Elam grew up in the Old Order Amish Church married Hannah Stoltzfus and had 5 children. After 38 years of marriage and Hannah's passing, Elam remarried to Annie (Esh) Smucker. At the age of 43, Elam was ordained to be a minister in his Lancaster Co., Pa., Amish Church district. He served 40 years and wrote over 60 notebooks that were distributed to younger ministers. Originally printed in 1980 from a portion of his poems, proverbs and hymns, this book now includes a collection of Notes & Quotes by Elam's son Wilmer. This reprint was made possible by his great-grandson Geoffrey Lapp, with all proceeds from the sales of this book going to the nonprofit MinuteMen United—Walking Alongside & Connecting People to Community Support Services.(194pp. color illus. Minutemen United, 2023.)