MK forum

Great writing.
Terrible circumstances to have to report.
Hurts the heart.

Was just going to whizz in and wish a Merry Christmas and whizz on my way again, when I realised that in a few days it will be a new decade. Which got me to thinking about all the changes that have occured in the last ten years.

Ten years ago I lived in a little house on a hill overlooking the sea.
-The house was destroyed by an earthquake in 2011 and we moved quickly, not being allowed to ever return.

Ten years ago I had a genetic family who lived close by, it was at times a strained relationship.
-We ended up on the opposite side of the child abuse scandal and it was best for all that we went our seperate ways. Since then my father has passed away.

Ten years ago NTM was still NTM and the child abuse scandal had not broken down here.
-It broke in 2011 and the full horror of what happened has finally come out.

Ten years ago I was happily married and we had a cute dog.
-Fortunately somethings stay the same.

This has truly been a decade filled with deep emotional turmoil. My eyes were opened to the far-reaching devastation suffered by countless children of missionaries, and my heart was broken, repeatedly.

Some things have been accomplished, but overall, the response by the mission (now Ethnos360) has been extremely disappointing to me.

Who knows what the next decade will hold.

I am thankful for new friends and allies .... I still feel a courage in my spirit, but it has definitely been modified by the revelations and developments from this decade that is closing.

Onward we go.The Titanic did not sink after all. But neither did we.

And a heart smilie too.

I look into the mirror
I see a contented face
I see a long long journey
To get to this settled place

I don't see total happiness
But I see peace from torrid past
I see eyes opened and honest
That were for too long down cast

I see shadows in the background
Who hate with pious hate
Who curse that I told the truth
And pray I will be "the late"

I see a strong hand
A Samaritan shade of tan
Who defied the waves of hatred
To reach out to fellow man

And lurking in the shadowy reflection
The ghost of family past
Who chose a very different path
And flew their lies at half mast

Then lest I grieve for what I never had
I hear the words of friends so very true
"Walk away from their madness
You've done all that you could do"

I see a face that is older
Than when this journey did begin
More wrinkles but more settled
In a face well and truly lived within

In other mirrors around about
I see pained souls and lives incomplete
Then others who deny the reflected images
And will force history to repeat

To the former I pray I've been some help
And the latter alas will never change
For I cannot probe deep enough
To decades of intolerance and hate rearrange

And as I turn away from the mirror
To leave the past far away
I know I am much more settled, even happy
At the end of what has been quite a day

That is a beautiful poem, Bemused.

You have made an unforgettable impact on all of us here on Fanda Eagles.

We are all better people today, because we walked on the path of truth and justice. And we did not walk alone.