Age: 18
Location: Tanzania, Africa

Firstly I’d like to say that my heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy and I am praying for you that the Lord will comfort your soul and help you find his peace through this situation! Secondly I’d like to state for the record that I’m living proof that being raised in the Family is not a pre-requisite of insane actions as we witnessed in Ricky’s case! Our religion and everything our lives stand for is life and love the complete opposite of Ricky’s portrayal of death and hate! We believe that God made us in his image and we are not our own but bought with a price and as such we are to respect and care for our body’s physically and spiritually as the temple of God!

No one has had a perfect life and we have all been treated unfairly or unloving at some time regardless of our religion background or race (and I would be as bold to say that in the Family much, much less then anywhere else) but that gives no excuse whatsoever to brutally take the life of another human being no matter what we have gone through or how “unjustly” we feel we have been treated! And if you in any way associate the Family with such violence and senseless loss of life then you would do well to actually come and visit one of our homes or speak to our members or read our publications as you will find that we not only abhor but actively stand against violence of any kind and it is strictly prohibited in the Family!

Ricky’s actions reflect the opposite of what his upbringing and life in the Family taught him as I can attest to since I have grown up my whole life in the Family and have received nothing but the best training and love and care which reflect in our lives! Though only 18, I have experienced and done much, much more in the Family then the majority of young people I have met! I have lived in over 13 different countries and have volunteered in countless projects ranging from prisons to hospitals, relief work, Aids projects, leper colonies, orphanages, etc and most recently I have been volunteering fulltime at an international school in Tanzania where I teach a class of 22 children and help in the training of Tanzanian teachers and I can say with all confidence that I would not be able to do any of these things had it not been for the exceptional training I received in the Family!

These experiences have exposed me to a large variety of people and have taught me many invaluable skills in people handling, teaching, communication, self-discipline, concern and respect for others, relating to others, and many other skills, which are highly valued assets in almost any person! So rather than this incident disproving the Family’s training it should show what an influence people in the world can have and what can happen when a person turns away from God and chooses hate and revenge instead of love and forgiveness which the Lord always gives us when we ask Him! I pray that each of you that read this will find the fulfillment, satisfaction and answers that I found in Jesus and the Family!

Sincerely,
Leilani

Leilani Solsbery is a second-generation member of the Family International.