MK forum

I didn't grow up in NTM, but instead with Wycliffe in Ukarumpa. I knew a few NTM kids growing up, and a few kids that went to Numonohi. I've spent most of today reading up on this and now I'm sitting here feeling ill and heartbroken that I had no idea what was going on. We visited Numonohi once or twice, (I honestly can't remember which years) and I remember Numenohi visiting our campus a few times too. I've never forgotten cool stone under my bare feet with the grass poking through, and dozens of kids that I remember looking as curiously at us as we did at them. It was strange, to know that Numonohi wasn't that far away and yet worlds away from us at Ukarumpa.

No words are sufficient to express the horror you have experienced, and I won't even begin to pretend that I understand what you're suffering, but... I am so, so sorry, and I will keep praying and hoping that not only will it get investigated, but those of you that have suffered so much can find some kind of peace.

Nice to hear from you. I was in PNG from 1976 to 1982, didn't actually visit Ukarumpa (except the airport on aviation matters). What I do remember was the bizzare attitude we had taught to us regarding other missions, including your good selves.
We were taught (by repitition) that we were the elite of the missionaries, the Baptists were a close second and Wycliffe probably about third. Then it worked down the order to the end of the line, which of course was the Catholics.
At the time the whole seperation debate was going on and it caused a lot of casualties both within NTM PNG and those we interacted with.
However the hypocritical aspect to the whole matter was that if another organisation had something we wanted (like an aircraft or supplies) they suddenly were our "friends" and we were free to associate with them, until we had no further use for them and then it was back to normal.

As an outsider looking in, your observations are very much valued (and this time you won't be used and dumped), and I hope you don't mind us picking your brains. Was there any rumours or hints of sexual misconduct going on at Numonohi? How did Wycliffe's MKs fare post their MK years? Was Numonohi considered to be religously extreme by other groups.

Cheers

Bemused

You're not the only one who was indoctrinated (intentionally and unintentionally) that yours was the superior mission organization. Wycliffe seemed to consider itself superior because it didn't believe in boarding their kids for tha tlong, and they didn't let their missionaries "go native" by putting them out in the field for that long of a time. Quite frankly I was never told about Numonohi's religious beliefs, or even what kind of work NTM did specifically and to this day I've never entirely understood it.

My impression even as a young kid in the 90's was that Numonohi was... strange. The kids were strange, rough around the edges, and a girl I befriended on a visit that some Numonohi kids did for a tournament left me puzzled and concerned. She swore freely, she was defensive, and I got the impression that she'd do anything to get what she wanted. It seemed strange, to me, because generally speaking most of us kids at Ukarumpa were pretty... average kids. Sheltered, but well-behaved. Of course, the majority of us lived with our parents and only a relatively small portion of us went into the dorms regularly. I was born in PNG, and graduated from Ukarumpa.

Adjusting to the US has been... interesting, for me personally. I know for ukarumpa kids it can vary drastically from one extreme to another. With Ukarumpa being such an international community, kids had all kinds of influences, all kinds of reactions from the capacity to adjust with barely a hitch, to those who have never adjusted and have sunk into depression, lost their faith entirely, to those who shun the mission to those who have returned to the mission field in PNG because it's all they know. It varies vastly from the kids who were there because their parents were teachers/administrators, and the kids who were there because their parents were Bible translators and we all thought we pretty much walked on water. This is a broad question, though, and I'd love it if you could narrow the scope of it a little for me.

I never heard of a whiff of misconduct from Numonohi, personally, but that's not to say it wasn't whispered about. I wasn't good friends with the kids who attended Ukarumpa International Schools that *were* from New Tribes, and they were often a slightly standoff-ish bunch who had gone a bit more native than I ever did. Still, nice kids.

Further thoughts:
They definitely did treat the Numonohi kids like they rode the short bus when they visited Ukarumpa. We were supposed to keep an eye on them, and I remember being vaguely warned about how they might not have the same ideas about how the world worked than us.
I was very young when the majority of stories that people have spoken up about were going on, but I have 3 older siblings that all grew up in Ukarumpa. I will have to give them a call and see what they remember about Numonohi.

This is an interesting exchange to "listen in on". We welcome you to the Fanda Eagles forums, Ghanima.

Imagining the Numonohi kids riding in to Ukarumpa on the short bus is making me smile. Especially since they were taught they were the best of the best, and definitely expected to lead the way when the Rapture occurred!

Bemused lives Downunder ... if you don't understand what the short bus is, Sir Kiwi, just ask.

Oops, apologies to the resident kiwi(s)!

Thank you, Raz. I am grateful to be here.
Numonohi was definitely talked about like they were our poor, broke cousins, I'm afraid! THey didn't have an entire town dedicated to their mission work, and they didn't seem to think that kids ought to stay with their parents, so why wouldn't they ride the short bus? That's definitely the attitude I got!

Ummmmm, no you'll have to explain "short bus", not a term I'm familiar with.

For my sins, I either had sit on the floor of the bus or walk, the seats were reserved for more deserving MKs. Humiliating, but I got over it .

Oh you can tell the Kiwis around here, we are the ones with a lot to say after years of silence to catch up on, fortunately we have found a patient audience for our ramblings .

Ha! No problem. In the US where most public schools have pretty large bus systems for transporting children to and from school, the kids that are in the special education programs (those who are mentally challenged) typically are transported together, away from the rest of the students on a smaller, shorter bus. Thus the phrase "taking the short bus" etc for those who are a little less quick picking up on things.

Ah, that makes sense. To the outside world the MKs of Numonohi would have appeared to be on the short bus. Couple of factors on this one.

Firstly the quality of the teachers was variable. Some were ringins, as no one else was available. Others had strange agendas and some were there for goodness only knows what reason, although I think we've now worked it out. For example my father, bless his cotton socks, was at one stage the base mechanic and the sports teacher. He left school at age 14 and owned a bicycle, so mechanics were not his strong point, fortunately he was good at athletics and soccer, so that is what we played when he was in charge. And there are probably MKs today who have benefited from his running tuition.

Secondly it was not real learning. It was just memorizing of facts and opinions, to be regurgitated for the exam procedure and then forgotten. There was little in the education about rational thought or problem solving, it was mostly straight memorizing.

Thirldy much of the education was of a religous nature, at the expense of other subjects.

Fourthly the rewards for doing well at Numonohi were not governed by how well one did academically but how much one was liked by the principal and a few other teachers. I always found it fascinating how a MK with a straight "A" average could have "could do better" written on their report card and each year watch as other MKs scooped the prizes at graduation, the system was rigged.

Fifthly many of the kids were severely traumatised, physically, emotionally, sexually and "spiritually", so they would probably appear as stunned mullets on a short bus, or escapees from an assylum.

And so what got turned out was predominantly robots, who lacked the ability to reason and problems solve.

In my own case, I switched to correspondence for the last two penultimate years of education and then came back to find that my education was woefully behind. So due to that I didn't achieve the career I initially hoped for, but have made a good run of the one I did settle into.

Butt their is nothink wong with meet know, ay? I even leaned to spit Englosh propellarly.

Very interesting to get an outside perspective on Numonohi.
It would be good to hear what your older siblings have to say, Ghanima.
Thanks for stopping here.