I seemed to get caught in the rain and ruin my belongings many years when it rained. Especially that one year when it rained like a monsoon. I hated being wet and cold in a tent with no way to warm up. When my folks were on staff and owned a house in New Knoxville I could finally avoid that soggy feeling and just stayed with them the entire time.
.........at the last ROA I attended in 1986, I was just sharing a memory with my husband of volunterring to work in a drink stand. Hot thirsty, covered in sticky drink stuff, sweating like pig while Corps drove up in those little golf carts and got drinks, our supervisor sitting there in front of a fan with their feet up on a table, I asked if I could have a drink and I was told I had to ask and was suggested that I didn't ask as the last person who asked got yelled at.
FullCircle........yeah, lots of us didn't see "fun and sunshine" at roa.
Nor did LOTS of corps.....who showed up to work during corps week AND then helped put on roa working double shifts and mandatory meetings.
The hot, muggy shower tents. And the food poisioning I got one time.
Other than that, I loved every minute of it! But I was young and single and free to enjoy it. Can't even imagine doing the ROA with small children.
And I was never tent city. Always had an RV or a chalet. If tenting had been my only option, I would have stayed at home. My idea of camping is the Holiday Inn.
"Who was believing for all that rain, was it VPW or Craig M. or some other top leader?"
One year Craig yelled at us all (corps mainly) and blamed us for the weather. He said we weren't believing. That was the year there were monsoon like winds and my tent blew over with me in it. I had to run to the corps tents and take up residence there for the remainder of the event. I always hated corps tents because everyone was so disrespectful to those trying to sleep. And as much as we had to work we needed our sleep.
My oxford bible bit the dust that year. I still have it but it was moldy and nasty I kept it to transfer the notes but never finished the task.
I remember one ROA, maybe it was 1980 one of my friends brought his father's old army tent. It was spacious, not like one year I woke up and someone outside had tripped over a wire on my pup tent and I found it collasped on me. I was so tired, I slept like that till morning. Anyway, this hellacious storm came up and the army tent had this large pole that just sat on the ground and I had to hold onto it to keep it from going over and the whole tent collasping. It was a fight in those winds. I kept yelling for help and I could only hear others yelling for help as they were trying to save their tents as well.
Skyrider, my heart went out every year as I watched those guys ride the honeywagon around the upscale RV section of the ROA. The guy in front of the fan with his feet up should have had his chance to do the honeywagon.
Too bad they never sold Coke/Pepsi or the diet form of it. I would pay people who were going into town to bring me back some, hehe.
I remember the 1980 ROA. I didn't get there until Wed by which time the rain stopped ha ha. I always appreciated that the rest areas on hwy 75 had people there all night with coffee when folks were traveling. I remember one year as I was driving into the parking lot there was a state police car across Wierwille Rd from the entrance and the cop was astounded; I could see it in his face that he couldn't believe how orderly and uncomplicated people were being processed, and those flat bed tractor things that got you from the parking lot to tent city, wow.
One year I was in tent city and one morning I woke up to that Spyro Gyra tape 'Morning Dance' playing in a tent a few yards away. I was so blessed: no mandated SIT, believer's meeting study the word do a lift list etc. That atmosphere was what I loved about ROAs. In '83 a friend arrived mid week so we had a group of about 8 of us sitting outside a tent at 1AM singing every song we knew with couple guitars and finally bless patrol very politely asked us to stop so people could sleep but nobody complained.
Loved those bands in the west woods, loved going to the house of his healing presence, loved wow burgers, chicken, etc. Maybe I was in a different cult than the rest of you.
Naw, John, I just think some folks left their rose-colored glasses at home.
I never went to one. They were canceled shortly after I got involved. From what I heard about them even back then, I was really glad that I would never have to come up with excuses NOT to go. Never anything I cared to be a part of.
