In My Mother’s Honor written by Miranda Rhuda for Joyce Darlene Patterson

March 4, 2009 by misswriter415

In My Mother’s Honor

 

Written by Miranda Rhuda

 

Joyce Darlene Patterson

 

White Tanks Cemetery, Maricopa County, Arizona

When I found out that my mother was buried at White Tanks Cemetery in Maricopa County, I looked it up on the internet to find out more details. The things that I read were devastating for me.

 

More than one article that I read talked about how depressing and dismal it was. It was described as a simple piece of desert land that is called a cemetery, but looks more like a parking lot. Grave markers can be mistaken for survey markers.

 

I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to believe that my mother would be stuck in a depressing dismal place like that, after she had lived most of her life on earth depressed. So I asked my friend Jeff Knapp from Tempe, Arizona, to take a trip down to my mother’s burial site and photograph the trip for me. I needed to see for myself exactly what it looked like.

 

These are the photos of the trip to my mother’s resting place that I received today.

 

Welcome to White Tanks Cemetery.

 

A piece of dirt way out in the middle of nowhere. This is where they stick people in the ground and call it a cemetery. I really feel that burying my mother in my backyard would have given her life of hardships more honor than this!

 

If the Public Fiduciary’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona, had just put a little more effort in to finding next of kin, my mother would not be in this dreaded awful place.

 

I would have done anything to come up with the money to give my mother the proper burial that she deserved.

 

When I spoke to the Public Fiduciary, I asked him if nothing else, if I could just buy a simple flat granite marker for my mother’s grave with her name and the word MOTHER scripted on it. His reply was, “No, you can not. You can’t change the NATURE of the cemetery.”

 

This photo proves that this statement is correct. They even have a sign posted at the cemetery that states “NO PRIVATE MARKERS.”

 

I don’t understand it. They want this place to be depressing and dishonorable? They want to keep it so that it is undesirable to visit? It is supposed to look life a piece of land with survey markers? Unbelievable!

 

How many other people, like my mother, are buried in this cemetery for the “unclaimed” with “no next of kin” that actually have family who have been looking for them? I spent 12 years searching for her, trying to get public officials to help me in getting her the mental help that she needed. Only to find out that she died and was buried exactly as everyone had treated her, as a throw away!

 

If I want to pay $500 round trip ticket to fly from Ohio to Arizona, to visit my mother’s burial place, this cozy $45 bench is where I can sit and stare at the post in the ground that represents my mother (her marker is in the bottom left corner with roses lying next to it).

 

This is not acceptable to me and I am not going to pay to fly down and visit this terrible dreadful place where my mother does not belong.

 

So today, my friend went there for me and took roses as I had requested to lay on my mother’s grave.

 

When he got there, he called me and said, “Miranda, I am standing next your mother’s plot, is there anything you would like to say to her?”

 

I choked up and replied, “I love you Mom. I miss you like crazy and I promise that I will bring you home whatever it takes!”

 

Jeff said a prayer for us, laid the roses next to my mother’s marker and that was it! This is the only visitor that she has had and as far as I am concerned, the only one that she will ever have at that place!

 

I will fight in my mother’s honor to bring her home, no matter what it takes! This brass marker with her name and date of death on it does not say that she was a 51 year old mother of two daughters. It does not say that she is the sister of six siblings. It does not say that she was loved by anyone. It is just a piece of brass that says there was a body that was labeled with this name, placed in this spot in the ground on this date!

 

 

I can’t help but wonder how many other people have been buried in this cemetery, that like my mom, had family somewhere that were searching for them.

 

Someone has to stand up for these people… They are not disposable throw-aways! They were human beings that had stories to share, just as anyone else. The stand will start today, with me, in my mother’s honor! I will make it my personal goal to bring some sort of justice to these deceased and their final resting arrangements!

In My Mother’s Honor – Joyce Darlene Patterson, March 1, 2007

March 3, 2009 by misswriter415

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you in good faith that you will be able to help me with a very serious ordeal that is greatly impacting my family.

