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Goodbye Jesus

Why Missions Fail


Sheild Maiden

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I have never been apart of any missions and I did not know anyone other than some fellow church acquaintances, go on missions before. I always wondered why they only focused on orphanages, and how they were always so vague about whether or not they had actually succeeded in what they were doing, or why untrained young people were there to build houses. I also hated the fact that they had to beg money for their trip, which always seemed like a fun vacation for them, while not really doing anything. It's not even like study abroad, because they don't even learn the history of the country, tour around, nor do they seem to even take language lessons, which still shocks me. I remember a few years ago, a woman at my church was going in a mission group to Portugal, and she thought it was in Central/South America, having not even bothered to check that its in Europe!
 
I was wondering if any Christians admitted to this stuff, and as I searched around the internet, I found the fact that a Fundamentalist person posted this accurate critique on a christian fundamentalist forum no less. All of my suspicions about what missionaries actually accomplish has been confirmed by what this woman wrote but everyone who answered just danced around what she said or ignored it entirely, bringing in stuff she didn't even mention. Here is what she posted: http://www.christianforums.com/t7446612-3/
 

 

I have been in missions in Haiti for 14 years, have lived there for extended periods of time and also built up two missions and a school from zero. I've seen a lot of short term missionaries come and go, a lot of well meaning missionaries come in and build up projects that they felt were helping when in truth they were doing more harm than good. Very rarely have I seen people come in and cause a true, positive, lasting change. VERY rarely.

The reasons are plenteous. I have a degree in cultural anthropology with a special emphasis in Haitian studies and Third World development, as well as a doctorate in theology. I'm not saying this to brag - but just to lay out the foundation of where my thoughts and observations come from. As I said, I also have 14 years in and out of the field, on the ground and back in the states in fundraising - in one of the most challenging mission fields in the world: Haiti.

 

That said, here are some of the reasons I see that missions fail.

1. Vague, or non-existent goals. Most missionaries don't know if they're there to preach the gospel or build an economic development project.

2. Ignorance of the people and culture in which they are inculcating themselves. They have no idea what kind of message they are putting across in their dress, attitude, behavior etc... most don't even speak the language!

3. Attitude of superiority. Most assume they are more knowledgeable and more spiritual than the people they are going to help. This is not always the case! Many times people in poor countries have a more intimate relationship with God than the missionaries that go to 'help' them because they have learned to rely on him in ways that the missionaries never shall.

4. And this is a big one: Most missionary projects try to address economic needs without even the most basic understanding of socio-economics. A perfect example of this is what happened to one of the few successful missions I saw in Haiti. A friend of mine had gone into the remote mountains of the central valley in Haiti and built a mission in a village that had lost its means of subsistence when their pigs had all been killed by CDC officers after a swine flu scar. Families were devastated, children were dying and these former pig farmers had no means of survival. The missionary looked around and drew from his knowledge in economic development. He saw there were trees and access to metals needed to make machetes - a tool that every farmer in Haiti uses daily. So he and the men of the village started making machetes and selling them to local farmers.

The village was saved and able to continue building the church and mission!

Not long after, a very large international missionary organization raised a bunch of money to send supplies to Haiti and, not having a clue about socio-economics, they sent a huge shipload of machetes (made in China, no doubt). These machetes arrived in Haiti and flooded the market.

The village was devastated again.

It happens all the time. The hardest battles I have ever fought in missions is trying to get missionary organizations to understand the long term effects of well meaning ignorance. Its a constant battle, any time a mission starts to function well, there is always a bigger, richer, more powerful mission or humanitarian organization ready and willing to come in with something like that shipload of machetes and undermine the kinds of grass roots efforts that really work.

Bottom line: Why are we there? Are we there to teach the gospel or to work in economic development? Orphanages, schools, food supplies, medical missions -- are all making a huge effect on the economy of the communities they move into. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars bringing in teams of volunteers that take jobs from local families. When that money could have easily bought land to attach a community garden to the local church and allow the people to provide their own funds instead of begging for foreign dollars just to survive.

