.PatAndre

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Not all Amish earn their living by farming or live on farms. Many live in town or on just enough acreage to maintain a horse. Many earn their living by working for the English. That's what they call non-Amish people (that's you and me), or they make furniture which is a big business for many of them or they own and run a restaurant. I saw several big manufacturing places out in the country that had 18 wheelers picking up and delivering and one Amish family ran a trucking company. They may have a manufacturing business on their property which has to have electricity to operate but you won't find any electrical lines going to the house. It's a strange relationship they have with electricity. Farm machinery is pulled by work horses but run by gasoline engines mounted on the machinery. They have a good relationship with the English and will even allow the English to provide them transportation to places of work. A lot of English earn THEIR living by hauling the Amish around in vans to places of work or to visit far away relatives. You may see cars and pick-up trucks in Amish driveways and parked at Amish farms but the vehicles belong to the English not the Amish. I fear for the Amish way of life. They are having problems keeping their children “down on the farm”. Many of their teenagers leave and don’t come back. Of course if they do leave, they are shunned forever and I mean shunned-never spoken too or recognized again. Last evening, I discovered the most wonderful series about the Amish on YouTube. It is in 6 parts and is titled “Inside The Amish Church”. This is a MUST SEE. Be sure to watch it in sequence.