The worse journey of our Lives
This is probably one of most painful things I have to write, and one of the most embarrassing also. My son keeps insisting I try to stop the bad guy from deceiving others...I also believe that in times like this, the name of the church cannot be tarnish by irresponsible people disguising themselves as medical missionaries. It brings shame to our true and urgent mission.
With that being said, this is the story of how our family was scammed. Truly, The most disappointing thing of this story is that this man represents himself as a Seventh-Day Adventist and a Medical missionary. I'm sending this link first to a few leaders in the church, hoping to find help. The man that has deceived our family's information is below:
BEWARE !
Phone numbers: Cell Phone: (707) 712.7656
Diabetes program Advertisement: (530) 474. 3145
ARREST RECORD: https://www.redbluffdailynews.com/2019/11/26/police-logs-nov-26-2019/
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Mr. Cook identified himself to our family as an Adventist, so before writing this Blog post I did the following steps according to biblical advice.
1) Contacted Mr. Cook myself. My husband also attempted to contact him and had a long conversation with him on the phone. Mr. Cook refused to refund our money and told my husband if he did "other people would die of cancer and there's no one to help this people" (only himself).
2) I asked a local church pastor, Pastor Steve Brownell from Redding California to contact him both by text and phone. He also told this pastor he spent the money and can't pay me back. Please contact the pastor Directly if you have any questions about this.
3) I Filed a police report. I was instructed by police to sue the man and contact media, FBI, health department, etc. However, I am asking for anyone that is an SDA to contact this man and please help me recover our funds. Before taking that the final step of a lawsuit, I'm here appealing to my fellow church members and conference, to help me, as oriented by the verses above. Please help our family by contacting mr Cook on the addresses/phones above.
What am I asking and would be satisfactory to me? Our family would like to receive both an apology and money back spent in the amount of $5500. I also would like a promise by Mr. Cook that he will never accept Diabetic type I Kids again in his "facility". If we have to go to court, we plan to also ask for additional fees like lawyers expenses, transportation expense, etc.
Here's the Summary of what happened:
This past May 2020, my 7 year old Son unexpectedly ended up in ICU and almost died. Turned out he has diabetes type 1. It was a scary experience but God really blessed us. While looking for a way to help my son, we were deceived by Mr. David Chauncey Cook. On Wednesday May 20th we paid a deposit of $5500 to Mr. Cook. On May 24th, 2020 we arrived at his facility to find it not acceptable in anyway. My son was also placed in danger overnight. Mr. Cook refused to reimburse us for the money that was paid.
How did this happen?
At the time of my sons diagnosis, one could say it was one of the darkest days of our lives. We desperate looked for help anywhere, and as many places and doctors told us, there was/is no hope for type 1 diabetes. There are promises for Cancer in many of the Adventist institutions, but many of them do not dare offer hope for remission in Diabetes Type 1. Then, On Facebook and YouTube I found an intriguing video online of a guy named David Chauncey Cook, from a ministry called "Saving Health Network". I was a very attention catching video. I hope you take the time to watch his advertising before proceeding with the rest of the story:
The video is linked here: https://youtu.be
Transcript for the video:
As you noticed from the advertisement above, Mr Cook suggested a cure for diabetes was possible, and advertised a comfortable and safe (beautiful) facility including A seminar geared towards diabetics at a nicely decorated lifestyle center. I called Mr. Cook a few days after my son's diagnoses and told him:
"I saw your advertising for diabetes class on facebook. Can this help Type 1 diabetics too, or just type 2?"
Mr. Cook asked me if I was sure my son was type 1. I told him the doctors said is type 1, but I also had many unhealthy habits at home and grew up non adventist, I was afraid I also passed some of those habits to my kids. He answered that there is hope for both types (type 1 and 2), the treatment is different, but to be sure he would have to try treating him and change treatments if necessary. It's just that type 1 takes longer to "rebuild" the pancreas but it's not impossible. That is the first time someone told us anything like this. We suddenly had hope.
