Brimstone
Mary Jane,

Hi, my wife and I knew Brimstone back in Cincy in '72. We went by Judah and Rebekah Lion back in the day ( it's so weird referring to ourselves like that; otherworldly or something). We joined in Feb. of that year, went immediately to Kentucky Farm for about 2 mos., then back to Cincy til around early June when we took off for Minneapolis. I always really liked Brimstone; would like to have known him better.

Last year in June we attended a wedding in northern Kentucky, about 10 mi. from Cincinnati. Afterwards, for kicks we drove up there to see if we could find the old house, 222 McGregor St. Sure enough we found the address but the house had been torn down and another one built there. Anyway, it was an amusing blast from the past to see the old neighborhood. I distinctly remember walking up and down all those hills when we went witnessing. Good thing I was much younger then!

Please get back with me and let me know if maybe we have some other common acquaintances from way back then.



Joe

We would have been there around the same time then! How amazing is that! We joined there. We were originally from Toronto and were witnessed to in the Light Club there by Michelemiah (David Z's sister) very early in 1972. We had 2 very small boys at the time and when we said we wanted to join they told us we had to go to Cincy but neglected to mention any of this to the family there. What a shock when we arrived on the doorstep expecting to be taken in - and we had not been practising Christians before the Light Club - we were a huge shock to everyone there! It was a big place and we loved it. We were probably there for 6 months or more but one of my main memories is of that faithful brother Brimstone and his great love for the Lord! We called ourselves Jacob & Rachel (duh!)

Cincy
Mary Jane,

Good to hear back from you so soon. Carla and I joined TF at the same time with, I believe 6 or 7 others from what was known as the Alton Farm on 2FEB72 (can't believe I still remember the date). We had gotten married only the previous week, 27JAN72 (I had best not forget thet date, heh, heh). Needless to say we were in for some big changes. After returning from Kentucky farm, I hooked up with Peter St. Louis, Nathanael Ira and a guy named Romans; Peter and Nathanael were also from the Alton Farm. We dragged out all the original "Cincinnati Band" equipment and began practicing; I was the drummer. We even packed up all the stuff and a bunch of the brethren in the bus and headed down to some music festival at the university (don't know which) in Athens, Ohio. We set up the tent and played there for a couple of nights. In June, Peter, his wife, Romans, Carla and I packed up the band stuff and went up to Minneapolis where we played at a coffee house for about a month. After that we moved on to many travels that included Mexico, Brasil and Bolivia. Seven years total we spent "working for Mo" as you so aptly described it.

Enough about us; how about you and your family? Did you all get out OK? I certainly hope so. In my opinion, one of the saddest legacies of TF is the damage done to marriages and the children involved.

Keep in touch!




Joe

Hi Joe,
When you were in Mexico, did you happen to come across my brother-in-law Michael Christian? He later went on to Japan and has been there ever since! He's an artist of sorts - used to be a real artist before joining, very original, but . . . We all 3 joined around the same time but we got out after just 5 years. He's firmly embedded (so to speak) and shows no inclination to re-consider his options. He has (I think) 7 children but fortunately the first 4 managed to escape (Thank God!) but there are still several others "left behind"! We have 6 of our own but they are relatively fine. Do you remember going to the main square in downtown Cincinnatti on the bus each weekend to witness - it seems to me that there was a band and that we sang and danced there - I loved that! We used to watch the flashes from the hotel window across the street as the secret service took pictures of our crazy shenanigans.

Mexico & Cincy
Mary Jane,

I don't recall your brother-in-law. We were in Mexico from approx. FEB73 to SEPT74, most of that time away from Mexico City. Michael, I assume was probably around Mexico City; being an artist was he involved in publications? I'm just ruminating here.

Yes, while in Cincy just about every Friday night we used to go downtown & witness at the square; yeah, you're right, we used to get there on the bus. That bus came from Alton Farm. I helped paint after we acquired it.
It was a real crappy paint job, too. It was some kind of Army surplus paint that came as a powder and you had to mix it with gasoline, of all things. Were you at Cincy at the same time as Megiddo & Mara? They were regional shepherds there when we joined. They were two higher-up leaders who I do remember with alot of affection, ie. they were the kind who genuinely cared about the people they were responsible for.

You mentioned that Michael doesn't show any inclination to re-consider his options. It may just be that, after all this time, he doesn't think that he has any options. Remember how difficult it was for you after only 5 years? All you can really do is pray for people and let them know that you love 'em. I know that in our case, no amount of preaching to us by friends or loved ones did anything to change our minds; after all, we were "the end-time prophets"-- what did they know?

