Lester Roloffs Rebekah Home for Girls Survivors-Cult-mindcon

[mac10k]

I lived in the home under the Cameron's care. I can vouch for many things that happened there and see other things said that supposedly happened during those years and know they are false. My name is Terry and I spent quite a bit of time in the lockup and also in the infirmary because of ulcers developed from the stress. I was never on drugs, never drank, was not sexually active, my only "sin" was trying to leave an abusive home. Out of the frying pan into the fire. Mrs. Cameron did not like me from the beginning, even going as far as to take away the plants my family sent me.

During the time I was there the worst punishment I remember going through was kneeling in the hallway one night until Noel confessed to having defecated in a baggie and putting it in another girls bathroom cabinet. Noel was the youngest girl in the dorm and pretty much got away with murder, we were finally allowed to go to bed after several hours of kneeling, but I don't recall her punishment being more than a few days in lock up.

I was also forced to kneel in the front room at the desk and write sentences every afternoon because I dared to tell another girl about the rape I had endured before being brought to the home. Mrs. Cameron called me a liar and made me write 250 sentences a day until I confessed to lying about the most traumatic event to happen in my life. The entire reason I was sent there was because my mother could not endure the shame of having her friends and church know that her daughter ran away trying to escape her abuse and was raped. So she sent me there, to have Mrs. Cameron continue the abuse I received at home. Mostly verbal but she did slap me across the face a few times when I questioned her about things.

I remember being called into Mrs. Camerons office after watching the movie about hell (can't remember the name) and not getting saved once it was over. She ordered me to have the older girls lead me in prayer and beg God to let me be saved. I did it, but did not believe, and because of the way the home was run am today an agnostic.

I too, remember the daily session of Bible memorization and the many demerits I received for "mumbling my scripture". I had just had my braces removed before going in the home and had learned to talk without moving my lips because of the braces cutting the inside of my mouth. I would sit beside the helpers so they could hear me repeating my scriptures and still received demerits.

I remember the constant treks to church, 10 times a week, if my memory serves me correctly, not including the daily sermons through the room speakers. I remember the hall walkers checking our Bibles to make sure we were following along with sermon and receiving demerits if we weren't on the right chapter and verse.

I remember the slip check on the way to church and school. Having our names checked off the clipboard as we filed out to go any where.

I remember the old girls telling stories about running and how a girl had run and they turned dogs loose on her and brought her back to the home. They warned us new girls that running was futile, the townies knew us on sight and would bring us back if they saw us on the street.

During my time there we had to go to the airstrip to greet Bro. Roloff as he flew in, there was a photographer there and we had to rush to the plane acting like we couldn't wait to be in his presence.

The only "chemicals" I ever saw passed out was Epsom salts to my room captain Chris. I never skipped a period while I was there even though I did drop several dress sizes.The only "beatings" I received was the usual paddling given when I received too many demerits for the week. I missed a lot of the films shown in the cafeteria due to room and big job demerits.

I too remember the windows, not cemented during my time, but alarmed. Never allowed to be opened, the curtains closed, lest we stare at the Anchor boys. I remember not beng allowed to leave our rooms except for designated times, like big jobs or to go to eat or school and the never ending church sessions. Hallwalkers shining flashlights in our eyes every few hours a night during bed checks. The monthly trip to the dorm store to buy cheesy pantyhose and toothpaste.

I remember the grapefruit in boxes out in the rec area by the ping pong table after the girls came back from the valley. We walked along Rebekah Beach eating the fruit, one of the few things we could eat our fill of besides the sunday trout dinner.

While I will agree that the methods used by the Camerons and supposedly sanctioned by Roloff were extreme and did border on mind control I won't proclaim that they were the only ones to blame. My parents sent me there as a 14 year old and refused to listen as I told them what went on in the home. My six month visit was filled by my stories of the time I spent in lock up and facing the wall in the cafeteria. The home broke my spirit and my will, it took me many years to get over what happened to me there but I blame my parents for what I endured.

It has been 24 years since I was there, and I still remember vividly what I went through, I still have my demerit slips and my pace pass certificates. I once had the names of all the girls who were in the home at the same time I was but my mother found it and destroyed it saying I needed to put it in the past where it belonged.