For years there seemed that there was only one job I was spiritaaall enough for. - Cleaning toilets. I was told what a privilage it was for me to be able to serve the body of Christ in this way. Thats right, keeping thier beautiful bottoms clean while they shat. All that Corps training and I could finally take care of the believers.... By being sure the paper was there for them to clean off thier deirieres. I was demoted once to trash pick up, however the head ofthat crew told me it was one of the truly most impotent jobs in all of the ROA. Boy, did everyone think highly of themselves. The way it was all explained to me was that next to teaching on the main stage these two jobs were the most important in all of way land. If this was so how come lcm never stopped by our staph meeting to hang with us or hows come we were never invited to the "presidents Patio" for crumpets and tea with Mrs. Wierwille?
Naw, John, I just think some folks left their rose-colored glasses at home.
I never went to one. They were canceled shortly after I got involved. From what I heard about them even back then, I was really glad that I would never have to come up with excuses NOT to go. Never anything I cared to be a part of.
Awwww... now Belle... you probably would've been holed up in one of the local motels... remember, this thread is about what folks liked LEAST... and there was a lot to get bugged about...
but the biggest reason for going, the reason that always made it all worthwhile... was seeing all of your friends that you hadn't seen in a year (or at least a while)...
"I kept yelling for help and I could only hear others yelling for help as they were trying to save their tents as well."
Sorry, had to laugh at that one! Not funny then, though, I'm sure.
I liked ROA in the early 70s but as time went on, there were more negatives than positives in the experience.
I asked an "unbeliever" friend of mine to go once and he said he didn't want to "sit in the mud and praise Jesus."
By the way, the rainiest month in Ohio is - you guessed it - August. Great time to have the ROA and then blame the attendees for the rain.
I remember one Corps Week (85?) when they were ordaining people in the big top and this huge storm came up and the tent almost blew over and I was thinking "Wow these people getting ordained must be really spiritually heavy cause look how mad the Devil is!"
One time our tent was full of water and we found some wooden pallets in some trash and I was oh so blessed at how God "met our needs" by helping us to find the pallets so we could put them over the water in our tents and put ourselves and our stuff on top of the pallets. Ah, the more abundant life!
Tom, if I had known which hotel room had the cold beer, you can betcher WOW burger I'd have been there.
Actually, since I got involved in 1993, the legalism was pretty much in full swing by then. I only knew people from Orlando and they weren't that much fun to begin with - I couldn't see spending so much time putting up with them under those circumstances and the idea of meeting more people just like them wasn't all that appealing either.
Johniam seems to have nothing the he didn't like about the ROA and thinks he was in a different cult. I'm just thinking maybe his rose colored glasses protected him from all the rain, mud, lack of sleep, port o potty detail, etc...
Belle, sweet young Belle... didn't you hear the lord telling you to go fellowship to the southwest of Orlando about 80 or 90 miles? ...leading you to a more perfect way?
1. 1100 miles each direction in an overloaded car.
2. People bumming money. Don't come if you can't afford it and definitely don't go WOW at the last second.
3. Yes I'm adding number 3. People who waited till the ROA to go WOW. They always left a disaster back home for friends to clean up. Apartments to pack up and clean up. Hey they wanted their deposit. Then they always went around bumming money so they could go.
Don't know how many times I've thanked my sister for talking me out of going WOW.
oh flalappadoo I even saw Tick being transported in a golf cart once.
Well okay, that WAS a funny sight.
I think they finally banned people going out WOW at the last minute, but then I am sure there are many who can testify that rule was broken for a select few. I don't know why we didn't see the red flags about an organization agreeing to that type of behavior because it did leave a mess and I heard that the majority of them that decided last minute did not last on the field. Perhaps that is the sole reason it was banned.
I did go WOW, twice and I do admit that although I hated the ROA, the nights of commissioning were high times, It was pretty exciting. But the fact I went to cool places (grins) didn't hurt either. Homecoming was sort of a let down and trying to adapt to civilian life after that was rough for the first couple of months.
