bek

Liv, I replied to your email, just wanted to make sure you saw it. Thanks!! Rebeccah

It was just sad. My previous supervisors had always recognized that the work was hard and not fun, and being able to have light, fun conversation while working so hard took out a lot of the drudgery. Not the last one, I think banned smiling at one point. I also hope she found a life and some perspective, and realizes that teenage girls laughing while working isn't a sign of Satan's corruption!!

Once again I am reminded how lucky I am never to be wc. Fortunately, in my case they were happy to have me be happy to scrub toilets, until my last supervisor sucked all the joy out of scrubbing toilets.

I can't say anything about the Gunnison stairways, but at the OSC they may not have looked dirty, but they were!!!!

I knew him at what I am pretty sure was the end of his residency, and he had the biggest heart and smile. So I don't think there is any reason to fear him becoming a corps nazi. I never got along to well with that type anyway. I know this may sound strange to a lot of you, but I grew up in a way that was about love and understanding and acceptance of people from many backgrounds. So, I pretty much rejected anything that contradicted what I thought God was about, by the end that was pretty much the entire twi.

Just my two cents (if it's even worth that), Depending on his level of success, he may feel the need to try to separate the "star ....ers" from the honest women just looking for a real relationship. He might be trying to find the balance between being completely honest and not making himself a target. Or, he could be one of the many compulsive liars (or worse) that abound on the internet. I would keep an open mind, but be on the look out for inconsistencies or warning signs. I would also let him know that his story sounds suspicious, but you are willing (if you are willing) to continue to explore the relationship. That being said, I also recommend Google's image search. It is very handy!!

This was before I was born, possibly before my parents met, but the early Emporia staff was unpaid. They were provided room and board, and if they had a need they submitted a form stating what they needed to purchase and how much it would cost. If it was determined that it was an actual need, they would be given the cash to go make the purchase. It is very late, and I am really tempted to make some very snarky comments, but I think I will just stick with this "revelation" that my mother and I had discussing the situation. It was obviously all a matter of believing, if you truly believed then you wouldn't need to buy soap, because either the soap you came with would miraculously last no matter how many showers you took, or if you were really in line you wouldn't need to shower at all! night all

Since I haven't been here long enough to make an informed decision about anyone I'm not sure I knew in the "real world" or the "unreal world of the way" I am pretty much taking people at face value, with a realization that people lie and sometimes for really stupid reasons. I will try to use the same criteria I've used on other virtual locations 1. avoid troll-bait topics 2. verifiy what can be verified 3. look for consistency in behavior and opinions No matter how careful you are, it's still the internet: Everyone could be lying and anyone can be impersonated. Also, if you are too quick to judge you could miss out getting to know some incredible people who could have very good reasons for not wanting to reveal too much. So, that's mho, but like most things in life, people have to come to their own truth in their own way.

Maybe that was more common than I thought, I was discussing this with my mom today, and she mentioned that she would do this also. She also shared her early Emporia experiences where they would have to put in a request to get money to buy a bar of soap, if it was deemed that they really needed it. And Sunny's class on how you should never need to use more than four squares of toilet paper. She would have been very upset at all God's toilet paper that was wasted by those points!

maybe

The pointed toilet paper was the finishing touch on cleaning the restroom. It showed the attention to detail that went into the cleaning and also was a visual sign of how often the restrooms were scrubbed. Because people weren't repointing the paper after they used it. So, while I understand why people may not "get the pointed toilet paper" you can take my word that it was a visual token of our love for our fellow believer's and the place where we believed God's true word was be being taught.

Thanks!! I've wondered about him often. He always made me smile.

Anyone have any information? He was from Gabon, at headquarters in the early 90s, i don't remember which corps he was. He had such a great heart and a wonderful french accent! thanks!!

A lot of times, I'll work "I was raised in a born again christian cult" into a conversation. It has great shock value without the immediate devil-worshipping conotations.

And all those points were perfect! I spent many hours folding toilet paper. I am actually very proud of the work I did on Housekeeping staff. And those toilets were all scrubbed with "God's Love" One thing I was never sure of was when I was told that leaving the toilet seat up after cleaning it was "smily and inviting" Seriously though, Housekeeping had it's .... together. I started in Founder's Hall and there was a process that was the height of efficiency, it had to be as that building was scrubbed top to bottom every day. Another thing that was really great was that as I was being taught how things were done, I was taught the reason behind doing it a certain way. Such as, which outlet in each conference room would allow me vaccuum the entire room without having to replug in the vaccuum. btw, I still point the paper of every new roll

