‘Nothing to hide’

A breakaway from the local Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church denomination has established a commune in the deep bowels of St Mary, preparing for the Second Coming, with little to no plans of interfacing with the Government or the rest of the society.

The journey to the Bell Hill commune, where members of Following the Blueprint (FTB) Ministries are constructing houses, a clinic, school and other facilities in preparation for the rapture, is not for the faint of heart.

Its entrance is about two miles off the Highgate main road.

The track to the commune proved quite bumpy as the four-wheel drive vehicle in which our news team travelled navigated the many twists and turns, seemingly on waves of giddying heights as we avoided the pitch-black ravines which appeared on either side.

After a deadly ritual unfolded at the Montego Bay-based Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries as the now-deceased Pastor Kevin O. Smith – who had a penchant for grand titles, styling himself as ‘His Excellency’ – reportedly sought to weed out the unclean members from his ark, the St Mary police turned their spotlight on the group in the hills.

So remote is the commune that as The Sunday Gleaner made plans to visit the area over a week ago, one person said, “It is so rural that if His Excellency’s church happened in Bell Hill, not even the stink would smell.”

A police spokesperson also cautioned our news team against plans to enter the area.

Although The Sunday Gleaner was unable to get details of the police’s recent visit to the commune, Following the Blueprint Ministries gained recent notoriety when a 22-year-old law student decided to quit school, break the padlock on the grille to her Cornwall Courts, Montego Bay, home on September 29 and take off to join the group, which reportedly also has a base in Portmore, St Catherine.

After a missing person’s report was filed, the young woman addressed a church service streamed online, saying that she had left of her own free will.

Noting a change in her eating habits, mannerism and mode of dress before her disappearance, her worried parents have expressed concern for her safety, urging her to return home.

The FTB group is said to be rapture-bound, awaiting the Second Coming. Followers say the world is at end times and they are in preparation mode, responding to Ellen G. White’s call to leave the cities as they isolate themselves.

Adventists believe that White, a co-founder of the denomination, was a prophet inspired by God in her writings, similar to the disciples.

Professionals from various sectors, including medical, financial and education, are said to be followers, but those The Sunday Gleaner found at the St Mary commune last week were carpenters – the known profession of Jesus Christ.

At least one high school teacher from the parish is a settler, our news team has confirmed.

DEEP IN THE WOODS

Most of the houses along the way had been abandoned. Only three appeared habitable.

One elderly Bell Hill resident told The Sunday Gleaner that he has lived in the community all his life, and that most of the other residents had either died or have moved away.

About 400 metres further along, a black Honda CR-V was parked across the road from where zinc and lumber laid in a crude pathway to a board structure.

Following the sounds of hammering, our news team found three men – two on the roof nailing zinc, while the third sat on a plastic container on the ground.

Elijah Watson said he was a carpenter and was at the site doing a job. However, it didn’t take long for him to begin reeling off scriptures when we asked about the commune.

According to him, he was doing the work of God, and pointed the team to Matthew 24 – the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem. He and others were so convicted to begin preparation to remove themselves from the current existence.

Watson said he and others were supporters of Following The Blueprint (FTB) Ministries.

“We are children of God and we are called to gather to the mountains and feed ourselves from the land,” he told The Sunday Gleaner as he and the other men attached zinc to a board structure about 100 feet long by 20 feet wide.

Enquiries about the whereabouts of the leader of the commune, Andre Buchanan, sent us to Donnington.

As our news team headed out, a passer-by told us that the commune we had been looking for was actually deeper into the woods: “No, man. Dat is not where de people dem live. You haffi guh back where you coming from and pass the standpipe and guh far down, pass through di mud and dung inna de bush. Is way up in the mountains.”

Returning to the belly of the forest, half an hour later, beyond the last electricity post and about a mile beyond the site of the first structure, we came upon two more buildings, the first of which was about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide, and outfitted with modern windows and doors and painted white.

The other was clearly recently constructed and about 15 feet squared. It was unpainted.

Between both structures and under a massive mango tree, was a stockpile of zinc, cement and lumber.

A Toyota Rav4 blocked access to the commune.

Beyond the parked vehicle, at least 13 other buildings were already established with housing for at least four families, including children.

Despite their claims of being feed exclusively from the land and removing themselves from the ‘world’, the commune is fired by a generator and the residents sported cell phones.

The first building was said to be a school and sanatorium to house the sick, in keeping with the community’s almost 75-year history of treating individuals stricken with yaws – a contagious disease caused by bacteria, which cause small scabbed legions to develop into deep ulcers and rotted flesh.

“The river was where they would be taken to be cleansed and the rotten flesh wash off. The river is still known as ‘Nassi Negha River’ (Nasty Negro River) because yaws was said to be a Negro disease,” said a resident, who did not want to be named.

It is one of two rivers in the community.

The river’s crossing provided foot access to the commune as the water runs into the River Nuevo.

