Hi AY Family,

DISCLAIMER: I know about the different phases of cover-up culture from personal experience. Cover-up culture is not only happening in the Sunday Christian churches, but it's also happening in the Seventh-day Adventist churches.

When I was at a non-denominational Sunday Church, I was always supervised around an adult male there who was a member of that church.

     He always treated me as his favorite and made me laugh especially when he greeted me.

     However, when I was 12 years old, we were alone even though we were in the public space and this time, it was not funny because after that same person asked me if I had any money in my pockets and I immediately told him "No", he still grabbed my legs and held me upside down shaking me up and down the entire time.

     Only God knows how long I was in that position for, but he never put me back on my feet.

     When my dad saw what was happening, he put me back on my feet and even though I never saw the church member ever again after that for the next two years, which were the last two years I was there, I was so scared to go back there after that.

     From when the incident happened, two things happened.

     The first thing that happened was that from that time to when I was 14 years old, every time we went to the botanical garden, I would have a headache and stomachache at the same time, and at the time, I could not understand what was happening and I did not feel better until I permanently left that church.

     The second thing that happened was that from that time to when I was 15 years old, I did not want anyone to touch me.

Sincerely,

Samuel Reid