I have a million memories of my time there and of the girls I shared my day to day life with. I miss some of them and hope if they read this and know me they will write and let me know how they are doing in their lives. A few of the girls I remember were Shelley Lewis, Susan Scott and her sister Debbie, Janette Hartzel, Becci Stuhan, Dawn Renee Petersen. Bridgett my first room captain, Jennifer Jones, her sister, and a very tall gangly girl we called Ducky.

If anyone else remembers these girls and was in the home at the same time, I'd love to hear from you.

_________________
Those who live by the sword are shot by those who don't.[ This Message was edited by: mac10k on 2004-06-17 14:24 ]

[Anonymous]

hi, Terri,  I was in Rebekah in 1978. I live just about an hour north of Houston.

I too remember so much of this, and have struggled to heal and be who I am.

TingeofPearl@yahoo.com

[mac10k]

On 2004-06-17 15:11:00, Anonymous wrote:

"hi, Terri,  I was in Rebekah in 1978. I live just about an hour north of Houston.

I too remember so much of this, and have struggled to heal and be who I am.

TingeofPearl@yahoo.com

Were you there with the Cameron's?[ This Message was edited by: mac10k on 2004-06-17 19:30 ]

[Anonymous]

Terry, Yes I was there with them, From what I recall they had just come on as dormparents, right before I got there, And from all I can tell, I was better off with them than the horror stories I have heard of Mama and Papa Weatherford.

Mrs. Cameron gave me a beating of my life, and Mrs Patrick did also, all because I was upset one day and needed to pour out my pain to her about my parents, she saw it as me being disrespectful,
and I also spent time in Lockup. At the end of my lockup time, Wiley came into the lockup and sat on the mattress and read me the "roman road to salvation"....went in one ear and out the other, cause basically I was hurting so deeply inside, And all...

remember the oranges, they were good.
The place left its scars of dissociative issues marking my life. I am 40 now. And have two kids.

I was 14 went in, and 15 when I left.
just a year , but that was enough.
My brother was in the Lighthouse,
in 1979, a year after my stay there. He stayed there 18 mos. and it turned him bitter and when he got out he was very bitter.

There were many questionable things done there. ONes I know I remember and ones I am not sure If it is real memory or make believe....
but God has still helped me, by showing me that these persons didnt understand that He is a God that is gentle adn loving and not a God ready to nail one down and force one to pray. God is far more concerned about what is in our hearts, not merely by what is spoken outloud from our lips.
These narrowminded Paranoid Fundies seemed to not get that...they were so far into hiding against "big Government" that they lost the point and let thier illness of paranoia destroy the spirits and wills of many young persons entrusted to them.
My parents were just like them, but I defend my parents too, just a tiny tad...lol...cause they were decieved also. But I defend me also, cause I was already a survivor of sexual abuse and bad home environment...

Thanks Terry,
TingeofPearl@Yahoo.com
:smile:

[mac10k]

I don't recall Ms. Patrick, but I do remember Ms Lori the redheaded PE teacher and Ms. Maggie. I never met the Weatherfords, they had been gone for at least a year by the time I went in, Mrs Cameron was runing the show and was already set in the ways of beating us. It was either kiss her ass or feel her wrath.

I have no doubt that some girls found their way to God in the home and it probably did change a few lives, but for me it made my life worse. I did not have any emotional issues or behavioral issues at home. I did when I came out. Not behavoral but certainly emotional. I've never been able to really get close to anyone since my time there. Any close bonds I had with any of the girls resulted in Mrs. Cameron seperating us, so I learned early on not to get to close to anyone there.

I attribute my time there for making me less social, for making me feel more comfortable in my bedroom than anywhere else in my house or anywhere outside my house. I refuse to wear and own no dresses or skirts and would not be caught dead in church for any reason.

My family's thoughts on the subject are, it's been 24 years, get over it, but I don't think any of us really do ever get over what we experienced there. The only thing that has changed in their minds about my experiences are that now they believe the stories I told them when I came home after reading this forum.

I'm glad I found this site and that there are other girls out there like me who have experienced the wrath of the Camerons and know what I've been through.

