Prayers for the Taken - The Story of the Haiti Hostage Crisis

Our Story WHO WE ARE... From 2007 to 2012 we, the Millers, adopted our first three children, a preschooler on the autism spectrum and two babies with Down syndrome. We published our first issue of Plain Values in 2012 to highlight Biblical ministries, share the beauty of adoption, and to cultivate anchored community. In 2018 we welcomed our fourth child in a surprise adoption, this time a baby with Mosaic Down syndrome.

WHAT WE BELIEVE... Our values are plain values, steeped in the rich traditions of yesterday. We enjoy the simple things in life. Gathering eggs from the coop, getting our hands in the dirt to grow food, and cooking meals from scratch. Sometimes we sit around a fire and share life. We strive to walk humbly to strengthen authentic relationships with our families and neighbors. And, yes, we have taken a fresh pie to a front porch and surprised a friend… we didn’t even text them before! We just stopped by, walked up the steps, and knocked on the door! Just the way our grandparents used to do on a Sunday evening. They called it living in community. We seek to serve our neighbors. Plain Values began with a prayer, hoping to play a small role in connecting a child with Down syndrome to his or her forever family. We have checked that box nearly a dozen times in the last ten years, and we will not stop until the orphanages are empty! We will rest in Heaven!

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Our Team PUBLISHER

OFFICE

WRITERS

Marlin Miller

Nic Stoltzfus, editorial manager

Nic Stoltzfus, Serving Our Neighbor

Sabrina Schlabach, quality assurance

Sabrina Schlabach, A School for Haiti

Bethany Troyer, bookkeeping

Stacey Gagnon, Whispers of Hope

Jan Schlabach, customer service

Sherri Romig, Business Spotlight

Isaac Hershberger, production manager

Rory Feek, Roots + Wings

Seth Yoder, graphic artist

Shawn & Beth Dougherty, Homestead + Roots

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FEBRUARY 2022

contents

June 2022 // Issue 108

serving our neighbor 13

PRAYERS FOR THE TAKEN The Story of the Haiti Hostage Crisis words by: Nic Stoltzfus Seven months after their April kidnapping this same gang, 400 Mawozo, kidnapped another group of missionaries: seventeen people serving in Haiti with Christian Aid Ministries. This month we have the honor of sharing their story, including their courageous escape.

A SCHOOL FOR HAITI words by: Sabrina Schlabach Only 1 out of every 50 Haitians have a high school diploma and 1 out of every 2 Haitians can’t read. Global Adoption Services is one agency working to help Haitian children overcome these barriers.

simple living 43

HOMESTEAD + ROOTS Time for What's Important column by: Shawn + Beth Dougherty Using the patterns of nature to grow our food reminds us daily how beautifully God provides for His Creation.

CONFESSIONS OF A STEWARD Water (part two) column by: Joel Salatin On our farm, as long as gravity works (and when it doesn’t, I’m out of here) we have water. No pumps to go out. No power failure.

PLAIN VALUES

ONE MINUTE WITH MARLIN

ON THE COVER

FUNDS AND BENEFITS

Thoughts and ramblings from Marlin Miller, publisher of Plain Values.

The environment the kidnapped missionaries endured for 62 long days.

Every month we provide a listing of opportunities to help out those in need.

community 37

ROOTS + WINGS Simplifying column by: Rory Feek Rory shares about his trip to Holmes County, Ohio and his visit with Ivan and Emma Keim— a local Amish family.

THE WIDOW'S PATH What Are You Looking At? column by: Ferree Hardy Instead of avoiding what’s going on around us, we can begin to embrace it because God’s love surrounds us and lasts forever.

history 57

OUR HERITAGE Printing the Ausbund

(part six)

column by: Elam Stoltzfus Over the course of the 20th century, Lancaster Press printed 123,000 Ausbund hymnbooks.

outdoors 61

ALL THINGS OUTDOORS Elk Hunting column by: Jim Zumbo This month, Jim Zumbo shares his insights into the wonderful and tempting world of elk hunting.

resources 10

WHISPERS OF HOPE Lessons from Prison by: Stacey Gagnon 5

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT MAX-WELL JUNE 2022

one minute with Marlin ON A RECENT TRIP, we spent a few evenings with a

office every third Friday of each month from 1pm

wonderful family who lost a young child only a few years

to 4pm. I do not want to simply talk about living in

ago. We quickly became fast friends as we connected

community, I want to do it. I am sorry for the many

on a deep level, sharing the good and the hard as our

conversations I should have shared with people I didn’t

kids ran and played. As we traveled home, I told Lisa

make time for or did not catch the pause or pain in a

there is a part of me wanting to skip all pleasantries

short answer.

in conversation from now on. She gently reminded me

The same friend who buried his daughter a few

that not all folks are comfortable with jumping right

years ago intentionally lives out his days at a slower

into sharing deep, authentic thoughts, emotions, or

pace, he makes time for his friends. I want to live in that

parts of their lives. But this is what I long for- the kind

pace as often as I can. A wise man told me regarding

of friendship built on solid foundations of hope only

changes in life, often small is big. A small change lived

found in Jesus. My point is this… this life is so short,

out is bigger than a huge change that lasts for a week

why do I want to spend time talking about weather

and is forgotten.

that will change in ten minutes! A friend recently told

Every third Friday afternoon of each month,

me when he meets new folks and the conversation

from 1:00—4:00pm EST, we’re hosting Porch Time at

turns to work and occupation, he follows it up with this

Plain Values. During this time window, you’re invited

line… “Ok, you’re an engineer, but what do you really

to stop by, have a cup of coffee or tea, sit on the porch,

do?” I love that because it digs underneath the surface

and visit for a while. You might meet a few of our team

and asks a deeper question to which most folks give a

and might even discover their role in building Plain

very different answer.

Values each month.

I am tweaking his question a little in certain As always, may you find joy in the simple things. //

circumstances… “Ok, but how are you really doing?” Everything we do here at Plain Values is centered around building and living in community. On that note, I feel I owe you an apology, for the last ten years, I have talked about living in community and loving our neighbors. But I haven’t lived it out to its full capacity.

MARLIN MILLER

So, beginning in June of this year, we are opening our

PLAIN VALUES

publisher, always looking for more friends

JUNE 2022

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JUNE 2022

whispers of hope

SUPPORT FOR THOSE WHO FOSTER + ADOPT

LESSONS from PRISON C O N F E S S I O N S O F A N A D O P T I V E M OT H E R

column by: STACEY GAGNON

SHE SAT ACROSS from me, a walking

I wanted her outrage and denials so

The 'other woman' was wringing

contradiction of motherhood, the

that I could howl in my indignant and

her hands, and she looked at me

embodiment of everything I had

justified anger.

and said, "I want you to tell adoptive

spent the last 10 years trying to

It was me who had walked the

parents that I am not what they see

repair. She represented the mother

floor with her drug-exposed baby. I

on paper. I want them to know that I

each of my children had lost when

held her toddler when he was dropped

have done bad things, but I'm not all

they entered the foster care system.

at my house in a dirty onesie at 2 am.

those things."

The woman who I feared when we

I watched the first steps, the first

I am ashamed that I sat across

took the foster care training classes.

gummy grin, the first kiss blown from

from her and felt she deserved the

This woman was the unseen specter

a chubby palm; and it was me who

pain and anguish she was walking

that hung like a mist within the

caught that kiss, that fall, and that

through. I looked at her, and I saw the

minds of each of my kids. She was the

broken-hearted child. And this other

hours I spent trying to teach her child

ghost representing my children's loss

woman was the one who did not.

with the learning disability caused

of a biological mother.

by her alcohol consumption during

She sat across from me with her rounded and pregnant belly, the 'other woman' I could not forgive. I judged her, and I felt anger and pain just looking at her. Her story was a repeat of almost every inmate sitting in their cell: multiple arrests, drug charges, and parole violations. She was a repeat offender with a lengthy rap sheet. But unlike many inmates, she did not deny her guilt. Instead, she wore it on her face and carried it upon her shoulders. I wanted to hate her, I wanted a target to unload upon, and I didn't want her to sit and just take it.

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pregnancy. I saw the day I wiped tears

"I looked, and I calculated the minutes and hours dealing with behaviors steeped in trauma. And inside, I struggled." 10

from the five-year-old's eye because he

finally

understood

the

word

termination, a big word that meant he was never going back home to his mommy. I looked, and I calculated the minutes and hours dealing with behaviors steeped in trauma. And inside, I struggled. I felt like a toddler at that moment, screaming, "MINE." I had fought hard for my children; spent months loving a baby that might leave at any moment; spent nights watching her sleep, tucked in and safe, hoping that judges, case managers,

and court officials wouldn't move her

have shut me out. But I know my kids

As my children grow, I see that this

on a whim. I supported reunification

will one day want to meet me. I hope

'other woman' cannot be hermetically

even though it scared me to the

they know I'm more than what they've

sealed within my home. If I don't bring

very core, and I had given her child

been told. I hope they know I'm not

her out into the open, my children will

my whole heart, knowing she would

just the bad things I've done, because

wonder what secrets that locked door

probably leave. And now, sitting

I love them the best I can. I hope they

might contain. What would happen

across from the 'other woman,' I was

know that I am a piece of them."

if they opened the door and walked

slammed with the realization that my

I sat there in my hypocrisy, and I

adopted children had never been fully

felt sick. As I sat there in the parking

something

"MINE." I didn't know how to reconcile

lot across from the jail, I gave my

discover something tragic? Would they

that, and inside I was afraid.

hypocrisy to God. The rejection, the

discover a piece of themselves that

fear, and the pain all fell to pieces in

was irredeemable? This 'other woman'

my mind because I could not change

cannot be hidden away but must be

the past. I could no longer live in the

fleshed out as my children grow. They

'what-ifs' or the 'could-have-beens'.

are a piece of her, and she is a piece of

believe

that

all

adoptive

parents carry this unspoken fear of

into that room? Would they discover shameful?

Would

they

future rejection. Would my children

How could the 'other woman' be

one day stop loving me and start

my enemy? She was a piece of my

I drove from the jail free from

loving the biological mother more?

children. She was the piece that had

the chains I wore when I walked in.

