1987 – First victim reports Dave B. Her parents and the FC don’t believe her. 3 page document
Sept 29, 1988 – Ron A’s letter to the budiks re: Miks leaving the field because of their kids
1989 – John Mik calls ntm to report his daughter’s abuse, Dave B. admits to abuse of Kari Mik and several others
October 1992 – NTM phone call with Dave B in which he confesses again to NTM and apologizes for the last 5 years. 2 page document
April 1997 – letter of apology
July 1997 – Potential victims and specific incidents (children in Dave B and Phil G dorm)
September 1997 – NTM Abuse investigation officially begins.
October 1997 – Investigation letters sent to Dave B and Phil G
May 1998 – Wyma’s letter to Frank apologizing that it’s still an issue
June 1998 – Letter to unnamed victim sent
Feb 1999 – Mikitson’s letter to FC
April 09 – NTM EC confirms the date they officially learned of Mik’s abuse and that they did not launch an investigation for 8 years
1997 Investigation seems to consist of sending a form letter to all involved and putting the onus on the victims to respond. Paul W was dispatched to Senegal to interview students. Names several that NTM needs to follow up with. No follow up is done.
Present – No charges filed against any abuser. No follow up with students. No repentance on the part of NTM. Many abusers still with NTM today.
How many of you were commissioned with the following hymn? My husband and I were back in ’78 at Black Rock Bible Church in Hagerstown, MD.
So Send I You
So send I you to labor unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing-
So send I you to toil for me alone.
So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
O’er wand’ring souls to work, to weep, to wake,
To bear the burdens of a world aweary-
So send I you to suffer for My sake.
So send I you to loneliness and longing,
With heart ahung’ring for the loved and known,
Forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one-
So send I you to know My love alone.
So send I you to leave your life’s ambition,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labor long, and love where men revile you-
So send I you to love your life in Mine.
So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, tho’ it be blood, to spend and spare not-
So send I you to taste of Calvary.”
Our mission was to soften hardened hearts, not suck the very life and spirit out of them; to open blind eyes, not make them so closed out of fear; to taste of Calvary meaning we died daily to self and left ourselves at the foot of the Cross. That IS what being a missionary is all about. That’s what we were sent to do. We never expected the leadership obstacle course which would occupy the majority of our time and efforts in Paraguay. My prayer is that NTM return to their fundamental roots full of compassion and empathy for both the saved and unsaved.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Jim Elliot, 1949
@Tina Sayers
Hi Tina, I remember you vaguely from when I first went to Senegal in 97 as a single. I say dittos to all you have said. Why did we so blindly accept that leadership was handling it or had handled it? All I was told was that sexual abuse had taken place in the 80’s but it was not sexual intercourse. That’s all that was said. Afterward I thought wow that’s sick, so if it wasn’t sexual intercourse what was it? And I kind of got the impression that because it wasn’t penetration it wasn’t so bad. Sorry if this language is too graphic. I don’t remember well but I don’t think it was said who the person was or if it was 1 or more people. Nothing was said period for years afterward. Nothing was said about what had happened to the person/s. I wondered where is this person and is he free or is he in jail? So many nagging questions that I chose to ignore and deeply regret that now. I feel spiritually abused and in turn committed and encouraged this same type of abuse. I trusted the leadership and they betrayed that trust. I failed and feel guilty before God because I believe He put these questions in my mind and I chose to think of myself first and to believe and follow man instead of trusting and following God on this. I believed a lot this nonsense and ended up mistreating and neglecting my own kids and husband. Thank God for His grace and mercy and for correcting me on this over the years. Confession is good for the soul.
My daughter and son in law were NTM. They just sent the comments and like me were shocked when The accusations came out. Itis hard to humanly fathom how such accusations/ condemnations have taken so long to surface. fervent prayers are sent to God to have the evil ones removed from this mission and victims given His comfort, I supported the mission for years and am saddened. He is our Constant.
Dear Anonymous, Your request on Joel C’s behalf is indeed heart rending. As a former New Tribes missionary who has been out of “The Mission” for 12 years, I know well how deep the indoctrination runs, and as you put it quite accurately, fear. Just notice how many people feel they must post anonymously.
