When Ben and Barbara Girod married in 1973, they had no idea their new life together would be one of shared burdens and blessings, lovely dreams and bitter disappointments. Both products of a strict and conservative Amish upbringing, they sought to know Jesus, and they wanted more than the form and tradition of their Amish upbringing. In An Amish Journey to Forgiveness, author Ben Girod tells his remarkable and unusual story of Amish life, reflecting his painstaking social and spiritual journey over many decades. His responsibilities as a bishop and church leader were manifold as he dealt with the predominant and inherent traditions of the Old Order Amish church. A divine encounter with God brought peace and joy to their lives, but this was soon followed by misunderstanding and rejection by family, church members, and leaders, ultimately ending in excommunication from their respective district. Devastated, confused, and unable to understand why this was happening, they turned to the Lord in search of meaning and purpose. An Amish Journey to Forgiveness shares their story as they began to understand that God was allowing such persecution and suffering to draw them closer to Him. It shows how God used Girod to bring about an awareness of the need for healing and reconciliation throughout the body" An Amish Journey to Forgiveness Discovering My Anabaptist Roots and Destiny By Benjamin Girod iUniverse, Inc. Copyright © 2013 Benjamin Girod All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4759-6319-9 Contents Forward.............................................................xiiiPreface.............................................................xvAcknowledgements....................................................xixIntroduction........................................................xxiChapter 1. Beginnings on Sam Hill..................................1Chapter 2. The Risk of Reaching Out................................5Chapter 3. Living Out My Name......................................9Chapter 4. My Brother's Keeper.....................................15Chapter 5. Forgiveness Must Be Given...............................19Chapter 6. Revival and Resistance..................................23Chapter 7. The Crucible of Hope....................................27Chapter 8. Shaped for Gods Purposes................................31Chapter 9. The Suffering of Separation.............................37Chapter 10. Guilty As Charged......................................39Chapter 11. The Blessing of Open Arms..............................51Chapter 12. The Power of Forgiveness...............................57Chapter 13. Christ Our Refuge......................................63Chapter 14. Self verses The Savior.................................67Chapter 15. Standing in the Gap of Forgiveness.....................71Chapter 16. A Way in the Way in the Wilderness.....................75Chapter 17. The Gift of Blessing...................................79Chapter 18. Roots Give Wings.......................................83Chapter 19. A Legacy of Forgiveness................................87Chapter 20. Heal Our Land..........................................89Chapter 21. The Freedom of Forgiveness.............................93Chapter 22. Advancing the Kingdom of God...........................97Chapter 23. Peace in God's Purposes................................103Chapter 24. The Anabaptist Vision..................................105Conclusion..........................................................109About the Author....................................................111Endoresments........................................................113 Chapter One Beginnings on Sam Hill My wife, Barbara grew up in the 1950's among the beautiful hills and valleys of east central Pennsylvania, in Snyder County, where the wide, rock strewn Susquehanna River meanders nearby. Raised in a family of eleven children, five boys and six girls, Barbara was the fifth child born into a deeply, religious Amish culture. Their farm was nestled on top of a high plateau where five roads from all directions led to the top of the hill with valleys round about. This hill, given the name Sam Hill, provided Barbara's family with an impressive vantage point of the farm fields, which bordered dense forests. Wildlife such as deer, occasional bear, raccoons, woodchucks, rabbits, quail, pheasants and squirrels were in abundance. The region was filled with an endless variety of birds and wild flowers, which filled the air with their delightful songs and the fields with brilliant color and sweet fragrance. The old country school she attended was two and one half miles to the east, set in a green valley. Typically, Amish children attend school for eight years. And for each of their eight years, Barbara and her brothers and sisters walked the two and half mile trail from her home to the school house and back. Every day they carried with them old-fashioned 1