THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
KEITH MALCOLM HUNT
At the time of this disaster at Waco, my wife and I were living in Florida; I would often say to her, the FBI and all those involved in trying to have the Koresh group come out, had no clue what they were dealing with; which was fanatical planet Pluto leadership and brain-washed individuals, and children. Following it all each day, I noted that some inside the compound were allowed to leave. One was the local mother in Oshawa that had attended our service with Lois Roden [who was the leader until she died, and before David Koreth assumed leadership]. Her daughter jumped out of a window when the fire started. They both survived the horror of it all.
The story of Jim Jones [look him up on the Internet] was a leader of a religious group that started out well enough, served and helped people, but over time, he also became convinced he was God’s “special agent” and went off the into fanatical teachings and brainwashed those with him, unto the death of them all and their children
I have a book called “Churches that Abuse” while not mentioning David Koresh or Jim Jones; the book is full of groups that are very similar to Koresh and Jones, and I could add similar to the Radio Church of God that eventually went the same way—— into a cult mind-set!
Back to 1984 my parents had decide to immigrate to Canada, my Dad was given early retirement at age 63. They had visited Kelowna in the Okanagan
valley of B.C. a year earlier. They had returned home and had sold their house, and got things going with the immigration department. It was pretty simple for them. All I had to do was sign that they would not be on welfare for 10 years. That was no problem as my parents had money and by Dad a nice pension from the Mackintosh company he worked at, for 36 years.
By 1984 my parents were landed immigrants in Canada, and went to live in the beautiful Okanagan valley in B.C.
By 1987 I knew my parents would never be living in the Oshawa area of Ontario. If I was to be near them I would have to move where they were, [I was an only child] so we made the decision to do just that. My right hand man would carry on where I left off in God’s work.
We took a quick visit to Kelowna, saw the house market, and work situation, it was a buyers market. We sold up and packed up and moved out to Kelowna B.C. We looked after 3 somewhat mild young men with physical and mental troubles, for the first 1 and 1/2 years. All going very well.
There was a pastor and his wife we had known form way back; they were pastoring a small congregation church in Penticton, about 45 minutes south of Kelowna; Des and Jean were their names. Knowing we were living now in Kelowna, he was happy to let me be his second pastor of the congregation. All was going smoothy in every way. Spiritually and physically.
Then the Social Service Department decided, because we had done such a great job looking after the 3 men they gave us, they would put them out on their own. They came to us to ask what we thought. I told them there was no way these men could live on their own. But they had already made their decision, guess they had to do something to qualify for their pay-check.
So they did what they had decided to do. It all turned out to be a disaster within a month. One example I’ll give. One of the lads loved “geto-blasters” as they were called back then. He would each week take the one he had and trade it in for another at the “second-hand store” down town. He had now been put on his own; given money to pay his rent and buy food. There was a knock on the door one Friday late afternoon. There he was——
“Hi Keith can I come and stay with you over the week-end?”
“Well….. I guess, okay.”
The next words from him were, “O look at my great machine.”
He had taken the $500 given to him from the Social Department for rent and food, and he had immediately gone out and bought a brand new geto-blaster!
Monday morning I entered the Social Department office with him and his geto-blaster, and said to them, “Now you created this problem, now you fix it.”
I learnt a week or so later he was living with another couple. Sometimes Social Service Departments are think in the head, and you wonder how they got their degree.
Fortunately for me I was able to pick up a job as a Shoe Repair man in a new store just opening, and they needed a qualified man in that skill. I was also teaching guitar for a local music school.
I was still publishing my 20 to 40 page magazine called “The Truth of the Matter” to our mailing list we had back in the Oshawa years; I had my own copying machine. I had about 100 people on the mailing list, most in North America but some in other countries.
A man came into the Penticton church, a man about 5 foot 5 inches and stout. He began to come regularly; everyone got to know him. Including a single lady; he and her were in their top 40s to early 50s I would say, never did ask, no need to ask.
They got friendlier and friendlier as time went on. Then I was informed they were engaged to be married. Everyone was happy for them. On a number of Sabbaths, after services I would sit across from them as we ate our refreshments. Normal Sabbath talk, and all seemed very normal.
The wedding day had been set for a lovely place out of town and my friend the pastor was to officiate the service. My wife and I did not attend, we had something else on the go.
That evening the phone rang—— “Pastor Keith, it’s June, [who just got married], he won’t take off his clothes….. O .... he is.... actually.... a she! What do I do?”
“June…wow…you need to tell the she to pack their clothes and get the heck out of your home and immediately get an annulment of you marriage.”
That was about all that was said between us.
