Age: 17
Occupation: Professional disciple/missionary, programmer
Location: Chile

Being of the third generation, I have seen two sets of offspring before me give their every ounce to make what we now so casually call “The Family International.” So I think I have at least a slight justification for what Dave Barry would call “Religious Rage". Although it has only been in the past three years that I have dedicated my all and taken on the name extension “Disciple of Christ", I was always aware of the cause they were fighting for. It was clear that they were not a cult with a time bomb set to kill the world’s population by kidnapping its members or abusing its children, because no one can do this and hope to get away with it in any law-abiding country of the planet, let alone be able to justify himself in front of God, who these people obviously held in high esteem.

I can’t tell you about dreadful stories of children being nastily abused or sleazy adults molesting kids, because I never saw it. Whether it missed me by a heartbeat or a mile is irrelevant, since all I know is what I grew up with. I would have made Daniel Webster reconsider the word “trouble,” since the label “trouble kid” was much too mild to fit in with my former personality. I was discontent with the way my life was turning out, and it wasn’t until I was shipped back to the U.S. for a taste of “Real Life” that I finally began to value what I had all along. “Real Life” included being regularly ripped off by fellow “Real Livers,” exiting my misery with wads of dope from my “friends,” and finally checking into an IC ward from alcohol poisoning. I could not have asked for a kinder reception back into The Family International, and once I had caught my footing well enough to assess the path I had just stepped off of, it was easy to see where the real “Hell” was. I was never before more thankful for my heritage, and it soon became an innate part of my lifeblood.

From this fact do I gather the impulsion to determine in my heart that I am living for a purpose, and the resolve that I will die for this same objective. Jesus told us that we were to expect resistance in our mission for Him, and you are doing nothing but fulfilling his prophecy. No greater gift can a man give than to offer his life to another, but this was not good enough for Ricky Rodriguez. Not only did he take his own life, but he selfishly took the life of another. Setting aside the reasons, justifications, and state prosecution differences, there are few sins considered worse. Such an act of blatant atrocity cannot be attributed to society at large, let alone towards an upbringing in an organization with the sole intent of following God’s Golden Rule: To love thy neighbor as thyself. Never before have I been so appalled by the strict disregard to this principle, for he knew very well what would await him at the other end of life if he were to commit this deed.

From my perspective, more than judging his actions and the culmination of events which preceded the murder, I am concerned for the futures of those who have learned nothing from this. And instead, as with the Palestinian suicide bombers, are using this as a call to arms against the group that raised, nurtured, and cared for them throughout their childhood. We are not a mindless mob that can be disassembled the way armies were obliterated in WWII. We are made up of individuals, and I am one of them. We will stand tall and united, fearless in the face of your petty attacks, and triumphant when we have given our last breath.

Gabriel Harrop is a third generation member of The Family International, currently residing in Chile.