Never in my lifetime have I ever encountered such deceipt, manipulative and arrogant people as the ones from YWAM/Baja.

In 2006 we sold a house we built to their operations manager for $285K. They agreed to the price and wanted to move in before closing escrow so they didn't need to extend their current lease in San Dieog. YWAM had just purchased 13 acres to build their "base" across the road from our house. It made sense.

They released $100K downpayment.... $20K came from the buyer and $80K was either a loan or gift from YWAM. An unsecured note for $185K was signed, which was not tied to the house, as a bridge loan until they obtain a loan from GE Money. The payments were interest only.

They paid the interest to the third party note holder for 2 years, but never applied for funding. The contract gave them only 15 days to apply. They were granted an extention of 12 months and applied for their loan. The loan was approved, but they never kept up communication with the loan broker to get to closing.

Last March they stopped paying all together and demanded a return of their entire deposit. By this time they had paid $77K of interest only to the note holder, the principal of $185K was still owed. Even if they were credited the interest payments they paid a total of $177K leaving a balance owed of $108K.

At the end of March we received an email that read:

Once you have returned our down payment to us, you can then take possession of the house and move forward with selling it.

At this time, we are not in agreement with anyone viewing the house or your intentions to sell it before you return to us our down payment.


Thank You,


Jim Walker
Campus Director - YWAM Tijuana
Crt. Tijuana-Ensenada Km 22.5
Junto a Malibu
Tijuana, BC CP 22710-CR-22701
MEX: 664 630 1869

We sought legal advise from a former prosecuter and sent them an email which included a statement that if this went to court YWAM's books would be a part of discovery. This got their attention. We received this email on April 5th:

Good News! I have secured the $$ needed to bring this thing to a close. My lawyer called Luis and he is preparing copies so we can see what still needs to be done.

In regards to the old contract we need to officially cancel this and produce a new contract. I have spoken with my lawyer about preparing a new contract for the $35K.

Finally we will be able to get this done and get on with our lives. I will call next week and give an update on the progress of the documents.

Thanks,

Jim Walker

Oh yes, we bought into it. We were broke due to the real estate crash and mentally exhausted from 5 years of attempting to settle the matter.

Three days later, YWAM's director told us that YWAM would take over the settlement to purchase for $35K. We met with him, agreed on the deal and shook hands.

On June 13th Sean sent us this email.

I have the check done and in my brief case. I was at Sentri all morning so I have not had a chance to write our board yet but I will soon, I am 90% sure all will be fine. Can I met you at the pizza place where we met you yesterday and drop of the check at 6PM?

Thanks

Sean

He did give us a deposit check and then sent an email informing us that his board member Kirk Roloff would be following through.

We met with him on several occassions to explain the situation and provide him with various documents. We had nothing to hide. We felt like we were being interrogated, but again, had nothing to hide. After completed his due diligence, discovered the title was free and clear and could have been transferred 5 years prior, he began to bully us. The afternoon before we were scheduled to close the deal, the $35K became $20K. He deducted all of the buyer's fees, a $5K fee the buyer paid to a Notary in 2006 and then began calculating HIS fee for representing YWAM. Livid would be putting our reaction mildly. We declined and walked away knowing a law suit would follow.

On August 29th we received this:

I just got back into town.

It was my understanding that you were pursuing a purchase agreement with YWAM?...

At this time, I am not willing to pursue further negotiations and the only course of action I can take now is to have the contract rescind and ask for the return of my down payment.

Sincerely,

Jim

They filed a lawsuit on August 24th.

Having never dealt with non-humans, we allowed a prospective buyer to approach them directly. They lied through their teeth to him. He would let them remain in the house for discounted rent. All other prospects wanted immediate possession. Soon they had fraudulently put the power in their name, it was in our name for 6 years. We were able to intercede and change it before the next billing cycle. They did this to establish proof of occupancy rights.

We went to the house to assess the years of deferred maintenance with a police escort. Unbelievable! The arrogance was nausiating to say the least as he stood in the door and again lied. Behind us came the director of YWAM and about 6 followers to witness the event. Which was uneventful. As we were leaving, they all hugged each other and rejoiced as if they just won the super bowl. Rewarding bad behavior.

YWAM charges a fee for their Dicipleship Training School...... I have never paid a dime to study the Bible. No one can volunteer unless they complete this costly course. Their good works in the world also cost money... again, I have never paid to help others. It is a sacrafice and comes from the heart.

We live in a time of corruption I have not witnessed before. It seems to be the norm. My deepest concern is the indoctrination of our influential young people into this so called ministry. Will we as a society sit idle and do nothing to prevent these money making ministries brainwash our youth? Their program is very tempting to our youth, travel the world, do good deeds and be a part of a large family. The Moonies, James Jones and Rajaneesh were no different. In the 60's, parents kidnapped their children from these cults and needed to deprogram them. Today, these cults have a sophisticated disguise and structure, parents unknowingly encourage the experience.

The IRS exempts these organizations from disclosing their donation income and expenditures. This is outrageous. Donations are solicited on the premise they will go to good works. Instead, they are used to brainwash our youth. They are taught to live off of other people's money failing to learn real life skills. Is it any wonder that our value system has shifted from hard work to entitlement?

I will continue to stand up and try to be heard. Not merely about my battle with YWAM, but to save our youth. We refuse to be victimized merely because we do not have the means to legally defend ourselves. The written word also holds power.