Part IV :: Camp Meeting & Time Away from Countryside
“I have reason to believe that Pastor Harry is a Jesuit,” Albert said on one of his visits.
“Yeah?” Freddy replied.
“I was talking to Ronald, and Ronald said that he caught Harry again with his prayer beads out.”
“He can’t seem to put aside the Catholic in him,” Freddy said.
“There’s no doubt that he’s working for Rome.”
First, it was songs to Mary, and now it was secret prayer beads. I had no reason to believe that the Deer Park pastor used prayer beads. So what if he did? Do prayer beads hold a Catholic power? But, why would he be sneaking it? Caught with his prayer beads out seemed loaded with innuendo. What did all this mean? What was the end game here? Was Albert insecure about the other Deer Park church? There was no doubt that he coveted the Deer Park members. More members brought more tithe money and more power. They also brought more legitimacy. It was no secret that the Deer Park church, Countryside, and the Three Angels church were all vying for the same group of people—other Adventists.
I didn’t dare question Albert. Even such thoughts seemed wrong. Who was I to judge? The Lord knows the heart, not I. As I buried my head in Ellen White, I read how pastors are placed in positions of authority by God. They are handpicked. I was not one of those chosen ones, so I had no right to argue or question God’s wisdom on such matters. Being around the in-laws is rarely an optimal situation. I do believe that is why God commands women to leave the home and cleave to their husbands after marriage. He doesn’t tell the new son-in-law to move in with his wife’s parents. Yet, I had done that, and as I write this book, I can see how it was the wrong path to take.
The opportunity to get out came toward the end of the summer. A camp meeting
was being held in Spangle at Upper Columbia Academy. I had never been to a camp meeting nor had I been to Upper Columbia Academy, but getting out of Freddy’s hair sounded like a divine appointment.
At this point, the idea of living the country life and emulating what I was seeing in the woods of Steven’s county no longer appealed to me. Getting a job out there seemed
nearly impossible, and I had missed the previous joys of life, even if they were not right in the eyes of the ever-watchful auntie Ellen. My wife and I talked things over, and we decided it would be good to get back into missionary work. Although we had left Ukraine almost suddenly, we missed the idea of being the hands and feet of God. Therefore, at the upcoming camp meeting, we would seek out an opportunity to enter mission work once again.
At this point, I wondered if anyone would bother taking us. We didn’t do anything spectacular in Ukraine. Yet, I was hopeful. I needed to get out of that place and have my own space with my wife and child once again. Despite how much Freddy said he loved having us around, the relationship was strained, and this strange new form of religion was mixing with every aspect of life.
I remember breaking down as we packed to go to camp meeting. Freddy has always been a control freak, and he hovered over us as we packed for the weekend away. I was a wreck at this point but didn’t understand why. Looking back, I understand it, but I didn’t then. All those end times sermons about Jesuits and destruction were rubbing off on Freddy, and I could tell he was getting more irate and irritated easily. His insistence on perfection made living with him a chore. Yet, this was what he was picking up at church. Driving off onto that annoying washboard road felt good.
It would be good to not hear something negative about the Deer Park church for a few days. Whether it was at the in-law’s house or Countryside, there was something negative said about the other SDA church in town. The negativity really had a way of making us all feel down and didn’t help to bring a feeling of holiness to life. Strangely, Ellen White had written much about maintaining a happy home and life, as if angels were always watching (and they were). Yet, this didn’t seem to be followed at all. To me, this was a form of cognitive dissonance and it began to seep in. Why do we follow some
of what she says, but not other things?
At this point, we had been given stacks of DVDs and pamphlets that either
Stephen had made or that others had passed along. The NIV and other Bible
perversions were still being pushed. Many sermons featured various YouTube pastors that were not affiliated with the church.
“Those who use these other Bibles will never be able to understand the plan of salvation.” I had never heard these words outside of Countryside, but it seemed that there was an army of unaffiliated pastors proclaiming similar messages. Many were adamant about the end times, reporting on every small controversy they could muster up. Some picked at the smallest news story, showing how it was proof that the Sunday law was not far off now.
