Episode 50: From Amish Roots to Nicaragua Missionary: Eli Lee’s Story

Jacob Paul: Welcome to the truth and love podcast with your host, Kimberly Faith. The truth and love podcast seeks to present God’s timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.

Kimberly Faith: Eli, it’s great to see you again. Welcome back to The US from, your your, place in the world that with the Mesquite Indians in Nicaragua. Thank you.

Eli Lee: It’s good to be here.

Kimberly Faith: Absolutely. And thank you so much for agreeing to be on our podcast and I’m really touched by your story and I felt like it was such a God thing when you walked into my office in Houston last week and we were talking and the Lord was just like, get him on the podcast. So here we are. So I’d like to, first like to talk for you to talk about if it’s okay, how did you grow up?

Eli Lee: I grew up Amish. My parents were Amish. I grew up Amish. I married Amish. I was Amish the first thirty three years of my life.

Kimberly Faith: How many generations were Amish in your family?

Eli Lee: The one side was eight generations. Oh my goodness. The other side was many more, I don’t know.

Kimberly Faith: So what part of Europe did you come from Did your family come from a part of Europe or was that Did you immigrate or were you just?

Eli Lee: Yes. Amish the ones that have been Amish for many years, many generations came from Germany. And then on my father’s side, Lee name came from Ireland.

Kimberly Faith: So interesting. I would have associated Amish with Germany, but not necessarily with Ireland. So it’s very interesting.

Eli Lee: Yeah. The Ireland great great grandfather was not Amish. They came to the Amish after they were in America.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. And so where was the Amish community that your family was primarily?

Eli Lee: In Ohio, And Middlefield,

Kimberly Faith: how did you end up in Houston, Missouri or Licking, Missouri? Is it a long story?

Eli Lee: Yeah, the Amish are very unique people, and they have their own culture within another culture. And they look like they have everything together. They look very beautiful from the outside. But inside, there’s a turmoil that they’re seeking for rest, for their spirit, for their soul. And so it causes them to because they see things more in material materialistically, They they’re always seeking for another place that would satisfy that yearning to fill that that empty in their heart.

And so there’s a lot of migration that happens from one state to another, one community to another.

Kimberly Faith: Always looking for that greener grass.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. So interesting that you have such an articulate way of explaining the thirst of the soul for Jesus, you know, and we stuff career into it. We stuff stuff into it. Relationships, children, you know, all that. How large was your parents’ family?

Eli Lee: My siblings. I was in a family of 12 I was about in the middle.

Kimberly Faith: All right. And what did your family do in the Amish community? Like, what was their way of making a living?

Eli Lee: We were farmers.

Kimberly Faith: And that was when you moved to Missouri, you were did you move to Missouri with your family?

Eli Lee: I was born and raised in Missouri.

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Eli Lee: My dad moved to Missouri when he was a young man.

Kimberly Faith: So were and you and your wife have how many children?

Eli Lee: Eight children.

Kimberly Faith: Eight. And were they all born in the Amish community?

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. And so here you are doing your multi generational farming thing with your children. What happened? How did you come to be a born again believer?

Eli Lee: That’s kind of an interesting story.

Kimberly Faith: Let’s hear it. That’s what we’re here for. Interesting stories.

Eli Lee: It’s not the typical. Somebody shared the gospel and and I became born again type of story. Being Amish, I I knew the story of Jesus. I knew a lot of Bible stories, probably more so than the average Christian does. At the age of 17, I became I got baptized in the Amish church.

Kimberly Faith: Why did you get baptized? What was the reason for that in the Amish community?

Eli Lee: It’s what you do when you turn 17, 18 years old. You get baptized.

Kimberly Faith: What are you told is the reason for that?

Eli Lee: Because if you’re not part of the Amish church, if you’re not baptized into the Amish church, then your chances of going to heaven are very slim.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so interesting. So, the Amish church teaches, at least the one you grew up in, that baptism into the church is necessary for salvation. Yes. So interesting. What else is necessary for salvation in the Amish culture?

At least when you grew I know there’s variations. Yes. I mean, I wanna clear that up too. Right.

Eli Lee: People that may be listening, maybe even close to an Amish community also might say, no, they’re not that way here. Because there’s there are so many different variations of Amish by now that they’re not all the same.

Kimberly Faith: Exactly. Like all Christians aren’t the same, all Baptists aren’t the same, all, you know, ALG aren’t the same. Yeah. So

Eli Lee: But the community I grew up with and the circles that we were with in the Amish, They believed that that if you were born Amish, that you needed to be baptized Amish, and you needed to raise your family to be Amish. You needed to follow the rules of the church and you needed to die Amish if you wanted a chance to heaven.