Would I receive a metaphorical pink

chocolate brown eyes and thick hair

Because I know God has forgiven the

slip from my child with the words

that went on for miles. Her piece was

inexcusable in me, and He does not

"No longer needed" written in red? I

the artistic drawings rendered by

carry a file filled with all my crimes.

don't want to have these thoughts. I

my 5th grader and my six-year-old's

He knows I'm not the bad things

have them anyway.

musical ability. She was the piece that

I've done, just like I'm not the good

The 'other woman' didn't hand

was strong-willed and had a deep love

things I've done either. I'm just a mom

her child over to the surgeon like I

for all small creatures. I realized at

trying to love the best I can with the

did, spending hours pacing the floor

that moment that I could not pick and

pieces that I have. And this journey

waiting to hear if the surgery was a

choose the pieces I deemed bad. No,

of forgiveness is every day. It is me

success. She didn't kiss her child's boo-

I had to see all the pieces, and when

giving up my hope for a better past,

boos, get up in the middle of the night

I look at my children, I see their

and it's harder than I ever imagined.

to comfort her during a bad dream, or

incredible beauty and potential, and

catch puke in her hands in the back

she is a piece of that.

them, and it's not tragic or shameful.

I guess we aren't so different after all. //

of the van on a family vacation (why do moms try to catch puke in their hands?). In my mind, she did not deserve my child's love. The 'other woman' continued, "I'm broken, but this doesn't mean I don't love my kids. I'd die for my kids. I know what people read about me on paper, but that's not all that I am." She looked me straight in the eye and said, "They won't let me see

"He knows I'm not the bad things I've done, just like I'm not the good things I've done either. I'm just a mom trying to love the best I can with the pieces that I have."

my children. They've changed their names, changed their lives… and they Stacey Gagnon, along with her husband, Darren, are the founders of Lost Sparrows. She can be reached at P.O. Box 751, Winona Lake, IN 46590. Learn more about Lost Sparrows at www.lostsparrows.org. 11

JUNE 2022

serving our neighbor PRAYERS FOR THE TAKEN

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Matthew 5:44

prayers for the taken The Story of the Haiti Hostage Crisis words by: NIC STOLTZFUS

IN PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI, around a hundred gangs fight for control of the capital city. After the president of Haiti was assassinated in July 2021, the gang fighting worsened, and the entire nation plunged into chaos. Gangs frequently use kidnapping as a way to finance their work. In 2020, nearly 800 people were kidnapped, and in 2021, the number was even higher. In April 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang captured a Catholic priest and nun from France, along with eight others from their commune. The ransom the gang demanded for their release was $1 million. It is unclear whether the ransom was paid, but two weeks after the initial kidnapping, the 400 Mawozo gang had released all the hostages. Seven months after their April kidnapping — and three months after the president's assassination — this same gang kidnapped another group of missionaries: seventeen people serving in Haiti with Christian Aid Ministries.

JUNE 2022

The Kidnapping It was a Saturday in mid-October, and the morning was sunny, with the temperature a balmy and tropical 70 degrees. In the village of Titanyen, located northwest of Port-au-Prince, seventeen missionaries had their heads bowed in prayer. Those gathered in prayer were six men, six women, and five children. The adults ranged in age from 18 to 48, and the children were ages eight months, 3, 6, 13, and 15. One man was from Ontario, Canada, and the rest were from various American states — Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. They were all missionaries with Christian Aid Ministries (CAM). CAM has worked in Haiti for over 30 years, and the work they do includes ministering to orphans and widows; supplying medical clinics throughout the country; delivering nutritional products to malnourished children; rebuilding homes destroyed by earthquakes; offering biblical-based leadership training to teachers and pastors; and paying wages to Haitian workers improving their communities through repairing roads, clearing canals, and laying water lines. The missionaries were gathered outside, and they prayed for safety and

"They knew the dangers involved with serving in Haiti, but they chose to leave the comfort of their homes to help the Haitian people."

protection. They planned to drive to an orphanage in the small village of Ganthier, located around 25 miles away, and they would be heading through areas known for gang activity. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world — one out of every two Haitians lives below the poverty line, three out of every four don't have clean water, and one out of every four can't read. These

issionaries tries Haiti m is in M id A an Christi 15 of the 17 PLAIN VALUES

Map of Haiti showing the drive from Titanyen to Ganthier

the driver did not want to stop, so he yanked the steering wheel to the side, making a tight U-turn,

missionaries serving with Christian Aid Ministries

and headed back in the direction of the orphanage.

in Haiti were there with one goal in mind: to share

In the rearview mirror, the driver saw a small

Jesus' transformative love with the Haitian people.

white Ford pickup with gunmen in the back racing towards them. These armed men demanded that they follow them, so the driver turned back toward the roadblock. The pickup diverted the van off the

The drive to the orphanage was mostly

main road and down a bumpy trail. The armed men

uneventful, and the missionaries arrived about an

stopped the van again, yanked the driver out of the

hour after they left CAM's base in Titanyen. The

van, roughed him up, and forced him into one of the

missionaries spent three hours with the children

other vehicles. The other missionaries were afraid

at the orphanage, playing soccer and other

they'd never see him again. One of the armed men

games, and left around one o'clock after a time of

got into the driver's seat, slammed his foot on the

fellowship and a fried chicken dinner. The trouble

accelerator, and sped recklessly over the pothole-

began on the way home. A few miles west of the

riddled road, trying to keep up with the pickup

orphanage, the road was blocked by an ambulance

truck. During this time, one of the missionaries

and a truck laid crossways across the road. Knowing

shared his location in a text thread with over two

that this stretch of road is known for gang activity,

hundred people. Another one texted CAM's Haiti 15

JUNE 2022

Country Director: "Please pray, the gang has taken us. We're being kidnapped." The dirt road dead-ended in a circular clearing, and the missionaries in the van saw a shack to their left and a house to their right. The ambulance that had blocked the road and another SUV pulled into the clearing, and gang members with assault rifles poured out of the vehicles. The gang members ordered the missionaries out of the van and took everyone's phones and cash. The gang members brought out the driver and stood all seventeen missionaries in a line against the wall of the house that the gang members called "The Devil's House." The hostages feared that they were going to be executed by the gang. Despite their trepidation, they prayed and repeatedly sang the song The Angel of the Lord, based on Psalm 34, verses 7 and 8: “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” The gang members yelled at them to stop singing, but the missionaries continued anyway. After taking everyone's shoes, the gang ordered the missionaries towards the shack. This concrete shack had a porch and two rooms; both rooms were already filled with hostages, so the gang members removed two Haitian hostages from one of the rooms to make room for the missionaries. The seventeen walked barefoot into the now-empty room: it was windowless and small— roughly ten feet wide by twelve feet long — and they crammed next to one another to fit inside. After they

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got in, the guards boarded the door shut. Mosquitoes

fear, the missionaries sought peace through prayer

whined around their heads, slipping in through

and song. In a testimony given to his home church in

cracks in the door, and fire ants crawled over their

Wisconsin, one missionary said, "The acoustics were

bare feet. It was a sweltering 90 degrees outside,

pretty good [in that room], so we sat there and sang.

and it felt just as hot crammed inside the small

It was encouraging to sing together."

room. As their eyes adjusted to the darkened room,

That evening the leader of the gang had one of

the missionaries noticed the concrete walls were

the missionaries call CAM's Haiti Country Director.

pockmarked with bullet holes and splattered with

After he confirmed to the Country Director that

blood. The children cried, everyone's hearts pounded

they were all safe, the leader grabbed the phone

against their chests, and adrenaline-trigged sweat

from the missionary and spoke to the Country

dripped down their bodies. Amid this stress and

Director directly.

The gang leader said, "Everybody is in my hand, and I'm in control. I have them all. They're all in my hand… I need one million dollars for each, or I kill them all." The Country Director was shocked by this number: seventeen million dollars to free everyone. CAM has a no-ransom policy, and he knew that they would not pay the ransom. So, the Country Director calmly replied, "We're missionaries. We're here working for God. We're not going to give you money. You got the wrong people — these people are children of God." The gang leader screamed back, "You don't talk.

"In this time of stress and fear, they sought peace through prayer and song."

You're not in a position to talk. I do the talking—the money or they die!" And then he hung up the phone. Immediately the US government got involved with the hostage situation, and they began working with the Haitian authorities and CAM on a plan to free the hostages. They realized that the missionaries had been captured by the 400 Mawozo gang, the same gang that had kidnapped

JUNE 2022

ten Catholic missionaries earlier that year. The

Day to Day Life

news spread around the world, and phone calls

The missionaries struggled with unclean water,

and e-mails poured into Christian Aid Ministry's

insect bites, infections, boredom, spiritual distress,

headquarters in Holmes County, Ohio. The staff

terror, and disagreements on whether to escape or

there began holding twice-daily conference calls

remain captive. Yet, amidst these tribulations, they

via phone with the family members, and they

created a daily rhythm centered around living out

brought in Christian counselors with experience in

their faith. They began their days with prayers and

traumatic situations.

singing, which would sometimes last until noon. At

Meanwhile, back in Haiti, the 400 Mawozo gang

one pm every day, they prayed for deliverance. And

pressed harder for the ransom money. Five days

in the evening, they ended the day with singing

after he kidnapped the seventeen missionaries, the

and prayers.

gang leader released a video on social media where

The one missionary who spoke the most

he said, "I swear by thunder if I don't get what I'm

Creole preached the Gospel every night to the

asking for, I will put a bullet in the heads of these

guards, they all invited the guards to have church

Americans."

with them on Sundays, shared Bible verses with

The same day that the gang leader released his

one another from memory, and — through it all—

life-threatening message, the family members of

the group continued to sing. According to one

the hostages released this life-affirming message:

missionary, the songs they sang the most included There is a God [Beyond the Azure Blue], One More Miracle, Come Bless the Lord, We've Got the Power, and Unto Thee O Lord.

Dear Church of Christ around the wor ld,

The gang did look after the missionaries. They allowed them time outside, provided fresh

Thank you for your pray ers on behalf of our family members who are being held hostage in Haiti. God has given our loved ones the uniqu e opportunity to live out our Lord's command to, "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you" (Matthew 5:44). God invites us to call upon His name in the day of trouble. (Psalm 50: 15) We thank Him that He is God and ask Him to hear our pray ers and bring our families home. We also pray that the

coconuts and mango for them, brought fans so they could cool off, and ensured that they had access to hygiene products. They did not physically abuse the missionaries and paid particular attention to the children's health. But all of this was done in a cold and calculating way. In their eyes, taking care of the missionaries was no different than taking

"We also pray that the light of God's love might shine out into the darkness of sin, and that the gang members might be freed from their bondage to sin and experience freedom in Jesus Christ."

light of God's love might shine out into the darkness of sin, and that the gang members migh t be freed from their bondage to sin and experien ce freedom in Jesus Christ. Thank you, brothers and sisters in Chr ist, and PLEASE keep praying!

