Reeva, Thanks for sharing that testimony. I'm praying for your mother. JulieMelton visit me at www.heart-and-music.com or subscribe to my podcast at http://feed.feedburner.com/hmradio Keep smiling! >From: Reeva Parry <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Electronic Church <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Some personal thoughts >Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:33:19 -0600 > >Hello, Everyone! > >I was moved by Lyn Latham's message about her brothers. Lyn, I want you to >know that from the age of two and a half, I was raised a Jehovah's Witness. > >I was not accepted in my neighborhood, my school, which was The Ohio State >School For The Blind, and the only true friends I had were ham radio >operators. I became a ham in 1961. > >I left the Witnesses in April of 1978. I had read the Bible for myself >since the age of nine, against my parents' wishes, but it was in Braille, >so they didn't know what I was reading, anyway, until I started asking >questions. Every time I asked a question which was against The Society's >teachings in New York, I got slapped or spanked. I was spanked until I left >home at the age of twenty-nine to go to Arizona with my first husband in >April of 1978. From there, I began searching for the Truth. I finally found >The Truth in 1982 when I was saved by the pastor of a small church in >Phoenix called Squaw Peak Covenant Church. The pastor came to my house, >having never met me before, but my second, and late, husband was also there >and had been a member of The Covenant Church there for >twenty-one years. > >Anyway, when Worth Hodgin, the pastor at that time, came to my house, John >was already there and had explained what I needed to do, having read me >Scriptures about it. Worth just emphasized it, telling me that when I let >Jesus into my heart, I would have the Peace that passes all understanding. >Well, I was able to get on my knees at that time, so I did it, and I asked >Jesus into my heart that day. I confessed my sins and told Him I was >probably the worst sinner there ever could be! When I got up, I felt such >Peace, I can't even begin to tell you how beautiful it felt! > >Going back to Jehovah's Witnesses, they don't salute the flag or vote or >accept blood transfusions, saying that accepting blood transfusions is like >eating someone else's blood because when you eat food or take medicine in >the hospital, it's usually by IV. They spank their kids till they leave >home, and some people never leave home, so they get spanked at 60 years of >age! I know a lady whom that happened to, too. The meetings, as they are >called, are three times a week, two hours per session, except the Book >Study once a week. Yes, I said Book Study. They don't read the Bible except >The New World Translation, and a lot of Scriptures are twisted, added, and >taken away from any other Bible translations I've ever read, and I've read >all of them that I can get my little fingers into! > >Children, even little babies, must be quiet, and if they're not, they are >taken to the back room of the Kingdom Hall and spanked until their little >bottoms are red with welts! > >Everything must agree with The Watchtower, Bible and Tract Society at 124 >Columbia Heights, New York, NY. My mother is still involved with them to >the extent that she won't talk to me on the phone when I call her if she >has Witness Friends over to her house in Venice, Florida. She hangs up on >me. She doesn't call me back. We E-Mail once in a while, and when I can >catch her without anyone being there, she will talk for hours! > >I haven't seen her since November of 1983, and she's pushing 84 years of >age now. I might as well resign myself to the fact that I will never see >her alive again! I have prayed for her Salvation, and I've been praying for >that for twenty-four years now. Would all of you pray for her Salvation, >please? My Dad died in 1997. > >Thanks for reading this, you guys! > > >In Christian LOVE, >Reeva Parry. > > >On Tuesday 2/6/2007 08:10 AM, Lyn Latham said: > > >>Hey yall, >>You know, we more than likely have relatives or loved ones that are not >>related that we want to see come to know Jesus Christ. I have 2 brothers >>myself. One of them Riquo, (that's his new name now) is living an >>alternate lifestyle, and has 5 adopted boys. My X. husband told me that >>they adopt boys to teach them that lifestyle, and I found it to be true >>because Riquo is always buying them things that a young man wouldn't wear. >> My sister Janice has talked with him, but he will not talk to me. He >>wouldn't even talk to me when I called on Christmas, brushed me off the >>phone and never called me back. So, I can just pray for him. The other >>brother, who is my eldest brother William is a Jehova's Witness. He grew >>up in a home that knew the gospel, but there were never good examples of >>the gospel. So, he became confused and hates church. So, when his little >>girl was 2 years old, and he and my sister-in-law had just gotten married, >>someone came to his job talking about this to him, and I guess they >>persisted so much that his confused spirit was eating what felt like good >>food and there you have it. Of course he sexual abused me from the time I >>was 6 till I was 13 when he met Sheila. Boy. Was I glad to find that >>out. But one time I was sitting in with them cause I didn't have anything >>else to do, and he didnt' even care that I was there, they did what they >>did and I only knew that cause she asked if they were finished now. Sorry >>about that, but it's a bad memory for me, and I remember that I quietly >>got up and left and went and hid in my room for fear I would be next. But >>no more of that happened cause Sheila was my replacement. They have been >>married for around 30 years, and I talk to William all of the time and I >>don't ever talk about it to him and we laugh a lot and talk about Grandma >>being the 411 of the family and all that silly stuff. But sometimes I >>think about it but I really want him to be saved and get away from that >>horrible stuff. I studied with them when he first became a witness as >>they call it, but I knew it wasn't right when I began to hear their songs >>played and sang backwards in my dreams at night. Interesting how the Holy >>Spirit shows us things, isn't it? Okay, enough of my writings, see yall >>later.