My Sisters

For a while, I've wanted to dedicate a post to Sydney and Dani, my little sisters who aren't so little anymore. I think that there couldn't be a better time than the Holidays to do this. I'm going to write about who these girls are: their hobbies, their dreams, their goals, their fears. I'm going to write about them in a way that will portray them as the remarkable young women they are, instead of mere faces plastered to a flyer.

Syd is the second oldest to myself. She has a remarkable ability to round up people around her. She has a sense of genius sarcasm, and uses it in such a way that never offends her peers, but brings them together in many hours of fun and laughter. Syd also has a gentle, caring side to her which she uses to bring the spirit of peace into the lives of those she associates with. She has a marvelous poetic gift, and expresses herself through writing when she can. She has a high sense of fashion. She is absolutely gorgeous naturally, and I believe it is because you can see straight through to her stunning inner beauty as well as outer. Sydney has an exceptionally strong testimony. She may outwardly seem shy to some, but she is fierce in defending what is right. She has an innate sense of wisdom for her age--she has always seen a deeper side to life. She has always been great at making close friends that last, and she chooses those select people carefully.

Dani is the younger sister of the two. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. Dani's developed into a fine young lady, with amazing homemaking skills. She's better than me in the kitchen... and I've just learned to accept that! Even at her young age, I can see wonderful hints of what an outstanding mother she will be. She is also the family 'techy.' If Syd or I don't know how to work a new item, we'll call for Dani. Dani possesses this amazing ability to love all mankind. She's not naive: she exercises her love with caution. But she could fill all of the Pacific Ocean with her tender care. She loves people, as I do, and I could see her becoming a great many things in adulthood. Dani possesses a kind soul unlike any other, and she is constantly looking for ways to serve others, even within the walls of her own home. She has a gift for making many friends wherever she goes.

All of my sisters have a great sense of humor (that I just didn't seem to inherit) and outstanding artistic abilities. I'm so pleased that we all share the love of art together: it's a similar interest that binds us. They/we also love music and have all been blessed to have had a mother who was able to teach us piano when we were young. I can't wait to see what each of my sisters become in their lives. I love them so much. Syd and Dani are so different, yet so alike. They are smart girls. They are able to assess and understand situations way beyond what most kids their age could. They have experienced so much pain at such young ages, and yet they have risen above it and become stronger through it. I know they have yearned to be heard for so long.

You won't hear any of this from my dad's followers, because they don't know these amazing girls. They don't know that Sydney has a phobia of cold feet, and they don't know that Dani used to hate any food that was green. They don't know that Sydney wants to be an engineer, and Dani secretly wants to be an actress.

Dad's supporters don't know the hours I've spent trying to calm Sydney as she sobbed from the pain my dad caused her from feeding her gluten and emotionally shredding her through endless abusive lectures, all the while trying to hold back my own tears as I tell her that, "One day this will be over," even though I didn't see a way it would end. They don't know the years I watched Dani fight to hold in all the pain to appear strong, yet collapsing on the inside until she began falling into depression (which she had to keep from our dad who demanded we appear happy at all times).

Dad's supporters don't know how many tears my sisters have shed alone, because
they weren't allowed to express how they felt, because Dad would never let them appear sad or they'd be punished. These people who claim so many things against me and my sisters obviously have absolutely no idea of who these girls are and what they have been forced to endure at the hands of our father.

Something else my dad's supporters don't begin to understand: I love my sisters more than my life. I wish every day that they could have escaped first--that I could have been the one to stay behind. The reason I moved out was because they wanted me to help them get out, and I will continue to fight with all the strength I possess for them to have the protection they deserve in a permanent, safe environment.

My dad claims, "Sydney and Dani aren't the type of girls to run away." You're right, dad! They aren't. They've dreamed of running for years and years--we all did. And yet, they didn't run years ago like they wished. I watched as they fought to be strong and endure it all. I know that they would not have run without absolutely being pushed to their limits.

A note to my father: I've watched the videos. I've read the flyers. I've seen what you've posted. I can tell, by the way people in your communities from Pleasant Grove and Kansas are crying and begging the girls to show up, that they don't know the full story. Why do you continue to play these poor people? And why, if you claim you love all of your daughters, do you allow your staunch supporters to bash me relentlessly and viciously? I know you won't come out with the truth, because you have never accepted accountability for your actions to us in the past--but why not seek a safe haven for your daughters now? Why not try to build the possibility of a true relationship with them, instead of continuing to force contact that you know they will struggle against? 

They are going to be legal adults in a few short years. That is inevitable. Look at how you are treating them like property you own, rather than human beings with agency, and it might help you realize how this will end if you continue to do so. You seek for them to stay in hiding so you can continue to look like a persecuted victim to others. Know this: I will continue to speak up about what my sisters ran from while you force them to remain hidden. You first forced them to run by avoiding facing them in court on a technicality, by fighting to get their TRO vacated, and by twice moving to remove their appointment of their own GAL. You fought from the start to get them returned to your house behind closed doors after they dared tell on you. Since they ran, you have also forced them to remain hidden by failing to offer them safe asylum, by failing to move the court to order them a safe living situation while proper authorities hear them, and by fighting to have our petition dismissed on another lame technicality. 

You obviously need them to remain hidden and unable to speak about your abuse. I notice that no matter how many times people suggest that you wield the power you've had all along to move the court to order them a safe living situation where they can get help, you refuse to do so. It seems obvious that only an abuser would refrain from offering this safety to his daughters he claims to love. None of this would have been necessary if you had simply met us in court and discussed the allegations like any innocent person would have done without fear, instead of hiding behind technicalities to avoid being outed as the abuser that you are.

I pray that everyone getting involved with my family's case will look at my sisters' side of the situation. We are telling the truth about our dad's abuse. As a note to my dad's supporters: Your support of my abusive dad only makes my dad more bold. The girls don't deserve to be living like they are, and they need to come out. Look at the reasons why they ran. They ran to escape our dad! Believe them. Calling them 'coached' is just as painful as calling me 'coached.' You are calling us liars and discounting our very real experience. You are claiming to be advocates for abused children while helping their abuser find them for him. My sisters spoke up the first chance they got, and they were not protected by the court. Dr. Hyde knows they were abused. I know they were. I have lived it. I am a personal witness to everything I write here. I am describing it for you the best I can, so please listen. I am deeply worried for the safety of my sisters. You are giving courage to an abuser. There are real lives at stake.

Please help my sisters.