All my training and experience I owe to those committed members of both my personal and my greater Family, without whom, I would not be here today.

My name is Gabriela Farmer (a.k.a. Joyce). I have been in the Family International all of my life. I was born on October 17, 1984 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to loving, wonderful parents. Since that day I have traveled to and lived in 14 countries where I have actively participated in missionary work and have received various training and experience in discipleship and evangelistic efforts.

Through home-schooling, I learned to read at the age of two-and-a-half, and to write at three. I continued my education within the Family up until graduating at the age of 19. I can play guitar, sing, and dance and I have experience in skits/drama and basic stage performance, for which I have received Proficiency Certificates. I have five sisters and one brother, all of whom were born, raised and home-schooled within the Family and all of whom are still members of the Family International. Two of them are now missionaries in Latin America.

I have personally led over 500 souls to the Lord and participated in over 400 performances and shows aimed at spreading the Gospel far and wide. I have been on public TV in four countries at least seven times and on radio twice where other members of The Family International and I have used the media to reach even greater audiences with the message of Jesus and Salvation.

I am presently the secretary for my mission centre, where I handle messages and post bulletins. I also assist in teaching the elementary to high-school-aged children in my home both scholastically and morally. In the five countries where I lived most of my life, I have discovered new languages, cultures, customs and gained insights into the peoples there. Currently I am studying Mandarin Chinese, the native language of Taiwan where I am now living. Every weekend I take part in a Youth Club where I and dedicated others sing, dance, play games and most importantly share the Word of God with the attendees, whom we believe will be the labor leaders of this country.

I turned 20 last October and looking back on my life I can honestly say I have no regrets. To the contrary, I am enormously grateful for everything that has happened to me. Each experience has been one more lesson in the great School of Life. Sure, I’ve made mistakes and done some really stupid things, but the way I see it, you can either run from your mistakes or you can learn from them.

A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others…

Upon hearing the news of Ricky Rodriguez’s murder of Angela Smith and subsequent suicide, I was at a loss for words. Anyone who knows me can testify that is not a common occurrence. This feeling that silenced me and welled up inside my emotions was very hard to place. Was it sadness? Alarm? Anger? Fear? No, certainly not fear. Murder is never on the side of the right, and when you know you’re on the right side, you have nothing to fear. I now realize that it was a feeling of soberness. Sobriety that comes only from having the hard, cold facts slapped in front of you, snapping you back to reality. And suddenly, everything falls into perspective. There’s no more grey area. Only right and wrong. Love and hate. Light and darkness. Life and death.

Last year I lost a very close friend and co-worker of mine to medical complications, and though I knew that she was safe and happier in Heaven, still the pain of her absence was such that I had never felt before. Her lovingness, her smile, her laugh, her tenderness, her constant giving and giving with no desire to receive were all attributes I’ve heard those who knew Angela Smith say she also possessed. So, I can honestly say that I know their pain. The act that so brutally took her away from her loved ones and those she touched cannot be condoned. It is without excuse.

I have never met Angela or Ricky, so you may think that I have no say in the matter. Yet one thing I have learned in all my travels is that the Family is the same the world over. No where else can you find the exact same loving atmosphere, free of abuse of any kind—physical, spiritual, emotional or mental—but here, in our heaven on earth. This is not a breeding ground for violent, sadistic murderers. If you, my reader, were ever in the Family, no doubt you received the same upbringing as I, lived with the same Words feeding your soul day-in and day-out, were nurtured and protected, befriended, loved. So, you, Ricky and I were all in the same boat. I may not know you personally, as I did not know him, but I do know that all three of us were given the same training, the same choices for good or evil. What Ricky did was wrong, unjustifiable, gruesome and horrible. He had the power to choose to forsake whatever bitterness and past he carried; he had the power to choose good and love and light. But he didn’t, and look where it took him. He made his choices; I’ve made mine. Have you made yours?

It’s one thing to be ungrateful, but it’s another thing to insist that I too follow suit. It’s one thing to join mainstream society and move on with your life, but it’s another thing to attack mine. If you were ever hurt in any way, I am sorry, I am. But I have never been a victim of abuse all my life in this loving Family and neither have I met any other Family member in all my travels who has. I do not need to be “rescued”. More than 90% of all my friends I had whilst growing up have left the Family. I still love and respect them dearly. They’ve gone on to lead different lives, happy lives, productive lives. I’d advise the same for you.

As for me, I pledge to dedicate my time, my attention, and my loyalty to Jesus Christ and to my Family who have given me so much. I cannot hope to repay them or Him. Only, I will do what I can to walk the road they have both set before me with a cheerful and thankful heart to Him who has freely given me all things, for which I have no complaints. Only, I will love my enemies, do good to them that hate me, and pray for them who despitefully use me and persecute me. I pray for you.

Gabriela Farmer is a second-generation member of The Family International