“I left the Amish community — this is what I miss and what’s great about it”

American Daniel Beiler grew up in an Amish community without modern conveniences and everyday items. Yet he still wanted to expand his world, for which he was excommunicated ten years ago. Now he tells her what he misses most in his new life and what still makes him happy.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The 33-year-old emergency medical technician and volunteer, who grew up in a traditional Amish community in Pennsylvania, shared his experience.

– I was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, one of the main areas of the old Amish community in the United States. I grew up on a small farm in a community surrounded by mountains and valleys – always hunting, swimming and riding horses. We had no video games or television. No air conditioning or electric heating, we used fish. On wood or coal. We traveled in a horse-drawn carriage, and if we had to travel a greater distance, we would rent a taxi – writes Belle, writes Microsoft.

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He said that their family atmosphere is quite strong, and the way he grew up is actually very special. That is to say, in the Amish community, each community has its own customs.

– We don’t have Rumspringa – Amish youthžHe went out into the world and tried things like drugs, alcohol and sex. This is a custom only in some communities, but in my hometown, this custom does not exist. As for work, the community is changing – when we left, many companies were bigger. Smartphones and computers are used. Some homes have begun to introduce electricity. The Amish understand that the world is changing and they have to accept some things to remain successful – he declares.

“I was looking for answers but I didn’t get any”

He always felt like he was someone else, like he needed more than what he was getting.

– I grew up with a strong desire to see the world. I would climb a mountain, and when I reached the top, I wanted to cross the next mountain. I always had a strong desire to achieve great things. But, as an Amish, I couldn’t even fly a plane. Since the Amish trust their elders, I asked them: “Why do we think so?” To this, they said it was for our grandparents. But this was not a satisfactory answer for me – he recalled.

He was searching for answers and was curious. He knew there was a whole world out there, but he felt as if he was completely cut off from it.

60 seconds to die

– When I was 14, we went sledding in the snow. I tried to hook the horse to the sled, but the horse had other ideas. He stood up on his hind legs and hit me in the temple. I fractured my skull and had bleeding in my brain. When I had surgery, the doctors said I would die in 60 seconds. After that I developed ADHD, OCD and depression. I had problems with my back, concentration and epileptic seizures. I became depressed and had suicidal thoughts. They put me on medication, and I also saw psychiatrists and psychologists. This is how I spent my teenage years – he explains.

One day he met a Mennonite counselor and that conversation changed his life forever.The Mennonites are similar to the Amish, but they use vehicles and are more modern.

Photo: Dreamstime_/Illustration

– He explained to me that there were other Amish who questioned things. After that, our Amish cast us out and we had to leave or be excommunicated. However, my community did not do it as strictly or harshly as other communities. I was 23 years old and was planning a wedding. The bishop excommunicated us only three days after the wedding so that the family would not have to boycott the celebration. It was a kind of farewell – he wrote.

However, he has a good relationship with them now. Although he cannot visit them, he can talk to them.

– After leaving the community, life began. The whole universe was before me. We got married and tried to figure out what life was like without the restrictions of the Amish system. The car ride was an incredible moment for me – I felt liberated. I remember how it hit me – I had wheels. I was free to go wherever I wanted. This was a greater experience for me than all other aspects of modern life, including electricity and technology, he declared.

However, instead of continuing their study of modern society, they moved on.

– We didn’t have much time to fully immerse ourselves in modern America, because ten weeks after leaving, we headed to Iraq to serve as volunteers. I had never been on a plane before until flying from Philadelphia to northern Iraq, where ISIS was rampaging at the time. On the plane, I was a little worried that it might blow up. I know most of them don’t, but I still have fears about 9/11. For the next ten years, we traveled from country to country, helping in crisis situations in Ukraine, Syria, and Bolivia. The family already had five children, the medical aid technician explained.

In the meantime, they moved to Idaho, where they worked as emergency rescue technicians, fighting fires for firefighters.

– We are still considered Amish, but now we are connected to the grid. We have electricity, vehicles, etc. However, sometimes it is a challenge for me. When storms cut off the power, life slows down and I don’t like that feeling. In fact, the feeling of freedom exists when we live off the grid, when we don’t rely on electricity and grow a lot of our own food. Even a three-day snowstorm is fine. That’s not a problem. I still miss that feeling – he says.

Being close to nature is something he feels is lacking in today’s society, and he believes it has a big impact on people.

– I’m not saying that we have to live in nature all the time, but if life is only concrete and video games, I believe we are cut off from the original organic reality created by God. There are no restrictions on technology in my house right now, but we have not yet accepted “black culture”. I love my phone – social media is my weakness. Funny thing is, at one point I watched Tom and Jerry for months. I really don’t know why. We don’t have a TV in our house, because I just don’t want my children to be exposed to that, but we go to the movies and the kids watch YouTube – he explains.

They noticed that when children spent too much time in front of a screen, they became more irritable.

– On days like this, we tell them: ‘You know what? Go outside, play with the dogs, or go for a run in the woods'” – he wrote. Microsoft.