It seems very necessary to mention a very disheartening situation that has been made known to us this last week. Dean Bruer (a worker in OR who had also spent years in WY MT, maybe other places?) had been living a very immoral, dishonest double life before his death. We are so very sorry about that & feel especially for his victims! I believe The most friends in the areas where he worked have been notified. I know he was here in Nebraska for special meetings last spring, I sure hope there was nothing that happened while he was here. We heartily encourage any that have been a victim of abuse or inappropriate behavior been to reach out for support & to seek professional help if needed.

Quite a number have called or texted/emailed and expressed concern if there is anything being done to try to prevent such things from happening here in KS/NE. All the workers on our staff have kept current on continuing education regarding recognizing & preventing child sexual abuse through a Ministry Safe Course. Workers are encouraged (in fact it is mandatory). to report any CSA directly to law enforcement for investigation (our Friends can do that too)( Our Workers have been encouraged to speak up if they witness or experience inappropriate behavior towards them or others, no matter who it is (our Friends can do that too). This recent event has indeed shown the value of/need for that approach.

We are so very sorry & ashamed that some among us have betrayed the trust of others, but that is reality. Likely the apostles were very shocked & ashamed when Judas’ secret sin came to light. His sin didn’t mean they were all dishonest, but likely they bore some reproach because of it as well. Though they weren’t perfect, the 11 & others proved to be true men & God used them to help accomplish his purpose through the book of Acts. I’m thankful that the many workers who were in our home from my youth & those I’ve worked closely with through the years have been true men & women and have been a great help and encouragement to me. They have pointed us to Jesus, the one perfect one who will never disappoint.

With all the workers I have been with since learning this, there seems to be a renewed purpose to keep our lives above any reproach, and would hope to gain back the trust of our dear friends, that has been so carelessly broken by some.

I am very open for anyone to contact me or any of the other workers with any other concerns regarding any of this. We do want to be as open and transparent about this issue as we can, but also realize that there is a part of our human nature that craves to feed on all the failings of others to help justify ourselves, so we struggle to find that balance.

Thank you very much for trying to understand my feeble attempt to put into words the deep feelings in my heart

Your Brother & servant

Richard