Leaving Amish Paradise

you're supposed to have it long here you're not supposed to know we're supposed to shave it much and you're not supposed to wear mustache two years ago I filmed an extraordinary family going through a life-changing experience when I first met Ephraim and Amanda they lived in a culture that shunned the modern world they were Amish and ultra conservative American Church where cars electricity and modern clothing are totally forbidden the Amish look like they're from another century but when he from an Amanda challenged the beliefs of the Amish they were thrown out of the church they were shunned by their friends and family cut off from the world they'd been born into it hurts to see my family struggling in my family going upside down about it when I lost film the third they were on the brink of leaving the Amish Way of life for good but they had yet to join the modern world I'd often wondered if they could ever really get away from the culture that had made them who they were I wanted to know if they could ever really leave the Amish [Music] okay let's go to the water it's been a few years since I last saw you from in his family and I caught up with him on a tour of the British Isles they'd been invited over by people who'd seen the first film and had wanted to meet them this is the first time they've been to a beach and it's the first time they've ever been abroad leaving the Amish has transformed their lives [Music] I hated my Unleashed toys I hated wearing suspenders I hated everything I guess I can be myself now whereas continuing to go back to the Amish church was I was trying to be someone that but I'm not I my heart wasn't there anymore [Music] being away from home for the first time has made them think hard about what they want to do with their lives it has been a time of just sitting back and reflecting and saying what is our life supposed to be what are we supposed to be doing [Music] where do we go from from here where does the Lord want us to be don't you know that we're all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ there's one thing he from is sure of he wants to save souls every day a hundred and fifty thousand people will die it's this kind of thing that got him thrown out of the Amish church in the first place above all the Amish believe in humility they consider Ephraim's preaching to be nothing but pride you can take it read it there's a little test there to do on the back then gotta turn it around I'm gonna get some time just do the test there and you'll see if you get to heaven Ephraim spent his time here in Brittany spreading the gospel he hasn't had to work at all and it's been a revelation the Amish are famous for their theater work ethic and Ephraim's always worked hard to support his family but no more our Father thank you for this food yes that you would bless it to our bodies father he's now decided to only do God's work and to trust completely in God to provide for all his family's needs I've always had a secure job where you know money has never been an issue and I expect the next couple years to be different okay you got your jackets put some jackets on children I don't want to have a 7 to 5 job but if the Lord just provides for us that's all we need he says follow me seek my kingdom and my righteousness everything else will be added and that's our confidence and so now we're ready to head back home and really think about her life and and yeah walk the plan we have now relying only on faith to sustain them Ephraim's bringing his family back to Pennsylvania home of the same Amish community that rejected him [Music] Efram was born and raised in Lancaster County home of the first and oldest Amish community in America over the centuries America has changed dramatically but the Amish have not and their old-fashioned ways are nostalgically envied by their modern cousins the unofficial capital of Amish country here in Lancaster is a small town called intercourse it's an ironic name for a town that attracts millions of tourists who come here to see the wholesome lifestyle of the Amish yeah we went through a tour through an Amish land so how do people live the Amish people very interesting they just fascinate me the way they they operate everything is done the old-fashioned way more peace in this world that we did the tourists who come here see a chocolate box version of the Amish but the Amish are anything but simple just like any other group of people they have complex problems and deep divisions but this is kept hidden from outsiders because the strict rules the Amish live by forbid them from being filmed I filmed these shots from quite a distance this is about as close as you can get without causing offence the only way to see the true nature of Amish life is to film with those who are on their way out [Music] LC Miller has been our mesh all her life and so has a husband Jessie but that's about to change [Music] just before I came to film with them that had a visit their Amish ministers had come to warn them they were about to be thrown out of the church excommunication is the punishment for attending a non Amish church they face being shunned by their friends and family cut off from the only world they've ever known what they're gonna do probably then is like they're actually they're actually gonna say that they're now