I had seen the reviews for the upcoming movie "The Jesus Revolution". My cousin Laura told me that she saw it and felt like her parents were in the movie. She said she could remember sitting on the floor in people's homes playing guitars and singing. The clothes they wore, the look they had, and the stories she told me were so interesting. I had never in all my years heard any mention of this before and I was intrigued and even more excited to see the movie. I asked Laura several more questions and she told me her story of when she was very young. I had no idea!
Here is the story as told by Laura. When Laura was very little her mother Rose re-married to my Uncle Dean. Being a triplet, David and Duane went to ISU to architect school, while Dean attended art school in Waterloo for graphics arts. That is where he met Rose and Laura. 1972 Rose and Dean were married and Laura was 5. Rose took her first job as a graphic designer for Drake College. They met Don & Mary Harrington, who were very influential in their spiritual walk. Her parents became Christians in college while attending their professor's bible studies. Duane and Dave were living in Ames also and were members of the Iowa State bible studies church. Rose and Dean moved to Ames and began attending too. Laura was in Des Moines during early years and attended many schools. 1st grade was in Ames, second grade was at a different school in Ames. During first grade, while John was 6 months old, their family went to evangelize a college in Arizona. They rode in a bus van group to Arizona. She remembers sleeping in churches on the way. In talking with Uncle Duane at a later date, he told me the van moved very slow. He said it broke down a few times an always in a town with a little church. i am sure they were evangelizing all the way. They called each other brother and sister and saints. They would point upward and say "One Way." They were very much part of a hippie church. Laura turned 7 traveling, then attended school in Arizona. John got pneumonia in both lungs, was at hospital nearly died was in hospital 2 weeks while in Arizona. Laura was sent back to Iowa with hippie friends and started a brand new school while staying at a friends house. Rose and Dean and John flew back. In one of the crusades, Laura got baptized at age 7, she felt called to be baptized. She was asked what it meant to her to be baptized. She explained that she would go under to wash away the old her and arise to be a new creature in Christ and quoted Gal 2:20. They decided she was ready and she was baptized in a public fountain. She remembers it clearly and wearing striped bell bottoms while a hippie guy named Zandy was shirtless with fluffy hair baptized her. The year was 1974. In 1975 my grandpa helped Dean and they built a home in Gilbert. In 1977, when Angie was two, Laura was 10, their family made another road trip, this time to Maryland. She recalls a mattress on the floor of the van and sleeping on a church floor. They spent 6 weeks on campus of U of Maryland evangelizing and sleeping on the church floor. Laura remembers being alone a lot, not having kids her age, and switching schools often. All of this would be hard on a young kid. She also remembers the church having a band on the stage, something unheard of. Friday nights were students on campus, and bible studies in homes. Like the movie, the band, Love Song was one she recognized. Dean had their albums and would listen to the hippie records all the time. She said those years were embarrassing for her at the time and growing up in that atmosphere and she never really talked about it. I got to talk with my Uncle Duane briefly and he told me that he had a big red van and using the Coca Cola style logo, he painted the words, "Jesus Christ, He's The Real Thing." He sent me a photo of it. I think it is so cool! He also sent me a photo of a parade float they did while at Iowa State and took first place. It says," IS Happiness Playing Hooky? We found happiness in Jesus Christ." I showed the photos to Laura, and she remembers the little red house was her play house for awhile.
I finally did get to see the movie. Mark and I went on a date and watched it in a theater. It is so much more fascinating when you can watch in a theater without distractions on the big screen. Later I took the boys and watched it in the theatre with them as well. It was really good. It is the life story of Greg Laurie and Chuck Smith. It was great story of redemption and I think it has many parallels to the modern day. Kids are seeking belonging, happiness, and truth. They are trying to find truth in things that lead to destruction. The drug hippies in this story are like today's lost and that includes the LGB community. They need Jesus, we all do! It gives me a different perspective when looking at those that are so far from God.
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