When I think back on Teen Training, I consider it to have been an opportunity in my life that few have had a chance to experience, and I personally feel rather privileged to have been one of those who did. For me, Teen Training was a positive, loving, enjoyable experience and I have no complaints whatsoever.

Do I think everything that was done was perfect? No. Do I think there were mistakes made and things that would be done differently today? Sure.

I know there are some who do not look back with good memories on this time—and in fact, have a fair amount of derogatory things to say about their experiences. I cannot speak for them, but bear with me for a moment while I break from my story and philosophize a bit on what comes to mind when I think of Teen Training, or any of our parents' generation's initial attempts to bring up children and teenagers within the structure of our Family missionary movement.

In hindsight, I think that it was not the best to have the younger children involved in that initial teen-training program to the extent that they were, and I believe that all the adults involved would agree with me on that. It wasn't geared toward young children. It was a program for teenagers, and so naturally those who most benefited from it were teenagers, ages 12 and over.

This teen-training program was one of the first endeavors that had been undertaken in Family history to relate to, train, and deal with the inherent problems that teenagers have. And I'm throwing out this question: who has ever gotten everything right the first time they tried something? I never have. In anything new that one attempts, it takes time and trial and error to find out what works and what doesn't, and it's only by persevering that one excels and becomes proficient.

In spite of what those in authority over me may have learned while training me or others of my generation, I feel that I am in a much better position to successfully parent my own daughter through adolescence because of what they have learned and passed on, enabling me to benefit from their experience. I don't have to try the things that they found didn't work. I can stick with what did work and what they learned over the years, and that, coupled with the way we can hear from the Lord about how to specifically apply principles, is a wonderful combination for successful childrearing.

The principles of what we experienced during Teen Training, and the outcomes of other early teen-training programs, were written down and disseminated to be implemented by the parents and shepherds of other teenagers in the Family. When you look over what was written about our Teen Training program, the principles are all there, in particular regarding the balance needed between structure and discipline on one hand and love and faith on the other.

But it's a simple fact of life that it's easier to apply what is black and white. So I believe that in many other teen programs in the Family that consequently followed, the discipline and structure of what we experienced during Teen Training were emulated and improved upon, while the other side of love and demonstrations of faith may not have been emphasized or carried out as much as they should have been.

For instance, it's much easier to institute a demerit chart or discipline specific offences, because those are simple black-and-white situations. Showing unconditional love and manifesting faith in others is much more difficult to do in a tangible way because everyone is different and needs to be treated differently. It won't work to say, "Manifest unconditional love and faith in exactly such-and-such a way." To be successful in this, one must be what we term in the Family being "spirit led" and willing to operate in a given situation according to how God shows is best, and not in a black-and-white manner. This requires courage and confidence. You can't "go by the book" on those kinds of things. If you try, you'll be met with sporadic results at best.

Every child is different, and every teenager is especially unique. One cannot apply a specific principle across the board to a group of children or teenagers, and expect it to be equally successful with everyone. It will work for some, but not for others for the simple reason that everyone is different. This is an example of a situation in which we of the second generation can build upon what the first generation has learned.

Of the four of us girls who underwent Teen Training, two have since chosen other paths in their lives and two remain as members in the Family (Kristy and I). Kristy (Esther) is married to Zeb Geppeto, and lives as a full-time missionary in Mexico. She has seven beautiful children, one of whom has spina bifida. If you would like to see pictures of her beautiful family and/or donate toward the care of her daughter, please check out the following website: http://www.zebtoonz.com/savekika/index.html

I look back at Teen Training as the time when I decided I wanted to be a disciple. Of course, it took many years and many more decisions to bring me to the point where I can fully live the life of a disciple, but it was during Teen Training, when I was 12 years old, that I concluded that the Family was a group worth being a part of. I wanted to be a part of fulfilling the vision Grandpa had for us.

The teen-training experience instilled in me a love for God's Word and a desire to follow it. The classes we received; our Word times every morning with Sara or Richard; the encouragement from Dad; the discipline we got, balanced with Dad's love and faith in us; the experience and the training in the things of the spirit, speaking in tongues, and receiving my first prophecy; learning about the roots of our Family; and seeing Dad's vision for the future of our Family—all that instilled in me a desire to serve God in the Family and to strive to do my best to be the sort of disciple who is willing to continue till death calls me Home or Jesus returns—whichever may come first.

There have been times in my life when I've come to points of decision—decisions of faith, or decisions of discipleship, and at those times, I've thought of the faith that Grandpa showed in us. It has helped me through a lot of decisions that I've had to make. I'm grateful for the love that Grandpa showed me personally. At the time, the Lord was a little too far away for me. I didn't have the connection with the Lord that I have today, and it was Grandpa's love and his faith that were a demonstration to me of the Lord's love. I wanted Grandpa to be proud of me, just like today I want the Lord to be proud of me. I pray daily that I can show the same love and faith in others that has been shown to me, and that I will become a loving sample that can lead others to a closer relationship with Jesus.

Although it's been many years since Grandpa has passed away, I still want him to be proud of me. I want him to be proud of what our Family is becoming. I want him to know that there are many of the second generation of the Family who are committed to being faithful to the training he spent his final years giving us, that there are many who are willing to carry out his vision and become the disciples and miracle-workers in the Endtime that he saw we could become.