My Natural Wife Was Annie...But My Spiritual Wife Is Sandy!

FMH Children’s Club International
–– A Company Of Prophets ––
P.O. Box 640109
El Paso, TX 79904

The following letter-form was brought about as a means of teaching my children the Word of God through the mail. And of course, quite naturally so, that’s the reason I begin these letters with "Dear Children" and end them with "Love Dad". So for the rest of you who participate in these weekly messages, please keep their original intended purpose in mind.

14 March, 2004

Dear Children,

Well, what did you think about our last sermonet - The Demons Of Cristo Rey And El Paso, Texas! (12/28/03) - which just so happens to be "only" part III of our "Homeless For Jesus" series? Without a doubt, that one stepped on a few "Roman Catholic" toes pretty hard. Ouch! But anyway, the reason I say "only part III" is because we've got a long way to go in order to uncover all the "muck and mire" in the so-called "Christian" rescue missions that I personally experienced during my "homeless for Jesus" journey! In fact I was really ready to get-it-on-down with the sermonet entitled "The Rescue Mission Of El Paso, Texas?" until the Lord just all-of-the-sudden told me to write something else instead...which just so happens to be this week's message of "My Natural Wife Was Annie...But My Spiritual Wife Is Sandy!"

Because you see it was in part II of this "Homeless For Jesus" series that I painfully published our sermonet A Christian Marriage Outside The Law! (12/28/03). And, likewise, it was in that same little old message that I spoke the Uncompromising Truth about how Satan had used the things that Sandy cherished so dearly - her family - to stop her from continuing on with God's Perfect Plan for her life. I mean seeing how Satan had finally convinced her to be ashamed of our "marriage made in Heaven", it became my responsibility to get in his face (Satan's) by unashamedly proclaiming to the whole world that "our marriage was made in Heaven!" I mean "us Christians" cannot afford to be ashamed of anything that the Lord has called us to do, which even includes "very unusual God-designed marriages":

"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father's, and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26)

So anyway, after the Devil got a-hold of my new wife Sandy, we (me and the Lord) followed it up by publishing the facts on just how he (Satan) did it. We very quickly wrote the sermonet A Christian Marriage Outside The Law! (12/28/03) and then sat back and waited to see what would happen next. I mean please believe me when I say that even though our "marriage was made in Heaven" it took much courage for the two of us to do what the Lord had commanded us to do. We knew what Father God had told us to do, but just how many other "Christians" would be willing to believe it?

Words Of Encouragement

Well, it didn't take too long to find out! Because it was only a day or so later that we received a few e-mails concerning that sermonet, with the following one - from Brother Alan Richardson in Houston, Texas - being of great encouragement:

Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2004 16:45:29 -0600
From: "alan richardson"
Subject: Re: A Christian Marriage Outside The Law!

Dear Bruce and Sandy,
I was blessed to be able to finish the latest sermonet (A Christian Marriage Outside The Law!) just now. Be encouraged: The Word of God is above every circumstance that the enemy can throw our way! I am standing with the both of you in faith and prayer...
Love in Christ,
Alan

Now it's those kind of e-mails that we really love to get! A Brother in Christ "standing" with the both of us in "faith and prayer" as we boldly fight the good fight of faith. What a blessing! But that's not all. Because right on the heels of that e-mail were four (4) more from Brother Alan with God-given Scriptures containing "Words of encouragement" for both Sandy me:

"Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Mathew 5:10-12)

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." (Mark 10:7-9)

"For we walk by faith, not by sight:" (II Cor. 5:7)

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." (I John 4:4)

Words Of Discouragement

Now, you tell me; weren't those some really awesome Scriptures? Thank you Jesus! And of course along with the "good" must come the "evil". Because it was only a short time later that we got the following "words of discouragement" from a very "dark and evil" source indeed:

Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2004
From: Evil6Moticia@aol.com
Subject: comments regarding your website

Hello,
I have recently read your "outside the marriage". I don't think theres one word to sum up how I felt when I read it but its really mean and very hateful. You talk about Your children and Im thinking Gods childrens NOT YOURS... This website to me has nothing to do with the word of God but one person who has made his own religion where your the "King or so called prophet" and the word our your children. My heart cried out to the girl "Sandy" and Im glad she got out as soon as she could. I think she needed to save herself from a man like you. Your message is that everybody leave the church because you are the only one with the truth about God. I only hope that you can find peace in that heart that is full of hate and lies. But i found it to be very degrading and so much like a "CULT". Well with all this said "Bruce find peace in the yourself please. Your not KING, GOD, OR A PROPHET!!!
morticia

So that was what Morticia had to say about "God's marriage" for Sandy and me, and the following was what we replied back to her on the very same day:

Dear Morticia,
Thank you very much for your "heart-felt" comments. However, in order to consider the source of your e-mail, please help me out. Your name is "Morticia", and your e-mail address also contains "Evil" and "6". Would you, by any chance, be one who is dabbling in witchcraft?
In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Bruce (Dad)

Then it was on Sunday, the 4th of January, 2004, that Morticia replied back to me with the following e-mail:

Bruce,
First of all, my email adress does not have anything to do with my email. Well as far as your response to my letter, it really looks like you got way off the subject. Do you know who David Koresh is??? Well you sure do remind me of him. It really seems like you're manipulating people with the word of God to get people brainwashed into your sick game. A man of God does not pass judgement on ANYONE and doesn't preach to leave a church. You speak of yourself so highly and carry yourself like if you were God, calling yourself Dad and King. To me, your whole ministry seems like some cult where you are dad and the people in your ministry your children. We are not your children we are God's children. You claim you're the one who knows the truth, well I think the only truth there is is that you're a big fraud.
Sincerely
The person who found you out....

