Becoming Wholly Alive!
At the Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center in Lake Lure, NC

I, Tim Koch, was a rarity in South Florida---an authentic native. My career in the construction industry was thriving back in the mid-eighties when a chance encounter one Saturday in December was to become a most significant "turning point" in my life. It was at my congregation in Fort Lauderdale that I first met Anita.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Anita had spent most of her childhood on Long Island. Her life experiences and career in education had taken her from NY to Toronto, Canada for several years, and that December, she had recently relocated to Florida. At the time, I had no idea what a blessing for both of us her arrival here, and specifically a few seats away from me, would become.

While living on Long Island in the 1980's, Anita had created and owned a N.Y. Times-recommended vegetarian restaurant, Sunflower CafŽ, as well as a popular vegetarian cooking school, The Whole Foods Kitchen. Prior to meeting Anita, my concerns over diet and fitness consisted of answering the hunger call with what was most convenient, and my "exercise" centered around the grueling physical labor involved in my construction work. Though our lives had taken us on wildly divergent paths, our fateful meeting was about to change the course of our lives forever. It was an "unlikely pairing"---me, a Christian of German descent, and Anita, a Jew, born and bred in NY, but in November of 1987, we "soul mates" married. For many, marriage alone is a journey of discovery and growth. For us, our shared path was clearly marked in the direction of faith and health.

Several years after we were married, I was inexplicably (at the time) drawn to Massage Therapy as a new career, and was led to pursue training in several modalities, including a specialization in treating lymphedema (MLD), while Anita continued her career as a teacher and health educator. In the late 1990's, Anita's gift for teaching was validated when she received both state and national Teacher of the Year awards in adult and family education. I later became an instructor in Massage Therapy at the Florida Career College in West Palm Beach. Neither of us then realized just how purposefully we were being prepared to step into a role that was becoming our jointly held passion.

Anita's lifelong pursuit of a healthy lifestyle had led her to study, embrace and teach a variety of whole food dietary approaches, including vegetarianism, macrobiotic nutrition, and herbal remedies. But it was not until 2002 that a "whole new world of health" was to open for both of us. With my German-American background, I had been raised on lots of milk, cheese, beef and pork. As a child, I was sick very often with ear and throat infections. All of my life, I would experience an annual flu that would debilitate me for at least five days. For years, I had struggled with depression and addiction to alcohol and caffeine.

Anita, on the other hand, had a long-held interest in natural health. An avid dancer, she had been a certified Dance/Movement Therapist, owned a natural foods restaurant, taught vegetarian cooking, and conducted many health and nutrition seminars. "For the most part, I followed what I had come to believe was a healthy lifestyle, actually a "hodge-podge" of all the whole food dietary approaches I had studied, embraced and taught over the years---principally, a macrobiotic diet," says Anita. She continues,

"Throughout our marriage, although Tim loved all the whole foods I prepared, he still enjoyed eating plenty of meat and dairy---just as addictive for us all as any drug or stimulant. He also often consumed more than one pot of coffee daily. I prayed regularly for a breakthrough that would cause him to eliminate all those addictions. For a time though, instead of Tim changing his dietary habits, I became lax with mine. A long-time vegetarian, I started to eat meat and dairy again, and more of the baked flour products that I had loved. Although I had long ago eliminated white sugar and white flour, I was still addicted to my "healthy alternatives"---sweets, none-the-less, baked and filled with honey or maple syrup."

To Anita's dismay, her health began to decline. "I started to suffer bouts of migraine headache and nausea that would cause me to miss work and land me in bed for two or three days. My hormones were totally out of whack, and I was having an unexpectedly difficult time with menopause. Having paid so much attention to health and nutrition for most of my adult life, I was caught by surprise by the severity of symptoms I was experiencing---hot flashes and drenching night sweats, mood swings and frequent headaches, edema in my legs (horrendous for a dancer!) and constipation. To counteract these symptoms, I added more and more soy foods, and more herbal supplements to my diet. The symptoms only got worse."

Then, in 2002, it happened! While working on a project for a local whole foods store, Anita learned the most important health lesson of her life from a stranger. He told her about his miraculous healing from "terminal" brain cancer after he had adopted the Hallelujah Diet and Lifestyle. Her curiosity led her to the Hallelujah Acres website that very evening, and, after researching for almost a year, together we detoured from the road to ruin onto the path to vibrant good health! Never before had we experienced complete freedom from the chronic symptoms that had dogged us for so long! After just weeks of eating a plant-based diet consisting of 80-85% raw and living foods, juicing carrots and other fresh vegetables daily, and eliminating many of the foods we thought were healthy, we were amazed at the changes we were experiencing. My long-standing bouts of depression disappeared almost immediately, and have never returned. In less than a year, I lost over fifty unwanted pounds, and added a new level of energy and enthusiasm to my life. Anita's migraine headaches and symptoms of hormonal imbalances totally cleared up, and she, too, achieved a new vitality and outlook on life. Even the edema and varicose veins in her legs were gone!

