ToadFriend

Just a bit east of Raleigh is the inauspicious town of Lizard Lick, NC ...and also not too far away is Spivey's Corner ... its claim to fame is a yearly hollerin' contest ... I have even seen footage of it on news shows on TV ... if you're interested, you may want to Google "Spivey's Corner, NC" and "Hollerin' Contest" and it should give you the dates.... If a little more culture is what you're into ... drive about 29 miles on NC 54 to Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina, my alma mater. It's beautiful, particularly in the spring when all the trees are in bloom. There is an old NC State/Carolina joke that went something like this: Question: Do you know what the difference is between CULTURE and AGRICULTURE? Answer: 29 miles on Highway 54 (the distance between Chapel Hill and Raleigh, home of NC State, a land grant college known for its agricultural degrees, as well as many OTHER kinds of degrees ... but because of the State/Carolina rivalry, faithful Tarheel fans refer to State as a "cow college.")

This post is the end of ToadFriend's exchanges on GreaseSpot ... about any subject. Farewell to all the decent folks here. Thanks, Pawtucket.

JKBoehme .. Odd, I don't recall that "many of the in-residence Corps" hassled me ... no more than they hassled anyone else ... I'd be interested just to know where you get your info ... I think someone is passing on less than accurate information to you in LOTS of categories. TF

Wayfer Not said: I pray that God reaches in and heals the hurts as only He can. But don't let anyone let you think that the time it takes to heal your heart is too slow. That's between you and Him ONLY. That is certainly true. The important thing to remember is that all the while you are healing, God is still loving you and taking care of you every step along the way.

TO JKBoehme: I do not wish to discuss this online ... except to say that my Corps brothers and sisters (to my knowledge ... you can ask Radar or Al Poole or waterbuffalo if they did) did not call me Toad ... my screen name came from the fact that I have a GOOD FRIEND who has nothing to do with GreaseSpot that has the affectionate nickname "Toad" based on the lovable Mr. Toad from Wind in the Willows and his somewhat erratic driving, which was the case with my friend when we were teenagers .... [personal information removed by the moderator] I humbly request of Pawtucket that he remove my post and yours ... and I will keep further comments to myself. I don't really care enough about the lawsuit/RP/TWI to be a "conflict of interest." I should just be quiet and let God keep the score.

I beg to differ ... but I think there will surely be a monetary settlement by the Peelers. [personal information removed by the moderator] In my opinion, neither the Peelers nor TWI deserve to win. I realize this is not a popular sentiment, but I stand by it. TF

I had not been back long from my disastrous session at LEAD (which had followed four months of he** at Camp Gunnison with TJ) and was at The Way College of Emporia, set to graduate in about 6 weeks from the 13th Corps. We got a call in the middle of the night, a "Red Alert" (which meant only one thing ... we were to report to the Ambassador Room in the top floor of the Campus Center.) Pat Lynn was in charge, since JAL was at HQ. She had been warned several days before that that VPW's death was most likely imminent. She had had the AV guy put together a tape of comforting and uplifting songs, etc. in memory of Dr. Wierwille. It was the most loving and compassionate thing I ever heard of her doing. Except for Food Services, all other work stopped at Emporia for three days. When those days were over, John came back to Emporia ... not long after I went LOA from the 13th Corps and then decided not to go back when I heard that TJ was going to be at Emporia, too. Because of Dr. Wierwille's death and my impending leaving (I knew from my lousy LEAD appraisal that I would be leaving as soon as JAL came back/I was already mostly packed and ended up leaving the very same day I talked with him, though I could have stayed overnight or a day or two), I was mostly in a fog for the days of mourning VPW ... my clearest memory is of sitting by the pond at Emporia pondering the events of those days. It was a difficult time. TF

There is NO WAY I would go back ... that would be like the children of Israel going back into the captivity of Egypt after feeling the freedom of the Promised Land or like former African slaves going back to living in shacks on the plantation.... God has something better in store for his kids ... the roots of The Way Int'l are corrupt because they are NOT founded on God's Word. For those of you still in, you need to get out. Freedom is waiting ... your LIFE as God wants you to live it is waiting. There is biblical freedom as well as emotional, mental, and for some, even physical, freedom outside TWI. TF