My mother, Joyce Darlene Patterson, went missing from Ohio in 1996. I was only 13 years old at the time. My mother had a long history of alcoholism and mental illness, so for everyone else in the family it was not a big deal. However, I knew that my mother would not just abandon me and that something was very wrong. I attempted to make a missing persons report here in Ohio, but could not because I was underage.

In 1997, my mother called her sister Barb and quietly whispered on the phone that she was being held captive by a religious cult in Phoenix Arizona. My Aunt Bobbie did not know what to think, due to my mother’s prior mental status and did not know where to go with the information. She did not want to make a fool out of herself.

Upon hearing of the information, I contacted Phoenix Police and requested to speak to a detective in regards to my mother. I was told that because I was underage and there were no facts to base the claim, there was nothing that they could do to assist me.

I did not give up. Since the authorities would not help me, I went about writing letters to TV shows, news stations and the social security administration. In 1999, my mother called me from Phoenix and confirmed that the story of the cult was indeed true, but that the women of the establishment had released her. She told me that she had struggled through the last year, been very depressed, gotten mixed up in a bad relationship with domestic violence and had tried to commit suicide more than once. She gave me her phone number to call her back, but when I did, she was not there. The man who owned the house, Norman Weisenberger, informed me that my mother had all of a sudden acted very crazy one evening and said some terrible things to him. He took her the following day and dropped her off at some church in downtown Phoenix. He was unable to give me the location or the name of the church.

Following this information, I again attempted to contact the Phoenix Police Department via letter to relay my concern for my mother’s well being. I received a letter back stating that they had received my correspondence and that they were unable to assist me.

At this point, I had no idea what else I could do. I was only 16 years-old at the time. My father, who had been divorced from my mother, had no interest in finding her and did not care that she was gone. Her alcoholism and mental illness had burnt him out years prior, like so many others who knew her.

I waited until 2001, when I turned 18, to attempt to contact the Phoenix Police again via phone. They again told me that they could not help me because my mother was not missing. They said that they had contact with her, but could not declare to me by what means. I tried again to explain to them my concern about her mental stability, to no avail.

In 2004, I really amped up the search for my mom. I found records online matching her name and date of birth on the Phoenix Police public records. They were for minor violations, but I took a gamble and called the public records division. I explained my situation to the woman on the phone and then asked if she could provide me with the address that was on the records. She informed me that my mother was listed as “transient” meaning homeless.

From there I began calling all of the homeless shelters that I could find in Phoenix. All of them gave me fax numbers to send her flyer, but informed me that they could not give me any information about her. I was told that they would post the information, in hopes that she would see that someone was looking for her.

I continued to seek assistance from the public and organizations down there from 2004 through 2008. I took to posting every where I could on the internet about my mother’s situation. In 2008, I met a man who took photographs of homeless persons in Phoenix and he elected to assist me in the search for my mother. We sent letters out to all of the public officials that we could find addresses on.

Finally, after many years of persistency, Phoenix Police Department sent me a letter in September of 2008, stating that they would forward my information on to the Missing Persons Detail. November 14, 2008, I received an e-mail from Detective Eric Cosgriff of the Phoenix Police Missing Persons Unit stating that he had opened a case on my mother because the police had no contact with her since March 14, 2007. Her flyer was issued and her date last seen was listed as March 14, 2007. Although that was not true, the last time she was seen by her family was July 19, 1996.

In the months following the Missing Persons Case being opened on my mother, I wrote Det. Cosgriff requesting information on his efforts to find my mother. He told me that he was exerting databases and that it was possible that she was not even in the state anymore and that once again, even if he found her, he could not give me her location only let me know that she was alive. I did not understand this because it stated right on her missing person flyer that she has a past of mental illness (multiple personality disorder).

I was not satisfied with the efforts made by Detective Cosgriff or his smugness about my mother’s case. He kept reiterating that she may just not wish to have contact with me. I did not believe this and wanted to pursue other avenues. Upon doing so, I met a man named Kelly Snyder, a private investigator in Phoenix who specializes in Missing Person Cases.

