LIFTED into “grandpa’s” lap, Serena Kelley wrinkled her nose at the foul smell of the gray-haired man.
He handed her a ring symbolizing their ‘marriage’ telling Serena that they had a ‘union’ and that she would be ‘his’ forever.
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Serena Kelley escaped the Children of God cult at the age of 18 Credit: Serena Kelley
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She was only three years old when she was forced to marry cult leader David Berg Credit: Serena Kelley
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The union was organized by her mother seen here with David Berg Credit: Serena Kelley
It was 1986, and Serena was only three years old, so young in fact that the ring had to be taped to her finger.
Serena was born into the infamous Children of God cult led by David Berg, whom she knew as a grandfather.
Founded in 1968, the cult had 13,000 members in 130 communities around the world.
Chosen
“My mother was an important member,” Serena recalls in this exclusive interview.
“I was told I was one of the ‘chosen’ cult leaders, along with an older boy named Ricky.
“As members of the cult’s inner circle, we lived in the lap of luxury.
“Berg moved God’s children to the Philippines and we lived in villas with swimming pools, tennis courts and koi ponds.
“But behind all my luxury I lived a very dark and traumatic life.”
Serena described how loud music would wake her up at night.
I escaped an ‘exorcist’ cult where newborns are brutally beaten – I was repeatedly raped and told I was a devil from the age of 3
Drunken orgies
“I would go downstairs to the common rooms where I would run into drunken orgies,” she says.
“I was too young to understand, but I saw things that disturbed me deeply.
“On other occasions, they would make me dance and strip in front of the cameras.
“I quickly learned that if I cried, they would take me off the camera. I was fined then, but it was worth it to avoid being filmed.
“I gradually became more withdrawn, desperate not to be noticed.”
When Serena was five, her mom woke her up in the middle of the night and told her they were leaving.
She says, “Under cover of darkness, we drove to the airport, followed by a flight to Japan.
“The cult was often under investigation for child abuse, so secrecy became necessary for top members.
“In Japan, I was put in the care of Dora and musician Jeremy Spencer. From that moment on, I rarely saw my mother.”
Life in hiding
Just one year later, Dora and Jeremy moved their family to Brazil.
“Dora told me that no one can know I’m there,” says Serena.
“My birth name was Mary-Dear, but I was renamed Serena.
“Life was hard and we would often be given laborious manual tasks, such as cleaning the bathroom with toothbrushes.
“In other times, the locals would send us to beg or sing Christmas carols for money.
“If any of the children misbehaved, they would be sent to receive a beating from a group of members called ‘uncles’.”
In 1994, when Serena was 12, David Berg died, and his widow Karen took over the Children of God and relaxed the rules about interacting with outsiders.
Serena recalls, “Our neighbor’s kids were watching us over the compound wall and one day they invited us to join them in a soccer game.
“Growing up, I was told that all outsiders were devil worshippers, but as I spent more time with my neighbors, I realized that wasn’t true.”
Serena lived in Brazil for six years, where her mother was the head of the cult’s South American department.
The scary truth
“One day I asked her if she would kill me if God told her to,” Serena recalls.
“When she told me she would, I realized I wasn’t safe with my own mother and promised to leave as soon as I turned 18.
“My childhood friend Ricky has already escaped and the leaders told us that he has fallen prey to demons and that we should pray for bad things to happen to him.
“I was just pretending.”
During her last years in the cult, Serena was sent to Mexico to live with her mom.
She recalls: “I had a reputation as a troublemaker, and the stricter rules in Mexico were designed to keep me in line.
“But as I promised myself, I packed my suitcase as soon as I turned 18 in 2002.
“My mom told me that if I left I would never be able to come back, but I was fine with that.
I realized that I was not safe with my own mother and promised to leave as soon as I turned 18
Serena Kelley
“With just £120 to my name, I headed to the US. An ex-cult member offered me his sofa and another ex-member gave me a job.
“She opened a massage parlor and I worked there illegally while trying to get back on my feet.”
Life outside the cult
Serena admits that life outside the cult was a big culture shock, but she was glad.
She says: “I didn’t have a bank account, a driver’s license or any form of ID, but my newfound independence felt like an incredible luxury.
“For the first time, I had my own clothes and, most importantly, my own space.
“Despite everything, in 2013 I started college and studied corporate communications.
“After that I got several well-paying jobs in the corporate world. But no matter how much I succeeded, I couldn’t ignore my need to heal.
“In 2019, I started trauma counseling specifically for ex-cult members.
“And the more I worked on my own healing, the more passionate I became about helping other people.
“I wanted to be the person I needed when I left the cult.
“I started working as a trauma recovery specialist and for the first time in my life I spoke publicly about my story.”
The Children of God changed their name to The Family International before disbanding in 2010.
It now operates as an online network with 1,500 members.
Let’s move on
Despite her traumatic childhood, Serena says she has some sympathy for her mom.
“My mother is no longer a member and is in hiding,” he says.
“She was only 19 years old when she joined the cult and I know that in some ways she was a victim herself.
“But I’m not really interested in building a relationship with her.
“Whether you’re a victim or not, you have to take responsibility for your actions, and my mother didn’t.
“David Berg himself was a victim of sexual abuse in childhood.
“He claimed that because he enjoyed it, other kids would too.
“He managed to brainwash his thousands of followers that the end of the world was coming and that the only way to save them was sex.
“I still have the ring that David Berg put on my finger when I was just three years old – while it used to be his way of controlling me, now I keep it as proof that it happened to me.
“I’m sharing my story not only to help me accept my past, but to give me back my power.
“I’m not ashamed anymore.”
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Serena now helps those who escaped from the cult Credits: Serena Kelley
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education