During our years in Senegal, I remember exactly three occasions where I heard “rumors” of sexual abuse having happened at Fanda. Each time, like a well trained New Triber, I totally discounted it, and even exhorted the people mentioning it to stop perpetuating such gossip. My response was always, “If something that serious ever happened, it would have been dealt with immediately and the whole field would know about it.”
… and I never gave it another thought.
Such trust and confidence I had in my leaders!!
However, by 1997, the school committee was wringing their hands, and sending out regular memos to parents with great concern about the escalating and very obvious problems with the teens. We, also, had begun to wonder if there wasn’t something deeply wrong with Fanda itself.
In fact, by this point, it was only a matter of time. Fanda’s days were numbered.
As God would have it, the wife of the speaker at the field conference that year shared that she had been a victim of sexual abuse, which prompted some parents to really start talking. A meeting was then called for the parents of the teenagers. My husband and I sat in shock and disbelief as we heard several people talk about the abuse, many with details, and then Frank having to confirm that, yes, it was all true. We had entrusted our child, a mere seven year old in 1988, into the care of guardians who were known to have had at least one accusation of sexual abuse brought against them.
Our children were sacrificed, and we were betrayed for the protection of some greater good?
We left that night knowing our days with New Tribes Mission were finished.
According to Jill Rowe’s letter, the cover up extended even to Canada. Amazingly, it appears many people in positions of leadership were aware of reports of abuse and not only did they not report it to the authorities, but all chose to deliberately keep this information from the people who most needed to know — the parents!!
Can anyone imagine a Canadian or American day care (and that’s exactly what a mission boarding school is) where an accused sexual molester kept his employment as a care giver of children while the employers deliberately and knowingly withheld this information from authorities and parents? Does anyone not think there would be criminal charges brought against these employers, and very likely civil law suits as well? If that is just the minimal standard required by the law, should the Body of Christ actually do less??
After 20 years, far too much time has gone by, and far too much damage has already been done. Let us all now end the fear, stand up, and do whatever it takes to finally bring the whole mess out in the open and to justice.
Joel has written such a thorough appeal here. I wish every NTM missionary currently with NTM or formerly with NTM would read this.
I am still quite astounded that the “fear” so many have is for the protection of the mission. Since when do we live our lives out of fear anyway?
The lack of outrage for the wicked sins committed against these young people and then the deplorable way the field committee and the executive committee responded is mind blowing. What is wrong? Something has “died” in the lives of these missionaries that are so dead to reality and live in their plastic lives.
Do they have victims in their own family that they have hushed up? Have they required their adult children to still keep the image? Are they asking their adult children to deny their own true response to this situation?
If so, then you are perpetuating the abuse. You are making your own adult children deny the truth in order to make sure mom and dad are ok.
This is wrong. Parents and missionaries – Speak up. Quit the phony, plastic facade and start to live authentic lives. You know who you are and you are scared to be real. Start now.
Can you tell us (post) who this person(s) is that’s serving with ntm today, who were accused of abuse?
I have been getting a lot of messages from friends of mine in response to my support of the Fanda MK’s. And these messages have been mixed. Some are very supportive, while others are either concerned or upset at my part in supporting my friends. So in light of the latter responses I have been getting, I thought it would be good for me to write down some thoughts I have on this whole situation that might help to put it into perspective, all I ask is for a willingness and openness to at least hear what I have to say. So thank you in advance for that.
I have heard the following things:
this situation is not being handled properly (i.e. the Fanda MK’s are out-of-line)
it will affect “1000’s of missionaries who will end up in the cross-fire”
support for the mission will drop if this gets media attention, missionaries will likely become the targets of violence, mistakes were made
when will forgiveness begin?, it doesn’t call for a smear tactic
I caution your role in this
some of the things being said will really hurt and could impact the work in Senegal
they are raking NTM as a whole over the coals when it was a select that did not handle it right
NTM wouldn’t do this they have very high standards and strong biblical doctrine.