Its so mixed up. Truth is most of us don't even know what mission work even is. One orphanage in Haiti funds itself by functioning as a guest house for foreign missionaries to stay when they are in Haiti. The kids do all the cleaning and such and the missionaries come in and pay the kids $20 a day for translating for them, buy them Nikes and American clothes and then the kids are raised in a style of living they'll never be able to maintain in Haiti. They don't learn to weld or cook rice or do any of the things they could use to survive once they leave the orphanage and so then when they turn 18 and are out in the streets of Haiti on their own they have NO idea how to survive. Almost all of them end up selling drugs in Port-au-Prince or dying in some crime-related violence. They simply have no idea how to survive in their own country because they've been raised as little Americans by the missionaries they've served in this orphanage all their life. I watched one of the young people I loved dearly suffer and die in just this way.

Ignorance. That's the main problem. Pure and simple. People get a feeling that it would be wonderful to go to some exotic, poor country and be a missionary and so they run off and go without a clue what they're getting into, what they're going to do, what is needed and what is not... most can't even speak the language of the people they're going to "help."

Now that's just a few things I could offer in the way of reasons why missions are not successful.

 

Do you guys think the Christians will ever give this stuff up? It ruins these local economies, pisses off the locals because the American people have no better sense of culture or history of these people. They are even going to Christian countries to just change their Christian sect to another sect of Christianity when that countries's sect of Christianity is hundreds of years older than these idiot missionaries even realize! These missionaries are basically living off of other hard-working people effectively for years and once I deconverted, this issue pissed me off so much and still does. The fact that she admitted the truth made me happy that they were failing in their mission but when will they finally admit defeat and stop doing it? Will they ever do that?

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I also hated the fact that they had to beg money for their trip, which always seemed like a fun vacation for them,

 

 

I think this about sums up the mission trips churches organize.  When I was in high school and for a couple years after I graduated, I went to Mexicali, Mexico with my youth group.  We had a blast, but I don't know that we accomplished anything but self-entertainment.  There were thousands of us camping in tents in the middle of a converted farm field.  During the day, we all broke off in groups and went to local churches to try and evangelize the kids.  We had a lot of fun meeting the kids, playing soccer with them and getting to know them.  I really loved those kids and as for me, it had a big impact on my future desire to travel and see the world, which I've largely devoted my adult life to and continue until this day.

 

But, we didn't feed the hungry, build anything or do anything that could have any kind of impact on the local people.  I think it might have a net positive on the xians who do these trips as it gives them at least some exposure to the world and new cultures, which has the potential to broaden perspectives.  Beyond that, I'm not sure these trips have value. 

 

It takes an incredible level of hubris and a sense of American exceptionalism to think they have something to offer; especially when they go to places like Mexico and SA in an attempt to convert the Catholics to Protestantism. 

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They say the road too hell is paved with good intentions.

 

Perhaps that phrase is derived from christian missions?

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...because there is no god?

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It's the Christian version of Slum Tourism. 

 

I had an experience much like Vigile's only it was a smaller youth group. We helped dig a well for a family, and roofed a house. That's about it though. We basically played soccer all day, and visited the trinket shops in the evening to buy cheap knockoff sunglasses and t-shirts. We didn't really make much of an impact, in my opinion. In fact, it probably would have been better to take all the money we raised for the trip and use it to pay local handymen to dig the well and roof the house. 

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I recently watched a film called "God Loves Uganda" that profiled a large missionary group from the IHOP (megachurch in the Kansas City area) and their activity in Uganda. It deals with some ugly shit, anti-gay propaganda and shyster evangelism. It's a good albeit gritty look at what most missions actually are.

 

Here's a trailer.

 

 

The film is available on Netflix Streaming US.

