—MO August 30, 1974 No.312A—LTA

Copyrighted August 1974 by The Children of God

P. O. Box 31‚ London WC2E 7LX, England or GPO Box 3141‚ San Juan‚ Puerto Rico 00936.

DEAR FAMILY:

1. Greetings in Jesus' Precious name! Well‚ Praise the Lord! Here I am again trying to clean up about a ream of your unanswered mail so I can catch up and keep it current after this if possible. We've been moving again‚ which is always a big job, and this has thrown us behind once more, but we hope this won't have to happen again for awhile.

2. THIS TIME AS I WRITE I'M SITTING BY A HUGE OLD FRENCH WINDOW that extends from ceiling to floor and looking out across our lovely little flower garden at the deep blue sky and the fleecy white clouds of God's beautiful blue Heavens! A maid is busy cleaning and the repair man is busy fixing the many things which need it around this very old house.

3. WE WERE ALL THREE CHASING A COCKROACH THIS MORNING, but thank the Lord we don't have many anymore since we've cleaned the place up, patched the many holes and sprayed thoroughly. We think we heard a little mouse yesterday, but I think we've gotten him taken care of now‚ too. Anyhow, this is cheaper than where we were before and a whole lot roomier for our growing family, and with a great deal more privacy and a lot more homey than living in a hotel!

4. "IT'S A ROUGH AND A RUGGED ROAD" UP HERE and sometimes with a "hard and a heavy load", but the folks here and always kind and it's good exercise for us and we enjoy it, although the taxis often refuse to even come up here when they see the steep climb! But in spite of it, we're close to everything and have lots of sun, breeze and a lovely view, and best of all it's quiet, so praise the Lord!

5. LONDON, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU THAT IT'S WAY PAST TIME FOR PARIS TO BEGIN TO TAKE CARE OF ITSELF and absolutely ridiculous for them to continually look to London for financial support! I gather from your phone call that they're still bugging you for their needs which ought to be supplied from their own field!—And their show business needs, such as costumes‚ clothes, equipment, etc., certainly ought to be supplied by their show business kings from some of that money they're supposed to be getting from all those records and shows!

6. I'M REALLY GETTING HOT UNDER THE COLLAR ABOUT THIS, and I want either you or your lawyer to get over there fast to see what's happening to that money and why those kings aren't even taking care of the kids' bare necessities and show-incurred needs so they have to be constantly begging London for it!

7. FRANCE IS THE SECOND RICHEST COUNTRY AND THE MOST POWERFUL IN EUROPE and Paris is its capital, and there is no reason in this world why that Paris Colony can't get out and scrounge their own! They've got more good publicity there, TV shows, radio, records, posters and all kinds of tremendous favourable exposure to the public and there's absolutely no reason on God's earth why they can't get out and exploit some of these system contacts and hit 'em good and hard for their needs! They haven't even followed up the offers that have been made them!

8. IF THEY ARE TOO DAMNED BUSY PLAYING AROUND FOR THOSE KINGS, THEN LET THOSE KINGS SUPPORT THEM! If they're not, then let'em get out and support themselves by hittin' da nits wit da lit like dey oughta be! If that show business isn't at least gonna pay for itself, then it's not worth the trouble! They could hit the streets with lit and raise more money than they're getting out of those kings and a quarter-of-a-million records!

9. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG THERE ANYWAY? I want you to tell Paris to piss off if they can't earn their own salt! Everybody else in the world does, including us, and there's no reason at all that they should have to keep begging London for money! If God doesn't supply it there from the field they're working, especially that rich one‚ they'll just have to go without it!

10. IF GOD'S NOT BLESSING THEM FINANCIALLY AFTER ALL THAT FAVOURABLE PUBLICITY, THEN SOMETHING'S WRONG with their whole setup and has been for a long time! We don't mind helping people get started in pioneering a new field, especially some very poor and difficult ones like India, etc., but why we should be continuing to foot Paris' bills after more than a year and 120 kids in that Colony is absolute insanity!

11. I WANT YOU TO TELL THAT COLONY THAT IT'S TIME THEY CARRIED THEIR OWN WEIGHT, and I don't want you to send them another red cent for anything, I don't care what the hell it is‚ especially to be paying for stuff those kings oughta be footing the bill for!—The labourer is worthy of his hire‚ so it's time for those kings to start to pay up or shut up‚ and if they don't come across with something soon, we oughta give 'em the double cross and quit 'em!

12. IF THOSE KIDS ARE GONNA SPEND ALL THEIR TIME ON SHOW BIZ‚ THEN SHOW BIZ OUGHTA SUPPORT 'EM; and if it doesn't‚ then they're in the wrong biz and they'd better get back out on the streets wit the lit and forget it! For its size, Paris is doing one of the poorest jobs of literature distribution in the whole world in a country that's rich and running over with radical kids who oughta be eating it up!

13. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR THEIR LOOKING ANY FURTHER TO LONDON FOR THEIR BREAD! I'm sick and tired of them depending on us while they play around on TV and practice music all day and dancing all night when they oughta be out on the streets and witnessing where the kids are! They're old enough and big enough and numerous enough and have had enough publicity to make it on their own; and if they can't, they oughta close up shop and go somewhere where they can!