What strikes me the most about what is being said is there is a lot of misunderstanding, fear, and just plain being naive. For us to be afraid of what may happen to the rest of the NTM missionaries as a result of this issue tells me that we are totally missing the severity of this situation. We should not allow the fear of what may happen stop us from taking a stand for what is right. Sure there will be consequences and very likely negative fallout that could impact missionaries and their work. But the Fanda MK’s and those who are supporting them are NOT to blame for that. The real blame falls on the shoulders of the NTM leadership. They are the ones who are giving the mission the bad name. Let me explain. I remember being taught at the boarding school that having a good testimony was very important for the reputation of the mission and our parent’s work on the mission field. A good testimony was a reflection of our parents and most importantly of God. So in retrospect, NTM has that same responsibility to be filled with integrity and to protect the image that others will perceive of the mission and their missionaries. If people are concerned about the negative fallout from this, they need to be venting their concerns to NTM leadership for it because that is the root cause. You need to be telling the NTM leadership that you are angry at the negative image they are allowing by not taking the proper legal action in this matter. You need to be asking the NTM leadership why they are still handling similar situations the same way today. You need to be asking NTM leadership why at least one man who CONFESSED to molesting a little girl, is to this DAY still working as a missionary with NTM! You need to ask NTM leadership why they did not report the perpetrators, who molested these young MK girls at Fanda, to the proper legal authorities when that is what the law requires. It is ok to be angry, we are, but please vent that anger in the right direction and don’t shoot the messenger; we are just shining a light on the abuses that happened.
As for the comments I have received about it’s not fair that NTM as a whole is being raked through this when it was a select few that did not handle it right, you need to understand that when “NTM” is mentioned in the blog it is a reference to the leadership, to a religious institution, to policy, and not a reference to the individual missionaries within NTM. There are some very honest, hard working missionaries who are on the mission field with NTM, who are doing sincere, godly work, and we do recognize that fact.
My wife shared with me a great example of a corporate apology concerning the native Indians here in Canada and the way they were abused culturally, spiritually, mentally, physically, sexually and numerous other ways by churches, both Catholic and Protestant denominations, and by the Canadian government who assisted in running residential schools for First Nations people in Canada. If you want to read the article about the apology that the Canadian government made to the First Nations for the abuses done to them, then check out this article –>http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080611/harper_text_080611/20080611/ NTM leadership could really take some pointers from this. It really highlights the importance for recognizing and taking ownership of the wrongs that had been done in the name of an institution. Stephen Harper (the Canadian Prime Minister) said, “The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation.”
As for the question about when forgiveness will begin, one of my MK friends involved in this situation shared this with me, “it’s not about forgiveness, joel. i have forgiven ntm, and my abusers as well. forgiveness is not for the other person, but for yourself. (i know you know this, just thinking out loud)… this is not about unforgiveness. it’s about getting people to see that not only did these things happen many years ago, but are happening to this day, and ntm is still, STILL handling the situations the same way. they have not changed.”
I really wish you could all meet my dear friend in person, so that you could see her face, and hear her broken heart in this. All she is seeking, as are the others, is restitution for the crimes committed against her and her friends, validation for the hurts and atrocities they had to endure in the name of God’s will. Why is it so hard to say, “this is horrible”, “this is wrong”, “something needs to be done about this”, instead all they hear is “hush”, “be quiet”, “you are ruining the mission’s image”. Can you see how this can be just further wounding someone who has already been wounded?
And as for “cautioning my role in this”, I am here to ask, where is your support and outrage for the abuses that have happened in the name of “God’s will”? Where is your empathy towards these dear MK’s who had horrible atrocities committed against them? Why do some of you choose to tell me that you are sad about what happened but refuse to publicly offer your support to these MK’s? What is it that you are afraid of? Christ was outraged when he found money changers in His temple and He drove them out with a whip! What do you think Christ would do here in this situation upon finding out about the abuses that were allowed to happen even after these young MK’s tried to reach out for help and no-one would listen? We should all be outraged at what happened. I am here to challenge you to have a role in supporting these MK’s and any other MK who has ever been abused.
No one who is familiar with how NTM works needs any proof! And, most people realize that Senegal isn’t the only country where abuse and cover-ups have occurred.
Good for you, for getting this festering sore out in the open.