[Anonymous]

oh good to hear back from you again!...can relate to you lots.
Ms. patrick was gone by 1980? oh, wierd, i had heard that the patricks had moved to Oklahoma or some such. there is a boy that was on the farm there in 78, his name is Fountain , he runs the home i believe called, Bethel Boys...not clear, but 12 sets of parents are sueing Herman Fountain homes...of course with him growing up on the Roloff farm in Corpus we all can realize just where he got his training and philosophy...
remember of course Mrs. Yoder???
and minix and was Taco still there in 1980?...what about Sheri Compton?

Faye Cameron would have probably beaten her grandbabies and let them bleed and think it was something God was pleased with her doing...the idea of beating a child in Jesus name even to the point of making the skin break and may bleed, is anti-christ!...it is NOT the Spirit of Jesus Christ who has shown me such a gentle patience as he sat and waited for me to come to him and know that the Camerons didnt know who he was...obviously!...discipline is good,  but their whole take on it is evil!...not many other churches fear state oversight, cause most other mainline churches do not fear Government trying to run thier lifes, and or take the country over with communism...in fact most other church child care places WELCOME it, cause they dont have anythign to hide, ... sincerity in life and ministry dreads no inspection...

well, social skills have never been a plus sign in my life...lol....been on the outside looking in as far back as i know...
i think everyone who went thru that place left with some scars, some of us more and some of us less. each one has a unique story to contribute to the public awareness, as it is needing to be aware of these kinds of places that hide from Gov. oversight like it was demonic...they were all very paranoid that Gov was getting too communistic, HUH! they lived like a communistic cult!..makes you wonder if they all were doled out the same wages if they worked there...hum...would do me good to check on it i suppose..

hurray for you on the no skirt and dress stuff.,,go girl...i love dresses and skirts, but that is just my personality style, tho most times i wear jeans during week

 your family sounds like they dont get it, more than likely because it is painful to them to see see how bad it was...my family is that way, its taken a long hard road of patience on my part to get even my siblings to hear some of the truth...even my bro, who was in lighthouse, he still had to deprograme from thier brainwashing and find the truth to be set free...

i have been in counseling for going on 8 years, and it has made my family glad, cause I was getting well, but then they also were confronted with the horror of Camerons and Rebekah dorm life..etc
i am glad that your family is listening to you...for many years, i walked alone in my illness, they all assuming, it was all my fault...but time has proven that there is something wrong with roloff teachings..
thanks for writing on here again,
it takes time to heal, i know, been healing for quite a while...

if there is an effect, follow the string backwards, and the cause will be there....

later
TingOfPearl@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

Mac10 wrote:
I attribute my time there for making me less social, for making me feel more comfortable in my bedroom than anywhere else in my house or anywhere outside my house*****************************************************************************************************************************************

TingeOfPearl wrote:

This is also true of my years since 1978. I have lived most of my life in my house. I have moved in the world around me out there, but not in "normal" ways. My bedroom has been my spot to sit and study and seek out answers in reading and searching books, and meanings in things.

recovery for me has taken me down a long single road. I have had a counselor. But, The work of healing has been up to me.
Carrying the "Spirit" of Survivor upon me, has helped me to stay stiff against the currents of others who were ignorant of just what I have been up against.
a Fighting kind of "bulldog" sink my teeth into the belief that I can be all I was meant to be when I was first created. Not what Roloff demanded I be, not what Faye Cameron or Mrs.Wagoner or Minix or Wiley told me I "ought" to be or what thier wierd twisted views said I ought to be. but WHO GOD had originally created me to be to begin with.
Its those persons there in Rebekah and Roloff mindset thinking , that stole my mind from me, and pushed thier lies into my head, trying to snatch my soul for thier own little clownact show.
NOT God...they lied to me about who God was...
it was lies, and it is that which I have found out from my own searching and seeking after truth, that has set me free from thier lies that stole my mind and thoughts and ability to think my own way or have an opinion of my very own.

