After a year of talking, pondering, questioning, answering, etc. I have realized that my journey out of the assembly began long before I ever heard of Brent Tr0ckman. After a brief hiatus from posting, I guess I need to get this down:

After spending my single years in Omaha, getting married in 1979, and having our first child on New Years Day 1981, my husband and I were firmly established in assembly life with all of the accroutrements: brothers house, meetings, child-training issues, and a big family split. Yet, all in all, I was happy and content. I really felt that the assembly had the answers, that it gave my life dignity, that it provided meaning.

In July of 1983, we were "sent out into the work" to Norfolk, NE. This was shortly after our second son was born. It was definitely an outpost in the work, not exactly Mongolia, but definitely not suburban or urban life as we had known it. That was okay, though, because we were rising stars in the work, trusted to be sent out - Wow! Actually, our 5 and 1/2 year stay in Norfolk remains one of our fondest memories. We had two more sons while we were there and it was a busy time with a young family and a very small assembly. The pressures were less, the families and singles we were involved with became very precious to us and still are. I do remember one incident that always amazed me: our son, then only 10 months old, required major heart surgery in Omaha. He was in the hospital about a week. Naturally, I wanted to be with him 24-7, but I was strongly encouraged to go to the Sunday afternoon meeting (in Omaha) instead of being with my baby. One of the sisters came to be with him so I could be at the meeting. The pressure was obviously enormous and I did not want to go, but I did. I remember nothing about that meeting. My mind and heart were with my son.

George only visited us once or twice in that time as I recall. He was very rude and boorish about the fruit I served him and that is the extent of what I remember of his visits! The lovely thing about Norfolk and the leadership there is that there were no power plays, no big egos. It really was a quiet little assembly that nobody really was that concerned about.

Then in April of 1989, while sitting in a workers meeting in Omaha we were asked to pray about being sent to Champaign, Illinois. By Dec. 1, 1989 we were on the interstate heading east. I moved into a house I had never seen or been in before and we began living with 3 brothers. I was rather amazed that we had been sent there since there were so many brothers and Norfolk had so few. There were very strange things about the household from the beginning. Dietary issues were a big, big deal. When I asked the "head steward" if he would get some animal crackers and cereal for the children I was exhorted later for breaking the dietary code. Let me explain that we had been strongly advised not to change anything about our living situation with the brothers because the Bradbury's had done such a remarkable job.  Eventually, our family of four little boys loosened up thing a bit and we began to get entrenched in assembly life like never before with meetings in our home, meetings with the brothers in our home (most remain our dear friends), more people to meet with, etc.

We lived next door to a leading brother and his wife who had a sisters' house. Within two months it became abundantly clear that something was not right. The LB next door began to show his true colors. The sisters in his home began to confide in me - they were miserable much of the time. He was heavy-handed, being one of Betty's proteges, and they made complaint after complaint to me. I could go on and on. There were so many issues with this LB in regard to integrity, clarity, harshness, no people skills, no leadership qualifications, and his incredible need to be a tattle-tale to the higher-ups about what he perceived as our transgresssions. As one person said, most of the people who left the assembly in Champaign can be traced to him. Without sharing the gory details, let it suffice to say that when everything broke loose last December/January it was this LB's lack of integrity that was the assembly's undoing in Champaign. Frankly, I can do nothing but thank him for placing that seed of doubt in my mind about the assembly and its idea of spiritual leadership way back in 1990. That seed was watered and made to flourish by this LB's consistent attention. May God have mercy on him.
God is so faithful.
Pat Mathews

Pat,

It sounds to me that your experience in Norfolk was something like Caryl's and mine in the San Fernando Valley.

Even though we were workers, (ie, in "authority".  Actually we were GG's messenger boys), we formed some bonds with the people from that era that time has not eroded.  We had many good times together.  My kids have good memories of those days.

God bless,

Thomas Maddux