MK forum

Again, I really wish that it were being covered by the media in Jonesboro. First to show other churches what they should do in the situation, second to get the story to people who will be watching to see NTM next step with the other schools, and third, and most importantly,it would give victims down there the validation they need to speak up. If you keep an abused person isolated you can keep them quiet, I really believe that if this story got out down there you would have other victims coming forward.

It looks like it...

OT, Agree.

Sir Ornery of Thornery,

I am glad, though not overly impressed, that NTM is finally doing the right thing. I have reported cases of child abuse to the police here in Thailand, and I was never in any fear of being arrested or in any doubt that they would work to resolve the cases in the best interests of the child and according to the law. These reports led to threats of retaliation against me, something that scared me, I admit. But, I was never afraid of the police. They weren't impressed by me, I don't think. I am probably more of a nuisance. But they were helpful and took their responsibilities seriously, even though they didn't know they were ordained of God.

I don't see any reason why it was an act of bravery for Mr. Brown to do the same as I did. The oft-lamented refrain on these forums is that law enforcement seems powerless to do anything about past crimes that were committed outside the US, not that one might get arrested for reporting them. Mr. Brown did not commit the crimes and he was taking steps to report them. How could he ever have been in any danger of arrest and prosecution? He only did his duty as a citizen. Why was it courageous?

Did he take in evidence to support the claims? If such evidence has not gone missing, I hope he would. But, that is not a noble act; it is his duty. His belated duty. His neglected duty. At this stage, withholding evidence would be brave, if foolhardy.

I am not detracting from the importance of the progress here. I am happy for it. It seems that Mr. Brown's eighty hour weeks are paying off for the Fanda Eagles, who, by the way, embody courage. I am ready to praise the Eagles at every opportunity, and to support the victims in every way. They are brave. They are courageous. They spoke up when they expected rejection and shame. Mr. Brown has been subjected to sleepless nights and Chinese water torture and intense public scrutiny and approbrium. He relented under pressure, and did what you suggested weeks ago. Good? OK, but nothing very impressive to someone on the outside looking in.

Perhaps I am just a little less euphoric about all of these events, because I am not personally involved and am way out of the loop in terms of information.

The latest update on the NTM website told us that "[t]he NTM leaders also hand-delivered letters to and spoke with local law enforcement officials where the men now live." It doesn't tell us what those letters said, or even to which local law enforcement officials they were delivered. It doesn't even tell us which NTM leaders made the pilgrimage.

I'm not casting doubt on it, but how do you know it was Larry Brown who did this? The NTM site didn't say it was.

You know which counties and which officials were contacted, and that the sheriff was impressed. How? Have you spoken to the sheriff?

Are you privy to the contents of the letters delivered to the "primary people"? To the law enforcement officials? If you say you are, and that you, as an attorney, were impressed by the quality and quantity of incriminating information they contained, I will take your word for it. I don't need to see copies for myself. I am just curious as to the source of your excitement.

Maybe if more information were in the public domain, some of us would perk up and feel free to join in the chorus of praise. Faint praise, but praise nonetheless, and probably a pretty welcomed sound in the halls of Sanford.

It remains to be seen how much good these measures are going to do for those whose existence has yet to be addressed by NTM. That, too, should temper our congratulations.

Quoting Gene Long
The latest update on the NTM website told us that "[t]he NTM leaders also hand-delivered letters to and spoke with local law enforcement officials where the men now live." It doesn't tell us what those letters said, or even to which local law enforcement officials they were delivered. It doesn't even tell us which NTM leaders made the pilgrimage.

I'm not casting doubt on it, but how do you know it was Larry Brown who did this? The NTM site didn't say it was.

You know which counties and which officials were contacted, and that the sheriff was impressed. How? Have you spoken to the sheriff?

Are you privy to the contents of the letters delivered to the "primary people"? To the law enforcement officials? If you say you are, and that you, as an attorney, were impressed by the quality and quantity of incriminating information they contained, I will take your word for it. I don't need to see copies for myself. I am just curious as to the source of your excitement.