I gave him the information about my mother and in two days he was able to call me back to report that she had passed away on March 1st, 2007. I ask him to please reconfirm because Phoenix Police were listing her last contact with them as March 14th, 2007. How did they arrest her on the 14th if she died on the 1st? How do I know that the body buried was really hers? They have enough information to assure me that it is, but not enough to confirm her next of kin?

Why did I have to wait from November when Phoenix Police opened the case until someone else found her record at the coroner’s office in February, to find out she was deceased? Obviously the detective in charge of her case was not doing his job or did not know how to do it.

I reported the information found by Kelly, to Detective Cosgriff, and he confirmed my mother’s date of death and provided me with the contact information of the funeral home that took care of my mother’s arrangements. Harper Funeral Home was very cooperative in assisting me with the information that I needed. They confirmed my mother’s date of birth, which was off by one digit on the year, her place of birth and her social security number. Then they gave me the name of the place where she was buried and the location, White Tanks Cemetery.

Planning a trip to Phoenix, to pay my respects to my mother, I researched the location of White Tanks Cemetery and what I found next was VERY upsetting. White Tanks Cemetery is a depressing piece of desert land way out in “nowhereville” where Joe Arpaio’s chain gang buries indigents every Thursday. This is the cemetery for Jane and John Does, the cemetery for people who were not claimed at the time of their death.

Now tell me, after reading the story that I have just spewed to you, does it sound like my mother was “unclaimed”? Does it sound to you like she belongs out there in that piece of nothing graveyard?

I needed to know how this happened. How was she deceased for almost two years and I was never notified? After all of the communication with the Phoenix Police, the general public and organization in Phoenix, how did they not know that I was next of kin?

I found out that the Public Fiduciary is responsible for deciding who is indigent and also for finding the next of kin for those bodies which are identified. I proceeded to write him a letter requesting to know why he could not find my mother’s next of kin.

His explanation was that the information on the intake sheet was incorrect. He said that the funeral home had the wrong social security number and had to correct it. This I do not understand, because the hospital had the right social security number to place her bill in collections. He also said that the date of birth was one year off. However, he did admit that it stated on the sheet that she was from Ohio and they did have a middle initial for her.

The reasons that he gave me are not good enough. Even if I look up Joyce D Patterson, with the knowledge of a general date of birth (one year off) and the fact that she is from Ohio, I can get names of family members. For crying out loud, if you look up Joyce Patterson, Ohio and Phoenix on Google, you will find over 1,000 postings that I have put up with pictures of my mother. Not to mention, how many times I had been in contact with the Phoenix Police requesting them to look into her. The Public Fiduciary does not check Police Records for identifying bodies or next of kin? That doesn’t make any sense either. Why wouldn’t public officials work amongst themselves for information first before electing outside sources?

Our family is very upset about the lack of assistance throughout the years from the Phoenix Police. I am disappointment in the laziness of the Public Fiduciary Office in finding any next of kin. And I am very disappointed in the lack of action taken by the Phoenix Police even after her missing person case was opened.

We believe that the entire City of Phoenix, everyone involved, has failed us. It is unjustified that my mother is buried in a place where her family can not even provide her a headstone. We would like to pursue having her body disinterred and cremated at the cost of the City of Phoenix or the State of Arizona. The family will pay to get the remains back to Ohio.

I will be publishing this story. I will write letters to all of the elected public officials. And I will contact all of the media that I can, to have my story heard.

I anxiously await your response to this matter and pray that you will help me.

Sincerely,

 

Miranda N. Rhuda

415 Dewey Street

Sandusky, Ohio 44870

567-219-0095

419-602-7417

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Alexis A. Moore, Founder of Survivors in Action, a Non-Profit Foundation for Stalking and Cyber Crime Victims

February 16, 2009 by misswriter415

    Seven years ago, California resident, Alexis Moore, was just an ordinary 23 yr old girl. Today she is the founder of the Survivors in Action Non-Profit Victim’s Advocacy group. However, Alexis is not like other advocates in her line of work. She did not achieve her goals by traveling an easy road. She reached success, only after surviving through some of the most terrorizing struggles that a domestic violence victim can experience.