To make a story short ( I'll post more details below), when I arrived at his "lifestyle center"/facility nothing that was in this video was offered. Mr. Cook (or as my 7 year old calls him, MR CROOK), took $5500 from our family. That was the extent of what he did for us. None of what he promised was offered, and because the place was not at all what was advertised he refused to give our money back. In addition, Mr. Cook has placed my Son's life in danger, and this post below describes what happened in detail. If you are reading this far thank you!
Full story below!
Who is this guy and What Gave him credibility?
One of the questions I get asked is, who is David Chauncey Cook and why did you believe him?
This is how I became acquainted with this "ministry".
1)A friend of mine, that is a strong Adventist shared one of his videos on Facebook. When I asked her about it, She also stated he preached at her friends church. I looked him up and saw that he was friends with a very well-known Adventist Evangelist (Scott Ritsema ). By the way, I have since contacted Scott and he has since removed this man from his list of friends.
2) YouTube channel. Mr. Cook's YOUTUBE videos are about the Adventist Health message, cures from cancer and other diseases. The videos are very convincing and Mr. Cook is very articulated both on the phone and in person. He portrays himself as an expert. His videos are popular and due to the very “health message /true health message” I felt confident he could help us.
Why Did I searched his help? How did I ended up at Mr Cook's facility?
I thought about this and my only answer to this question is... it was my weakest hour. 100% parental desperation, I called Mr Cook for advice just a few days after this life changing diagnosis. We had no idea my son had diabetes until he had that scary episode Just a few days prior to that. Imagine all if a sudden your child is having trouble breathing, he’s rushed by ambulance (in the middle of a pandemic) just to receive news he would never be the same again. He would, for the rest of his life need to count carbs and get an insulin shot for every meal he ever has.
Trust me, My intention was never to go from Pennsylvania to California in the middle of a Pandemic. I had in fact quarantined for weeks and went nowhere, didn't even open my business to the public. But when my son almost died I needed to find some hope for him. I was weak and desperately spent hours and hours online looking for a natural cure. When I called mr Cook I was looking for answers m. My initial question was to find out if there was ANYTHING I could do to help my son recover, and if there were any answers for Diabetes Type 1.
During our inital phone call, Mr. Cook mislead me, and made my husband and I think my sons only answer lied at “his retreat” in Manton, California. In Mr. Cook's words " you need to come here because I can treat him as Type 1 or Type 2, but there is not way to finding out unless I see him and look at certain things/how he reacts to treatment”.
When looking for answers I was often confronted with Another piece of information. that with Diabetes Type 1, if treatment is available, it's only available right after diagnosis and time is precious to get it done as soon as possible. That’s exactly what mr Cook worked on while on the phone with my husband and myself.
My son at that point was only 10 days after diagnosis and I had already seen a difference in his response to switching to a whole food plant based diet for the past few days. I knew it was time to act now, or never. He mentioned herbs and hydrotherapy and other natural treatments. In short, Hope.
Diabetes education "class" and the Scam details.
At the phone, when I asked for information and if the class he advertised could help diabetes type 1... he said yes... And "As a matter of fact, I have a session coming up, this Sunday (the day of our conversation was Wednesday, only 4 days away), but due to COVID I can only have 4 people, and I already have 3, your son would be the 4th one, but I need to know in the next 30 minutes to hold a spot for him". From the time we talked on the phone , to the time he spoke with my husband that day... there was high pressure to get a payment done. About 1 hour and we handed out savings.
Sounded too good to be true... because it was.. 😢
Understand... Our lives changed upside down that week... we were given no hope of recovery ever. This sounded like HOPE, this sounded like such great timing and and amazing opportunity. I asked my son, if he would be willing to go, and he was not only willing, but hopeful. Mr. Cook also called my husband and used just the right words to pressure him. He misrepresented himself in his capabilities, even about his facility. He told my husband he saved people everyday that had no hope and his top and safe facility was a 50 acre beautiful location. My husband even asked if there were hospitals in the area in case if emergency and he replied there were doctors in the area that were on his side and working with him. For COVID he implied that we would social distance, and it would be safe for “your kids and wife“. My husband told me in tears that he really didn't want me to go, but this sounded like our son's only hope at the moment. And due to Mr. Cooks affiliation with the Adventist church, we decided to trust his advice. I still don't know exactly how Mr. Cook convinced my husband to let us go across the country, but he was like I said, very persuasive.