Knowledge is what they hated, they hated to let any in thier cult to have access to knowledge. Yet, the book of Proverbs that they love to quote, on some verses and ignore the rest of it,  tells us to seek out knowledge and to gain knowlege...
but these cult roloff people try to use fear to make thier followers run in fear away from anyone who wants to talk with them in rational reasonable ways.
Roloff cult pesons, love to give formulas that leave out facts, such as:
1+2+__+8-__=?.....
they do not promote cause and effect thinking. cause if they did, then thier followers would catch on to the fact that they are lieing and decieving and leading people down the road to hell and death adn misery adn bondage...

truth ALWAYS makes sense!
truth IS, and is not just a "formula"
truth pans out and is,
1+2+4+8-5 = 10!!

truth is like this calculation, and it adds up and pans out and always works all the way thru, cause it is REAL and solid and based on solid principles that WORK...not on overchewed screwed up twisted thinkings of man...

The dictionary and I have become the best of friends during my years of recovery. I have found out since healing that without a good websters at my side, I was nearly gonna always misread everything others were saying in the normal outside world, cause of the WORDS...the meanings of the words were scrambled in my stay at Rebekah home...
And when I began to define out clearly the meanings in words in what I heard and or read, things got much more hopeful for me...

in cults, they take words and kind of toss away the meaning that is correct and right, and then go and redefine the meanings and when you sit under that twisted upside down thinking for a year or even more, then it gets pushed into your mind of course, that is what they call, "brainwashing" and "Mindcontrol"...
to undo a lot of that, for myself, has been to search for truth, truth that pans out and makes sense and is defined according to a set definition by some authority such as the "Websters" dictionary, or any good dictionary...
simple tactic, but very effective...

well, that is my input for today...

later
TingeofPearl@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/site/ ... s?id=85627
 
What Is Christian Music?
 
      Posted by Between the Lines to RMrattlesnake
On Religion 05/16/2004 3:50:23 PM PDT #18 of 114

For years, before his death, Bro. Lester Roloff thundered that rock music is the most destructive influence on teenagers today, that it is so addictive it has a hold on them like dope, booze, tobacco, etc. And this is true of so-called "Christian Rock," or "Contemporary Music."
LOL. This article quotes Lester Roloff about what is Christian and what is not Christian. "Brother" Roloff (may he rest in peace) also proclaimed television, dresses that are not ankle length, movies and any co-mingling of boys and girls to be sins. And I am sure that if he had lived long enough he would (between child beatings) have proclaimed the internet to be a sin also. Roloff was a Fascist-like cult leader.

We should be very careful who we quote as an authority on what is or is not Christian.

In case you are not familiar with the Roloff Homes for Children (the Lighthouse for boys and the Rebbecca home for girls) let me give you a little background. In the early seventies abuse charges let to raid after raid of the Roloff homes and led to criminal charges and investigations that continue to this day, along with a never ending string of lawsuits. What types of abuse and crimes you might ask. For example: making boys run barefoot through briers and cactus, beating children with sticks, trapping boys in a 15 foot deep pit and then getting other boys to join them in urinating on the trapped boys and throwing rocks at them. Everything I mentioned has been proved and there have been convictions for them. Doesn't sound very Christian does it? And this article is going to quote him as to what is Christian?

The Roloff homes for Children are probably responsible for more nanny state legislation on children's homes that any other single cause. And every Christian children's home in the country today uses Roloff's example as an example of what not to do.
=====================================================================================

http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:hy ... ary+&hl=en

Wiley Cameron accepts the induction of Lester Roloff into the Baptist Heritage Hall.of Lancaster Baptist Church and West ...

=====================================================================================

[Anonymous]

who flew over the BIRDS nest? was its room blue?
 ::blushing::  ::blushing::

[Anonymous]

Hi to all , but am reposting because of my email address is out, the fadmail account is down and want to make my other email account available...
here is my original post i had posted to Liz...with my added p.s. for the yahoo email address...
===========================================

Hi Liz...and sisters...Patricia ALexander here...
Hi and I feel like I am nearly home to hear you on here...
been a long hard road to healing, I am now 40...
how are you?
please contact me...
would love to get reaquainted...

My experiences at Rebekah were detrimental to my mental and emotional wellbeing....
I have been in recovery for going on over 8 years...

