Yeah samurai....wow was presented as a way to *go and grow with God*
Ten years spiritual growth in one....people were strong armed into it....being told that it would help them address all of their problems....people who had no business being put under that kind of stress away from family and support systems....but hey, since a leaders effectiveness was judged by numbers....there wasn`t anything most would do to get folks into the classes, out onto the wow field...into the corpes....it was how ones success was gauged.....
If you didn`t go wow....the love was withdrawn....most of us would do anything to be well thought of, to be lauded as an ambassoador with all of the pomp....
I STILL have nightmares after 20 years about going out wow.
Well ...all I can say is that it was too bad that the family of wows who were murdered by their family coordinator in Al in 78 or 9 should have simply *renewed their minds* a little better.....it CERTAINLY couldn`t have been the ministries fault for placing those unsuspecting people in harms way....
I never heard about it. Where in AL? I was a WOW in Huntsville 75-76.
Our year was one of those nightmare on Elm Street types. The FC was a wimp, as he let his wife basically control everything. You could be on your way to a job interview or even on the way to work & she just HAD to have a family meeting. Leave a crumb on a chair & you had committed a horrible sin & were not walking in fellowship. Day off you had to be back at a set time for your family meal & meeting. We even got into it with our BC, Ha! Ha! because he could not see anything wrong with what was going on. The other family had it just as bad. They had a girl who was apprentice WC and she had a mouth like a NY longshoreman. Sly as s**t too. WE would talk to her about thingas going on & it turned out she was calling everything back to our FC's wife & then we'd get the routine about not walking in love & heeding what she was :-( trying to show us. The only good thing was at the end of the year, our BC actually complimented us on staying with it in spite of what had happened. I wanted to laugh. I truly feel, that in spite of it all, we did grow & learn during that year.
First off...Goey, that was a little rude, don't you think? I mean, some of you act like you think Oldiesman is some kind of ogre or something. OK, everyone feel free to flame away now.
As far as things being tolerated or not when you did the wow thing, I am sure that things happened that WERE tolereated. But I know of one case where a person was sent home from his wow year for having premarital sex. He met a girl and witnessed to her. They started having an affair and when leadership found out about it, they gave him an ulitmatum. Break it off and quit seeing her, or get sent home. He was counselled that premarital sex was wrong according to the word, and he was given the choice. He chose to go home. It happened to someone I knew very well, but I will not give his name out of respect for his privacy.
Not rude, just the truth. Oldies has consistatly taken the stand that things didn't happen if he didn't experience them.
Is that flaming?
No, and thank you for that. :)
I guess I just don't see Oldies as being that shallow. I have seen (read) him say more than once that he doesn't doubt the bad things that happened to a lot of people...he just says that HE didn't see it. I could say the same thing, to be honest. I never saw any of the horrors that others here have. That doesn't mean that I don't belive they happened though. I have no doubt that the stories I've read are true, and I thank God that I DIDN'T have to see them first hand.
First off...Goey, that was a little rude, don't you think? I mean, some of you act like you think Oldiesman is some kind of ogre or something. OK, everyone feel free to flame away now.
No, I absolutely do not think it was rude at all. But thanks for asking.
Oldiesman has been demonstrating his lack of regard for experiences of others for several years now. If you participated in these kind of threads more often, maybe you wouldn't think what I said was so rude.
I guess I just don't see Oldies as being that shallow. I have seen (read) him say more than once that he doesn't doubt the bad things that happened to a lot of people...he just says that HE didn't see it.
And then the NEXT time the discussion comes up,
he's surprised all over again that anyone's claimed there were problems...
If he was on medication, this would be understandable, and compassion
on our part would be called-for. This would mean he was biologically UNABLE
to retain the information in his memory due to biochemical imbalance,
or biological deficiency.
Since this is not the case, I just take it at face value.
No point in making much of a fuss over it, hoping to fix it.
I could say the same thing, to be honest. I never saw any of the horrors that others here have. That doesn't mean that I don't belive they happened though. I have no doubt that the stories I've read are true, and I thank God that I DIDN'T have to see them first hand.
See, that's where you differ.
As new information came in, you changed your mind.
Most of the new posters do that within months of their arrivals.
