WARNING: This blog post is a collection of slightly scattered thoughts (and one video) that concern my very limited experience with adventist religious groups. I'm not sure I really reach a point anywhere in this post.
We live in the Bible Belt. No doubt about it. I've even heard people say we are the buckle of said belt. And, beside the ridiculously obnoxious occasional anti-abortion protests in Springfield and the fact that we have a church on every corner, it doesn't really change much of anything. We still have crime, we still all put our pants on one leg at a time, and plenty of non-believers call the Ozarks their home too. Almost all of my friends go to church on Sunday and they aren't actively trying to convert me...they respect my right to my opinions and I respect theirs. We are co-existing peacefully.
Only once in the two years we have lived here have religious peddlers come knocking at the door. The first time, Mark wasn't home and I was napping. The fact that I was napping was very unfortunate for the two pamphlet carrying women knocking at my door (if you know me, you know waking me from sleep is a big mistake). I answered with an unamused scowl on my face, already assuming what they were there for, and snatched the pamphlet from the woman thrusting it toward me before promptly slamming the door in their faces. Rude? Not as rude as coming to my home, unannounced, to read Bible scripture to me. I'm sure if a Satanist showed up at one of their homes unannounced, armed with literature on how Lucifer is Lord and offering free pentagram keychains, they would probably find it offensive and wrong. Hypocritical for sure.
Anyway, as Mark and I left to go to the clinic on Saturday (yes...I FINALLY got steroid cream for my sumac rash) we saw several groups of what could only be Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on neighbors doors. We proclaimed victory that we had avoided them and sped away. When we arrived home this is what we found at our front door...
A world government? Earth's new ruler? These people are delusional! Not to mention they always bring a child along with them to look up at you with innocent eyes (I suppose that is to make it harder for you to slam the door in their face). Jehovah's Witnesses are one of many Adventists groups (cults according to some). Adventists focus on the book of Revelation and the End Of Days, or the return of Christ. Some call them 'Preppers', as it would seem they spend their entire life preparing for the end. Remember David Koresh? Yeah, his group traces their roots to the same starting point as Jehovah's Witnesses do. I don't claim to know a lot about adventists or the difference in the different groups, but I did live one block away from the IHOP (international house of prayer) for the last year I was in KC (they are a HUGE prepper cult) and I was also picked up off the side of the highway once when my old Volvo broke down. The family who "rescued" me were Seventh-Day Adventists. They drove me off into the forest to a literal shack they lived in and let me use the phone to call for a ride (no, I didn't have a cell phone...believe me I got one very shortly after). We were experiencing a blizzard that day and I was traveling to Springfield from Kansas City. I was stranded in these people's home for three hours while my best friend, Alicia, struggled in her Honda Accord through the snow storm to come get me.
The first thing the little girl in this family said to me was, "Queen Jezebel wore make-up". As she stared at my fully made up face. I was 22 at the time. Had an eyebrow piercing, and a Buddha pendant hanging around my neck. I had just smoked a joint when my car completely quit running on the bridge over Truman lake. I was standing in the small space between the ledge of the bridge and my car when, like the beginning of a bad horror movie, it began to snow heavily. I felt grateful that I had been picked up by a family instead of a trucker. But at that moment, standing in the middle of these people's shack with their kids looking me up and down like I was an alien, I was starting to get nervous.
The husband had a broken leg in a cast. He sat at the table talking to me about a 10 day event coming up that was all about the End Of Days and the book of Daniel or something. I kept insisting I had a job and places to be and couldn't go to anything like that. Then his ten year old son told me that he was home schooled and hated it. And the daughter who was maybe 4, chimed in that she didn't like her dress because it used to belong to someone else. It was painfully awkward because the parents were still sitting there, so I asked to use the restroom. They only had a bucket and a roll of TP. I decided to wait until Alicia arrived.
About every half hour that I was at their home a timer over the oven went off and they stopped whatever they were doing to pray. When they were praying I was glancing out the window nervously, planning my escape if things got too weird. We were so far back in the woods and the snow was getting really deep. I was starting to panic.
The wife was making dinner and offered to feed me. Tater tots, french fries and chicken nuggets, all microwaved. She explained that they were on food stamps and running low on food. I felt terrible eating what little they had but knew better than to refuse when someone is showing you a kindness. The poor kids looked miserable. The "toys" strewn about on the floor were dated and looked like garage sale leftovers. No TV, no real bed. The husband mentioned something about not being able to work because of some religious restriction. The whole situation was self inflicted. The kids being the only victims.
Eventually Alicia reached me, and the family sent me off with several books about The Seventh Day Adventist Church.
No thank you.
And please don't come knockin' on my door.
~ Love & Light ~
No comments:
Post a Comment