Sept. 14, 2009 issue
Life after leaving Amish leads to Goshen College
By Brandon Long For Mennonite Weekly ReviewGOSHEN, Ind. — Driving her orange 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse on a Sunday morning, Naomi Kramer passed an Amish home where families had gathered for church.
Naomi Kramer, a sophomore nursing student at Goshen College, was featured in a book on American teenagers while an Amish youth. — Photo by Celeste Kennel-Shank/MWR
The service had ended, and families were climbing into their buggies. Kramer, who turns 24 this month, thought of her childhood in an Amish family in Jamesport, Mo.
“Jamesport is, like, a century behind the modern world, which attracts many tourists,” she said. “I often felt like an animal in a zoo because people would always ask us to pose for photos.”
Kramer, who was once featured in a book on American teenagers, is now a sophomore nursing student at Goshen College.
When she lived as an Amish girl, Kramer spent much of her time working to help provide for her family. She tended to her chores: growing food for her family, doing laundry in a washtub, and looking after her four brothers and two sisters.
“People often laugh when I tell them my family isn’t that big,” Kramer said. “But it’s true. A family of nine is small in the Amish culture.”
Kramer and her sister, Marjorie, 22, found little ways to rebel in their early teenage years. Secretly harboring a small battery-powered television, the girls caught their first glimpse of the modern world through the eyes of film and television shows. Around this time, Kramer began to dream of becoming a nurse.
“I never thought I’d actually do it,” she said.
At age 17, during the Rumspringa period of greater freedom for Amish youth, Kramer tried street clothes, shopping and dating. Some peers urged Kramer to abandon her parents’ values.
“I had an experience one night when lying on my bed,” Kramer said. “I felt so heavy from the peer pressure. Suddenly I saw rays of light shining down on me, and I had peace in my heart. I just knew that no matter what happens, God would be there to take care of me.”
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