The bus we were riding on (owned by wayfers from Nebraska) broke down in Iowa. Two of us spent 3 days living in a tent while the other two waiting for us to catch up.
One WOW sister had gotten pregnant before going out, and ended up having an abortion
The "Family Coordinator" was only 20 years old and thought he was God's gift to women. He got a woman pregnant halfway through the year and drove her to get an abortion.
We were sent to a little town of 5,000 that knew we were coming and was fortified against us.
At no time did we adhere to most of the program rules for more than a few days at a time.
Same family coordinator went long stretches without working and swindled the rest of us out of, not only money for him to live on, but other funds as well.
We were so destitute at one point that we borrowed money from our family coordinator's father. When we saved enough to pay him back, our FC told us he would mail the money to his dad, but kept it himself.
We were so pitifully unprepared for this program (myself included) that it's a wonder we all lived through it
What happened if Henry Baloko physically assaulted Maggie Muggins? Or Snowball Pete was doing coke? Or Suzi Q was banging the guys she was "witnessing" to at the bar? Or Johnny Jump Up Way Corps family Coordinator was making sexual advances to the women in the WOW group? Or was refusing to get a job?
That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Not mere personality conflicts.
Oak that's called life........People need to learn to deal with these type of problems in life. It can happen anywhere. These things should not have been tolorated by the WOW family. Send them packing and I know that many WOW families did and the leaders stood behind them.
It was not all bad and for the most part accomplished what God wanted. Many got BA & received the gift into manifestation.
Our WOW's did prank stuff like going into the city when they weren't supp'd to leave their town. But God is good always and covered their butts. I remember when they were in a big city witnessing like crazy and came across a man on some steps of a large building. He was singing away about Jesus. It was so funny because they walked up to him to witness and when he saw them he flew down the stairs and ran away.
They also got money in the mail with no names & had electric bills just cancelled without payment. It was an awesome time and also great for people in the area who supported and helped the WOW's. It became to legalistic later on when people weren't allowed to fellowship too much with them and help.
All in all I believe God had his hand of protection on them & most enjoyed the experience. The people I know even stayed another year to help establish the fellowships so they weren't that unhappy. What amazes me is how much negative stuff is posted here and the people with the great experiences don't seem to come to GS.
All in all I believe God had his hand of protection on them & most enjoyed the experience. The people I know even stayed another year to help establish the fellowships so they weren't that unhappy.
Bravo.
A gold star for each of them.
Twinkies for everyone!
I'd say a lot of wow's enjoyed the experience.
I'd also say a lot of wow's DIDN'T enjoy the experience.
See,
sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't.
When it worked it was great, when it didn't, it could be disastrous for the people.
Few posters here will disparage the great times some HERE have said they had.
HOWEVER,
the great times were far from universal.
What happened when they DIDN'T happen,
and why they only appeared PART of the time,
are grist for conversation, discussion, analysis, and outright denial here.
What amazes me is how much negative stuff is posted here and the people with the great experiences don't seem to come to GS.
Look closer.
Some of us have had GREAT experiences, and SAID SO.
HOWEVER,
some people's lives were also ruined.
They said so ALSO.
Those who had great blessings warmed themselves at a fire that they did not build,
and the fuel for the fire, too often, were the lives ruined by "leadership".
When viewing stories of the good and bad TOGETHER,
it looks more negative than an unrelenting list of good news.
Duh.
In twi, it was verboten to even begin discussing their failures, EVER.
Some messageboards FORBID discussion that may suggest that one side does not
have the be-all and end-all of wisdom and knowledge.
Those also may seem more cheerful than here.
Supressing much of the truth as they do,
they have all the personality of Howdy Doody or Topo Gigio.
Life is not a 50's sitcom. Twi is not a 50's sitcom, and never was.
What happened if Henry Baloko physically assaulted Maggie Muggins? Or Snowball Pete was doing coke? Or Suzi Q was banging the guys she was "witnessing" to at the bar? Or Johnny Jump Up Way Corps family Coordinator was making sexual advances to the women in the WOW group? Or was refusing to get a job?
That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Not mere personality conflicts.