Kimberly Faith: A chance to heaven.

Eli Lee: That would be a chance. Yes.

Kimberly Faith: That is so sad. And that had to cause so much anxiety that you could never know.

Eli Lee: Yes. Yes. And that’s something that is there’s a lot of in the Amish, which you don’t see it from the outside very much

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Eli Lee: Because they hide it so well. Yeah. Is there’s lots of anxiety, lots of depression. Mhmm. It’s because there’s there’s really no real hope.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Wow. So is when you talk about the Amish rules, are there extra biblical rules kinda like what the Pharisees and Sadducees did the religious groups did that we hear about in the New Testament?

Eli Lee: Yes, there are. And this is something that after I wasn’t Amish anymore, it really just seemed like, how could I be fooled like this? Because, I mean, you take the Jews, I mean, they had the actual law of Moses that they were trying to keep, and that couldn’t save them. Right. And then the Amish church has a set of rules all of their own.

Not I mean, some of them are out of the Bible. Some of them are just many of them are just what they’ve decided corporately or what the bishop and the preachers decided would be the rules for that community. And then, once that rule is set in, they think that God then honors that rule. And so, if you don’t obey that rule, you’re being disobedient to God.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. That sounds a lot like what the papacy teaches, you know, that the papacy’s extra biblical rules are equal with God’s rules and they can kind of make up rules for God and God will sanction them. If you don’t obey them, then there are, then you jeopardize your eternity.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s a very, in my view, and I have a lot of friends a lot of different walks of life, including Catholics. But my observation is there’s a lot of that, that is taught and my opinion is that done to control, to have man made control over people and keep them in fear so that they will conform and be part of the tribe and, you know, prosper somehow, somebody.

Eli Lee: Yes. I mean, your description is very, very correct. The the rules of of the Amish church are and and they they take that scripture out of context where Jesus said to Peter that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Right. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

And so they take that out of context to and put it there as God honors what the rules that we make. Right. Which we now know is not true. Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. So here you were. And this is just a I’m just curious about this and if you don’t mind, let me chase this rabbit for a minute because I know we want to talk about how you actually came to Jesus. But, you know, what is the biblical justification behind this whole idea that And I granted, I know that Amish communities differ in this, but the restriction on motorized vehicles or motorized equipment or lights in your home from electricity, those sorts of things. Were those the things you experienced or am I just way off?

Am I thinking of something different?

Eli Lee: No, that’s part of it. Yes.

Kimberly Faith: So what is the biblical justification for that?

Eli Lee: Well, again, going back to them being materialistic. They don’t understand the spiritual realm of things. And so, they take it as it started way back, probably one hundred and fifty, two hundred years ago, the Amish and the non Amish were very much, you really didn’t notice the difference if

Kimberly Faith: you saw it. Because everybody, no one had electricity, no one had a car. And

Eli Lee: so when those things

Kimberly Faith: I didn’t think about that, but that makes a

Eli Lee: lot of sense. So when those things started coming by, the Amish looked at that as worldly things. Because man invented them and was making things easier in life and somehow they viewed it as like we labor to and we stay humble and flying down the road with a car at 30 miles an hour rather than behind the horse on a buggy would be prideful is the way they looked at it.

Kimberly Faith: Which kind of is interesting because in my mind, makes you and again, this is my interpretation, it makes you more prideful, because you’re saying, you’re basically, you’re poo pooing the intelligence that God gives people to in substituting it for your own intelligence, when the Bible doesn’t say anything about that, you know, I mean, from what I can tell, there’s nothing the Bible says you shouldn’t drive a car or that you shouldn’t take advantage of technology. I think, you know, God gave us a brain to use it.

Eli Lee: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: And here we are, matter of fact, what’s so incredible about technology is here we are in 2025, carrying out the great commission to the ends of the earth through this podcast.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: You know, and I couldn’t be at the ends of the earth. You couldn’t, but this podcast can be because of the internet.

Eli Lee: That’s right.

Kimberly Faith: So anyway, I dyed your ass. Sorry about that. I was always curious about where that came from, but I never thought about, you know, one hundred and fifty, two hundred years ago, that wasn’t an issue because we were all kind of driving the buggy.

Eli Lee: Yeah. You touched on a point there that’s very important and is very true. And that is that in a sense, that would be more prideful, you said, and which is, I think, is true in a lot of ways. First of all, I mean, I’ve seen, I’ve experienced Somebody can have pride in their horse and a broken their buggy just as well as as in a car. Right.