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"The battle between light and darkness was very obvious at that place." care of a business asset— they wanted a good return on investment, so why would they risk someone dying and losing a million dollars? One of the missionaries shared about the behavior of the gang members: “Those men made no bones about it that they serve Satan… there was a lot of smoking and lots of drugs. [One of the gang members] would sell cigarettes and cocaine to the guards. Whenever the battery on the radio would stand for it, the guards would listen to terrible music… women would come around that were obviously up to no good. There was also a lot of cursing. The battle between

beans was appreciated, but their homesickness

light and darkness was very obvious at

was particularly sharp this day. Back in the US

that place.”

and Canada, families of the hostages also yearned to have their loved ones back home at the supper table. It had been over a month since their loved

After ten days at the first location, the gang

ones had been kidnapped. They struggled with

moved the seventeen missionaries to a new

feeling helpless, yet they continued to pray. One

location, spooked by news they heard over their

family member shared, "…although I really can't do

radio of the US military coming to Haiti. After

anything from here for our loved ones, I can pray,

three-and-a-half weeks at the new location, the

and God can take my petition, and thousands more

gang moved them back to their first location: the

like mine and do BIG things… Hallelujah!"

small concrete shack. Not long after bringing the

During this time, those working for the release

missionaries back to the shack, they released two of

of the hostages told CAM that an anonymous party

them—a husband and wife. The gang released them

had offered to pay the ransom. CAM was under

because they didn't have the medical supplies they

pressure to put money on the table to negotiate

needed to care for the husband. In addition, they

with the gang for the release of the hostages. As

may have feared reprisal from the US government

CAM management — in light of a no-ransom policy —

if he died as a hostage.

agonized over the decision of whether or not to

Four days after two of the missionaries

pay the ransom, this offer came. With prayerful

were freed, the remaining fifteen celebrated

consideration, CAM agreed to hand negotiations

Thanksgiving. The guards gave them Haitian stew,

over to others, agreeing that ransom funds from

and the change of meal from the regular rice and

the anonymous donor would be offered. 19

JUNE 2022

On the first Sunday of December, the gang

the

twelve

who

remained — a

married

released three more missionaries. This was a

couple, four single men, two single women, and

bittersweet moment for one of the missionaries

four children — the decision on whether to attempt

who had been released: she was reunited with her

an escape weighed heavily on them. They prayed

husband, but four of her children were still being

constantly for discernment.

held hostage.

The remaining twelve hostages finally came to

Even though a ransom was paid before these

an agreement, and they decided to escape in the

three missionaries were released, the gang didn't

middle of the night. The sunset on the eve of their

let the remaining twelve hostages go. The hostages

escape attempt was stunning, and a rich array of

were not aware of any of this — they were busy

colors transformed the sky into a fiery blaze. As the

planning their escape.

missionaries watched the sunlight fade into twilight, they prayed and sang Is that the Lights of Home?

The Escape During Sunday services and meeting times, the group discussed escape and deliverance. In a journal

"With bags of water in their pockets, one of the women carrying the baby, and one of the men shouldering the toddler, the ten missionaries on foot walked for miles..."

that he kept during this time (written with a pen on pieces of paper towel), one of the missionaries wrote the following concerning the subject:

We had church this morning, but with food, liberty, and stories as our topics. Stories of people being delivered and how God deliv ered us. Another topic we discussed was faith . How do faith and works work together? How do

our wants and wishes mesh with what God wants for us? We discussed that topic a lot. Is faith just believing God can do somethin g, and then we sit back and wait? Or is it belie ving that God will do something and then we react because we believe God is going to have our

The group had planned to escape at one that morning, but it took nearly two hours until the guards settled down. According to one hostage, "The guards were super worked up. They were smoking and jamming out on their radios and drinking and getting up at random times and walking around, and it just didn't look like they were ever going to settle down and give us an actual good 10-15 minutes to make an attempt at the back door."

backs? Do we step out? Are we the ones to make the first move? A lot of that discu ssion had discussions of escape along with it. We gave God a lot of good ideas on how to deliver us.

Finally, around 3 am, the group opened the door into the moonlit yard. The guards were distracted, playing with their phones and not paying attention to the shack. The generator rumbling nearby covered the sounds of their footfalls as they stepped over

A sketch of the camp where the missionaries were held. PLAIN VALUES

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JUNE 2022

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briars and brambles and crept to the edge of the

Event Timeline

brush. With bags of water in their pockets, one of the women carrying the baby, and one of the men shouldering the toddler, the ten missionaries on foot

DAY 1 | October 16

walked for miles, moving as fast as they could away

Seventeen missionaries with Christian Aid Ministries are kidnapped.

from the gang. They walked through the underbrush, past barking dogs, across a sleepy village, and between cacti with sharpened barbs that stung

DAY 12 | October 27

their feet and ankles. Finally, they heard cars from a

The missionaries are moved to a new location.

distant highway and soon reached a village nearby. Not long after daybreak, the two missionaries

DAY 35 | November 19

who spoke the most Creole found a Haitian man

The missionaries are moved back to their original location.

willing to help them. He let them use his phone, and they called CAM's Haitian Country Director. The

DAY 37 | November 21

missionary told the Country Director that they had all escaped, and he said, "The Lord delivered us."

Two of the missionaries are freed.

After two months of captivity, they were

DAY 51 | December 5

finally free.

Three of the missionaries are freed.

DAY 62 | December 16

After the missionaries arrived back safe in Canada and the US, they continued to pray for

The remaining twelve missionaries escape!

the people of Haiti, even the members of the 400 Mawozo gang who had kidnapped them and held them hostage. In their press release, Christian CAM offers various ways for supporters to help

Aid Ministries included a specific message to the

meet physical and spiritual needs. You can make a

kidnappers:

cash contribution, gift assets or commodities, donate We do not know all of the challenges

products, assemble and donate kits or clothing packs,

you face. We do believe that violence

or buy a book from CAM's subsidiary, TGS International.

and oppression of others can never be

Feel free to contact CAM to receive their free monthly

justified. You caused our hostages and

newsletter.

their families a lot of suffering. However,

Special thanks to Weston Showalter at CAM for help

Jesus taught us by word and by His own

with this article, Plain News for transcribing many of the

example that the power of forgiving love

missionaries' testimonies, and Strength to Strength for

is stronger than the hate of violent force.

their in-depth interview with one of the missionaries.

Therefore, we extend forgiveness to you. The hostages told you plainly how you can also be forgiven by God, if you repent. Our

Christian Aid Ministries

desire is that you and all who hear or read

a | p| e | w|

this statement may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Son of God, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus died for all so that all can be saved. //

PO Box 360, Berlin, OH 44610 330-893-2428 camweb@camoh.org christianaidministries.org

Nic Stoltzfus is the editorial manager at Plain Values magazine. This month, he is getting married at the Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead in Reading, Pennsylvania. He and his new bride Jen enjoy gardening, canning, and cooking (especially food from other countries!). He is currently working on a novel about the immigrant Stoltzfus family. 25

JUNE 2022

i ts for the Blueprin w school in Hait ne

PLAIN VALUES

TO WHAT LENGTHS would you go to attend school? What if there was no school bus to come and pick you up? Would you be willing to walk an hour in ninety-degree weather? What if the cost of attending school was 1/3 of your family’s monthly income? And what if you had to go to classes on an empty stomach—could you focus on learning the material at hand? Sadly, this is the reality for many children in Haiti: schools are costly and frequently there is a lack of support for children to get an education. Because of this, only 1 out of every 50 Haitians have a high school diploma and 1 out of every 2 Haitians can’t read. Global Adoption Services is one agency working to help Haitian children overcome these barriers. Starting in 2014, Global Adoption Services established a school and sponsored 14 children to attend their school for one year. In addition, they provided a hot breakfast and lunch to these students. This sponsorship provided breathing room for parents burdened by educational costs and gave students a chance to learn.

JUNE 2022

Currently Global Adoption Services sponsors over

Once in Haiti, Judy helped to establish the

100 children. It costs $330 to send one child to school

school. Using a standard Kindergarten through

for a year of schooling, which runs from September

12th grade curriculum, Judy also mentioned they

to June. And $1/day provides that child with a hot

teach good morals and ethics. After all, “These

breakfast and lunch. Global Adoption Services

young people are the ones growing up to be Haiti’s

is seeing success in their program: last year they

leaders,” she said. Something else to note: a student

graduated three students from high school, and they

begins in the grade of whatever level they need. So,

passed their National Exams. Two of the girls want

a seventeen-year-old may be in 5th grade because

to attend nursing college in hopes of improving the

that’s the level they tested at. “But that doesn’t

health of their community. Truly, Global Adoption

matter to them,” said Judy. “They’re just happy to be

Services aspires to the words of Frederick Douglass,

in school and learning.”

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair

To receive a sponsorship, each candidate must

broken men.”

fill out an application. Questions include favorite color, interests, hobbies, and goals/career objectives. Additionally, students are required to meet certain

The story of how Global Adoption Services got

expectations: no drugs, drinking, smoking, or

involved in Haiti is an interesting one. It all began

promiscuity. They must also agree to write a letter

in 2013 when Barry Williams of Global Adoption

to their sponsor, go to church regularly, attend

Services was on a mission trip to Haiti. Barry

class consistently, keep up their grades, and help

befriended a translator who has since become a

in the community. Failure to comply could result in

Haitian medical doctor. Dr. Richard Jean-Baptiste

removal from the school.

told Barry that Haitian children wanted to learn

The original school was built on rented land.

but they needed help. Barry responded with, “Oh

Unfortunately, the landowner passed away, and

my wife knows what to do.” When Barry brought

his death brought unforeseen consequences. His

the idea to his wife she replied with uncertainty:

relatives who inherited the land felt that the school

“I need to think about this first. I’m going to Bob

building was theirs and that they could use the

Evans.” When Judy got to the parking lot, she saw

materials for their own projects. “Just as we built

a bumper sticker that said Thy Will, Not Mine. “Well

that building brick by brick, piece by piece, that

that pretty much summed it up for me,” said Judy.

family has torn it down brick by brick and piece by

God had answered her prayer. So, in 2014, Judy

piece,” shared Judy with a note of sadness in her

headed to Haiti.

voice. Because their school was dismantled, the students are currently meeting in spare rooms of

The unfinished foundation of the school in Haiti

Haitian children who are eager to attend the new school PLAIN VALUES

"Pray for the school project, the sponsorships, and the safety of the people." the medical clinic, the mission, or outside. Global Adoption Services has also gotten creative by staggering the school day so that some students attend classes in the morning, while others attend classes in the afternoon. But all of this is just a temporary solution. Dr. Richard Jean-Baptiste’s brother Dinol is an attorney, and he has taken on the cause of building a new school. Dr. Richard’s clinic sits on three acres of land, and it was decided to build the new school on that property. Already a foundation is in place. Along with his work in the clinic, Dr. Richard continues to manage the tuition and breakfast programs for the school. Sons of a working mother, Richard and Dinol Jean-Baptiste were the first in their community to attend college, so they understand the value of learning. Richard and Dinol went to great lengths to get their education. For many children at Global Adoption Service’s school, they may also be the first in their family to get a high school degree. This is their chance to break the chains of illiteracy that are holding them back. This is your chance to change the path of a child’s life forever. Judy asked that we, “Pray. Pray for the school project, the sponsorships, and the safety of the people. And if you feel led, you can donate. It’s all appreciated!” //

Global Adoption Services a | 2046 Rushmore Ct., Bel Air, MD 21015 Make sure to include on the memo line if it is for Haiti Tuition or Haiti School Project. You can also check out the projects and adoption services at adoptglobal.org.