handing us over to the devil I don't know if you've ever heard that but that's how they do I mean yes because we're leaving the church and going out into the world is how they look at it we have tricked into taking a deeper faith take a deeper Christian face so wait what was God and Jesus they came to this new faith with the help of Ephraim [Music] when I first met he from he'd become involved in a growing evangelical movement with a clear target I filmed him along with other born-again Christians setting up a huge tent right in the heart of Amish country they called tent meetings the punch of church is getting together singing and preaching the Word of God they were here on a mission to convert the Amish and at the center of their campaign was the Bible Amish Bibles are written in an old form of German that few understand but reading the Bible in English is prohibited it breaks the Amish reliance on the authority of their elders [Music] and it's a sin to do it today to keep the people in darkness by giving them a Bible in the language that they do not understand and telling them and warning them not to read it in English god have mercy these tent meetings were just part of a larger conflict between the Amish elders and the new faith of Ephraim and others like him there's a lot of Amish people that have been warned not to come to them for fear that they would then desire to leave the Amish culture they could be excommunicated for attending LC was amongst those who were won over to this new faith Jessie followed so you got on his knees and started praying after he stopped praying I said so would you go to heaven he said yes I would I said why would you go to heaven he because it's because of what Jesus has done for me and that's not what he said an hour before so I knew he was a new man so I asked him if if the community is gonna reject him will he still follow Christ and he goes yeah I said I have no choice it's just like the fear of rejection was gone Jesse NLC started coming with you from here to charity Christian Fellowship one of the main evangelical churches campaigning to convert the Amish during this time of need for fellowship and wisdom Gardens thank you for this they're Amish family are unhappy with their decision and don't want them to go amen thank you lord well I guess it was one last attempt to see what he can do to get us to change our minds before we get excommunicated he doesn't agree with anything I believe and I can't agree with his you know Elsie and Jessie are part of a growing exodus leaving their traditions and their families for modern evangelical Christianity [Music] Efram and his family are arriving back off the months of traveling they don't have a house of their own so they'll be staying with friends from his new church the first thing to do is find a place to live Ephraim is praying he can find a house for free tomorrow and see if it's what we want it's the one I don't know yeah we just we just trust in the Lord so they say they have a pretty stand that we can help work a kriti Sanon and feed some heifers maybe to exchange exchange rent but we'll see [Music] a few days later I caught up with Ephraim he'd already found a house and wanted to get some help moving in no we're trying to figure out he's gonna help help us move in tomorrow well my brothers are going going to come and their wives hopefully yes my family is still his Amish family won't help if it means consorting with people from charity Ephraim's new church they want to know if there's other people there hear excommunicated okay I got to figure out a way who's gonna drive it that my brothers can ride along so even though he's no longer part of their church Ephraim still finds himself having to work around the Amish rules in the end he finds a workable compromise his Amish families have packed everything up and people from charity church are doing the unpacking unlike the Amish they don't mind being filmed if it helps do God's work [Music] [Applause] [Music] the house is on a farm and Ephraim's struck a deal with the owner in the summer months he'll do some work around the farm and run the owners roadside fruit and veg stand in exchange they'll live rent-free it seems Ephraim's prayers have been answered it's exactly what we wanted well we didn't we just wanted to work somewhere so we can work for the farmer in exchange for rent so we've we found it but there's more than rent to consider Ephraim is counting on God to provide for all their financial needs you know even though the Lord has given us this place - for when we prayed for it still that thought up but what if he doesn't supply money person [Music] ephram's new home is deep in Amish country but that's not to say it's completely separate from the outside world seeing the Amish like this in rural isolation it might appear that they live apart from everyone else but the reality is quite different for the most part they live right alongside the modern world [Music] driving around I found the freeways of Pennsylvania regularly jammed up by slow-moving Amish you'd think this day-to-day contact would be the death of their culture but it isn't even when rebellion and teenage hormones kick in the Amish have a way of dealing [Music] [Music] these young guys hanging out are Believe It or Not varnish in their late teens are mushy its are allowed