Mr. Cook needed the money immediately and asked me to CASH APP and PayPal him. Unfortunately due to being sent as "friends" and not a financial transaction, I'm unable to recover the money from PayPal and any transactions with CASH APP are non refundable.
The trip
Mr Cook encouraged me to make the deposit right away to hold down my spot. So, I did, and a few days later, I flew to California with my 7 year old son and my 9 month old son along (he was still nursing and I didn’t want to stop at that point). This was a very stressful trip, with masks all the way there, one of the most exhausting things I ever did.
One guy sitting in the row in front of us called the airplane flight attendant and demanded to change places because my 9 month old had no mask and they didn't want to be near him (masks are not required for kids under 2).
The stress of the trip was just very overwhelming to even think about it. But, With the expectations of finding help for my 7 year old and comfortable accommodations when I arrived, a break in having to thing about every meal that my son... just a cooking and diabetes management break... we kept pushing forward.
I had many bags with food, toys, clothed, diapers, diabetes supplies, meals for the whole day, snacks and two very active boys. I don't even know how I did that trip. One think is for sure, after a 3 hour car ride, 2 airplane rides across the country and another 1 hour cab ride....My kids and I were depleted of energy when we arrived. Just really looking forward to settle in. However, contrary to our expectations, nothing showed on the video above was true. The trip had just turned from hopeful, to bad, then worse, then dangerous.
The first sign of trouble
When I got to the airport I received a call from David to inquire if we were “still arriving today” and if we “planned to sleep over there or somewhere else“. I was shocked with the call as I had notified him of all details, discussed time of arrival, etc... he knew the time of our flight and had instructed us to get an Uber to his place when we arrived.
Before I even booked a flight I called to ask what time to arrive. He told me anytime after noon (no earlier than noon) on Sunday. I told him there was ONE flight that could get me there in the late afternoon. He said that wouldn't be a problem because orientation could be done as soon as I arrived and would take no more than 30 minutes. Sunday is just orientation, he said. The fact that he did not have our flight arrangements and arrival times Was the first red flag.
Second sign of trouble
Then, I proceed to call for an Uber. I’m at this tiny airport in Redding, and there are Uber drivers in the area... but the weirdest thing happens. When I put in the location of this facility, which is one hour away... the Uber driver would cancel the trip and would not pick me up. I requested an Uber 3 times before giving up. I texted Mr. Cook and let him know what was happening (see text). Finally , after calling around, a cab driver agreed to drop us off for some $$$.
The big disappointment
The drive there was beautiful at first, the beautiful mountain sights. Curvy roads, it was a nice scenery. Then 30 minutes into the drive I notice I have no cell phone signal, and the road gets smaller and smaller. Imagine burned trees and burning paths. Our cab driver told us about the fires in the area.. then he got lost. I felt so bad for the cab's car as it kept bumping bad parts of the road. The driver almost drove us downhill under a abandoned covered bridge that looked like it ended into one of those survival stories you don't want to be in. He finally turned around and after much searching we finally spotted David in one side of the road. Mr David Cook made us follow him to the “house”.
I was utterly confused when we arrived, As the placed looked shady and scary. I didn’t know if this was the place I’d stay or just a stop for orientation. I had been at other Adventist facilities that were in the country and was not shocked with the road conditions, however, when the cab driver took off, I was not sure about the abandoned looking building. My kids where sensing a bad situation and I have never seen my 9 month old cry and scream as loud as he did when we entered the building. David Cook quickly helped move our luggage and bring it inside. The "accommodations" looked like this from the outside:
You arrived at your scary destination
Meeting Mr Cook was not a warm welcome, there was no orientation, there was not much time spent with us as promised. I was left in the abandoned building you picture above with no communication with the outside world, while Mr Cook drove a few hours away to pick up another guest at the airport. He explained the guest was waiting for him at the airport and he had to leave immediately but would catch up with us the next day and orientation would be just a few minutes next morning. I had my sons medical records and not once as he requested but not once in our time there he took the time to review anything. He mentioned he just came back from an Walmart trip to get some things ready At the last minute and if I needed anything to let him know so he could buy more stuff. It was awful hot so I remember joking about a small fan.
