I was at Rebekah from 78-79.I was there during the time they were trying to close it down.I was one of several girls who were put on a bus and shipped across country because our parents did not think it neccessary to bring us home. I remember the stop at Bethesda..which seemed a nightmare to me. I remember being made to crawl across the floor on all fours to the shower, unclothed. The shame and humiliation from that was hard to take.I can remember things that happened at Rebekah that I don't think should have.Ilove the Lord today with all my heartand my life is a loving service to Him,because He loves me so much...My heart is devoted..however, none of this happened as a result of my time at Rebekah, none of it. It took me years to see God as our loving heavenly father who is there to help us. At Rebekah it seems like I was taught that He was relentlessly stern, strict, hard to please..and unless I was punished enough, He was unforgiving..I had learned some "head knowledge" (that was not properly taught)..years later I finally met the Lord..who He really is..and what He is really like. .I looked up Rebekah this morning before church because I was just wondering if it was still there, what it might look like. I found this website interesting I guess. I remember thinking that things there just weren't right, but since I was only considered a rebellious run-away,I figured I was just seeing it the way I wanted too.I ran for the fence on the blacktop one Saturday as we were walking round and round for excercise..being fed watermelon(probably only so we would stay hydrated). I saw lock-up too! I remember waking up to the 2-3 inch roaches in there. I remember them letting me out on a sunday morning right before church. When I looked in the mirror, my eyes looked so sunk into my head I thought I looked like some kind of monster!..and they made me dress and go to church anyway. The way we were all treated wasn't right, unless you managed to become one of Brother Camerons favorites. I pray that God will stop any future misuse of His teachings. Granted, there does have to be a bit of firmness when you are dealing with violent,set-in-their-ways teen-agers, butit needs to be tempered with love and kindness. And I have found if you want a positive result from someone, treat them with kindness. My name is Angela Gesualdo. I doubt anyone would remember me. I was pretty quiet.I did somehow make it to the new cheerleading squad they started that year(my nickname was Waldo) I fondly remember some of the girls there...Reggie Brown,Becky Stuart, Vicki and Veronica Espinosa... I still have my Bible from Rebekah with alot of names signed in it although I cannot put faces to hardly any of them anymore. I don't remember a lot of my youth. It is good to see that there are those of you who came together for support. I hope with all my heart that you all eventually came to a true heart to heart relationship with God. I pray that all of your hearts will be healed. There were too many wrong things going on back then. I am glad it was eventually stopped!I also pray that if the new place isn't run the way it should be, that God will close it down too!