    At the age of 23, Alexis changed careers and started a new job at a data furnishing company. Her boss was a strikingly handsome and courteous young man with a wonderful personality.     Shortly after establishing employment at the firm, her boss approached her on a personal level and asked her out on a date. Immediately the two of them hit it off and began dating. He was wonderful, the kind of man that ever parent wants their daughter to date. Finally, Alexis found true happiness. She had a great job, good pay and a prince charming of her very own.

    Their relationship was great. He showered her with romance and respect alike. She thought, for sure, he was “the one” for her. That is until they moved in together. After she moved in, the relationship got more serious and so did he. He began to show a different side. One that Alexis had never seen before. It was a mean streak presented by a very short fuse and violent outbursts.

    It started out with verbal abuse and striking or throwing of objects. Then it escalated into hitting her. It was usually only a hit or two accompanied by a lot of screaming and he would walk away. But in November of 2004, when Alexis told him that she was going to leave, he lost it and beat her until she was unrecognizable.

    When he was done and walked out of the house, Alexis pulled herself up off the floor and staggered into the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror at her face, she was overwhelmed with an absolute sense of motivation and survival. She fled from him that day, leaving behind all of her possessions including her clothes, pictures and even her dogs. She had nothing but the blue jogging suit on her back and a small amount of money in her bank account.

    She thought, “Finally I’m going to be free. I’ll just drive down to the women’s center and ask for help and this will all be over soon.” But she would soon find out that she was wrong. She entered the women’s center, explained her situation and then sat down to fill out the pages of questionnaires required.

After handing them in, she was called up to the desk, “I’m sorry, Alexis, but you’re not eligible,” the director said. “Not eligible?” Alexis asked. “With your abuser being a high-tech investigator, there is a good chance that he can locate you and it poses a risk to the rest of the women at the shelter. I’m sorry.”

The domestic violence resource center failed her. She was turned away. She felt helpless and alone, so she turned to the only place that she could, her sister. She didn’t understand why the agency would not protect her. Her sister had a husband and two small children. Why would they force her to put her family at risk? What if he did come after her? What if he did find her? If the domestic violence center wouldn’t help her, then who would? The system failed her when she needed it the most.

He was determined to get revenge. He wanted her to know that he would control her life whether she lived with him or not. He found her and everywhere she went and everything she did, he was right there. She was no longer in range of his physical abuse, but she was still plagued with the fear that he instilled in her. Always looking over her should to see if he was there.

Using technology to stalk her, he tore her life apart. He hacked into her computer systems at home, creating threatening messages accompanied by eerie music that would unexpectedly pop-up, and stole all of her passwords and account information. He shut down her bank accounts and credit cards, tampered with her life insurance, changed her mailing address, tapped her phone and ruined her credit by applying for loans, credit cards, and apartments in her name.

He utilized the system to ruin every attempt or chance that she had in regaining her life. She was both fired from and denied employment because he would place threatening calls and e-mails to her employers. He threatened everyone who came in contact with her, even her attorneys.

For this reason, most attorneys will not accept domestic violence cases. The risk is too high for them personally and professionally. Numerous times she was left standing in the court room by herself, to confront her abuser and his well-paid lawyer, because her attorney had resigned. Alexis sought out assistance from six different family law attorneys throughout the duration of her case. All of them took her money, then either chose not represent her or quit on her in the middle of the case. “Not one of them had 100% commitment to my case. And all of them kept the legal fees that I paid them, claiming them as consultation fees,” Alexis expressed.

“And after everything I had to go through, I lost my court case against him.” He was always on top. He kept the house and all the contents, including her possessions. He disposed of them all. Just threw them away. This was the ultimate defeat for Alexis.

Even after the court hearings were over and the ruling was final, he did not stop. Like most stalkers, as long as his confidence was boosted from the judicial system ruling in his favor, he felt like he had power and continued to stalk her. But once again, the defeat gave her the motivation to survive. With or without the system’s help, Alexis was determine to find a way to climb to the top.