It happened so fast that , just after he left , I realized I had no way to talk to anyone or do anything until morning when he came back. I had no cell phone signal. There was no phone there. There was nothing in the house, absolutely nothing... no food, drink, first aid kit, furniture. Just an empty scary house.
My sons bed box was still sitting there beside the futton... that was assembled minutes before. We moved it to the attic hallway. Mr cook explained his staff just prepared it , specially for him (he implied it was a favor for us).
Almost like he was asking for sympathy, He mentioned he was seriously sleep deprived still, he had to drive all the way to Sacramento (about 3 hours away) to get a guest that could not find transportation. He said the next morning during our orientation, his staff was going to take over and he was going to finally rest. I felt terrible for him. But at the same time, That sounded very wrong to me... from someone that is preaching about health. The whole arrangement was very sketchy.
I was so confused with the accommodations and the whole situation.... So if he had 4 spots left for the diabetics class as he mentioned, and he did those all the time, why would he set up a few minutes before I got there? .his staff was upstairs in the room fixing the bed when I stepped in the building... there were leftover screws and tools still in the room... I was expected to arrive at least an hour earlier... And how about the advertising I've seen in the video above? the rooms looked nothing like that
Accommodations from a horror movie
When Mr. Cook left I had no way to contact him. Remember, the place had no phone, and my cell phone had no signal there.
While we were there alone, exhausted from the trip, in the upstairs room that Mr. Cook put us in ... we noticed it had no door and faced a set of stairs that lead to the ground floor. Two active boys , one only 9 months and A very busy crawler...
There was no way for me to rest for one minute it have a good night sleep... IT felt like a hot summer attic, so uncomfortable. Besides, We were dirty from the trip and now sweating and ready to get cleaned up. My 9 month old could not be left playing in the room So if I wanted to go anywhere, I had to take him with me. I gather the Strenght o had left and carry him everywhere. But I was also afraid my son would wake up on the middle of the night confused and fall down the stairs, as there was no door.
The safety issue was worsen by the fact that that there were debris everywhere. I was so disappointment, there was no way for me to stay in that room with the 2 boys. I was just thankful at that point that Mr. Cook did not allow me to bring my 11 year old daughter also and I arranged for care for her.
But he knew my 9 month old son was coming. He knew and did not prepare for our family at all. The other guy pictured on the video above , jumping in the water. He is his one and only staff member I've seen at that place, for the time I was there. that guy was the one setting up the bed upstairs for my son as we arrived. I was told that there was a cook also and his wife was the cook, but I never met her.
Tired and disappointed I made my way downstairs looking to see if I could perhaps sleep in the "living room area". And I say living room kindly because there were no couches or chairs, or tables... just an empty space... beside a "kitchen" area...Finally, I found another room and settled down there. I remember Mr Cook saying that there was another room prepared for another patient before he left. I reasoned the other patient wouldn't arrive until the morning, so I could take a nap downstairs with the kids in the meantime.
I snapped a few pictures of the place my way out, in the morning.. but I wished I had took them when I arrived, before I cleaned... (yes I had to clean when o arrived!). However, it was dark and I was in survival mode I really was not thinking.
Filthiness' and disorganization
So this is the part that got my skin crawling. The house was completely filthy and full of dust, CIV webs, debris. I killed 3 spiders in just a few minutes trying to get clean clothes for my kids and keeping them safe at the same time. I was unable to let my infant crawl in the floor upstairs because the floors had remaining of screws, tools, dirt and bugs. Downstairs was not really better. I in fact attempted to clean a small area by the bed just so my son could stand down a little bit and get some energy out from the long confined trip. It was incredibly frustrating because my son kept finding small debris everywhere and bugs, so many bugs.
When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I tried to at wash my kids in the shower from the long trip and found there was also absolutely no hot water, soap, towels, rugs, absolutely nothing fit for a guest. The water was so cold, my kids were screaming but wanted to wash off so badly they took a 30 second "shower".
It did not warm up no matter what we did. On a side note when morning came and mr Cook arrived he said he would have it fixed but was unable to fix it until long after we left. We left around noon because he kept delaying takings tibthe airport.