 

---------

 

My former church was involved in a lot missions work. They did local missions in a shit neighborhood where most of the people spoke Spanish. We did a lot of work with Habitat for Humanity and various other local groups. However, we raised money for several missions in various parts of the world.

 

Israel was the big 'un for us Messianics. We supported several outreach groups and a church there. We also sponsored well digs in several areas and a school in the Phillipines. The youth group went on trips to South America and India. Multi-week tours in which they were schlepped around in private vans, stayed in hostels and hotels, and spent most of their time taking pictures to upload to Twitter and Facebook when they got to a wifi signal.

 

I can't say anything negative about them, but looking back, I see that missions work is generally a bunch of bullshit. Missions are usually a way for whitebread American Christians to feel like they've really done something for Christ, really earned His favor. Some of them really lose their shit, like the girl who write a memoir of her time in Uganda called "Kisses From Katie". (Something like that. Decent book, but man....)

 

Spreading the message of Christ and His love is a fucking joke anyway, IMO. God doesn't love anyone except himself.

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Missions are usually a way for whitebread American Christians to feel like they've really done something for Christ, really earned His favor.

 

Doing missions trips serves the person who takes the trip more than the people who "benefit" from it. One of the key beliefs that plays into it is the whole altruism aspect where people who are more fortunate slum it up and attend to the less fortunate. Americans are "blessed" and because of the whole "to whom much is given, much is required" belief that most Christians share, they feel this need to be giving to others in poor countries. As the post in the OP indicated, most short term missionaries pay no attention to the impact that their visit makes on the city or country, they only view their altruistic behavior and the good feelings they get by "making a difference in the world for Christ".

 

I agree with brother Josh in that the money raised for the trips and the related expenses would be better served by paying the people in their own community to fix things and help in that capacity. But that takes away the changes in the lives of the people who go on the trips and how they help others "experience the love of Christ". I really like how the lady in the article indicated that in many cases the "missionaries" think they are more spiritual than the people they are helping. This is definitely true of typical human behavior.

 

Its sad to think that people put more value on going to a whole other country, spend a short amount of time living like a super spiritual person, and then they come home and live their fake, happy, façade of a Christian life and make no impact in their own communities and where they work. Which is ironic, because Jesus made the onus on making disciples of men from their neighbors and those close to them.

 

A prophet is not accepted in his own country. This is still true today. Christians have to visit other poor countries to show how much god has blessed them and because they have favor with god, they should have a voice in a place where they really have no business being.

 

Confirmation bias really comes into play here. They perceive that they are making a difference, but the reality is that they are only meeting a personal, psychological need for themselves.

 

Such a shame. Another one of the joys of brainwashing.

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Americans are "blessed" and because of the whole "to whom much is given, much is required" belief that most Christians share, they feel this need to be giving to others in poor countries. As the post in the OP indicated, most short term missionaries pay no attention to the impact that their visit makes on the city or country, they only view their altruistic behavior and the good feelings they get by "making a difference in the world for Christ".

 

I remember feeling completely disillusioned with my church when I returned from Mexico.  In Mexico, we helped out at a cinder block church, with a dirt floor.  It was the only 'real' structure in the neighborhood, which had (we were told) 100,000 people in it, most living in huts erected from discarded pieces of plywood and packing crates.  My church back home was a multi million dollar place with fountains, a massive brass organ system and theater seats.  The kids in Mexico were so grateful for any attention we gave them, while the kids in my church were spoiled little shits.  It's a wonder I didn't deconvert on the spot. 

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Americans are "blessed" and because of the whole "to whom much is given, much is required" belief that most Christians share, they feel this need to be giving to others in poor countries. As the post in the OP indicated, most short term missionaries pay no attention to the impact that their visit makes on the city or country, they only view their altruistic behavior and the good feelings they get by "making a difference in the world for Christ".

