Tim Raveney
Age: 16
Location: Full-time missionary in South America.

I’m sick of the lies that the system brainwashes people with through the media. Nowadays you can barely read or watch anything without getting brainwashed somehow. Even through movies you get brainwashed on to whose side is the right one, or not.

When the Family was persecuted in Argentina, some of the lies that came up were ingenious; that the Family was selling organs/body parts for profit. Innovative, right? Well at least some newspapers and TV shows loved it, because you know what? It sells wonderfully! Every one wants to know about something like this, becauuuse? It’s interesting! Like a new novel or creepy movie. Of course it wasn’t very long until that idea was wiped away, for being completely ludicrous.
Well here’s the truth. Yes, there probably were accounts of abuse being done in the Family. But here’s a little reality check for some of “You”. There’s so much more done out there nowadays, than what was done in the Family. And those “mistakes” that were done, were almost nonexistent and like almost twenty years ago, things do change! Personally in my life time, I have never seen nor heard of any such thing. Even though bad things may have happened in the Family, there is sooo much good that was done too.

I never have been abused! Hey, in some way I wish I was, and then I could have had a pretty cool story to tell my friends. I guess then maybe I was abused by never being abused. Wait? Does that all figure strait?

What bothers me is that these few ex-members are so proud and that they can’t admit that they just chose another path, they have to blame it on something or someone. They get together and blame their problems on the leaders. Well I got some news, there aren’t any leaders, the Lord is my leader and I follow Him and He speaks to me through His ordained Word.

If you think I’m here because someone is brainwashing me to be here. Well maybe yes, and if I like it? Don’t you get brainwashed every day by the newspapers, on TV, by commercials, advertisements, and you name it. If something is brainwashing me to not live for myself but live for others, to not hurt or do bad, something that makes me feel fulfilled, happy, and free then is that so bad? I believe you’re more in need of someone to save you than I am.
Life is full of choices and this is my choice, I choose the Family!

I love the Family and it’s where I want to be for the rest of my life! That’s my choice and I’m old enough to make it.
In the Family, the two main rules we live by are to live for others and love God. We do these two things with all our heart, soul and mind; we have no other intentions of doing otherwise. Now, do you see anything wrong with these two guidelines, do you not agree with them? Do you think I should be doing any other thing with my life? Should I do what you are doing?

The reason why I, myself, chose to be in this Family, is because I want to know “what have I done that I can stand to show for when I die?” but more than just that, I do it because I am so insanely in love with Jesus, and the reason why I love him is because he first loved me. I’m a walking disaster without him, and every one that lives with me can testify of that. He’s the one I run to when I’m lost, when I have a problem. He’s my roots; with out him I’d just fall apart. All I want to do now is what He wants me to do, and I want to do nothing else than that, so if it wasn’t His first will that I was where I am right now doing what he wants me to be doing, I wouldn’t do it.

I’m a person, and like most others, I wouldn’t dedicate my life to anything unless I was 100% sure of what I was doing. That the Family is the place for me, and giving my life for others is what I want to do, what I choose to do, and any of you who want to do the same are more than welcome to come along and do it with me. There is much to do but we don’t have much time, what will you have to offer in the end, what have you done with your life?

Tim Raveney is a second-generation member of The Family International