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from WildChild Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 05:20 (Agree/Disagree?) I agree with Estie. Blaming the family or dwelling on our past will not get us anywhere. Rather, we shld look on the bright side, see what tools we do have in our hands at present, research what we can do with it, decide on what we really want to do and then go for it, come what may! Determination, guts, a will to live 'n fight for what you really want is what gets one to their goal! As the old song goes, "If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere, you'd better wake up and pay attention!!!" (reply to this comment)

from Estie Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 12:02 (Agree/Disagree?) I live in Mexico & have been officially out of the family for about 5 years, and am presently living here in Mexico. I have a theory on why there are so few latin ex-members on this site,or at least Mexican ex-members. At least in the experience I have with my family that are all out of the family ( except for my father), we hardly have time to do anything but work & basically catch up. I think that life is a lot different & a lot harder here in latin america ( considering that most are 3rd world countries) we hardly have time to be worring out our past, getting an education is harder because it is a lot more expensive & in order to live at least a somewhat good quality of life, you have to work your ass off. At least in the case of my family & maybe a lot of latins will agree with me as well we are too busy thinking about having what we need that we rarely have time to think about our past. Also we have very little contact with other ex-family members & the ones that I have had contact with, don´t even know abot this site and we rarely talk about out family past. I think life is harder for us in latin countries, so we have very little time for this stuff & when I have gotten into this site I have noticed a lot of the articles etc... are written by people that either know eachother or people that have similar life styles in the the states, Canada or Europe. So there is very little that we have in common that I can really comment about. Also for us latins being in the family helped us in a lot of ways, in order to have more job possibilitieshere in Mexico at least, stuff like speaking more languages, especially English, and in my case childcare has helped me in my teaching jobs. So even though life was hard in the family believe me we have realised that it can be even harder......and even though our lack of education etc.. has contributed to making it harder since we left, were going to have to get it done anyway & blaming the family wont make the least of a difference. I don´t mean to offend anyone here, believe me that this website is an excellent idea & I would personally like more people that I know to get to know this website, but I know a few people that say they don´t have time for this stuff. I know what we all went through & life has been hard because of it, but life is hard anyway & I thinking too much about our past doesn´t make it any easier, at least that is the way I feel 1) What are some of the types of jobs and careers fields that ex-cult second generation Latin adults hold? I think even without getting the education you need, we can get English teaching jobs & in my experience, it´s the easiest form of getting a job quickly, maily using your language knowledge, some American companies will give you jobs just for your language skills. 2) How often do our Latin peers how contact &/or visit current Family members? e. For special events I still see the family from time to time, because my Dad is still in & well although we cant really get into any important conversation without a fight, we at least asre stillon speaking terms. 3) How do our Latin peers feel about the Family’s doctrines and leadership? a. Sincere, right b. Sincere, wrong c. Sincere, confused, lost, mislead d. Insincere, ulterior motives, personal/selfish agendas e) Dangerous I think all of the above depending on which person you are talking about. 4) How do our Latin peers feel about the Family’s members? a. Sincere, right b. Sincere, wrong c. Sincere, confused, lost, mislead d. Insincere, ulterior motives, personal/selfish agendas e. Under aged, do not have a choice f. Indifferent, prefer to keep the ‘wool over their eyes’ I think that there is a wide variety of opinions, an I don´t think that I could actually speak for all of them, but I think that most don´t even care. 5) Top career field choices: l. Writer, critic, publisher/Intellectual, media m. Teacher, counselor, professor/education, intellectual n. Retail, warehouse, distribution/Commercial services o. Construction, investment/Real Estate p. Actor, musician, writer, dancer, model, director, script writer, editor, producer, agent/entertainment, media, celebrity s. Volunteer, NGOs/social causes Of the people that I have known these are mainly it. I think that is another thing, I think very few of us have jobs that require many hours on-line so we don´t have much time than to just check our mail etc.. 6) Are you: Single and pergnant.... 7) At home, do you primarily speak a. Spanish c. English 8) Do you/are you: a. Believe in God? 9) How do you spend your time off work? b. outdoor activities/sports & health c. indoor games (board games) d. video games (PS2, Xbox, Nintendo) e. Internet surfing, research, blogging f. studying for school/self improvement g. recreational reading h. writing (fiction, non fiction, columns, poetry) i. partying with friends, family & colleagues j. watch TV k. watch movies l. cultural arts (museums, theaters, playhouses) m. nothing, just chill out ALL OF THE ABOVE & FEW OTHER THINGS..... (reply to this comment)

