and so when Jesus' blood

0:31:190:31:29

becomes ours we do have life because his life, his blood has life in it.

0:31:290:31:34

It's the day after the Elsie and Jesse's excommunication.

0:31:450:31:50

The Amish believe they've been deceived into going to Charity Church,

0:31:500:31:53

and have handed their flesh to the devil.

0:31:530:31:58

I've come to see how they're coping with that.

0:31:580:32:01

-It sounds very harsh.

-Yes, but often what people do is,

0:32:010:32:06

like people who leave the Amish, if that happens

0:32:060:32:12

they'll afterwards just

0:32:120:32:15

like pray, pray to God and ask him to remove that curse.

0:32:150:32:21

I feel if we pray about it, I think he would.

0:32:210:32:25

The Amish think that Elsie and Jesse are now living in a place of temptation and deceit.

0:32:280:32:34

They have a word for this place.

0:32:380:32:41

They call it the "world".

0:32:410:32:43

The Amish keep themselves separate by having countless rules for every aspect of their lives.

0:32:490:32:56

Without those rules to guide them, Elsie and Jesse are now faced with bewildering choices.

0:32:580:33:05

The first thing they must decide is what to wear.

0:33:050:33:09

When we were Amish,

0:33:180:33:19

the Amish Church decides a lot of things, you know, like how the clothes

0:33:190:33:24

should be made, and the colours we should wear, and the things that we can have and not have.

0:33:240:33:31

Nothing is forbidden any more.

0:33:350:33:38

They can have anything they want.

0:33:380:33:40

But after a lifetime of rules, they have no experience of making choices independently.

0:33:440:33:49

So now it's up to us to decide, you know,

0:33:540:33:58

what does God's word say about this or that, you know, and we try to make our decisions based on...

0:33:580:34:06

..what the Bible says.

0:34:080:34:10

Ephraim's putting up a fence for his chickens.

0:34:180:34:21

I didn't need a set of rules any more to guide my life when I became a Christian.

0:34:270:34:31

Because I now have...

0:34:310:34:33

Here you go.

0:34:330:34:36

..I now have living inside of me

0:34:360:34:38

God himself, who knows the difference between right and wrong,

0:34:380:34:44

and so therefore I don't need rules.

0:34:440:34:46

Don't point guns. We don't point guns at people.

0:34:500:34:53

That is not sober.

0:34:530:34:55

Christopher! How are you feeling when you're pointing the gun, sober or foolish?

0:34:560:35:01

Sober.

0:35:010:35:03

Sober now but how were you feeling then?

0:35:030:35:06

-Foolish.

-Foolish.

0:35:080:35:09

Yeah, Papa doesn't want you to do that. We want to stay sober.

0:35:090:35:13

Thank you.

0:35:130:35:15

I want something else to govern my children rather than a set of rules.

0:35:150:35:18

I want them to know why,

0:35:180:35:21

why don't we

0:35:210:35:23

walk around immodestly?

0:35:230:35:25

And I want them to know it's because the Bible says

0:35:250:35:29

instead of having a set of rules.

0:35:290:35:31

The Bible talks about the sin of nakedness,

0:35:310:35:35

I didn't know that.

0:35:350:35:37

Isn't that a rule as well in a way?

0:35:370:35:39

It would be something that the Bible would have as a rule,

0:35:400:35:44

I guess, although it's not a rule, it's part of a life, part of a...

0:35:440:35:49

Yes, it's part of a life.

0:35:520:35:54

It's much bigger than a rule, isn't it?

0:35:540:35:56

I've often asked why the Amish do things the way they do.

0:36:050:36:10

The answer is always the same.

0:36:100:36:13

You don't ask why, they say.

0:36:130:36:15

It's just how we do.

0:36:150:36:17

The Amish are taught to obey without question, and conform.

0:36:190:36:24

CONGREGATION SINGS

0:36:290:36:32

At first glance, the congregation of Charity Church doesn't appear to be

0:36:320:36:37

all that different to the Amish Church that so many of them have come from.

0:36:370:36:41

Although Charity claims not to have rules like the Amish,

0:36:430:36:47

their lives are governed by what they read in the Bible.

0:36:470:36:51

And they too keep their distance from the modern world.

0:36:510:36:56

But although it might not seem much of a difference, coming to this church

0:36:560:37:00

is probably the biggest change they'll ever make in their lives.

0:37:000:37:04

Today, Ephraim's trying to drum up more customers for the produce stand.

0:37:130:37:17

Stand over there and tell me how this looks.

