MK forum

Last spring my mom told me that Les Emory had never been punished for his crimes, that one of Les's victims was bringing a lawsuit against NTM. She directed me to this website. I was in shock for days as I read the grace report, all the posts, watched the interview. I had no idea . . . thought Les was an isolated case, and that he was in jail. Still trying to wrap my mind around it all... still reading, still crying, still angry, still praying for justice and healing.

You have an enlightened mother. I can count on one hand the number of paedophiles who have served with NTM and been jailed for their crimes. And when I count I have 3 fingers and a thumb left over.

Mary loved her little lamb
For it was like a sibling lost
Mary knew she'd protect
Her little lamb at any cost

For Mary carried a sorrow
Of a childhood not so sweet
Something from her mind
She had tried to delete

Then as her childhood faded
It all came rushing back
For she found Fanda Eagles
And of evidence no more lack

The little lamb and Mary
Read stories that made them cry
They discovered a trail of hurt
Coverups and lie after lie

But they discovered others
Who's journey was the same
And in a sad sad ironic way
Talking the turmoil did tame

Mary found her siblings lost
In her new Fanda family
And from some of the sadness
She has been set free

Thank you Bemused

Oh, Bemused! That was a beautiful poem!

So touching, and so true!!

When I first discovered Fanda eagles, I felt "Finally, people who admit the truth!" I hoped that some of the posters who have now left, like OT, would eventually be helpful to my husband. But they left.

So now I only drop by here sporadically. Because in between the posts of people who seem to understand that the entire missionary boarding school experience is in its very nature abusive to small children, in between the posts of people who have given up religious posturing for good after being grieviously wounded by it, are other posts. Posts still spouting trite religious advice and advocating that the only thing wrong with NTM was the pedophiles themselves.

I disagree.

I think evangelical tribal missions creates pedophiles and child abusers. The system itself is irredeemable. I don't believe it is called by God or even approved by him. It humiliates, hurts and abuses pretty much everyone involved, including tribal peoples in many cases. My in-laws still call the people they worked among savages. You don't call people you love by such labels. Elizabeth Elliot and her ilk are just self-righteous egomaniacs wanting to be considered heroic. They don't love. Christianity without any real love is their religion, so it's what they sell and promote. I believe it's an affront to the Lord Jesus Christ, and is an example of Matthew 23:15.

If it were God-ordained, it would be based on the idea that God loves each person with an everlasting love, and each person (including children) were precious to Him. Children would never be "in the way." Only people free from other relational obligations (singles, empty nesters) would be allowed to go off into the jungle for years, and only those who actually LOVED the tribal peoples would get to even apply.

Tribal missions rarely works, because it is rare that the missionaries truly love God or people. They love religion and want to be heroes; that's what they are hoping for- the praise of men. If they loved God, they would listen to Him. If they were listening to Him, they would never leave their children in boarding school.

I got a missionary letter from an old friend last month. Her husband is just now getting out of DTS (same as my father-in-law) and they have been home schooling in the states while training for seven years. She crows about being a leader in the Classical Conversation home school group here in the states, and the five children she has popped out during those seven training years. (Pause for applause from the evangelical community to die down.) Yet when they go to Jordan this year, those children will no longer be home schooled. She is bragging pre-emptively about how they will thrive in boarding school, while she and her husband do the really important work. Not loving or parenting, but the really important stuff.

You know, trying to change people's beliefs.

Because you know she's going to tell her little six year old son, that Jesus will burn the Muslims in hell if she doesn't abandon him in boarding school. Jesus loves him too, and that's why he needs to be a good little boy and just be okay with being abandoned. Oh, and he should make her proud by the way he bears up under that hardship, because after all, this God (who loves us all so much that he will roast most of us in hell for all eternity) is always watching.

Bitter? Yes, and for good reason. Anyone still selling this crap should be publicly repudiated by all society, and I am thinking about writing the government of Jordan with names and addresses as soon as I get the first prayer letter.

Stop pretending you love God while abusing and neglecting children. No one is buying what you're selling.

I've struggled with a few concepts from my Christian past.

Firstly the missionary concept. If we expect that others should listen to us, why shouldn't we listen to others. Our house must have been the only one for miles around where the Mormons refused to visit. My father would bash them over the head with his views and expect them to listen because they came to his door, but next day he'd be pushing his theology on someone else and would be most offended if they didn't agree with him. It is the height of arrogance to not listen to others, but expect them to listen to oneself. It's not "sharing the gospel" its throwing the gospel at people, rubbing their noses in it.

Secondly: Some of the methods used to fund the missionary expericence didn't/don't sit well with me. The guilt laid upon predominantly elderly widows that they could ease their christian consciences by giving to us so that we could do what they should have done in their lifetime, still makes me feel uneasy. I bet none of those generous donors will ever hear that their pennys funded lawyers, coverups, hiding paedophiles e.t.c. I realise most missionaries are funded by churches, but our family wasn't.

Thirdly: Why weren't we allowed to question what we saw and were told? It was the old principal of "do what I say, not what you've caught me doing". And why after 30 years am I still struggling to get truthful answers?

Some of us Eagles veterans have appreciated you in ALL your identities!

(with wrinkles and gray hair)