I dried my kids from the torture shower with one of my shirts. Certainly not what was advertised. When I tried to settle them for the night I noticed there was a huge spider web directly above the bed, and bug droppings all over the bed spread.
Unable to wash well or relax from the trip, my kids had a hard time falling sleep, and the baby kept complaining and needed comforting as he finally fell asleep... my energy was on negative reserve and overdue.
Pictures here just a bit of what the whole house looked like. Dirt and filthiness.
Danger in the middle of the night
My son asked to go back home and I told him that's a great idea. But he was tired, and When He finally fell asleep, his blood sugar started to drop.
One of the most difficult things with diabetes is low blood sugar, as if left untreated can cause confusion, brain damage, coma, and many other complications. So when a diabetic Type 1, on Insulin goes low, its important to correct the hypoglycemia to prevent dangerous low situations.
Most of the time we can correct with some juice, or maple syrup, even honey... Normally for kids, juice does the trick as they are sleepy and is really hard for them to wake up to take a glucose pill or solid food. When they are as tired as my son was, feeding them with candy or glucose tables... that could be a hazard. They can choke.
Due to the long trip, I had still a few snacks on me but was starting to run low on supplies and I did not have anymore juice. There’s just so much you can get through the airport and call it "baby supplies". Besides, I was confident that as promised, I was going to be with some folks that had experience with diabetes , and that would provide all the accommodations we needed since the class was geared for diabetics.
How could someone be so irresponsible to have nothing on the house, no line of emergency, not even water or juice? specially since the "patient" was a child. Kids are not at all like adults, they are very volatile and can swing from very low to very high sugars quickly. This was beyond any words I can even express, even now, I'm still traumatized by how hard that night was.
On a side note, I’m from Brazil and in my childhood, I had robbers invade our house while we were inside. The robbers stole all our previous possessions and took both my parents for ransom. I can say for sure, that the night where my son was left in this abandoned “lifestyle center” was worse than what I previously though was the worse night in my life. When it’s your own life in risk, is one thing. When it’s your own kids, there’s just not words to express how disturbing this is.
An empty house of horrors
An important detail is that the refrigerator was not even plugged in and the door was open with a hammer holding it open for ventilation. There were no dishes, cups, food, water... nothing. I was unable to place my sons insulin in the fridge and the cold pack I brought from the trip was now warm. The last thing I needed was to call a prescription to California... but the night was long and the worse was not over yet. At that point I was praying and asking God to not let his blood sugar go down, which is the danger of diabetes with kids. My son has a continuous glucose monitor that informs us of his blood sugar numbers and sends up an alert if his blood sugar drops in the middle of the night.
In the past few nights due to the positive changes I had implemented (going on a whole food plant based diet), my son started to experience better insulin resistance and got lows in the middle of the night. The medical protocol I was told to follow was, if his blood sugar drops down a certain level to give him 15g of carbohydrates and watch the level for another 15 minutes. If it does not raise, try repeating this up to 3 times and call the medical team if this does not work. His medical team would then reduce his insulin as needed.
How would I even contact his medical team if needed?
Crying and praying
Then it happened. His blood sugar started to drop and I kept watching the arrow on his monitor go down every few minutes. Now what? What do I give him? There’s nothing in the building. I have snacks but I know my son wouldn’t be able to wake up as he barely did when this happened before. After a trip like we had... would he be able to wake up when needed? With having nothing around me to give my son when his blood sugar started to go down I started to cry and pray that my son would wake up.
This Was so difficult... when a child’s blood sugar is low and he is already exhausted from a trip like we just did... this was terribly difficult to do. By the grace of God, he woke up after 15 minutes of insistence and prayer, and chewed on some candy ... but it took many tears, and coaching. Even a bit of loud speaking .., like I said.. after much insistence.
Through the night his blood sugar Kept dropping and I kept trying to wake him up. I corrected his hypoglycemia three times that night. The text message below was sent to Mr. Cook, around midnight. I prayed for a cell phone signal just so the messages could go through and briefly got them out of nowhere. Watch for me Cooks response time during an emergency:
I prayed for a cell phone bar just to send the text message above... and to even notify my poor husband that didn’t know that I arrived “safely”... As a Miracle, God answered my prayer and a message went though. I got help 2 hours later...His only staff member showed up with some juice to bring his sugar back up.