That doesn’t change the fact of of the heart. And then the other thing is that the Amish are so aware, I guess, it’s a fact of what the Bible talks about pridefulness, that they make this huge effort to be humble. And

Kimberly Faith: And when you think you’re humble, you’re not. I mean, that’s the way it works, isn’t it? It

Eli Lee: comes to the point where I was I was very, very proud that I was humble.

Kimberly Faith: That’s hilarious.

Eli Lee: Yeah. And so, pride is a thing that we struggle with when we try to be humble on our own.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. You know, it’s so when you were, you know, in the Amish community and living, you know, your best effort at the Amish lifestyle, obeying the rules of the church and that sort of thing. What would you describe was going on in your soul at that point?

Eli Lee: Well, I was always worried.

Kimberly Faith: About what?

Eli Lee: About what if I don’t make it to heaven? What if I go to hell?

Kimberly Faith: That’s so cruel. That’s so cruel to teach people they have to work and be good enough.

Eli Lee: Right. And so I would it would cause me to just do the best I could in following the Amish rules. Mhmm. And yet still always in my heart having that that doubt or that just not sure. I don’t know.

Kimberly Faith: Can you imagine if one of your kids lived their whole life wondering if you were their dad or if you love them? You know, what an awful childhood that would be in adulthood. That’s kind of what you’re describing.

Eli Lee: That is exactly what it was. And so, even though I would do everything I could to follow the rules, I was still doing it all in the flesh. And so I would not I had never got to where I totally mastered that, I would fail.

Kimberly Faith: What did you believe about Jesus Christ and what he did? What were you taught?

Eli Lee: Well, that brings us to the point of describing what the difference of the understanding of grace means. Because now what you and I believe as grace is when we say salvation is only by the grace of God, that means what I have to offer is zero. Right. And grace goes from zero to a 100.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. It’s a gift.

Eli Lee: It’s a gift from God. Right. And so, with the Amish and the way they believe it, they will say the same thing. They’ll also say that it’s only by the grace of God. And if somebody doesn’t know their doctrines and their beliefs, they’ll come away saying, they’re a saved people, because they say the right things.

But then what their view of grace is, is they know that their good works, by being obedient to the rules, never get to 100%. They take that from the Bible.

Eli Lee: And so, what they do say is, we have to make sure that we do the best we can, even though that may just be 70%. I see. Hopefully more than that.

Kimberly Faith: But So grace fills the gap.

Eli Lee: Yeah. And whatever we can’t do then then Jesus tips the scales in our favor. He looks at us on judgment day and sees that we have really tried our best.

Kimberly Faith: It’s so interesting because that nullifies the whole idea of grace. You know, it’s either Paul made it very clear that salvation is either of grace or a works and they don’t mix.

Eli Lee: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: Because if I say, hey, I’m going to give you my cell phone, Eli paid for it. You can have it. If you trust me, you’re going to take it and it’s going to be yours and you’re never going to be asked for to return it.

Eli Lee: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: And, but if I said, Oh, but go wash my car and make sure you do a really good job. Otherwise I’m taking the phone back. It’s not grace anymore.

Eli Lee: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: It’s such a Yeah, it’s such a, it’s kind of, they’re not, they don’t mix, but what you’re describing is actually how, what I did as a kid trying to get saved, I would pray, Lord, save me and I’ll be good.

Eli Lee: Yes. I mean, it’s backwards.

Kimberly Faith: It’s so backwards. Yeah. So did you have a basic understanding about that Jesus came and lived and died for your sins and rose again? Was that something you were taught?

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. So that was a fundamental part of your teaching.

Eli Lee: That was a fundamental part of the teaching.

Kimberly Faith: So interesting because we just did a podcast on this and it’s the three levels of knowing God. And the first level being, you know, knowledge of God that’s planted in us based on Romans chapter one and even the devils believe and tremble.

Eli Lee: Right?

Kimberly Faith: And the second one is that knowledge that leads us to reconciliation, which is where we have, God gives us faith to know that we can trust God. We can believe him for who he is and repentance that says, I don’t want to be like I am anymore. And like, can change that. And then of course there’s like, once you’re saved, the growth, the intimacy with God. Yes.

And you’re describing really that first level, knowing that God exists.

Eli Lee: Right. I didn’t doubt that. I don’t remember ever in my life doubting that part.

Kimberly Faith: That’s Yeah, that’s natural though.

Eli Lee: And so, but again, like I said earlier, the belief see, believe, we have a word for believe in English. And there really should be two words at least, or maybe three, because what does believe mean? I mean, I can believe it in my mind to be true. And I believe it. But I may not believe it with my whole heart, to the point of me

Kimberly Faith: doing it. Yeah. Yeah. I like that you have thought about the two different levels of belief or maybe three, because you’re sitting in a chair right now. And I said, sit in this chair and clearly you believed me enough to believe in that chair enough to actually sit down.