The rivers provide water to the heavy agricultural area, where Irish and sweet potatoes, bananas, yam and a variety of vegetables were being cultivated.

EMBRACING 'COUNTRY LIVING'

In Donnington, we found Andre Buchanan, the man who oversees the Following the Blueprint Ministries in deep rural St Mary, which has no running water or roads.

His house was outfitted with electricity and he also had a river in his backyard.

He described himself as a lay preacher in the Adventist Church and pushed back at suggestions that the group could be a cult.

“This is not a cult. We are servants of God, and I am but a humble servant of God, following the teachings of Ellen G. White, who we know was inspired by God. ... We chose to follow them strictly, especially about Country Living,” he told The Sunday Gleaner, referencing one of White’s books of doctrine.

The book’s foreword notes that its “counsels and warnings have challenged many Seventh-day Adventists to examine carefully the effects of urban living on their lives and to re-evaluate where they choose to live. It has highlighted the dangers of involvement with labour unions and other sources of party strife in the cities. At the same time, it has helped those with a burden for city evangelism to consider how best to be in the world but not of the world”.

Buchanan said that they were on a mission to develop this country living across Jamaica, as White noted that the cities do not provide wholesome environments for Christian families.

He said that the October 17 ritual in Montego Bay, which ended with three persons dead, could not unfold within his ministry.

“I am not His Excellency and we are not connected to him in any way, shape or form. What happened there could not happen with us because we eat no flesh. We have no use for blood here, so there could be no sacrifices here. Our aim is that individuals who feel sufficiently convicted develop similar communities of country living across all parishes,” he explained.

Buchanan could not say how many members were part of the ministry founded in 2002 by Vincent Hoo, who continues to lead the group, along with Wilheim Lecky.

The community of saints has established their commune on leased lands, and although he was responsible for securing the lands, Buchanan could not say how many acres were leased in Bell Hill or from whom.

“I am Adventist to the bone. They call me ‘Engine’ because I like to build. I am a carpenter and mechanic, but in my other life, I worked as an accountant until I became convicted by the inspiration for country living,” said Buchanan, a man of roughly 5’5” and of medium build, who appeared to be in his mid to late 30s.

Buchanan said that he had heard of the police’s recent visit to the commune.

“I was actually at a wedding on the day the police went to the area, but I don’t have a problem with them because we are not breaking any law. They were doing their job and they did not breach our constitutional rights, so I did not have a problem with their visit,” Buchanan said.

“I am just a lay preacher in the Adventist Church. We are here to do God’s will. We eat from the land and we are cultivating the foods to feed our bodies. We are doing manual work in preparation for the destruction of Jerusalem, of which Jesus spoke to His disciples in Matthew 24,” said Buchanan, who sported a pair of black jeans, a black long-sleeve shirt and a pair of black socks.

COUNCILLOR HOPES POLICE WILL MAINTAIN VIGILANCE

Councillor Doreen Hutchinson, who represents the Carron Hall division in St Mary in which the Following the Blueprint Ministries is located, said that she has been active in the division for 30 years.

“I heard of the community, but there is not much I can say except that they are doing great farming down there. I only knew about them following the occurrences in St James. I also heard of the police’s visit, largely, I believe, out of concerns of other residents in the division,” the three-term municipal representative told The Sunday Gleaner.

“In terms of their church and suggestions that they are a cult, I cannot say, but residents have concerns. They are way down, deep into the Bell Hill community, and it’s one way in and one way out. Residents have reported that many high-end vehicles go in and out and mostly at nights,” she said.

Hutchinson said she does not want any trouble.

“I hope the police maintain vigilance because I don’t want any antagonisms with adjoining communities and the new community,” she said.

She also could not say who owned the lands they occupy.

The group’s YouTube account, which has more than 4,000 subscribers, has several videos of the followers ministering on the streets in several Jamaican towns, including Papine, Half-Way Tree, Santa Cruz, Linstead, and Montego Bay. In one video, they encouraged passers-by to get out of Babylon.

They believe that the Government is getting ready to designate Sunday as the official day of worship. For them, such an action was the mark of the beast.

Delroy Green clearly believes so.

“What we know is that the Bible tells us that the smaller beast – that is America – is going to rise up and strengthen the bigger beast, which is Rome and the Pope. We don’t believe in any ‘Popery’, so we are preparing for that day and no one can tell us when to worship. The Bible speaks about the Sabbath Day and we intend to keep it holy,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Green, a resident of Constitution Hill and Duhaney Park in St Andrew, said he was a carpenter working on cabins.

While he had not yet constructed his own cabin, he was busy building for those who will join the commune in the future.

“This is a way of life for those who are sufficiently convicted in God’s ideal way of life. There is no deception here. We have nothing to hide. We know we will be persecuted. They will call us mad, but we know who we are. This is a physical and spiritual test of character,” Green said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com