Source: ScientologyToday.org
“I always wanted to help,” said one of the Scientology
Volunteer Ministers who went to Parkersburg, Iowa after last
May’s tornado. “I just didn’t know how.” But because of the online
courses she took over the past year, Rosa realized she could do
something about it.
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In Parkersburg, Iowa, after the tornado, Rosa demonstrating
how to give a Scientology Nerve Assist.
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Last May, when a category 5 tornado hit
Parkersburg, Iowa, leveling half the city, Rosa realized she had to
do something and she put on her yellow t-shirt, joined the Churches
of Scientology Disaster Response Team and got to work.
Scientology Today
interviewed Rosa to find out what it was like to be on the ground,
helping with the relief effort.
Scientology
Today:
Why did you decide to go to Parkersburg, Iowa
and what was it like when you got there?
Rosa:
I started
taking online courses at the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web
site last year. When I heard about this disaster I suddenly
realized this is what I’ve been training for. I felt really
strongly that I needed to go.
Volunteers were pouring in from
everywhere, from all kinds of groups and organizations. There was
such a positive feeling despite the devastating damage and you
could really feel the attitude of the volunteers lifting the
spirits of the people of the town who were hopeless when we
arrived.
I was so glad I could be there and
help.
Scientology
Today:
I know the Volunteer Ministers helped with
whatever services were needed—food distribution, helping people
collect up what possessions they had left, even just lending an ear
to people who needed to talk. But I also hear that the Scientology assists were very popular and helpful.
(Assists are techniques developed by L. Ron
Hubbard, the founder of the Scientology religion. They help
orient people to their present environment, and restore their
communication with their bodies and the environment). Can you
explain how you used them there?
Rosa:
That’s
true. We literally did anything that would help the people of the
town. But the assists were a total hit. The rescue workers, fire
fighters and volunteers were under tremendous stress, working very
long hours to bring order to this community. We let people know we
were there. We set up at the Incident Command Center (ICC)—the
headquarters for the disaster effort. One by one they started
arriving, and word of mouth must have been good, because there was
a steady stream of people coming for help.
One of the leaders of another volunteer
group heard that we were giving assists and came to see me because
he was sore and tired. I gave him a nerve assist, which is a
technique that improves communication with the body. He went away
quite happy. He returned several times for assists during our stay
there and finally asked to learn how to do them himself.
I gave an assist to one of the Red Cross
workers. Afterwards, she told me she felt much better—more relaxed
and happy.
A man walked in who looked more like a
caveman than an electrical maintenance worker; he was all hunched
over, shuffling his feet, and doing more grunting than talking. He
was sore, tired, and feeling down. As I gave him a nerve assist,
his mood lifted (and so did his posture). He was so happy he
decided to learn how to give assists too.
I was giving a nerve assist to an
electrical worker and noticed a man with the cell tower repair team
watching. He was hunched over, tired, and looking kind of
skeptical. When the assist was done, the electrical worker grinned
and told him ‘You gotta do this! You’ll feel great!’ so the cell
tower worker got an assist too. By the end, he had cheered right up
and his eyes were bright. He told me he felt great, that he’d been
working 20-hour shifts for a week with very little sleep and this
was the best he’d felt since he arrived.
One of the ambulance workers received an
assist and she came back and brought her daughter to get an assist
of her own.
Throughout the day each firefighter from
one of the teams that was there visited me for assists and each one
left happy. I heard them bragging to firefighters from other
communities and some of them came for assists, too.
Much later that day, these firefighters
returned from a long and stressful call, and one of them confided
that he’d been very skeptical, but he’d gotten assists first thing
in the morning and he STILL felt awesome.
Scientology
Today:
How did you learn to do what you did there,
and what was your training like?
Rosa:
I learned
about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers online courses last year
and I enrolled. The courses were great and the supervision was
amazing. Any time I had a question or concern or didn’t understand
something, or even if had a personal problem, I could email or call
and talk to the instructor. She’s one of those people I can talk to
about anything and she knows the information in these courses so
well she could always refer me to something to help.
Scientology
Today:
What was it like to be part of the Churches of
Scientology Disaster Response Team?
Rosa:
It was an
experience I’ll never forget. The team was awesome to work with. I
learned so much from each of them. They were so easy to work with,
and they always were positive, even though things were really bad,
and the damage in the town was devastating. With that attitude they
had such a positive impact on the people of Parkersburg.
Scientology
Today:
What would you say to someone who is thinking
of joining the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program, taking an
online course or setting up a seminar for his or her group or
organization?
Rosa:
It’s the
best choice they could make. Not only do you learn for yourself and
gain tools you can use to deal with life and problems around you,
but you can have such a positive impact on everyone around you, not
only by helping them but by setting an example of what you can do
to help people.
The motto of the Scientology Volunteer
Ministers is “Something CAN be done about it.” From what I have
learned in my courses, and helping in Parkersburg, Iowa with the
Churches of Scientology Disaster Response Team I really know that
this is not just a saying—it is absolutely true.