MK forum

I am trying to remember some of the details. Hey, I, too, am older and details slip. But, if my memory serves me correctly, the Field Committee was in contact with the EC in Sanford over the situation, and the EC told the FC to get him out.

I would also like to comment, without going back and rereading who said what, on the NTM training. Someone gave the idea that the training program, especially the boot camps, served as an assembly line to pump out missionaries. At the boot camp that I attended, that was not the case. We had 2-3 couples who were coming through for the second time after being out for 1-2 years. There were a number of us that pulled three terms before being released. I don't have a list of those in the training when I went through, but several were dismissed. I did not see boot camp as just pumping people out. Yes, in the beginning, I bought into the system. But, after a few years on the field, I began to see things differently, which is probably why I wasn't included in the inner circle. Though friends with some who were, I wasn't in the know.

A few thoughts on healing. There are trite sayings like, "Time heals all wounds." That is not true. Given enough time, one learns to cope. It has been stated that "Spirtual abuse is the mother of all abuses." The old adage that "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.," just doesn't fly. The kind of abuses some have suffered leave scars that don't easily heal, scars on the psyche, the heart and soul. There is not easy answer. But, I recently ran across a book on forgiveness. In Spanish it is, El Pdoer Sanador del Perdón, by Ray Pritchard, Editorial Patmos. The English tiltle is, The hearing Power of Forgiveness. I would like to share some of the author's thoughts on what forgiveness is not, lest you think that I believe that forgiveness is some magic balm to heal the soul.
Forgiveness:
1 - ...is not being in agreement with what the other person did.
2 - ... does not mean pretending that the evil never occurred.
3 - ... does not mean looking for excuses for the evil conduct of others.
4 - ... does not mean justifying the evil manner or way that the sin becomes less sinful.
5 - ... does not overlook the abuse.
6 - ... does not mean denying that others tried to repeatedly hurt you.
7 - ... does not mean allowing others to run over you.
8 - ... does not mean disallowing to press charges when a felony/crime has been committed.
9 - ... does not mean forgetting the evil that was done.
10 - ... does not mean pretending that you were never hurt.
11 - ... does not mean that you should reestablish the former relationship.
12 - ... does not mean that you should become friends again.
13 - ... does not mean that there should be a total/complete reconciliation, as if nothing had ever happened.
14 - ... does not mean that you should say to the person that I have forgiven you.
15 - ... does not mean that all the negative consequences of the sin are cancelled.

The road to healing is through forgiveness, but each of us must find his/her own road. Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend have written a book, "Safe People: How to find Relationships that are good for you and Avoid those that aren't." I am not longer good friends with some who have hurt me. The fact that I left NTM branded me as one "not good enough" to be called an NTMer. May God help you find your road to forgiveness and healing and help those who have justice for you at heart.

Yeah, when the executive committee in Florida got the monthly report with the update on the issue dealt with the course of action decided on by the Tambo leadership, they contacted the Bolivian field committee and told them they had 24 hours to get Rich Hines out of Tambo.

And I'm curious, what happened when the "facts came out", did alarm bells start ringing that this was the tip of the iceberg? If a female teacher is having sex with a student, it doesn't take to much to ask the big question, what were the male teachers up to? Yes it was probably attempted to be kept hush hush, but lets be real, gossip is juicy, it's fun and how can someone be dismissed without the reasons being devolved.

Sorry it isn't adding up for me. I'd hazard a guess that a lot of people knew a lot more than they will admit and they closed a blind eye, just like what has happened in every other country with a boarding school. And that is the problem, not enough had the courage to speak out. So we now find ourselves hoping that "God will bring healing to us all".