Oak that's called life........People need to learn to deal with these type of problems in life. It can happen anywhere. These things should not have been tolorated by the WOW family. Send them packing and I know that many WOW families did and the leaders stood behind them.[/quote]
Yes but in non-TWIland real life - people who experience these things have some recourse to help them "deal with these types of problems in life." In real life, if your roommate refuses to get a job, you can through him out on his butt. In real life if someone is making unwanted sexual advances on you - you can tell them to stay away and never see them again. In real life if someone has physically assaulted you, you can call the police.
Those options were not available to many of the people on the wow field. The wow field did not teach the "victims" how to deal with it via real life consequences, but instead often made the "victim" feel like it was their own fault. Likewise, it did not teach ther "perps" real life consequences, but instead taught them that such behavior was acceptable.
I was a newbie in al ...so was`t privy to the hush hush stuff....the murders were never discussed....
George Aar had all of the details if I remember correctly.
Guess these guys just simply didn`t merrit God`s hand of protection ....
Nor did the wow who witnessed to me in al .....she died in a car accident during our pfal class.....
Lorna, It is funny that you say that *all in all God had his protection on them and most enjoyed their experience* .... because WE were told that satan killed the wow to stop the movement of the word.....where the hell was God and HER protection???
Sorry but beatings, rapes, death when suffered tend to be in the catagory of *negative stuff* .... it is a little difficult to put a *positive* spin on these occurances unless one choses to just pretend that it didn`t happen or that the suffering was unimportant.
Oh well, I suppose as long as one personally had a good time while in twi....the rest of this should simply be dismissed in the interest of keeping things a little more upbeat around here. <_<
Yes Morgan....you are correct, ALSO I know of several cases where criminal prosecution was HEAVILY discouraged.
The victims were told to keep quiet *lest the ministry be blamed*...that *biblically it MUST be handled in house*
If a victim sought recourse they were shunned....those that allowed the ministry to *handle it* would often find out years later that the offender had been moved to a different part of the country ...to prey on yet a new set of unsuspecting folks.
The more I learn about twi, I have found an underlying theme…
There was/is a conspiracy of silence. This silence was in the form of: “lest the ministry be blamed”, and the infamous “lock box” or you/they are too “spiritually immature”…
Many people (including myself) did not see or hear of many of the terrible things that had happened to some of the followers in twi.
For all the “good” that happened to some in twi, was it worth all the bad that happened to some in twi? IMO, I don’t think so.
First off...Goey, that was a little rude, don't you think? I mean, some of you act like you think Oldiesman is some kind of ogre or something. OK, everyone feel free to flame away now.
As far as things being tolerated or not when you did the wow thing, I am sure that things happened that WERE tolereated. But I know of one case where a person was sent home from his wow year for having premarital sex. He met a girl and witnessed to her. They started having an affair and when leadership found out about it, they gave him an ulitmatum. Break it off and quit seeing her, or get sent home. He was counselled that premarital sex was wrong according to the word, and he was given the choice. He chose to go home. It happened to someone I knew very well, but I will not give his name out of respect for his privacy.
Bluzeman thanks for your support.
The guy who was sent home was definitely treated unfairly compared to others.
I know premarital sex was tolerated, that's for sure. I had heard rumors that many folks in my WOW branch were "doing it" back in Amarillo TX in 1974-75. I mentioned this to the branch coordinator. She poo poo'd my allegations, and said later (in front of a few folks) that I "squealed on" half the branch. That statement corroborated those rumors. I learned later that she was one of them having premarital.
As I think back now, the person who was running the branch wasn't much of a leader. Sort of a fake "toughness", with little real substance.
Boy oh boy, the absence of clear and consistent correct doctrine on sexual activities caused so many problems, didn't it?
Oh I don`t think that it was just low level leaders def....When I got pregnant on the wow field....J & N Townsend, the state (region ?) soon to be on the bot assured me that there was no shame in what I had done.... (much to my shock) UNLESS I allowed it to prevent me from keeping my commitment on the wow field and entering into residence in the fall.
I was a right little hero for honoring my commitment to God by aborting the child. Undoubtedly he was pleased with his little doulos....