JUNE 2022

resources MAX-WELL

PLAIN VALUES

MAXWELL words by: SHERRI ROMIG

WE ALL WANT to be healthy. We eat right, we may exercise, but is that enough? Do you still feel tired or lack energy even after doing those things? Are you sure you are getting all the vitamins and nutrients to keep you healthy and your body fighting disease? Max-Well is a Christian company that desires to help people like you and me to be in the best health we can possibly be. What if I told you that the supplements that I’m about to share have helped people with AIDS, Mononucleosis, Ebola, and many others? It’s true, and the amazing part is that it comes from the ocean. Trace minerals are that important to our health. How would you like to feel good every day? Paul Schneider Jr. and his wife were missionaries to Ghana, West Africa for many years. After returning to the States, the Lord had other plans for Paul’s life. He joined the family business, which his dad started in 1969. They sold agricultural products. In his agricultural research, Paul read a book by Dr. Maynard Murray, “Fertility from the Ocean Deep” about all the benefits that fertilizing with sea minerals offers to plants and to animals that eat those plants. Paul had a desire to help people be healthy. He prayed for insights on how he could do this. Once again, the Lord answered. Through two studies in Kenya involving those with HIV, using his product to help people with Ebola in Liberia and mononucleosis here in the USA, the products Ionic Sea Minerals and Ocean Treasure had almost miraculous results.

JUNE 2022

Children who were dying were once again lively and

Please feel free to call or write for more information

thriving and others had health restored so they

or visit www.max-well.net to learn more.

could live life as God intended.

Ocean Treasure, another product of Max-Well,

Now, Paul wants to be clear and say, he did

supplies the body with nutrients your body needs

not come up with these products on his own. By

to heal. It has nine nutrient-filled sea vegetables

reading, doing research, and by contacting those

that are grown in, you guessed it, the ocean. These

who were already distributing sea minerals and sea

vegetables include red seaweeds, brown seaweeds,

vegetables, but mostly through the Lord’s leading,

and green seaweeds. This amazing product is low

the company Max-Well came to fruition.

in sodium. It also contains a bit of Ionic Sea Mineral

Ionic Sea Minerals and Ocean Treasure are

powder, high in magnesium, but low in calcium. So

supplements meant to be taken once a day. Many

you see, Ionic Sea Minerals and Ocean Treasure go

have testified that symptoms and diseases have

together hand in hand.

vanished by taking these supplements.

PLAIN VALUES

Ocean Treasure is 100% vegan. These fortifying

The first product, Ionic Sea Minerals, is a

vegetables may help to fight allergies, give you

great source of electrolytes. Did you know that

healthier skin, lower cholesterol levels, and relieve

electrolytes influence all the other major organs

stomach disorders, while removing toxins and heavy

in your body? Ionic Sea Minerals contains pure,

metals from our bodies. Is there more? Absolutely!

concentrated ocean water—that’s it! Amazing! Ionic

Taking Ocean Treasure enables you to live more

Sea Minerals is full of magnesium. In case you didn’t

vibrantly, may help with weight loss, may help your

know, magnesium benefits our bones and prevents

blood sugar, and more. With all of this positively

osteoporosis. It also helps to oxidize the blood,

good nutrition, who could be unhealthy?

which means an increase in energy. We could all

There is one more product from the Max-Well

use that! Magnesium relaxes our muscles and helps

company that I would like to share. That product

a person sleep. Another great plus to magnesium

is Sea Boost Cream. This is an all-natural skin care

is that it softens stools and prevents constipation.

product. It has none of those artificial colors or 32

Max-Well is a Christian company that desires to help people like you and me to be in the best health we can possibly be.

smells. What is in Sea Boost Cream? Sea minerals

Maybe you would like to try all these products

of course, along with avocado oil, coconut oil, argon

and see how they work for you. I ordered the sample

oil, jojoba oil, macadamia oil, beeswax, sea collagen,

pack, which gives you enough to find out just how

supa yew, papaya, sheep sorel, coleus amboinicus,

great these products are.

stinging nettle, pacific yew, and nasturtium. This

Paul has an organization called Aid the Children.

cream is helpful for so many skin conditions, and

A portion of every purchase from Max-Well goes to

it only takes a dab. It may help everything from

supplying these supplements to children infected

athlete’s foot, psoriasis, moles, wrinkles, and many

with HIV. You can make an additional contribution

other skin conditions (not eczema). You should give

as well by giving on the website or sending a check to

it a try and see how it works for you!

the Max-Well address, made out to Aid the Children.

Ionic Sea Minerals, Ocean Treasure, and

Max-Well products ship all over. So if you have

SeaBoost Cream are all safe for pregnant or

any questions or concerns about Ionic Sea Minerals,

nursing mothers. They are wonderful for small

Ocean Treasure, or Sea Boost Cream, the good

children (just reduce the dose).

people of Max-Well are happy to help. Write or

I trust I did not overwhelm you with information.

call them today, or send them a check for $52 and request their Sampler Pack. //

But, I wanted to share about what our bodies could be missing and how these products can help. Are

you

tired,

unhealthy,

struggle

with

constipation, have allergies, skin problems, stomach

Max-Well

disorders, a virus, or a whole host of other things that I mentioned that you would like to find relief

PO Box 73019 • Newnan, GA 30271 888-421-5071 www.max-well.net • www.aidthechildren.com Monday - Saturday: 8am - 11pm EST

for? If so, please don’t hesitate to give Max-Well a call for more information. They also have a website that is full of helpful information and a place where you can order these products. 33

JUNE 2022

PLAIN VALUES

JUNE 2022

community ROOTS + WINGS

PLAIN VALUES

column by:

rory feek

ON OUR RECENT TRIP to Amish country in Ohio to spend time with the team at the Plain Values office, Marlin put together a small

simplifying

gathering of folks from the community, and I sang a few songs and shared a few stories with them. But I think my favorite part of the trip was when he took us around and introduced us to his neighbors, Ivan and Emma, a young Amish couple in their mid-thirties. We have an Amish community here in Etheridge, Tennessee, about an hour from our farm, and we make trips there often

june 2022

to purchase jams and jellies and other things. But I don’t know any of the people who live there and have never been given the opportunity to spend time talking with any of them.

"I DON’T THINK OUR CHILDHOODS COULD HAVE BEEN ANY MORE DIFFERENT. HE GREW UP AS PART OF A

Ivan and his family live in a beautiful brick home up on a hilltop, not at all like the white clapboard houses I’m used to seeing most Amish folks living in here in Tennessee and other places. After welcoming us inside, for about two hours, we sat on chairs in their living room, visited, and got to know each other. We talked about our families and what it was like growing

FAMILY OF 11 (SHE IS FROM

up Amish for Ivan and his wife, and English for myself. I don’t

12), ROOTED IN A STRONG

think our childhoods could have been any more different. He grew

COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS,

up as part of a family of 11 (she is from 12), rooted in a strong community of believers, extended family, and centuries of history.

EXTENDED FAMILY, AND

I, on the other hand, grew up with my mom, a single mother,

CENTURIES OF HISTORY."

struggling to survive with 5 children, and spent much of my youth living in trailer parks, and only getting to be around extended family now and then, but never enough.

Rory Feek is a world-class storyteller, songwriter, filmmaker, and New York Times best-selling author. As a musical artist, Rory is one-half of the Grammy-award-winning duo, Joey+Rory. He and his wife Joey toured the world and sold nearly a million records before her untimely passing in March 2016.

JUNE 2022

But here we were, both grown, raising families of our own. Me, with a good bit more gray in my beard than he has in his, but both of us well past our days of youth. He had recently purchased the English-built house they live in and turned it into an Amish home. Ivan explained that the first thing he had to do was remove the forced-air electric a/c & heat system and install a wood stove, with only a main floor grate that allows the heat to rise to the rooms above. And then he disconnected the house from the electric power pole and covered up most of the electric outlets and light switches. Then they installed a few gas lights here and there. Lights that I’d never seen before, especially not in the rows of lighting options at Lowes or Home Depot where most folks purchase their lights these days. And lastly, he’d put in a few solar panels so that they could run a few small things from time to time, but only in moderation. Ivan told me how it wasn’t so much that all of this is strictly ‘policed’ in his Amish community, as much as it is given as a guideline.

