I was in Rebekah Home for Girls 1976-1977. At the time I was one of three twelve year old girls in the home. I went there initially to be with my sister as life at home was difficult and having attended church everyone was always smiling and happy or so it appeared. I remember singing "Living by Faith" and listening to the girls quote bible verses. My favorite was the testimonies. They sounded so heartfelt and perhaps some were, but once I went into the home I found out that the testimonials were more about saying what was expected and all in the name of survival. I later found as I sat in he choir that if you didn't smile, quote your verses with enthusiasm or say the right things you got the severe look from "Granny" remember her?
One of my saddest memories was of...I will call her Melissa H. I had grown quite fond of her and always had a great time, and perhaps the younger ones were looking for that motherly figure and I found that with Melissa H. I remember that on one outing to the doctor's office, she ran away. They brought her back 2 days later in the evening. I recall that there was a commotion around 1AM and we all peeked our heads out our doors and listened. We heard the lecture they gave to her, loud enough for all of us to hear, as this was just one of the many psychological games they played. They started using the paddle on Melissa H. I stopped counting after 30 and like others I went back in the room as I couldn't bear to listen anymore. Melissa H., never yelled or cried, the only sound was the paddle. I admired how strong she was never letting them defeat her. Yet, the next day I saw her in the hallway, and she appeared lost and distant, only passing by and patting me on the head saying, "Hey Kid". Perhaps it was her defense mechanism, we all did what we had to in order to survive.
I researched Rebekah Home for Girls doing various Google searches, and I came across a few blogs from 2005, 2008 that are no longer active based on posts and one that focused on girls who were in the home 1991 and onward. I wanted to create this blog for everyone, whether you were in Rebekah, Lighthouse for boys, Jubilee etc., and keep this one alive. I would love to hear your stories, what you learned, how you overcame and where you are at in life today if you feel so compelled to share.
