MK forum

Allbetter you are kind, no we don't want Kyle to leave but to keep reading. We need people to kindly challenge us which he did. Because more than anything we want the truth. And we want to stop the evil of child abuse.

Just a question from one who was abused Kyle are you saying that the lasting impact of abuse that many of the abused experience everyday doesn't matter because the good out weighs the bad. Were you ever told your good could never out weigh the even one bad thing you did in God's eyes, we were. That was the normal thing to tell people to convict them of their sins. You can never be good enough to out weigh the bad you do. All the nice things Hitler did for his friends don't out weigh the Holocaust. For some who have been abused there literately are no good memories. They are entitles to say there are no good memories as much as you say there are good memories. And both are true.

I went to Mamou and I have some great memories with my friends but witnessing sexual abuse of my room mate will always make Mamou evil in my mind. Being told that those who dance will go to hell, the next day being told I needed to take dance lessons in my 9 yr old mind meant this person wanted me in hell, and she did hate me. I have learned that yes even in an evil place there can be good memories as well as the bad. But the good will never cover the abuse we suffered. We must also remember that abuse is not a mistake it is a crime and needs to always be reported to authorities.

Dear Kyle,

Yes there were good missionaries, many good missionaries, who did good humanitarian deeds as well as their spiritual endeavours. So putting myself in your shoes, this must all come as a bit of a shock.
So staying in your shoes for a while, why not shuffle to the right a bit and find out how the MKs that you knew fared? They may well have also had happy childhoods as an MK and this is good. Or they might have been abused and life has disintegrated for them at the other end of the spectrum. Chances are many are somewhere in the middle.

Then with what you find out, there will come options, as there did for me. Alas when one finds a paedophile who is still alive, the chances are they are still offending and will do so until they are stopped or sucking their turkey sandwiches through a straw in some old folks home (and even then some of them old boys still don't keep their hands to themselves, trust me on this one, I'm a nurse).
So lets say you find out that not all is well with your MK colleagues of decades ago. You could go to their facebook page and tick the like box, you could offer to pray for them e.t.c.
But what about the paedophile? He's probably still out there, probably more confident and probably offending worse than he ever has. So there will be more victims.

Now you are in my shoes and the choice I made was to go after these men, to bring them to justice and to make accountable the system that protected and covered them.

Yes you had a great childhood, that is good. But the shoes of those who didn't have taken a very different journey and it is a journey that demands justice and there are many little shoes out there who paedophiles will send down the path of destruction, if you, me and anyone else who are confronted with this do nothing.

I hate to think of loved ones' suffering. My soul hurts when I do that. I don't want my parents, my brothers, my daughter, my friends to be in distress. EVER. I would very much like to protect them, to shield them to keep things nice for them. To pay for them at restaurants. To hold their hands during surgical pre-op counseling sessions.

I am so grateful for the people who were kind to me at Via. I desperately needed that.

Today, I don't need someone else to pay for me, although it would be nice. I can go to doctor appointments by myself. Sometimes I ask for Mr. Allbetter to come.

Do I wish that I could go back to life before I started reading the forum? Well, yes, and no. Mostly no. Because this seems more real. Because now I know that my old friends don't all think poorly of me. I've stopped feeling guilty for not being a missionary.

My therapist says I need to trust the people in my life, the ones I love, that they can handle this stuff. Give them more credit.

The missionaries that we would like to protect have had their livelihood exalted as being the most spiritual, their very actions and hobbies paid for by others, their words copied and distributed and prayed for . . .

They should be able to handle this. Pull up your under-roos and big-girl panties. Face it.

And you Batwoman and Superman pants-----

your
haha on me!

From: NTM Family eNews [mailto:ntm-family-enews@ntm.org]

Sent: Friday, November 16, 2012 10:18 AM

Subject: From Director of Child Protection
eNews

Your NTM USA connection

Nov. 16, 2012

In this issue ...