 

I remember feeling completely disillusioned with my church when I returned from Mexico.  In Mexico, we helped out at a cinder block church, with a dirt floor.  It was the only 'real' structure in the neighborhood, which had (we were told) 100,000 people in it, most living in huts erected from discarded pieces of plywood and packing crates.  My church back home was a multi million dollar place with fountains, a massive brass organ system and theater seats.  The kids in Mexico were so grateful for any attention we gave them, while the kids in my church were spoiled little shits.  It's a wonder I didn't deconvert on the spot. 

 

 

Poor in America and Poor in a third world country are two entirely different things. Most American's have absolutely no idea the level of disparity.

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Wow, thanks for sharing everyone. It is eye-opening how clueless Americans are about real poverty and other cultures in the world.

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Americans are "blessed" and because of the whole "to whom much is given, much is required" belief that most Christians share, they feel this need to be giving to others in poor countries. As the post in the OP indicated, most short term missionaries pay no attention to the impact that their visit makes on the city or country, they only view their altruistic behavior and the good feelings they get by "making a difference in the world for Christ".

 

I remember feeling completely disillusioned with my church when I returned from Mexico.  In Mexico, we helped out at a cinder block church, with a dirt floor.  It was the only 'real' structure in the neighborhood, which had (we were told) 100,000 people in it, most living in huts erected from discarded pieces of plywood and packing crates.  My church back home was a multi million dollar place with fountains, a massive brass organ system and theater seats.  The kids in Mexico were so grateful for any attention we gave them, while the kids in my church were spoiled little shits.  It's a wonder I didn't deconvert on the spot. 

 

I had a similar experience in Venezuela.

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I went on a short term mission trip to Panama. My group was there to help pastors build up their churches. We broke off into pairs and went with a pastor to his/her home area and went door to door proselytizing to people in the neighborhood. We actually worked really hard and it was quite tiring. The most eye-opening thing for me was seeing a really sick old man who was dying and very thin. He couldn't get out of the bed and he looked like a skeleton. He was prayed over and that was it. Overall I did enjoy meeting the people there, and I tried to learn some culture and practice speaking Spanish, but now when I think back on it my insides squirm a little. I just can't believe I did that. I told a crying woman than Jesus is the rock in our hard times in broken Spanish. Going door to door was actually pretty hard for me because I'm very shy, and now I just feel shame that I shared lies with people. Vulnerable, poor, stressed people. I kept in touch with the pastor's family and the translator for several years and they were always so grateful and asking when I'll come back. After a while I started falling out of Christianity and didn't know how to maintain that friendship. When I came back to my church from that mission the popular girls in my church were being glorified on stage for their more popular mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where most of the in crowd in the youth group went for their mission trip. It was so stupid. Like a mission trip pageant or something. I felt really disgusted watching one girl crying and being emotional, sharing her cheesy story of god touching her through some child on the stage. Then I realized that people go on mission trips for show, and relatives support them so they can brag about their child/niece/nephew/grand baby saving the world for jebus. Ew.

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That trailer was terrifying, but I'll definitely watch that movie, it looks really interesting. 

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My girlfriend has a cousin who went on a mission trip to Hawaii...I'm 100% serious. 

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My girlfriend has a cousin who went on a mission trip to Hawaii...I'm 100% serious.

 

While they were there, did they at least make a good poi?
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I love poi :)

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Wow, thanks for sharing everyone. It is eye-opening how clueless Americans are about real poverty and other cultures in the world.

 

We are not all as clueless as you think.

 

I hear this a lot and many Americans are but it is not indicitive of the whole considering the whole consists of many people from those third world places as well. To generalize that the most diverse nation on earth is full of nothing but rich assholes is so far from true it is sickening.

 

There is a ton of money in America but I know people personally that are starving and if I could do more I would. I give everything I can away but should I also give my last can of soup and not pay my rent and become homeless to send it to a third world country?