I think Ornery is basing his excitement on this letter from GRACE sent to the Fanda MKs. Gotta trust someone to be telling the truth!

Dear Former Fanda Students:

As mentioned in their weekly update, last week members of the NTM Executive Committee travelled to Georgia and Indiana for the purpose of hand delivering the GRACE report and the termination letter to both David Brooks and Phil Gates. GRACE was encouraged to talk with NTM regarding these visits and hear of their actions in finally confronting these abusers. We thought it is important that each of you know more about what happened and that perhaps the steps taken by NTM regarding David Brooks and Phil Gates may encourage you in some degree.

1. David Brooks:

On Tuesday, October 5 2010, Larry Brown and Dan Kreider travelled to Georgia and initially met with David Brooks' pastor. The pastor had just received the link to the GRACE Report and had just finished the first 15 pages when Larry and Dan arrived. The pastor was extremely disturbed about what he read in the report and did not take a defensive position regarding David Brooks. NTM explained that they were there because they believed that NTM was responsible to warn the pastor about David Brooks in order that he could take steps to prevent Brooks from abusing anyone at the church. The pastor expressed support for what NTM was doing and claimed that he was shocked because he had never been informed about the abuse by Brooks. Shortly thereafter, Brooks was called to the church whereby Larry and Dan informed him that they were there to confront him about his sexual abuse of over 9 children that had caused so much harm and destruction to so many. David Brooks did not deny the charges and did not appear to be defensive. Though he did claim that this abuse only took place during that era on the Senegal field. David Brooks quoted the verse, “it is better to put a millstone around a neck and cast into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones.” He stated that he would rather that that millstone would have been on his neck because how wretched he has felt and the damage this has caused over the years for everyone. Larry asked David if he was aware of what the MKs and their families have lost over the past 25 years because of his abuse. David said he "understood".

Towards the end of the meetings, David Brooks asked what he could do? He wanted to apologize to NTM and to the MKs. Dan and Larry responded that at this time most of the MK’s didn’t want an apology, but wanted him to pay for what he did. Prior to leaving, Larry and Dan presented David Brooks and his pastor with a copy of the GRACE report. Larry and Dan left the meeting while the pastor and David Brooks continued to meet.

On the following morning, Dan and Larry met with Pike County Sheriff, Jimmy Thomas, for the purpose of providing him with a copy of the letter NTM had sent to David Brooks regarding his retroactive termination. Larry expressed that NTM's purpose in meeting was so that the Sheriff would be aware of what David Brooks had done to the children at Fanda for the purpose of possibly assisting the Sheriff in the future if abuse claims are every made against David Brooks. The Sheriff read the letter and then asked his assistant to see if there had been any reported allegations on David. There were none. The Sheriff expressed gratitude to Larry and Dan for providing him this information. He stated that he had been Sheriff for 11 years and had never had anyone or any institution do something like this. The Sheriff stated that he was so impressed by NTM stopping by, and wished more churches would do the same when they are aware of someone who could be a danger to the community.

2. Phil Gates

Marv Ketcham and Paul Wyma traveled to Indiana to meet with Phil Gates. Upon arriving at Phil's home, they rang the doorbell and no one came to the door though they could see someone walking around inside the house. After ringing the doorbell a second time, Phil Gates came around the corner of the house. After Marv and Paul introduced themselves as being members of the New Tribes Mission Executive Board, Phil was asked if he had seen the GRACE Report. He said that he hadn’t seen the report. Paul and Marv informed Phil Gates that they had a copy of the GRACE Report for him as well as a letter from the Executive Board. Phil Gates refused to take either document. He said that he wouldn’t take them or anything else from NTM. He claimed, “You’ve done me and my wife and family enough damage. Now I can’t even get a referral from NTM for a job. How can I explain the gap in my resume of all the years I served with NTM?” Furthermore, Phil Gates argued that NTM was handling this situation in an "ungodly manner". He strongly questioned how what NTM was doing to him and his family was going to help "those kids"?
Phil Gates then talked a bit about the relationship that he had with the kids in his dorm. He said that nearly all of the MKs "loved" he and his wife. He claimed that they tried to do what each parent wanted, but they soon realized that they couldn’t please everyone. At this point, Marv Ketcham explained the damage many of the kids in their dorm are living with as a result of Phil's actions. Phil Gates immediately made it very clear that he wasn’t responsible for any of those problems. He failed to take responsibility for any of his actions. At that point, he requested that Marv and Paul leave while once again refusing to take a copy of the GRACE Report and termination letter. Phil appeared to be very angry throughout the meeting.