0:37:200:37:22

They live rent free in the summer in exchange for running the stand.

0:37:240:37:29

But once winter sets in, the family will have to start paying their way.

0:37:290:37:33

Wow, this is such a busy road.

0:37:350:37:38

It is a busy road.

0:37:380:37:39

The landlord recently offered them another deal.

0:37:390:37:42

If sales are better than usual, they won't pay any rent at all.

0:37:420:37:46

The stand's been far busier than they expected.

0:37:500:37:52

This wasn't the plan when they first moved in here.

0:37:520:37:55

Right now, it looks like a full time job.

0:37:550:37:58

I really struggle with, OK, I've got to come out and sell stuff.

0:38:000:38:03

The customers are here, flowers, I can sell things,

0:38:030:38:06

I can make it happen.

0:38:060:38:08

And I really just have to say, "God, please, you know, take that from me."

0:38:080:38:13

Look, if we sell flowers we sell flowers, I told him last night

0:38:130:38:17

I said, "OK, Lord, if this stand does better than normal

0:38:170:38:21

"we can be rent free, so you're going to make it happen,

0:38:210:38:25

"I'm not going to make it happen."

0:38:250:38:27

OK, maybe I should make signs,

0:38:270:38:28

put a sign in every telephone pole and just, you know, come out and really make stuff happen.

0:38:280:38:33

I said, "No, I'm not going to do it."

0:38:330:38:35

I told God this morning, if people need stuff then they're going to buy it somewhere, make them stop here.

0:38:350:38:42

Ephraim wants God to provide for all his family's needs.

0:38:420:38:46

But even though the rent is covered,

0:38:460:38:48

there are other financial pressures to deal with as well.

0:38:480:38:51

During the course of my first film with the family,

0:38:560:38:59

Ephraim's daughter Marie contracted leukaemia.

0:38:590:39:02

It was the beginning of years of expensive treatment.

0:39:050:39:09

So what will you be sending us, and what will it cost?

0:39:090:39:12

I will have to check, I thought we were sending everything.

0:39:120:39:15

Although she's recovered now, she still needs chemotherapy.

0:39:180:39:22

Ephraim wanted to stop buying the medicine

0:39:250:39:28

and instead rely on God to keep the cancer at bay.

0:39:280:39:33

But the state wouldn't let him.

0:39:330:39:35

We were going to take Marie off the chemo for a month

0:39:350:39:37

and we were going to stay off, and the law said

0:39:370:39:40

we have to go back on, and so that was really a stressful time,

0:39:400:39:44

saying, "Well, hang on, the Bible says that

0:39:440:39:47

"we believe she's healed, we want to continue down the natural route,"

0:39:470:39:51

but the law is saying you need to continue or we'll make her continue.

0:39:510:39:55

In his old life, all his medical expenses

0:40:010:40:05

would have been covered in full by the Amish.

0:40:050:40:09

But now, he's relying on occasional donations from friends at Charity.

0:40:160:40:21

and his savings, which are disappearing fast.

0:40:210:40:25

Well done, Marie.

0:40:290:40:31

2.5 milligrams, is that correct?

0:40:340:40:36

OK, that's a very good price on that.

0:40:360:40:39

On the way out of the hospital,

0:40:390:40:41

he stops to try and get a better deal for the medicine Marie needs.

0:40:410:40:45

So there's not much savings on that.

0:40:450:40:47

So the only one that we save on is dexamethasone.

0:40:470:40:51

OK, thank you. Bye.

0:40:530:40:55

Ephraim's plan was to stop working and give all his time to God.

0:40:560:41:01

The way it's looking now, he'll need a miracle to carry on.

0:41:010:41:06

Amish children are taught only the basics.

0:41:130:41:17

They have their own schools and leave at the age of 14.

0:41:170:41:21

Now that they've joined Charity,

0:41:260:41:29

Elsie has to come to grips with home schooling.

0:41:290:41:32

Is it quite a lot for you to learn as well?

0:41:320:41:36

Yes, it is, like these books,

0:41:360:41:39

these are different from what I had when I was going to school.

0:41:390:41:45

The Amish schools they have other kinds that are more, more simple.

0:41:450:41:50

So some things in here

0:41:500:41:53

is a little bit challenging for me.

0:41:530:41:56

This morning we'll do a page in letters and sounds.

0:41:560:42:00

It's a Phonics Seatwork Text.

0:42:010:42:05

With three children, it seems a lot for her to take on.

0:42:050:42:08

And what's more, Elsie is expecting another child.

