From Peter Story, 21 years old

My name is Peter Story. I was born in The Family in Thailand, but left with my family when I was four. Needless to say, I don’t have many memories of this time, but the ones I do have are quite good. I remember a nice house with friendly people and lots of fun.

Since I can’t tell you what life was like from memory, I can at least tell you what the fruits of those years were. I know that I was given an incredible education in those first few years in The Family. In fact, I received such a good education, that when I started public school at the age of six, I was way ahead of everyone else in my grade. My teachers were astonished. I read to my very illiterate classmates, and went to third grade math classes. I was in the Gifted and Talented program every year after that. The principal felt that I was too bored with the simple things we did in my regular class, so they sent me off to learn Latin in fifth grade. You know, for a challenge. My brother, sister and I each skipped at least one grade with great ease. So, that being said, I think claims of poor education are quite unfounded.

Each one of us was also exalted as a very good child. We had manners, respect and compassion. These were all qualities, along with intelligence, that the school officials didn’t see very often. They marveled to my father at how children like us could still exist in this day and age.

Now I’ll let you in on a little secret. My father kept some of the Family’s publishings after leaving and continued to give us spiritual training with them. That was something we had that nobody else in our school had. That was our edge. So, with that being said, I think claims that the Family pollutes its members are quite unfounded.

In fact, it wasn’t until I stopped reading the Word and forgot about the Family that I began to really go astray. Sure, I had problems before that, but I can remember being overall humble and yielded. I was a good sample, even in spite of being picked on by the other kids for being different. If I had known then what I know now, I would have reveled in that called out attitude.

However, most unfortunately, I was embarrassed to have once been a missionary. I said I was born in Thailand because my father was in the military. With that step of denying the blessings I was born into, I soon began to deny that I even needed to read the Bible.

It wasn’t long that I started slacking off in school. I did what I needed to do to fit in and be accepted, rather than be what God wanted me to be.
I got a job as soon as I could in order to have money and follow the pursuit of riches. Of course, I was also still trying to fit in to a world in which I had no place. In this quest to fit in, I began doing whatever drugs I could get my hands on, stealing, embezzling, shoplifting, and whatever else I could conjure up.

Of course, still trying to fit in, I began going back on the basic beliefs I had once held so dear. I began wondering if what I was raised on was actually true. I began mixing my beliefs with other, more mainstream ones, such as witchcraft.

Thank God, I finally hit a low point in my life. Those times are more precious than you could ever imagine, because that’s when you’re flat on your back and you can’t do anything but look up at Jesus.

I did that, and began to find the truth that I had so callously thrown away. I began searching for the truth, and found it in the beliefs I had possessed as a child. Imagine my surprise.

In spite of all of this, I still wasn’t ready to be what God wanted me to be. I still wanted to live for myself. I still wanted to be able to be selfish and to not be held accountable for it. The surprising thing was that I actually knew at the time that I was rejecting God’s plan in my life in exchange for my own.

At this time, I met quite a few Family Members, and my dad was serving part time in the Fellow Membership category, but there was no pressure or even offers to join. I had to ask my dad if I could go out witnessing with him, and I had to ask The Family if I could join.

If this is a place where people are forced to stay, and are even brainwashed into joining, then why didn’t anybody put any effort into getting me to join? I saw plenty of effort to help me get into the Word and draw closer to Jesus, but I was never even spoken to about the possibilities of joining until I asked about it. And at that, they were surprised that I wanted to go out witnessing, much less join.

Now I am now twenty-one years old and working full-time as a volunteer with the Family International in Mexico City. I can honestly say that this is the only way to truly be fulfilled in life. If I hadn’t had the upbringing in The Family in those first four years of my life, and subsequently hadn’t received such quality training from Family materials for several more years of my life, I never could have made the right decisions to turn back from the road I was on, and to turn towards Jesus.

It says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” So, with that truth, I can say in full confidence from my own personal experience, that The Family is the best place to train up a child.

I got to know Angela a little bit when she stayed in a Home near mine for a few months. Although I didn’t know her that well, I can still give an accurate report on the kind of person she was. Everything you have read on this site from those who have known her is absolutely true. She simply possesses that aura and attitude of someone who is constantly walking hand in hand with Jesus.

Ricky had everything you could ask for as a child growing up in this world. He made choices, much like I once did, to deny his birthright. He made choices, much like I did, to go away from God. Some people eventually see the truth while they’re still on Earth, but unfortunately, Ricky would not.
However, looking on the bright side, his parents cared so much about him, that they made sure to pray with him to receive Jesus at an early age. Because of this one undying and selfless gift, he gets to go to Heaven in spite of what he did.

Now, if everyone had parents like his, even though we would all still have the freedom of choice, I think most would make some excellent choices in their lives, and the world would consequently be a far better place.

Peter Story is a second-generation member of The Family International