 

I find it disgusting that so many Americans give so little time and effort to the rest of the world. I also find it disgusting that I get lumped in with them and I have a tiny fraction of what they have and work much harder. No it is not like living in the third world but then I was born here I didn't ask for this and I am making the best of it just as you or anyone of the them would do in the same place.

 

Comparing the US to a third world country is like comparing an apple to a tiger.

 

I want my government to stop sending soldier all over the place and send more food and clothing and education to those that desperatly need it but no matter how loud I cry for this no matter how many I talk to about it nothign ever seems to change here. I get ignored and the greedy here just get greedier. I can't imaging that is it any different in the euro zone or down under. You have greedy people giving people and needy people all over the planet. Maybe if we can stop looking at all those lines on maps and start seeing the faces of our brothers and sisters instead we all would do better at helping each other no matter what the need.

 

Blame doesn't help solve problems. Ideas do.

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New Zealanders and Australians go on mission trips all over the world but mostly to Africa and South East Asia.  The places we should give money to are in fact the many Pacific Islands, some of which were quasi-colonised by New Zealand until fairly recently.  Most Pacific Islanders live in NZ in fact, in some of our poorest communities.  These ethnic groups are also the most religious groups in our society, a frequent correlation.  The kind of attitudes talked about in this thread are not just prevalent in the USA, they are everywhere religion meets relative wealth.

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Wow how true. I went as a translator on a couple trips to Mexico when in high school back in the 80s for my parents' Presbyterian church. To those people's credit, they really tried to impress cultural sensitivity into us. But I'm justifiably chagrined at the whole mess, and even secretly was for the last 20 years of my Xianity insanity. Cultural anthropology in college was part of what turned me on to what a rigged game it all is. That and a good dose of microeconomics.

What little dipshits me and a few others were, eagerly digging out trenches and laying brick, being magnanimous about how we were actually doing something constructive unlike those spiritual chicks standing around talking to people. Yeah? Whose job did we co-opt? Whose house was subsequently boarded up by the local screws, b/c they now couldn't pay the rent? Praise Jebus, or more aptly put, Jebus preys ...

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Can't complain at all about "mission trips". Made some damn good coinage helping pull missionaries asses and chestnuts out of the various fires they would light.

 

Nothing like being sent to various places to ransom of take back by whatever force necessary to bring gawHd-struck idiots back, or their bodies back to civilization 101.

 

Glad a youngin' my Old Man never stayed long enough at any house of religious preferences to get me interested in a trip for jeebebus.

 

kL

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I visited a mission to the remnants of the Aztecs in Mexico. The Indians (Nahuatl) are treated like shit by the Mexicans, so they largely live a hand to mouth life. The missionaries I visited try to live as lowly as they can and by the cultural rules of the Indians, which are pretty strict. They go out of their way to not offend the locals, and respect is not something the Indians are used to receiving, so these missionaries are somewhat successful in winning converts. They keep things simple and don't try to give the locals much in the way of stuff. They preach and preach and preach, and do unusual things like laying hands on the dead. The locals won't touch them while they do this, due to cultural rules.

 

These guys seemed to me to be the real deal. Going to the least of these and laying down their lives. The reason I got involved with them was that the leader claims zillions of miracles, as do the other workers, including several people raised from the dead. I watched a set of videos of them "Faith to Raise the Dead", and they seemed legit (to a Christian who was looking for the power of God, and was tired of rich name-it-and-claim-it shit). They are very basic Southern USA people, and are led by a guy that is very charismatic personally and religiously. I promoted them with a website and through distributing his preaching for nine years. I experienced things in services with this guy that I had not ever encountered previously, and that kept me going even when I saw things that made me wonder about the cultic nature of their group. I defended him against several people online, and had all the biblical proofs needed for believing what he preached and which backed up the incredible stories of miracles he tells. But then one day I caught him fabricating a whole incident... blam! My whole world shook and that began a year of questioning that led to my deconversion.