0:42:080:42:12

Hurt? How about in hurt?

0:42:120:42:16

Jesse wants to buy a car,

0:42:170:42:20

but he's having trouble selling his buggy.

0:42:200:42:22

While only Amish would want it, no Amish would buy it off him.

0:42:240:42:29

Can you explain to me why it is

0:42:290:42:31

that they wouldn't be able to buy?

0:42:310:42:34

They don't want to help us

0:42:380:42:39

to something different than what we were

0:42:390:42:41

brought up from.

0:42:410:42:43

The buggy is fundamental to the Amish way of life.

0:42:450:42:49

It's their means of going about their lives

0:42:490:42:51

as cars are totally forbidden.

0:42:510:42:55

Buying a car is a big change and it'll transform the way they live.

0:42:550:43:00

But a car is not always a blessing.

0:43:020:43:05

The exhaust pipe on Ephraim's car is bust,

0:43:100:43:13

and he's having a go at fixing it himself.

0:43:130:43:16

It's a bit of a learning experience.

0:43:190:43:21

This is not the kind of thing you had to do

0:43:230:43:26

when you had a horse and buggy!

0:43:260:43:28

No, horse and buggy was, rather you had to figure out

0:43:280:43:31

what was wrong with the horse!

0:43:310:43:32

If he got sick, then I'd know. I know how to take care of horses.

0:43:320:43:36

But vans is a new thing.

0:43:360:43:39

But if I'm going to be using the van, I need to

0:43:390:43:43

learn how they work, otherwise

0:43:430:43:45

I'll spend a lot of money on paying people to fix my van.

0:43:450:43:49

That's not my vision.

0:43:490:43:53

He's going to replace the exhaust on his car

0:43:560:43:59

with one from this wreck.

0:43:590:44:01

This was Ephraim's first car.

0:44:030:44:06

But a few months ago while he was on his way to church, he rolled it.

0:44:060:44:11

The whole family was inside at the time.

0:44:110:44:14

We were singing, having a beautiful time

0:44:160:44:19

and the van came around like this and rolled,

0:44:190:44:25

it flipped in the air the first time and it came down right here,

0:44:250:44:29

and Amanda got the jar of it,

0:44:290:44:30

and then we rolled again and landed on the four wheels

0:44:300:44:33

and Amanda, she went unconscious for just a little bit.

0:44:330:44:37

But there was people there right away and they called the ambulance,

0:44:380:44:42

but it was icy and it was just... I got out and I said,

0:44:420:44:47

"Lord, what is this? We had an accident, we rolled twice,

0:44:470:44:51

"but we're not hurt, and what are you trying to say?"

0:44:510:44:55

And so I went on a fast on Monday,

0:44:550:44:59

and Tuesday morning the Lord woke me early, my quiet time,

0:44:590:45:03

and showed me that I was proud, I was actually proud of this van,

0:45:030:45:06

I was proud of how the Lord had given me this, and that we had prayed

0:45:060:45:09

and prayed and prayed, and then God gave us this van for 900,

0:45:090:45:12

and I was proud about that fact, that I hadn't missed it.

0:45:120:45:15

So I repented of my pride

0:45:150:45:17

and wanting people to think that I'm spiritual.

0:45:170:45:20

So it was a good lesson.

0:45:240:45:27

And by God's grace no-one was hurt.

0:45:270:45:29

And the Lord provided another van

0:45:310:45:34

that has much less mileage on and for even less money.

0:45:340:45:38

Cheap Heaps in Lancaster City

0:45:500:45:52

is just what its name suggests; a budget used car dealer.

0:45:520:45:58

Jesse and Elsie are looking for something with plenty of room.

0:45:580:46:02

Elsie is now seven-and-a-half months pregnant.

0:46:020:46:06

OK. What are you looking for?

0:46:080:46:10

The red Mercury Villager.

0:46:100:46:13

Let's go out outside, guys, take a look.

0:46:130:46:16

This one has 5,000 miles on it.

0:46:200:46:22

OK? And a brand new inspection until next November.

0:46:220:46:27

How does it run?

0:46:270:46:29

-Runs very, very nice.

-OK.

0:46:290:46:30

-You can go on a test drive if you'd like to do that.

-OK.

0:46:300:46:33

How does it feel to drive this?

0:46:370:46:39

Good.

0:46:390:46:40

It's a bit of a shock to see Jesse behind the wheel.

0:46:400:46:43

But like many Amish men, during his wild youth, he had a car.

0:46:430:46:47

It's fun driving.