What I hated as well at the ROA was taking a nap in my tent on a cold rainy night or damp so I felt cold rainy night and woke up just to be told that my tent mate had a boy in there and they had sex while I was sleeping and thought it was funny as hell.
Like I needed that mind picture?????? Ya had to tell me???????????
You know John Nash Jr. was in my parents fellowship. His dad is the one they did the Beautiful Mind movie about. Anyway he swore that he was supposed to Dr. Wierwille's assistant. He decided he was going to go back to the green room during one teaching and had to be sent home. My parents were called in to handle it since they were his tc's. I don't remember who took the crazy fool home but someone had to miss the rock to handle that. I was just 14 then so I don't really know all the details.
He was just one example of the psychos that were running around on the grounds during this event. Anybody who could pay the entry fee was allowed to go. And you have no idea of all the teen sex that was going on. I was appalled. I managed to keep myself from indulging but at 14 and 15 I was amazed at the "fornicating" that my peers were involved in. I never felt like I fit in with my peers there and generally ended up hanging out with the adults.
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waysider
FreeAtLast--------Yes, I have heard some pretty wild first-hand accounts of Burning Man. I think SXSW(South By Southwest) in Austin might be more to your liking. Hundreds of bands come together to s
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You are probably right waysider. I would be more into the music than burning wooden art work.
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FreeAtLast
I seemed to get caught in the rain and ruin my belongings many years when it rained. Especially that one year when it rained like a monsoon. I hated being wet and cold in a tent with no way to warm up. When my folks were on staff and owned a house in New Knoxville I could finally avoid that soggy feeling and just stayed with them the entire time.
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year2027
God first
Beloved FullCircle
God loves you my dear friend
it was the rain for me too
everything got wet I tried hand washing my shirts and etc but to me they still did not feel right
this was 1981 I think and it seem like after that it it rain at a Rock after that I would feel wet even if dry in a tent
who was believing for all that rain was it VPW or Craig M. or another top leader
thank you
with love and a holy kiss blowing your way Roy
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skyrider
FullCircle........yeah, lots of us didn't see "fun and sunshine" at roa.
Nor did LOTS of corps.....who showed up to work during corps week AND then helped put on roa working double shifts and mandatory meetings.
Check out the thread..........The Backside of ROA
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nolongerlurking
I actually liked the rain. It cooled me down from all that heat and humidity and washed the sweat away. It's the hot/humid climate I hated the most.
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coolchef
i hated every thing about it except for meeting old friends.
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waysider
"Who was believing for all that rain, was it VPW or Craig M. or some other top leader?"
---------Roy--------
Shame on you Roy!---You know that should have been posted on the "Law Of Believing" thread!
-------------
------------ 
----------
Oh, Almost forgot-----------Holy hugs, Bro----------
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year2027
God first
Beloved waysider
God loves you my friend
"Law Of Believing" thread!" yes that would of been a better place to post that
thanks for the Holy hugs
thank you
with love and a holy kiss blowing your way Roy
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Suda
The hot, muggy shower tents. And the food poisioning I got one time.
Other than that, I loved every minute of it! But I was young and single and free to enjoy it. Can't even imagine doing the ROA with small children.
And I was never tent city. Always had an RV or a chalet. If tenting had been my only option, I would have stayed at home. My idea of camping is the Holiday Inn.
Suda
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potato
I passionately hate Ohio weather.
the food was gross.
sunburns.
sitting in a plastic chair in pantyhose... yay! rash!!!
walking a half mile in heels... yay! blisters!!!
seeing friends was good, but people got nastier over the years.
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FreeAtLast
One year Craig yelled at us all (corps mainly) and blamed us for the weather. He said we weren't believing. That was the year there were monsoon like winds and my tent blew over with me in it. I had to run to the corps tents and take up residence there for the remainder of the event. I always hated corps tents because everyone was so disrespectful to those trying to sleep. And as much as we had to work we needed our sleep.