Determined to beat him at his own game, Alexis put everything she had into learning the ins and outs of all the systems. She researched every cyber act that he had taken against her and learned how to avoid and correct them all. Knowing that he was monitoring all of her phone calls, e-mails and credit information, she began to build a fake life. She played tricks on him by calling phone numbers that had nothing to do with her new life. She made appointments with doctor’s offices and hair salons that she had no intention of attending. She called attorneys that she did not know. It worked. He was stumped and had no clue as to what was real and what was not.

Finally gaining control over her own life and realizing that she had the ability to do these things, she placed an ad in the local paper asking other victims with the same experiences to contact her. The turnout was unbelievable! She received so many calls from women who had experienced the very same things. After helping a few of these women and building a network, she decided to make it official and found a non-profit organization, Survivors In Action (SIA).

SIA is the only nationally recognized non-profit organization that aids victims of technology crime, such as identity theft and cyber stalking. Victims who turn to SIA are usually at their last resort and have had no success with other avenues such as Law Enforcement. Due to the fact that Alexis has been on both sides of the fence, employed as an investigator and a victim of cyber crimes, it gives her an edge that other advocates in this line of work do not have.

Aside from aiding victims, Alexis also testifies and speaks at California State Senate hearings and Public Safety and privacy protection seminars.

“I have been recognized by government officials, as the nation’s leading expert regarding cyber-stalking. This for me is a scary thought,” Moore said.

SIA strives to improve awareness on stalkers and cyber-crimes as technology continues to advance. It is their goal to emphasize the importance of law enforcement agencies and government organizations to become more in step with technology and the crimes that it produces against people all over the nation.

To find out more about Survivors in Action, please go to http://survivorsinaction.com

You may read Alexis’s blog at http://alexisamoore.blogspot.com

You may contact Alexis by e-mail at alexis@survivorsinaction.com

Domestic Violence and Stalking Epidemic Highlight as written by Alexis Moore

February 16, 2009 by misswriter415

There is a stalking and cyber stalking epidemic in our Nation that is going to spiral out of control if the nations law makers, justice system and victim advocates don’t “put their money where their mouth is.” As cliché’ as that may sound, it is exactly what needs to happen. I hesitate to say, but I feel that this trend will be a serious problem for years to come.

I learned first hand, after a relentless and malicious cyber stalker victimized me for years, that there was nowhere for me to hide and no easy solution to resolve the problems experienced with a crime such as stalking or domestic violence.

For stalking victims across the nation it is almost impossible to find any peace or solitude due to the countless obstacles that obstruct their path. From the time the stalking starts victim’s lives are turned upside down. If they are lucky, they may experience what criminal profilers refer to as “breaks” or periods when the stalker is preoccupied by some other means, such as incarceration, vacation or another victim. However, even experiencing “breaks” victims rarely ever live what some would consider a normal life. Even if the stalker is not actively pursuing the victim, the victim will still continue to experience the fear of possible upcoming events due to the stalker’s previous actions.

Far too often stalking victims experience the same lack of resources and antiquated laws. They are subject to inept and often disenfranchised members of law enforcement and legislation. Their perpetrator always gains the upper hand because they are assisted by endless numbers of agencies and entities that seem to have forgotten to consider the ramification of their actions.

There are employers who terminate stalking victims for reporting an incident that has occurred in the workplace. However, there is hope for millions of victims just like this thanks to Attorney Dawn V. Martin and the Martin v. Howard University case. There are very few victims who have stamina or determination that Attorney Martin has shown in pursuing and fighting her civil rights case for more than 11 years. The fact that she has not given up, and has kept pursuing the case after all this time, should serve as a reminder to everyone that just one person can make a difference.