Hey LOOK at what I am willing to do for YOU God <_<
if i hadn't moved away i might have ended up like my brother who lived at home until he was in his 30's
i thought the life experience would be good for me
so i get sent to a new state with 2 homesick girls
and a guy who has trouble getting along with other folks
one month in, my wow brother is getting kicked off the field
leadership claims he's possessed by devil spirits
and needs to have deliverance
note here he did not do drugs, did not engage in any violent or homosexual acts which were the only circumstances (or so we were told in the wow training) under which someone would be asked to resign from their wow year (or kicked out if i may be so bold)
really the deal was nobody got along with the guy
now not wanting to get kicked off the wow field myself
i ended up spending the other 11 months
going along to get along
so many times i should have fought back, spoken up, or asked the hard questions i thought no forget it all that will happen is the same thing that happened to my wow brother
(the one time i tried to discuss some concerns with the leadership i had it cast right back in my teeth)
so i wasted the whole year compromising everything
and did i hate myself for it
they all said you get 10 years worth of growth
all my year did though is age me 10 years!!!
i think i got one hell of a lesson though in being a passive/agressive son-of-a bitch!!!
and all this because i was afraid of what some stupid girl would have thought of me had i been kicked off the wow year early
i stayed the whole year but good gravy
here's what i learned: if you vow a vow to God, make sure it's for the right reasons not to impress some girl or anything like that and if you find yourself in a situation where the commitment you made to one thing is turning into a commitment to something wrong, then get the fudge out of it. don't stick around or else you'll end up kicking yourself over all the wasted time later on. just like me!
So then physical assaults, drugs, and being a bum were tolerated on the WOW field?
YES.. YES, and YES.
I had a "good" year.. but a lot of others didn't.
ONLY reason that I had any measure of "success".. Ral*h D was the limb coordinator.. and he didn't put up with a lot of crap. There weren't very many, of his kind..
Glad you had Ralph D... he also struck me as a decent man who wouldn't put up with that stuff. Didn't know him personally, but somehow I was at his house once in Long Island for a final session of PFAL.
Another word about Ralph and WOW:
When he was the Trunk Coordinator, I wrote him and complained about what I thought was a mistaken twi policy, which was the routine of allowing folks to sign up for WOW at the rock. I thought it didn't give them enough time to contemplate their decision, enough time to prepare, or enough time to count the cost, etc.
Ralph wrote back to me and said we do that to allow folks to make a decision as God may work in their hearts; and that statistically speaking, percentage wise, less folks left the WOW field when they signed up at the Rock.
I know premarital sex was tolerated, that's for sure. I had heard rumors that many folks in my WOW branch were "doing it" back in Amarillo TX in 1974-75. I mentioned this to the branch coordinator. She poo poo'd my allegations, and said later (in front of a few folks) that I "squealed on" half the branch. That statement corroborated those rumors. I learned later that she was one of them having premarital.
As I think back now, the person who was running the branch wasn't much of a leader. Sort of a fake "toughness", with little real substance.
Boy oh boy, the absence of clear and consistent correct doctrine on sexual activities caused so many problems, didn't it?
Yes it did. My WOW sister couldn't keep her legs together. She "did" two of my three WOW brothers. It caused a lot of trouble in our family because of the emotions and the fact that it was dead WRONG!! One of the guys was the family coordinator who was in his interim year in the corps, the other was the assistant. They were both 10 years older than this girl. She came on the WOW field with those kinds of problems. She had a baby at 15 and had given it up for adoption after it was 5 years old....sad!!
Recommended Posts
Top Posters In This Topic
23
38
24
9
Popular Days
Nov 2
39
Nov 1
24
Nov 3
15
Oct 18
14
Top Posters In This Topic
rascal 23 posts
oldiesman 38 posts
WordWolf 24 posts
Oakspear 9 posts
Popular Days
Nov 2 2005
39 posts
Nov 1 2005
24 posts
Nov 3 2005
15 posts
Oct 18 2005
14 posts
rascal
Yeah samurai....wow was presented as a way to *go and grow with God*
Ten years spiritual growth in one....people were strong armed into it....being told that it would help them address all of their problems....people who had no business being put under that kind of stress away from family and support systems....but hey, since a leaders effectiveness was judged by numbers....there wasn`t anything most would do to get folks into the classes, out onto the wow field...into the corpes....it was how ones success was gauged.....
If you didn`t go wow....the love was withdrawn....most of us would do anything to be well thought of, to be lauded as an ambassoador with all of the pomp....
