Hallelujah Acres History — 1997-2001

Hallelujah Acres has a fascinating past! Rev. Malkmus shares the intriguing story of how Hallelujah Acres moved to North Carolina and all the adventures that followed.

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By Hallelujah Diet BloggerJan 31, 20120 comments

Hallelujah Acres Growth

A NOTE FROM GEORGE: As I reflect on what has transpired, the words of that great Christian hymn come to mind: “To God be the glory, Great things He has done” I want to say right up front that without God’s leading and help, Hallelujah Acres would not have become a reality. Man can only do so much, but when God is in it, all things are possible!

1997 – Hallelujah Acres Moves To North Carolina

The location of the previous ministry on a mountaintop in Tennessee was running out of room. A business man from Shelby, North Carolina attended a seminar in Tennessee and shared that he owned a building that would be perfect for the ministry. George and Rhonda moved in on November 1, 1997.

1997 – Paul Malkmus Joins Hallelujah Acres

Early in 1997 Rhonda and George knew they needed someone to help manage a ministry that was growing too big for ma and pa to keep track of and oversee. Thoughts turned to their son Paul who was a career man in the U.S. Air Force. Paul was just three years from achieving the 20 years needed for retirement when George contacted him. He told his son that he needed help but Paul wasn’t interested as he was intent on securing his retirement benefits and preparing for a business career thereafter. But he had curiosity, enough to come and see what was going on at his dad’s Hallelujah Acres.

Paul came for Health Minister training in 1997 and was blown away by the testimonies of healing and by the ministry potential of Hallelujah Acres. He went back to where he was stationed in Florida and asked his general to release him early. Just a week before Hallelujah Acres was to move to North Carolina, the general called Paul into his office. He said, “I don’t know why I am doing this, but I am going to let you go.” Paul asked the general why he had decided to let him go early and the reply was “I really don’t know, it just seemed the right thing to do.” The general may not have known, but we who were praying knew! God does hear and answer prayer! Paul completed the paperwork and prepared to move to Shelby.

DID YOU KNOW? Many people do not know realize the sacrifice Paul made to come to Hallelujah Acres. By leaving the military early, he forfeited his retirement benefits that he'd been working toward for the last 17 years.

Paul arrived at Hallelujah Acres on November 1, 1997, the very day George and Rhonda moved into the new facility in Shelby, North Carolina. Paul immediately had his work cut out for him! He took over the business end of things so that George was able to concentrate on the ministry aspect of Hallelujah Acres. Paul hired new staff, learned the business part of the ministry, and refined its operations. Paul and his wife Ann are tremendous assets to the Hallelujah Acres team!

We are totally dedicated to helping to take God’s health message to the world. I am thrilled that my son will be here when I graduate to heaven to carry on the ministry Rhonda and I began in that little store front in Rogersville, Tennessee 20 years ago.

1998 – Dr. Donaldson Joins Hallelujah Acres

In 1997 I received a letter from Michael Donaldson, a fine Christian young man, who was to soon graduate from Cornell University with a PhD in Chemical Engineering. He expressed interest in joining Hallelujah Acres as our research scientist since his wife was able to correct some serious pregnancy problems after adopting The Hallelujah Diet. Most of those graduating from Cornell in Michael’s class were going into the drug industry but Michael wasn’t interested in going in that direction. So we asked him to come to Hallelujah Acres for an interview. Michael shared how he would like to scientifically validate the Hallelujah Diet and make sure it had no weaknesses. We were so impressed that we invited Michael to join us and be a part of the Hallelujah Acres team. Michael has done an outstanding job these past 14 years constantly making sure that the Hallelujah Acres diet was the best it could be. Michael is still with us and has 12 children. All of his children were born at home.

1998 – Hallelujah Acres Canada Opens

Around 1978 while lecturing at the Shangri-La Health Resort in Bonita Springs, Florida, a Canadian couple was in one of Rev. Malkmus' lectures. The reason they were there was because Bev Shouldice, a business man from Canada had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctors had given him no hope of surviving. Bev and his wife were searching for an alternative way of dealing with the cancer — a way that would offer some hope. Years later, George received a letter in which they told him how, after hearing his lecture, Bev had adopted the diet, and Bev’s cancer had gone away as a result of the diet change.

It wasn’t long after that training that Bev contacted George. He wanted Hallelujah Acres in Canada to bring God’s health message to Canadians. Bev offered their home in rural Shallow Lake to be the Headquarters of Hallelujah Acres. Bev and his wife Dot ran Hallelujah Acres until Bev’s death at age 91; some 30 years after Canadian doctors had pronounced his cancer death sentence.

Upon Bev's passing, Hallelujah Acres Canada operations were relocated to the city of Toronto where it continues to grow and help multitudes. Through the years George traveled extensively throughout Canada holding seminars in most of the Canadian provinces. Rev. Malkmus also conducted Health Minister training at the Hallelujah Acres Canadian headquarters in Shallow Lake for many years. Judy Fleming (who worked with Bev and Dot) now manages Canadian operations and hundreds of Hallelujah Acres trained Health Ministers scattered across the Canadian provinces.

1998 – Rhonda's Recipes For Life Recipe Book Is Published

When Rhonda adopted The Hallelujah Diet due to her debilitating arthritic condition in 1990 (of which she completely healed within a year) there were very few recipe books available that supported the primarily, raw plant-based diet Hallelujah Acres advocates. So, Rhonda set out to write a recipe book. Rhonda had never written a book before, no less a recipe book. It took her two years to write the book and it turned out to be a tremendous success.

The book has 358 pages, over 400 recipes that fit The Hallelujah Diet, and it is spiral bound for easier use. Over a quarter million copies of this book are now in print and in 2011 it was the best selling book of all books Hallelujah Acres carries.

1999 – First Women's Retreat

For years Rhonda had tried to host a Women’s Retreat at Hallelujah Acres. George told her that women wouldn’t travel across America by themselves to attend a seminar. Boy was he wrong! In 1999 when he finally said “ok” to that first Women’s Retreat, it was the biggest event Hallelujah Acres had ever held, and has continued to be the biggest event each year.

2000 – Rev. Malkmus Takes The Health Message To Australia

In the year 2000, Rev. George Malkmus took the Hallelujah Acres health message to Australia’s six largest cities – Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide. The trip was a tremendous success with an average of 500 in attendance at each meeting. During that trip he personally trained nearly 50 Australia health ministers.

2001 – Rev. Malkmus Takes The Health Message To South Africa

In South Africa Rev. Malkmus delivered seven seminars in six days to an average crowd of 600. In Cape Town he had 600 in attendance at a Saturday morning seminar, and upon completion of that seminar there were 600 more waiting to hear God’s health message.

I did back to back seminars that day. I was 68 years of age at the time. I was in the air over 53 hours that week and not long after returning home, while lecturing, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. I was rushed to the Shelby hospital where the doctors wanted to immediately airlift me to Charlotte for cauterization of the bleed and start me on intravenous drugs. All medical treatments were refused, doctors ordered me out of the hospital and I was sent home by ambulance to die. Rhonda immediately started me on The Hallelujah Recovery Diet and within a week a neurologist could find no lingering physical or mental limitations.

Doctors believe George's stroke was caused by the stress experienced on that South Africa trip.

Next Week, the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high, we will pick up where we have left off here in 2001 and share how Hallelujah Acres has continued to grow! I trust you will join us as we continue to share the rest of the story.