But if you’d remain standing, then there would be some kind of gap in your ability to trust Maybe I had pulled a chair out from my knee before or something. But I think that active belief is only comes through supernatural faith. You know what I’m saying? Faith is a gift. And it’s a supernatural gift that God gives us that knows we can sit in that chair.

Yes. You know?

Eli Lee: And so, what really brought me to salvation, again, so God orchestrated because He saw, obviously saw my struggle and my desire to be right with Him.

Kimberly Faith: I love that.

Kimberly Faith: I love that. I think about that verse that God roams the earth searching. Yes. You know, he’s searching He was searching for because he knew you were searching for him.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Anyway, sorry. I get all excited when I hear that. Go ahead. Yes.

Eli Lee: And so he also knew that my in my prideful state that I would never ever listen to anybody that tried to teach me something other than what I was taught in the by the Amish. And there was people that that talked to me about the Bible and about salvation over the years, but

Kimberly Faith: Oh, really?

Eli Lee: I always blocked it out.

Kimberly Faith: Like who?

Eli Lee: People that I met at the with a business.

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Eli Lee: I had a little sawmill, a little business, and there was a couple of people that would talk about God and about salvation and stuff. I always just blocked it out because we were taught those kind of conversations can deceive people because what the world calls Christians are not Christians at all. They’re deceived. They think they know. And especially if if you can if they say that that they know that they’re saved, I mean, that’s right there shows you that they’re deceived. Wow.

Kimberly Faith: So how does okay. So I wanna camp on that for just a minute. How do the does the Amish community that you grew up in, how do they reconcile the words of Jesus that whosoever believes on me shall present tense, have everlasting life? I mean, you either have everlasting life today, or you don’t have it. It’s either, you know, so how do they reconcile that in their argument about this mixed grace and works?

Eli Lee: Well, they can’t argue those scriptures. And so, in the church, in their life, in their Sunday services, they pick and choose scriptures. They don’t read the whole Bible. They don’t read the whole New Testament. Did

Kimberly Faith: you have a whole Bible?

Eli Lee: I did have it. But we were always told that even though it’s important to read your Bible at times, to be careful not to read it too much. Because people that read the Bible too much end up somehow it affects and the they get derailed from it.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. I never knew that. Oh, that is insane.

Eli Lee: I mean, now looking back, I mean, you would just think, well, how in the world did I even believe that? Because, I mean, if we believe the Bible is the Word of God, how could that cause somebody’s mind to go haywire if they read too much?

Kimberly Faith: Well, you just read Psalms one nineteen and think about all the ways that God’s word serves us. You know? I mean, that’s what Psalms one nineteen, it’s a long so it means it’s the longest chapter in the Bible. And what is it about? The benefits of God’s word.

Yes. You know? And and that’s so contraindicated, but just kinda goes to show too that, you know, and there are so many religions that can they there’s they’re seeking to control the minds of people.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: And set it this cultural platform that restricts people. And it’s such a deception. It’s such a deception of the enemy.

Eli Lee: Yes, it is. And control is you mentioned that earlier about the rules, extra biblical rules, that being to control people, which is exactly what it is. And then, just again, the fear thing of not knowing. If somebody is afraid, it’s easy to control them.

Kimberly Faith: That is a really valid point.

Eli Lee: So, if somebody is secure in who they are, it’s hard to control them. And so, that’s what they’ve seen over the years is, when a person did get saved, they became this confident person that even if they talked to him, tried to bring him back to the fold or whatever, think the way they did, it just didn’t work. And so

Kimberly Faith: Confidence of God is unshakable. You know, it is so unshakable because you, you know, like, kinda like what Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego said to the king, yeah, you can throw us in that furnace and we can burn if that’s God’s will, but we’re never gonna bow down. Yes. Because we know, we know the promises of God. You can take our life, but it won’t hurt us because we’ll go somewhere better.

Eli Lee: Reminds me of that scripture where where first John where where he says, there is no fear in love.

Kimberly Faith: That’s

Eli Lee: right. The one who fears is not made complete in love. Right. And so once we understand and we have that love of God, and we trust him, then we’re not scared of what people will do to us anymore.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. Because we got big papa. Yes. Yes.

I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but that’s how I feel about, you know, God is, He is, He covers down for His people.

Eli Lee: He does. And He, like the mission we’re in, I’m going to jump into that just for this purpose of what we’re just talking about. Protection. When he called us to go to the Mesquito people, I’m not going to lie, I was scared for my family.

