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In Reply to: Re: article on HCS posted by Monger on July 09, 2005 at 10:04:28:
Posted by Porceleindoll on March 16, 2005 at 07:35:18
In Reply to: HCS Tateyama posted by Jewlz on March 15, 2005 at 19:06:54:
The HCS had a few purposes. First it was just a big house out in the country, used for meetings and stuff. I first went there for the Japan Teen Training Camp in ('85? 86?) then returned about a year later when the PI cleared out and the refugees landed in Japan, I was on the staff at that time, it was a fun time, there were a few of us in my age group, Byron, Marie Claire, Aaron, Hannah, and there were the teens from the PI who were just younger than us, we had a lot of fun actually.
After that it morphed into the JLC (Japan Leadership Camp) and there were 2 or 3 one-week meeting sessions to pull in all the field leadership and 'retrain' them. The same teens and other 'disciples' from the field were pulled in for staff purposes. I remember a few, my husband was there for translation and just getting off the hot seat of Newheart's retraining. Silas (Abby, Jericho) was there, I think Chris (of KV fame), I believe Mike was there, Merlin (Japanese), Johnny (Japanese), I can't remember the rest, oh yes, Ado was there to coordinate the teens and staff, perhaps French Joseph was there too.
We worked hard, but it was fun, we were the teens in charge, and we got to boss around the field leaders.
After this the HCS went through revamping (it wasn't the HCS yet). And a few months later the 'School' vision began. This was supposed to be a major revolution to better educate and organize the education of the ever-growing kids and teens. I went there about a month after it started, and was the 2nd oldest teen (18 I think). Angie (of Jesse and Deborah) was the oldest. There were a couple other 19 year olds, but they were new disciples, not SGAs.
From there it evolved into a training center/school/PR front. Berg and Zerby moved in, and the (in)famous pyramid was built on top of a nearby hill. Actually, the building was there already, but they had the Family artists (Jaques maybe, I don't know, they were selah and we were supposed to pretend they weren't there and look away whenever we saw these mysterious selah people). Peter took control of leadership of the HCS itself, and we had 2 or 3 times weekly meetings of all the possible adult population at the HCS, guidance talks, etc.
The original Jetts, called the HOTs at the time, were started there, Nathaniel and I along with an adult named Andrew, were overseeing them, and of course there was the main teen group, the OC group, the MC group and so on. Sara moved in with Dora and others, and began videoing classes with the different kids' groups in order to train the field teachers and parents.
From there the Kiddy Viddy was born and the whole video ministry which took over the direction for many years to come.
In the meantime there was the question of what to do with problem teens (both on the field and at the HCS). The first solution was the DTR which was held in Matsumoto, to which rotten apple teens were sent (amongst whom was my sister, James Paul and Paul, and a few adults, or one adult). From this the Victor program was born, the first Victors being sent off to Matsumoto again (I believe it was Matsumoto). Amongst these were my husband's son John Little, who was barely 11 or 12, Paul (I think) of Victor and Love, and a few others. Ricky's brother Martin was overseeing it under guidance from Ricky and Elaine, and Faithy was somehow involved, I don't remember how, but she was involved.
I moved around this time to Tokyo for awhile, but the IVM (International Video Ministry) continued to progress into the Treasure Attic Series and more Kiddy Viddys etc...
During the time Peter and crew were there, many leaders were pulled in from the fields for retraining courses, as well as leaders from other fields, to see how it's done at the HCS. I guess we were pretty proud of ourselves cause we were receiving direction from the very top. The teen department led some major changes in the international teen world, one of them was the Make it Work thing, trying to get teens married and reproducing. The first teens to get married at the HCS were Gabe and Christy (who are now split up), and Joy and Benji (who are now split up as well). And later others got together, TJ and Joy (I think--now split up).
In later years there were adult Victor programs held there (such as the one Watchman was in, actually, he was in the program by himself, he may have been the pioneer adult victor), and then other adults (Eman Artist, Canadian David, a few others). I felt sorry for those guys being herded around with another adult all the time in groups like kids, but who was I to question?
If you remember the Tony Series, this originated at the HCS when Toni (Gideon, probably the oldest SGA of the group, and still in last I heard), wrote Zerby during some teen meeting about why teens could roller blade or climb trees. Shortly after that he was tried out for a new video series (the original idea for Treasure Attic), and Zerby decided to make a lesson of him and his pride, resulting in the Toni Series.
As for location, Tateyama is in Chiba Prefecture, next to Tokyo. It is at the tip of the peninsula, and is a beautiful area. Of all the places I lived in Japan (probably around 30), Tateyama was the most beautiful. You had the ocean, the hills, the lush green countryside. It takes a couple hours to get there by car from Tokyo, and you can see Mt. Fuji on a clear day.
I have many mixed memories of my time there, it was difficult and it was fun, highly emotionally charged, depressing. I fought depression a lot, and condemnation cause I had this constant nagging to return to my systemite Mom that I was afraid to confess, and afraid to act on. I was treated as an adult and as a kid, the Family went through a lot of transitioning during that time, and I was caught in the middle of it, being not a teen, not an 'old' adult. I was never considered an EA or YA (Young Adult), nor was I ever really considered a fully matured adult, something that frustrated me on more than one occasion.