Springtime in Holmes County, Ohio

PLAIN VALUES

It was also, as he explained, how he and his wife wanted to live and raise their children. Like most Amish in that area, Ivan shared that he and his wife

"They just need a good place to live their lives and raise their children, without the constant marketing of outsiders telling them how they should live or what they’re missing out on..."

wanted to live and raise their children in this way: off the grid, with no tv or internet. His story about how he took this beautiful, modern house with all the up-to-date features and reworked it to suit him and his family better reminded me of what I have done to my phone. I had to — actually, I chose to —‘dumb down’ my smartphone to make it a tool that worked for me instead of me being a tool of the phone. My iPhone has no SIM card and no connection to the internet. It has no apps, no ability for googling or searching. And especially no texting. I just wanted to have a powerful 4K camera that fit easily into my pocket. In order to make it a blessing for us, I had to simplify it, like Ivan and Emma did in their house. They just need a good place to live their lives and raise their children, without the constant marketing of

At one point in the conversation, we started

outsiders telling them how they should live or what

talking about how the Amish do business and market

they’re missing out on by not having the latest of

in today’s society. That is where our worlds really

the latest gadgets inside and around their home.

crisscrossed. “Amish marketing?” I thought as, in my head, I imagined ads in a 100-year-old magazine or hand-painted signs at the end of driveways that said ‘homemade jam’ or ‘baked goods.’ I couldn’t have been more wrong. Ivan explained that the Amish are being pulled into using the same marketing tactics that the English are using. They now have to know about Google analytics and page ratings, Facebook ads and Instagram likes, and other platforms like Pinterest. “But how do you know about these things?” I asked, a little dumbfounded that his world is so much like mine. “Unfortunately, we are being pushed in that direction,” he said. “It is how business is done these days; even the Amish have to find ways to reach our customer.” He explained that they don't actually put the ads on Facebook or see how many likes an Instagram post gets; instead, the Amish businesses hire someone else to do that. Very similar to the way Amish do not drive cars, but hire drivers if the need arises, they have forbidden devices that allow their members internet access but will hire someone to market online if needed.

JUNE 2022

Ivan also shared a story of what life was like for the Amish half a century ago and how things have changed based on things his uncle shared with

"AS MY VISIT WITH IVAN

him. Back in the early 1970s, when Ivan’s uncle was still a young man, many Amish families all gathered

AND EMMA ENDED, I FOUND

together to bring the hay from the fields to the barn.

MYSELF ENCOURAGED IN

In time, they were able to go together and purchase a baler that their families could share. Soon it was a

MY OWN JOURNEY, AND

job that only required two families to do. But before

REALIZED HOW SIMILAR

long, almost every Amish family had their own baler and could do the job themselves.

OUR WORLDS ARE, EVEN

Ivan mused on how money has a way of

IF THEY STILL SEEM TO BE

becoming the driving force in our lives even when

ABOUT 100 YEARS APART."

you don’t mean for it to be. At the end of the day, money has a strong influence, even for the Amish. He said that there aren’t that many Amish farmers anymore because there is more money to be made in building barns or doing other jobs off the farms. So their young people are being swept away just like ours. They aren’t actually leaving their farms and communities like our young people are, but a part of their hearts and a good bit of their livelihood seem to be. It was interesting to see how blurry the line between the Amish and English cultures is becoming. I had imagined that somehow the Amish were immune, free from these things. I had no idea that even the Plain people have some of the same struggles that we, not-so-plain, folks have. As my visit with Ivan and Emma ended, I found myself encouraged in my own journey, and realized how similar our worlds are, even if they still seem to be about 100 years apart. We are both trying to move towards what is best for our families in the service of God, and often those choices are in complete conflict with the direction ‘the world’ is pulling us. In reality, life is about managing the delicate balance between the two. I look forward to coming back to Ohio again one day soon. Hopefully in the fall when the autumn leaves are turning and it’s harvest time. And I hope I find myself in more living rooms, getting to visit with more of the fine people who live there in Amish country. //

PLAIN VALUES

rory

simple living HOMESTEAD + ROOTS

PLAIN VALUES

h +r

homestead roots

TIME for WHAT'S IMPORTANT column by: SHAWN + BETH DOUGHERTY

A CHILD COMES IN THE BACK door with a full milk can; the screen door slaps shut behind him. There is the sound of a bucket being set on the bench, the clang of a bail handle against the side of the milk can. In the kitchen someone is frying bacon; the smell reaches into the basement, where at a simple counter and sink we process raw milk twice daily. Sometimes we wonder how we got here! When we first thought we might keep a dairy cow, we worried that the chores would be too much work and that we would not be able to maintain a rigid schedule. Not only were we taking on twice-daily milking, but we would be moving our intensively grazed dairy cows onto fresh grass each time we milked. With all the other farm chores and homeschooling our eight children, were we going to have time for the added work? But while milking a cow does require commitment, it turned out to be not nearly as much work as we expected.

Chore Time Take the schedule, for instance. We had read that we had to milk at exactly the same time every day, not deviating by so much as a quarter of an hour. We had heard that cows that weren't milked on a tight schedule give less milk and were prone to mastitis — an infection that may come when the udder gets too full. But we quickly realized that we didn't care whether Isabel was producing the maximum amount of milk. The two to five gallons of milk she gave us daily were already far more than we were

JUNE 2022

used to drinking. So a little less milk was fine with

In fact, they were so good that we've never taken a

us! Anyway, since we weren't feeding her grain,

calf from its mother since!

she wasn't producing so much milk that her udder

Mama-raised calves are so much healthier

was overfull, even if we milked a little late — so she

and more energetic than bottle-fed calves — we

wouldn't be prone to mastitis. So with that worry

were astounded. The difference wasn't the food,

off our minds, we settled into the chore of regular

because we'd always fed real milk, not formula; so

milking.

the principle difference had to be the mothering

And it is a regular chore, for sure! We were

itself. And why not? God made mama cows to raise

milking at five in the morning and four in the

baby cows, so it stands to reason they'd be good at

afternoon. Fortunately, since we homeschooled and

it. The calves nursed all they wanted to, and none

homesteaded, being at home wasn't really a problem

of them got sick, either. Meanwhile, we went on

for us. In fact, the consistency added a new level of

milking as usual.

order to our day. With at least one person always up

As the calves grew, we got less milk in the bucket,

to do the milking, we found that all of us were apt

of course; so after a while we started shutting them

to rise a bit earlier. And because now everyone was

away from their mothers at night. When we milked

awake, we all got to the breakfast table in time to

in the morning we got all the milk made overnight,

say grace, so our day started in better order.

while the babies had enjoyed a cozy bed in the barn.

Still, when we planned an event or stayed up

All day they nursed as they pleased, and went to bed

late at night, we sometimes wished that we could

with full tummies; in the morning, we milked again.

occasionally miss a milking. Wouldn't it be nice if

It was a great system! No surprise, really— taking

we had a part-time milker who would step in when

our pattern from God's good Creation always works

we really wanted a break? Well, it turned out that

out best. Now we could milk once a day and still get

our part-time farm help was right under our noses!

all the milk we wanted. We even found we could be

Little had we suspected that every dairy cow comes

away overnight and no harm done: when allowed to

with her own personal milker, an expert who works

stay with their mothers round the clock, the calves

free of charge, and is a champion at his job.

eagerly made up for our dropped chores and took the extra milk without problems. So we had the best

Free Farm Help

possible farm hands, dedicated professionals — and

When Isabel came to live with us, we didn't

they didn't charge a thing.

know anything about keeping dairy cows, so we

Green Grass

ordered some books and extension office bulletins on dairying. These resources instructed us that

There was still the time it took to build paddocks

when our cow calved, we should take her calf away

and move our cows to new grass twice a day. This

immediately and bottle-feed it calf formula. It

'rotational' grazing is part of how we use our cows

should not be allowed to nurse: if it did, it would

to improve pastures and eliminate the need to buy

get sick, plus, there would be less milk for the

feed, hay, or dewormer. Moving them twice a day

humans.

means our cows always have fresh grass to eat.

We'd already discovered that 'less milk' could still be a whole lot, so we were okay with that part. We began wondering why drinking their mother's milk was going to make our calves sick. It didn't

"It was a great system! No surprise, really—taking our pattern from God's good Creation always works out best."

make sense to us; didn't God make cows' milk specifically for feeding baby cows? Some books warned that a nursed calf would overeat and get sick that way. But when we tried letting calves nurse on their mothers, we only saw good results.

PLAIN VALUES

But we weren't sure we wanted to set up fences at five o'clock in the morning! We learned to solve that problem by setting up an extra-large paddock every night and dividing it in half with a 'cross fence.' This single piece of twine takes only a minute to reel back in the morning, letting the cows move up onto fresh grass. Actually, moving fence every day saves us more time than it takes. Really! First, cows on pasture don't need to have grass brought to them, and the farmer never has to haul manure, either. Next, cows that are moved to fresh grass regularly are not prone to parasites, saving us the time, trouble, and cost of deworming them. And because our cows are entirely grass-fed, we don't have to buy, transport, or dole out grain feed — nor earn the money to buy it. It turns out that our dairy cow creates more order, not less, in our lives.

Home Sweet Pasture We're glad we decided all those years ago to become family cow owners. We love having all the milk we could possibly want, and using the patterns of nature to grow our food reminds us daily how beautifully God provides for His Creation. //

Shawn and Beth Dougherty live in eastern Ohio, where their home farm is 17 acres designated by the state as ‘not suitable for agriculture’. Using grass as the primary source of energy, they raise dairy and beef cows, sheep, farm-fed hogs, and a variety of poultry, producing most of their food, and feed, on the farm. Concerned that farming is too often dependent upon multiple off-farm resources, from feed, fuel, and fertilizer to water and electricity, their ongoing project is to discover and test the time-honored means by which farming may be done with a minimum of off-farm inputs. Their research has led them to identify the daily conversion of grass into milk by dairy ruminants as a key to whole-farm sustainability. They are the authors of The Independent Farmstead, Chelsea Green Press 2016.

JUNE 2022

simple living CONFESSIONS OF A STEWARD

PLAIN VALUES

Confessions of a Steward LAST MONTH I introduced two unorthodox concepts regarding water. The first is the difference between surface runoff and the inventory of the commons (like streams, springs, and aquifers). The second is the notion that we

Water

part two

- Joel Salatin

as caretakers can greatly enhance the commons by storing surface runoff rather than pumping from the commons. We established that one-third of all rainfall globally becomes surface runoff, which means that even a one-acre watershed in a 30-inch rainfall area will generate 10 acreinches of surface runoff per year, or 300,000 gallons. Another surface we generally don’t think about is our impervious shelter surfaces called roofs. A 30-inch rainfall zone generates about 20 gallons of water per square foot of roof. So a simple 2,000 square foot outbuilding or home in such a climate would collect 40,000 gallons of water a year. How many square feet of roof does your farm have? In many cases, if we include equipment sheds, barns, and the house, it’s 10,000 square feet or more. In these instances, we could collect 200,000 gallons of water per year. That means we could use nearly 550 gallons a day, assuming we could store enough.

