"I had absolutely no theological training, I drank heavily, was an adulterer, by Living Word standards, of course, I was perfect for the job."
-Apostle Dog

NancyB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> maggieb Wrote: Date: July 07, 2019 05:05AM
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > Daughter of an ex-member here. Does anyone know
> > about adoptions taking place within the church
> > during JRS's time? I've read posts about
> marriages
> > and possibly abortions being strongly
> influenced
> > by TLWF leadership, but wondering if they also
> > facilitated adoptions within the church. Feel
> free
> > to DM me if you have any information on this.
>
> Welcome maggieb
> In the late '70's I knew of a several families who
> adopted with in the group- but I knew no details.
> I hope you find what you are searching for.


Thanks NancyB! To put it out there--I'm looking for a person who would have been adopted as a baby in the summer of 1975. The bio-mom was a part of the TLWF church in LA. The adoptive family most likely would have been from SoCal or Arizona I assume, also fairly certain they were members of TLWF. If anyone possibly has any information or ideas as to where I can search for this information please reach out. Thank you!

maggieb ()
Date: July 09, 2019

There was a nice couple in Anaheim who were a bit older than I was who had adopted a little girl who was right about my daughters age who was born in 1975 as well.

The little girl, named Kathrine, had dark hair and looked like Asian eyes. She was smart and very well cared for and loved by the couple.

For weeks I have been trying to think of the couples name. The woman was very artistic.
I don't know if that is who you are looking for of not. I do not know if this was arranged in the walk or not.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2019 04:59AM by NancyB.

A post by Lone Wolf (November 2018):

Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: lone.wolf ()
Date: November 28, 2018 09:23PM

Onion -

I didn't hear the rumor about people asking Gary to move out of his Maui home, but it could very well be true. Depending on the timeline of when that happened, it might coincide with Silvana Hargrave's Facebook post which asked people to give monetary gifts so she and Gary can start their new life together in a new house. I tried to find the post on her FB timeline but it appears to be missing and was probably deleted.

For years the Maui church building was just one story, with plans to build a second story. G&M's house was already two stories and fully completed at the time, so their home was priority (and probably rarely used as you mentioned). I haven't been back in years, but from recent photos it looks like the second story was added to the church building.

And from a real estate website about the Maui church property: "The overall crime risk for this area is moderate with 1 criminal and sex offenders residing within 1 mile." Hmm...

Rewind a few years to 2003, when Silvana was married to Dave Jenkins. That was during the time of the lawsuit the church was having with neighbors and others in the community. I don't remember the entire situation, except that it was financially taxing on Dave and Silvana. Everyone living there could feel the tension. At the time, Silvana had a job cleaning Silver Cloud Ranch (which I think was bought-out by Oprah Winfrey); Dave had an architecture/design business but I don't remember him being overly busy. It always bothered me that G&M had a very cushy lifestyle, while the Jenkins were obviously under a lot of stress with the lawsuit and taking on the financial burden.

To your question about other facilities with an apartment for G&M, I know that Shiloh had one above the main kitchen. When I was younger I would tag along with my Mom when she had to stock their fridge with beer and do some preparations before they arrived at Shiloh. I'm sure it's been remodeled once or twice, too.

Oh yes, the cleaning. When G&M officially moved to Honolulu, Gary and Ginger Wallen moved shortly after with their two kids. Ginger oversaw housekeeping at Shiloh, and was very meticulous. Years later when I spent some time in Honolulu, I was asked to help clean G&M's multi-million $$ house. Ginger was there and directed us all on what to do - and like you said - we had cleaning instructions with extreme detail. That was definitely an AHA! moment when I realized why Marilyn moved the Wallen family to Honolulu.

I ask myself "WTF" when I think of my family and why they still continue to remain part of the church.

NancyB Wrote:

> I don't know if that is who you are looking for of
> not. I do not know if this was arranged in the
> walk or not.

Yes, this is the first I've heard of the possibility of adoptions being arranged within the fellowship. I've come across many stories of the flip side, of course.

Another from lone.wolf (Nov. 2018)

Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: lone.wolf
Date: November 19, 2018 08:22AM

I am a new user to this forum, but have been following the most recent comments since Shalom’s letters were made public. In time I would like to start reading from the beginning of the entire forum; I’m sure it will answer questions I cannot find elsewhere.

For days I’ve struggled with what to say, what not to say, and how to say it. I was born into the “church” (or as I refer to it, a business) in the early 1980’s. My parents both served under John + Marilyn, and my Mom is one of the Blix girls. Growing up I was always in my parent’s shadow, being referred to as “so-and-so’s child” at every church I visited/moved to. It wasn’t until I left the church 15 years ago, that I actually developed my own identity, separate from my parents. Many of my family members still attend various churches. Of my immediate family, I am the only one that “blew out”, and it has caused a rift in our relationship. Even prior to my departure, I felt like the Lone Wolf in my family.

I use social media like many and am following what’s being said on Facebook, although I have not shared any of my experiences publicly. My family members are watching the posts, too (some more than others), and they have been silent to my dismay. They do communicate with me still, but the words that come out of their mouths are still “walk talk”. They say what is happening is God’s will, and tell me a lot of bible stories as reinforcement. Occasionally they convey how heartbroken they are about the stories they read, but their actions don’t match their words. They are so deeply rooted in the church that I truly don’t think they would know how to lives their lives without it, and are trying everything they can to keep the church alive. I’m really trying to let love guide me in this process, but most days I feel hopeless knowing that I’ve lost my family to this cult.