0:46:470:46:50

But I'm not sure about this one.

0:46:530:46:55

There's something odd about the electrics.

0:46:550:46:58

So how much is this?

0:47:070:47:10

How much do they want for this van?

0:47:100:47:12

-3,300.

-3,300?

-Yeah.

0:47:120:47:18

And how many miles does it have?

0:47:180:47:22

125,000.

0:47:220:47:24

Is that pretty good?

0:47:240:47:25

Yeah, they said it is.

0:47:290:47:30

Jesse may still be able to drive,

0:47:340:47:37

but his navigation skills are a bit rusty.

0:47:370:47:40

On the way back, we get lost.

0:47:400:47:42

It's three quarters of an hour

0:47:490:47:51

before we find our way back to Cheap Heaps.

0:47:510:47:54

Do you have any other questions for me?

0:47:540:47:57

Is there a switch for the interior light in that car?

0:47:570:48:00

I'm sure there is. I can check it for you.

0:48:000:48:02

Typically, it's just a matter of... did you turn it both ways?

0:48:020:48:07

I thought I did.

0:48:070:48:09

-I didn't turn it past the symbols.

-I'll check it for you.

0:48:090:48:14

There's more to buying a car than knowing how to drive,

0:48:140:48:17

and they seem overwhelmed by it.

0:48:170:48:19

Are you guys looking to make a purchase right away?

0:48:190:48:22

Yeah, Saturday we're looking at making a purchase

0:48:220:48:25

but we're going to look at a few other vehicles first.

0:48:250:48:29

Just as they're about to test another cheap heap,

0:48:300:48:33

Jesse gets a call from Ephraim.

0:48:330:48:35

With God's help, he reckons he's found them a good car

0:48:370:48:40

from a trustworthy man.

0:48:400:48:42

Amen.

0:48:420:48:44

I suppose we'll take a look at that.

0:48:440:48:47

We should go home and pray about it again.

0:48:470:48:50

'Yeah, it's got good tyres on it.

0:48:500:48:53

'It's just inspected, it's good till next September.'

0:48:530:48:56

Early the next morning, I got a phone call from Jesse.

0:49:010:49:05

He was on his way to the hospital with Elsie.

0:49:050:49:09

Their baby wasn't due until Christmas,

0:49:090:49:12

but six weeks earlier than expected, Elsie had gone into labour.

0:49:120:49:16

Father, we pray for Jesse and Elsie, Father,

0:49:160:49:19

on their way to the hospital, or maybe there already, for their baby to be born.

0:49:190:49:23

Father, we pray in Jesus' name that the baby will be healthy.

0:49:230:49:26

Father, we pray against any extra expenses

0:49:260:49:29

that could be incurred in the hospital.

0:49:290:49:31

Father, we pray that they will not do lots of tests, but would only do

0:49:310:49:35

what is necessary for a safe arrival of their new child.

0:49:350:49:40

In Jesus' name, amen.

0:49:400:49:42

You can go do your chores, children.

0:49:440:49:46

PHONE RINGS

0:49:460:49:48

Hi, Jesse, it's Eph.

0:49:480:49:50

How is everything going?

0:49:500:49:51

'It's going good.'

0:49:510:49:54

Do they expect the baby to be born today?

0:49:540:49:57

'Yeah.'

0:49:570:49:59

OK.

0:49:590:50:01

How close is the baby to being born?

0:50:010:50:04

-Any idea?

-'Very soon.'

-Very soon, OK.

0:50:040:50:08

Who is that for?

0:50:140:50:16

Andrew, I have some letters for them.

0:50:160:50:18

Would you like to take them?

0:50:180:50:20

Thank you very much, I will do that, that's really nice of you.

0:50:200:50:25

When we arrived at the hospital,

0:50:300:50:32

Elsie had already given birth to a baby girl.

0:50:320:50:36

They named her Hannah Rose.

0:50:370:50:39

But she lived for only an hour.

0:50:390:50:42

If it was God's will, no matter what the doctors or nurses do,

0:50:450:50:50

they will not revive that child.

0:50:500:50:53

If that child were to go,

0:50:560:50:59

he's going to take it.

0:50:590:51:01

# Jesus has taken a beautiful bird

0:51:050:51:10

# Out of our garden of love... #

0:51:100:51:16

The funeral was held two days later at Charity church.

0:51:160:51:20

Standing out amongst the parked cars,

0:51:250:51:28

I saw one solitary Amish buggy.

0:51:280:51:30

Elsie's parents and some of her sisters

0:51:300:51:35

have violated their Amish rules

0:51:350:51:39

and come this once to a non-Amish church.

