Reflections of Life in TPM – 8

Episode 8 – A Glimpse of Fake Home

Recap: In the last episode, we saw Molly and Daisy were left behind. The train left the station before they could board. There is no train for the next 24 hours. What is going to happen next?

Scene

Daisy and Molly are sitting on the bench on the platform. Molly suggests they find a lodge and spend the night there. However, Daisy’s parents insisted that they must take shelter in nearby TPM church. They had asked their centre pastor to talk to the nearby faith home to allow the girls to stay in the faith home. So finally they are now on the way to the nearest faith home. Molly is hesitant to go to TPM again, but God has plans for her. No matter how far she wants to go from TPM, she can’t.

They reach locality of TPM church and begin to ask people about its exact location.

Daisy: Anna…! Is there a church here?

A man on the road: There are two Churches in this area! Which one do you want?

Molly: The one where people wear white uniform… like the bramhakumaris!

The man on the road: You mean they who shout loudly and make noises..?

Scene

Daisy knows he is talking about the Saturday tarrying meeting.  She doesn’t like his description of tarrying meeting, but she agrees it can turn out to be a nuisance for people living nearby to TPM church. She nods in agreement.

The man on the road: Just two lanes behind.

Scene

Daisy and Molly turn around and walks to the second lane. They see a white bungalow. They reach the faith home gate. They see two sisters going out of the faith home. Daisy greets them and tells them about her missing the train. They tell her to go inside while they return from the market after buying slippers for Jemima Akka. Molly begins to think, why can’t Jemima Akka herself go and buy her slippers. Why does she ask others to do her work? Suddenly Daisy’s phone begins to ring. It’s from her home. Maybe her parents are worried whether they reached faith home or not!

Daisy: Hello!

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): Akka ..!! Did you both reach faith home?

Daisy: Yes! We have reached safely. We are just on the gate.

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): Can I talk with your friend?

Daisy: Why?

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): Just for one minute. I want to ask her “is she alright?”

Daisy: She is alright! Don’t worry.

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): Let me ask her.

Daisy: No!! I cant.. you must be up to something nefarious .. I know you.

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): Ok then….be ready to pay the price… I saw a dream and I wanted to warn her.

Daisy:  Dream..  what did you see…

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): It is for her…

Daisy:  I will tell her… you tell me.

Joseph (Daisy’s brother): Tell her to close her eyes to what she sees in faith home; Tell her to look to Jesus and not to saints… We always tell this to people after they get trapped in the faith home. I want to tell her before she gets trapped in…

Daisy:  Shut up!

Scene: She cuts the call. They see a thin young TPM worker standing in front of pastor’s room like a doorkeeper (In TPM they call such brother assistant to the pastor. He will stay on the door of the sr pastor waiting for his orders). Brother starts talking with them. Through the slightly open door, they could see the main pastor sleeping on the bed snoring. He is pot-bellied and could be easily weighing more than a quintal.

Thin brother: Praise the Lord, sisters!

Daisy: Praise Lord Anna! We came here for…

Scene

Before she could complete, a sister came down through adjacent stairs and the doorkeeper brother ran towards her. She has a food tray in her hand! She whispers something to doorkeeper brother. They both smile. Then she looks at daisy and calls the lost girls to approach her.

Sister: Are you Daisy?

Daisy: Yes Akka. Praise the Lord

Sister: Praise the Lord! Come with me. Appachen told Ammachi about you. How did you miss the train?

Scene

Daisy can’t say the truth that she saw the newspaper and got lost in shock. Also, Molly is next to her. She introduces Molly to Akka and tells her she is her friend. This she says purposefully in order to indirectly indicate Akka to be careful not to speak anything. But Akka is smart. She knows what things must be kept hidden from believers and what must be spoken in public. They go up the stairs to the sister’s area. She leads them to Ammachi’s room.

They begin to talk with Ammachi. Ammachi has so loving voice. She is such a warm person! Both Daisy and Molly felt nice talking to the motherly figure. She asks them to go to Hepsibah’s room and take rest. They reach Hepsibah’s room. There is a tape recorder and it’s playing the message of the workers meeting. Sound appears like a message of T.U. Thomas.

