MK forum

You know, I'm always fired up about this issue. But I am feeling particularly... if I may borrow from our dear OT... ORNERY about it this week.

So here, I share an email I sent to Larry Brown. He sent me a nice reply to the petition I emailed him, with all our signatures. Here is my reply to him. I hope it encourages someone. I am standing with you, dear MKs and families.

Dear Larry,

Thank you for your email acknowledging the petition I sent. I appreciate the response. Would you mind if I shared your response with others in a public forum? (haven't heard from him on this yet...)

I had an email all written out to send, and I accidentally deleted it. Now, I wonder if it was providential. Now, I would like to just say what is on my heart, without worrying about the 'prettiness' of my words.

First, I am an "outsider." Yes, I graduated from NTBI-Jackson, served for six months as an associate in Vianopolis, Brazil and attended a semester at boot camp. But I had to leave NTM due to health issues then. It was very sad for me. Most of my teen years on, I wanted nothing more than to be a missionary with NTM. I lived very close to a boot camp and got to know many NTMers. I was always very impressed with the work NTM did, most of the people I knew there, who were trusting the Lord to go out in faith to take the Gospel to the unreached.

In fact, since about 2 months ago when I learned of the Fanda Eagles stories, I have always held NTM in the very highest regard and hoped that one day, maybe my husband and I would be able to serve with NTM in some capacity.

Since learning of the abuse, though- and starting with very high hopes that surely NTM's leaders would do the right thing but repeatedly being shown that pretty much nothing of substance is being done- my estimation of NTM's leadership is very poor. It saddens me. I feel a loss. It is almost like a very dear friend of mine has died.

I know that current NTMers are saying that they are being contacted with regular updates and news of substance about the investigations, how they are moving forward, how NTM plans to handle these current allegations, how NTM plans to implement very safe child policy procedures; I know that a very few people say they have talked with you, Larry, and have come out of the conversations hopeful. Yet, many of my friends who are not current NTMers but who are being affected by this abuse (past, present and hopefully not future) are *not* being kept in regular contact, are *not* being given timely and informative updates. In short, especially in light of NTM's most recent Fanda Update on NTM's homepage, are being given what amounts to an almost thumbing of the nose. And forgive my crassness in that expression, but to ME, an outsider, it feels that way. And I know that to my dear friends who experienced this abuse and went through this horrible time and are still now dealing with all the repercussions and will be for the rest of their lives... how much worse is it for them?

I don't understand how NTM is continuing on, aside from the few people who are working on the abuse full time, in its normal day-to-day operations. In a mission of over 3000 members, for a dozen or so people to be working full time on the abuse issue, while the rest of NTM seemingly goes on as usual, makes it seem like that issue isn't really that important to NTM's leadership.

I am just an "outsider" who has been involved in one too many child sexual abuse cases within the Christian community and seen it covered up and covered up, and played around with, and the victims (including my own daughter) are left feeling blackballed, depressed, uncared for, unloved, like they have a huge red "S" on their shoulders.. and the perpetrators are embraced and brought back to the fold and given every ounce of resources the church or organization has, while the victims get the scraps.

I, as an outsider, am so grieved and full of sorrow over the abuse within NTM, that I could almost rent my clothing and weep and wail and mourn. I cannot fathom that while I was in Vianopolis, Brazil, many of my little girl students were being horrendously abused sexually. I cannot believe that my little boy students were being tormented. I still see their little faces to this day in my mind, as they were 20+ years ago, and now to envision the torments they were living everyday... I can hardly stomach it.

The people who were abused by NTM- and their families- need to see and hear more. Definitive, well-stated, clear cut ways that NTM is going to deal with and IS dealing with child abuse RIGHT NOW. They need to have much more of a voice than they are being given. I can only speak from the experience I went through with our daughter and my former church. We were left in the dark; we had no say as to what did or didn't happen (within the church framework); we had to hear any "news" from someone else... Don't do this to the many grown MKs and their families that suffered abuse under NTM.

The MKs need more than NTM's well-thought out (and honestly, sometimes not even well-thought out) updates, statements and lawyer speak. They need real voices, real bodies, and real contact. Regularly.

I believe that if Jesus walked into NTM right now, he would shut the whole operation down until this pervasive sin was dealt with wholly. I believe that would be most honoring to Him. Operating around the abuse issue is akin to operating around the "elephant in the room"... except now the elephant is dead and rotting.

I hope and pray you can hear what I am trying to say here,

Thank you, MrsM, for continuing to speak up for us, the waiting, waiting ones. Your passion about this issue means so much to me!
Just an update on The Great Silence, from my own personal perspective. In the past, I've posted several times on this Forum about how much it was hurting me that we, known parents of known abuse victims at Aritao had received absolutely NO form of communication at all from Sanford reflecting their supposed concern for MK abuse survivors in NTM. I hoped that the Monitor Person reading my posts would express my concerns to SOMEONE, and ANYBODY would be goaded into action.
Eight days ago, on Nov. 3, I sent an e-mail to the Child Protection Committee. Every day I have searched for their response.
Still deafening silence. Not even a short "Hey, we got your e-mail. Yep, you guessed the right address. Your e-mail is awfully long, we're still reading it. TTYL"
Nothing.
The longer I wait, the harder it will be to respond graciously and kindly to their communication. But I promise I will try. Really hard.
So call me.
E-mail me.
Write me.
I'm waiting.....

Types of possible communication available to NTM:

Smoke signal
Morse code
Homing pigeon
Runner
Delivery service
FTD
Singing gorilla gram
Canoe
Ox cart
Ham radio
Telephone
Snail mail
Oh, almost forgot, email

Raz- I am truly sorry NTM has not responded to your email. There is absolutely no excuse for it.

Larry Brown sent me a "thank you for the petition" email. I have not posted it yet because I replied (with this email I posted) asking for permission to post. I won't post it in its entirety without his permission and I also have not heard anything.

This is the second email I've sent to Larry without him replying.

The silence is absolutely deafening.

NTM is trying to use silence to silence the victims of abuse. They want to do one of two things, or both:

1. They want to outlast you. The option so many of you have chosen is anything but easy. (As if you needed me to tell you that!) You can only maintain the initiative for so long, and then you'll wear out. Heard anything from Cindy Shehan lately?

2. They want you to betray yourself into responding to their silence with what they can paint - and dismiss - as shrill invective. In the face of this unspeakable abuse of children, it doesn't take too long to exhaust your stock of adjectives and have to resort to expletives. (About ten minutes is all it took me, but I don't have very good stock of adjectives!) With luck, they can change the subject of debate from their incompetence and callousness to one of your heart attitude. The Old New Tribes Mission had a lot of experience at that, and it seems like it has wormed its unholy way into the brand spanking new, reorganized and repentant New Tribes Mission as well.

The depravity exhibited by the Executive Board and CPC of New Tribes Mission is calculated, purposeful and vile.

Monitor, have you no influence on these perverts? (See how easy it is to get shrill?)