It's nice to be out from so much emotion and condemnation, constant worry that I'm screwing up somehow. I'm glad to be free, but honestly, when I look back at my time at the HCS, I have a lot of mixed feelings. It's part of what made me who I am today, like it or not.
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Posted by I was there on March 16, 2005 at 11:50:04
In Reply to: original purpose of HCS and other posted by Porceleindoll on March 16, 2005 at 07:35:18:
Very well written, PD. A couple of points I wanted to add:
The Narita's already had a home in Tateyama, and then they built the "White House" for Masami (where the leadership always lived). They owned the Brown House also where Esther lived for a while, till TF leadership managed to separate her from Mrs. N. Mrs. N. had a vision to build the school building, "My Beloved Home" which was first referred to as the MBH. She said the Lord showed her to build the pyramid on top of the hill as a little temple or shrine where she could pray. (When David Berg came, one of the first things he did was have most of the trees cut down on the hill which at first infuriated the Naritas, as he never checked with them or the landowner first. Then he set to remodelling the Pyramid which was actually rotting inside from lack of air or light.)
When DB & Zerby showed up, don't forget that Ricky and Techi were also there. Ricky was known as Pete at the time and Techi was called "Terry". This was early 1988 so he would have been about 13.
Sue (Angela Smith) was also there at the White House but she pretty much stayed away from everyone.
After a while, DB & Zerby moved to the Fountain House. Wasn't the Dorm a pubs home for a while? Before it started being used for R&R's and then it became some kind of training place for "bad teens".
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Posted by Perry on March 16, 2005 at 12:44:39
In Reply to: Re: original purpose of HCS and other posted by I was there on March 16, 2005 at 11:50:04:
Just a couple more clarifications for those who weren't there. The Naritas had their large home a few blocks up the street from what later became the school building. This is where Mrs. Narita lived, and Mr. Narita lived in his Shibuya home, though he sometimes came for visits. At first, only a few people, including me, stayed with her, but after awhile, all the upper bedrooms housed many members.
She originally built the very large school building with the vision of it being a kind of boarding school for delinquent "system" teens, at least that's what I was told. When I first lived in her house with her, she had a non-Family teen staying with her, that had been in trouble with the law or something, and she was trying to "counsel" her. Many times I was asked to fellowship with her and this teen.
The large school building went through a major renovation when TF first decided to take it over and use it for their purposes. I visited there often during that particular renovation. Ben Carpenter/Cedar was in charge of that work.
That main building went through many subsequent renovations. For example, at first the huge meeting area that you entered at the main entrance was designed as a gym, and that's what it was used as. We played badminton a lot in there, until some leader thought we were getting too competitive. (that happened a lot. volleyball was cancelled too for that reason) I remember playing with your husband, PD. He was pretty good. Later, when more and more people began living or visiting there, that gym was converted into the main dining/meeting hall.
At first, the upstairs of both wings weren't even used, but when the PI evacuation happened it was wall to wall, and wall to ceiling (bunkbeds) with people. The kitchen, where I worked a lot, also went through several major renovations. There were so many people there at one point that they brought in two huge shipping containers, one refridgerated, to store all the food necessary for feeding a hundred or more people. The kitchen had industrial size equipment, including a Hobart dishwasher and a giant, gas-fired, stand-alone wok.
And don't forget the bomb shelter. Mr. Narita had made some money years earlier by following Berg's advice to dump dollars . He got sucked in like all of us, thinking that Berg was some kind of prophet, but that particular financial advice was no special revelation from god. Anyway, he really believed all the endtime stuff, so had a large bomb shelter built deep under the school building, down below even the video studio and "sharing" rooms they had in the basement level. I don't know how "selah" that bomb shelter was, how many people knew about it, but I know that it wasn't shown on the architectural blue prints of the building. And the entrance to it was cleverly hidden as a fake wall. During "persecution" evacuation drills that were held occassionally (we were alerted by a special code song over the speaker system) that bomb shelter was designated for the leaders and "important" staff, while all us peons had to escape into the woods.
Also, when video production was in full swing, a large studio building, with additional bedrooms upstairs, was built across the street from the school building, adjacent to the White house.
And don't forget the swimming pool. Was I the only one who got an ear infection from swimming in it?
You're right about the Dorm. It was used for at least awhile by Berg's pubs staff.
So when you read about the HCS, it was actually a combination of many different buildings in a small, isolated residential development. Some of the neighbouring "systemite" houses, at least when I was there, were occupied year-round, and others were just used as holiday cottages, as the Tateyama area was quite beautiful, especially along the coast, with all the flower orchards. From certain spots on the HCS property you could see Mt. Fuji on clear days, as well as another nearby volcanic island.
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Posted by Windy on March 16, 2005 at 13:56:30
In Reply to: Re: original purpose of HCS and other posted by I was there on March 16, 2005 at 11:50:04:
Don't forget TMT (Teen Ministry Training) where they gathered all the teens 14 and older from the "field" to train them in different ministries. The Victor Camp was getting started at the same time over at the Dorm and the poor Victors (including our sister, the original victor) had to come to the school everyday and do hard labor singing "We are the victors, we shall overcome" - I cried seeing her out there. How heart breaking. Anyway ... memories ....