Thanks likeaneagle! Having spent a lot of time this weekend reading posts, and recognizing people that I knew, I do feel very comfortable here. I know I didn't put it in my first post, but I do have a lot of great memories growing up at HQ, especially the many incredible people that twi brought into my life. That's why I am here, to reconnect and share with people who shared what was a big part of my life. So thank you for welcoming me with such open arms!! hugs

If you are still around, I just wanted to say how sorry I am that I didn't reach out to help you after you were m/a'd. I was still in NK, but just so out of the loop, it never occured to me that you were going through a very hard time. I am so happy you have found your own way, and have always had nothing but love for you!! Bek

I know I am a little late to this, having been out and away from HQ for over ten years, but there are still a lot of people that I think of often and would love to reach out to. So, here is my story... I wasn't just born into the way, my parents met through the way, they were married behind a tent at ROA '76 and I was born the following June. My parents were long time staff members, but never way corps. Since they were on staff in Indiana while my first sister and I were babies, we have both have had the experience of, in our teen years, meeting boys who we had bathed with as babies. (There are always pictures to back this up! Why it was decided that babies should be photographed bathing together confuses me a bit, but you know, we were family!) My parents spent a few years "in the field" before being called in to headquarters to build the auditorium. That was the first thing of two things that I am angry and bitter about regarding twi. I was a very happy five year old living in Florida, having no idea about snow or bigotry. But HQ called so my parents packed up their three small children and moved them to Ohio in the middle of winter with no winter clothing. My family always lived off-campus first in St. Marys then in New Knoxville. The St. Marys school kids were awful. They were vicious, we were called names and had to answer the rumours of orgies and mass-abortions. There were no other way kids in our school at that time, so while we attended sunday services they afford the time to form real friendships with the other "staff brats." I basically didn't make any friends until jr high/high school when I fell in with some New Bremen staff kids. At that time I also made some friends at school who were non-way. My father had been transferred out of "Way Builders" into an office job that he hated, so he eventually quit, which meant my mother could no longer receive a paycheck from twi (a wife's paycheck was an extension of her husband's). So my mother found a new job which wasn't easy since she had left college to work at Emporia and her entire resume was work for the way and having and raising four children. My parents divorced after that (based on my father's decisions not way stuff) and my mother decided it would be best if he had no contact with us until he got his life together. My father decided it was easiest not to have contact with twi since we were still very involved. And he was effectively out. We moved to New Knoxville to a smaller house to save money. The New Knoxville staff kids had their own little clique, which I didn't really fit into. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing mean. I would get rides to HQs after school for my job (Multi-Services & Housekeeping, woohoo!!) and they were nothing but nice to me, I just never felt close or connected to them. My sister, C, on the other hand fit like a glove. While I made friends outside twi, she only had friends who were believers. Then the purging started, my mother quit the choir because she couldn't support the hatred that was spewing out of lcm's pulpit. She received a letter informing her that if she stepped foot on twi property she would be arrested for trespassing. This is the second source of anger and bitterness. None of us kids were included in her ousting. We were actively encouraged to continue attending fellowships and services. There was no way in hell I was going to associate with people who would treat my mother like that after the years of sacrifice and service she gave them, so I was done. However my sister couldn't imagine not being part of the twi, and continued going to fellowships and services. When I chose my mother over twi, my friends stopped talking to me. However, I was never M/A'd so people were able to send my mother messages of love and support through me even though they couldn't risk being seen in the same aisle of the supermarket as my mother. Yes, people really did that. People my mother had been "friends" with for 15+ years would see her in the supermarket and turn and leave the aisle to avoid becoming marked by association. I finished my senior year graduated from high school and came to NY. Eventually my mother got remarried and moved out of Ohio with her husband and my two youngest siblings. My sister, C, was really deep in "way brain" until she was in college for awhile and realized there is life and friendship (and truer friendship) outside twi. Even though I never really "bought in" to the whole indoctrination, there was an effect. I remember when we first moved to New Knoxville, it was such a small quiet town that I would be home by myself in the afternoon and hours would go by without seeing a person or car pass by my house and I would get freaked out, thinking the resurrection had happened and I'd missed out because I couldn't really believe all the way spiel. With every person I couldn't reach on the phone, I would become more convinced and panicked. It seems crazy now, but it was a very real concern for me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't accept everything they were feeding me. When the purging started I had a great relief that there wasn't this great truth right under my nose that I just wasn't seeing. So I am much more comfortable taking my chances on just being a good person, on my own terms. So, that's my story. If you recognize me and my family feel free to send an email or private message. We are so happy that so many of our loved ones have managed to break free and move on. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Bek