Kimberly Faith: And this is in Nicaragua?

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That’s not a real friendly

Eli Lee: No, it’s a very hostile travel area. Yeah. And so, to trust him is what it took. And to realize that we can trust him, I can trust him with my family.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Eli Lee: And then once you get to that level of trust and love, then like what would happen later when people actually tried to kill me several different times.

Kimberly Faith: And this is on the mission field.

Eli Lee: Yes. Mhmm. I wasn’t scared because I knew that my God has me in his hands. Right. And unless the day has come that he has said, okay, today is your last day on earth, that they can do whatever they want.

They can’t kill me. Right. But if that day has come, then I don’t even wanna stay here anymore.

Kimberly Faith: I love that. I love that. That is such a good perspective because God wants us to live fearlessly. Yes. He wants us to just to stride into the world, knowing we’re exactly where we should be.

And He’s I mean, I think about Elijah’s servant and the Syrian army, you know, and I think, you know, Elijah’s servant, he couldn’t see all the forces of heaven surrounding the Syrian army. All he saw was the enemy and Elijah said, Lord, open his eyes. And he’s like, wow, that’s how I’m gonna live my life. So before we continue, would you mind going back to share your testimony that I’m you sorry, I really wanna hear this.

Eli Lee: Yes, sorry, I kind of jumped.

Kimberly Faith: No, that was great. That was great.

Eli Lee: But yes, God understood what it would take to break that pride I had. Because, like I said, I wouldn’t listen to anyone. And so but I would always pray and ask God to help me in the best way I knew how. And again, God sees the heart. And so he realized somehow in his grace that I was really sincere in searching him for him.

And so he was gracious enough to allow me to get sick.

Kimberly Faith: So interesting, the way you put that.

Eli Lee: Because, again, he he knew he has everything, all power in his hands.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Eli Lee: But he never forces his will on us. And so he he created circumstances or allowed circumstances in my life that would bring me down to where I gave up. So interesting. That pride I had to live that Amish life, that pride I had to feed my family, take care of my wife and children. I mean, it was something that I didn’t know, had no idea how prideful I was in that.

Kimberly Faith: He had to make you powerless.

Eli Lee: Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. And that’s what he did. It took four long years Wow.

Of me not being able to work a couple of times being at the death’s door.

Kimberly Faith: That reminds me of the, you know, the first beatitude Jesus taught was blessed are the poor in spirit, which we must be poor in spirit to come to Christ for salvation and we must be poor in spirit to serve him. And that’s what you’re describing. What kind of sickness did you have?

Eli Lee: To this day, I don’t really know. Really? Wow. Because in those four years, I went to doctors, they did a bazillion tests and never could figure out. I had serious problem with my liver.

My liver was so swollen, I couldn’t bend over like this. It was bulged out. But the liver tests always came back fine. And so, anyway, just the doctors never could figure it out. And finally, after another time, they gave me some medicine stuff that almost killed me.

My wife wouldn’t have thrown the last three pills away, think I probably would have died. Wow. So this was

Kimberly Faith: a four year sick ordeal. And so what happened?

Eli Lee: I finally gave up on doctors. I just said, I’m done. We’ve spent all our money and more that we have. I told my wife and my children, I said, I’m not going to rack up a debt just to try to stay alive and then still die, because these doctors are not figuring it out. Said, I just will die now without a big debt because, I mean, to leave you all Strapped.

Yeah, it’s not what I want to do. And so, anyway, I just gave up on doctors and that whole thing of how God then later healed me is another testimony. But before we get to that, I was to the point where I couldn’t I mean, like I said, I couldn’t work, I couldn’t provide for my family. We had this little family business that I would make construction products to sell, but I couldn’t work in it because I just didn’t have the strength and so I had a a hired guy working, but the business was failing. And so I saw my wife and my children start to be hungry.

That’s what God knew it would take to break

Kimberly Faith: me. Wow. Wow.

Eli Lee: So after I saw that, I just I couldn’t I just couldn’t anymore. Mhmm. And one day, one of the neighbors was butchering a hog and they told my wife, Leah, that if she would come help, that they would give her some meat. And children were in school, so I was alone at home alone, laying on the couch, just feeling as worthless as ever, very depressed. And so I just I cried out to God that day.

It was like, don’t understand what’s going on. I said, I know your word says that you take care of yours. But it’s obvious to me that you’re not really taking care of us because my wife is hungry, my children are hungry. And I said, I can’t. I’ve tried everything and I did.

I tried numerous times to get up and work and just land back in bed for a week, because I was out working for half an hour. And so, anyway, I just I cried out to God and I said I told him that. I said, I know that you say you take care of yours. And I said, don’t know. I thought I was yours.

