Privacy and Protection

Have you noticed I don't publish the last name of "my guys" who are ex-Amish? Never will.

Sensitive to the consequences, I discussed this topic previously with Mosie and Josh. My daughter suggested that I change names to a pseudonym to protect them.

Today we discussed it with Harvey, my son-in-law. I chatted on the phone with a lady who used to teach in an Amish school. She's givng me permission to share her experiences, firsthand observations, and spiritual compassion for the Amish. "Don't publish my name in your book," she warned. "They [Amish] don't like me."

"Why?" you ask.

Amish Gma

No, it's not Good Morning America as some suggested. Gma (pronounced G-maay) is their word for church. You’ll see a reference to this in Appendix C of my book. Mosie lived with us for a year and during that time he explained many Amish words and traditions to me.

From him and frequent contact with other ex-Amish of the Old or Swartzentruber Order, I learned that obeying the Ordnung (rule book), conforming to tradition, and submission to parents make them worthy of God’s favor and Heaven. His Swartzentruber order considers Englishers hopelessly doomed because they weren’t born Amish.

“So what was your church like?” I asked Mosie one day.

“We go every other Sunday to an Amish home but rotate homes. Sometimes it’s in a barn. The men and boys go in first, and most put their hats under the bench; following them are the women and girls. 

Mosie

He softly crept out the door of his farm house. It was a still, dark night. For two miles he walked along the shadowy country road and debated his decision to leave. 

Eighteen-year-old Mosie, born into a New York Amish family, one of twelve children, turned from his society and all he knew because “there had to be more.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he feared being caught and stopped, and dreaded the painful shunning if he succeeded. Wearing his handmade, Amish clothes, and with $50 tucked into his pocket, he made his stealth escape.