I STILL have nightmares after 20 years about going out wow.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
moony3424
I never heard about it. Where in AL? I was a WOW in Huntsville 75-76.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Goey
If it didn't happen to Oldies, then it didn't happen at all.
Just ask him.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
railroader
Our year was one of those nightmare on Elm Street types. The FC was a wimp, as he let his wife basically control everything. You could be on your way to a job interview or even on the way to work & she just HAD to have a family meeting. Leave a crumb on a chair & you had committed a horrible sin & were not walking in fellowship. Day off you had to be back at a set time for your family meal & meeting. We even got into it with our BC, Ha! Ha! because he could not see anything wrong with what was going on. The other family had it just as bad. They had a girl who was apprentice WC and she had a mouth like a NY longshoreman. Sly as s**t too. WE would talk to her about thingas going on & it turned out she was calling everything back to our FC's wife & then we'd get the routine about not walking in love & heeding what she was :-( trying to show us. The only good thing was at the end of the year, our BC actually complimented us on staying with it in spite of what had happened. I wanted to laugh. I truly feel, that in spite of it all, we did grow & learn during that year.
Edited by railroaderLink to comment
Share on other sites
Bluzeman
First off...Goey, that was a little rude, don't you think? I mean, some of you act like you think Oldiesman is some kind of ogre or something. OK, everyone feel free to flame away now.
As far as things being tolerated or not when you did the wow thing, I am sure that things happened that WERE tolereated. But I know of one case where a person was sent home from his wow year for having premarital sex. He met a girl and witnessed to her. They started having an affair and when leadership found out about it, they gave him an ulitmatum. Break it off and quit seeing her, or get sent home. He was counselled that premarital sex was wrong according to the word, and he was given the choice. He chose to go home. It happened to someone I knew very well, but I will not give his name out of respect for his privacy.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Oakspear
Is that flaming?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bluzeman
No, and thank you for that. :)
I guess I just don't see Oldies as being that shallow. I have seen (read) him say more than once that he doesn't doubt the bad things that happened to a lot of people...he just says that HE didn't see it. I could say the same thing, to be honest. I never saw any of the horrors that others here have. That doesn't mean that I don't belive they happened though. I have no doubt that the stories I've read are true, and I thank God that I DIDN'T have to see them first hand.
Oh well, just my thoughts on the matter.
Peace!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Goey
No, I absolutely do not think it was rude at all. But thanks for asking.
Oldiesman has been demonstrating his lack of regard for experiences of others for several years now. If you participated in these kind of threads more often, maybe you wouldn't think what I said was so rude.
Just calling it how I see it.
Edited by GoeyLink to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
yeah! what Belle said!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
WordWolf
And then the NEXT time the discussion comes up,
he's surprised all over again that anyone's claimed there were problems...
If he was on medication, this would be understandable, and compassion
on our part would be called-for. This would mean he was biologically UNABLE
to retain the information in his memory due to biochemical imbalance,
or biological deficiency.
Since this is not the case, I just take it at face value.
No point in making much of a fuss over it, hoping to fix it.
See, that's where you differ.
As new information came in, you changed your mind.
Most of the new posters do that within months of their arrivals.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Oakspear
Our WOW year started off with a bang:
The bus we were riding on (owned by wayfers from Nebraska) broke down in Iowa. Two of us spent 3 days living in a tent while the other two waiting for us to catch up.
One WOW sister had gotten pregnant before going out, and ended up having an abortion
The "Family Coordinator" was only 20 years old and thought he was God's gift to women. He got a woman pregnant halfway through the year and drove her to get an abortion.
We were sent to a little town of 5,000 that knew we were coming and was fortified against us.
At no time did we adhere to most of the program rules for more than a few days at a time.
Same family coordinator went long stretches without working and swindled the rest of us out of, not only money for him to live on, but other funds as well.
We were so destitute at one point that we borrowed money from our family coordinator's father. When we saved enough to pay him back, our FC told us he would mail the money to his dad, but kept it himself.
We were so pitifully unprepared for this program (myself included) that it's a wonder we all lived through it
Somebody was stealing one WOW sister's underwear.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
WordWolf
The last time we discussed it was here...
http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.ph...wtopic=7353&hl=
Link to comment
Share on other sites
LornaDoone
Oak that's called life........People need to learn to deal with these type of problems in life. It can happen anywhere. These things should not have been tolorated by the WOW family. Send them packing and I know that many WOW families did and the leaders stood behind them.
