Since the following series of events happened on Tuesday evening, I have been debating whether or not to spend time on this blog recounting them. Finally, I decided the readers not familiar with such things needed to know that stuff like this happens in Rutherford County. This post will not be reciting from a book or drawing conclusions from experts on cults. I will retell certain events that took place at the Great Wall restaurant in Rutherfordton. First, let me acknowledge that the workers probably had no idea what was being said or why there were loud words being uttered in their restaurant. After the events were over, the lady behind the counter acted so polite and tried to carry on as if nothing had happened. For that, I was shocked and very grateful.

    From time to time, I drive another former member around town for him to run some errands. He does not drive or have his own car. After I retell this evening’s events, I will relate what he has told me about his time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). From what I can tell, Jane Whaley is very aware of this former member named Tony. His story is his story, but, in reality the results are not much different from other former members. I will explain as we go along.

     Tony decided he wanted to eat at the Great Wall restaurant. He likes the food and often takes his leftovers home to eat for a second meal. We had eaten there before and the last time we were there we encountered a present WOFF member who was very friendly. This evening was much different. I let Tony out in front and he went in as I parked the car. As I opened the front door, I immediately recognized a present WOFF member who I had known since 1992.  Her family was one of the first we met when my family arrived at the Greenville church. She had her back to me as she was chatting with Tony. I stepped in behind her and then backed up realizing she would turn and run into me. I also noticed to my left, her father. We had called him –Vadi. I think that is a Swedish(?) term for Papa. As this WOFF member, LB, turned to leave, she met my eyes, her countenance changed and she took on a very deadpan look. For more background, she was the one who accompanied my then wife to my front door on or about February 16, 2010 and told me I was “telling lies” on this blog. (see link here: http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=572 ) My first contact with her after I left had been the summer of 2009. I had met her family in Charleston and actually enjoyed a meal with them and my family. That is a story for another day. Going back further she was the one who on June 6, 2008 passed on from Jane Whaley the news that I was “out of the church” and to not come back on the property. So, yes, we go way back.

     When I realized her expression change was meant to send a message, I got the message and turned to Vadi for a social greeting. He recognized me and made a motion toward me. At that moment, LB stepped between us and physically broke up to pending embrace, while starting to shout at her father in Finnish (?). I had no idea what she was saying, but, the look of confusion immediately came over her father’s face. He looked at me; I smiled back as I suspected she was telling him not to touch me. What do you think?  Actually, only they know what was said. Her rising volume was then only superseded by Tony. He saw what was taking place and he turned to her and shouted something to the effect of WOFF is a lie, full of lies. He may have used the “c” word, but I am not sure. To this LB replied loudly, you, motioning to Tony and me, are the ones who believe LIES! While this loud verbal barrage was happening, Vadi was becoming only more confused as LB was dragging him out of the store. He stopped a few feet from the door and turned back. I opened the front door to smile and wave at him as if nothing was the matter, as if this was perfectly normal in Rutherfordton. And some days it is. No matter how hard LB tried, he was only more confused that a person he had been seeing at Greenville and a few times at WOFF could now be so evil and untouchable? Who from the Greenville church could forget the times of Vadi’s summer visits when he would try to learn new English words? Who can forget LS teaching him the word “flexible” and he would take a pen and bend it back and forth? He spent many days among the Greenville group and had been such a likeable and caring fellow. The language barrier did not seem too difficult as his face would show his love for his grandchildren, family members and new friends.

    Oh, but in the absence of LB and Vadi, the verbal barrage from Tony continued. I tried to quiet him down to no avail. He made sure everyone in the restaurant and some others that came in later knew what WOFF and Jane Whaley had done to him, and his friend he went there with in May of 2010. See this was not the first time Tony had told his story in public. He will tell anyone who will seem to listen about WOFF and how they treated him. I would not be retelling his story here unless I agreed that what he says seems plausible and true on many accounts. For now, let me just conclude this part my saying Tony did calm down and we were able to finish the dinner with no more incidents. The way LB broke up the social greeting between her dad and me, still bothers me, but, why should I be shocked? Have you seen my signs?

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A Few Words About Tony….  

    Honestly, I do not have the space to retell Tony’s entire story. He has a very good memory and has retold many of these details several times to me. If I get them out of order, it is my fault not his. He is feeling today the effects of his stay in WOFF during 2010. His reactions to WOFF members today are a result of what happened to him during his time at WOFF and what has happened since then. He feels much of his life had been destroyed and at a very minimum, his life has been permanently altered by the course of events during and after his stay at WOFF. Let me explain.

   Tony first came down from Chicago to this area in NC in 2003. He came with a friend, CK. This friend had three sons and a former husband at WOFF. She wanted to be near her sons and she wanted Tony to come with her. From Tony’s account, the relationship was strictly platonic, friendship. They lived in Kings Mountain, NC, and came to WOFF services infrequently. CK was able to spend some time with her children. From here, I am not sure of the sequence of events. But, two of the sons moved back to the Chicago area and CK and Tony followed or vice versa. Events in Chicago were not affected by WOFF and Jane for the most part. However, in April of 2010, the son still at WOFF was to get married. An entourage from WOFF came to Chicago to pick-up CK for the wedding in NC. Here is where WOFF practices began to influence Tony and his friend CK in a whole new way.

