I just ran across the shocking article in World Magazine on line while surfing the internet here in the hotel room in Liege Belgium. I am an NTM MK from Thailand 1954-1963.I graduated from NTM Bible School in 1965 and served in the US army 1966-1970 and 1974-1980. I did not attend an NTM School as there were none at that time in Thailand. When I was 15 while on furlogh in the US my parents Glenn and Opal Snure gave me the choice of returning to Thailand with them or remaining in the US with relatives to attend school here. I chose to return to Thailand. I was home schooled most of my life or jumping from one public school to another while in the US. High school was by correspondence course. I had a goal to become a missionary pilot with NTM but various things prevented that and God has raised up others to do this job. H has taken me a different direction to teach me other things. I now support my family through international aicraft maintenance .
Enough on background . I have become aware over the years of the serious effects of abuse in its various forms. I was shocked to run across this article that linked me to this blog site. I pray for healing for all of the victims. I pray that NTM will be more than “ashamed” as Larry Brown stated but will realize that neglected oversight by the international committee in lieu of not interferinbg in local field leadership has now reflected throughout the organizatio and is open to the world to see.God’s work will continue to go forward with or without NTM. I Pray for a rise above bitterness toward a new beginning as difficult as it may be. I pray for all my fellow MK’S esspecially you in this extremely difficult situation. May The eternal God who is always faithful wrap His loving arms around you and bring healing to yoiur soul.

A fellow MK

David G Snure (Dave)

Dear God, in the faces of so many victims and survivors, and for those who did not survive this atrocity, we humbly ask that thou shalt shut down this New Tribe Mission, in the atonement for the crimes that have been committed against humanity. O Lord prosecute these bastards for condoning such an act and failed their courage to act, in thy very humble name and mine, I do pray, Amen.

wow, Joe Paterno and Penn State President both fired for cover-up of sex abuse in their organization!! Attention NTM!!! Note: Penn State alumni rushed to defend these leaders and their school reputation. Incredible! Just like the faithful NTM sheep and their denial.

@Ironman

If NTM would take your suggestion, Ironman, I could change my name to SATISFIED.
What you wrote is not a frustrated rant. It is timely. And from experience as well as recent appearances, true

New Tribes Mission leadership worldwide:

The handwriting is on the wall. Its over. I ask of you to do the only noble thing left…that is to set in motion a plan of action that will dismantle this atomic bomb called New Tribes Mission. This mission can no longer stand and shouldn’t. There are plenty of other organizations out there doing the work of the Kingdom and I’m quite certain that even if every tribe was vacated today of all missionaries, somehow I know that God is bigger than any unfunished work you leave behind. Others would rise to the challenge. Point is, you didn’t and now you shouldn’t!!!

By all means close the ministry down, but don’t leave the hurt and wounded unprovided for.
I believe this course of action is the right and noble thing to do. Trying to survive and change is not possible when the abuses, of every kind, are part of the very fabric and philosophy of NTM as so clearly pointed out in the GRACE report. The lepoard can’t change its spots and neither can NTM change its nature, as hard as all of you think you are trying. The abuses just run too consistent too pervasive and too deep. Your not seeing or thinking clearly because your vision is clouded. Self preservation will result in self destruction.

For the record, I’m an umpteenth generation NTM MK and NTBI grad, raised my whole life on foreign soil, and who did not suffer any physical or sexual abuses, but I have reached the conclusion that enough is enough and my brothers and sisters have lived in an earthly hell of the leadeships creating for far too long. (It goes without saying, we all suffered spiritual abuse.) Investigate, deal with the abuses and abusers correctly, put money in escrow for all those hurting so proper healing can take place, and in the meantime start shuttering the doors, worldwide!!! If you don’t, my money says God will.

I say all this, not out of frustration or anger nor any ill will toward any one individual, but rather it comes from a sincere and honest heart. This is not an inflamatory letter. Its just simply stating the obvious… game over, just please recognize this before you all have to find out the hard way and before you bring any more harm to Gods name and his people!

Please head this advice, if you won’t then at least its one more log on the fire to bring down the gates. In Jesus name!

Sincerely,
Ironman

@NTM child

Nice, NTM child!
You have a good way of stating that.
Very true.

