Shortly after the Valentines dinner, I went to a friend and expressed my deep hurt in the fact that the church had hosted this dinner and that she and her husband had attended the event. I went on to express that I would expect people in the church to be literally praying with us or the Rojas family (at this point we had no idea that Eddie and Kathy Rojas were involved nor did we have any idea of how deviant Patrick was.) It was not a time for status quo.
Right after this conversation, my friend started orchestrating a prayer time for us. We were willing to show up for this, but didn't want the Rojas family there. While we didn't have specific information at this point, we sensed something wasn't right. It appeared they were in support of Patrick hiring an attorney.
Eric expressed this concern with our elder, Jim Cameron. Jim stated that Eddie and Kathy Rojas hadn't done anything wrong and made it clear they would be at the prayer time for our family. Jim also stated that if we didn't attend this prayer time, we were letting satan win and missing out on what God had for us. A couple came over and pleaded for us to attend this prayer time. They felt it was vital for the congregation to see that we were devastated and broken--not angry and bitter (as some had said.)
We showed up at the church against our better judgment. We brought a couple that did not attend that church to help filter what was happening.
The meeting started out being more of a question-and-answer time directed by Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto. Eddie and Kathy Rojas sat quietly in the front row. We were asked how we would like the congregation to pray for us. We took that time to remind those in attendance that we had always been willing to talk to anyone who had questions. We stayed where we were seated while the prayers began. Dave Barrueto ended the prayer time with a prayer for Patrick. I couldn't barely stand it. I was sickened by that. Pray for Patrick--fine, but don't do it in my presence! Not now. This was another moment that was written off by most as, "Oh, this was just an innocent mistake." It wasn't simply a mistake! It was rude and insensitive! It was purposeful!
The meeting started out being more of a question-and-answer time directed by Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto. Eddie and Kathy Rojas sat quietly in the front row. We were asked how we would like the congregation to pray for us. We took that time to remind those in attendance that we had always been willing to talk to anyone who had questions. We stayed where we were seated while the prayers began. Dave Barrueto ended the prayer time with a prayer for Patrick. I couldn't barely stand it. I was sickened by that. Pray for Patrick--fine, but don't do it in my presence! Not now. This was another moment that was written off by most as, "Oh, this was just an innocent mistake." It wasn't simply a mistake! It was rude and insensitive! It was purposeful!
This was the last time we attended that church, but it took another devastating interaction with Patrick, the Rojas family, and the elders before we had the strength to actually officially leave the church.
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