40 Years in America

I was the seven-day lecturer at "Camp K" near the Napa Valley in California. It was a Thursday in the summer of 1979 and we had about 400 people in the 7-day program. I was lecturing on the Old Testament and had just gotten to the part of the lecture where "by faith, Joseph went from the lowest dungeon to heights of the Pharaoh’s palace." Suddenly, the back door to the lecture hall burst open and three burly men led by a tiny woman carrying a huge cross made of 2 x 4s rushed into the hall. The three men were stopped by staff members, but the tiny woman dodged them and came running up to the front of the hall.

Brandishing the cross in my face as I stood frozen on the podium, she shrieked hysterically, "Mike, Mike, get away from them." A burly Canadian from the front row hesitantly stood and moved towards her saying, "Mom...??" as her voice went supersonic as she collapsed on the floor.

Pulling myself together, I calmly said into the microphone, "Mike, your mother seems a little upset. Why don’t you take her into the kitchen for a cup of tea!" He effortlessly picked up her crumpled frame and lumbered off with her in his arms.

The whole scene had taken only a few moments and, while the audience was getting over their shock, I finished up the lecture in about 15 seconds and announced we would be having a picnic lunch way up in the hills.

It turned out that the men were Mike’s brothers and that they had just met with "anti-cultists" who had freaked them out with tales of brainwashing and had assured them that the cross would "break the spell" and that Mike would be free to leave. It took a lot to calm them all down (days actually), but eventually they were reconciled and left Mike to pursue his studies.

I was the assistant director of the Camp K seven-day workshop site in the Napa Valley. It was the late seventies when we were having a lot of trouble with parents who had heard all sorts of nasty stories about us. That morning, we were expecting a visit from "Kathy’s" parents early that day.

A worried-looking sister burst into the staff room and said, "Kathy’s parents are here but we can’t wake Kathy up!" I told her to put the parents in the best room and serve them coffee -- I would go and get Kathy.

There Kathy was in the sister’s cabin, fast asleep with a few worried friends trying to wake her. I confidently took charge and started trying to wake her. We tried everything: cold water, yelling, slapping, singing Holy Songs, praying. To no avail. Reports kept arriving that the parents were getting frantic and suspecting that we were spiriting their daughter away while they were being "entertained."

I was at my wits end. What else to try. We had been trying to rouse her for almost an hour and I was exhausted, so asked one of my helpers to get me a cup of coffee, to help me think better.

I was sitting next to Kathy’s body, thinking desperately what else to try, when the coffee arrived. Kathy’s body twitched and suddenly she was there, back in her body.

She explained that she had been out of her body, stuck up on the ceiling of the cabin, watching what we were doing but not knowing how to get down. It was the smell of the coffee that had done the trick -- she had smelt it and was immediately back in her body.

I thankfully hurried her off down the hill to have breakfast with her worried parents.