Well, that's what Morticia had to say...then on the 6th of January the Lord gave me the Words to reply back to her:

Dear Morticia,
You are wrong in your statement "...my email adress does not have anything to do with my email"...in fact you are dead wrong! You have the spirit of darkness in you, and it's that same spirit that will usher you into the burning pit of Hell when you die.
Don't wait until it's too late. Turn away from Satan and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now.
In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Bruce and Sandy

Without a doubt, bewitching words (words of bewitchment) are a very strong tool of the enemy! And even though I knew Morticia's words to be exactly that, they still had an evil haunting affect in my mind...that is until the 16th of January when the Lord came through, once again, with some more powerfully prophetic Words of encouragement through Brother Alan:

"Your first marriage (to Annie) was natural...afterward, came your [second] marriage (to Sandy), which was spiritual..." (1/16/04)

Confirmation From The Lord

Then it was the very next day that Brother Alan blessed us once again with the following confirmation "from the Lord" concerning our "Christian marriage outside the law":

Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004

Dear Bruce and Sandy,
I'm thrilled in my soul that the Lord used me to get this confirmation to you concerning your marriage to Sandy (previously, He gave us Mark 10:7-9, "...Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder" - verse 9), and that the Lord has brought you, united you two in the Spirit, to be an instrument to devastate the kingdom of darkness! I heard a preacher comment on the multiplied power that results from a Godly marriage: "One (1) can put a thousand to flight, and two (2), ten (10) thousand" - think of the powerful result of the holy matrimony - two children of the King, who are designed to complement the giftings of each other! That is a paraphrase of the comment, but you get the jist of what he was communicating...POWER in CHRIST!...
Love in Christ Jesus,
Bro. Alan

Praise God for Brothers in Christ who're willing to speak what "thus saith the Lord" even though it might not be socially accepted (or doctrinally for that matter) in the Christian church of today. Thank you Jesus for Brother Alan's boldness!

Now, just in case you haven't figured it out quite yet, it was that prophetic Word, written by Brother Alan on the 16th of January, that God used to "ignite" this sermonet of today. In other words what the Lord said through Brother Alan - "Your first marriage (to Annie) was natural...afterward, came your [second] marriage (to Sandy), which was spiritual..." - sorta like gave birth to a whole new understanding of my "new beginnings" with my "new wife" Sandy. And now that the Lord has finally shown this revelation to me, I most definitely need to share it with you.

The Natural And Spiritual

And probably the best way to continue on with this message is by reading the Scripture that God used to give this "earth-shaking revelation" to Brother Alan:

"And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man [is] of the earth, earthly, the second man [is] the Lord from heaven. As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." (I Corinthians 15:45-49)

Now in order to take that particular Scripture into a much deeper level of understanding, let's see what Mr. Dake has to say in his Annotated Reference Bible about the "natural man" and the "spiritual man":

1. The natural man: Greek psuchikos, sensual (1 Cor. 3:14; 15:44-46; Jas. 3:15; Jude 19). This is a man living under the control of the fleshly passions, the sensual and depraved part of man in contrast with the rational part (Gal. 5:19-21; Rom. 1:29-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Col. 3:5-10). He is the animal man as opposed to the spiritual man. He has no sense of spiritual values and no relish for them. He counts it the highest wisdom to live for this world and carnal pleasures. Spiritual things are foolishness to him. He cannot see their supreme excellence due to animal appetites and being spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-9).

2. The spiritual man: Greek pneumatikos, spiritual (1 Cor. 3:15; 3:1; 9:11; 14:37; 15:44-46; Gal. 6:1). This man is living under the control of the Holy Spirit and minds the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-13; Gal. 5:16-26). He has the mind of Christ and discerns and esteems spiritual things above the sensual (I Cor. 3:15-16). He is a new creature and resurrected from death in trespasses and sins (2 Cor. 5:17-18; Eph. 2:1-9; 4:22-24). The lower animal passions have been crucified (Rom. 8:12-13; Gal. 2:20; 5:24) and put off (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:5-10).

Dad's Natural Man

So are you starting to see where we're headed to with this message about the "natural" and the "spiritual"? Well, after having exposed some of Sandy's demons in "A Christian Marriage Outside The Law!" it's now time to expose a few of mine. Because the truth of this "natural man" thing goes all the way back to the beginning of my life.

You see the way my life "started out" was "without a father" - my dad was killed in an automobile accident six (6) months before I was born. My mother did the best she could in her dual role as mom and dad, however, I was always resentful of the fact that I didn't have a male "father figure" at home. At the tender age of eleven (11) I began sneaking around and smoking cigarettes, then added beer and liquor to my habits by the age of sixteen (16), and finally combined marijuana, acid (LSD), and speed to all that by the age of nineteen (19). In fact it was during my stint in the Air Force - December 68 to August 72 - that I somehow acquired the know-how to even make my own "moonshine liquor".

So these were just a few of the "sensual habits" of my "natural man"...but we must not leave out the one for "women". In fact I must shamefully admit to the fact that in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the last few months of my Air Force career, I not only fathered a child by the name of Brandy, but likewise refused to marry her mother Betty Balentine. And of course with all these "sensual habits" so very well established in my "natural man", by the time I got out of the Air Force to go back to school I was primed and ready to grow my hair and join the hippie revolution. And, just in case you might not have ever been told, this thing about becoming a "hippie" was without a doubt one more work of the Devil! It was all about "making love and not war", or "doing your own thing", and I, for one, did my very best to fully comply.

So, along with my Electrical And Computer Engineering degree from Clemson University, you might say that I unknowingly worked very hard at obtaining an additional college major in the occult. It's called "Demonology #666", and, without a doubt, it included plenty of the "sensual habits" that my "natural man" so desperately craved...such as drugs, alcohol, Rock And Roll music, and free sex. (See The Truth About Satanic Cults!)

Dad's Natural Wife

In fact it was somewhere during the year 1975 that I met my "natural" wife-to-be, Annie (Anaith) Dolores Gonzalez, at a friend's party in Greenville, SC. You see the way it all happened was: we had been drinking booze, smoking weed, and listening to Rock And Roll music for several hours when my friend just all-of-the-sudden asked if I wanted to meet his neighbor Annie. He warned me that she was "one more wild and crazy woman", but, without any hesitation at all, I said "bring her on!"

Well before the night was over and done with I not only ended up spending the night with Annie but also having sex with her...which was followed shortly thereafter with her moving in with me...which was followed a few months later (3 October, 1975) with us becoming man and wife. In other words I took Annie, in my "natural man" condition, to be my lawfully wedded "natural wife" so that the two of us could "naturally" enjoy each other's company by "partying hardy until death do us part!"

And, it's right about here that I kinda like need to relate back to that definition of a "natural man". Because you see it was my "natural man" that chose the "natural woman" Annie to be my "natural wife"...and that's exactly the kind of marriage that Annie and I had:

"The natural man...This is a man living under the control of the fleshly passions, the sensual and depraved part of man in contrast with the rational part. He is the animal man as opposed to the spiritual man. He has no sense of spiritual values and no relish for them. He counts it the highest wisdom to live for this world and carnal pleasures. Spiritual things are foolishness to him. He cannot see their supreme excellence due to animal appetites and being spiritually dead."

Annie's Mystical Ways

What a marriage, right? Well, as you will see, my condition was right on track with our sermonet of 10/1/00 entitled Naturally Dead Until Spiritually Alive! (10/01/00). It was all about satisfying the needs of "my natural flesh" (the one that was stinking-rotting dead), and that's just the beginning of "my story". Because you see as time went on I started discovering a few "spiritual things" about Annie that my Methodist "religious" background had not at all prepared me for. I mean just to show you how "spiritually dead" I really was, it was right about the time Annie asked me to buy her a deck of Tarot Cards that I blindly obeyed! Without the slightest bit of hesitation I purchased those "tools of the occult" for my "natural wife" Annie, believing them to be some sort of "playing cards" for her leisure enjoyment.

But that ain't all! Because it was after graduation, while working with my first employer Union Carbide, that Annie became friends with a very mysterious lady who was shortly thereafter killed in a motorcycle accident...and that same departed mysterious lady left her white Persian cat "Angel" behind. Well, as it turned out, Annie inherited the cat, and what a cat this "Angel" turned out to be. Talk about moody! Talk about witchie! Talk about possessed!

Because you see in her book "He Came To Set The Captives Free" Rebecca Brown, MD, gives a few interesting facts concerning "cats" and "familiar spirits" - facts that I didn't know at the time of my "natural marriage" to Annie, but facts that I most certainly understand now. I mean you might say that I've kinda like learned the hard way what my "natural wife" Annie was really all about:

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Familiar Spirits

"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a wizard, or a necromancer." (Deuteronomy 18:10-11)

A "familiar spirit" is a demon with whom a witch has developed close communication. Such demons are used in many ways. In our times, a "familiar spirit" is used primarily for spying and information gathering purposes. For instance, the term "witches familiar" is often used in reference to some animal. In this instance the demon is placed within the animal and the witch can then, through her communication with that demon, both control the animal and see and hear everything the animal sees and hears. Also, a witch may astral project her (or his) own human spirit into an animal and then control the animal for her own use. People in the occult often form a very close link with an animal or bird that is used in this way. Traditionally witches are thought to use black cats. This is a lie spread by Satan's servants for the purpose of misleading people. Witches can and do frequently use cats for such purposes, but they prefer pure white cats, because white stands for purity."

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Annie And Santeria

Now, in all honesty, I'll have to admit that Annie warned me of her "mysterious past" in the very beginning of our relationship...I just had no earthly idea that it was really so mysterious. In fact the dark spirit that surrounded Annie actually became a part of her life, very early during her pre-birth infancy, when she was offered as a living sacrifice to Satan in Panama. [See Santeria The Religion: "Santeria believes that it is possible to foretell the protecting orisha of child before it is born...Sometimes the orishas indicate that the child is meant to be a santero or santera (priest), and that it must be initiated before its birth."]

And I guess this is as good a place as any to go on and relate a "spiritual truth" concerning my "natural wife" Annie. In the Hebrew word listing of the Strong's Concordance you'll find the word for #589 to be "aniy" (an-ee) with the following meaning: "I, (as for) me, mine, myself." And by linking that to the Scripture in Isaiah 14:12-15 we can see an amazing but frightening similarity between Annie and the one she was sacrificed to:

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

You see Annie was from way down south; Panama, Republic of Panama. And deep within that same Panamanian culture exists not only Voodoo and witchcraft, but also a very potent mixture of these "demonic religions" in combination with the Roman Catholic Church. It's what's commonly called "Santeria", and because of all the demonic spirits in it, and Annie's association with it, you might say that Annie kinda like took on a few to call her "own".

Now, without a doubt, that feline Angel was one more moody cat, but then again Annie needed three different names to identify the three different personalities, of the three different spirits, who frequently became a part of her. I mean my "natural wife" Annie could take on a different "spirit" without any warning whatsoever, and it almost drove me totally insane. In fact before our marriage of twenty-five (25) years was "over and done with" I had a very clear understanding of exactly what the Lord meant in Genesis 2:20 by calling Eve (Adam's wife-to-be) his "help meet". Because, before it was all said and done, my "natural wife" Annie "helped me to finally meet the Lord". In other words God Almighty allowed Annie to take me to the edge of the cleft - the brink of insanity - just so I could give up on my "natural man", and give in to my "spiritual man", by finally just saying "yes" to Jesus!

The Children

But not getting ahead of our story, let's get back to those early years of our marriage when Annie and I were smoking weed, drinking moonshine, and trying to start a family. Because it was after Annie's third miscarriage that a hysterectomy became necessary, thus ending our natural ability to "make" any children of our own. But, not letting that stop us, we set out to adopt all the children that we couldn't have naturally.

Well by the time The Sun News ran an article on our family (10/17/91) entitled "Building Families" [see Early Beginnings] we not only had seven children, but also a ministry called the FMH Children's Club International. I had finally submitted my life to Jesus, was being obedient to my calling, and that's right about the place that the "real test" of my "dedication to serve Christ" actually began. Because it was only a few short weeks after the 10/17/91 "news release" that our oldest daughter Marta staged a "child abuse case" in order to gain herself a little freedom. Talk about humiliation: The FMH Children's Club president a child abuser? However, the freedom that Marta ended up getting was nothing like what she had expected to get! In fact Marta caused the Child Protective Agency of South Carolina (Department of Social Services) so much trouble they gladly accepted Annie's proposal to take her back to Panama where she came from.

Now even though Marta did have a few problems of her own (don't we all), the underlying reason for her departure was that Annie had long before decided Marta had to go! And the way it was all accomplished goes back to Annie's religion (Santeria), her link with the occult, and her mystical magical ways. I mean it was down right "witchie" the way "it" all came down on Marta, on me, and on the rest of the children. (See Divorce Time-line for many, many more details.)

However, looking back on all the evil that plagued our family, it's really of no surprise that it actually happened...because the Word of God says it's standard operating procedures (SOP) for a witch: "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a wizard, or a necromancer." (Deuteronomy 18:10-11)

But anyway, "All Hell" was breaking loose in the Hallman family, and it was only a matter of time before the Lord instructed us - Annie first and then me - to "move to Texas and don't turn back!" Those were His instructions to us, and that's exactly what we did...well, me and my son Luis that is. Because it was Annie's idea that the rest of the family stay behind until we could first find a ranch in Texas and sell the farm in South Carolina.

The Mystical Rock

So on the 27th of December, 1993, Luis and I loaded-up a small U-haul truck, with just enough furnishings for the two of us to set up housekeeping, and headed on out to Texas. However, unbeknown to me at the time (neatly tucked away inside my dresser drawers) was a smooth rock, slightly smaller than my fist, with "the children" written on it in Annie's handwriting. In fact it was a few years later that the Lord had me take that same rock and attach a homemade stringed price tag with the words "and they stoned the prophets" written on it. He then had me gift wrap it and present it to the evangelist Carol Pikini who was "one of the accursed" at the Jimmy Swaggart Campmeeting service. For some unknown reason the Lord had me give away Annie's "promise rock" for "the children" to Sister Pikini! (See Jimmy Swaggart And the Accursed! (12/31/01) and the topic of Carol Pikini for more details.)

Just what do you think it all meant? Well, I for one didn't have the foggiest idea until just recently when the Lord instructed me to do a study on the religion of Santeria. Because what the Lord showed me was that what I thought was Annie's "love" for "the children" through her "promise rock" was actually "a curse" against "the children" through her witchie Santeria "voodoo". [See Santeria The Religion: "...fairly common in Latin American witchcraft, makes use of a small stone that may be found in a park or an ordinary garden. The stone is picked up and named after the person one desires to influence...the person one wishes to dominate..."]

And you see it was this same "cursed rock" that Annie gave to me in 1993 that the Lord had me to pass on to Evangelist Carol Pikini in 1999 [Carol Pikini Ministries, P.O. Box 16603, Tampa, FL 33687-6603 (phone# 813-907-1018)]. So just why in the world do you figure the Lord had me do that? Well the truth of the matter is that Sister Pikini actually chose to curse her own children (she committed witchcraft on them) when she decided to please them (her children) and not her Father in Heaven. (See Jimmy Swaggart And the Accursed! (12/31/01) and the topic of Carol Pikini for more details.)

But anyway, getting back to Annie's "cursed rock" and the Hallman family, by the time Luis and I had completed our move to Texas (Fabens), and likewise found three nice ranches for sale, Annie had decided that she and the children would not be making the move after all...because, once again, she had changed her very flippant mind! And, of course, seeing how the Lord had commanded me (us) to "move to Texas and don't turn back", what ensued from that point on until this day has been one more totally insane adventure for my children, our ministry (FMHCCI), and me.

The Curse Begins

Because you see as time went on Annie first sent two of our children back to Panama (Jasmine and Yamel) and then two more of our children (Arthur and Hadassah) to be with me. And even though Luis and I had set up housekeeping in a very small one room house (10 ft. X 12 ft.), before it was all said and done Luis moved out (graduated and joined the Air Force) and the others move in; Arthur, Hadassah, Jasmine and Yamel. (See Divorce Time-line for many, many more details.)

We were one big happy family once again...that is until Annie decided to make a trip to Texas and pay us all a visit. Because you see it was during the middle part of December, 1996, that Annie blew into Texas in much the same way as a category five (5) hurricane. I mean it was during "hurricane Annie's" short little stay in Texas that Jasmine and Yamel were returned to Panama (once again) and Arthur and Hadassah to South Carolina. So Annie, just as all big storms do, blew in - destroying everything in her path - and then very quietly blew on out.

So one minute I had a family and the next minute they were all gone. And then things really started to heat up! Because on the 25th of March, 1999, my Engineering Manager position with The Toro Company came to an abrupt ending. I got fired from my job for speaking what "thus saith the Lord" to Toro's "Christian" CEO Ken Melrose. (See sermonet Will The Moses Of Toro See the Promised Land? (6/20/99) for more details.)

And then it was on the 20th of May, 1999, that Arthur and Hadassah arrived in El Paso, Texas, to spend their summer vacation with "Dad". The Good Lord saw to it that Annie sent them out to be with me...and what a time we had "in the Lord" for six whole months. Talk about a move of the Holy Spirit! Talk about a time of testing! Talk about spiritual warfare against Annie and her demonic powers! (See Divorce Time-line for many, many more details.)

The Trap

Well, after the Lord had me return Arthur and Hadassah back to Annie in South Carolina things really started to boil! Because it was on the 26th of March, 2000, one (1) year and one (1) day after having been terminated from The Toro Company, that the Lord gave me the following Scripture as a very serious warning to Annie:

"At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And he said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whosoever shall offend [4624] one of these little ones which believeth in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offenses [4625]! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence commeth!" (Matthew 18:1-7)

So just what did it all mean? Well you see it was right about this time in our story that both Arthur and Hadassah had not only received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour but also been baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. In other words they were both on fire for the Lord...and the devil wasn't the least bit happy. His plan to destroy the Hallman children had all of the sudden taken a turn for the worst. The time had come for Satan to get serious about taking out Arthur and Hadassah, and of course Annie was his "weapon of destruction" that could make it all happen!

In fact when you apply God's chosen Scripture for Annie (Matthew 18:1-7) to our children "Arthur and Hadassah" you will start to see the very dark and evil details of Satan's demonic and devilish plan. Because you see in that particular Scripture the Greek word skandalizo (4624), that was likewise translated "offend", has the meaning of "the trap; to commit that which leads to the fall or ruin of someone; to throw someone unawares into ruin." And taking that one step further, the Greek word skandalon (4625), that was likewise translated "offences", means "the trigger in the trap on which the bait is placed that springs the trap when touched by the victim; the enticement or occasion leading to conduct which brings with it the ruin of the person in question."

So with all that in mine it should become very obvious that God was warning Annie not to set the trap that Satan would use to try and destroy both Arthur and Hadassah...but she didn't seem to listen. Because it was right about the time that the Lord was giving me Matthew 18:1-7 for Annie that Hadassah was threatening to cut her own wrist (as documented in medical report): "On further talking w/Mom, her daughter is threatening to commit suicide. Family seems to be in great uproar at this point." (See Arthur's medical records for 3/20/00 in A Christian's Divorce! for more details.)

Things were truly getting out of hand! Then it was only shortly thereafter, on 08/01/00 to be exact, that Arthur sent me one more bomb of an e-mail. It was entitled "You Fool" and included a few very harsh words directed straight at me: "You fool...I never want to see your ugly face again." (See Divorce Time-line for full-length e-mail.)

The Divorce

So with the children nicely situated in her trap, Annie continued right along with Satan's plan of destruction. Because on the 19th of October, 2000, I received Annie's very ugly divorce packet...which was followed by her very ugly Final Decree, as ruled on the 19th of June, 2001, by our most godly(?) judicial system. And just as the Horry County Family Court had ordered, I did not "harm, harass, threaten, molest, or come about Annie or the minor children, Hadassah Helena Hallman and Arthur Bruce Hallman, Jr., at their place of residence, employment, school, or any place whatsoever." (See A Christian's Divorce! for more details.)

I mean I didn't call, I didn't write, and I didn't try to communicate with them in any way or fashion. I obeyed the judge, because that's exactly what the Almighty "Judge" told me to do! However, Hadassah did contact me several times throughout the years. In fact it was in her e-mail of 1/1/04, after not having communicated with me for many months, that Hadassah informed me of the fact that she was no longer living with "mom". She also gave me her new cell phone number and asked that I give her a call.

The Turning Point

So, it was the very next night, the 2nd of January, 2004, that my Jewish friend John received a Word from the Lord informing him that Hadassah was in some kind of trouble... and that I needed to call her. And it was the following day, the 3rd of January, that Brother John, in his very Jewish sort of way, bought me a phone card and told me to make the call to Hadassah.

Well that's exactly what I did, and what I found was a very hurting Hadassah, laid-up flat on her back, in the Loris Community Hospital. Because it was just the night before, on her way to see Annie, that Hadassah had lost control of the car she was driving (someone else's car at that), and rolled it a total of seven times. You see she was not wearing her seat belt, and was actually thrown from the car during the multiple roll-overs. However, through it all, by the mercy of God, she only received minor bruises and a broken wrist.

Now the reason Hadassah was on her way to visit Annie was because Annie had gotten very upset with Hadassah when she moved out of her house on Thanksgiving Day, 2003. Hadassah was on her way to patch things up on the night of the accident! And you would tend to think that the entire episode was only typical of a mother reacting to her daughter "growing up and leaving the nest"...but it just ain't so. Because the truth of the matter is that Annie was mad with Hadassah for moving out, because when she moved out she stopped paying Annie for her "room and board". It was a thing about the money; all about the money!

Ain't it amazing! Annie was double dipping! She was hitting me up for child support, for the child she won in the very unjust divorce case, and at the same time she was charging the child (Hadassah) for living in the house she took from me. I mean go figure!

But that ain't all! Because what I also discovered was that even before Hadassah's graduation from high school it became necessary for her to move-out of the house and move-in with another family because Annie was driving her out of her mind. She couldn't even concentrate on her school work because of Annie's demonic dealings. And just what, you ask, might that be?

The Truth

Well, according to Hadassah, it was only a few months before she moved out of Annie's "house of horrors" that Annie didn't come home one night. And it was the next day that Hadassah discovered the truth concerning Annie's over-night stay in jail. You see Annie had been pulled over by the police for suspicious behavior the night before, and when they searched her car they found both drugs and utensils for drug use. But seeing how Annie is such close friends with one of the local judges - Harry McDowel (sp?) - she was somehow able to wiggle out of that very sticky situation.

However, what this very ugly incident did was uncover the real truth behind the one who the Horry County Family Court seemingly awarded as the "mother of the year" back in June of 2001. Because this very same "mom", who was given custody over her daughter Hadassah, tried to convince her daughter to tell a big lie just for her. I mean Annie actually tried to convince Hadassah to confess that the drug items found in Annie's car belonged to her. Annie's line of reasoning was that Hadassah was young with a good record, and the resulting charges for her would only be minor.

Return To The Lord

But anyway, the first call I placed to Hadassah on the 3rd was made from the public library just a few minutes before their closing. And seeing how Hadassah and I had so much to talk about I promised to call her back later on that night. However, before making that call I went before the Lord in prayer and received the following Scripture especially for Hadassah:

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth." (Hosea 6:1-3)

So just what did it all mean? Well, what the Lord showed me was awesome indeed. Because you see the number ten (10) is representative of a time of "persecution and tribulation" allowed by the Father in order to "test and try" the faith, patience, and courage of Believers so they might be "proved and improved". And by doing just a little bit of math it's pretty easy to see that the time of my testing, concerning my family/children, had been ten years to the day (1/1/94-1/1/04) since obeying God's command to "move to Texas and don't turn back" and receiving Hadassah's most recent e-mail.

Ain't that neat? And then by adding all of that to the Scripture for Hadassah (Hosea 6:2) I saw how the Father was also bringing Hadassah back to the Lord after having been bewitched by Annie during this extreme time of testing. Because it was on day #2 after the ten (10) year period that Hadassah was soundly shaken in an accident so that on day #3 she could receive Jesus back into her life. Glory!

Well that night during my call everything went just as the Lord had predicted. Hadassah and I had a good long talk, and during that conversation I let her know what the Lord had showed me concerning her accident. You see Hadassah didn't know why the car went into a roll-over condition, but the Lord showed me that it was all because of demonic powers being worked against her. Annie, in her anger, had turned her "Santeria demons" against Hadassah. And it was only by the grace of God that they didn't kill her.

I then went on to explain how some of the strange things that she had witnessed with Annie were all a part of Annie's association with Voodoo and the occult...such as her smoking cigars in order to enhance her communication with the evil spirits. [See Santeria The Religion: "Before the ceremony begins, everyone must dip his fingers in the basin, cleanse himself with the liquid, and then knock three times on the altar. Those who wish to do so may light a cigar and start to smoke. The cigars are said to attract spiritual entities, especially those of African spirits..."]

Then, after having warned her of the very serious situation she was in, I gave Hadassah the Scripture from Hosea and explained how it applied to her life. God allowed the car she was driving to be rolled-over seven (7) times, on day #2 after our ten (10) years of testing, in order for her to be shaken. In fact I went on to tell her that the number seven (7) stands for purity, and that's why God allowed the demons to do what they did. It's all about bringing Hadassah back into a right relationship with Christ. I then asked her if she would like to receive Jesus back into her life, and, upon her agreeing to it, I led her in a prayer of repentance.

Next Time

So, that in a nutshell is what I (along with my children) have had to endure...and all because I chose Annie to be my "natural wife" almost thirty (30) years ago. In other words God Almighty allowed my "natural wife" Annie to take me to the edge of the cleft - the brink of insanity - just so I could give up on my "natural man", and give in to my "spiritual man", by finally just saying "yes" to Jesus!

And, having said all that, we'll pick-up on a few more pieces of the story next time when we continue on with part II of "My Natural Wife Was Annie...But My Spiritual Wife Is Sandy!" Be sure to tune in because that one's going to be a whole lot different than this one. We've got lots of "good things" to say about my new "spiritual wife" Sandy. I mean, after all, God the Father is the One who chose this one!

In closing, please learn from the mistakes of others so that you don't have to make them too. In other words seek the Heavenly Father's Will for your life in all things - including your mate - so that you can Keep on Keeping The Faith In Jesus!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)

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Santeria The Religion

(Excerpts from the book by Migene Gonzalez-Wippler.)

- Santeria In Chiapas -
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Introduction

Santeria was born in Nigeria, along the banks of the Niger River. This is the country of origin of the Yoruba people, many of whom, along with members of other African tribes, were brought to the New World by slave traders over four centuries ago...In Cuba, where Santeria originated, the Yoruba became known as Lucumi, a word that means "friendship."...The Cuban Lucumis were deeply influenced by the Catholic iconolatry of their Spanish masters. In their efforts to hide their magical and religious practices from the eyes of the Spaniards, they identified their deities with the saints of the Catholic Church. This was the beginning of Santeria, which is a term derived from the Spanish word santo (saint), and literally means "the worship of saints"...

Santeria is therefore a mixture of the magic rites of the Yoruba and some of the traditions of the Catholic Church. All the legends that surround the lives of Jesus, Mary, and the Catholic saints are of great importance to the santero because they help delineate the personalities of the saints, making it easier to identify them with the appropriate Yoruba deities. But in spite of the influence of the Catholic Church, Santeria is mostly primitive magic, and its roots are deeply buried in the heart of Africa.

Santeria is an earth religion, a magico-religous system that has its roots in nature and natural forces. Each orisha or saint is identified with a force of nature and with a human interest or endeavor...In Yoruba tradition, the orishas were divided in two groups: the white (orisha fun-fun) and the dark. The white orishas are "cool" and have life-giving powers...The dark orishas are "hot," and their powers are present in war or when blood is shed in battle or in the hunt...

Santeria, like the ancient Yoruba tradition, is based on the concepts of ashe and ebbo. Ashe is a Yoruba word that means, literally, "so be it," but it is also a symbol of divine power. It is the power with which God Almighty - Oloddumare - created the universe. Everything is made of ashe, and through ashe everything is possible. The orishas are the repositories of Oloddumare's ashe. All the invocations, propitiations, spells, and rituals of Santeria are conducted to acquire ashe, all problems can be solved, enemies can be subdued, love and money can be acquired. Ashe is also authority, power of action.

Ebbo, on the other hand, is the concept of sacrifice, the way in which the orishas are propitiated so that they will give us their ashe. All the rites and spells of Santeria are part of the ebbo concept...

Central to the practice of Santeria is ancestor worship. The dead in one's family, known collectively as eggun, must be fed periodically...the dead come before the saints (the orishas). This is one of the strongest precepts of Santeria.

Santeros are also known by the Yoruba name of omo-orisha, which means "child of orisha." Usually a santero or santera takes the name of the orisha or saint unto whose mysteries he or she has been initiated...

Therefore we have in Santeria a religious system that honors the ancestors and recognizes a direct contact between mankind and the forces of nature, which are seen as direct manifestations of God Himself. This contact between God and mankind - through nature - is enforced through ebbo, a sacrifice, for the purpose of receiving ashe, power. This is what Santeria is all about, in essence. But although Santeria is immersed deeply in African tradition, there is a very definite difference between the actual Yoruba religion and Santeria. This is not only because of the pronounced influence of Catholicism in Santeria, but also because the original Yoruba practices underwent many changes and adaptations in the New World...

It is surprising how strongly Santeria has influenced the inhabitants of the Latin American countries. From Cuba it migrated to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Columbia, Panama, and other countries...According to a conservative estimate, thee are more than a hundred million practitioners of the religion in Latin America and the United States.

What Is Santeria?

...Like most established religions, Santeria worships a central creative force, known as Oloddumare, who corresponds to the concept of God. The orishas were created by Oloddumare to manifest his will and express his essence in nature. They are also the guides and protectors of mankind. The orishas are not really gods, but the children and servants of Oloddumare. In this sense, Santeria is a monotheistic religion, rather than a polytheistic one. The orishas are not worshiped as gods but as "guardian angels."

One of the central beliefs of Santeria is that every individual's life is overseen by one of the orishas. It does not matter whether the person believes or not in the orishas. He or she has that divine protection and guidance all his or her life. This orisha is known as that person's guardian angel or, alternatively, as his or her father or mother, depending on whether the orisha is male or female.

When an individual chooses Santeria as his religion, one of the first things he does is to ascertain who is his personal orisha. This is done through one of the divination systems used in the religion. From the moment he learns the name of his orisha, the practitioner of Santeria petitions that particular deity constantly and assiduously for help and guidance in his life. He considers himself the child of that orisha, and if he ever decides to become a santero, he can only be initiated into the mysteries of that particular orisha.

When the Yoruba slaves identified their orishas with the saints of the Catholic faith, the saints became invested with the same supernatural powers of the African deities. They were invoked by the Yoruba priests to undertake cures, cast spells, and do the same type of magic as usually ascribed to the orishas. Each orishas-saint was credited with certain specific attributes and was believed to control some aspects of human life. All natural phenomena and the common occurrences of everyday living were under the direct influence of the deities...the saints are believed to take possession of their initiates and literally "mount" them. The santero is known commonly as the "horse" of the saints. During the initiation, the "seat" of the saints - that is, the mind of the initiate, (iryawo) - is conditioned for future work.

To the santero the orishas are not remote divinities, ensconced in the heavenly niches, far removed from worldly matters. On the contrary, they are vibrant, living entities who take on an active part in his everyday life. One does not pray to an orisha on bent knees. One confronts him or her face to face, either as a force of nature - in the wind, in the fire, in the sea - or, better yet, when the orisha has taken possession of one of his or her children. For at this time, it is not only possible to talk to an orisha; the orisha can also answer back. There is something very moving and strangely comforting in speaking face to face with an orisha. It reminds us that somehow God is near, that He cares, that we are not alone. It is this strong interaction with the orishas that makes Santeria such a powerful and dynamic religion and explains its growing popularity.

The basic difference between the Yoruba priest and the santero is that the latter practices his magic in the asphalt jungles of the big cities instead of the African wilderness. In many ways, Santeria is jungle magic adapted to city living. Its ritual practices are based on sympathetic magic. That is, they are natural magic based on what the Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer called the laws of similarity and contact.

In 1980, Frazer published his monumental work, The Golden Bough, which had a great impact on twentieth-century anthropology. In this work Frazer showed definite parallels between the rites and beliefs of primitive cultures and those of Christianity. His definition of sympathetic magic and its laws is extremely illuminating in understanding the magical practices of Santeria.

According to Frazer, the law of similarity may be expressed by the magical principle that "like produces like." On the other hand, the law of contact says that "things that have been in contact with each other continue to affect each other long after the physical contact has been broken." When the type of magic used hinges on the law of similarity, it is known as homeopathic magic. In this system, the magician believes he can create virtually any kind of natural phenomenon by acting it out beforehand, often by using natural objects that are in sympathetic alliance with the purpose of the ceremony.

The most familiar example of this type of magic is that of a wax doll that has been molded in the image of the person to be affected. The magician believes that whatever happens to the doll will also happen to the intended victim. Another example of homeopathic magic, fairly common in Latin American witchcraft, makes use of a small stone that may be found in a park or an ordinary garden. The stone is picked up and named after the person one desires to influence. It is then brought into one's house and thrown on the floor by the door. It is then kicked lightly throughout the house until it rolls under one's bed. As the stone rolls, one should stress that it is not a stone that is being kicked, but the person one wishes to dominate...

All forms of sympathetic magic assume that things act on each other at a distance through an unidentified and unexplainable attraction, the initial contact being sparked by the will of the magician. This belief in the sympathetic influence exerted on each other by objects or individuals separated by a distance is of tremendous importance in Santeria, and indeed in any form of natural magic.