I'm not blaming fellow MKs, they like me were innocent manipulated victims, but the adults involved in the boarding schools clearly knew what was going on, to some degree and the tragedy is did very little, so the abuse continued. God may heal some of us, time may heal some of us, writing on this site may heal some of us, compensation, seeing perverts locked up may heal some of us. But why should we need healing in the first place? It should never ever have happened and certainly not on the scale that has alas become so evident. Shame on those who did this, shame on those who knew but did not act. And to those who can genuinely hand on heart say they did not have any idea what was going on, we appreciate your concern.[/quote]

Bemused, I am not "Amused" by some of your comments. In another of your posts, you say that you are just asking the hard questions. It isn't so much your questions that I find hard, but rather your attitude. To me, as someone who has been reading the posts for some time, I see an abusive spirit, here and in other posts. There is not Nazi/co-conspirator hiding behind every bush. McCarthyism did not fly in the 50s and 60s, and it won't fly here.

If you have those hard questions, then pose them in a respectful manner. I did not tolerate verbal abuse from my leaders in NTM, which is why I am not in now, nor will it tolerate it here. I am one who is trying to offer some insight from a non MK perspective. Please respect that.

I think part of the problem is the high turnover rate in staff at boarding schools. I can't speak for other regions of the world, but a significant number of staff/teachers at Tambo were short term, 1-3 year staff members. My parents were staff in that range; during that time my dad did blow the whistle on abusive levels of corporal discipline that forced the leadership to formalize a policy - the field committee was shocked to hear the degree to which spanking was being taken and forced the then director and principal to define a policy that they approved.

My dad was also one of the few that demanded to know what Hines had done and when he heard confronted them on how incredibly wrong it was to still keep him at Tambo, and on the field as a missionary. He said he was disqualified and they should notify the authorities. He was shot down, but thankfully the executive committee at least saw fit to remove him from Bolivia once they heard - but even that was mishandled on a lot of levels. In their short time there my parents blew the whistles on what they found out about ... but we had no idea of the abuse from previous years and decades. I think a lot of the coverup really was facilitated by the high turnover rate. It's easy to keep things quiet if every few years you have a majority of the staff changed over and a culture that beats people up for asking questions.

For me, that's why I get frustrated with the repeated assertions that all of the staff must have known and kept quiet. Having lived there for several years, I find it very believable that only a few knew the scope. What disturbs me the most is that some of those few were part of the abuse and very much a part of the coverup and still actively serve with NTM. It's why I am glad the investigation is finally being launched into Tambo's abuse history and why I will tell them everything I know and have heard about it.

Like I have said earlier, I don't have a dog in this fight, but I am a Christian and when wrong is exposed it needs to see full light. I have read every word on this forum (not saying I remember every word) and I certainly don't see Bemused as arrogant or disrespectful but I do see him as a "go getter" as my mum often used the phrase. I think his humour and clever way of saying things have helped a lot of victims to be able to express themselves to a higher level, leaving the guilt and shame (which they shouldn't have in the first place) and being able to speak out about the atrocities that happened to them personally. Obviously every post will help if and when this whole sin saga gets finalized. Full stop.

[quote="Bemused"][quote]
Bemused, I am not "Amused" by some of your comments. In another of your posts, you say that you are just asking the hard questions. It isn't so much your questions that I find hard, but rather your attitude. To me, as someone who has been reading the posts for some time, I see an abusive spirit, here and in other posts. There is not Nazi/co-conspirator hiding behind every bush. McCarthyism did not fly in the 50s and 60s, and it won't fly here.

As for McArthur, he kept kicking the ball under the bed and it was the reds he was worried about not the Nazis. They actually didn't get on that well, namely cuz one invaded the pitch of the other and behaved very badly while there.


I would like to clarify for both Bemused, other non US citizens, and those US citizens under 50 or 55. NTM was compared to Nazi Germany, and that most NTMers were conspirators of co-conspirators in the coverup of abuses. Thus, my comment "There is no Nazi/co-conspirator hiding behind every bush. Sen. Joseph McCarthy led Senate hearings on Communism, and he saw a Communist behind every bush. I was making a parallel to the comment that NTM was like Nazi Germany and the insinuation that many NTMers were are of and particpated in the coverup of the abuses.

Gen. Douglas McArthur fought the War of the Pacific while Gen. Eisenhower was leading the European Campaign. If you are not familiar with US History and/or politics of that era, I can understand why you would misinterpret my statement. Hope the this has helped.

By the way, it is Bruised but not Broken. I am not Bruised and Broken.