Please contact me when you can...
Dolphynseabee@yahoo.com
thanks and hope to hear from you ...any  who would like to get acquainted or re-aquainted...
sincerly
Patricia Alexander ...Rebekah Survivor 1977-78

[Anonymous]

Hi this is Kelli, I was at Rebekah from Aug '83 to June '85.  I noticed that none of the posted messages are from anybody during that time....by then, the Camerons were running the whole ministry and Bro. and Mrs. Barrett were head of Rebekah.  She was a woman to fear!  One moment she was calling us her "little sugar-boogers" in this sickening sweet voice and the next she would get this evil look on her face and you knew you were in trouble!!!  The treatment there wasn't horrific abuse, mostly control and fear, there were definitely lots of "licks" and lock-up, girls had their mouths washed out with lye soap, clothespins stuck on their ears.  There was a lot of kneeling on linoleum for extended periods of time, humiliation etc.  Actually, I was told that while the Camerons were supervisors of Rebekah, Mrs. Barrett was the woman who did cleaning inspection, some of you might remember her, or her daughter who was apparently in Rebekah at that time......rumor had it that she was quite abused by her mother growing up.

When I first left Rebekah, I had a lot of emotional struggles, because I had bought into most of what was taught, ie. no pants, makeup etc and I went home and did it all anyway, feeling I was rebelling against God in doing so. That summer I overdosed on diet and water pills, wanting to just go to sleep and not wake up!  I enrolled in Bible College in the fall and struggled through the year on an emotional rollercoaster.  In later years, I hardened my heart against God and the church, but have since been able to put the past behind me and move on.  I found this sight today on a fluke and, boy, did it stir up memories!!!!  They aren't all bad either, I had 130+ close friends that I think of sometimes and wonder where they are now....Renee Mcknight, Michelle Cockrum, Michelle Caswell, "Buddha Belly", "Yogi", and so many others.  And there were workers who were good and cared for us, Mrs. Frye, Tom Dye (I had the biggest crush on him :smile:  ), Mrs Ruggles, Granny-Annie (mrs. Harmon), Miss Sue, and others.  I don't know if I think of myself as a survivor, there were lots of hurts, but time and maturity has mellowed my perspective some........
Time, and growing to understand the sovereignty of God - I don't know the whys of all that happened there and I in no way condone it, but I know that God allowed it in my life for His glory, and maybe that above all else has allowed me to accept it and move on......still, to find this sight brings out such nostalgic feelings, like I've lost some of my family and finally have a little glimpse of some of them again....

If anyone is out there from 83-85, I'd love to have some feedback.......

[Anonymous]

I was there when they were in Missouri. I just came across this site by chance tonight and have not really thought out or prepared what to type. But I would like to mention I do remember Mrs. Barrett and she was a mean one. I didn't understand then, but when I look back now I realize she must have been in menapause because it was VERY bad. I recall frequent slappings across the face, being called bitches and all of the pretty girls were her least favorite, always being  accusing we were after her husband. It was dreadful. I was there when "Bini" jumped out a 3 story window to escape and broke her back. I was there when one girl with severe epelipsy was accused of being possesed by the devil and we all had to gather round her and sing hyms until she stopped convulsing. I could go on and on.... It was a nightmare I will never forget. Used to wake up screaming, dreaming they were comming to take me away and put me in lock up. Then when I had my first child, a baby girl I used to dream they were comming to get her too. The Barretts weren't there for long after I got there, it was obvious Mrs. Barrett was having mental problems and they left. The Palmers came in after that to run the dorm, if you remember they had a daughter killed in the plane crash with Lester Roloff. They were nice people... compared to the Barrett's it was a big improvement. They were not abusive and never slapped us or called us names, but they did believe in the discipline and we were forced to attrend daily church, chanting Bible versus, etc. But I could tell they did care about us, very different from the Camerons also. I only met them a few times and I did go on tour with them for a few weeks. They were harsh, but I spent little time around them so I did not see alot of abuse from them. The whole system there was just very devestating to me and I had a very hard time adjusting. I would like to know if anyone from that time 86-87 has contacted anyone. Would love to talk to some other girls from that time, especially Sabrina Matthews or Jeanette VanAtta or Melanie or Ginny or Michelle from New Orleans (she was there twice, once in Texas and then again in Missouri) My name is Kim. Feel free to contact me @ Kilynn2@yahoo.com