In a nation that is known for its freedom, there is no reason that a victim should have to fight for justice alone. A victim forever imprisoned by the fear of her stalker and the lack of government support is not freedom. We need the nation’s law makers, victim advocates, law enforcement officials, prosecutors and the general public to join together in a stand against stalking. Together we will all achiever the actions needed to quickly bring stalking crimes to a standstill and prohibit the escalation trend.

4thekids Missing Kids Services

February 14, 2009 by misswriter415

4thekids Missing Kid Services
Http://www.FourTheKids.Org
Patty Beeken and Dean Powers founded 4TheKids Missing Kid Services in 1999 after Patty’s daughter, Jessica, ran away from home and was missing for several months in 1998.
4TheKids now offers free services to families with missing children. Their wish is that no parent ever feels alone in the quest to return his or her child home safely. They offer many services such as: fliers distribution, the missing child’s website, investigative services for cases that meet the criteria, and community education about internet safety and being proactive for a missing child.

Getting Away With Murder, Not Once, But Twice?

February 13, 2009 by misswriter415

Friday, February 13, 2009

Getting Away With Murder, Not Once, But Twice?

by Susan Murphy-Milano

 


The house located at 392 Pheasant Court, Bolingbrook, IL, became a cold case crime scene 4 years after a botched “local good old boys” police investigation.

The major screw-up also resulted in an incorrect autopsy report on a 2004 closed case file.

Will County State’s Attorney, James Glasgow asked the court for permission to exhume the body of it’s former resident, Kathleen Savio. On February 21, 2008, her death was reclassified as a homicide.

My God, if those walls could speak what would they reveal? A wife, devoted mother

of 2 boys, and nursing student, isolated from anyone who would answer her pleas for help. Including the police department employing her husband, Sgt. Drew Peterson. And, The Will County State’s Attorney to whom she repeatedly, sought out assistance as evidenced by one of several letters sent to The Will County State’s Attorney’s office.

Kathleen’s life and fight for survival makes the game show contestants on Survivor look like child’s play.

Consider for a moment, the life of any woman married to a person trained to kill, who upon graduation is issued a fireman and a badge, protecting our streets from criminals. Married to a man who goes home after his shift and terrorizes his own family members. Where is a woman in this position, enduring a daily battleground, going to go for help ? Because the person harming them, is themselves in law enforcement?

In my professional opinion, the answer to this question does not exist.

A police officer’s wife must take extraordinary measures just to get the police to respond, and, if she’s lucky, write a report. In Kathleen’s case the Bolingbrook police documented going to the home 19 times out of a possible 90 or more undocumented calls where police did not write a report or arrest their watch commander Sgt. Drew Peterson.


If, Stacy Peterson did not vanish off the face of the planet, the truth about Kathleen Savio’s death would have remained in the closed case file cabinet collecting dust. Speaking of case files, I am confident if Illinois State Police Investigators reviewed one by one each of Drew Peterson’s arrest and case files over his 29-year law enforcement career, they would no doubt uncover important information and clues in solving one or both of these cases.

The grand jury has been convening for more than a year on wife #3, Kathleen Savio, and wife #4, Stacy Peterson. This past week , a victory of sorts, as the appellate court allowed the family of Kathleen Savio to re-open and gain control of the estate Drew Peterson was trying block.

As we continue to watch Drew Peterson draw attention to himself like a circus act in the media. Remember, It cost two women their lives. Do I believe the body of Stacy Peterson will be recovered? In my opinion, no.

In the case of Kathleen Savio, I am holding my breath, hoping the State’s Attorney, James Glasgow is able to bring justice in a court of law for these women, their children, and their families.

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Posted by Susan Murphy-Milano at 12:01 AM

Labels: Cowardly Tin Badge, Drew Peterson, Justice Interrupted, Kathleen Savio, Robin Sax, Scared Monkeys, Stacy Dittrich, Susan Murphy-Milano’s posts

Testimony of Faith for Miranda Rhuda

February 13, 2009 by misswriter415

Hello Everyone! I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me.

I am a 25 yr. old female from Ohio. I am the mother of three beautiful children two girls ages 2 & 7, and a son age 5. I have been happily married for six years to my childhood sweetheart, Michael.