We don't wrestle against flesh and blood ... John A. Lynn is flesh and blood. People just have a hard time forgiving those who really, really hurt them ... speaking from experience, my most "hard to forgive" TWIt is Tom Jenkinson, as I have made abundantly clear on other threads ... I am not plagued in dreams and thoughts of his mistreatment of me any more, but that took many years. It was a great deliverance when I COULD go to sleep, knowing that I would not dream that I was trapped at Gunnison again. I know there were others, at least one of whom is still in TWI, that had the same horrible nightmares. What it took for me was realizing how much damage and hurt the NOT forgiving was doing to me, and just realizing that life has its arsewholes. Sadly, lots of those folks became inflated with their own self-importance and harmed a lot of people in the name of God. They will certainly have to answer for that. Don't really know what point I'm making ... just rambling and thinking, I guess. It's important no matter who in TWI "screwed you" (whether literally or only with words and hurtful things) that you don't let it or their memory eat you alive on the inside. We're all too precious to God and to the people who love us on this earth to let that person continue to have power over us. It doesn't excuse them or their actions ... they'll answer to God for that ... but forgiving does give YOU the power to move on to a freer life. TF

To HCW: Well put, my friend .. well put. Refusing to forgive someone does not hurt them ... it hurts the one who refuses to forgive. God most likely had other reasons for telling us to forgive than just that it was the right thing to do ... He knew what not forgiving would do to us. It eats us up on the inside. This may make some folks here mad to hear ... but it is true. The person who most benefits from your forgiving them will most likely be YOU. TF

The last night I ever attended a TWI function was January 10, 1996, and the last conversation I had with the Twig Coordinator's wife (formerly a close friend) was along the lines of: "So you're saying that anything I say to you any more you are going to 'report back" to J*m D*rr (major arse)..." Then she said yes, explaining that I was "suspect" (after ONLY 23.5 years in TWI, mind you) because the husband of the former Twig Area coordinators that had been Marked and Avoided had witnessed to me ... That's when I KNEW it was time to go .... such a betrayal of Godly friendships and confidences ... it was just a witch hunt among the believers ... and that was just the beginning, from what I've heard here. TF

One major difference that can be drawn between David of Old Testament times and more modern (ahem) believers who had the same sin as David is that, once confronted by Nathan, David repented of his sin. Even then, God's retribution/divine justice was that David's son died as a result of David's sin. Sometimes the "accused" like to leave out some of the details of the Old Testament record, don't they?

That song, Freedom Soil, had always been a favorite of mine, but I was thinking in particular of the time it was perhaps most meaningful to me during my Way days. It was a Saturday during my interim year in the 13th Corps, on Staff at HQ. It had snowed rather heavily the day before, but we were scheduled for the historical tour on the Way's tour bus, and though we started out an hour later, we still went ... as we went to Van Wert and all the surrounding areas, parked outside the little church where Dr. Wierwille had been researching the Bible for 12 years in Van Wert and listened to a sermon of his from that time, driving through the Ohio countryside covered in snow with few vehicles out, I could just imagine myself traveling back through time (like with Mr. Peabody in the Wayback Machine for all you Bullwinkle fans) ... our tour was ending as we drove back down State Route 29 with that song going, "...and I intend on building up what others seek to spoil ... but God still bares His mighty hand when men to Him are loyal." I felt a great commitment to God that day, and to the Way Ministry ... which in my thinking were inseparable at the time. It's a very powerful song ... Fast forward to the year 1996 ... I left The Way after 23.5 years on January 11, 1996. It took a while of healing before I got to the place where I STILL think I am "building up what others seek to spoil" and understanding that God is so much bigger than The Way Ministry ... I am thankful for the things I learned in the Way and most of all, thankful for God working however He had to work to bring me to the joys I have today. We do have a lot to be thankful for in this country ... and God STILL bares His mighty arm when men to him are loyal.

Do I think a lesbian is running TWI? Yes, I do.

Another food story from Emporia ... we had stewed dried fruit one morning my first year in-residence in the 13th Corps (11th's final year) and one of my twig buddies had been asked to sit at the head table ... he told me later that JAL (who didn't usually eat breakfast with us, but had come up from his apt. to yell at us about something probably) made sure the microphone was turned off, then turned to Bob Gassman (the head chef) and said, "Don't ever serve this &$*# again!" We never had it again ... TF