to run wild before they join the church and get a taste of living in the outside world [Music] with the Amish work ethic drilled into them from early childhood many of these guys are earning good money which is why one particular form their freedom takes is hot rods I'm told some will also be using their buying power to try the effects of eye watering amounts of drink and drugs but that's not something I got to film surprisingly enough the vast majority of these wild teenagers will return to the fold get baptized into the Amish church and trade in their fast cars for slow-moving buggies they go back because they've been taught from birth they'll go to hell if they don't live by the Amish rules and they believe it wholeheartedly but this fear of Hell which holds them together is now tearing the Amish apart born-again Christians promised them a guaranteed escaped from hell and an end to their fear it's a powerful message and the Amish are right for it [Music] it's Sunday morning I've set up my camera down the road from Elsie and Jessie's house to get some shots of their Amish brethren on their way to church [Music] [Music] Elsie and Jessi have been summoned to appear before the whole congregation so their excommunication is made public positive I mean since we started you know going this direction [Music] despite her conviction the prospect of standing before the Amish elders is daunting and they haven't decided whether they'll attend or not Jesse used to look to the Amish rules to make every decision now he's turning to the Bible something in the passage he's chosen seems to have settled the matter for Jesse tell me what you've decided to do this we really feel the Dozen a donor heart set if he if we're not boiling always church anymore why do we need to go where we got excommunicated they don't want us anyway [Music] having decided not to face the Amish they'll be going to their new church instead the preacher is giving them a lift in his car [Music] [Music] the Amish will carry on without them LC and Jessie will still be expelled in their absence they've now irrevocably severed their links with the Amish LC and Jessie are now full members of Charity Christian Fellowship despite the best efforts of their families to convince them otherwise the charity Church just does not have a good name among the Amish my sister said they heard from someone else that the church at charities is a cult you know like a cult thing it's not about Jesus Christ [Music] [Music] [Music] Church I see Amish in transition to the modern worlds most of the women have replaced the Amish head coverings with simple scarves some of the men still dress and shave in the Amish way while others are in the process of shedding the look it's full of people just like LC Jessie [Music] Efram was instrumental in convincing Jesse to leave the Amish and so when Jesse approached him after the service I expected the huge step he'd taken to be acknowledged somehow but there was nothing when ephraim was excommunicated he'd gone to the Amish church to proclaim his new faith he'd hoped Jesse would do the same Jesse's decision to come here instead has not gone down as well as he'd hoped with his friend [Music] today Ephraim's got a bunch of his Christian brethren together to pull down a house the house which belongs to a good friend of his will be torn down piece by piece and then rebuilt from scratch they had loading their house and so they closed up everything tightly and they come back and the walls were all mouldy and the Bible says that if there's mold there and it increases after you close the windows and doors for ten days and it increases and you have to tear it down and burn it don't let one stone upon the other stone and so just as the Old Testament says they're taking all the stones plaster and timber to an unclean place and burning the light they're following the Bible to the very letter it seems this new faith Ephraim follows is in many ways just as uncompromising as the Amish church he's left [Music] Efram has given up working so that he can spread the gospel this morning he's taken delivery of some car stickers and signs the big city you'll have ten thousand people of see your van and Ted now if the people are going to have to think about something that hasn't thought about a couple my friends will put these on their buggy I think look really nice to have something like that on their buggy yeah it would be looking to be frowned upon very much the Amish have this saying that they say you don't need to use words to when you just live your life and let people see let people see the life of Christ in you so they would they would not think it's wise to have scripture on your car or your buggy if they could be proud but you know you know there's a hurricane coming and it's gonna touch down in this certain area you're gonna tell everyone to get out of the cellar houses a nude because some get their dime I think it's important we talk about the message could I give you a gospel message you're welcome gonna give a gospel message to you all right there's a funfair going on in a nearby town today but ephraim set up his signs just outside I don't wanna be connected with the fair it's a wicked place it's the whole thing is about money everyone's trying to get rich trying to entertain trying to satisfy their longings the music