But I said, I don’t know whether I am because you’re not taking care of us. But I said, I believe your word is true. I said, I know that I’ve failed many times and I asked him to forgive me. And I just told him that that to take to please take care of my wife and my children because the word says, you will take care of yours, so I am giving my wife and my children to you as yours. And I trust that you will take care of them somehow because I can’t.

And I said, as far as for myself, I said, I’m just done. I said, I’m no no good on this earth anymore. So just go ahead and and and kill me off. I’m done. But then, again, like the Bible tells us, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray when we don’t know how to pray.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so true.

Eli Lee: And this that was exactly what happened then because I didn’t know the Holy Spirit. I didn’t know what being born again was. Right. But at that moment, he helped me pray. And as I told him that to just go ahead and kill me off, I prayed that well, but if there’s still something that he has for me to do on this earth, to give me the patience that I need to endure whatever that is to get through and to do that, but to put your Holy Spirit in my heart so that I can know what his will is for my life.

And however humble that was, God saw the condition of my heart and he honored that prayer.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. And was that the moment you believe that you received Jesus as your That’s such an interesting testimony. If the Holy Spirit guided your prayer because God knew that you were at the bottom. Yes. And there was nothing you could do.

Eli Lee: That’s right.

Kimberly Faith: Wow.

Eli Lee: And so

Kimberly Faith: And so do you and it sounds like sorry. Sounds like too that you understood your sinful condition that repentance Yes. Was there. Yes. And it sounds like God had also given you faith that you could trust him.

Eli Lee: Yes, he did. He did. And that

Kimberly Faith: Did you feel a transformation at that minute or was it more gradual for you?

Eli Lee: In that minute, I didn’t. I I mean, literally cried myself to sleep in that prayer. But I woke up, I don’t know how long later it was. I woke up and I got up out of that couch. And then is when I realized something

Kimberly Faith: was different. I love that.

Eli Lee: Was totally at peace with

Kimberly Faith: God. Wow.

Eli Lee: A peace that I had never ever experienced in my life.

Kimberly Faith: I love that.

Eli Lee: And I knew God heard my prayer. Wow.

Kimberly Faith: For the first time ever?

Eli Lee: First time ever that I knew that for a fact. I just knew that. And I knew he had heard my prayer, that he had forgiven my sins. And I knew at that moment that I was born again. Wow.

And how I knew that totally had to be the Holy Spirit revealing that, because I didn’t know what being born again was.

Kimberly Faith: You’ve never been taught that.

Eli Lee: Yeah, I’ve never been taught.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. So did your, like, how did your family then I mean, you obviously left at some point the Amish culture, right? Yes. Obviously, because you’re not there anymore. So how soon after that did did that happen?

Eli Lee: It was about probably nine months before they actually excommunicated us.

Kimberly Faith: Is that because you were preaching the gospel or reading your Bible?

Eli Lee: Yeah. It’s like a whole another testimony there Sure. From the from the time I got that day I got saved until they excommunicated us. That how all that worked out because even though that minute, that moment, I got up and I realized I was born again. I also realized at that moment that God had given me salvation as a gift.

I knew it wasn’t something I had done or accomplished.

Kimberly Faith: It’s so interesting that you recognize that even though you’ve been taught the contrary your entire life.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That’s insane.

Eli Lee: But it’s like the spirit of God. I know he did some overtime for me there. Right. Because of my ignorance.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Of

Eli Lee: course. Yeah. And so, I realized that that salvation was I had received was a gift from God. I also realized, thinking about it that day, I realized that if if I believe that and anybody finds out about it, I will be communicated.

Kimberly Faith: Wow.

Eli Lee: Because I personally help ex communicate people that believe that.

Kimberly Faith: So interesting. So you nine forwarding nine months later, you all left or were excommunicated, the Amish community, and how soon after that did God call you to Nicaragua?

Eli Lee: It was from that day, that time forward, it was about eight years.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. Because when I met you, you were framing my house.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: And you and all your beautiful children were, you know, walking like cats on a, you know, on a 25 foot span with nail guns. I was the last My house was the last job you did before moving I to was very glad because my house is still standing. So when you were called by God to go, was your family on board with that?

Eli Lee: Yes, they were. He had called us to be missionaries, to be for myself. I mean, I couldn’t speak for the rest of my family, but for self, he called me to be a missionary evangelist several years before that. Before I met you?

Kimberly Faith: Yes. Okay. I wasn’t sure which at you were talking about. Yes. Before

Eli Lee: we went to Nicaragua. Sure.