SEPTEMBER 2021

Long ago in our area, farms depended on cisterns more than wells because in a limestone geology, digging wells is difficult. In sand substrate like much of the Midwest, wells are easy. Not in rock strata. Most farms depended on streams or springs for their water and supplemented with a cistern at the barn. In those days, digging a large cistern was cheaper than trying to dig a well through solid rock. Both cisterns and ponds add water to the resource inventory, which is part of good stewardship. Depleting the resource inventory (commons) is not the direction a steward should go. With that established, the next major goal for cisterns and ponds is location, which should be as high in elevation as possible. From

this

distribution

water

system

inventory, delivers

piping

the

water

"Both cisterns and ponds add water to the resource inventory, which is part of good stewardship. Depleting the resource inventory (commons) is not the direction a steward should go."

throughout the property. What propels water through a pipe is pressure. Conventional

One of the most elegant domestic water

thinking immediately assumes a pressure tank

systems I ever saw was a friend who had a

and pump system. All latent pressure, except

rain catchment system from his house roof

gravity, requires energy. Like a coiled spring,

that flowed into an underground cistern. He

maintaining that real-time pressure adds a

hooked up a bicycle to a water pump and in

lot of cost, switches, sensors, and high tech

5 minutes a day could “ride” enough water

infrastructure. Gravity costs nothing.

to an attic cistern to meet each day’s water

The farm water problem can be summed up

requirements. The 200-gallon tank in the attic

simply: dribbles don’t work in real-time. When

gravity flowed to the hot water tank, shower,

you want to fill a bucket of water, you can’t

and toilet without any pumps or pressure

stand there and wait on dribbles. When the cow

tanks. The only energy required in the system

herd comes to drink, dribbles won’t satisfy. But

was a 5-minute daily bike ride.

dribbles do add up over time. Even an extremely

Gravity pressurizes water at .432 pounds

small constant flow accumulates. A one gallon

per vertical foot. While 10 feet at 4.3 pounds of

per minute (gpm) flow is virtually a dribble but

pressure doesn’t sound like much, it’s enough. If

adds up to 60 gallons an hour and 1,440 gallons

you had a nearby tree you could pull an IBC tote

a day. That’s substantial on a flow no bigger

up 40 feet, and get nearly 20 pounds of pressure

than a pencil.

by gravity. This is why cities use water towers.

The problem is real-time delivery. Again,

They can dribble (relatively) water 24 hours a

you can’t wait on a one gallon per minute flow

day and use gravity to supply momentary flow

to fill your water bucket or satisfy the cows, even

when everyone comes home from work and takes

though that dribble over a day is more than

a shower.

enough to satisfy major water uses. In general,

We leased a farm one time that dribbled

the cheapest way to dispense large flows in

water into a tank we put on some poles just to

real-time is to dribble into high terrain storage

give us enough elevation to start the system. A

that uses gravity to pressurize the system and

few pounds of pressure can make a big difference

generate high momentary flow.

in flow. When water begins to flow through a

pipe, friction on the edges works against the flow rate.

and twigs. With a simple floating bucket and a piece

Often if you increase pipe diameter you can operate on

of iron, we situate the intake strainer so it stays at 16

half the necessary pressure to get the momentary flow

inches below the surface regardless of water elevation.

you need.

Since the ponds are not in streams, they fill during the

On our farm, a group of 20 pastured broiler shelters

winter and gradually deplete during the summer. A

may need 100 gallons of water at chore time servicing.

series of ponds are hooked together so we can switch

We use small tubing and a float valve to dribble water

from one to the other in case one fully drains.

into 100-gallon stock tanks that we dip from for that

Few things are more enjoyable than watching

servicing. As long as the tank refills by the next chore

these ponds fill during heavy runoff events. Not only

time, we have plenty of water on hand. Dribbling is fine

do we have the satisfaction of watching our inventory

if you can catch it.

replenish, but we also know that we are protecting

Probably the most valuable infrastructure on our

our downstream neighbors from at least a portion of

farm is something nobody sees: 8 miles of buried water

flooding damage. Meanwhile, the aquifer is intact.

lines along the edges of all the fields. From high ground

No farmer can afford to haul water. Piping is

(we have 1,000 feet of elevation change on our farm)

cheap and accessible enough that the days of hauling

we’ve built surface runoff ponds over the years that feed

water are long gone. Black plastic pipe, even 1½ inch

this distribution network at 200 feet of head. That gives

in diameter, is relatively cheap and perhaps one of

us 70 pound pressure water with gravity; no electricity,

the best investments you can ever make on your land.

switches, pumps, or pressure tanks.

The pond/cistern/piping combination is perhaps the

The best water from a pond is at 16 inches below the

ultimate redemptive activity on the landscape.

surface. If you pull water off the bottom, it’s anaerobic

If water is the beginning of life, then its protection,

and a bit funky. If you pull it off the top it’ll have fly legs

storage, and development rank high on the checklist to

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PLAIN VALUES

ensure abundant life. Even if you’re located in

that is free 24/7/365 to generate pressure rather

a relatively dry area that gets only 9 inches of

than artificially generating it with pressure

rainfall a year, that’s still 3 inches of runoff and

tanks and purchased power. On our farm, as

90,000 gallons per acre per year. Something as

long as gravity works (and when it doesn’t, I’m

small as a 5 acre watershed, even in that dry

out of here) we have water. No pumps to go out.

area, would generate 450,000 gallons of water

No power failure. Water always runs downhill.

per year. Assuming 50,000 gallons of water

One added benefit of pond and cistern water

evaporates before it can be used, that’s still

inventories is that I can measure my inventory

400,000 gallons, or more than 1,000 gallons of

at any time. In our area, wells routinely fail.

usable water per day for livestock and irrigation.

Especially in a serious drought, people wake up

In food and fiber production, water is

one morning and their well water is muddy. By

far more valuable than money; it’s the basis

the end of the week, the well is dry. But I can

for all biological functions. Part of extending

go out any day and visit my ponds to check my

redemptive capacity into the landscape is

inventory.

preparing

for

droughts

and

floods.

They

Furthermore, the ponds offer riparian habitat

will happen no matter what we do. Building

for waterfowl and wildlife. They’re breeding

forgiveness into the landscape to be able

grounds for salamanders and newts. One of the

to ameliorate the damage and leverage the

great challenges of our day is to create commercial

difficulty is the steward’s mandate.

agriculture models that synergize with wildlife.

Every landscape is different. Sometimes a

That’s a good topic for a future column.

turkey nest pond is the best approach. That’s

Until then, duplicate the beavers and build

simply an excavated pond at the top of a hill that

some water catchments. They build forgiveness

you artificially fill as needed. A friend in Australia,

into the landscape, provide homes for lots of

where elevation is a challenge, built one that is

critters, and bless all the needs for life abundance.

a couple hundred yards from a valley where he

Hydrating your farm landscape is one of the best

built a catchment pond. Once a month he fires

investments you can make. //

up a little gasoline-powered pump servicing a 2 inch line to the elevated pond on the hilltop. That elevated pond runs his livestock water and

Joel's Upcoming Speaking Events

irrigation with gravity, which means no latent energy or capital costs in maintaining realtime pressure and infrastructure for immediate flow. With his big 2 inch feed line, that little 1 horsepower gasoline pump sends 50 gallons a minute into the hilltop pond. By the time the gas tank runs dry in 6 hours, he’s pumped 18,000 gallons into the earthen reservoir. If you’re coming to a new property and wondering about building placement, thinking about elevation can help you leverage roof runoff to a cistern. All of these gravity-based techniques center around using energy (gravity)

June 3-4 June 10 June 16 June 18

Columbia, TN (The Homestead Festival - Rory Feek and Kevin Costner) Richmond, VA (Home Educators of Virginia Convention) Wisconsin (Health with Max Kane) Greenville, SC (The Rooted Life Fair)

August 19-20

Viroqua, WI (Rogue Food Conference)

Sept. 3

Hudson Valley, NY (Health with Max Kane and Abby Rockefeller)

October 7-8 October 18-19 October 20-21

Front Royal, VA (Homesteaders of America) Jackson, MS (Stockman Grass Farmer Business School with Steve Kenyon) Jackson, MS (Stockman Grass Farmer Marketing School with Sheri Salatin)

Joel co-owns, with his family, Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. When he’s not on the road speaking, he’s at home on the farm, keeping the callouses on his hands and dirt under his fingernails, mentoring young people, inspiring visitors, and promoting local, regenerative food and farming systems. 51

JUNE 2022

community THE WIDOW'S PATH

Looking At? What

Are You

column by: FERREE HARDY

PLAIN VALUES

HAVE YOU SEEN ANYONE walking around in a gorilla

“A gorilla?” was my shocked reply. I had been so busy

costume lately?

counting the ball passes that I didn’t see the gorilla! I

Would you have noticed?

couldn’t believe there really was a gorilla!

I thought I would have noticed, but I didn’t! I recently

Patti played the video again. There it was — a big

took a 6-week course called “Relational Wisdom,” taught

fat gorilla (well, actually someone in a big, fat gorilla

by a long-time friend of mine, Patti Damiani. She lives in

costume), walking between the players on the basketball

Traverse City, Michigan now, but distance didn’t matter;

floor. My other classmates didn’t notice it either.

it was online learning. She showed the class a video clip

Patti explained that we’d just experienced “Selective

of two teams playing basketball. We were told to watch

Perception.” We were so focused on watching the ball

the team in the white shirts and count how many times

that we missed the gorilla.

they passed the ball to each other in only a minute or so.

This reminded me of something I’d heard at Widows

After we were done watching, the question was

Journey Retreat earlier this year. Gayle Roper spoke of

asked, “Did you notice the gorilla?”

how sometimes a person can become so focused on her 53

JUNE 2022

grief and old memories that she loses sight of the life currently going on around her. Picture someone trying to walk forward when they keep looking behind them.

"Instead of avoiding what’s going on around us, we can begin to embrace it because God’s love surrounds us and lasts forever."

There are other examples of this, too, not only in grief. Do you remember the Pharisees in the Bible? Jesus called them hypocrites because they saw splinters in other people’s eyes but not the log that was figuratively stuck in their own; they liked to point out other people’s sin, not realizing or admitting their own. The Pharisees selective perception blocked them from seeing their own sin. It’s like a filter we aren’t really aware of; we naturally favor certain things and avoid others, sometimes to the point of not even seeing what we don’t want to see

awkward, isn’t it? It might be easier to wear a gorilla

because it makes us uncomfortable. We see this happen

suit and not be seen sometimes.

when young people (and us old ones, too!) fall in love.