On the following day, Marv and Paul attempted unsuccessfully to meet with the local Sheriff. However, they were able to meet with member of the Court personnel and informed her it was important for them to meet with the Sheriff as soon as possible. She informed them that the Sheriff would not be in until later that evening but that she would be meeting with him and would give him the copy of the Gates termination letter. Marv attached his business card to the letter in case the Sheriff had any follow up questions regarding Phil Gates.
It is very true that in many ways the response by NTM to David Brooks and Phil Gates is too little too late. We do not disagree. However, it is important to remember that this Executive Board was not in authority when David Brooks and Phil Gates acted to hurt and destroy so many lives. Thus, though they still represent the institution, it remains our hope and prayer that they represent a new era of leadership..an era that has zero tolerance for any form of abuse..an era whereby those who hurt children will be immediately confronted, reported, and removed. We are encouraged by the fact that NTM went beyond the scope of our recommendations to travel to these two locations, confront the abusers, inform their church (Phil does not attend church), and communicate with local law enforcement regarding these two dangers to society. These actions by NTM leadership seem consistent with a heart that desires to finally do the right thing for the right reasons. Let us remain hopeful as we continue to be watchful.....

Thank you for continuing to allow GRACE to serve....

Peace


Boz Tchividjian, Esq.
Executive Director, GRACE

MK sheri, thank you. I had not seen that. It was a service of you to post it, and now I feel a little less in the dark.

Ornery, Thank you SO much for posting this! And I loved reading the letter from GRACE! Keep it up Fanda Eagles! YOU did this!! If you ever feel like you're going to burn out, I hope you'll remember this tiny little glimpse of hope. I recognize that this is too little to late, and at the same time, I am seeing CHANGE. Even the baby steps NTM takes at this point are encouraging. This is why we press on.

Mr. Long, Larry Brown's efforts are to save other children and to find justice for these MKs. By GRACE's recommendation alone, he didn't have to do what he did. Is a firefighter just doing his job when he climbs a ladder to look into another window, just in case there might be another child in a burning building? So what if it's his duty. As I look at NTM's past, I'm just glad he did what he should have done all along because NTM doesn't have a very good history in this area. As OT said, he could have sent someone else to do that, but it shows us that this issue is becoming more important to NTM. It's a small bright spot for the Fanda Eagles, who haven't seen very many bright spots for decades. I hope you can celebrate that with them, as I'm sure you do. But this particular topic might not be the place for pointing out more darkness ahead (but I'm open to correction on this from the Eagles, if necessary).

@OT
This comment on NTM Abuse:

Hi all, get ready. Sir Ornery of Thornery is getting set to do his back flips. This we can’t wait to see.
Thanks OT for prompting me to talk to Chief Ledbetter’s office staff today of the town of Zebulon GA and to email him a copy of the Grace report. May word of this effort encourage our brave ladies.

I first contacted Sherriff Jimmy Thomas’ office and confirmed that NTM leaders had shown up there. They gave me 770-567-8441 and talked to Kathleen. She asked me to email directly to her the Grace report which I did. She promised to pass it onto the chief. Her email is kathleen725@bellsouth.net

Experiencing the grace and encouragement of our precious and loving Lord Jesus
John Mikitson

(grin!)