In 2003, after receiving training to teach this living foods lifestyle from Hallelujah Acres in Shelby, NC, we became certified Health Ministers, combining our 40+ years of knowledge and experience in the areas of health, nutrition and fitness. As part of our active Hallelujah Diet & Lifestyle Education Program in Boynton Beach, we prepared gourmet vegan fare for students, family, friends and enthusiastic followers of the living foods lifestyle. We gave frequent presentations for professional, community, and health organizations that resulted in a continually-burgeoning following for our classes, seminars, and monthly dinner-and-learn events. Many of our students in South Florida have written powerful testimonies of healing and changed lives. One such testimony came from 84 year-old Bernie S. in Boynton Beach. In 2004, he had come to our in-home "hands-on lifestyle-immersion" program after surgery for metastasized lung cancer. Despite a prognosis that offered little hope for long-term survival, and having watched his wife die of lung cancer after many conventional treatments, Bernie was resolute in his decision to seek an alternative. Today, he is healthy and cancer-free, and still following the living foods lifestyle. " Six months after surgery, a Cat scan showed Îabsolutely no cancer'. To say I am thrilled is a long way from my actual elation." Bernie S., Boynton Beach

Devorah had come to our program with a sugar reading of 346, and with multiple medications for her diabetes and high cholesterol that were no longer working. After just six days of living with us and learning this lifestyle, her sugar reading, carefully monitored throughout the week, was 112! Her diabetes and high cholesterol were gone for good, along with all her medication, and she had begun a weight loss that to this day is over 70 pounds. She wrote soon after, "It is now seven months since beginning the Hallelujah Acres lifestyle, and I continue to walk in good health. I have been free of all medication and my sugar level continues to be normal·I am now 50 pounds lighter! (You) have been like angels to me in this process and I am ever thankful for (your) training, faith and kindness." Devorah V., Tamarac, FL

Other students have been able to reverse Candida, heart disease, breast cancer, GERD, sleep apnea, allergies, asthma, and many other debilitating conditions. Some of these wonderful testimonies can be read on our www.whollyalive.com website, and hundreds of testimonies from many of the tens of thousands of people who have experienced healing from just about every debilitating condition through the Hallelujah Diet can be found on the www.hacres.com website. Anita and I are continually impressed with the growing body of scientific evidence that has corroborated the importance this life-giving approach to health.

In October 2006, a long-held dream for us became a reality when a truly miraculous set of circumstances enabled us to purchase a gorgeous Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Now we work together full-time as hosts and teachers of a five- or ten-day hands-on residential program that teaches people how to eliminate sickness. In a beautiful large country home with a retreat-like setting and lovely guest quarters, each with its own private bath, participants enjoy gourmet vegan meals, fresh vegetable juices, daily health classes, daily rebounding and long walks on country roads, field trips to the Hallelujah Acres Headquarters in Shelby and to local natural landmarks, the warm camaraderie and interesting blend of fellow health-seekers, and many other life-changing experiences. The testimonies of changed lives continue to pour in:

"Thanks so much for the wonderful week we had with you guys. It was a huge blessing!"

Michelle and Dan G., Vero Beach, FL

"I just wanted to tell you·what a pleasure it was to spend time with you guys. It was a blessing. I have learned so much. I have made many things (recipes), some many times over. The real blessing is that our (20 year-old) son is happy too. He knows that he feels good eating this way. Thank you for health and hope."

Mary Beth L., Moravia, NY

"It was such a blessing to be together as we all learned a much healthier way to live. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone and will always remember our time together as a special blessing·Many, many thanks to Tim and Anita·!

Cindy W., Syracuse, NY

"Hope you have been enjoying yourselves and those breathtaking views! That was such a special week!"

Cynthia E., Brunswick, GA

"The whole program was amazing! Tim and Anita are really wonderful, dedicated, anointed and loving people. We received so many blessings!!...I am rested up and keeping on the diet and feeling much better!!"