from Ricky Martin Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 11:40

from highonhigh Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 13:06 (Agree/Disagree?) Good post Dave! I am 100% latin . My father is venezuelan, my mom Brasilian & I live in the Dominican Republic. We are 13 brothers & sisters but I am the only one that visit the moving on site. I guess the rest of my family lredt moved on. By the way when I was little I live in Colombia with a family the dad was american & the mom was dominican I don't remember their name my mom probably know. but one of the kids was called Samson. Ruthie are you related to them? Any way in answer to your questions. 1. @ jobs My 3 brothers & I work in a italian /american company. we got the job because we can speak fluent spanish & english. we make enough to live well & enjoy life without too much headaches when it comes time to pay the bills. 2.We only see them when we go eat in Outback Steak House, has good food. TF member do clowning there. But they try to avoid us like they are afraid of us. that's our only contact with the sect Hi & Bye. 3.b,c,d,e all together 4.pity 5. I am in college studying Business Adm. but I am only doing it because I was waiting to get accepted in Chavon School of Arts. My Brother & I got accepted this year so we going together in August. I have another brother in college doing Hoteleria y Turismo. A sister doing Cisco communication & Linux Pro. Another sister lives in New York & is in the music business.the rest are in school some starting & some are finishing high school. I have another brother that don't want to go to college because he's into making money for now. I also like politics so since my dad is with some HR organizations I also get involveed when ever I can. 6.We all single without any kids except for one of my sisters wich is well & happily married with a "systemite" & is waiting for her second child. 7. Spanish, then portuguese last english. 8. Yes we all do. My father is a Pastor now & has his own church. so we are surrounded by Christians some of us even go to church some times. There is plenty here. there is a church that is run by a famous singer Juan Luis Guerra. They have the best music we go there some times.We still pray & read the Bible. the difference is if I want to hear Aeroplane from Red Hot Chilli Peppers or any other non Christian group I can, as loud & any time I want, & no one will bug me. 9. Well, beaches here are breath taking . weekends in a place called Cabarete is GOOD. Raves, they have them regularly I try not to miss them,they will be having one by the river isabela on the 22 of may I wont miss, eating out with friends, movies. This is a vacation island is not as wild as Cancun or Ibiza but we get to enjoy DJ Deep Dish, concerts & a lot of other fun stuff when they come around. The big difference from latins & americans & europeans with the exception of maybe italians, is that, we latins tend to keep strong family ties. My brothers & sister we have a common goal to make it together & help each other to make. We are working & studying but our common goal is to have our own family business. So we don't have to slave to nobody else. (reply to this comment)

From WildChild Wednesday, August 25, 2004, 05:14 (Agree/Disagree?) I agree with high-on-high: Strong family ties and common family goals are what give the strength to go on out here!(reply to this comment)

From Ruthie Tuesday, May 11, 2004, 19:32 (Agree/Disagree?) Well, that was probably us because, yes, I had a brother called Sampson (now he goes by his legal name, Oszy). My parents were called Mateo and Crystalite. I was pretty young when we lived in Columbia (about 4-5)... I do know that we lived in Bogota, Medellin, and Menisalis (sp?). Since I was young, I remember only a select number of things from the country.(reply to this comment)