is evil the some of the pictures are really demonic you got the the dragon trains you got the evil house on the other Street and it's just it's a place for I don't want to be a gospel message for you do you want to be in heaven alright well don't stay too long in there it's a wicked place now okay it's not what you make of it is what it is there's a gospel message for you you're welcome people are more receptive here than in England in England they've been taught Darwin's work quite quite a few years more than we have there the Bible says that in the beginning God created the world in six days and that's what I that's what that's what's true that's the truth that's what happened in six days the Darwin doesn't believe that way or he didn't he does believe that way now Darwin now is saying yes Jesus was a Christ I didn't acknowledge it in the past but he is and I wish I would have you know Darwin is in hell today according to the scriptures okay how many fives are in 16 this literal reading of the Bible is something he's determined to share with his children even man Amanda don't send a children to school instead they do all the teaching themselves at home we do books but then we also learn through life we butcher chickens we plant a garden all these things are learning experiences when Amanda says that butchering chickens can be part of their schooling she really means it the lesson today is not so much about biology there as it is about theology Bible says that the life is in the blood and what it means is that's what makes something live to step back Samuel is the blood so when the Bloods all gone children the animals dead and when Jesus was on the cross his life was dropped out on the ground for us and so when Jesus blood becomes ours we do have life because his life his blood has life in it [Music] it's the day after Elsie and Jesse's excommunication the Amish believe they've been deceived into going to charity church and have handed their flesh to the devil I've come to see how they're coping with that yeah but what often what people do is like people who leave you leave the Amish if that happens they'll afterwards just like pray pray to God and ask him to remove that curse I feel if we pray about it I think you'll he would the Amish think that Elsie and Jessi are now living in a place of temptation and deceit [Music] they have a word for this place they call it the world [Music] the Amish keep themselves separate by having countless rules for every aspect of their lives without those rules to guide them LC and Jessie are now faced with bewildering choices the first thing they must decide is what to wear [Music] what's wrong the Amish church decides a lot of things you know like our clothes should be made and the colors we should wear and the things that we can have and not have [Music] nothing is forbidden anymore they can have anything they want but after a lifetime of rules they have no experience of making choices independently so now it's up to us to decide you know what does God's Word say about this or that you know and we try to make our decisions based on what the Bible says Ephraim putting up a fence for his chickens yeah I didn't need a set of rules anymore to guide my life when I became a Christian because I not I now have there you go I now have living inside of me God Himself he knows the difference between right and wrong and so therefore I don't need rules don't don't point guns we don't do we don't point guns at people that's not sober Christopher how are you feeling when you're pointing the gun sober or foolish now you're sober now but how are you feeling how are you feeling then foolish yeah up nose I want you to do that we want stay sober thank you I want something else to govern my children rather than a set of rules I want them to know why why don't we walk around he modestly and I want to I want them to know it's because the Bible says instead of having a set of rules the Bible talks about the sin of nakedness I didn't know that it would be a it would be something that that the Bible would have as a room I guess oh well it's no it's not a roo it's a part of this it's a part of a life or a part of yeah it's a part of a life it's much bigger than a rule isn't it [Music] I've often asked why the Amish do things the way they do the answer is always the same you don't ask why they say it's just how we do the Amish are taught to obey without question and conform [Music] at first glance the congregation of charity church doesn't appear to be all that different to the Amish church that so many of them have come from although charity claims not to have rules like nama Sh their lives are governed by what they read in the Bible and they to keep their distance from the modern world but although it might not seem much of a difference coming to this church is probably the biggest change they'll ever make in their lives today Ephraim is trying to drum up more customers for the produce stand they live rent-free in the summer in exchange for running the stand but once winter sets in the family will have to start paying their way the Landlord recently offered them another deal if sales are better than usual they won't pay any rent at all the stands been far busier than they expected this wasn't the plan when they first moved in here right now it looks like a full-time