San Luis Obispo

[Lurker]

I was in SLO in the eighties.

Does anyone remember any of this?

Girls having to wear dresses to the Wednesday nite bible study?

Being told by David G. that speeding was not breaking the law, because you had a choice, you could speed and pay a fine, which was OK, or you could go under the speed limit if you could not afford the fine.

Having every Bro's/Sis' house (were there 3 or 4?)  pour out the oil from the Bernstein's salad dressing and replace it with rice vinegar because they saw Judy do it.

does anyone remember this?

I wasn't there too long, but I remember thinking it was a little strange that everyone used the same exact salad dressing.

[guest]

I remeber a picture of the assembly where everyone (brothers) all had white shirts and dark ties.  they all looked exactly the the same.  I only went there for a couple months.

[Terry L Huffman]

  Greetings Lurker and everyone else:
Picture in your mind a typical midwestern assembly Sunday morning worship meeting. An LB from a larger assembly is visiting-he is sharp and he knows it-  8)and according to protocol is about to be introduced/welcomed to the Lord's Supper. The doorkeeper, also what was then called a "responsible brother," stood up in all pomp and seriousness in his Kmart suit in all readiness and cried out:
We wd. like to welcome our bro. ___ from the assembly in ____ . WE WORSHIP YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!! Uh, we welcome you.... I suddenly went from a dispensationalist to a holy roller and almost had to run out of the room! A Freudian slip, perhaps? Anyway, it was one of those lighter moments.
Terry Huffman

[Aslan213]

Hi Everyone,

I remember the salad dressing phase!    It was imported all the way into the valley assembly.  One of the brother's house I moved into was adamant about removing the oil from the Bernstein salad dressing.  This was in the mid-eighties.  I was told this is the way "we eat salad".  I remember getting a consequence for buying a salad dressing with no oil added because it wasn't Bernstein's.    It was after this, we found out how to use coffee the proper way.  

Lord Bless

Eric

[Rachel S.]

I think the dressing is a great example of the influence of Betty on the littlest detail of saints lives.  The reason for the dressing was as follows:  

Betty's son David was a diabetic (juvenile diabetic) from the age of 7.  Betty had been trying all kinds of diets over the years for both herself and her son.  In the early 80's, David went to the Pritikin (Spelling) diet center.  He did a short stay there and said he felt so much better.  He went on a strict Pritikin diet.  Betty then adopted parts of Pritikin into her ecletic, ever evolving diet regimine.  Pritikin is a very low fat, high carb. diet design mainly for people with heart problems.  In typical Geftakys style, the diet was taken to an extreme.  The oil was removed from the Bernstien dressing to get rid of the fat.  It had to be "Italian" style Bernstien since that had no other fat but the oil.  The other kinds had other fats besides the oil.  

This diet became an assembly fad.  It shows how much influence Betty and David had in the everyday life of the members of the assembly.  

The update of course is that eventually David's doctor told him it was unhealthy for a diabetic to be eating such a high carb diet that would require so much insulin.  He then began to follow a high protien, low carb diet like Atkins, or The Zone (but not the actual Atikins or The Zone).  That became part of Betty's diet and then an assembly fad.  I am to out of the loop to know the latest fad but I am sure the members are still allowing small details of their lives to be dictated by the "suggestions" of Betty.

[Aslan213]

Hi Everyone,

<<I am sure the members are still allowing small details of their lives to be dictated by the "suggestions" of Betty.>>

The suggestions of Betty?  That is putting it lightly.  In the valley, the Atkins diet is the current craze.  Of course, the valley is about 1-2 years behind that assembly in SLO that's moving and shaking things up lately.

It's funny how the homes are so rigidly controlled including diet regimens.  Then, when the brethren are at work or out doing errands, candy bars seem to jump them in the stores.  This reminds me of a brother in the valley on the Atkins diet.  He eats a nutritionally imbalanced meal and then would eat a whole bag of pork rinds because it's allowed.  Betty's direction for living is making the assemblyites to have compulsive disorders.  Then people swing in and out of manic depression as a result of the ministry.  Hmmm...this makes for some interesting character building.

Lord Bless,

Eric

[trockman]

Hey Eric

How is the SLO group shaking things up?  This I gotta hear.

