Plain Faith Quotes

“Since all the Amish dress the same, our names were on a label inside the garments, and shawls”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“that nothing is unclean in itself.” It’s what man makes unclean that is not right. Even the TV is not unclean in itself. If everything that came over it was godly and from the Bible it would be a good thing, but man has made it so corrupt so it’s unclean most of the time. Almost scary, isn’t it, as we always classed it such an evil thing.”
― Irene Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“For so many years I strove to live the life of a godly woman, or at least that’s what I would have told you. Instead, what I actually feared was people. I wanted to look good in their eyes.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Even now when we visit Indiana I get a twinge in my heart to see the old place. There is a new, young family living in our home, and it’s good to see life within those walls. But it’s also good to remember,”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“There’s never an occasion for an Amish man to hug or kiss a family member out of affection. Kisses are used only to show church unity.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“No one hugged in the Amish church, and it was awkward at first. In fact, the first time I ever received a hug by anyone other than my wife was at a prayer meeting. But we were polite and accepted them. We soon came to appreciate them.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“through those conversations with our new friends, God brought healing from the guilt. Since then, we’ve chosen to enjoy being with the people whom God has granted us to be with at this moment.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“While our Amish friends were discouraging change, our Englisch friends were encouraging us to open our hearts and talk about things we’d never discussed before. One of our Englisch friends even asked me if I ever felt guilty about the accident. I’d been awake one minute before the semi-truck hit us and had fallen asleep again.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“A group of us also started having church every week instead of every two weeks. We called the “off” week Sunday school, but there were some who were against it. “You might learn too much about the Bible,” some in the Amish community would say. To know too much was to focus on one’s self — to become prideful. “If you meet every week, you’re leaving tradition. And when you leave to try something else, watch out. Soon you’ll stop being Amish.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Before moving to the West Kootenai, prayer meant saying the Lord’s Prayer in German, silently in our minds. As children sometimes we’d just count instead because we knew exactly how long it took. But as we spent time with Englisch friends in the West Kootenai area, they talked about prayer differently. They acted as if one could talk directly to God, and He cared.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Ora Jay’s parents, who referred to God as Gut Mon (Good Man), would say things like, “Gut Mon is watching you” . . . “Gut Mon doesn’t want you to do this . . .” Whether it was sneaking cigarettes, telling a fib, being dishonest, or watching television — “Gut Mon knows.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Amish parents often worry about their older children, especially those who are old enough to join the church but haven’t. The Amish believe such children have no hope of heaven if they die. An Amish parent’s worst nightmare is that one of their sons or daughters will die in a car accident while being “wild.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Many people don’t realize that there is no true hope of salvation in most Amish churches. The concept that faith in Jesus is the only way is not taught. If we wanted to ensure a spot — we had to work for it and live a good Amish life. So as I grew, I just did what I could to fit in. I figured that I’d do all I could do and hope for the best.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“These were the messages we were hearing from some of our non-Amish friends. Hearing these things and opening our hearts to their love started to break down the wall that our Amish ways had carefully built up over the years. The truth is, it’s easier to follow the rules. Then you don’t have to be close with God. You don’t have to search your own heart. It’s easier to have a set of dos and don’ts”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“I knew that moving to Montana was the right decision, but it wasn’t an easy one. Some days I would sit by myself and cry, “I’m so lonesome for home.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Being in Indiana was harder than I had expected. As we spent time in the familiar community, we didn’t seem to fit in as we once had. More than once I found myself thinking, Well, maybe there’s not as much here as I thought.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Twelve to fifteen Amish families and twenty to thirty Amish bachelors lived in the West Kootenai. They were there because they wanted a better life for themselves and their children, so some of the standards weren’t set so high.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“there were no Amish preachers in the church in the West Kootenai.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“We were impressed by how the Amish in Montana had chosen this more spiritual way. The church services impressed us too. First, there was something to be said about the environment. Since the community is small and rural, most Amish walk to the house church”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“sounds like you have some sad memories of ’90. We never know what the new year of ’91 will bring and is probably good we don’t.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“This last week there’s a young couple here that were our neighbors in Indiana, and we’ve been spending quite a bit of time with them. They invited us over for supper. They’re staying in a cabin.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“the growing season is not so good. As the tomatoes and sweet corn hardly make it till the first frost. I guess they generally have a long, nice, and warm spell after the first frost, but that one is killing and stops the growing for a lot of things.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“It is different out here than what we were used to in Indiana. Weather-wise you just don’t have the humid, sticky weather. Although it gets hot for a couple of weeks in the daytime right in the sun. But cools off nights.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“We had to wait two hours at Elkhart because train was late, but in Chicago we didn’t wait at all.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Unable to farm the area where they now lived, many turned to logging and working in small sawmills. Some men raised cattle and became ranchers.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“This mountain settlement was first discovered by Steve Kauffman,”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Libby Dam, which formed Lake Koocanusa. The name Koocanusa came from three words: Kootenai, Canada, and USA.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Amish in this area like to hunt and fish. In fact, in addition to the locals, who live here year-round, twenty to thirty Amish bachelors move to the area each spring so that they can earn their resident hunting licenses by the fall. They stay in bachelor cabins, and many Amish men back east are jealous of their adventures.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Canada is only two miles away. An easy hike. The Kootenai Indians were the first inhabitants, and the area still boasts mountainous views and the abundant water and wildlife that American Indians enjoyed.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“We made it to Montana in May 1990. The West Kootenai area is exactly what you picture when you think of a rural logging community.”
― Ora-Jay Eash, Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish