Misguided: The Soundtrack To My Life

Chapter Ten – Welcome to the Jungle, or The Guest Who Wouldn’t LeaveMusic featured in this article:Run Through The Jungle – Creedence Clearwater RevivalCountry Roads – John DenverEl Cóndor Pasa (If I Could) – Simon and GarfunkleMorning Has Broken – Cat StevensMoonshadow – Cat StevensAn Unwelcome Guest – The LodgerThis chapter of my memoir has an unusual title. As I explain in the Introduction episode of this series,the chapter titles changed during the drafting process. Initially, all the titles were song titles or song lyrics, but not all those titles survived the final edit. In this case, I couldn’t make up my mind, so I just left this working title as the final version because it describes a major development in my story.One thing that didn’t make the final cut was an anecdote I started this chapter with about a Japanese soldier who hid in a Philippine a jungle for decades after WW2 ended, because he didn’t know the war had ended. I thought that story was a good metaphor for the events I tell in this chapter, how I left the cult while stationed in the Manila commune, and fled on my own to a remote jungle village on the southern island of Mindanao. This is the paragraph cut from the final version.In March 1974, a WW2 Japanese soldier emerged from a Philippine jungle where he had been hiding since 1945.i Persuaded that the war he continued to fight alone all those years ended decades earlier, he finally returned to Japan. The next year I left Japan to join my fellow Christian soldiers in the Philippines. Then a year after that I too fled to a jungle hideout, deserting my spiritual army, but still believing endtime wars would soon lead to the rise of the Antichrist.When thinking of relevant music for this chapter, I first thought of the Guns and Roses song Welcome to the Jungle, because the residents of that jungle village welcomed me with open arms. However, those lyrics, which are about a concrete ‘jungle’, don’t match the subject of this chapter as good as the Creedence Clearwater Revival song Run Through the Jungle, with its war theme and references to the devil and Satan.Run Through The Jungle – Creedence Clearwater RevivalWhoa thought it was a nightmare Lord it was so true They told me don’t go walking slow The devil’s on the loose Better run through the jungle Whoa don’t look back to see Thought I heard a rumblin’ Callin’ to my name Two hundred million guns are loaded Satan cries, “Take aim!”This chapter in my memoir covers the entire two years I was in the Philippines, the first year in the cult, and the second year out of it, as I’ve explained. I tell the story of my second love affair, this time with a Filipina cult member, which was also forbidden by the leaders. We ran away together for several days, but finally returned to the commune only for her to leave the cult without me. Several months later I left too.I also describe my travels all throughout Luzon, the main island of the archipelago, while in the cult, and throughout the southern island of Mindanao after I left the cult. During my time in the Philippines I often evangelized with my guitar, singing our cult songs, but also including some mainstream gospel and pop songs. The first paragraph in this excerpt is when I was in the Baguio commune, the rest describes my arrival in the Mindanao village after I left the cult.Our house was walking distance to the main parts of town where we litnessed, including the large park in the centre of the city where we sang and danced to attract people. Some evenings a few of us sang our gospel songs in coffeehouses and bars that had open mic nights. Road teams also regularly travelled to towns in the other northern provinces....It was twilight when my companion suddenly called out to the driver to stop. We seemed to be in the middle of a jungle. At first I saw only palm trees and other tropical vegetation, but then spotted a few bamboo houses on the ocean side of the road. The bus left us in a cloud of dust and once that settled I saw a few more houses on the other side. One of them was his mother’s humble hillside hut.Strolling around the next morning, I realized the village was larger than it first appeared in the dark. Word had already spread that there was a foreign visitor. When I stopped to chat with a few people setting up a fiesta stage in the square they seemed relieved when I told them how I met the guy I arrived with. They explained that his mother was one of the poorest villagers, so it would be more appropriate for me to stay in one of their homes instead. I later learned they were concerned because he had a bad reputation.The Barrio Captain said I could stay in his home, proudly explaining it was the only one with a refrigerator, but Ricky had invited me first. He was a security guard in Medina and his wife, Gloria, was a teacher at Portulin Elementary School. They spoke better English and were closer to my age, so I preferred to stay with them in their bamboo stilt house near the beach.Ricky showed me around the community, pointing out the outhouse I should use and the communal well where I could take an outdoor bath. When he learned I played guitar, he encouraged me to join the performers on stage that evening. I borrowed a guitar and sang some Children of God songs and a few by Simon and Garfunkle, Cat Stevens, and John Denver. When I sang Denver’s “Country Roads”, they enthusiastically sang along. The music helped me break the language barrier, and befriend the entire village.Country Roads – John Denver. This song was a real crowd-pleaser everywhere I played it.Country roads, take me home To the place I belong I hear her voice in the morning hour, she calls me The radio reminds me of my home far away Driving down the road, I get a feeling That I should have been home yesterday, yesterdayEl Cóndor Pasa (If I Could) – Simon and GarfunkleI’d rather be a sparrow than a snail Yes I would If I could I surely would I’d rather be a hammer than a nail Yes I would If I only could I surely would Away, I’d rather sail away Like a swan that’s here and gone A man gets tied up to the ground He gives the world Its saddest sound Its saddest sound I’d rather be a forest than a street Yes I would If I could I surely would I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet Yes I would If I only could I surely wouldMorning Has Broken – Cat Stevens. The religious lyrics made this song acceptable to play in the cult.Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing, praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the world Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning Born of the One Light Eden saw play Praise with elation, praise every morning God’s recreation of the new dayMoonshadow – Cat Stevens. Placing this song here foreshadows a strange moonshadow cast by David Berg’s bizarre beliefs about the moon, coming up in chapter 17 of this series, Heavenly Lunacy, that you don’t want to miss.Yes I’m bein’ followed by a moonshadow Moonshadow, moonshadow Leapin’ and hoppin’ on a moonshadow Moonshadow, moonshadow Did it take long to find me? I asked the faithful light Oh did it take long to find me And are you gonna stay the night?After staying in that jungle village for about six months, I moved to Cagayan de Oro, a city on the north coast of Mindanao, hoping to find a legal way I could stay in the Philippines so I didn’t have to return to Canada. One of the villagers gave me a referral to his good friend who owned a motel in the city. I ended up living with his family for several months, before I had worn out my welcome.Jun gave me a free room and we had regular conversations for the week or so that I stayed there. He was a very kind man who probably would’ve helped me even without a referral from his friend. When the motel became fully booked he extended his hospitality, inviting me to stay with him and his wife, Amy, and their three children, Whilcey, Sandy and Maris.......Initially, I considered looking for a job, assuming that would allow me to get a work visa. I spoke with a lawyer who explained that I was only eligible for a work visa if I was indispensable to a potential employer because no Philippine citizen was suitable, able or willing to do the job. But I was a 21-year-old high school drop out with no skills or work experience. It was highly unlikely I could find a job that fulfilled the visa requirements for foreign workers.Other visa categories also allowed extended stays in the country, if I had a substantial amount of money. The only other way was to marry a Filipino citizen, but in my desperate situation finding someone for a legitimate marriage, or even a marriage of convenience, seemed just as impossible as finding an eligible job. I was also reluctant to return to either the Children of God or Canada.The only other way I could stay in the country was if Berg’s endtime predictions happened before I had to leave, and I became a refugee. So, I continued to rely on Jun and Amy’s hospitality, while waiting for America’s destruction. I stayed with them a couple months, usually going out for the day and returning for dinner. Instead of making practical plans, I continued to delusionally delay the inevitable, until my hosts gave me a much needed wake-up call.At Christmas that year, 1976, they included me in celebrations with their extended family. At times over the evening I sensed some conflict between a few relatives when they spoke Filipino, which I didn’t understand. Everyone was very friendly with me, though, so I assumed either I misinterpreted the tone of their conversation or it was merely minor family tensions that typically arise on such occasions. It didn’t occur to me that they might have been talking about the guest who wouldn’t leave.My hosts eventually had enough of my freeloading, but like those in Portulin, they didn’t directly confront me and ask me to leave. Instead, I came back early one evening to find my backpack outside their front door. They had buzzed me through the security gate so I could get it, but wouldn’t open the door when I knocked. I deserved to be evicted, so didn’t blame them, but I was shocked and not sure where to go.Fortunately, I had made friends with a nearby squatter community of tinsmiths, and they gave me a place to stay for the final couple months before I had no choice but to leave the Philippines and return to Canada. The following song captures the confusion I was in as I fled cruel cult leaders in the Manila commune, but still believed in Berg’s endtime predictions. I hid out on the island of Mindanao for a year, over-staying my welcome in two places as I waited anxiously for World War 3 and the rise of the Antichrist.An Unwelcome Guest – The LodgerListen to the words Come out of my mouth I′m leaving this place And moving down south This time It’s a new way of life I haven′t got much hope It’s gone beyond a joke I find I live my life in a daydream A reverie A constant stream Would you like to extend your hand And help a man who can’t understand? Why everyone is leaving the nest I′m feeling like an unwelcome guesti Hiroo Onoda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroo_Onoda This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perrybulwer344598.substack.com