Brent

[Rachel S]

For years SLO tended to lead in the diet fad department, simply for the fact that David G. and his family were always trying some new diet, diet supplement or other "heath" promoting activity.  Of course, since Judy is not there to do the work required to try all this new stuff, I doubt that SLO will be leading any diet or other fad.  I seriously doubt many assemblyites would be willing to inject themselves with hormones such as testosterone, regardless of how committed.  Oh, thats right, Betty is now advocating that the older sister who are having miscarriages, after years of having one baby after another and whose doctors have warned against further pregnancies, ask their doctors to give them progesterone.  What is scary in the assembly is one member will find a doctor willing to try these things and then everyone goes to that doctor.  Does anyone in Fullerton remeber the Vietamese herbal doctor that was the latest thing in the early 80's?  As kids we called him doctor Wong because we couldn't remember his name.

[trockman]

Ha!

Some of you may know about my very strange memory. I remember all sorts of things, highschool locker combo's, my mom's work phone number from when I was 5 years old, the liscence plates of all of our cars, going back to the late 60's, etc.  It is a gift.

I remember everyone going to Doc Vong, the oriental doctor of choice in Fullerton in the mid 1980's.

My wife and I went out to dinner with one couple, who were under his care, and the man ordered hot water to drink.  Yep, hot water. This was supposed to cure him.  (ole Doc Vong didn't know the man's problem was the Assembly)

To me, as a Chiropractor (one who doesn't do whacky stuff, BTW)  this is the ultimate!  Charge you patient a modest fee, say 85.00 and mutter a bunch of stuff in a foreign language and then tell them to drink hot water!  No way you can get sued. No way you can hurt your patient, and best of all, there is a very strong possiblity that they will need to come back again!

For the record, I don't do anything like this in my practice.

Brent

[Oscar1]

Test

[Oscar1]

Dat Vuong,
I went to see this herbalist once on the recommendation of another assembly member.  I was embarrassed by the wallpaper in his reception room...acupuncture charts showing a completly naked man from various angles.  
He took my pulse from both wrists, explaining that he needed to find the Yin Yang balance so he could prescribe things to restore the balance.  Roots, powdered goat horn, etc.
I later experienced a miracle cure for my depression and energy lows....I left!  
I think that most of the illness in the Assembly, which is the
sickest bunch of people I have ever seen, is due to supressed anger.  You believe you should submit to abusive treatment, but deep inside you know you are being abused even if you won't call it that.
Assembly lurker...If you are depressed, have no energy, a non-specific illness with no discernable cause...try a long vacation from the Assembly.  You might be surprised.
 

[trockman]

Thanks for correcting my spelling of Dat Vuong's name!  I never did visit him...

Another interesting note, while in The Assembly, I had some very bad allergies.  I wasn't faking them, although I did exagerate the severity on some Friday nights, once in a while on a Sunday PM  

Since leaving, I haven't had one allergy. My health has never been better.  So, what Oscar is saying is right on as far as my experience is concerned.

Amazing how The Enemy will curse you with good health in order to get you out of the "Schoolroom of the Believer."

Brent

[Mark C.]

Hello  All,
    I remember that Doc. as Mark Miller was seeing him and was telling me all about his philosophy.  The "DR." was treating Mark re. the proper balance of his Ying and Yang, as Oscar previously mentioned.  Having been saved out of Eastern Religious philosophy I cautioned him that he was involved in practices that were possibly demonic.  He defended his position on the basis that all philosphies had some truth in them and it was up to the Christian to keep the good and throw out the bad.  I argued with him that the whole concept of "Ying and Yang" were rooted in non-Christian ideas and that to accept the Dr.'s treatment was to buy into the whole system.  Funny how Assembly folks can rationalize almost anything the Leadership hands down to them without the ability to critically examine the latest fad.
   I'm surprised that the Atkins diet was okay as it was about as far away from the vegetable juice diet as you can get.  I lost 40 pounds on the Atkins diet and have kept it off for 2 years; of course it has messed up my ying and yang balance from time to time, but in such situations I usually drink a gallon of hot prune juice and feel fine .
                                                    God Bless,  Mark

[Terry L Huffman]

Mark:
Are you sure about that PJ? If I were to walk into a certain room in your home wd. I find a certain piece of equipment in there? Be honest brother, and shame the devil.

[trockman]

OK

I'll shut up about my memory....

Brent