from Ruthie Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 06:42 (Agree/Disagree?) Ok, I can half answer this because I am half Latina. My mom is Dominican and my dad is Caucasian. 1. What are some of the types of jobs and careers fields that ex-cult second generation Latin adults hold? Well, I am a student right now, full-time. I also work as a server part-time. 2. How often do our Latin peers how contact &/or visit current Family members? (f) never… Well, let me partially amend that. My dad used to make us (my siblings and I) all go about once a month to visit. Then I got older and started working on weekends so I stop going. Now, the only person who I ever talk to in TF is my little sister who recently rejoined. 3. How do our Latin peers feel about the Family’s doctrines and leadership? (d) Insincere, ulterior motives, personal/selfish agendas and (e) Dangerous… I think most of TF’s doctrines are false and served Berg’s lust and selfishness. Now they serve Zerby’s agendas. I asked my sister about the questionable doctrines and she said, “Oh, those are in the past.” 4. How do our Latin peers feel about the Family’s members? (a) Sincere, right. (b) Sincere, wrong. (c) Sincere, confused, lost, mislead. (d) Insincere, ulterior motives, personal/selfish agendas. (e) Under aged, do not have a choice (f) Indifferent, prefer to keep the ‘wool over their eyes’ (g) All of the above. Yes, there are some people who genuinely want to serve God and help others. Then they just got caught up in the whole situation. Others (shepherds) like to manipulate people and situations to their advantage. I met one man who would do nothing but travel around and live off people… He eventually left TF to marry a wealthy older woman. And when I would go to visit homes when I was younger, I met many young people (my age) who told me they did not want to be in TF for the rest of their lives. Of course, there are countless others (my father) who still think TF is the best thing next to heaven. 5. Top career field choices: (m) Teacher, counselor, professor/education, intellectual Math teacher to be more specific. I will probably later want to be a counselor. 6. Are you: (a) Single, no kids Not until after I graduate from college! 7. At home, do you primarily speak (c) English Funny thing is… my mom speaks to me often in Spanish and I answer her in English. So now I can understand it very well, but have some trouble speaking (I have an accent and sometimes I can’t think of the most fitting word(s). 8. Do you/are you: Somewhere in between (a) Believe in God? and (d) Not religious but spiritual/believes there is “something out there” greater than us all I do not believe in God in the traditional Christian sense. But I do believe in a transcendental being. One major difference: I don’t think that God is a male because I don’t believe the she/he/it can be assigned a gender (God is transcendental, after all). 9. How do you spend your time off work? (b) outdoor activities/sports & health (e) Internet surfing, research, blogging (f) studying for school/self improvement (g) recreational reading (h) writing (fiction, non fiction, columns, poetry) (i) partying with friends, family & colleagues (j) watch TV (k) watch movies (l) cultural arts (museums, theaters, playhouses) (m) nothing, just chill out When I’m not working/studying/sleeping/eating, I like to do a lot of various things. I like to go to the beach, rollerblade, take fitness classes, or go swimming (on a rare occasion, I play tennis). I am an internet addict also, though. Mostly, I send email, chat, read articles, or post here. I do like to read books although now I mostly read for school. The best one I have read recently: The Da Vinci Code. I recommend that everyone read that book at least once. I do like writing- mostly poetry. TV: I love Court TV, news/political shows, and the Simpsons. Movies: too many. Cultural arts: I like to go to museums and plays every once in a while. There is a museum at my school that I try to go to each time they have a new exhibit (it’s great ’cause it’s free). Poetry readings are also cool. (reply to this comment)

from Aita Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 05:41 (Agree/Disagree?) Ok, I guess I'd be considered as Latin ex-cultie even though my parents are actually Spanish. I lived in SA almost all my time in TF and I left here and work and live here. I have thought many times about going to Europe and settling down there, but the few times I've been there (for visits, vacations, etc.) I haven't really fit in. Not that I feel I fit in here, this country is a mess....in every aspect, but I feel I "know the ropes" here more than anywhere else. 1) What are some of the types of jobs and careers fields that ex-cult second generation Latin adults hold? All kinds, really, just like I would think it is in the US or anywhere else. One thing, though, when you just get out it's very easy to find a good job as an English teacher, or somewhere where they can use your English skills. A lot of my friends started out with that while they studied for something else. 2) How often do our Latin peers how contact &/or visit current Family members? Personally, as little as possible. Unfortunally, where I live it's hard not to run into them every now and then in stop lights or out somwhere. 3) How do our Latin peers feel about the Family’s doctrines and leadership? d. Insincere, ulterior motives, personal/selfish agendas e. Dangerous 4) How do our Latin peers feel about the Family’s members? c. Sincere, confused, lost, mislead d. Insincere, ulterior motives, personal/selfish agendas e. Under aged, do not have a choice 5) Top career field choices: Ok....not sure whether this are MY career choices or just some I've heard people get into herer....just left the ones I know of....there are a few others you didn't mention d. Programmer/technical software e. Web design & administration/Internet g. Servers & Users, ecommerce/tech support m. Teacher, counselor, professor/education, intellectual p. Actor, musician, writer, dancer, model, director, script writer, editor, producer, agent/entertainment, media, celebrity s. Volunteer, NGOs/social causes 6) Are you: b. Single, have kids 7) At home, do you primarily speak a. Spanish 8) Do you/are you: H. Agnostic 9) How do you spend your time off work? b. outdoor activities/sports & health g. recreational reading i. partying with friends, family & colleagues j. watch TV k. watch movies A little about myself: I left with a CLE high school certification. Immediately after leaving I obtained a Translator Certification through Berlitz and was able to get a job as a translator/interpreter in the oil industry here, which has the best paying jobs of the country. Long term I would like to go back to school and study something I actually want, not something I had no choice in, and I just happen to do because it was convenient. Right now my goals are to finish paying the house I'm buying for myself, finish setting up a portfolio for my sons' education and helping my brothers and sisters through school now that they also left TF. (reply to this comment)