(Written in response to the recent negative rhetoric of my estranged son, Daniel Roselle)

My name is Katie Roselle and I am a current member of The Family International, residing in the U.S. (The Bible name I have used since 1970 is Kanah.) I am married to Daniel C. Roselle (Ado), Daniel’s father. In February we will be celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary! We have 7 children, Daniel being the eldest.

I’ve known the Family (Children of God) since I was 16 years old.—Since 1968. When I was a small child I had wanted to be a missionary and had dedicated my life to the Lord. Through the turbulent teen years I had gotten away from the Lord and was disillusioned with what I saw in both secular and religious circles.

It was at this time that I met the Children of God and their founder, David Berg. The young people in the group led me back to Jesus through the Bible and their sample. I also sat in on many of David Berg’s Bible classes and this had a very positive influence on me, changing my life from a confused, disturbed, angry young person, to one filled with Jesus’ love and compassion for others.

Since I was still underage, after knowing, visiting, and then living with them for several months, I needed to return to my parent’s home until I turned 18. At this time I made a decision to join the Family International (then known as the Children of God). My mother, although it was hard for her at first, supported my decision and we had a wonderful communication the next 26 years until her death in 1996.

In the Family I learned to love Jesus and others, and to take quality care of children. Besides being a parent, I have worked with and around children throughout the years. The children in my care have received excellent care and many opportunities that people from many countries and walks of life have personally commended me for.

There are a lot things that I would like to say to my son, Daniel, personally. But, sadly, at this time it is not easy due to the choices he has made that now affect the communication between us. He has yelled and cursed at me on the telephone. Because of this, I will express my thoughts through posting this letter on “My Conclusion.”

We used to be able to communicate by phone, visits and letters, during the first seven years after he left our missionary life (from 20–27 years of age). I respected his decision to live a secular life, which included work and furthering his education. We had raised him to be a missionary, but I respected his choices when he decided to leave, as we knew that he was capable and well trained and prepared for life.

As parents, although we didn’t have much financially, we helped him when we could, gave him gifts at Christmas and birthdays, and expressed our love and concern for him over the years. My mother loved and respected our work for the Lord all the years we raised Daniel and her other six grandchildren. She knew that we were training our children in a godly manner and when Daniel left our missionary work in 1995, she expressed concern that he would be negatively influenced by others.

Since June 2001 we have been estranged, due to his decision to attack our beliefs and not respect our choices. This saddens me. I don’t have any problem with his decision to be out of the Family, and I would love to communicate on a friendly basis. I have many people I love who are out of the Family. We have shown Daniel a great measure of love all his life.

Since communicating with and taking on the mindset of some bitter ex-members and others, his whole perspective has changed to where he now seems to see all the good memories and happy times growing up as bad and evil. If he stops and thinks about it in the way it really happened, he will remember the happy, fun times of love, laughter, travel, and more, with parents who really loved and cared for him.

Since he now uses foul language and angrily yells at me over the phone on the rare occasion he’s called over the past two-and-a-half years, I sadly cannot enjoy the normal communication that mothers should have with their grown sons, especially on holidays like birthdays (his and mine), Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. How sad. I still love him and he is in my daily prayers.

Here is the true history of our love and care of Daniel…

I have loved and prayed for Daniel these past 30 years. Why 30, when he’s only 29 years old? Well, you see, mine was a high-risk pregnancy, after having 3 premature babies (including a set of twins). Since those 3 babies all died, I was concerned when I heard the news during my sixth month of pregnancy with Daniel that this pregnancy was also threatened to end prematurely. I desperately prayed daily and did all I could to keep the baby as close to full term as possible. I was living in Puerto Rico at the time in full-time missionary work.

My main ministry for the 5 years before Daniel’s birth was as a full-time teacher. I had taken a special course to become a certified Montessori teacher. I loved all the children I worked with and had given freely of my time, energy and resources to care for them. This was all volunteer work, since I have been a missionary from the age of 18.

Then, at 22, I found myself in this desperate and difficult situation. I realized I could lose this baby (Daniel), too, during my sixth month of pregnancy, as I was already experiencing contractions that could progress to bring on the baby. This was 30 years ago, and I knew I would not have had advanced care for such a premature baby. So I made the decision to follow the doctor’s advice and instruction to have complete bed rest and try to stave off the contractions. I had to fight fear with faith. After having already lost 3 babies (not just miscarriages either), my faith was somewhat weak and God’s Word was all I could stand on to give me needed faith that this baby could survive against all odds.

I read the quote, “For every look at your troubles, take 100 looks at the promises of God.” And that’s just what I did, I read my Bible, standing on those promises. Because I loved that baby, and, as many mothers do, I believed he was a gift from God that I should cherish and protect.

During these months it was a sacrifice for my husband and I because I needed to move to another city to be close to a hospital where I could get special care and be ready for the delivery, which turned out to be very quick—from start to finish less than 2 hours. Why did we do all this? Because we loved that baby.

As an active 22 year old, it was difficult for me to stay in bed all the time. Why did I do it then? Because I loved that baby.

By a miracle, and my willingness to deny myself and to care for my unborn baby, Daniel was born only 2 weeks early! What a victory! He was just less than 7 pounds and healthy! Thank the Lord! But it wasn’t quite over. While I was in the recovery room, baby Daniel was lying in the nursery after the birth and my husband was standing there admiring him through the thick glass windows. All of sudden our little newborn baby began to turn blue. He had aspirated some fluids at birth and wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Had it not been for my husband pounding on the thick glass to get the attention of the nurses who took quick emergency steps to keep him alive, who knows what would have happened. He stayed in an incubator for 10 days, having contracted pneumonia.

We desperately fought for his life through prayer, as there was nothing more we could do. During those next 10 days I would visit the hospital daily and take care of my son as much as I was allowed. I was concerned that his little life could slip away while I was gone, since the busy attendants had so many other babies to take care of.

During those 10 days, while staying at a home near the hospital, every time I’d hear the phone ring, I would have to fight the fear of thinking it was the hospital calling to say he was gone. I kept hoping and praying that he would still be alive and I could take him home soon.

Having him become a part of our lives brought us such happiness and joy. Over the years of his childhood and through his teen years, he was happy, well adjusted, and fun to be around. Photos and letters show this clearly. Daniel was always into acting, and was very talented as he dressed up as different characters, used different accents, and played different roles.

During his childhood, we had the blessing of living in foreign countries in Latin America and the Orient, and also lived and traveled to many parts of the U.S. As parents, Daniel’s father and I always loved and cared for Daniel (and his brothers and sisters who came later) by giving them time and attention. That’s what most children really want anyway, and have a hard time getting nowadays in this busy, fast paced world.

Why did we devote so much time and attention to Daniel and our other children? Because we loved them! Seeing their needs met in every way was one of our greatest concerns—right up there on the top of our priority list as a major part of our service to Jesus. And that meant good, quality care too.

Daniel, although your words right now are full of hate, bitterness, and anger, and I wish it didn’t have to be this way, I want you to know that our love for you is unconditional and eternal. Even though you have said that you want to see us in jail and our missionary work destroyed, and you’ve said that you wished you had never been born, or that we weren’t your parents, I still love you. I feel sorry for you, as you don’t sound like the happy and fun son we have known for so many years. I will continue to pray for you to find peace and joy in living, and dearly hope for us to again share the loving relationship of mutual respect we once had.