Thank you, Watching Closely. It means a lot to know you care. To know this matters to you. So many of us (myself included) wish there was a do-over ... that we could go back in time and read the signals differently ... that we wouldn't have been so naive and trusting.
Yes, there are people who knew more about what was happening to children of missionaries than we did. They knew, and they shoved that information aside, or covered it up, or minimized it, because "the Work" was a much higher priority to them than the terror and tears of innocent MKs.
This pattern continues ... it just looks different now. Those MKs are now adults. It is even easier for mission leaders to minimize their pain. The end justifies the means. The end being world evangelization and the survival of the mission. For some of us, this feels so upside down it is mind-boggling. It seems like a mockery of everything we thought the mission stood for: the value of even the smallest, lowliest individual; the importance of being like Jesus, no matter what the cost. I no longer have any respect for NTM because of the way they have responded to child abuse in their midst. Their leaders say integrity is important to them. I do not see integrity here. Instead, I see toxicity that is spreading through the sinking Titanic, poisoning those aboard, many of whom are oblivious to the source of what is slowly killing them.
I cannot recall hearing much from NTM MKs about abuse in Venezuela. If there are any reading this who would like to join this conversation, we would welcome your voice. I do not support the idea of IHART investigations of child abuse, because I believe these investigations are bogus shams .... loads of donated money being spent, not to actually expose child abusers, but to keep the mission afloat for one more year ... one more decade.
But this Fanda Eagles forum is a place to tell your story, MKs. This is a place where you will be believed.
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