Remember “The War on Terror” and the term “Colateral Damage”.
Let me refresh your memory, when you drop bombs on someone, say Al Quida or the Taliban, sometimes you miss and get women and children. To make it a bit more palatable to the public at home, you call it “Colateral Damage”, didn’t mean to get those innocent bystanders, but they were in the wrong place.
MKs are “Colateral Damage”. The generals sent the NTM troops into foreign lands to drop religon on the masses. But the MKs ended up in boarding school and a few of the Sergeants were a bit heavy with the discipline and a bit free with their hands and other bits of anatomy. The war may have been going well, but look at the “Colateral Damage”.
Time for OPERATION CLEANUP and a few court marshalls.

The NTM I grew up in wasn’t too concerned about the MK’s. Children got lost in the shuffle and were way down on the priority list. Parents were expected to sacrifice their own children in order to reach the lost and in the process many children here deeply hurt and families lost the close bond that families should have. When I read the comments here, I am often reminded of a saying a wise pastor at my church here in the U.S. has repeated time after time. “The only thing here on earth you can take to heaven with you is your family”. In other words, your ministry to your own family is one of the most important things you can do so don’t screw it up. Live, love, laugh, teach, pray, spend time together, encourage, so that they might see Christ in you and desire their own relationship with Him.

Welcome to the Fanda Eagles site, Wiki Kid. You are so correct about the failures of the screening process in NTM, at least in the past. For decades, as an MK myself and then later as an adult missionary, I saw so many people come to the field who had no business being there. Sometimes you could pick up on their issues from the first day you met them in the guest house, and you wondered, “How did they ever make it through the training?”
Other times they kept their flaws well-hidden, but left a wake of destruction behind, doing more harm than good to nationals, tribal people, their co-workers, and most tragically, to members of their own families.
Sad, but all too true.

“Also, many missionary children resent the time they spend away from their parents, and they resent the mission work that took their parents away from them. New Tribes has always been aware of this and has been sensitive to their families.” NOT TRUE. NTM has not always been sensitive to this! Were it not for the brave Fanda kids who put it out there NTM would still be covering up the horrendous pain and damage done to children at their boarding schools. Breaking family ties is not a christian value. Seeing your parents for a bit of respite for the parents to get away from the rigors of language learning or whatever is not called raising your child. Kids were second, even third, on the list of important things in the NTM I lived under.

Poogymom :@carol christoffel
I wanted to take a moment to share about New Tribes Mission and what they do. I will use the jungles of Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines as context. New Tribes Mission sends missionary couples into a region where a nomadic tribe is located. They live with the Tribe and learn their language. They reduce the language into written form and then translate the Scriptures into the Tribe’s own language. They provide medical aid and teach the people to read & write their own language. Customs of the tribe are learned. For example a tribe in PNG believed that twins were one good and one evil. The “evil” infant was taken by tribal leaders and left in the jungle. Some tribes are cannibalistic. Most wail all night in fear the spirits of dead enemies will come and kill them in their sleep. There are more things than just these the missionaries confront daily. Missionaries learn to survive in the jungle as well. Once the Tribal Peoples learn that twins are a double blessing from God, that they don’t have to live in fear, and that medical care is available for them…they say, “If you knew all of this, why didn’t you come sooner?” Eventually, one tribe will tell the missionaries of another tribe in a nearby area. Gifts are left in the form of beads and other items they treasure, until the tribe is able to meet with the missionaries on more cautious terms. Then a team is sent to that tribe to begin the process. It is wondrous to see these tribes meet together praising and worshipping God and helping one another in Christ’s love. New Tribes Mission recognizes that the Gospel and God’s Word is for every tongue and tribe and nation. It does not promote a Western Theology. The children of New Tribes Missionaries are sent to a Mission School due to the rigors of tribal work and the danger being with their parents could expose them to. Many of the children after a time do go to live with their parents and be home-schooled once the work has been established within the tribe. Sometimes the Missionary parents are given time to help at the schools and given a “break” in their work. They are also rotated into other mission duties where direct tribal contact is not taking place. Also, many missionary children resent the time they spend away from their parents, and they resent the mission work that took their parents away from them. New Tribes has always been aware of this and has been sensitive to their families…at Aritao School in the Philippines, parents often came out of the tribal area and stayed for a couple weeks reuniting with their children for R&R. New Tribes Missionaries are not employed…they volunteer and go through a screening. Their home church must provide references along with others who had long term contact with them. I am knowledgable of the admissions process and the training requirements. The mission scrutinizes all those in the Bible Institute and Training programs for several years and counsels them. Many don’t make it to the field.