Charlotte Y., Indianapolis, IN

Today, Tim & Anita continue their passion to help others overcome chronic and serious health issues, add years to their lives, and achieve lasting health and vitality. They love their lifestyle and live what they teach. They are full of life, vibrant health and purpose.

THE HALLELUJAH DIET & LIFESTYLE
It is our belief that sickness and disease were never intended as part of the design for human beings. The more that scientists research and discover about the awesome workings of the human body, the more confirmation they give to its wondrous design. If given the proper fuel---in the form of mostly raw and living plant foods which still contain their life force in the form of active enzymes---the body has an amazing ability not only to maintain good health, but to heal itself of most sickness and disease. The enzymes supplied in all living foods are crucial to the proper digestion and absorption of vital nutrients.

Today, the diet typically consumed by most people contains a lot of what we would term "dead foods"---foods that are cooked, processed and devoid of all living enzymes. The Hallelujah Diet is a vegan diet (no animal foods, including dairy) and consists of 85% raw foods, whole and organic whenever possible, and 15% cooked whole foods. An often-asked question by those unfamiliar with a vegan diet is "Where do you get your protein from?" All protein on the face of the earth comes from the action of the sun on living plants. Attesting to the adequacy of plant foods to supply all of our protein needs are the huge plant-eating mammals like the cow, the rhinocerous, the gorilla· you get the picture. They all get the protein needed to build their huge frames and musculature from grass and plants! Another question some people ask is "How do you get enough calcium?" The truth is that a diet rich in plant foods with the addition of concentrated, unpasteurized vegetable juices contains more than enough calcium, and calcium which is best absorbed by the human body. One might ask, "Since we Americans have the highest consumption of dairy foods in the world, why is it that we also have the highest incidence of osteoporosis?" These are among the topics we address in our Lifestyle Center Program. We teach about the importance of fresh vegetable juices, green foods, the right amount and type of water we need, proper elimination and detoxification, and the importance of daily exercise, sunlight, and rest. We address the factors that contribute to emotional well-being and mental health, as well.

A TYPICAL DAY AT OUR LIFESTYLE CENTER
(Or, "the Llamas Nextdoor")

The day starts at 7:15 A.M., when we "early birds" get to catch the magnificent sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains while we enjoy the first of our three "green and fresh carrot juice breaks". We then take turns reading from a list of the inspiring promises of good health, longevity and protection our Creator made to us. Then, for those of us hardy enough, it is off on a mile and a half walk that takes us up and down the beautiful country roads surrounding our center, while others begin their walking regime slowly, and close to "home". Rounding the bend near the end of the long walk, folks usually stop to watch and jabber to the three cute llamas who reside down the road!

A tray of fresh fruit--- or veggies for those who need to cut back on sugar for awhile--- greets the invigorated returnees after the walk, and shortly thereafter, it is time for the first "hands-on" activity of the day--- juicing carrots, lemons (for recipes) and oranges (added to the daily fiber drinks). The large kitchen is abuzz with activity, good cheer, and much conversation. At 9:30, as participants sit comfortably in our "great room", the daily health class, usually led by Anita, begins.

Following the class, is the first of two 15-minute "sun and juice breaks" during which guests relax in cushioned lawn chairs outside. Approximately 10:45, "Team One" enters the kitchen to begin preparing lunch. Recipes for the three dishes (two raw, and the day's one cooked) are set out with the ingredients, and the second "hands-on" activity begins under the watchful eyes and guidance of either Anita or me, or both of us. "Team Two" watches one of the several video presentations they will see during the program. The meal-time bell rings by noon, and all gather around the spacious dining room table to enjoy lunch.

After a two hour break for personal time, the group reconvenes for one of several demonstrations: setting up a natural kitchen, recipe making, menu-planning, etc. The rest of the afternoon consists of a rebounding session, one more sun and juice break, and dinner prep. Field trips are planned for two days, one to Hallelujah Acres, and one an outdoor experience at a nearby site. After dinner, the whole group watches another video presentation after recording their daily progress and the sharing of menu information. The lounge and second kitchen offers some a chance for tea and conversation before bed, hopefully in enough time to get the eight hours sleep we encourage.

Saying "Au Revoir" at the end of the week is always difficult, though we try to make the leave-taking a "high note". Everyone leaves with a color photo montage of the week's activities, a 3-ring binder filled with health information and over one hundred delicious gourmet vegan recipes, a one-quart Mason jar filled with fresh carrot juice, a personal water bottle, and often a "care package" for the road. Each group has bonded and becomes part of our Wholly Alive Family!

**And the God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Thess. 5:23)