Kimberly Faith: And so you had to learn a totally different language. Yes. I mean, it’s not like, you know, a German descendant necessarily speaks. Is it a brand of Spanish, I’m assuming? No.

No. Oh my gosh.

Eli Lee: It’s a language totally of its own.

Kimberly Faith: And did you go to language school or did you guys just go down there and do a little fly?

Eli Lee: We just went down there and learned it.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. And this from what I remember the place where you are, it was only accessible at boat.

Eli Lee: That’s right.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. And how I mean, that’s a very specific spot. How do you know that’s where God sent you?

Eli Lee: Yeah. And a lot of that goes into really explaining all that. I don’t know how much time we got left, but

Kimberly Faith: We’ll just talk to where till we get to, you know, where we think we should stop and if we have to do another one, do another one sometime in the back. How about that?

Eli Lee: But we had like I said earlier, that God called me by this by his spirit. He called me to be a missionary and evangelist. And I actually resisted for a while, because I was totally I was not able to speak in front of crowds, literally. Couldn’t, I’ve opened my mouth. I couldn’t speak.

Was very

Kimberly Faith: Okay, Moses. Right? I mean, was that Moses’ problem too?

Eli Lee: Kind of. Yeah. And I’m not kidding or lying when I say I just, I would just freeze up. Was so I could talk one on one just fine. In front of crowds just freaked me out to the point where I couldn’t.

So that was my excuse that I told God no for Like

Kimberly Faith: I said, Moses. Sorry. I wasn’t here when he says stop.

Eli Lee: So, I finally realized what I was doing. I just told God, I said, am willing. But if you want me to speak in front of people, you’re going to have to use my mouth, because I can’t.

Kimberly Faith: I love that.

Eli Lee: And so he did. But anyway, from there, I was always looking for from there, where God would call us. Was praying about it and seeking his his will for where where to go. And so our church was doing mission foreign mission trips. And so I signed up for that and went Argentina several times, went to South Africa, places around the world, always thinking that when I go there, the Holy Spirit’s gonna say, okay, this is where I want you to be.

But he didn’t, until I went to Nicaragua on a mission trip, and I went out to the Mesquito territory, wasn’t up where we are now, but where there was still road access. And spent two weeks there. And at that moment is when at that time there is when the Holy Spirit revealed to me that these are the people and this is the place I’ve been preparing you for.

Kimberly Faith: Don’t you love it when God opens you up and says, this is the path of peace and you just know you walk through the door like, okay, yeah, I know. And that’s what you’re describing.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: How many years have you all been on the mission field in Nicaragua?

Eli Lee: Thirteen years now.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. And so in your family, your whole family went all eight kids, wife, everything went right and was there?

Eli Lee: All except the oldest son. Okay.

Kimberly Faith: And then, mean, I know that a lot of your girls have gotten married and you have, they’ve moved back to The States, but you all are still there serving. But you’ve also you’ve mentioned this earlier, but you all have also been have you been part of this whole I don’t know what you do and call it like an effort in the Amish communities where they have been coming to Christ.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: What does that look like?

Eli Lee: Well, we have a ministry here in The States called Religion to Relationship Ministries that we had started before we went to Nicaragua.

Kimberly Faith: And you have a website. Right? Yes. What does the website tell us what that website is?

Eli Lee: It’s religiontorelationship.org.

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Eli Lee: Just like it All out.

Kimberly Faith: All spelled out. Okay. Great. Thank you for sharing that. Go ahead.

Eli Lee: Yeah. For the last eight or ten years, every time we come back to The States, it’s like God has appointments here for us.

Kimberly Faith: You mean like today? Yes. Like today. Yes.

Eli Lee: But also with Amish people that are seeking truth. So interesting. And so, it’s like we come back and there’s there’s people waiting that want to talk to us.

Kimberly Faith: Leave Wow.

Eli Lee: Word with some of our friends that whenever we come back, they want to see us. And so we go visit them. And of course, it’s interesting when we do visit them in cases like that because because we left the Amish, because we believe what we do Mhmm. They’ve excommunicated us. So we’ve I’m I’m literally considered a a really, really bad person with the Amish.

And because of some literature that I wrote and mailed out over the years

Kimberly Faith: Explosing the truth.

Eli Lee: Yes. Yeah. They all know my name. So

Kimberly Faith: Well, it’s probably not within the rules to kill you or anything. Right?

Eli Lee: Not physically. But so when we go visit these families that that have questions, we have to do it in secret where nobody finds out that we go.

Kimberly Faith: So they don’t get excommunicated?

Eli Lee: Yes. Because if they would be found out to have sat down and talked with us, they would be excommunicated. Wow. And they’re afraid. I’m sure.

