Who in Sam Hill is Richard Rawe and why does he live in Soap Lake Wa.

by jst2laws 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  jst2laws

  First thing you have to realize is that some parts of Washington are the prettiest country you will find. To our surprise there also some parts, a lot in fact, worse than the Bad Lands of South Dakota. One of them is Soap Lake, where Richard and Francis Rawe have lived since 1951. They moved there, you guessed it, to serve where the need was great. He and his wife built up a little congregation but in the early 1970's they both were disfellowshipped as the conclusion of a long political battle with the body of elders. If I understand right, the society reversed the disfellowshipping when the they learned what really happened (Francis had recorded the judicial meeting). Then in time they were DF'd again. They had already been disillusioned by the greed and politics behind the organization.

  Throwing them out was a big mistake on the part of the Watchtower because Richard has been relentless for years. While I was exiting the WT I kept hearing about this Richard Rawe and wondered who in Sam Hill was he? Well few people in the exjw world have the resources, the contacts, and the energy to get things done like Richard. He organizes seminars, hounds reporters to publish articles, supplies lawyers with valuable information, finds victims to testify and gathers evidence to prosecute, supplies courts with legal precedents and authors with valuable data and old publications for documentation. What is amazing is that Richard is not some high profile city slicker living in New York or Chicago but is a humble man living in a crooked little house in the desert. He utilizes his phone plan to its max. Yet I do not believe it to be an exaggeration to say a few world pundits as well as all GB members have felt the wind of his breath on the back of their necks.

  This is also the couple who's life the play "The Good Faith" was based upon which screened off Broadway last fall and may begin traveling the country soon. Check it out below.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/62406/1.ashx

  Here are the Rawe's, Richard and Francis

  Richard and some other people.

  Jst2laws
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  Leolaia

  I talked to RR many years ago when I left the Watchtower. He was quite a nice guy when I talked to him and he sent me literature which in those days was the next best thing to the WWW, which did not exist yet.
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  AlanF

  Several years ago I heard Richard speak about his experience with the corrupt elders in Soap Lake at one of his religious seminars. He had the audience spellbound and in stitches. I have no doubt that the Watchtower regrets greatly having unfairly assented to his and Frances's DF'ing.

  The elders pulled another nasty trick in the mid-1980s. Richard's mother lived in a small house a few blocks away from his place, and every day around 5 o'clock he'd go over and prepare a simple supper and spend time with her. She was still a JW at that time. She was about 85, and frail. The elders told her that she had to tell Richard not to come to her house anymore, or they'd DF her. She wondered who would then take care of her as Richard was doing. They said that they would, but she knew perfectly well, as we all do, that such "care" might last a few months at most. So she told them she wouldn't shun her son, and they DF'd her. Richard brought the story to the local newspapers, and it brought a great deal of derision on the JWs. They've never recovered in Soap Lake, Ephrata, or in many of the nearby towns.

  The first time I met Richard, back around 1992 or so, I told him about a cool geological thing in his neck of the woods. I had read about how some kids found a tiny cave in the cliffs in the Grand Coulee in the late 1930s, which turned out to be the mold of an ancient rhino carcass that had got caught in one of the dozens of lava flows that now bury tens of thousands of square miles of eastern Washington and Oregon to depths of half a mile. Geologists made a cast of the inside of the cave, and a full-sized plaster model of the bloated rhino carcass now sits on display at the University of Washington. Richard knew all about this thing, which is locally called the Blue Lake Rhino, since it's in the cliffs above Blue Lake, which is a recreational area a few miles north of Soap Lake. Richard took me hiking to see the cave, which took close to two hours of strenuous hiking to get to. It's located about 500 feet above the lake, at the top of a big talus slope. When we got to the cave, he boosted me up into it. I could feel the imprints of the toenails and horns and such. All along the hike up, I saw other small caves, which turned out to be the casts of ancient tree trunks caught in successive lava flows. It was a great experience for me.

  Richard, despite his brilliance, is a tireless, hardworking and humble man. He's one of the finest men I've ever known, and one of the best researchers I know of. It's a crying shame that he's been crippled by multiple strokes, but he keeps going, and doing a tremendous amount of good for ex-JWs.

  AlanF
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  Mulan

  I met him a few years ago in 2001 I think. It's also where I met AlanF and Barbara Anderson, at one of Richards weekend Bible conferences. We had a ball, and Richard is a sweetheart. It turns out he and his wife were also patients of my fathers, like many JW's in this State of Washington. I'm glad you got to meet him.
  

  Richard and some other people.

  Jst2laws

  That was clever, Steve.

  Great story Alan. I've heard of that find.
  Marilyn
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  jst2laws

  Alan,

  I'm glad you added that information.

  Richard, despite his brilliance, is a tireless, hardworking and humble man. He's one of the finest men I've ever known, and one of the best researchers I know of. It's a crying shame that he's been crippled by multiple strokes, but he keeps going, and doing a tremendous amount of good for ex-JWs.

  26 strokes, 3 of which have been serious. And his wife fighting cancer for three decades. Yet look at them in the pictures. They are amazing.

  Mulan,

  Richard and some other people.

  Acouelrjyslsuiuerua

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  and thats all I have to say about that

  Jst2laws
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  JeffT

  We met Richard and Frances in 1988 when we were starting our exit. He was a regular at a support group for x's here in Seattle. I agree, the WT must regret kicking him out, he's been a thorn in their side ever since.
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  Junction-Guy

  Wow I envy you all, traveling across the country meeting all the"apostates" sounds like youre having a good time. I would love to see that play "the good faith" I wonder where the closest place I can see this?

  Dave
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  Undaunted Danny

  RR is an inspiration for young warriors like myself.
  

  I will carry on the fight of good vs evil. Watchtower Whistle Blower www.DannyHaszard.com