MK forum

How do you spell advocacy?

L-O-N-E-L-Y

Is anyone else out there discouraged at the *silence* coming from so many onlooking Christians? What do you make of it? How do you not let it overwhelm you?

I spell advocacy E-A-G-L-E-S!

I am not discouraged by the silence; most people are silent on most subjects, even subjects about which they are passionate. When those subjects are as delicate and controversial as those posted on this blog, it is amazing that anyone posts anything.

Consider: I am (perhaps) a little more willing to express myself than a lot of people. I am not always very good at it, however, and that has been known to cause others, not to say me, grief. If you look around a little on this site, you will see that one of my comments was misunderstood to be a veiled, if not open, criticism of victims who have not come forward. One such victim was very forthright in their criticism of my comments; I had obviously deeply hurt them - a result totally opposite of my intentions and goals. I believe I would have been mortified had I been posting under an alias, let alone my real name; I didn't know if I wanted to cry or just go hide under a rock. Hands up, everyone who would like to find his/ herself in that position! So, that is one reason people may be hesitant to post. They may have a good point, if I do say so myself.

There may also be a reluctance to join in on what may appear as a dogpile on NTM. Probably no one has visited this site who does not know someone in NTM, and most of those in NTM are outstanding people, wonderful people, talented people, people we love. Would speaking up at this time, on this forum, constitute an insult to them? They didn't do these things, they didn't know about them, they are trying to plant churches in remote areas around the world and may very well be living in difficult situations of their own. Silence here should not be interpreted as a defense of NTM's leaders, past or present, who have contributed to the issues detailed on this site, or of the perverts who committed these atrocities. It is, rather, a silent testimony of love to those missionaries they know. I might add that I count myself among those who have dear and respected friends in NTM, and my comments are not directed against them at all.

There is an element of shock to deal with as well. I know that I have read things on this site that leave me speechless, shaking my head, struggling for breath. No response, no comment, seems adequate to the horror. Words cannot express our disgust; even profanity blushes before such perversion. For many people, I'm sure, there is nothing to say. In that case, silence says a lot.

So, to return to my original comment. . . I think it is amazing that the Fanda Eagles have spoken out, spoken up, taken a stand. They are in a class by themselves. Others, some of them active members of NTM, have also spoken up. I salute their courage. Yet others, some more directly related to NTM than others, but all with a passion for the truth, have posted, some a lot, some only once. They all amaze me, encourage me.

Maybe I'm a slow learner, but I'm not discouraged!

Very well said. All excellent points. Please, no one should be discouraged. If you look at the number of times this site has been visited you will see that huge numbers of people are following this situation. The fact that they don't post anything does not mean they don't care.
Think of how one small candle brings light into a dark room. LIGHT has broken forth in this darkness. There may still be some shadows, some unknowns, some unidentified and unrecognized scary things. But LIGHT is here. Please, please do not be discouraged. Any of you.

I have dear friends in NTM still as well, and hesitated about visiting and posting, but some news is only coming out here, and those of us with shared experiences either about the abuse or the leadership style needed a forum. I know other former NTM personnel who only just heard about this when the grace report came out who are following fanda eagles very closely.

Posters' feelings and views run the gamut here. My own hope is that healing and understanding will happen for all who visit these forums.

Thank you, Gene, Raz and FrmrNTer! I needed to hear this.

"My own hope is that healing and understanding will happen for all who visit these forums." -- This is my hope too.

Some of us "friends of" are just learning about this. We are taking time to grieve.

I have been silent (on this blog!) up until now. Here's why--I am a missionary candidate with New Tribes Mission. I avidly follow this site along with the Fanda Eagles Facebook page. And I feel like anything I say can be ignored simply because I'm with NTM.

I pray for the victims and I was furious when I read the report. However, when I come to the Fanda Eagles blog, I have felt free to read but very limited in what I could say in response. I feel like a lot of the things that NTMers say is picked apart to the point where it's unrecognizable (Example A: Ripping apart NTM for saying "We, as an organization, have sinned." When I went to a prayer meeting at an NTM location for the Fanda MK's, an older New Triber said, "This is the fault of NTM. Who is NTM? Look around! It's us. We all failed our MKs, even if we did not personally abuse them. We created an environment that was abusive." That's all NTM meant by that! And it was misconstrued to mean that the leadership was hiding.). I haven't said much to the Fanda Eagles up to this point because I don't want to be scolded for continuing with NTM, and I don't want my comments to be misinterpreted and argued with because I am in what some see as "the enemy camp."

But I want you to know, Fanda Eagles, that we New Tribers are with you! My NTM friends hosted a frisbee tournament to raise money for your fund. We held two prayer meetings for you. We were all asked by New Tribes to read the report instead of ignoring it. Many tears have been shed on your behalf, and this organization is broken. We are hoping and seeing that the GRACE report is the catalyst for faster leadership change on the field, instead of the slow turn-over that has been happening. I heard an NTM friend in my small group say, "Man, when I read that report--I was sharpening knives!! I was angry and I couldn't believe what the Senegal leadership did." You are not alone. While some (a very small percentage of people that I have never even met) New Tribers defend the mission and value it over MKs safety, that is not the overall response. We are with you and we love you. Don't stop what you're doing due to perceived silence.

Forgotten MK, thank you for your post.

Thank you so much for posting. It is so nice and encouraging to hear. Up until know most of the responses I have gotten were from the ones saying "shhhh". It is words like yours that instill hope in us. That change can happen and is happening.

Exactly! Forgotten MK, what you've said is reassuring and gives hope!