They’re very afraid. I and you’re have to remember that that within that that religion, I mean, you’re you’re threatened with hell if you don’t stay Amish. Wow. And that that’s what they their their ex communication is is them throwing you over to Satan to take you to hell. And unless in their in their doctrine, unless you come back on your knees and and repent from rebelling against the Amish church and become a member in good standing again, you have no chance of ever going to heaven.

That’s so scary.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. It’s horrifying. So the people that you’ve been meeting with us, there’ve been like people who’ve been saved out of the Amish community. Are you just planting seeds? Not that that’s, you know, I’m not minimizing that.

Eli Lee: Most of them that want us to come meet them, like the ones I was talking about, are not saved, haven’t hadn’t been saved yet. Mhmm. But we get to share the gospel with them. Which is the power of God. Yes.

Yeah. There’s been numerous ones that have been saved by sharing that gospel the gospel with them and and they’re now most of most of them are now excommunicated as well. Saved from hell. Yes. Literally.

Saved from hell, but told they’re going to hell now. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so powerful, Eli. I mean, I just think about, you know, we as Christians have this journey that, you know, that God has, He’s put us in a, allowed us to be in certain circumstances so that we can reach a whole different crowd of people like your crowd that you reach is different than the crowd I reach, know, mine, you know, varies from people who are charged with crimes to people who are in political office, you know, yours is right now, the Nicaraguan people and the Amish people who are looking to get out of their fear. Yes. And isn’t it cool that we get to sound and have this common conversation though? It really is. Showing what God is doing.

Eli Lee: Absolutely.

Kimberly Faith: That is very exciting. So on your religion to relationship website, is that mostly targeted towards the Amish culture or is it also about your mission work in Nicaragua?

Eli Lee: It’s both.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. So, people wanna support you or they wanted to reach out, they could do that through that website.

Eli Lee: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. All right. I just wanted to make sure. Well, so right now, who So you’re back in The States right now and you’re headed back actually the end of this week. Is that right?

Eli Lee: First of next week. First of next

Kimberly Faith: mission there continues obviously and

Eli Lee: you’re building

Kimberly Faith: I know we’re almost out of time, but when we’ve talked about the work in Nicaragua, one of the things that’s always struck me as so interesting is how your whole family, as people who have worked the ground and built, you’ve been in construction, you’ve been in farming and you went alongside the people and in the villages where you were and really did that with them and made friends with them in order to bring them to Christ and to disciple them, lived among them, not above them. And I mean, I really, I respect that so much in what you all have done. What do you think has been the, I wanna ask two questions as we wind up kind of, but what do you think has been the greatest part of the ministry in Nicaragua? That’d be the first question I wanna ask you. And the second question I wanna ask you is, what do you want people to remember about you?

Eli Lee: I mean, first question is that the greatest thing that has happened in Nicaragua is there’s mosquito people that are my brothers and sisters now in Christ.

Kimberly Faith: So amazing. So amazing.

Eli Lee: And there’s lots of good things that are happening, but that’s the that’s, of course, the highlight.

Kimberly Faith: Exactly. That’s eternal. Yes.

Eli Lee: Yeah. Absolutely. And the last question is like, what was the question exactly?

Kimberly Faith: It was what do you want people to remember about you?

Eli Lee: Well, I mean, first of all, it’s not about me. I don’t want them to to remember me per se. I want them to if anything, the the work that Christ has done through me. Mhmm. Because I am nothing without him.

Kimberly Faith: I understand that. I do understand And and it’s such a isn’t it amazing that we get to represent Christ?

Eli Lee: It is just amazing.

Kimberly Faith: I mean, people get you know, they name drop while I was I sat next to Tim Tebow at a ball game. Well, yeah, I worked for Jesus. We get

Eli Lee: to be ambassadors for Him.

Kimberly Faith: Exactly. And when people look at us, if they see the fruit of His Spirit, they see Jesus.

Eli Lee: That’s right.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s just such an amazing life, such an amazing life. You know what, we’re going to do this again because I know that you have all these other stories and I want to do it again, maybe next time you’re back in The States. Okay. But thank you so much for being willing to come and sit down with me and have this conversation.

Eli Lee: You’re welcome. It’s been a pleasure.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah, the Lord bless you. If today’s episode stirred your heart, we want to invite you to go even deeper. At gofaithstrong.com, you’ll find a growing library of faith based resources designed to encourage, equip, and strengthen your walk with God every single day. Whether you’re searching for meaningful devotionals, real life testimonies, Christ centered blog posts, or soul stirring music, it’s all there, created closer to where God is calling you to be. We believe that walking in faith doesn’t just happen on Sundays.

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