[mikehunt]

On 2004-04-23 12:58:00, notworking wrote:

Melanie said:
First of all, I too didn't have a period for the entire year I lived at the Rebekah Home. I think this happened because our life styles had changed so dramatically and our hormones where affected from this. Also, most of the food that was prepared for us to consume, were very healthy and good for us. Though, I do remember a lot of starchy foods as well, which is full of carbs, and explains why so many of us gained tons of weight. Too much weight gain or loss, can affect a womans/girls cycle. I for one was quite happy for not having to deal with having a period for a year. Who wouldn't be?

Well, an OB/Gyn wouldn't be, for starters.  What you're describing is called amenorrhea, a medical condition.  Weight gain or loss can cause you to skip a period or two, but not for a whole year.  That's a sign of something more troubling.  Either you were being fed hormones OR you were stressed to the point that your bodies were constantly flooded with adrenalin.  Women fleeing war or living in refugee camps often don't have periods because losing blood/carrying a baby could kill them.  Otherwise, if you go to the doctor and say "I haven't had a period in a year," s/he's gonna be concerned.

Melanie said:
I stand corrected on the OB/GYN issue. Though, as an adult, when ever I had gained extra weight in the past, this would happen to me, like it did in the Home. I assumed it was "the" cause. I was wrong, and "thank you", for that info. I wonder if "Amenorrhea", has something to do with the fact that my husband and I haven't conceived a baby yet. But, thats another sad issue that perhaps, I'll have to overcome too~

this is thoroughly disturbing... of all of you women who went for a year without a period at this place, how many of you have conceived children?  i had a horrible bodily reaction after reading this; it's truly scary.

_________________
laura solomon
cedu vet. 1996-1999
RIP[ This Message was edited by: mikehunt on 2004-07-12 05:49 ]

[juanitaAvery]

I was in Rebekah in 1978 and 1979. I memorized the Bible verses, said yes ma'am and no ma'am and made myself available to go on visitations with Brother Roloff... he always took me to Baskin Robbins afterward. To this day, every time I have pralines and cream icecream, I think of him.
When I went home.. after my dad "kidnapped" me on a visit.. I did have a hard time adjusting. I remember my dad saying "you've seen both extremes.. now I want you to find a happy medium" Easier said than done. I am forty years old now and I still have the hardest time.
Wiley nor Faye Cameron were ever mean to me.. though I did get paddled one time for a washcloth being left on the tub. I was a room captain and the buck stopped here. But I did know about the lock up room and I heard stories through the grapevine.
I sang with the choir there and I remember that I loved that. I also remember putting vaseline on a toothbrush and applying it to my eyelashes as "pretend" mascara. No makeup was allowed.
And I do remember the fruit, though when I was there we didn't have trout on Sunday. We fasted on that day.
I too once had a list of everyone that was there when I was, but have lost it many years ago. I mostly remember Lori Lichet, Sheila (can't remember her last name, but she was from Tucson), Amy Roddy and Mary Lee Sullivan. Anyone that remembers me, please email me at nitaannb@myfamily.com

[Melanie]

I appreciate your thoughts,"Mike", but really, it's no big deal. Life goes on. With or without having children of my own. If this fabled "Amenorrhea" is to blame or not. Not everyone is born to reproduce. It's just the way it is. The way it's always been. There are plenty of children to love in this world around me. And I will, with all of my heart.
 My periods have been right on time for many years now. It guess it just isn't meant to be.
I can handle that.
We're only here on earth for a short visit anyways. At least I think so.. I refuse to stress myself out over ANY thing from the past, much less the present. At least not for too long. I don't think it's "healthy", do you?
Life, is just to short to muddle around and question every little damm thing that has  affected us somehow if we understand where it came from or not.
Instead, I embrace what the good Lord has given me thus far~
To think too long on ones own depressing ideas,  stunts the growth of the child within.
We've come too far for that..I've come too far for that....
Thanks


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