0:51:390:51:44

Most of Jesse's family stayed away.

0:51:440:51:49

After the burial, there was a meal in the basement of the church.

0:51:560:52:01

But none of their Amish family stayed.

0:52:010:52:04

It was a step too far for them.

0:52:040:52:07

It was a hard day but God is working things...

0:52:290:52:34

things out, through this.

0:52:340:52:37

It has really brought our families together.

0:52:420:52:45

And we hadn't seen most of our families since spring.

0:52:480:52:53

So it was, I think God used that

0:52:540:52:59

to break down some...

0:52:590:53:02

some barriers that had been there, some walls.

0:53:020:53:05

During the funeral your parents were there with you.

0:53:080:53:12

Yes, yes, they were. It was very special.

0:53:120:53:18

I got to sit beside my mum

0:53:180:53:21

and my dad, they were sitting next to me,

0:53:210:53:26

and that was very special, yeah.

0:53:260:53:31

And we prayed that

0:53:380:53:40

they would hear a good message..

0:53:410:53:44

and we prayed that some seeds...

0:53:460:53:49

I think some seeds have been sown.

0:53:510:53:54

They heard the gospel.

0:53:560:53:58

This move towards evangelical Christianity

0:54:200:54:25

is splitting Amish families.

0:54:250:54:28

And it's a conflict that's far from over.

0:54:280:54:32

There's no chance Elsie and Jesse can ever go back to the way they were.

0:54:320:54:36

The only hope they have of getting close to their families again

0:54:390:54:44

is if they too leave the Amish.

0:54:440:54:46

With winter approaching, Ephraim's closing down the produce stand.

0:54:580:55:03

We're done with the produce for this year, and so we'll take it down

0:55:060:55:09

and put it in the barn until next spring

0:55:090:55:12

and we'll put it back up again.

0:55:120:55:14

His plan to live rent free all year round, has not worked out.

0:55:140:55:18

We need to come up with 800 a month yet for rent and utilities

0:55:180:55:24

for November, December, January, February and maybe March.

0:55:240:55:28

We might be doing flowers in March ready so.

0:55:280:55:31

Four months for sure, maybe five. That's nice.

0:55:310:55:34

So far Ephraim's been relying on God to provide for his family's needs.

0:55:340:55:40

He's been kept going with envelopes of cash,

0:55:420:55:44

given anonymously,

0:55:440:55:46

most probably by sympathetic members of his church.

0:55:460:55:49

But with God no longer providing,

0:55:520:55:54

Ephraim's got no other choice but to take a job

0:55:540:55:57

doing building work.

0:55:570:56:00

I expected him to provide.

0:56:000:56:02

You know, OK, it's October 20th, 25th

0:56:020:56:07

and there's nothing, nothing, not a dollar!

0:56:070:56:10

21st was a Sunday, I thought, "Well, maybe someone's going to walk up

0:56:120:56:16

"and give me an envelope."

0:56:160:56:17

Monday morning I said, "OK, Lord, there's nothing here."

0:56:190:56:23

We can live for a little bit...

0:56:230:56:25

..we're going to have to see what we can do for a couple of weeks,

0:56:260:56:29

but, you know, what's the plan?

0:56:290:56:31

We go to pay rent; the rent is 800 a month too.

0:56:310:56:34

Giddy up, horsies!

0:56:340:56:36

As well as the paid work,

0:56:370:56:39

he's come up with another very Amish plan

0:56:390:56:41

to bring in a bit of money.

0:56:410:56:43

I haven't done this in a while.

0:56:430:56:45

This is going to be fun.

0:56:450:56:47

He's bought this horse cheap and plans to fatten it up

0:56:500:56:53

and sell it on for a profit.

0:56:530:56:55

As a bonus, the horse also gives him an alternative

0:56:570:57:00

when his car's not working.

0:57:000:57:03

Ephraim has always been at odds with the culture he grew up in.

0:57:070:57:11

But at the same time, he's never completely escaped the Amish.

0:57:110:57:15

Though he's left the church, his simple values are not so different to those he was raised with.

0:57:150:57:21

But still, the Amish elders see him as a threat.

0:57:210:57:24

And not without reason.

0:57:240:57:27

If this move towards evangelical Christianity takes hold,

0:57:290:57:34

it could be the end of the Amish as they are now.

0:57:340:57:38

But it could also be the beginning of something new.

0:57:390:57:42

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:57:500:57:53

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0:57:530:57:56

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