Reality of Battle Hits Home

Events over the past weekend have reminded me of just how important it is to speak up on family issues.

Last Saturday night, four women dressed in black came to our family home in South Auckland and placed almost 1,000 plastic knives into our front lawn. They also taped an intimidating note on our front door relating to the knives (anonymous of course!).

I am very thankful that my family and I were in Tauranga over the weekend and my children didn’t stumble across the display. The police have taken away evidence and are testing for fingerprints etc. and our neighbours kindly helped removed the offending items. My neighbours are wondering what sort of friends I have!!

Unfortunately, under the Electoral Finance Act, any material put out by Family First has to have an ‘Authorisation Statement’ which contains the residential address of the person authorising the material. Therefore, because of our VALUE YOUR VOTE campaign, it is fairly easy to figure out where we live.

BUT

… the need to publish important information relating to these family issues and the upcoming General Election is too important to stay silent on. (We are aware of other groups who have had second thoughts on speaking up because of this requirement.)

I knew that ‘speaking out’ would draw criticism and labelling (and we have been certainly called a number of ‘colourful’ terms!) rather than debating the actual issues being raised – but I always hoped that the debate wouldn’t hit home as it has.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS
–
we will not be silenced.

Whenever we speak up on issues like marriage, the breakdown of family, the anti-smacking law and the role of parents, the pornography industry and public nudity, prostitution, pro-life issues including abortion and euthanasia, and many other topics that families are concerned about, we are going to make enemies . I’m the first to admit that we don’t always get it right, but we cannot afford to
walk away from the opportunity. We have to speak up from a family perspective on these crucial issues.

What keeps us going is knowing that there are many many of you who are standing with us on these issues.

Events like this remind me of how much we value your support, words of encouragement (and correction!), financial and moral support, and prayers. (And I would especially ask at this time that you would pray for my family’ protection.)

William Booth – founder of the Salvation Army – said “50 years hence it will matter very little indeed how these people treated us. It will matter a great deal how we dealt with the work of God.”

Once again, thanks for standing with us.

It is your support and encouragement that keeps us going!

Semi RELATED ARTICLE:

John Key got his first taste of what lies ahead on the campaign trail when he received a resounding “booing” over his plans for boot camps. Mr Key was speaking to an initially polite audience at the Every Child Counts annual conference, until he mentioned his policy for “Army-style correction” camps for “wayward youth who are going off the rails”. He was interrupted by a chorus of booing and jeering, which reignited when he tried to claim “they actually do work”. It continued until the Mc, Pio Terei, intervened and asked the audience to listen to his explanation.
The ECC is an umbrella lobby group, generally viewed as sympathetic to Labour, and made up of about 380 organisations involved with children, including Plunket, Unicef, Barnardos and Save the Children. READ MORE

Family First Comment: We are happy to report that there was no such behaviour at the Forum on the Family!! Even last year when Sue Bradford spoke on the anti-smacking law, we didn’t have to tell the audience to “behave”.