My experience with Children of God/The Family, Part IV
Part I : Part II : Part III : Part IV : Part V : Part VI : Part VII : Part VIII : Part IX : Part X : Part XI
The first big event that was used to change my thinking was about food. I had complained to someone that I found the food boring and yucky.
Suddenly one night the Regional Shepherd, Uriah woke me out of bed and brought me downstairs into a car with several of the brothers. He told me the Lord had shown him how He could use me to help his people. The Shepherd explained that murmuring was what the Children of Israel did in the wilderness against Moses when they did not have enough food. God was angry, he told me.
I sat in great anticipation and fear as to what I was about to find out about how the COG got their food.
We pulled up back behind the local shopping centre behind the grocery store. To my shock and disgust, one brother stood on top of the car as a guard, look-out while two other brothers rummaged through the huge garbage container behind the store. They brought out unopened sandwich packages, boxes of donuts, and packaged food which had been thrown out because of expiry dates on the packages.
When Uriah looked at me, I felt very confused. I was angry and baffled as to why we had been eating garbage all this time while being told, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus". "God will multiply the loaves and fishes.."
I must have had a frightful look on my face because Uriah said quite angrily, "Sister, if you feel God`s children should be eating better, maybe the Lord expects you to do something with your idea and get us all some better food!"
This is when my new ministry began as "Provisioner", which is another way of saying raiser of donations.
Starting the next day, I was dressed up in a dress, allowed to shave my legs, wear nylons, fix my hair and loaded into the van to go to the local market place to raise donations of food.
I was a cute, slim 18 year old, happy-faced girl who was telling these merchants that if they would give us a crate of tomatoes or apples, to help our Christian organisation, God would bless them. I told them we were young Christians trying to get the kids off drugs and into worshipping Jesus and leading clean lives instead.
I actually believed every word of this when I was telling them. I also truly believed these fellow brethren deserved to eat clean healthy food, so I was pretty convincing. We were greatly blessed to say the least. The local business men were very happy to help us and even told us to come back from now on each week.
Never once, did I get any credit for this however, it was simply the Lord working through me to provide for His family. It was right for me to accept this humbly and not expect praise.
However, something inside me wished for a bit of appreciation sometimes. I kept saying to myself, that Jesus asked not for any praise for what He did for people but said to them that they should praise God. I feel if nothing else I learned there a few lessons in humility.
Suddenly it seemed, now that I was playing guitar and singing with other brothers once in a while and doing provisioning, I started getting called in to the Shepherd, Amaziah`s office and yelled at more often.
He accused me of lusting after him, a married man and of being proud and rebellious because I wasn`t giving God all the credit for what I did.
I was labelled as vain and arrogant and a jezebel when I wore shorts one day on a hot day. One of the other brother`s wives was about 7 months pregnant and she was freaking out at me that I had been trying to tempt the married men and turn them away from their wives, causing them to stumble.
The girls were not allowed to wear skirts, shorts or anything that would appear sexy. However, the odd thing was, we were not allowed to wear brassiers because Mo said they were unnatural, nor were we supposed to shave our legs unless we were doing a job for the Lord in public.
Then it was simply to become all things to all men that we might winsome, as the good book said.
End of Part IV
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