God thankfully protected my son, but it could have been a lot worse. I was in tears and asked to go home as soon as I saw that staff person. I asked his staff if he had any kids... he said no. I asked if that's how they would treat a parent or a loved one... I was so upset. I found out at that point, Mr. Cook is the only driver. There is no cab coming to get you in the middle of the night, you can't even call 911. What an exhausting 48 hours.
.
The other guest
In the morning MR. David Chauncey Cook arrived back from the airport with the other guest that was going to share the place with us. The guest was a lovely women that looked very tired. He stepped out of the car and started to argue with me while the women sat in the car. She told me later she waited for Mr. Cook all day on the airport and had nothing to eat. This was the next day for her also. While at the house I gave her some of my son's snacks because she was so hungry and David did not explained to her that they were going to fast. So she had no food for almost 48 hours! She stated he made her travel arrangements so he was aware of her schedule also. In addition, I found out this was not another diabetic patient as promised on the phone, this was not a Diabetes Class and retreat session at all!! This was An HIV positive patient. I heard another patient throwing up at the main house when we went to get my son something for breakfast. I was told by someone else she had cancer. Here's some texts from the other women I met and her experience. To protect her privacy I'm omitting her name and phone number.
Side note: There was a Naturopathic Doctor visiting the facility that morning with her daughters. She tried to strike conversation but as soon as I tried to tell my story and experience, his staff came closer and I had no chance to tell her much. I hope she does not decide to send patients to this man, if you know of an Adventist ND from Oregon, please alert her to read this blog.
The confrontation and the deceptions
When Mr. Cooked arrived with his other guest, around 6 am I asked him very direct questions and told him we needed to get back to the airport. I point blank asked him if he had ever treated a kid with Type 1 diabetes. He said no, My son would be the first one. In his opinion, he said, adults and children are just the same and there is no difference, and he could still help us. (I can’t believe someone would think that! I’m so thankful God did not allow him to lie any further!)
Mr Crook lead my husband and I to believe he could, with natural methods, help us, and he had plenty of experience. Turns all it was all a lie. He also misrepresented himself in a very exaggerated way, including that he owned 50 some acres lifestyle center. Turns out he rents it, and is not even his. His staff member told me on the way to breakfast that they just rented the house that week !! (Thus there was no time to finish setting up.).
Mr Cook tried and tried to talk me into staying in the program and my son covered his ears because in his perception “the man was screaming at mom". Truth is. Although Mr Crook was not screaming he was reluctant , persisting and continued to argued when I told him to stop several times...he kept persisting. My son has never experienced this level of confrontation, and the aggressive persuasion in which he was trying to convinced me to stay ... so he was starting to get very stressed out, and his glucose levels were rising due to the cortisol/stress. My poor 7 year old son was so worried.
He told me later he felt like defending mom and pushing the guy away. Finally I put my feet down, and I told Mr Cook I would not argue with him in front of my sick son and I needed a way to the airport immediately. But first, my son needed some food as I didn't pack enough meals for the rest of the trip, as I expected to have meals and accommodations for the next three weeks.
His staff put together some breakfast. The "diabetic friendly breakfast" consistent of: 1) plate full of fruits 2) tofu 3) a bagel.
My son was very worried about the breakfast and chose to only eat the tofu and one portion of fruit. With his level of stress, this amount of carbs could be disastrously and even my son knew that. The whole time, the poor lady that arrived at 6 am had nothing to drink and repeatedly asked for some water to drink because there was nothing in the house that was warm. We finally decided to walk and look for water for her. 2 hours later and she almost collapsed, sat down to get her warm water. I felt terrible for her. I also learned that even though this lady was all day at the airport, Mr. Crook was also sleep driving on the way back to the facility, and he put this lady in charge or driving... the sick patient was now driving to the retreat... after being exhausted and having nothing to eat.