job I really struggled with okay I gotta come out and sell stuff customers are here flowers I can sell things I can make it happen and I really just you know had to say God please you know take that from me look if we sell flowers yourself flowers I told him last night I said so okay Lord if this if this standards better then they're normal we can be rent free so you're gonna make it happen I'm not gonna make it happen I mean I'm thinking okay I should come out make science put a sign on every telephone pole and just you know come out and really make stuff happen I said no I'm not gonna do it I told God this morning if people need stuff and they're gonna buy it somewhere make them stop here Efram wants God to provide for all his family's needs but even though the rent is covered there are other financial pressures to deal with as well during the course of my first film with the family Ephraim's daughter Marie contracted leukemia it was the beginning of years of expensive treatment so what were you pretending us in what would it cost I thought we were spending every night although she's recovered now she still needs chemotherapy Ephraim wanted to stop buying the medicine and instead rely on God to keep the cancer at bay but the state wouldn't let him we had taken Murray off chemo for a month and we were going to stay off and then the law said we have to go back on and so that was really a little stressful time saying well hang on who's the Bible says that we believe she's healed we're gonna continue a natural route of the laws saying you need to continue or we'll make her to continue [Music] in his old life all his medical expenses would have been covered in full by the Amish about $78 right there [Music] but now he's relying on occasional donations from friends at charity and his savings which are disappearing fast [Music] methotrexate two point five milligrams that correct okay on the way out of the hospital he stops to try and get a better deal for the medicine Murray needs okay thank you Mike Ephraim plan was to stop working and give all his time to God the way it's looking now he'll need a miracle to carry on [Music] Amish children are taught only the basics they have their own schools and leave at the age of 14 [Music] now that they've joined charity LC has to come to grips with homeschooling like these books these are different from what from what I had when I was going to school the Amish schools they have other other kinds that are more more simple so some things in here is a little bit challenging for me this morning with your page in letters and sounds yeah it's a fun exceed work text with three children it seems a lot for her to take on and what's more Elsie is expecting another child what how about in hurt my get my dad to you Jesse wants to buy a car but he's having trouble selling his buggy while only Amish would wanted no army would buy it off him [Music] they don't want to they don't want to help us to something different than what we were brought up from the buggy is fundamental to the Amish Way of life it's their means of going about their lives as cars are totally forbidden buying a car is a big change and it will transform the way they live but a car is not always a blessing exhaust pipe on Ephraim's car is bust and he's having a go at fixing it himself it's a bit of a learning experience kind of thing used to have to do in the end of Olson buggy no horse and buggy was rather you had to figure out what's wrong with a horse and he got sick and I know I know how to take care of or cies but bands is a new thing but I'm going to be using the van I need to learn how they work otherwise I just spend a lot of money on paying people and it fix my van and I that's not my vision he's going to replace the exhaust on his car with one from this wreck this was Ethan's first car but a few months ago while he was on his way to church he rolled it the whole family was inside at the time the band come around like this and rolled so we flipped in the air the first time and come down right here and a man that got the jar of it and then we wrote again and on the four wheels and Amanda she went unconscious just a little bit there was people there right away and they called the ambulance it's icy and it was so just I got out and I said Lord what is this we had an accident we rolled twice but we're not hurt and what are you trying to say and so I went on a fast on Monday and then Tuesday morning the Lord woke me early my quiet timing and he showed me that I was proud I was actually proud of this then I was proud of how the Lord had given me this and that we had prayed and prayed and prayed and then God gave us this man forty four nine hundred and I was proud about that fact that I had missed it so I repented of my pride and wanting people to think that I'm spiritual so was a it was a good lesson and by God's grace no one was hurt and the Lord provided another van that has much less mileage on and for even less money [Music] cheap heaps in Lancaster City is just what its name suggests a budget used-car dealer Jessie and Elsie are looking for something with plenty of room Elsie is now seven and a half months pregnant [Music] you guys what are you looking for the red okay until next November how those run runs very very nice okay that's we can go test-drive as you like to do that