1) A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CHILD PROTECTION
2) OUTCOME STATEMENT REGARDING SUSAN MAJOR
3) THE FINE PRINT

* * *

1) A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CHILD PROTECTION

In 2009, NTM started the process of investigating allegations of child abuse that occurred over the course of our history. The first investigation was of our MK school in Senegal. Investigations are under way concerning East Brazil, Panama and Bolivia. Other countries will follow. In November 2011, Larry Brown, CEO of NTM USA, wrote, "It has been heart-wrenching to process all of this but we are determined to continue to walk in integrity and to trust the Lord for wisdom to do the right thing." Yes, wisdom is needed in each circumstance to do what is appropriate and that won't always look the same.

This is true in the case of Susan Major, whose outcome (see below) was expedited because she is an active member accused of historical child abuse.

We realize that the time these investigations are taking is causing some to question whether NTM is protecting its people, and causing others to wonder if NTM is throwing former members under the bus to save itself. The reality is, thoroughly investigating these old cases takes time, and thorough investigations are necessary for all involved.

To remind us of some of the values that were considered at the time this process began, I would like to quote some of what Larry Brown wrote in January 2012. He wrote,

We started this journey by stating that we were committed to humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God since He "resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." We are faced with this grievous sin. It should cause us to fall before God and ask for His grace and wisdom in dealing with it.

I do believe that there is a corporate responsibility that we must accept as we seek to face our history head on. We must admit the guilt, demonstrate repentance and seek reconciliation.

Our reasons for continuing to investigate past allegations to the end are threefold:

* We believe that child abuse is a grievous sin against the Lord and our MKs and it merits our care and attention to investigate these allegations.

* If there are still perpetrators within our membership, then we must be committed to removing them and doing what is appropriate.

* We hope that walking in integrity in dealing with these issues and in demonstrating care and concern to the MKs and their families will produce fertile ground for healing.

In our effort to walk in integrity, NTM has chosen to engage others outside of our organization in this process. Pat Hendrix was hired to lead the Independent Historical Abuse Response Team (IHART) whose investigators are carefully screened and vetted by an outside panel. IHART conducts investigations independently. IHART writes the Statement of Findings. IHART chooses the members of the Recommendations Panel. IHART then recommends outcomes to NTM.

To quote Larry Brown one last time, "This has not been an easy journey and we do not claim infallibility in the decisions that have been made or will be made. These are difficult, uncharted waters for us as an organization. … In our finiteness we need your prayers for wisdom and discernment as we move forward. We continue to seek godly counsel and are thankful for the team around us. If you have questions, comments, or concerns we are always available to hear them."

Brian Shortmeier
Director of Child Protection
NTM USA Executive Board


2) OUTCOME STATEMENT REGARDING SUSAN MAJOR

NTM received an allegation against Susan Major, when she was an active member serving in Mexico. At that point her status with NTM was changed and her options for ministry were restricted (no ministry with or near children) until the investigation into the allegations could be completed. The allegations are connected to the time she spent in Bolivia, 1966-1995, which are part of the larger investigation of the MK school at Tambo and the field of Bolivia. For the protection of children and for a determination on the future of her ministry, NTM requested and received an intermediate report from IHART.

Based on that intermediate report and NTM's Child Protection policies, the Executive Board has decided on the following:

* Ms. Major will no longer actively serve with NTM.
* Ms. Major is being required to retire and contribute to the MK fund to help with counseling costs for MKs as well as other costs related to abuse survivors.
* An official letter of reprimand from the EB will be placed in Ms. Major's file.
* NTM will make an apology in person, by phone or in writing to any abuse victims who are willing to permit IHART to provide their contact information to NTM.
* All donors who have supported Ms. Major in the last 12 months will be notified that because of her physical abuse of children she is being required to retire.
* Ms. Major will still be subject to further future possible recommendations of the Recommendations Panel to which all alleged perpetrators are subject.

