Twinky

No, I turned 65 yesterday.

No-one wonders about my post?

He's getting a grandchild. He's getting married. Or divorced. He's announcing that he's standing for President. He's just trying to drive everyone nuts, thinking what his big secret is.

Actually, we really welcome people reading old posts. Sometimes it's what helps them make sense of what they saw, or what happened to them, during their time with TWI. And sometimes people can add an update on old material, if they've left more recently. If you are a recent leaver, Dukie, you are welcome to post what you know; you are welcome to add to current threads. You can have any viewpoint you like (some here are adamant Wierwille haters, others have been adamant Wierwille proponents). Just understand that what you post may be subject to challenge and debate, and if you post nonsense or abusive posts, you will be called on such posts.

What does that mean. Dukie? LCM was insane, and caused so much pain and hurt? Because that's the reality. I suffered much because of this man and his perverted teachings. It has stolen many years of my life. It was painful. It isn't now. You will probably find most of the posters on this thread think similarly. We post here of our experiences, not because we hang onto the past in an unhealthy way, but because it seems that many still don't know or understand. It sounds rather like you are one of those people.

Gimme the sermon I heard in church last Sunday, any time. I really think that many of these people at R&R started out with a desire to love God, but got sidetracked along the way, fell into the ego tramp, and now they're climbing the greasy pedestal. Mary likes to hang about and talk to people, especially newbies. Is that because it gives her the opportunity to show off her supposed knowledge? It'd be nice if one or some of them spoke about the six months or year or more that they had spent volunteering daily (or at least weekly) at a shelter for homeless people, or for battered wives, or helping drug addicts, prostitutes, child laborers, and such like. You know, the ones with no money and a hard attitude to life. The ones who call "do-gooder" hypocrisy for what it is. Some place these teachers get their hands dirty in the sh-t of life. Fab opportunities to see people really turn their lives around; it's a very slow process.

Why does it matter? We're grown up people; mostly, we can all count backwards. Unless it's Ham, and he goes all squirrelly. I will post something on Saturday. Leave you to guess what it is and why when you see it (won't be difficult).

Can I offer:

Oh, well, yes, but we are talking of different things. I'm saying, selection wasn't elite. You are saying, after graduation one became part of an elite. Both are true. And of course, there was the "elite elite" - the ones who had contacts/money/other stuff that They were interested in. The ones who were treated with kid gloves and never seemed to get into trouble. And these people were apparent, even in the in-rez training. Nicer jobs. Not in trouble. Were twig leaders. And often didn't have much empathy for everyone else there.

Elite Corps program? Nothing elite about it. You got the money together, you did a few precursor classes (unexamined, no grades) and as long as you weren't a complete jerk, you got in. My Corps went out one year and no team of all of us got a class together. We came back to a major inquisition about what went wrong and where we had spiritually missed it, and threats to kick us all out. Then a month or so later we were sent out again with strict instructions to get a class together. That might have had an "or else" attached; can't remember, too long ago. Anyway, we all achieved a class. I find myself wondering what happened to those who did take Lightbearers classes. We were all in towns where there were believers (we stayed with them!) but as to how many continued after the class... and whether they stuck around for a few months afterwards... or even years afterwards... Lightbearers was quite fun, though. A relief from the goldfish bowl existence of living at HQ where you could get reamed for the slightest infraction.

Grace, a real Christmas tree with real lights isn't ... exactly... a song ...that encapsulates Christmas. Anyway, the party hos put together a tape where all of us had chosen about three pieces of music (so choices from someone nearly 90, to someone who was only 4) - it was fun and it was interesting trying to guess who had chosen what.

What happened to

Very good for you, Volchic. It was far more important for you to spend time with your dad, than with your "fellowship" coordinator. I'm sure that helped you through the next 14 years of control freakishness.

The banned books section! Love it .

Some people clearly have too much time on their hands. I translated my Corps notes, not transcribed. Translated them straight into the woodburner.

One thing I saw in this that I haven't heard before - "gambling in Las Vegas" - and big betting implied. What's that all about?

Welcome, Chris. Hope you'll stick around.# There's a thread here under Connecting, specifically for finding friends. It's called Friend Tracker. You might want to post on that too. The name Heather Christian sounds slightly familiar. What Corps was she in? I might be thinking of a different Heather, though.

Hi Janet, and welcome to the Cafe. Thanks for your sponsorship to others unknown. God will respect your heart in providing for the needs of others. And if those people respect God (rather than TWI) he'll bless and teach them.

Bump.

5 weeks, and I don't care about accom costs. Staying with friends, when we're not in a tent or in the bush, maybe in a hut someplace.

Welcome, Volchic. Well escaped! Welcome to Real Life. Glad posts here have helped you. Maybe you won't suffer quite so much from the withdrawal problems that some here have had. Very hard when all your formative years have likely been very constricted. As WW says, we'd be interested in your more up to date perspectives, and info on what's (not) happening nowadays.

BREXIT!!!!!!! Political infighting! If it all gets too much, I shall slope off back to NZ! (Actually, am going there tomorrow)

Martindale was keen that we weren't "soldiers," because the battle was won when Christ rose from the dead, taking captivity captive. He was very keen that we are "athletes of the spirit" and claimed that much of the imagery was actually athletic in its terminology. However, it is difficult to reconcile Eph 6 with athletic necessaries. Helmets, belts, shields and swords are not standard athletic gear except in games that are really modified war-games (sword-play or fencing, for example). But then there's Heb 12 which exhorts us which clearly isn't a warlike expression, as soldiers shouldn't be running races or anywhere except perhaps charging towards the enemy. And 2 Tim 4 is a bit of both I would prefer to view athletic or war-like terminology and references more as appeals to different groups of people, to try to catch their interest in a place they already understand. To a marathon runner, you might explain the gospel in terms of preparation for a long and gruelling race; the Christian life isn't a one-off quick sprint. To a soldier, you'd explain in terms of preparedness for assault, and discuss battle tactics; we do face difficulties and opposition. To a parent, you'd explain in terms of tenderness for your children. To an agriculturalist, you talk in terms of seed growth. To an artist, you might explain the gospel in terms of light and perspective. You get the idea! I wouldn't get hung up on it, Allan. These are all just figures of speech designed to catch the eye and imagination. What is more important is the attitude of heart. Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, whether we are soldiers, sailors, runners, fishermen, farmers or whatever. 1 Cor 16 (and similar found elsewhere)

Hi Mamouda. Welcome to the café. Yep, you'll be shocked at some of the "behind the scenes" things you discover here. Be prepared to be horrified. Geer was an arrogant prig and what you say is no surprise. There's a thread about him in Way in Europe or some such forum. He "established" Gartmore, caused a rift among the trustees that ripped TWI in half, and lurked in Gartmore plotting more of the same. I think he is now back in Maine or some such. Gartmore was sold years ago. There are threads on that, here; enter "Gartmore" in the search box and you will find some relevant threads. Sexual abuse was rampant and you will find many first and second hand reports here. There were court cases about Martindale and that's what got him thrown out, but Wierwille was never brought to justice. You talk about your "country coordinator" - which country were/are you in? (PM me if you don't want to say publicly) Anyway, we are way off topic here! Have fun browsing.