watch the kids okay [Music] it's a bit of a shock to see Jesse behind the wheel but like many Amish men during his wild youth he had a car but I'm not sure about this one there's something odd about the electrics Jesus she there one for this man 3300 analysis Jesse may still be able to drive but his navigation skills are a bit rusty on the way back we get lost it's three quarters of an hour before we find our way back to cheap beeps theirs which were interior light and that car I'm sure there is I can check it for it typically it's just a matter of did you turn it both ways the actual way so I do not check if we're I didn't turn it pastor cymbals okay yeah I'll check it for you there's more to buying a car than knowing how to drive and they seemed overwhelmed by it are you guys looking to make a purchase right away yeah Saturday we'll look at making a purchase just as they're about to test another cheap heap Jesse gets a call from even with God's help he reckons he's found him a good car from a trustworthy man amen I suppose were to go look at that we shall go home and pray about it again [Music] early the next morning I got a phone call from Jesse he was on his way to the hospital with Elsa their baby wasn't due until Christmas but six weeks earlier than expected Elsie had gone into labor father we pray for Jessa TLC father as they're not away to the hospital or maybe they're already a father for their baby to be born father we pray in Jesus name that the baby would be healthy father we pray against any extra expenses that could be incurred in a hospital father we pray that they would not do lots of tests father but it would only do father what is necessary for a safe arrival of their new child in Jesus name Amen you can go to your chores children hi Jesse a thief how's everything going do they expect a baby to be born today okay how close is a baby being born you have any idea very soon okay who's that for them would you like to thank you very much sure we'll do that when we arrived at the hospital LC had already given birth to a baby girl they named her Anna Rose but she lived for only an hour [Music] if it was God's will no matter what the doctors or nurses do they will not provide that child if that child were to go he's going to take it Jesus has taken a beautiful bird out of our garden of love the funeral was held two days later at charity church standing out amongst the parked cars I saw one solitary Amish buggy Elsie's parents and some of her sisters had violated their Amish rules and come this once to a non Amish church most of Jesse's family stayed away [Music] after the burial there was a meal in the basement of the church but none of their Amish families stayed it was a step too far [Music] [Music] it was a hard day but God is working things things out through this it has really brought our families together and we hadn't seen most of our families since spring so it was I think God used that to break down some some barriers that had been there some Wars during a funeral your depends with everything yes yes they were it was very special I was got to sit beside my mom my mom and my dad they were next sitting next to me and that was very special yeah and we prayed that that would hear a good message and we pray that some seeds I think some seeds have been sown they heard the gospel [Music] this move towards evangelical Christianity is splitting Amish family and it's a conflict that's far from over there's no chance LC and Jessie can ever go back to the way they were the only hope they have of getting close to their families again is if they to leave the Amish [Music] with winter approaching Ephraim's closing down the produce stand now we're done with the produce for this year so we'll take it down and put it in the barn till next spring and we'll put it back up again his plan to live rent-free all year-round has not worked out so we need to come up with $800 a month yet for rent and utilities for November December January February and maybe March we might might be doing flowers in March ready so four months for sure maybe five that's nice so far Ephraim has been relying on God to provide for his family's needs he's been kept going he envelopes of cash given anonymously most probably by sympathetic members of his church but with God no longer providing other choice but to take a job doing building as well as the paid work he's come up with another very much plan to bring in a bit of money he's bought this horse cheap and plans to fatten it up and sell it on for a profit as a bonus the horse also gives him an alternative when his cars not working [Music] Efram always been at odds with the culture he grew up in but at the same time he's never completely escaped the Amish though he's left the church his simple values are not so different to those he was raised with but still the Amish elders see him as a threat and not without reason if this move towards evangelical Christianity takes hold it could be the end of the Amish as they are now but it could also be the beginning of something new [Music] you you

Channel: Dave Cornman

Views: 1,314,110

Rating: 4.6813526 out of 5

Keywords: Amish, Andrew Tait, Born-again, christian, lancaster, county David, Cornman, horse, buggy

Id: sepOtJasckk

Length: 58min 27sec (3507 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 04 2011