During this month of June, maybe there’s some

“What does she see in him?” we wonder. “What does he

selective perception in the middle of the calendar—

see in her?” In these cases, selective perception can be a

Father’s Day. If you’re widowed, would you like to stay

good thing! Without it, I doubt that anyone could fall in

so busy you don’t even see it? Pretend it doesn’t exist?

love with some of us!

Wish it’d just go away?

I’ve also noticed selective perception on another

I’m reminded of one widow who decided she’d face it

level — as a widow. This was when people would approach

head on and dub it “Heavenly Father’s Day.” She wanted

me with that question, “How are you?” Certain folks

a reminder that God’s love and care for her would always

would start nodding their heads before I had even

last; nothing could separate her from His love.

answered. “Yes, yes, that’s good! I’m so glad you’re fine,”

Her comment reminded me that while selective

they’d say and nod before I had a chance to tell them,

perception can blind us to potential problems, an

“No, I’m not fine, and I don’t know if I will ever be fine

alternative

again.” But those words never fell from my lips.

our eyes up to countless blessings. Instead of avoiding

“I’m fine,” I’d quickly say when I noticed the

outlook — eternal

perspective — can

open

what’s going on around us, we can begin to embrace it

nodding. I was just as uncomfortable honestly telling

because God’s love surrounds us and lasts forever.

them as they were about hearing me. The conversation

This is not something others should force upon

was quite cut off before it could really begin. It always

you, but when you are ready, begin to consider God’s

fell flat and sort of flopped around. The nice intentions

perspective of your plight. He loves you more than you

were appreciated, but the perceptions were not real, and

can imagine or sense. God cares about each heartbreak,

I didn’t know how to correct them. Widowhood is very

each pain, and every tear that falls. He sees you far beyond human visualization. A thousand years are like one day in God’s sight, and He sees thousands of years into our tomorrows. He also saw your life before it began; He sees your life today; He sees what it will be like in Heaven. Turn your thoughts to the comfort of eternal perspective. When we believe in Christ, we have a forever home. In that good and secure place, God will wipe away all our tears. As a child, did you ever lay down on the grass on a warm summer day? Hands resting under your head, did you gaze up into the blue sky and wonder how high it

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really went? Where, exactly, was Heaven? What would

There are a total of fourteen questions geared to a

it be like?

child’s interests, but they are satisfying for adults too.

Questions like these, which come so naturally to

Father’s Day for those without a father or husband

a child who is being taught to think and grow (rather

may interrupt and sometimes upset our sense of peace

than plunked down in front of a television), are why I

and perception. It might seem to rudely barge in and

believe Jesus said, “You must have faith like a child.”

detour us to focus on losses and regrets. Unfortunately,

Asking a question isn’t a lack of faith; it’s a step on a

this selective perception blinds us to the hope of eternal

journey of faith. Questions help us try to see beyond

perspective; we only see the sad part of the story.

our selective perception.

What would you like to look at today? Let’s all find

One of my favorite books about Heaven is a

a patch of lawn, lie down, and open our eyes to look

children’s picture book, ideal for reading aloud.

upwards to our forever home. We’re closer today than

“Someday Heaven,” by Larry Libby, published by

we were yesterday. Our hearts may be heavy, and that’s

ZondervanKidz, may be found online or through a local

to be expected, but our forever home is full of hope that

bookstore. It’s a good conversation starter that you can

never disappoints. //

use over and over again. Talking helps all of us, adults Until next month,

and children alike, to work through grief. On each page

ferree l

is a question such as the following: “Will my Grandpa still be old in Heaven? Will I ever be sad in Heaven?”

NEW ADDRESS: To learn more about widowhood, order a copy of Postcards from the Widows’ Path—Gleaning Hope and Purpose from the Book of Ruth. It’s a gentle, biblical guide for widows that has many saying, “This is the best I’ve ever read!” Mail a check for $14.99/copy (paperback, 248 pgs.), along with your address to: Ferree Hardy, 76 Grace Ave., Ticonderoga, NY 12883. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. Free shipping for all Plain Values readers! 55

JUNE 2022

history OUR HERITAGE

PLAIN VALUES

PA RT S I X

Printing the Ausbund ORIGINS column by: ELAM STOLTZFUS

“The Ausbund is not to be considered a holy book like the Bible, but the influence of the Ausbund on the Anabaptists during the first 250 years can not be measured... Singing can put our hearts to peace. It can, if we let it, dispel the poison of bitter and depressing thoughts and inspire our hearts to well up in faith and praise to God.” – Benuel S. Blank, The Amazing Story of the Ausbund

WITH THE 1922 Kutztown Publishers 2,000 copies finally bound and ready for sale, the Amish Book Committee sold these Ausbund hymnals to people all across the country. By 1935, there were not many books left from the 2,000 that were printed 13 years earlier. The big question again loomed: who will print the Ausbund for us? Because of the difficulty in printing the 1922 edition, the Committee decided to look for a new printer. Fortunately, there was a successful printing operation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the Committee decided to use Lancaster Press for their next Ausbund printing. Before proceeding, the Amish Book Committee met with the Diener-Versammlung (the ministers and leaders) to seek their support and direction.

(left) 90 year old Ausbund printing plates owned by the Amish Book Committee

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Lancaster Press wanted to have new Ausbund

Over the course of the 20th century, Lancaster

plates made by electrotyping the text of the hymnal.

Press printed 123,000 Ausbund hymnbooks. Let’s

Electrotyping is a chemical method that forms metal

stop for a moment and think about what it would

parts for reproduction. This became a standard

look like if we stacked all those Ausbunds on top of

method for producing plates for letterpress printing

each other. Each Ausbund is approximately 2 inches

in the late 1800s. However, this was a costly process

thick. Combined, these 123,000 books would soar to

to prepare the printing for the 1935 edition.

the height of 20,500 feet. That is 190 feet taller than Denali (Mount McKinley), which is 20,310 feet tall!

Lancaster Press asked the Committee for $1,530.61 for the electrotype process. Once again we find the Committee short on funds with the

On September 25, 1935, the Amish Book

question, “Who will pay for this process?” The Committee came up with a plan to cover the

Committee purchased the Ausbund plates from

cost of electrotyping and printing: they would split

Lancaster Press for $1,530.61. It was from these 32

the cost 15 ways and ask different Lancaster Amish

metal plates that all 900 pages of the Ausbund were

districts to raise the funds. The Committee asked

printed. They were housed in eight pine boxes, and

each district for $142.05 each, and 13 districts sent

the Committee was responsible for keeping the

money for the costs.

plates in order in each box so there wasn’t a mix-up

The money raised from the Lancaster church

of pages at the printer. Each time Lancaster Press

districts, along with a gift from the will of Amos B.

printed another run of the Ausbund, the Committee

Fisher of $2,130.70, provided the Committee with

brought these eight heavy pine boxes to the press

enough funds for Lancaster Press to print 2,000

for another print run. Today, the Committee still

copies of the Ausbund in 1935.

owns these plates that they purchased nearly 90

Lancaster Press was a small press like Kutztown

years ago, and they keep them in a metal safe in

Publishers, so they also sent them to another

Lancaster County. When I was taking pictures of

company to bind the Ausbund. For several years

these plates for this article, Eli King (present-day

the printed books were transported to Reading

Committee member) and I moved one of the pine

for binding. Later the binding was completed in

boxes to a shelf by the window so I could get a

Philadelphia.

better picture. My oh my, was that box heavy! Each

From 1935 to 1994, Lancaster Press printed 22

box weighs approximately 120 pounds, so that

editions of the Ausbund. During this period, the

means that the combined weight of all eight boxes

Committee placed an order for new Ausbunds every

is about half a ton. I thought back to the early years

year. Every few years the orders kept getting larger

when the Committee transported these boxes some

and larger. By 1994, the Committee had placed an

ten miles or so to the city of Lancaster for printing.

order for 9,000 books.

Did they have to have a team of horses to pull these boxes? Or did they hire a driver with a sturdy truck to haul all that weight? Over the near-sixty-year period that Lancaster Press printed the Ausbund, there was a steady

"Over the course of the 20th century, Lancaster Press printed 123,000

demand for more German books. The Committee published these six books: the Heilige Shrift (Holy Bible), Neues Testament (New Testament), Unparteyisches Gesang-Buch (Impartial Songbook), Gebet Buch (Prayer Book), Lust=Gärtlein (collection)

Ausbund hymnbooks." PLAINPLAIN VALUES VALUES

and the Ausbund. According to Steffie F. Stoltzfus’ ledger, many large orders came from the Midwest

58 58

(especially from L.A. Miller in Illinois), and the Ausbund was the book in highest demand. This time was not without its struggles: it cost money to grow the operation and the Amish Book Committee needed extra workers to fulfill orders and handle the shipping. The Committee lost some of its key leaders, too. Steffie F. Stoltzfus resigned from the Committee in 1939 and moved to Maryland. Four years later, Committee member (and my great-grandfather) Christian L. Fisher was killed in a hit-and-run buggy accident on Route 30. Despite these losses, the Committee was able to maintain four ministry members, leaders with integrity and honesty.

Today, the Amish Book Committee remains in the same mission as its founding over a hundred years ago: provide German books for Anabaptist communities at a low cost. The original founders of the Committee learned all the skills it takes to publish a book: how the printing process worked, how to manage book inventory, how to pack and ship books across the country, and how to manage a successful non-profit organization that stands the test of time. Their efforts kept alive German singing that is a key piece of our Amish heritage, worship, and way of life.

In 1994, Lancaster Press stopped printing the Committee’s books and the book-binder in Philadelphia went out of business. In next month’s article, we will find out what the Amish Book Committee did to solve the problem of who would print and bind the Ausbund and other books. //

Sources: History of the Amish Book Committee; Benuel M. Fisher, research and preface; Stephen F. Stoltzfus; Journal & Ledger; Jacob Lapp, financial ledger; Wikipedia.

