I thought this email about Haiti was a perfect example of the mystical manipulation which Steve Hassan and Robert J Lifton describe:
We had the MTS / Assembly volunteer workers Bar-B-Que this aft and had a visiting brother from the Service Dept. at the DR Branch which is coordinating the relief effort in Haiti.
Some exper.-
We all know how the morning of the day of the earthquake the Haiti branch had just filled their diesel generator tank and also the propane tank, both good for 1 month of operation. Interesting... the propane vendor would only come if called and paid in advance. However that day he came of his own accord...
80 Haitian bros. were transported to 9 different DR hospitals with at least 80 family members. At each hospital there has been teams of local bros set up 24/7- one team tends to cleaning of individual patient and their rooms (this is the 3 rd world), another team tends to supplying clothing and bedding, another brings in 3 meals per day, another obtains meds needed... and all this in each of the 9 hospitals. As the patients are discharged local bros have provided 3 houses of convalescence. When able, the patients are transported back to Haiti to be with their families. There 60 left in the DR.
In the flurry of medical evacuations from Haiti to DR some of our bros got lost in the shuffle and ended up in a variety of hospitals. How did we find them? Brothers and sisters would go in singing Kingdom songs and the patients that responded were our brothers (Have you mastered the new songs? Might be useful!)
One youngster witness sister was sobbing because she was all alone in a strange hospital, strange country and strange language and wanted her mother. A brother met up with her and ascertained her story. He said I will find her. He took a digital photo of the young sister and drove all the way back to Haiti (4 hrs) got across the border and went to the cong territory the youngster had said. He actually found the mother and took a video of her since she could not come across the border. He drove back 4hrs to the hospital and showed the video to the young sister. You can imagine the alleviation of the young sister. Hats off to the brother- he is really applying this week’s Wtch on making his brotherly love manifest!!!
A young couple had to leave their 7 month old baby in Haiti when the husband accompanied his wife to DR for surgery. When the surgery crisis was passed the couple longed for their baby. A brother offered to drive the father back 4 hrs to get his child. When they got to the border, the brother told the border Commandante, ‘Remember this face (the father). I will be bringing him back with his baby!’ (You never get away with stuff like this at a 3 rd world border crossing). They went in and found the child and then came back to the border. As they approached they wondered if they would be shot. “Sigan adelante” (go right on thru) said the Commandente. A happy reunited family ensued!
The brother-in-law of a DR Bethelite sister had been studying but was a Colonel in the armed forces and had been ingrained with a prejudice against Haitians. Everything criminal that ever came up as was the fault of the Haitians (this attitude can be quite prevalent in the DR). This went on for quite a while until the earthquake. Then he saw the care and love exhibited by the DR bros. in so many ways that he said he wanted to participate in the relief work. One time the bros were to visit a hospital and he was to come along but unfortunately missed a rendezvous to change from his military garb to civilian wear. The bros said, ‘ No problem, come as you are. We know who you are’. As it turned out, because he was in his military uniform the hospital gave them access to wherever they wanted to go and they ended up getting in with no hassles. One person wanted to salute him and he said “Shhhhhhhhhh... no no... I’m a brother!” On ne peut pas juger un moine par son vetement.
The Haitian brothers are so well cared for in the DR hospitals that everybody in the wards wants to become a witness. They will tell the brothers, “I used to study...” or “My uncle is a witness...” anything to get their attention.
Perhaps you heard of an organization called “Aide Afrique”. It is based in France and has a number of witness doctors on call. When the call went out, within 8 days a team of 12 doctors (various specialties) arrived with a ton of equipment and were able to perform things in the Haitian assembly hall that even in DR hospitals were not able. They are so good that they have even come back to DR and did surgeries that DR doctors said they couldn’t do without blood. Isn’t there prophecy about things like this.........?
So.... how do you feel being a part of the greatest org. on earth?! Just think of the next thousand years.........