My name is Angelina Lloyd. I’m 27 years old, was born and raised in the Family International and am a current member. Seeing all that has transpired in the last few weeks, the deaths of Ricky Rodriguez and Angela Smith, and the way the media has chosen to report about it, has been very difficult. It’s especially been hard having to read and hear some of the absurd things being said by people I once considered my closest friends, but who are now trying to destroy everything I’ve lived and worked for my entire life.

I’ve had so many wonderful experiences in my life. I grew up in South America, as that was the mission field of choice for my parents. I’m the youngest of four children, and we were always treated with love. Just like anyone else growing up, there were some things I didn’t like, but looking back, if there were hurts or disappointments, it wasn’t because of abuse. It was just part of growing up.

My parents greatly loved and cared for us and did their very best to give us the best education possible, not only scholastically, but also in daily living, in the things that I now see are of much greater value than text book schooling. Sure, at times I had some teachers that I didn’t particularly like, and I did grow up with some children who teased me, but it was nothing compared to what most kids in secular society have to face.

I’ve lived in or visited 46 countries in my lifetime. Each one has been a remarkable experience, and in each country, I’ve seen firsthand the need to share God’s message of love with others. That’s why, when I reached the age of decision and I had to choose what I was going to do with my life, I chose to continue in the Family International. This is what I want to do, and what I want to be. This is my choice, and believe me, I’m stubborn. I’m not about to continue doing something against my will, just because I was born into it, or just because I’ve always done it.

Regarding the abuse that is being talked about by some, I’ve never suffered abuse in the Family, but I have suffered abuse at the hands of our apostates, who through their false accusations and trumped up stories, stirred up authorities to take action against us. The memory of those days, the worst era of my life, deeply saddens me. It was 1993, when I, along with many others, were taken away from our happy communities in Argentina, ruthlessly torn from our homes and lives of service to others. The adults were put in jail, and the minors, in government institutions. I was sixteen at the time, and we teens, as well as the younger children, were bullied, threatened, harassed and subjected to the most cruel and grueling methods of physical and physiological testing.

All that we suffered was senseless and unnecessary abuse—only to arrive at the conclusion by the courts months later, what we already knew to be true, that our communities were safe havens for children to grow up in. Finally we could go on with our lives, but I tell you, the trauma and things Family members went through at that time was not something easy to just put behind you and go on.

But you see, our way of life and what we live for is so precious to us, so special—far greater than anything you can get your hands on anywhere else. We believe in the Bible, and we do our best to live it and follow it! I don’t believe the precepts of the Bible are just meant to be “theory” and only good for “days gone by”. Just because we live in a fast-paced world with multiple and complex problems, doesn’t mean that the Bible can’t be lived today; or that it’s not needed today. When someone loses the things they hold most dear, what do they look to for strength and hope? Where do they turn for comfort? It’s in those times when they have nothing left, that people learn to trust in God’s His love. That’s what I live for, and what I’m prepared to die for.

I haven’t led a sheltered life. In fact, many of my peers envy the life I’ve lived. I’ve had multiple opportunities to travel and to meet new people. I’ve had the chance to excel in what I enjoy the most—working with teenagers, helping them overcome the complexities that seem to bombard young people as they go through their teen years. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help host seminars and youth and family camps in various countries. I love my life, and all that it is constantly filled with. For the past eight years I’ve been working in Eastern Europe, which has not only been fulfilling, but has also been a wonderful and rich cultural experience.

In addition, I’m the proud mother of three boys, who never cease to fill my life with love and action. Like every parent, I want my children to have the very best life has to offer, and I know from firsthand experience that the love and care they receive in the Family is the very best. If later on in life my boys wish to choose another way, so be it. But until that day, they will receive the very best care, attention, scholastic training and input, and I will not stand for their lives to be torn apart by those who could care less about their futures, and seek only vengeance.

I knew Ricky Rodriguez. We were close friends. Even though we didn’t live and work around each other for long, we kept in touch. He was a man full of ideals. He wanted to change the world, and he wanted to be remembered. When Ricky chose to leave Family fellowship, he wrote me and asked me if I thought less of him. At the time, I told him that I didn’t, that I just wanted him to be happy and to find fulfillment in life. I encouraged him to consider well where he was going and what he was going to do.

It’s one thing to have “dreams”, but often, reality is quite another thing. It takes a lot of determination to choose what you want to do, master a career and see your goals come to pass. I’m sad that Ricky was unable to follow the path he had wanted to take when he first decided to “follow his dreams”. When I first heard about the recent tragic events and what Ricky did, I couldn’t believe it. It seemed so out-of-character from the Ricky I had known.

From personal experience, I’ve learned that what I have through faith in God’s Word, and the strength that comes from joining with others who are also following the Bible’s precepts, gives a great resource of strength—all that anyone could ever need. Life is full of disappointments, and it’s not that those who have faith in God’s love are immune to hurt and pain. My own dear sister passed away a little over a year ago from kidney failure. It was very difficult for me.

When things don’t turn out the way we expect them to, for instance, when a loved one becomes ill and passes away, it’s very painful, and often hard to understand. But in spite of the disappointments and hurts in life, we all have a choice regarding how those hurts will effect us. Depending on how we face them, and the choices we make, life’s heartbreaks and disappointments will either make us better or bitter.

We in the Family choose to dedicate our lives to spreading the Gospel to others, to helping others in need wherever we can. What Ricky, a former Family member did, and the horrible things he said on the video, were truly sad. I can understand that something like that would be very confusing for those who don’t know the facts about the Family. But when a tragedy like this occurs, I ask that, rather than being quick to repeat such outrageous, horrendous accusations like those that are being reported—even though those accusations and lies might make a “great story”—instead, the media, and others, will seek for the truth about our group, what we believe and stand for, all the good that we do, and that that truth will be reported accurately.

Sincerely,
Angelina Lloyd