The English magician Aleister Crowley defined magic as the ability to effect changes in consciousness in accordance with the will of the magician. This definition agrees in principle with the magical practices of Santeria. But it is not enough to have a strong will to bring about the reaction desired. One must also have faith - the burning conviction that the magic will work. Whether this faith transcends human consciousness and stems from nonhuman entities or whether it is rooted in an unshakable self-assurance is immaterial. What matters is its influence and the sometimes incredible phenomena it can create. In Santeria this faith is firmly placed in the mighty powers of the saints or orishas. The supernatural powers of the saints, in close alliance with the sympathetic magic of the santeros, and their strong determination to succeed, bring about the changes in consciousness described by Crowley. Naturally the saints do not grant their favors without suitable offering. This may range from a nine-day candle or a dish of honey to a basket of fruit or an animal sacrifice...Whatever is offered to an orisha is transformed by that deity into pure energy - ashe - which is then used by him or her to carry out the needs of the supplicant. Any type of magic requiring the help of a saint must employ materials that are attributes of that particular orisha. For example, any love magic enlisting the aid of Oshun would be worked with seashells, honey, mittors, pumpkins, or other attributes of the orisha.

According to one of the best santeros I have ever known, the late Fernando Sierra, Santeria is basically four things: water, herbs, seashells (cowries), and stones...it is a system that seeks to find the divine in the most common, ordinary things. It is childlike and often naive, but it is this simple and total faith that makes it so powerful...Its wisdom is the wisdom of the earth. All that Santeria wants to do is to embrace nature, but in so doing it embraces the soul of all things.

Eggun: Spirits Of The Dead

The santeros always say that the dead - eggun - "go before the saints." This means that the dead must be honored before the orishas. The eggun are the spirits of one's ancestors...

Whenever there are disturbing influences around a santero or a practitioner of the religion, the eggun may ask for a "spiritual mass"...A spiritual mass is an "open" seance. In most seances, the participants sit at a table, often joining hands. In the spiritual mass an altar is set at one end of the room where the seance is to take place. The altar is very much like a boveda, with goblets of water, many flower vases, several bottles of rum, and cigars upon its surface...Before the ceremony begins, everyone must dip his fingers in the basin, cleanse himself with the liquid, and then knock three times on the altar. Those who wish to do so may light a cigar and start to smoke. The cigars are said to attract spiritual entities, especially those of African spirits...

After a long prayer period, the spirits of the various eggun begin to make their appearance...The transformation suffered by a person possessed by an African eggun is often extraordinary. I have seen a santero possessed by such an eggun munch contentedly on a lit cigar, which he then swallowed. This was then merely chased by an entire bottle of 151-proof Bacardi. Several hours later, when the eggun had left, the santero was as sober as if he had been drinking water all night.

Some santeros are more adept at working with the eggun than others. Sometimes, during a consultation, or registro, a santero will become possessed by his personal eggun, who will then conduct a special ritualistic cleansing of the santero's client...the eggun may simply grab the person by the waist and lift him or her high over his head, as he would a rag doll. This is another form of cleansing. I have seen a frail, elderly santera possessed by an eggun do this type of cleansing on a man at least double her weight, with no visible effort.

...In Santeria the ritual worship of the ancestors is as important as among the Yoruba, although the rites have varied through the influence of the Catholic faith. There is no annual festival in honor of the eggun in Santeria, but the santeros do observe November 2 as the Day of the Dead, as does the Catholic Church.

The Santero: Priest Of Santeria

Santeria believes that it is possible to foretell the protecting orisha of child before it is born...Sometimes the orishas indicate that the child is meant to be a santero or santera, and that it must be initiated before its birth. This causes a minor commotion, as it means the child must be initiated in the mysteries of Santeria while still in the womb...When the child is born, it is immediately presented to the otanes or sacred stones that represent his orisha, and washed in the omiero, or ritual liquid prepared with the favorite ewe (herbs) of the saint...

Spirit Possession

...The omo-Babalu chosen to dance to the orisha now came forward. His air of authority and self-assurance immediately set him apart from those around him...I suddenly realized I was in the actual presence of the orisha. The possession was so gradual and yet so total that I was not aware at what point Babalu mounted the babalocha. The omo-Babalu began to tremble convulsively, his eyes rolling, his body weaving back and forth. But at no time did he miss the rhythm of the drumbeat or stop the ritual dancing.

While we waited for Babula to return in full regalia, I watched the other omo-orishas complete their possessions...The powerful Oggun had taken possession of a very dark woman with coarse features and a heavyset figure. Her possession was most impressive, for she shed her personality completely to become a rough, virile man. She went the room in Oggun's swaggering stride, picking up several of the small children present and tossing them up in the air. Someone handed the orisha a lighted cigar; he took it immediately and began to smoke it with relish. He continued lifting terrified children, throwing them up and catching them in one hand without even looking. The children's screams were drowned by the drums...

...Not wanting to miss any details of the ceremony, I leaned eagerly over the circle and saw the orisha switch both doves to his left hand. For one moment their wings fluttered over his clenched fist, then his right hand moved swiftly. Suddenly the two doves hung limp over his wrist, both heads torn neatly from their necks. From the severed necks spurted twin fountains of blood, spotting the immaculate white clothes of the omo-Obatala. Fast as an eagle, his massive head bent sharply forward and caught the crimson stream in his mouth. For some minutes he drank thirstily, then lifted his head, lips bright red, eyes sparkling, and extended the doves in silent invitation to the other two orishas, who came forward willingly to partake of the blood offering.

Spells And Magic

Not all the santeros use the Diloggun to conduct a registro. Some use Spanish playing cards, while others divine with a cigar or with a glass of water. But most use the seashells as a divination system.

Regardless of the method of divination used, it is always the eggun or the orishas who determine the ebbo or "cure" for the ills besetting the santero's clients. But in order for either the dead or the saints to be able to work with the santero, he must be familiar with the never ending list of magical solutions that exists for each specific human problem.

Most consulting santeros have recourse to an impressive roster of ebbos and magic spells for every conceivable ill that may afflict mankind. Many of these solutions are written in the libreta that the santero receives after the asiento. Each herb, root, or powder has an infinity of uses for a variety of purposes. The santero's memory is like a complex index file where they are listed by class and category.