The SCAM, Lack of experience with diabetes, disorganization and filthiness
Mr Cook did not provided what he promised and has no knowledge to do so, but he kept All our money and I really feel scammed and taken advantage of by This gentleman, man. He was very convincing in his words, very articulate. Although in his email he promises no cure, phone conversations and video advertisement were otherwise. Also, he told me at breakfast that if we stayed my son would get off all medication that day and all his other guests would fast, but he would “allow” my son eat something. Nothing like that was explained by phone or email. It was a shock, and basically he had no protocol.
When confronted with the filthiness' of the place, he said it was the country, and He stated he was not know as "Mr Clean", but that he could help my son get better because he “was a problem solver”. I told him I'm from a very poor neighborhood in a 3rd world country and I live in the country myself, but my house was never this dirty and I wouldn't dare receive a guest in those conditions. God is a god of order. I pointed out that he was not prepared to receive us there at all... and he rebated that he did in fact was prepared. It felt like arguing with a toddler that keep replying to your arguents with a “yes I diiiid” so I stopped replying/conversing with him at that point. There was no point in arguing.
The nightmare is not over - Driving under the influence
After several hours of back and forth, and all the pressure he put on me to stay, saying I would never get my money back, Mr. Cook seemed to get the keys for one of his friends cars. I found out later that was a rental, but I'm unsure who rented it.
On the way back to the airport I had zero cell phone signal until I got really close to the airport. So I was really left to trust this man. The whole ride back was absolutely scary. Remember, I could not call on a Uber or a Cab and had no signal anyway, so I'm relaying on his man to drive us back and now he is putting all our lives in risk, again!!
He is sleep driving at this point.
At one point Mr. Cook was swerving back and forth so badly between the lanes and hitting the bumps on the side of the road that make noise. My son looked at me in panic. I said to him, "David, are you sleeping?" .
He answered:
"Yes, thank you sister for letting me know".
I could not believe it!
Even at the airport, as he kept trying to call me sister and attempted to, after all this horrific experience to offer advice and pray.
I stopped him and repeatedly requested him to please go away and back to his ways and leave us there in peace.
Peace finally
From the airport I made a way to a hotel. The manager told me only essential travel was allowed but he would make an exception, and God is so good that the hotel manager did not charge us for the night but asked us to find a different place to stay in the morning.
There were no flights back and when calling a friend she located a local Adventist pastor that was just an Angel in our lives and not only took us in, but taught my son a love for exercise and healthy foods. His name was pastor Brownell and I will
Be forever thankful for his kindness.
That pastor found a way for us to go to Weimar and do the NEWSTART program. The contrasting difference of a clean and organized place was also amazing. My sons blood sugar kept getting low in the middle of the night and both pastor Brownell and Weimar had enough common sense to have juice, nurses, phone lines available... and Weimar had actual protocols and clean bug free floors and actual warm water!
As I was preparing to tell this story , on a different Night. my son heard Mr. Cook's voice on the video and said "I know that voice, Is that bad man". It was the worse day of his life, he said. The day the man argued with mommy.
I believe Mr. Cook used our family to pay his own bills. He told me and the pastor that he would give me my money back but he already spent it. How he spent $5500 in 4 days (one of those days being Sabbath), is beyond me. After paying as much as I did, I found out I could have gone to many other places to get my son’s health restored and for much less. I’m not including the thousands I spent for transportation, the cab ride when Uber was not available, the last minute food and menu planning I had to do... etc. the emotional tool...
I was told that None of the places that are SDA require full payment prior to attending. Mr. Cook took advantage of our family at our greatest time of need by collecting full price and not delivering anything other than risk and stress.
I appreciate your help if you read this far. Please help stop this man and help our family get our money back without having to go to court. I would hate for the church name to be out there. We would like to give Mr. Cook a chance to pay us back in the next 2 week before auctioning a lawyer.