“The government is working to bring about the end of the world quickly now,” some would proclaim. Over five years later and the same message is being spread, but with little more proof that their words are correct.
“These are JESUIT Bibles!” Albert would shout at Countryside. “The New International perversion, the New King James. They are ALL worthless!”
“Some of these pastors are good, but you have to be careful with trusting all they say. They may be using a New King James.”
“It’s worthless,” Stephen hissed. He was perhaps even more vocal than Albert about the perverted Bibles. He always had some new argument against them, as if I was hiding such a Bible and reading it in secret.
“WORTHLESS!” Albert would proclaim once again, standing at the pulpit.
“Absolutely worthless.”
I wanted to grow in Christ, to be better. To do better. I was reading all I could. I had given up almost every other form of literature and was either spending my days reading from the Bible or soaking up Ellen White. I devoured her books. Patriarchs and Prophets, Prophets and Kings, Ministry of Healing, Child Guidance, Adventist Home, Mind Character & Personality, and many, many others. I loaded my mind with the compilations about Heaven, Pastoral Ministry, Help in Daily Living. At this point in life, I believed that reading Ellen White was like sitting at the foot of a prophet, soaking in all the knowledge that she had to bestow. Having someone to guide my knowledge of the Bible was, in my mind, truly priceless.
Getting back into missionary work would be a great way to give back to God for all that He had given me. It would also be a way to help ensure that my daughter would be saved from the time of trouble. Although I did not believe that Jesuits had a monopoly on the world’s power, I did believe in the end-times prophecies that the SDA church preached, and I believed that there was much truth to that aspect of Albert’s sermons. That’s one reason I stayed. Allowing my daughter to grow up with some knowledge of the truth was vital. I did not want her to be lost*. I loved her more than anything.
*Note: Later, I would read how many new Adventist parents felt this same way. Many would become ultra-traditional or conservative, raising their children in a very strict household where they would grow up with full knowledge that they were the remnant. I would read of overbearing parents that used abuse and coercion to keep their children in line. The idea of having children that would not be saved was a nightmare scenario for many parents. This idea was taking hold of me, and looking back, I can see it clearly. It is apparent in the way I had returned to the US to live in the country, obsessively read Ellen White, and try to live an absolutely perfect life. Yet, I feel that I was spared as I was never raised this way. In my heart, I have always been a free spirit that believes that a person needs freedom to choose for themselves.
I hungered for things to be revealed to me. I think that all of us do at some point. We desire to know the truth. We all want to believe that we have knowledge that others do not. It makes us feel special. Unique. For the people of Countryside, it seemed that Albert had that knowledge, and so did Bill Hughes. The truth seemed strange and outlandish, but that made it more delicious. With a truth that nobody else could believe in, it made the select few even more chosen. Like how Noah’s seemingly outlandish proclamations resulted in nobody setting foot on the ark, so were Albert’s and Hughes’. This time there would be people climbing aboard the ark, and that ark was known as HALEBOP…I mean Countryside.
Camp meeting was a good experience for me. It helped to be around people that seemed a lot less extreme (at least on the outside)*.
*Note: I had been observing that the SDA church had attracted many people from fringe backgrounds that bought into conspiracy and beliefs having to do with the end of the world. Ellen White’s visions did not help, as much of what she wrote about had to do with the imminent end of the world and a Sunday law that would lead to international persecution. Coupled with her call to flee the cities, the faith drew preppers and those who quickly subscribed to a wide variety of conspiracy theories.
Best of all, at the camp meeting, we got a lead for a missionary opportunity on the Washington coast. It involved working with Native Americans and would be a chance to have our own place once again. I loved the coast and the idea of working there sounded like a dream come true.
After three days of camp meeting, we made our way back to the in-law's place and settled back into going to Deer Park and Countryside. It wasn’t long before we talked to the key players who could make our dreams of working as coastal missionaries come true. They invited us to the coast to view the place and meet some of the nearby workers. We jumped on the chance and headed out a few days later.
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