 

So this mission is, in my opinion, a bible-based cult. They are successful because they are really committed, and treat the locals with respect. They don't diverge from their single-minded approach. The police treat them well because they see that they treat the locals well, and aren't exploiting anyone. They get a lot of money by preaching in American churches and people are more than willing to pour in money and not go themselves. They eat up the talk of the power of God, and try to locally emulate the same behaviors. Most believers are not willing to question the claims of miracles, so they glide along.

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in my really old church, it was a competition. You wouldn't believe what that Assembly of God church did:

 

It had missionary trading cards.

 

That's right. It was all the missionaries in my old church on trading cards; they gave out prizes for that shit, IIRC. Fucked up, ain' it?

 

Like terr'st trading cards.  Sounds about right. 

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But then one day I caught him fabricating a whole incident... blam! My whole world shook and that began a year of questioning that led to my deconversion.

Fuego, have you described the fabrication on another thread? If not, can you do so, and if so, can you link the post? Since my nephew is in a "spiritual ministry" where they claim constant miracles, I would like to know how miracles can be fabricated. Tx

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In this guy's case, he relies on a combination of factors. Usually, churches do not follow-up to fact check claims of miracles. He can relate a story of a girl born without bones in her body, spend 30 minutes describing in detail the events surrounding the miracle, then show a picture of a normal Indian girl and claim, "This is her". Everyone oohs and aahs, but all he really did was show a picture of a girl and make some claims. He has claimed that his truck ran under water while he drove under a river because Jesus wanted him across the river. He claims that he accidentally drove his motorcycle off a cliff in a remote area and was "translated" so that he was suddenly 30 miles away and driving safely home.

 

I had people sending me videos and audios of him preaching all over the world. I would record just the audio and post it to the website I had created on his behalf (if the Internet Wayback Machine is working today, look up fuegodedios.com, which stands for "Fire of God", one of his pet sayings, and hence my avatar and pseudonym for this forum). I also sent out CDs with hundreds of hours of his preaching in MP3 format. So one Saturday morning, I watched a series of videotapes I had been sent from Germany. Standard stuff for his preaching, which is mostly relating stories of miracles with a few Bible verses thrown in. His translator had a few issues keeping up with him. He has a Louisiana accent and many foreigners have trouble with that. I could see that he was frustrated with the translator a few times, but that was it.

 

I went on to a video I was sent from a smaller church in America after he returned from Germany. He related that a large coven of witches attended his preaching in Germany to confront the power of Jesus with their own. He described how the female leader had things woven into her hair, and had a smug attitude. He said he ignored them until his translator started having trouble talking, which he attributes to witchcraft. He then decides that this is the right time to battle and says he jumped down from the platform and faces off with the witch. He says that she stood and faced him and that there was a spiritual battle where they both shook violently and that she was then thrown across the room into the large glass doors of the church auditorium and is knocked out with all of her followers. He says that later, she and her followers came crawling up during prayer time and they all got born again. The church ate this up. I sat there stunned because I had just watched the events from Germany and nothing like that happened. His imagination took his translator's difficulty and transformed it into a huge event battling witchcraft, which charismatic Christians all believe in strongly.

 

That was the lowdown of the event. I called my friend in Idaho who distributed this man's preaching also. He said that they had caught him earlier saying that miracles had happened at the event we had in Salmon, Idaho, but that none of us had seen anything. This showed me that the preacher has a pattern of making things up. His men, who I expected to be a check and balance, only ever agree with him. This is standard stuff for cults, and they are very strict about who is in charge there. So that is how miracles can be fabricated. He reduces everything to storytelling, and is such a believable country-style preacher (who is also really intelligent and clever) that he is able to keep his ministry funded. Now how he keeps the locals duped is simply how most churches keep their pews filled with people giving tithes and not questioning. The carrot and stick of Christian faith is all that is needed for that.

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Thank you for recounting those events, Fuego. How sad, and how crooked.

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