My oxford bible bit the dust that year. I still have it but it was moldy and nasty I kept it to transfer the notes but never finished the task.
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TheInvisibleDan
That foul. sulpheric water.
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FullCircle
Year 2027, that was too funny!
I remember one ROA, maybe it was 1980 one of my friends brought his father's old army tent. It was spacious, not like one year I woke up and someone outside had tripped over a wire on my pup tent and I found it collasped on me. I was so tired, I slept like that till morning. Anyway, this hellacious storm came up and the army tent had this large pole that just sat on the ground and I had to hold onto it to keep it from going over and the whole tent collasping. It was a fight in those winds. I kept yelling for help and I could only hear others yelling for help as they were trying to save their tents as well.
Skyrider, my heart went out every year as I watched those guys ride the honeywagon around the upscale RV section of the ROA. The guy in front of the fan with his feet up should have had his chance to do the honeywagon.
Too bad they never sold Coke/Pepsi or the diet form of it. I would pay people who were going into town to bring me back some, hehe.
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year2027
God first
Beloved FreeAtLast and FullCircle
God loves you my friends
I am glad you too liked that little statement
I was there in 1980 that year I wroke up in two inches of water with my tent down
thank you
with love and a holy kiss blowing your way Roy
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johniam
I remember the 1980 ROA. I didn't get there until Wed by which time the rain stopped ha ha. I always appreciated that the rest areas on hwy 75 had people there all night with coffee when folks were traveling. I remember one year as I was driving into the parking lot there was a state police car across Wierwille Rd from the entrance and the cop was astounded; I could see it in his face that he couldn't believe how orderly and uncomplicated people were being processed, and those flat bed tractor things that got you from the parking lot to tent city, wow.
One year I was in tent city and one morning I woke up to that Spyro Gyra tape 'Morning Dance' playing in a tent a few yards away. I was so blessed: no mandated SIT, believer's meeting study the word do a lift list etc. That atmosphere was what I loved about ROAs. In '83 a friend arrived mid week so we had a group of about 8 of us sitting outside a tent at 1AM singing every song we knew with couple guitars and finally bless patrol very politely asked us to stop so people could sleep but nobody complained.
Loved those bands in the west woods, loved going to the house of his healing presence, loved wow burgers, chicken, etc. Maybe I was in a different cult than the rest of you.
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Belle
Naw, John, I just think some folks left their rose-colored glasses at home.
I never went to one. They were canceled shortly after I got involved. From what I heard about them even back then, I was really glad that I would never have to come up with excuses NOT to go. Never anything I cared to be a part of.
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Out There
For years there seemed that there was only one job I was spiritaaall enough for. - Cleaning toilets. I was told what a privilage it was for me to be able to serve the body of Christ in this way. Thats right, keeping thier beautiful bottoms clean while they shat. All that Corps training and I could finally take care of the believers.... By being sure the paper was there for them to clean off thier deirieres. I was demoted once to trash pick up, however the head ofthat crew told me it was one of the truly most impotent jobs in all of the ROA. Boy, did everyone think highly of themselves. The way it was all explained to me was that next to teaching on the main stage these two jobs were the most important in all of way land. If this was so how come lcm never stopped by our staph meeting to hang with us or hows come we were never invited to the "presidents Patio" for crumpets and tea with Mrs. Wierwille?
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Tom Strange
Awwww... now Belle... you probably would've been holed up in one of the local motels... remember, this thread is about what folks liked LEAST... and there was a lot to get bugged about...
but the biggest reason for going, the reason that always made it all worthwhile... was seeing all of your friends that you hadn't seen in a year (or at least a while)...
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outandabout
"I kept yelling for help and I could only hear others yelling for help as they were trying to save their tents as well."
Sorry, had to laugh at that one! Not funny then, though, I'm sure.