Sound from a cassette of workers meeting: One mother hid 18 lakh rupees under her bed. When she died, her face became so terrible. Remember God will bring all secrets to light. Your life should be transparent as glass. Another sister had an affair before coming to ministry. When I asked sisters to confess she stood up and confessed. She confessed that sometimes she gets tempted, remembering her old days. I told her to pack her bags and leave faith home immediately. Such people who look back are not worthy for Zion. Read Luke 9:62….

Scene

Molly felt sorry for the sister. The cruel pastor had no sympathy and pity for his co-workers. He didn’t even think once as to who would marry her? Who would give her food to eat? Her life must have been spoiled, because of super-spirituality of the preacher. Daisy, on the other hand, was shocked to hear that sisters have so much money. She never thought in a dream that sisters could accumulate so much money! 18 lakhs under the pillow of a sister!! Suddenly one sister comes in. Her name is Hepshiba. She realizes that girls are not supposed to listen to workers meeting messages. This rule is followed in TPM because pastors usually rebuke and criticize secret sins of workers in workers meetings messages. If these things come out people will realize that only their dress is white! Hepshiba gets frenzy and thumps the stop button of tape recorder button.

Daisy: My name is Daisy. I am a believer. She is my friend. We missed the train…

Hepsibah:  Ok…..! Sit…! Sit…! Take rest. Did you eat some food?

Daisy: Yes Akka. Ammachi gave us

Hepsibah: I will finish washing Appachen’s clothes and then I have to iron Ammachi’s saree. Take mats from the hall and get some sleep! If you want anything, ask sisters in the hall.

Scene

Daisy nods. Hephsibah leaves. They take mats from the hall and lay it in Hepshiba’s room. They both rested and closed their eyes. Molly is thinking now. How many kinds of servants these kings wearing the white uniform have? She saw one sister going to do shopping as if she is servant send by the master to buy things he ordered.  Then she saw watchman brother. Then she saw the waiter sister. Then she saw sister doing laundry services to Appachen and Ammachi. Has not Jesus asked his followers “He who wants to be chief among you, let him serve his juniors (Matt 20:27)?” Then why do TPM senior worker ask juniors to be their servants in the name of obedience? They fall asleep. When they wake up, it is night and about 8:00 pm.  They are offered food. They take their plates from the kitchen and return. They have been served rice sambar and rasam. There is another plate being prepared. It is for elder brother. It has an additional omelette and fried fishes with rice sambar and rasam. A sister asks another sister to put additional hot chilly powder in another plate. This plate is meant for another brother with whom she has enmity.  After the dinner, they are asked to sit at 10 pm praising. Molly found that most sisters slumbered at 10 pm praising. Pastor and ammachi were absent. It was finished hurriedly. They return to Hephzibah’s room for sleeping.

Hepsibah:  So, what is your plan for the future?

Daisy: Akka I want to be in Zion. I want to join the ministry.

Hepsibah:  Since you call me elder sister, consider this as my advice. Don’t ever join TPM ministry. Life is not easy here. Especially for sisters! There is no serving God. All you have to do is wash clothes, utensils and make food. Study hard, marry a good husband and live life as a good believer! This Ammachi is good but the one we had last time was a devil. She made my life hell. It is only the grace of God that I am still doing ministry.

Scene

Daisy is shocked. She doesn’t argue! She feels sorry. She closes her eyes and falls asleep. She doesn’t wake up for 4 am praising. Finally, it’s morning! They wake up. Eat Idli Sambar and ask Ammachi’s permission to go to the station. They have a train at 10. Ammachi says I’ll ask the driver brother to drop you at the station. Daisy gave ₹ 1000 in an envelope for Ammachi at the faith home. She also hands over ₹ 2000  for the pastor at the faith home. They depart from faith home in the car. The Brother who is driving them to the station is looking at Molly through the mirrors. Some evil seems cooking in his mind. Molly doesn’t care about such brats dressed in clergy clothing, but Daisy doesn’t like this. She felt both jealous and sad. Finally, the brother drops them at the station and returns back. They are waiting at the station for the train.

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