We barely got any guidance before we had to start taking care of the house church on our own.

I had to keep track of the finances, make dinner plans, take care of the kids, take attendance, deal with the tithes and offerings, all the little administrative details.

Early on, I accidentally left the baptism log in the main church, two and a half hours away. The missionary at the main church screamed at me over the phone for being irresponsible and unworthy.

When we started keeping the Sabbath at the house instead of at the main church, the missionary screamed at me again because my plan for what to do with the kids wasn’t good enough.

(Which in hindsight is crazy to me, considering what I’d seen in the kids’ room under his wife.)

Instead of giving me suggestions on how to do better, the missionary and deaconess only scolded me repeatedly and threatened us with being kicked out if we didn’t bear good fruit. And then the inquisition happened.