I liked ROA in the early 70s but as time went on, there were more negatives than positives in the experience.
I asked an "unbeliever" friend of mine to go once and he said he didn't want to "sit in the mud and praise Jesus."
By the way, the rainiest month in Ohio is - you guessed it - August. Great time to have the ROA and then blame the attendees for the rain.
I remember one Corps Week (85?) when they were ordaining people in the big top and this huge storm came up and the tent almost blew over and I was thinking "Wow these people getting ordained must be really spiritually heavy cause look how mad the Devil is!"
One time our tent was full of water and we found some wooden pallets in some trash and I was oh so blessed at how God "met our needs" by helping us to find the pallets so we could put them over the water in our tents and put ourselves and our stuff on top of the pallets. Ah, the more abundant life!
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Belle
Tom, if I had known which hotel room had the cold beer, you can betcher WOW burger I'd have been there.
Actually, since I got involved in 1993, the legalism was pretty much in full swing by then. I only knew people from Orlando and they weren't that much fun to begin with - I couldn't see spending so much time putting up with them under those circumstances and the idea of meeting more people just like them wasn't all that appealing either.
Johniam seems to have nothing the he didn't like about the ROA and thinks he was in a different cult. I'm just thinking maybe his rose colored glasses protected him from all the rain, mud, lack of sleep, port o potty detail, etc...
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Tom Strange
Belle, sweet young Belle... didn't you hear the lord telling you to go fellowship to the southwest of Orlando about 80 or 90 miles? ...leading you to a more perfect way?
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ex70sHouston
Two things that I hated.
1. 1100 miles each direction in an overloaded car.
2. People bumming money. Don't come if you can't afford it and definitely don't go WOW at the last second.
3. Yes I'm adding number 3. People who waited till the ROA to go WOW. They always left a disaster back home for friends to clean up. Apartments to pack up and clean up. Hey they wanted their deposit. Then they always went around bumming money so they could go.
Don't know how many times I've thanked my sister for talking me out of going WOW.
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FullCircle
oh flalappadoo I even saw Tick being transported in a golf cart once.
Well okay, that WAS a funny sight.
I think they finally banned people going out WOW at the last minute, but then I am sure there are many who can testify that rule was broken for a select few. I don't know why we didn't see the red flags about an organization agreeing to that type of behavior because it did leave a mess and I heard that the majority of them that decided last minute did not last on the field. Perhaps that is the sole reason it was banned.
I did go WOW, twice and I do admit that although I hated the ROA, the nights of commissioning were high times, It was pretty exciting. But the fact I went to cool places (grins) didn't hurt either. Homecoming was sort of a let down and trying to adapt to civilian life after that was rough for the first couple of months.
What I hated as well at the ROA was taking a nap in my tent on a cold rainy night or damp so I felt cold rainy night and woke up just to be told that my tent mate had a boy in there and they had sex while I was sleeping and thought it was funny as hell.
Like I needed that mind picture?????? Ya had to tell me???????????
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SafariVista
1. Being told to deposit my expensive little baggie in the trash
2. Drenching Humidity
3. Observing man worship
4. Pressure to do MORE... those damn colored wrist bands!
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FreeAtLast
You know John Nash Jr. was in my parents fellowship. His dad is the one they did the Beautiful Mind movie about. Anyway he swore that he was supposed to Dr. Wierwille's assistant. He decided he was going to go back to the green room during one teaching and had to be sent home. My parents were called in to handle it since they were his tc's. I don't remember who took the crazy fool home but someone had to miss the rock to handle that. I was just 14 then so I don't really know all the details.
He was just one example of the psychos that were running around on the grounds during this event. Anybody who could pay the entry fee was allowed to go. And you have no idea of all the teen sex that was going on. I was appalled. I managed to keep myself from indulging but at 14 and 15 I was amazed at the "fornicating" that my peers were involved in. I never felt like I fit in with my peers there and generally ended up hanging out with the adults.
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