When I “blew out”, it wasn’t because of disbelief in Gary & Marilyn, JRS, or the Living Word. I actually still believed that I was brought into something wonderful, that they truly loved me and my family, and I was lost for a long time after leaving. My first true moment of disbelief was listening to the word Gary brought just after Marilyn passed away. I was “allowed” to attend Marilyn’s funeral and was instructed to listen to it before the funeral. It’s been a couple years since I’ve heard it, so I’m going to point out the main points that really stuck out to me.


1. Gary saw the Lord huddled in a corner of his home, and he said it was the first time he’d seen him in his physical being. This happened a couple nights before Marilyn’s passing if I remember correctly.

2. He knew the Lord was there for Marilyn, thus he didn’t approach or speak to the Lord.

3. Not once in the word did Gary mention what the Lord physically looked like.


The reason these stuck out to me and really made me question the validity of Gary and TLWF, is the way in which he spoke. His tone was exactly the same as in all his words, and it felt very contrived and planned. What better way for him to continue to lead his people, than to making them believe that he has just seen Christ in the Flesh? Praise Gary, he has seen our Lord! Again, back to his tone. It definitely did not come across as someone who has just seen Christ. It sounded like someone reading a scripture from the bible, and he certainly didn’t fool me. When I saw Gary at the funeral to give my condolences, he told me that “Marilyn always prayed for me, and is continuing to pray for me.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, except that I was told that often by shepherds and elders during my time in the church. And no one actually told me why they were praying for me. Perhaps for me to put the blinders back on and submit to them?

On another note, myself and others have recently been contacted by pastors of the church we attended. Their intent is to “apologize” for their wrongdoings toward us. I have avoided any contact with the pastors and will not answer their text/calls. If they truly wanted to apologize, they wouldn’t have taken 15+ years to do so. I was shunned, alienated, and treated like an outsider ever since leaving. It certainly feels like this is just one step in their 12 Step Program to clear their conscious and revive the church.

Thank you all for being here, for speaking the truth, for making me feel like I’m not alone any longer. I seek answers from the early years of my parent’s involvement, that I feel they will not or cannot share because they’ve buried so many secrets inside themselves. Some of you were there with them, and I’ve been able to get some answers from your first-hand accounts. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Changed, thank you for re-posting Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: lone.wolf Date: November 19, 2018

Those words really pack a punch every time I have rad them. This point in particular: 1. Gary saw the Lord huddled in a corner of his home, and he said it was the first time he’d seen him in his physical being. This happened a couple nights before Marilyn’s passing if I remember correctly.

Lord huddled in a corner Sounds like the 'Lord' was cowering to Marilyn according the Gary in my mind. Did anyone else pick up on that or am I alonge in my criticism?

Lone wolf wrote "Growing up I was always in my parent’s shadow, being referred to as “so-and-so’s child” WOW! Personally I was so - and -so" daughter-in-law until I was ID'd a Neph. That is one big reason why I legally changed my name so I could have my own identity.

So many others have written about their families who are still in and praying for the 'blow-outs". Those we left behind all still "Walk - Talk." It does not mean that we do not love our family and old friends. They who stayed, I don't think, know any other pattern of thinking nor way of living after having been in for so long. - Look how long it took us to recover!

Most of us that had left years or even decades ago have struggled up to this point to find our healing. We may still cringe at a word, a color or even a smell.
Now that we have seen through the fraudulent manipulations by educating ourselves( thanks to Rick Ross and his cult education and works), getting therapy, or participating in some way in the forums and FB groups, we have figured out how to make necessary changes to free ourselves from the bondage our loved ones may still be under.

It takes time to undo the lies stuck in our heads. Thank you to a handful of faithful posters like, Changed Again, Reepicheep, Onion and more names I'd typ-o . We will keep posting to help everyone from The Walk to fit puzzles pieces together of how we were de-defrauded and lied to. The best part of The Walk or TLW was the people we worked along side and loved so very much.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2019 01:52AM by NancyB.

Thanks, NancyB.
The idea that the Lord would be "huddled in a corner" prior to Marilyn's passing struck me as bizarre as well. I'm glad 'lone wolf' easily recognized the absurdity of this fabricated story.

Note: I wouldn't be surprised if I noticed the Lord huddling in a corner of my home a few days prior to me passing into the heavenlies. He's always been afraid to speak to me (because of my legendary temper) and likely will want to make sure we're on good terms before spending eternity together ;)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2019 04:46AM by changedagain.

NancyB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> maggieb ()
> Date: July 09, 2019
>
> There was a nice couple in Anaheim who were a bit
> older than I was who had adopted a little girl who
> was right about my daughters age who was born in
> 1975 as well.
>
> The little girl, named Kathrine, had dark hair and
> looked like Asian eyes. She was smart and very
> well cared for and loved by the couple.
>
> For weeks I have been trying to think of the
> couples name. The woman was very artistic.
> I don't know if that is who you are looking for of
> not. I do not know if this was arranged in the
> walk or not.

That doesn't sound like who I am looking for, but I appreciate your help!