Elam Stoltzfus currently serves as caretaker of the Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead in (Berks County) Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. In 2018, he traveled to Germany to document the history of the Stoltzfus family—this research is documented in German Lutherans to Pennsylvania Amish: The Stoltzfus Family Story. To order a copy of this book, you can mail a $30 check to Elam Stoltzfus, 1700 Tulpehocken Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610.

outdoors ALL THINGS OUTDOORS

column by: JIM ZUMBO

THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE watching a new morning being born in late September when you’re standing on a ridge in the Rockies. As the rising sun slowly creeps over the eastern horizon, you see quaking aspen forests in all their glory with exquisite shades of gold, yellow, and orange. Frost hangs heavy on the leaves, and you hear geese overhead flying south. But one thing is missing, and you listen intently, hoping to hear that sensational sound. There it is! A bull elk bugles in the distance, a sound so piercing and enchanting that you become mesmerized. Somewhere in the forest, an elk is announcing his presence as he follows the age-old rituals of the breeding season. Elk are primarily inhabitants of the West, though there are herds in several other states. More than one million elk now roam our country, due to the efforts of many far-sighted conservationists around the turn of the 20th century. In the early 1900s, only 30,000 elk were believed to live in the U.S. Early settlers saw elk as a food source and

JUNE 2022

PLAIN VALUES

also nuisances that severely impacted croplands. There

comes into estrus. Keeping the harem together is not

were no game laws and elk were killed with no regard

an easy task. Bulls engage in terrific battles as they

to sustaining their numbers. In fact, two subspecies,

attempt to steal a harem or defend it. It’s not uncommon

the Eastern and Merriam’s, were driven to extinction.

for a bull to be gored to death by a rival.

Four other subspecies are still with us — Rocky Mountain,

Large harems are generally ruled by the biggest

Roosevelt, Tule, and Manitoba.

bulls, which are called herd bulls. Elk without harems

Of all the large animals in the U.S., elk are

are called satellite bulls and may challenge the bigger

considered to be one of the most impressive. The

bull. Oftentimes when a herd bull is chasing away

bulls are handsome, with massive antlers, beautiful

a competitor, a satellite bull will rush in and breed a

multicolored coats and large bodies. A big one can

cow. Watching these interchanges between bulls is

weigh 1,000 pounds or more. They’re extremely vocal,

fascinating, what with all the bugling and chasing and

with bulls emitting their screaming bugles and cows

sometimes deadly battles.

and calves sounding like chirping birds. Their meat is

Modern elk will inhabit high desert regions as well

delectable and is always a treat at the dinner table. But

as lowland country, but the majority live in the upper

most of all, it’s the landscape they live in that makes

mountainous elevations. They’re capable of tolerating

them so special. They’re very often creatures of the

extreme cold, but when heavy snow blankets their

mountains where you’ll need to ride a horse or hike into

food supply they must migrate to winter ranges where

backcountry areas, though there are exceptions.

adequate forage is available.

Elk have an interesting behavior during breeding

Hunting elk is typically a formidable task when you

season. Bulls round up as many cows as they can and

consider the profound requirements necessary to be

keep them in their harem, breeding each cow as she

successful. Locating elk may require days of hunting,

JUNE 2022

whether you’re afoot, on a horse, in a pickup, or on an

When hunting the rut, which is typically from mid-

ATV. Some elk country may have good vehicle access,

September to early October, you can vocalize and use

and some may require a backcountry trip into the

bugle calls and cow calls. In a perfect world, you’ll blow

wilderness. Hunters who want a backcountry experience

your bugle call and have a bull respond immediately and

typically have their own horses and gear or must hire

run to you. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

an outfitter. Backpacking into the mountains is a tough

There are all sorts of reasons why a bull may refuse to

challenge. It’s difficult enough to pack in a tent and

cooperate. Nonetheless, it’s exciting to call in a bull as

supplies, and extremely rigorous to pack out elk meat

he’s screaming and charging into your location.

which can weigh in excess of 300 pounds.

A herd bull may be reluctant to leave his harem and

Unless your elk expires next to a road or in an area

investigate your bugle call because he’s not interested

where you can drive to it, you’ll need to quarter or bone

in fighting. He wants to stay close to his harem. On the

it so it can be readily transported. An elk requires the

other hand, if you blow a cow call, the herd bull might

same field dressing procedure as a whitetail deer, but

dash in. Sometimes a bull with 11 cows will want 12.

it’s a whole lot bigger. Dragging it on the ground as you

If that’s the case, your cow call might be successful. A

would a deer is almost impossible unless you have plenty

satellite bull with no cows is often easier to entice with

of help or you can slide it down a steep slope. Even a

a cow call for obvious reasons. He’s in an amorous mood

mature cow will weigh 450-500 pounds live weight.

and doesn’t like being alone.

Obviously, you need the savvy and tools to reduce the

Many states don’t allow hunting during the

carcass so you can handle the pieces.

rut because bulls are vulnerable, though there are

There are three basic seasons to hunt elk — the rut (or

exceptions. In most states bowhunting is allowed

breeding season), the post rut season, and the migration

because of the necessity of archers getting close to

season. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

the quarry. Many backcountry or wilderness regions

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are open to gun hunters during the rut in some states. The challenges of getting into remote locations reduce

"I’m so thankful to our forefathers who had the wisdom and fortitude to protect our elk when the screaming of a big bull could have easily become just a memory never to be heard again."

the number of hunters afield. In some states, hunting during the rut is possible in selected units where a quota is established, and a successful lottery draw is required to obtain a hunting permit. The post rut occurs after the breeding season when bulls leave their harems and typically head for secluded areas where they hang out to escape hunters. This occurs from mid-October to November when many hunting seasons open and the woods are full of hunters. Of the three seasons, this can be the toughest. Elk may seek refuge in rugged areas, heavily timbered forests, and thick blowdowns far from roads. Here’s where hunters must use all their savvy and muscles to find those elusive animals. Many hunters are unwilling to enter the woods when many other hunters are about,

Many hunters view elk hunting as an activity where

but some use those hunters to their advantage by

you seek bulls. Truth be known, states also issue plenty

placing themselves in spots where they can intercept elk

of cow tags to help manage the herds so they’ll be

evading other hunters.

sustained by the habitat they live on. Without hunting,

The migration season typically begins in November

elk can become destructive to croplands and suffer from

or even earlier when heavy snow blankets the upper

various diseases due to overcrowding and also die from

elevations making it difficult, if not impossible, for elk

starvation caused by too many elk.

to find adequate forage. When that happens, elk begin

Elk also inhabit other states outside the west due

their journey to lower elevations called “winter ranges,”

to reintroduction programs by state wildlife agencies

where there’s less snow and they can feed on exposed

and conservation groups. Some of the top states are

vegetation. The advantage here is the proximity of elk to

Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, and

access roads, making it easier for hunters to get closer

there are also developing herds elsewhere. Hunting

to the quarry. However, this time of year in the Western

licenses in any of these states are issued via a lottery

mountains, you might have to contend with severe

which can be extremely difficult to draw.

winter weather including blizzards and deep snow.

Wherever you hunt elk, you’ll be in for a treat.

It’s also impossible to plan on a migration hunt weeks

These majestic animals are worth the effort whether

or months before your hunt since you never know the

you hunt them or just view them through binoculars

status of snow in the mountains. If it’s unseasonably dry,

in parks and wildlife areas. And be aware that elk

the elk might not have left the high country and will be

lovers often call themselves “elkoholics,” a term that’s

a long way from roads. That so-called "easier" migration

popular in elk country. I’m happy to say I am one, and

hunt might turn into a near-impossible challenge if you

I’m so thankful to our forefathers who had the wisdom

aren’t prepared for it.

and fortitude to protect our elk when the screaming of a big bull could have easily become just a memory never to be heard again. //

PHOTOS FROM OUR READERS We'd love to feature hunting, fishing, and other outdoor

Jim has hunted all fifty states for deer, has fished in most states, has hunted elk

photos from our readers in Jim's column. If you'd like

in all the major western elk states, and has hunted on four continents. He worked

to contribute photos, please email them to: reachout@

for fifteen years as a forester, game warden, and wildlife biologist. Jim draws

plainvalues.com. Be sure to include information about

on these experiences for his monthly column “All Things Outdoors.” For more information, visit www.jimzumbo.com.

your photos so we can include captions.

JUNE 2022

funds & benefits

PLEASE NOTE If you are conducting a fundraiser to assist with medical or hardship expenses, please let us know and we will be happy to feature it for one month at no cost. Funds must be payable to a bank, church, or charitable organization.

26 TH CRIPPLED CHILDREN'S AUCTION Friday: Supper is served at 4:00 pm Friday –Saturday | June 24–25, 2022

Sports Auction begins at 5:00 pm

Mt. Hope Event Center

Health Expo and grilling demo: 3:00–8:00 pm Saturday: Breakfast is served 6:30–9:00 am

8076 State Route 241, Millersburg, OH 44654 (330)674-6188

Auction begins at 8:30 am Health Expo and grilling demo: 8:00 am–3:00 pm

A lunch stand will be serving veal sandwiches, pork, and barbecue chicken. Donations are needed. If you are interested in donating items, please call (330) 674-6188. All sports items for the Friday night auction will be new. Quilts from across the area are donated, with more than one hundred quilts being auctioned. When donating quilts, have all quilts marked with name and size. Friday night Sport Auction and Saturday Auction funds will go for children born with birth defects and medical problems. Thank you for all your continued support.

KATIE ANN TROYER FUND Sam Troyer lost his 9-month battle with cancer on February 11, 2022. He left behind his wife, Katie Ann, and their eight children, three of which are living at home. If you feel led to help Katie Ann pay the mortgage and other expenses, send a check to: Community Bank, PO Box 10, Clymer, NY 14724. Make checks payable to Albert Yoder and write Troyer Fund in the memo.

MRS. PAUL (ANNA MAE) WENGERD FUND A fund has been set up for Mrs. Paul Wengerd. Paul, 33, and son Michael, 4, passed away in a road cart/vehicle accident. Anna Mae and her two children, ages 2 and 9 months, have payments due and no income. God bless you for sharing. Make checks payable to Mt. Hope Charities Inc., PO Box 19, Mt. Hope, OH 44660. Attn: Clark Northwest Church District #31.

ESH ORPHAN FUND John & Barbie Esh were killed in a vehicle/buggy accident leaving their 8 children, age 16 and under, as orphans. Previous funds were raised and spent on their immediate living and medical expenses. The Eli & Linda Esh family took in the children; however, the financial load of caring for 13 children is large. If you feel led to help it would be greatly appreciated! Send check to: First National Bank, Eli & Linda Esh Fund, PO Box 35, Loganton, PA 17747.

IRENE KAUFMAN FUND Irene Kaufman, 58, has been in and out of the hospital numerous times over the last year. She has struggled with blood clots, pneumonia, and A-fib; and recently they found a large ulcer and Stage 4 cancer. Irene’s husband has been off work to help care for her. Let’s shower them with funds to help pay for their huge medical bills. Thank you and God bless. Send your check, payable to Irene Kaufman Fund, to: The National Bank, PO Box 368, West Union, OH 45693.

PLAIN VALUES

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