     CK arrived back in NC in time for the wedding and in time for lots of new clothes and accessories. Who is shocked by that? CK was in the wedding and all seemed to be progressing well. Near the end of May 2010, Tony asked to come down to NC. Another entourage from WOFF which included CK, her first husband and his new wife, came back to get Tony. They showed up with a truck and packed most everything from the place where Tony lived. Tony was under the impression that these things would be taken back to NC for him and CK. Other things happened that weekend which are just too scary to retell here. Anyway, these things in the truck NEVER made it back to NC- according to Tony. Why do I tell it here? Because how many men over 70 do you know that have nothing of their own in their apartment besides a few clothes? The furniture, personal effects, insurance papers and jewelry that Tony says were his were never presented to him when he got to NC! He was put into an apartment arranged by CK’s first husband and in it is furniture given to him by that first husband- GC, Sr. A bed, a chest, a sofa and some kitchen items were about the sum total of the furniture items I saw in Tony’s apartment. Where did all his stuff go? Rumor has it was sold on ebay® and the money given to GC, Sr. Who knows at this point? But, for sure, Tony’s stuff is gone.

     When Tony arrived in NC, he was set-up in this apartment in Forest City and CK was not allowed to live there. Was he told this BEFORE he left Chicago in May of 2010? No, he never mentions that he was told their relationship would be different. They were not allowed to talk privately – there always had to be a guard with them. This is standard at WOFF, but was he told BEFORE he came? He tells that CK was not given access to her debit card and had no money to buy snacks after church services. Her medicines were altered and she did not even know what they were. Her occupation had been a nurse and now she did not know her meds and the doses? He tells of her being moved out of GC, Sr’s house and going from place to place to different member’s homes inside the church, taking her clothes with her. He talks of being confronted by the family nurse practitioner in the church about why he would not take a flu shot? He claimed it had mercury in it and he refused it. He has that right to refuse, but the pressure to take it was uncalled for. I refused the flu shots given out by the church – every time. The pressure to pay your $20 or whatever and get in line is great. After all, we are all so close in WOFF, when one gets sick, it is easy to spread. (Yes, this is the short version of Tony’s story.)

    October 29, 2010 was a big day in Tony’s life. He tells of being at therapy at Dr. Jerry Gross’ office in the afternoon. He is talking to the therapist lamenting that he could not see or talk to CK and in barges the doctor’s daughter with a cell phone in her hand. She says- “Jane wants to talk to you”. He takes the cell phone and begins to listen to a tirade from Jane Whaley. He recounts her saying he will take therapy so many times week as well as other things. He says she told him if he “did not stop railing that she would personally take him back to Chicago”! He says she just said – yes, ma’am and then hung up the phone. He told the therapist he could not continue his therapy and asked her to call for his ride home. On the way home, he shares with the WOFF member driver that he is afraid and may need to buy a gun. For a person from Chicago this is not a far-fetched statement. Later that night he thinks he may have repeated the statement at the fellowship at the church blood drive. He had also recently found out that GC, Sr.  had a key to his apartment and for an elderly person; his fears were only magnified by the threat of physically being hauled back to Chicago by the church leader- Jane Whaley.

   After that date, rides to WOFF services stopped. Contact with CK went from nothing to less. Mail sent to her was returned or not picked up from a box they shared. Contact with CK went from difficult to impossible. Calls to the church to locate and communicate with CK went unreturned or ignored. A letter to Jane Whaley did prompt a call from Jane. Sadly, Tony was so upset, he called Jane a liar and hung-up on her. Weeks later as I helped him retrieve his voice mail, we found a message from Jane exclaiming her love for Tony and that she was praying for him. Really? A letter sent to CK to the WOFF address about this time or soon thereafter garnered him a call from CK. He describes it as scripted and CK as being tense and unable to answer basic questions. It was a short call. Do you think someone was listening on another extension to the call? Really? There is sooo much more that has happened since Tony’s exit from WOFF. Let’s stop here for now.

   Questions: Do you think Tony was told BEFORE he left Chicago in May 2010 that his relationship with CK was forever going to be changed? In reality, since she was in NC, it had already changed. Did he realize it? Do you think Tony would have agreed to allow his furniture and personal belongings to be loaded into a truck if he knew he would never see his stuff again? Do you think Jane’s phone call during Tony’s physical therapy session was kosher, legal and normal? Remember in WOFF, Jane has ultimate say over protocol and procedure. But, does that always make her decisions right and legal? Does it seem plausible that Tony believed his relationship with CK would/could be the same in NC as in Chicago? After all was he told during his first stay that things must change? Can you see why Tony might be a little upset with Jane Whaley and the crew at WOFF? Can you see why to at least some extent, Jane Whaley could be viewed as causing this mess? Did Jane know about the personal property not being delivered to Tony? If not before, she knows now. Welcome to the life in Rutherford County, NC.

    Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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       (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 306.