I am now 28 years old and have had well over 15 years to mill over the grievances that were caused during my life before then, whether by members in “The Family” or not. However I was able to put them all into crisp perspective when I spent over two years with my wife and child, living a life without any one from “The Family” in a radius of 1500 miles. Leading a life that to most would be considered “normal” and many in other parts of the world consider Luxury.

However as I rose to take the company vehicle to work each day, I would receive a list of clients who I was to be in contact with that day, and after two years of talking with well over 4000 “successful” people, from ages 25-60, from many races. It came clear that most people my age had many additional things to fear and look out for (especially if they had children) that I or my parents did not have to contend with in “The Family”.

They also cleared up the fact that, issues that I and any one has or had with the way they were treated in “The Family” was in no way unique. Instead there were many worse angles, which I and hundreds of peers I knew raised in “The Family” were shielded from.

I also couldn’t help but notice that there genuinely was little purpose to the end goals of everyone that I came in contact with and that the reason was that each goal was made by some one trying to find what is best for them or their own future. This is the reason I came to the decision to not harm my children by letting them be so exposed to cruel behavior, violence, drugs and perversions that it would be subliminally part of their moral fiber.

My wife and I now live in a third world country with our two children a 6 year old girl and 2 a year old boy. When My little girl is on school vacation during the Christmas season or summer she is right beside us trying to help the people whose normal way of life are coping with fears, fiscal abuse and emotional turmoil that is so severely worse than my children will ever have growing up in “The Family” I do not intend to even describe it.

My suggestion to those that feel “The Family” is not a good place to raise a child is to put your efforts into “Taking the beam out of the way most children are raised in society of even the finest of countries instead of trying to pluck out the mote from the way a few discriminatory folks were raised in the Family over a decade ago. Mt.23:24
Please for your sake and my sake (who wants nothing more than to have my children grow up in a caring environment) educate yourself about:

1. How much better the “The Family” structure now making a major part of its focus on a good upbringing for the children (even since my upbringing).
2. Find what options a person like me has who wants to be a missionary (therefore not enough money to afford a private school and/or personal tutor). Who…
1. Wants to have their children raised in a strong Christian faith (as that is what I have)
2. Without constant criticism, foul talk/language and degradation during school
3. Without role models or those they get taught by (be it peers and teachers) whose upbringing you don’t know the origin.
4. In a place where I have a good chance they won’t be solicited for drugs before they are 15
5. In a place where I have a good chance they won’t be solicited for sex before they know the responsibilities.
6. And virtually no chance of getting into or seeing a violent fight or being personally hit with a fist by anyone, even peers.
7. Where if my child is a little dyslexic or spacey and can’t finish first grade at 5 (years old which was the case) she will get extra attention to catch her up to the reading level she needs to be in order to be on par, and to top it off from bilingual teachers.
8. Also a place were my children get a full day each week to spend with their parents.
9. And as I have skills in many areas I rarely am able to cook meals so that would need to be taken care of by someone not my wife as she also works.
10. And lastly a place that I have jurisdiction over who drives my children by personally making sure anyone who is driving them to school or for any outings was passed by me and my wife.
11. And lastly when I need to go to the doctor or even just want to go out for the night with my wife I would need to have someone who I could leave my two children with that I really trust and know would treat them as their own so I could have a peace of mind.

I apologize if that sounds sarcastic but it sincerely is not. That is really what I want for my children’s environment! Better yet I have it for them now! If I didn’t that would not be “The Family’s” fault as the other two sets of parents I am living with and myself have the option to change or remove anyone from living around my children, via starting my own center or voting the individual out of mine or suggesting they get removed from “The Family” if they have unacceptable behavior also.

Andrew Theophilus is a second generation member of the Family International.