When the Tambo investigation is complete, the Recommendations Panel will review the final Statement of Findings and present their recommended outcome to NTM. This report will be placed in Ms. Major's NTM file and sent to all her victims.

The EB also acknowledges failure on the part of leadership at that time to give proper oversight to Ms. Major and give adequate help to the children hurt by her actions. NTM is waiting on the full Tambo report to provide details regarding the actions/inactions of other members of the field including some former leaders.

* * *
3) THE FINE PRINT

Information in eNews is for NTM members only. Please do not forward any edition or portion of eNews, or post them on any website, or otherwise share them outside New Tribes Mission without the express written consent of NTM.

Please don't hit the "reply" button. If you have comments, let us know by emailing macon_hare@ntm.org

Members of NTM USA are automatically subscribed to eNews. NTM members from other sending countries are also welcome to subscribe by emailing macon_hare@ntm.org. You will need a valid ntm.org email address.

Yes, it is true.

The handling of the Susan Major investigation did indeed set a precedent that influenced the outcome of the Gary Earl investigation.

It does appear to me that there have been a few modifications which, in effect, lightened the punishment Gary Earl is receiving.

Here are the two penalty descriptions, for comparison:

SUSAN MAJOR:
(Nov. 16, 2012)

Based on that intermediate report and NTM's Child Protection policies, the Executive Board has decided on the following:

* Ms. Major will no longer actively serve with NTM.
* Ms. Major is being required to retire and contribute to the MK fund to help with counseling costs for MKs as well as other costs related to abuse survivors.
* An official letter of reprimand from the EB will be placed in Ms. Major's file.
* NTM will make an apology in person, by phone or in writing to any abuse victims who are willing to permit IHART to provide their contact information to NTM.
* All donors who have supported Ms. Major in the last 12 months will be notified that because of her physical abuse of children she is being required to retire.
* Ms. Major will still be subject to further future possible recommendations of the Recommendations Panel to which all alleged perpetrators are subject.


GARY EARL:
(March 12, 2014)

As a result of the findings of Pii NTM USA has done the following:

-Gary was required to retire.
-Gary was to stop all active service with NTM immediately. Sometimes when a member of NTM retires they continue to serve or volunteer. This is not an option for Gary.
-Gary is not to represent NTM in any formal or informal way.
-Gary’s sending church has been communicated with regarding the outcome by me personally, both written and verbal. This communication is ongoing.
-At the time that we spoke to Gary regarding these parameters for retirement, should he have decided to move into the NTM Homes he would have been required to pay $2500.00 to the MK Fund in addition to the other fees that are required to do so.
-Gary is still subject to the outcome and recommendations of the Papua New Guinea review should new information be found.

*************

Susan Major's name and picture can still be seen on the NTM website in the "Missionaries" section. She is listed simply as "retired". Not "required to retire" or "retired without celebration" or "retired with reprimand".

Gary Earl, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found on the NTM website.

He may be found, however, in Papua New Guinea, on the NTM school base, in an NTM dorm building. Yes, right now, today.

It is simple Raz. One is a woman and one is a man. Triber men are treated more leniently by their fellow men than women are. A woman will be publicly disgraced and sent home for her adultery, as happened in PNG, but a man will be allowed to carry on having an affair when it is common knowledge, as also happened in PNG. Both did the same thing, but were treated very differently, why?

NTM looks after men and closes their eyes to their crimes because it is run by men. The men who make these decisions are cowards, because they won't deal with a brute of a man like Gary Earl properly, because they are scarred he might retaliate. Hell, they probably got some woman to confront him and tell him he was going home!!!!!!!!!!!


I have said it before and I will say it again, NTM is not a safe place for a single woman, unless you like being hit on, leered at, treated as a second rate missionary or married off to the first bozo who turns up on the field!!!!!!!!!!

Vroom, vroom!

Let me help you hold that chainsaw, Aussie!

Cuz I think you're right!!