14. WE'VE GOT COLONIES IN SOME OF THE POOREST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD WHOM GOD IS BLESSING MORE FINANCIALLY THAN PARIS because they're getting out and working and witnessing with the words that work wonders for the world! If 120 people in rich Paris can't even make it on their own‚ then they oughta quit! We've got Colonies in poor countries that are doing more for London than Paris has ever done, and who wouldn't think of being a drag on us like Paris!

15. THOSE KINGS MUST BE DOUBLE-CROSSING THE KIDS or they'd have had more money out of them by this time, at least enough to meet their needs, and that's the least that we could ask! I think those Paris kings are taking us for a ride or taking themselves for a ride and making us pay for it! I don't want to hear of another long distance call from Paris asking for another thing, much less a long list of junk those kings oughta be paying for! if those kings don't like the way they look, then let them buy'em the clothes!

16. WHY SHOULD LONDON BE SUPPORTING THOSE KINGS when they oughta be supporting not only the kids but us, too! I'm telling you I'm fed up with that situation! We've had enough trouble out of Paris, and I want you to make those kings start paying off or tell those kids to get out of there and go back to the streets with the lit!

17. THEY'VE HAD ENOUGH PUBLICITY already to make'em famous and well received, and with all that favourable exposure in that rich country they oughta be doing the greatest job of procuring of any Colony on Earth!—And if they're not, then they're failing God and themselves and us! It's time for them to start supporting London and quit asking London to support them!

18. AND SINCE WHEN HAVE WE STARTED GIVING LONG SHOPPING LISTS ON LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE! For God's sake, the least they could do is get out and do their own shopping! They're beginning to act like a bunch of celebrities with a million-dollar income instead of the beggars we all oughta be! If St. Francis could do it, we can do it, and it's time Paris woke up that I'm "King of the Beggars" and not some kind of movie star!

19. I THINK THAT SHOW BIZ HAS GONE TO THEIR HEADS AND THEY'VE LOST HEART FOR HAND–TO-HAND STREET FIGHTING! If it weren't for security I'd be out there peddling it myself, as Maria knows, and it's about all she can do to keep me from it as it is! What's wrong with Paris? There's not a one of them there that's too good for it, and they all oughta be out doing it every day just like London!

20. WHY SHOULD LONDON BE DOING THEIR STREET FIGHTING FOR THEM?—It's certainly not going to do Paris any good or the Parisians! We've got kids in other towns a lot smaller and poorer than Paris who are averaging a copy a minute at an average of 10-cents each or more for a full forty-hour week, and some a lot more! That's nearly 2500 copies each a week, and some are doing over 4000 a week, even with a lot of other jobs to do besides!

21. WITH 120 KIDS IN THAT COLONY THEY OUGHTA BE RAKING IN AT LEAST 3000 DOLLARS A WEEK FOR LIT ALONE, 12,000 dollars a month, so there's absolutely no excuse in this world for them not being able to carry their own weight and help London besides!—And they'd better start getting out and doing it or they're going to get awful hungry, because we're not going to give them another penny!

22. AND THAT'S THE WORD WITH THE BARK ON IT, AND WE'RE GOING TO ADD A LITTLE BITE IF THEY DON'T GET BUSY! Some of them've been acting like a bunch of spoiled brats and treated like royalty, and it's time they woke up to the fact that they're nothing but a bunch of poor beggars like the rest of us, and they'd better get out and get busy and beg for it if necessary!

23. NO WONDER WE'VE HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH PARIS! Some of them haven't been working hard enough to keep'em out of trouble!—They've forgotten we're in a war! Show biz is great if we can use it‚ but if it's only using us, it's time we forget it! I'll bet our London crew could go into that town and turn it upside down in nothing flat! That Paris crew is just not working at it‚ that's all there is to it!—And "those that shall not work shall not eat"—and may be out of a place to live soon, too!

24. IF PARIS WOULD HIT THE STREETS WITH THE LIT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO CRACK ANOTHER BUILDING!—THEY COULD PAY THEIR OWN RENT! Let them start running to their own kings for help instead of to us!—And if their kings aren't willing to help them, they oughta quit'em here and now and quit wasting our time on that show biz if it can't pull its own weight financially!

25. WE'RE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF FURNISHING FREE LABOUR‚ TALENT‚ EQUIPMENT‚ HOUSING‚ FOOD AND CLOTHING FOR A BUNCH OF UNGODLY KINGS who are raking in all the gravy and hardly giving a drop to the kids! This is another Fred situation and I'm fed up with it and I want you to get over there and tell those kings off that they'd better come across with the dough or we're making no more bread for them!—And that's PERIOD!

26. HE CAN STUFF HIS SHOPPING LIST and quit wearying the wires with it!—What happened to our telephone rules? If those kids'll get out and do God's Will and hit the world with the words, God's a King who won't fail'em and He'll take good care of'em!—If they'll not, too bad, so sad!—Your DAD!

27. (P.S.—SORRY I HAD TO WRITE THIS, KIDS, but some of you need it! We can't let show biz take the place of God's biz, or He won't bless it!—Amen? I love you all and you're doing a great work!—Don't come down! Consider yourself spanked, forgiven, and now get back to work!—Thanks!—God bless you all!—Just don't let it happen again—or to you!—Amen?—I love you!—Dad.)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family