I have struggled through a heart-wrenching battle for the last 12 years searching for my mother, Joyce Darlene Patterson, who went missing from Phoenix Arizona. Through my search for my mother, I found and joined a wonderful online support network, Peace4TheMissing, where the members are strong in faith, encouraging and motivating. It started out with a few members with missing loved ones and has grown to include 336 members of all walks. Some of the people do not even have a missing loved one; they just join to offer support, encouragement, prayer and motivation to others! It’s awesome! That’s how I was referred to this forum.

I am a the website administrator and member of The Power of Prayer online prayer fellowship, where we offer online group prayer every week, as well as monthly raffle drawings, charity donations and prayer in numbers! Everyone in faith knows that prayer in numbers works miracles! I would love if you would come and pray with me on The Power of Prayer, also.

God has really been working on me lately. My life has come together to include all kinds of opportunities for me to prove my loyalty to him and spreading his word. After posting a weekly prayer theme to Peace4TheMissing, declaring a desire to start a ministry of some sort, I was approached by Minister Jim Harnage of Silent Ministries Recovery Outreach with an opportunity to assist in doing work for his ministry. This ministry provides free services and assistance with legal fees in child custody and divorce for battered and abused individuals and children. They also provide international support to a church in India… aside from so many other things! They are amazing!

I have been in absolute awe at the works of God in my life, just in the past two months. I went from being unemployed, in a terrible economic situation and depressed… to fully revived with support networks like no other. I have been trying to get my freelance writing “career” off the ground for about a year now and have not been able to find my “niche”. Recently, I was approached by six individuals to write their stories of survival and achievement of Non-Profit organizations to publish in various magazines (and they offered pay).

I do not believe that this is all coincidence. I prayed to the Lord to show me the way to end my struggles for myself and my family. And he laid it all out in front of me and said, “I am delivering these opportunities on a platter, follow your heart and do with them what you must.” I am not going to fail him. I will declare my testimony of God’s work in my life, everywhere that I can!

Silent Ministries Recovery Outreach for Battered Abused Discriminated and Disadvantaged

February 12, 2009 by misswriter415

Silent Ministries, Battered Abused Discriminated and Disadvantaged (BADD), headquartered in Lake Park, Ga., is a rapidly growing ministry known to more than 3600 members.

 

This ministry utilizes the professions and talents of their staff and members to provide many services to people all over the world. They do not charge a flat rate for any services. They only ask that you provide an affordable donation towards the services provided to you. If you are in an emergency situation and do not have finances available to you, they provide services free.

Some of the services that they provide include: Child Custody and Child Support Assistance, Employment Searches, Self-Defense Product Distribution, Inspirational and Instructional Books, and Grief and Abuse Counseling.

They also make it possible for battered and abused women and children to learn how to gain freedom and prosper through faith-based education and support. They also provide financial assistance to battered women, so that they may obtain good attorneys for divorce and protection order processing.

They provide food, clothing, and gifts for birthdays and Christmas’ to disadvantaged children.

They correspond and minister to inmates through bible studies, prayer support and letters of faith. Their main focus is on domestic violence and sexual or physical abuse. However, they make will reach out to convert any inmates including those whose past lives on the streets included drugs, promiscuity, rape, sex offenses, deviations, perversions and murder.

They provide an international prayer network of more than 3600 members and openly accept prayer requests and new members.

They are involved in the Migrant Workers Ministry, providing support and assistance to the migrant workers in the USA.

Their vision for the future includes: achieving a live evangelical ministry to assist an orphanage in India with Pastor Dakes, and starting a virtual online church named the International Community Chapel of Hope. The Chapel will offer courses on the Bible, Life Purpose, Word of God and living through Jesus, providing participants with a Certification of Faith upon completion.

    They are very serious about their purpose and work for God. This ministry will fight for you, tooth and nail, if that is what you need.

Check them out at www.silentministries.org/

The Power of Prayer – Faith Based Fellowship Site

February 7, 2009 by misswriter415

Hello, my name is Miranda and I am the newly appointed content writer and website administrator for an organization called The Power of Prayer.