Lucy
ps. I found that this man is not really who he says he is, here is his arrest records:
https://www.redbluffdailynews.com/2019/11/26/police-logs-nov-26-2019/
PICTURE
Matthew 7
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
It is of the highest importance that Sabbathkeepers live out their faith in every particular. They should be prompt and neat, and keep their business matters all straight. . . . None should be so fearful of being like the world that it will lead them to be careless in their houses, leaving things in disorder and uncleanness. It is not pride to be neat in dress, cleanly in person, orderly and tasteful in their household arrangements. . . . These outside appearances tell the business character of those living in the house, and not only this but the religious character of its inmates. It is impossible for a slack, disorderly person to make a good Christian. Their lives, in temporal and religious things, are just as disorderly as their dress, houses, persons, and premises. There is order in heaven. There are rules and regulations which govern the whole heavenly host. All move in order. All there is cleanly, all in perfect harmony. And everyone who will be counted worthy to enter heaven will be thoroughly disciplined and will be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The uncultivated have spots and wrinkles upon them now. They had better lose no time in commencing the work of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. God loves purity, cleanliness, order, and holiness. God requires all His people who lack these qualifications to seek them and never rest until they obtain them. They must commence the work of reform and elevate their lives, so that in conversation and deportment their acts, their lives, will be a continual recommendation of their faith and will have such a winning, compelling power upon unbelievers that they will be compelled to acknowledge that they are the children of God. The truth as it is in Jesus will not degrade but elevate the receiver, purify his life, refine his taste, sanctify his judgment. By Ellen G. White "Our High Calling", Page 230 10/20/2020. Edited. I realized there were so many grammatic mistakes on the text above, so I tried to edit tonight to improve clarity. It was a difficult post to write and I didn't want to postponing telling our story any longer. what a nightmare! |
Horrible just horrible! I am so sorry to hear of your bad experience! I pray you get your money back and this mess cleared up!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I can't wait to post an update this issue was solved. It took me some time to write it, but it's time. God bless you.
DeleteI've been to Brother Cook's center and its not nearly as bad as you described. The guy is under financed and overworked, but he is doing a wonderful work. If you would have had patience most likely your son would have left there no longer a diabetic. I have also been to Weimar many years ago, and I know that it started with facilities just as the same as Cook's and it developed into what it is today. Sounds like your standards are very high and this place was not right for your needs. But to take your anger out on his ministry that is saving many from terrible health issues is not fair. Also the constant name calling of brother Cook seems inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteHi, Since you reply Anonymously, I have no idea who you are. I wonder if you are related to him, or Mr. Cook himself. You didn't seem to read any of the facts including pictures and text messages.
DeleteAs far as your comment, One being "overworked" and "under financed" does not give anyone the right to deceive others. I'm still out of $5500. As far as my standards, I was born in raised in a 3rd world country, grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods, I've been to many institutions in the country even abroad. Still, my house was clean. Bugs everywhere, no hot water, nothing in the house not even dishes or preparation for my sick son, he could have died that night, but God protected him.
There is no name calling, there's facts. If Mr. Cook is not a Crook, he will make things right... but it has been months and he has not. Let me know if you have any suggestions as to how I can get my money back. As far as helping people with terrible health issues, there are many places for that I discovered after going to him that are half the price and whose leaders fruits are not deception, manipulation. God does NOT need Mr. Cook to do his work, and had you actually read the whole post, not skimmed, you would have know that we didn't need to subject ourselves to man that clearly showed he had no Godly guidance. God provided him the remission. Beware of defending someone that deceives others. Beware of going somewhere that says they have the spirit of God, but their actions shows differently, it's very dangerous. If you had a "good time", it could not have been at the place I was. His staff told me Mr. Cook JUST rented the house before I arrived, so it could NOT have been the same place you were at. I had no Idea he was going to rent a place before I arrived because to US he portrait himself as someone that OWNS a center that was very nice and organized (watch the advertising video!)
"“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" Matthew 7: 21-23. By their fruits you shall know them.
@Unknown ... You won't even post your name. That's a shame right there. I would be inclined to agree with you if he hadn't advertised something different in his video. He could've been honest and said that his place is just starting out. I don't think any of our institutions starting in such a manner advertised differently. Most had people by Word of Mouth. Regardless, he should've refunded the funds.
DeleteHe was just arrested and released for punching the manager of Paesanos Midtown because he's a vegan and thought they put bacon in his pasta. This guy is a baddddd person!
ReplyDeletedo you have any links to news articles or arrest records? what location did this happen? It would be helpful to find out.
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