I had actually sat across from this person a number of time at our eating table after services; looked male, spoke with a male voice, absolutely nothing to detect the he was really a she. That’s how hormone drugs can do things; outwardly a she can be a he, and an he can be a she.
A few days later I get a letter from Pastor Des in Penticton, saying I should mind my own business.
I replied to him it was June who called me, and it was my business as a minister of Jesus Christ. I never heard from him again.
I told my wife we would not be going back to that Penticton church until I knew June had done what I told her to do. About 6 months went by, and the man I knew in Vancouver called me to “chit-chat”—— he was the guy who knew everything about all the Sabbath churches once part of the Radio Church of God. I was relating how I was doing and the mockery of June’s wedding to a she, who was fooling us all by being a he. I told him we were not back with the Penticton church because I would not go back it is was all sorted out. He then said, “O Keith you do not know? “
“What am I supposed to know, not heard from June.”
“Well she did exactly what you told her to do. She did it immediately.”
I was so glad to hear that.
June decided to attend a Seventh Day Adventist church in Kelowna; she met a nice man there, and they were married.
I was working as shoe repair man in my secular work. The man who was the owner was about 30 years of age, married and had two small children. It was a franchise deal he had. One day as we were working together, he blindsided with, “Keith, I have not made the kind of money the head company said I would make out here in Kelowna [he and his family were from down Toronto way], so I’m giving you lots of notice that in 6 months I will hand this store back to the head company. Now they will probably try to sell it again, and the next person or people may not want you.”
I appreciated his comment and good notice he was giving me.
And that is what happened; some single guy bought the store, and was going to run it as a one man show. I thought best of look fella, you have to be open and work 7 days a week, only one day off - Christmas day, when the Orchard Park Mall closed down.
I heard he ran it for about a year, and then it was gone.
Well all secular work for me had dried up, and there was just nothing in the Okanagan valley for me. Teaching guitar would not give us enough to live on.
It was 1990 and selling houses in the valley there was super good money in it. What was happening was that rich people from Hong Kong were buying up houses in Vancouver for a high price [those people wanted out from Hong Kong before it was handed back to China by the British]. These Hong Kong people were buying old Vancouver homes for a very high price, so Vancouver people could buy a really nice home in the Okanagan valley, pay cash for it and still have two to three hundred dollars in the bank.
I said to my wife, “Look it would seem we are not mean to stay here any longer, there is no secular work for me any more. We need to sell this house while the market is a sellers market, and move on.”
We tried for a while to hang on, two or three months, but it was useless. We did sell, got some nice cash in the bank, and so it was moving time again.
It was nearly fall time; we decided to make our way down and across country to my wife’s mother and her new husband, who stay in Florida for the winter; they have a mobile home near Clearwater. I was also in touch with a fellow minister towards and near Florida; there was going to be a Feast of Tabernacles site, right on the way to Florida. The plans were we would observe this Feast with them and whoever else was there.
We would make our trip down as enjoyable as possible, taking in the sights of areas neither of us had ever seen. We stopped in Idaho and had a day with one of the ministers who like me had left the Biblical Church of God. Our next big plan was travelling to Utah and Salt Lake City. We had the day there and went inside that famous Mormon Tabernacle where you can hear a pin drop, the acoustics are so amazing. Then it was on to the Grand Canyon. On the way we stopped at Brice Canyon, did not know it existed, and is certain very different. We arrived at the Grand Canyon early in the morning as the sun was rising. It was all very spectacular. Then it was down to Arizona, and Phoenix. Very different scenery for sure, the red rocks of all shape and sizes, some quite spectacular. We had 3 days in Arizona, hot and dry weather. Then on and through Texas. We were only in Texas a short while near sunset, and down came the rain, I mean I had never seen a rain like it, since leaving Britain at age 18. It was truly a wild storm, we were happy to get to a motel for the night.
We arrived at the south coast town where the Feast of Tabernacles would be held. Nothing unusual over that period happened, all enjoyable.
Now our sight were set for Clearwater, Florida.
I well remember entering Florida for the first time; you got to the border of Florida and it was like a wet blanket was throw over you, just that sudden, like stepping into a steam-room, well not as bad as that, but it was hot and damp. We made our way to Clearwater and my wife’s mother’s trailer. We had a nice evening and then went looking for a motel. We found one.
A few days later we see this “duplex” for sale. It was October 1990. The price was a give away price, the duplex was nothing fancy per se but nice and neat. One side we could live in over the winter months and the other side rent out; it was all a win win deal; we bought it, and settled in for the winter. There was a Sabbath church in Clearwater that once was part of the Worldwide Church of God. That’s where we decided to attend.
O my O my.....that first attending on the Sabbath day---- we walked into a hornet’s nest!!!
..............................
To be continued
No comments:
Post a Comment