It was not all bad and for the most part accomplished what God wanted. Many got BA & received the gift into manifestation.
Our WOW's did prank stuff like going into the city when they weren't supp'd to leave their town. But God is good always and covered their butts. I remember when they were in a big city witnessing like crazy and came across a man on some steps of a large building. He was singing away about Jesus. It was so funny because they walked up to him to witness and when he saw them he flew down the stairs and ran away.
They also got money in the mail with no names & had electric bills just cancelled without payment. It was an awesome time and also great for people in the area who supported and helped the WOW's. It became to legalistic later on when people weren't allowed to fellowship too much with them and help.
All in all I believe God had his hand of protection on them & most enjoyed the experience. The people I know even stayed another year to help establish the fellowships so they weren't that unhappy. What amazes me is how much negative stuff is posted here and the people with the great experiences don't seem to come to GS.
Oh well.......... :o
Link to comment
Share on other sites
WordWolf
Bravo.
A gold star for each of them.
Twinkies for everyone!
I'd say a lot of wow's enjoyed the experience.
I'd also say a lot of wow's DIDN'T enjoy the experience.
See,
sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't.
When it worked it was great, when it didn't, it could be disastrous for the people.
Few posters here will disparage the great times some HERE have said they had.
HOWEVER,
the great times were far from universal.
What happened when they DIDN'T happen,
and why they only appeared PART of the time,
are grist for conversation, discussion, analysis, and outright denial here.
Look closer.
Some of us have had GREAT experiences, and SAID SO.
HOWEVER,
some people's lives were also ruined.
They said so ALSO.
Those who had great blessings warmed themselves at a fire that they did not build,
and the fuel for the fire, too often, were the lives ruined by "leadership".
When viewing stories of the good and bad TOGETHER,
it looks more negative than an unrelenting list of good news.
Duh.
In twi, it was verboten to even begin discussing their failures, EVER.
Some messageboards FORBID discussion that may suggest that one side does not
have the be-all and end-all of wisdom and knowledge.
Those also may seem more cheerful than here.
Supressing much of the truth as they do,
they have all the personality of Howdy Doody or Topo Gigio.
Life is not a 50's sitcom. Twi is not a 50's sitcom, and never was.
(Not from lack of trying...)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Morgan
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rascal
I was a newbie in al ...so was`t privy to the hush hush stuff....the murders were never discussed....
George Aar had all of the details if I remember correctly.
Guess these guys just simply didn`t merrit God`s hand of protection ....
Nor did the wow who witnessed to me in al .....she died in a car accident during our pfal class.....
Lorna, It is funny that you say that *all in all God had his protection on them and most enjoyed their experience* .... because WE were told that satan killed the wow to stop the movement of the word.....where the hell was God and HER protection???
Sorry but beatings, rapes, death when suffered tend to be in the catagory of *negative stuff* .... it is a little difficult to put a *positive* spin on these occurances unless one choses to just pretend that it didn`t happen or that the suffering was unimportant.
Oh well, I suppose as long as one personally had a good time while in twi....the rest of this should simply be dismissed in the interest of keeping things a little more upbeat around here. <_<
Yes Morgan....you are correct, ALSO I know of several cases where criminal prosecution was HEAVILY discouraged.
The victims were told to keep quiet *lest the ministry be blamed*...that *biblically it MUST be handled in house*
If a victim sought recourse they were shunned....those that allowed the ministry to *handle it* would often find out years later that the offender had been moved to a different part of the country ...to prey on yet a new set of unsuspecting folks.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Zshot
The more I learn about twi, I have found an underlying theme…
There was/is a conspiracy of silence. This silence was in the form of: “lest the ministry be blamed”, and the infamous “lock box” or you/they are too “spiritually immature”…
Many people (including myself) did not see or hear of many of the terrible things that had happened to some of the followers in twi.
For all the “good” that happened to some in twi, was it worth all the bad that happened to some in twi? IMO, I don’t think so.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldiesman
Bluzeman thanks for your support.
The guy who was sent home was definitely treated unfairly compared to others.