“I want to take a moment to share”,
I heard this so many times as a child in NTM, it really was code for, I’m now going to tell you what I want and you have no right of reply.
“I am knowledgable of the admissions process and the training requirements. The mission scrutinizes all those in the Bible Institute and Training programs for several years and counsels them. Many don’t make it to the field.”
I doubt this. NTM was so desperate for members the screening process was lax. Do I have proof I hear you ask? Yes if my family had even undergone modest scrutiny it would of been obvious that we should never have been allowed out of training school. But then predators seemed to be welcomed on the field and our one fitted in quite well.

Perhaps NTM has been TOO focused on it’s very important mission to not also give this area the attention it SO deserves. I think this is a human issue, of course. I think hiding in the shadows of deliberate ignorance about sex is terribly determental to us all. I believe we should openly, candidly, and publically speak in a healthy way about sex. I think we should teach our children from a very early age (3) about the facts of life and our Bible studies with them should include Leviticus chaper 18, etc. My “ignorant instincts” about this have proven to be correct. Listen to your heart, as enlightened by the Word and Spirit of Jesus. To ignore the fact that we are sexual gives place to the Devil. I know it’s uncomfortable to address the issue but somebody has got to lead the way and have guts to do it! Consistently.

Hey, O Dear, if you are a PNG MK, you should join us on the PNG Facebook page. Search for it on Facebook using “PNG MK” – it’s a closed page so you will have to request to join (only PNG MKs can join). Hope to see you there!

30 years ago I spent my teenage years in a NTM South Pacific base. What I found most bizzare was the amount of psycholgical control exerted. Extorted signed confessions, guilt laid on in spades. And to make it worse, some of us are not from the States, so we got a good dose of discrimination thrown in for free.
Was a bit like foreign policy under the Bush regimes, the rest of the world exists for Americas pleasure.
It was a teenage full of isolation, wondering why but not daring to question.
No doubt my comments will be wiped, but it feels pretty good to tell the truth and my conscience is clear.

This abuse has been going on for decades. My teenage years were spent on a NTM base in the South Pacific. The main abuse was psycological, signed confessions, racial discrimination, having to abdicate any free thought or opinion.
And to complicate matters, I’m not an American, so a good double dose of abuse. Apparently this abdicates one’s right to a fair go, oh hang on that sounds like American foreign policy, “the world was created for White Americans to exploit and trample on … ”
But it was 30 years ago, another world away. Time has a way of healing, my sanity is still intact and I’ve found a good degree of happiness with which I’m happy.
But the scary side of all this, its probably still happening . . .

It is so interesting to read all of this. I was one who clearly was “beat” a few times at boarding school… …the woman had issues. That family was only dorm- parents for that year, and were not asked to come back. Clearly, mission boards HAVE TO DEAL WITH this issue regularly, and whether we feel justified by their action or innaction, I REST in knowing they will have to give an account to God, AS DO the abusers… …as do I for whatever sin I have done in my life, no matter how big or how small. I am so glad I don’t have to carry around the baggage of my sin or unforgiveness anymore.
I can’t… …it’s too heavy.

Poogymom, who are you speaking to? You are spouting the recuitment and fundraising line published in all the NTM materials. You obviously have no personal knowledge of what it is like to actually live it. We have lived it and we all saw things. Maybe you should lecture the NTM leadership about what the Bible says. We all know it, after all we listened to it being preached to us at least 3 times a day while at boarding school. However, knowing and doing are different things, and my experience tells me loud and clear that the NTM leadership I grew up with did not practice either the fruits of the spirit or the many other things the Bible teaches, such as family structure, the priesthood of the believer, protection of children, discipline of believers (perverts and molesters), the authority of the government, etc. The leadership I knew, could have been referred to as white washed scepulcure (sp?) or grave that has all the legalistic whitewash but stinks to high heavens of filth and rotting flesh.

@Poogymom

Who exactly are you speaking to? If it is to the MK’s, the marginalized. How dare you tell us what New Tribes is all about? You think we don’t know? We lived it. Some of us were created in it and some of us came to it at an early age.

And…we didn’t have a choice.