I would like to invite you to join us at our new faith-based fellowship site. If we can make this site a success, it would mean the world to us!!

Our group focuses on improving the lives of our members by offering encouragement, inspiration and insight to Christian Living. We are here to share life experiences, intimate thoughts and most importantly Prayer!

We hold monthly raffle drawings for various prizes such as cash, various products and online services.

Membership is open to any and all members interested in learning about and sharing the satisfaction provided by living through faith!

We are open to all religions and even those questioning or pondering religion.

Please join by visiting http://www.popthepowerofprayer.com

Peace4TheMissing Founders seeking New Members

January 30, 2009 by misswriter415

When the Stacy Peterson case first appeared in the news, millions of American’s were intrigued by the case. People everywhere were talking about it. Message boards and forums were created on the internet to discuss and debate the details of the case. Delilah, a sales and marketing rep. by day and a true crime sleuth by night, was one of the individuals participating in a Peterson case forum. She had no idea that this forum would be the one that would drastically impact her life.

While participating in the Peterson discussion boards, Delilah met Sara and began privately corresponding with her. They were both getting bored and disgusted with the circumstances surrounding the Peterson case and began searching for information on other missing person (MP) cases. It was at this point that they both realized how many MP cases existed and did not get any publicity. Delilah said, “We were both astounded by the lack of interest, especially in cases of missing adults.”

Delilah and Sara continued to search for information regarding MP Cases. They did not collectively decide to look into any specific cases. They both just googled until they found a case that touched their heart. While discussing the cases they discovered that they shared the same passion and desire: To bring publicity and justice to other MP cases across the country.

Delilah said, “We really didn’t set out to light the world on fire, but we both felt the need to find a way to bring more exposure to the issues surrounding missing adults.”

Maggie being the “Techie” that she is (as Delilah calls her) found the NING site and started building a network. When it was complete they sent membership invitations to a few people that they knew.

Over time, additional areas were added to the site to specify certain cases. Delilah felt that the MP cases involving missing mothers were what really touched her heart. This was in part due to a local case that she had been following, the case of Alice Donovan. She had noticed that Alice’s case had gone quiet and began researching it on the internet. She gathered facts and initiated “Mothers are Vanishing” featuring Alice Donovan as her first post.

Shortly after, Angie was on the internet googling her mother’s name when she came across Delilah’s Mother’s are Vanishing feature. Angie left a comment that read, “I am Alice Donovan’s oldest daughter Angie and in complete awe right now… I stumbled upon this site when I googled my mothers name. Wow I didn’t think that anyone thought of her anymore except us (her family)! You don’t know how much this means to me that we are still thought of and that my mother is thought of by others besides her family .Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts. – Angie-

Delilah responded with an invitation to join Peace4 the Missing. Sara said, “Delilah and I just knew, that Peace4 must have been created for Alice Donovan. We felt that in order for the site to be truly beneficial to others, it needed Angie’s compassion.” Angie agreed accepted the invitation and became the third Administrator of Peace4 the Missing. She has been very instrumental and an essential part of the growth of Peace4 the Missing.

When asked about the expectations and growth of Peace4, Delilah stated, “I remember the day we hit 25 members. We thought that would be about it! However now, I feel people are led here by other members sharing the love and support that they couldn’t find elsewhere and did find at Peace4TheMissing.”

These three ladies deserve sincere recognition for applying their personal experiences and skills with compassion and love, and creating a haven for more than 200 members. The members of Peace4 include family and friends of missing adults and children, as well as professional members offering assistance such as ministers, private investigators, non-profit leaders and much more.

The future of Peace4 looks promising.

These ladies have mastered the community, love, compassion and support. Now let’s help them grow to provide more for all those unpublicized missing persons. We are looking for any professionals willing to provide services that may be of assistance in our work either discounted or Pro Bono.

To find out how you can help with building Peace4TheMissing, please contact Miranda Rhuda via e-mail at misswriter415@aol.com