I know premarital sex was tolerated, that's for sure. I had heard rumors that many folks in my WOW branch were "doing it" back in Amarillo TX in 1974-75. I mentioned this to the branch coordinator. She poo poo'd my allegations, and said later (in front of a few folks) that I "squealed on" half the branch. That statement corroborated those rumors. I learned later that she was one of them having premarital.
As I think back now, the person who was running the branch wasn't much of a leader. Sort of a fake "toughness", with little real substance.
Boy oh boy, the absence of clear and consistent correct doctrine on sexual activities caused so many problems, didn't it?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
def59
Oh that I had a limb leader who saw it that way.
I was counseled to have sex with a prostitute to confirm my manhood.
But I found only a couple of leaders who ever thought sex outside marriage was a good thing.
Most who approved it were low level wannabees or twig leaders.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rascal
Oh I don`t think that it was just low level leaders def....When I got pregnant on the wow field....J & N Townsend, the state (region ?) soon to be on the bot assured me that there was no shame in what I had done.... (much to my shock) UNLESS I allowed it to prevent me from keeping my commitment on the wow field and entering into residence in the fall.
I was a right little hero for honoring my commitment to God by aborting the child. Undoubtedly he was pleased with his little doulos....
Hey LOOK at what I am willing to do for YOU God <_<
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ljn698
going wow
it was my ticket out of the house
if i hadn't moved away i might have ended up like my brother who lived at home until he was in his 30's
i thought the life experience would be good for me
so i get sent to a new state with 2 homesick girls
and a guy who has trouble getting along with other folks
one month in, my wow brother is getting kicked off the field
leadership claims he's possessed by devil spirits
and needs to have deliverance
note here he did not do drugs, did not engage in any violent or homosexual acts which were the only circumstances (or so we were told in the wow training) under which someone would be asked to resign from their wow year (or kicked out if i may be so bold)
really the deal was nobody got along with the guy
now not wanting to get kicked off the wow field myself
i ended up spending the other 11 months
going along to get along
so many times i should have fought back, spoken up, or asked the hard questions i thought no forget it all that will happen is the same thing that happened to my wow brother
(the one time i tried to discuss some concerns with the leadership i had it cast right back in my teeth)
so i wasted the whole year compromising everything
and did i hate myself for it
they all said you get 10 years worth of growth
all my year did though is age me 10 years!!!
i think i got one hell of a lesson though in being a passive/agressive son-of-a bitch!!!
and all this because i was afraid of what some stupid girl would have thought of me had i been kicked off the wow year early
i stayed the whole year but good gravy
here's what i learned: if you vow a vow to God, make sure it's for the right reasons not to impress some girl or anything like that and if you find yourself in a situation where the commitment you made to one thing is turning into a commitment to something wrong, then get the fudge out of it. don't stick around or else you'll end up kicking yourself over all the wasted time later on. just like me!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ham
YES.. YES, and YES.
I had a "good" year.. but a lot of others didn't.
ONLY reason that I had any measure of "success".. Ral*h D was the limb coordinator.. and he didn't put up with a lot of crap. There weren't very many, of his kind..
Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldiesman
Glad you had Ralph D... he also struck me as a decent man who wouldn't put up with that stuff. Didn't know him personally, but somehow I was at his house once in Long Island for a final session of PFAL.
Another word about Ralph and WOW:
When he was the Trunk Coordinator, I wrote him and complained about what I thought was a mistaken twi policy, which was the routine of allowing folks to sign up for WOW at the rock. I thought it didn't give them enough time to contemplate their decision, enough time to prepare, or enough time to count the cost, etc.
Ralph wrote back to me and said we do that to allow folks to make a decision as God may work in their hearts; and that statistically speaking, percentage wise, less folks left the WOW field when they signed up at the Rock.
That surprised me...
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nottawayfer
Yes it did. My WOW sister couldn't keep her legs together. She "did" two of my three WOW brothers. It caused a lot of trouble in our family because of the emotions and the fact that it was dead WRONG!! One of the guys was the family coordinator who was in his interim year in the corps, the other was the assistant. They were both 10 years older than this girl. She came on the WOW field with those kinds of problems. She had a baby at 15 and had given it up for adoption after it was 5 years old....sad!!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.