It's really nice to touch base with you. Even though we may have never met, I enjoy catching up with people who were in the same places with similar experiences-- a common thread, as it were. Write back soon.



Joe

Yes we were - I had forgotten their names! They were always on the top floor. Mara came down late one night when my son was sick with a very high fever and prayed with me (in those days I hardly knew how to pray!) - you're right , I remember her as wonderfully kind - what happened to them I wonder? I remember a big haul of gingerbread men - we ate them for weeks it seems! And the beautiful back yard where we went sometimes as well. We went to Indiannapolis once to witness. Those were good times - actually wonderful times. In those days no one knew Mo was a freak, at least hardly anyone. Well, I'm thankful for those days and you must be too! Are you still a musician? Anyway, all the very best!
MJ

Reminiscing
Mary Jane,

Mara was originally from Alton, IL. She joined TF in '68 or '69 when everyone was on the road caravanning. They were camped out on the Mississippi River bank. I'm not sure but I believe she was real young at the time and her parents gave her permission to join. Sometime around 1980 Megiddo and Mara left the COG and lived in Alton at her Dad's house; her Mom had passed on and during their stay here, her Dad died. They stayed on here for a while and then went back to TF. I later heard from another exer who lives in the area that they split up; Megiddo staying in TF with the kids, presumably, and Mara settling in Florida. You know how it is, some info can get turned around, but that is the gist of it.

When you went to Indy to witness, did you go in the bus and camp out there? Was it the weekend of the Indianapolis 500 in 1972? If so, Carla and I were with you on that trip.

No, I haven't done any "musicianing" in a long, long time. But, I annoy people by tapping my fingers with the rhythm of whatever song is stuck in my head at the time.

Catch you later; got errands to run.



Joe

Yep - that was the trip! Do you remember the mosquitoes at the campsite? We said that they were creatures of darkness whose deeds were evil and that's why they didn't come out into the sun and that was my very first time of applying scripture to life! I thought Indianapolis was a very strange sort of city too - very Roman or something - and the streets were almost empty for some reason - I guess everyone was at the race track - it was a very strange weekend! The first months of a person's new life are so filled with revelations, aren't they? It was for me as if my eyes which I'd had for 23 years had suddenly been opened for the first time!

Hi Mary Jane,

Yeah, the mosquitoes! I don't know for the life of me how we could be on the same road-trip and I can't put a face to your name. I'm not real good with names, but usually I can remember faces. Oh well, the vagaries of time.

On Indy weekend the track becomes a city of about 400,000 in itself. You're right; the city was quite empty as I recall.

I've only read your posts in this part of the forum. Tell me about yourselves and any other places and/or people you got to know during your time in TF.



Til next time,

Joe

Joe,

You mentioned Romans in one of your postings. Late in '73, there was a Romans who was the undershepherd in Chicago. The colony had a print shop in the basement where Ezekiel Farmer was the pressman, about the "Kohoutek" time. It was odd to me that nothing happened after 40 days and strange how we could rationalize away the inconsistencies, time and again. Keros and Raamah, along with a few others, went to a farm north of Grand Rapids right before the supposed "destruction." After a week or so, we all came back to Chicago as if nothing had happened ...'cause nothing did. Imagine that.

Anyway, Romans was a gifted musician, with a serious and sober turn. Once, he and I and another "brother", whose name I don't recall, went on a short road trip to Milwaukee. We left late in the evening and it was snowing. When we got outside Chicago, no one was picking us up, so we pitched a tent beside the interstate to spend the night. There had to be at least a foot of snow on the ground and I was so afraid that we were going to freeze to death that night. (Sometimes it's good to be wrong.) It amazes me the experiences we had, looking back, and the things we were willing to do, in good faith.

Rachel

Romans
Hi Rachel,

Do you recall if Romans played keyboards? If so, he's probably the same one I knew. As for Kohoutek; that was just one of many "rationalizations".

Joe

Romans
Hey Joe,

The Chicago Romans played a mean guitar. I don't remember him playing keyboards, but musicians often master several instruments. What makes me think he's the Romans you were refering to was that it seems he mentioned "the farm" and Cincinnati as a former colonies he had been in. It's interesting the specific places and incidents we remember and the impressions we had of one another after all this time.

Rachel