MK forum

JJ--good for you! No, I was nowhere near that place. Well, I ruled out any NT affiliation, but still thought my only value was to be had in missionary work, for what I could DO for the kingdom. The only people I knew more intimately who were not in the ministry were factory workers, and knew I wasn't going to do that. It wasn't until I was 30 that I realized my mind was of value and I went to school to become an RN. As a child and teenager because I was female, it didn't matter if I could think or not.

What a surprise to find out that I could go to a secular college, have an amazing career climbing the corporate ladder, make excellent money, and fire and brimstone did not rain down on me!

I do however, understand how some MK's have a difficult time coming back here to the US. It was scary not knowing how to do stuff, thrilling to be in a place where people hadn't known you since grade school and having some major culture shock. I don't know if NTM having a program for recently graduated students would be helpful or not, it may be to those who want to stay in the NT culture a bit longer. I've always thought a mentor program would be good. Matching up recent graduates with MK's already established in the US. Especially if they are in the same area. You would have someone to go to who knows exactly what your going through without having to go through a "program" and you would still be independent. Just a thought.

JJ

a couple weeks after high school, i was dropped out of an airplane into the wilderness of a foreign country (the good old USA) and left to survive...i bought a car on the little money i had saved up a couple years earlier while making minimum wage during furlough. not understanding anything about college-what it could do for me or how to pay for it...i finally made my way to NTBI...not for the Bible training per se, but so that i could feel a little more at home. after that, and a few more years of hard manual labor making pennies and i landed at NTM boot camp. i was glad i went, because it confirmed that i had to be done with NTM. so, there i was in my mid-20s with no marketable skills. i hopped from job to job, one of which took me onto a university campus. i saw some attractive looking women walk by me and i thought, maybe i should try this college thing out? so, i applied, was accepted, and enrolled. so far, painless. i talked to a financial aid person, they said that my ACT scores from way back in the day were good enough for a full ride, especially since i was a "non-traditional" (i.e., old) student, but that i could still take a loan out for living expenses. sounded good to me. so far, painless. i took 18 credits my first semester, and to my surprise, college wasn't as difficult as i had feared from what everybody had told me while in high school. the next year, i took 79 credit hours and less than two years after enrolling, i was done with my bachelor's degree. a little painful, i admit, but i like a good challenge. well, since that wasn't so bad afterall, why not keep going to school for a while longer...enrolled in graduate school. okay, that was painful. but, at the end of the day, i could finally afford more than $3 a day for food and didn't have to fix my muffler using tin foil and empty food cans. moral of the story for young mks - everybody has their own path in life and many are fine without college, but DO NOT let FEAR or lack of money keep you from going to college. And, if you go to college, study something marketable so that you don't end up where you started. it is less painful than you might think, you will meet some great people, and you can have lots of fun. (Caveat - after you are married with kids...much more painful). many many years ago (way before college), i snooped around some old boarding school files that i wasn't supposed to be looking at and read the reviews that all my old teachers had written about me. in my 10th grade review from one teacher, this is what was written: "[my name] is hopeless". when i quit my job to start college, my boss told me that i would never finish and it would probably take me 5 years or more, but to let him know when i dropped out. mk's - don't listen to this BS. the education we get at a "boarding school" is pretty damn good, despite the fact that no way in hell would i ever recommend sending a kid to one.

Thank you, Aussie, for trusting us with your story. Every time a new MK finds their way to us and we hear yet another account of abuse perpetrated upon a vulnerable, innocent child, by sanctimonious adults who claimed to be serving God but were actually serving themselves, I have the same response:

A complicated tangle of emotions. Someone else suffered. Someone else understands. Someone else has been stumbling along a broken road in search of some measure of healing and peace.

In your case, someone else has survived with a wry sense of humor intact. Which I love ...

You are so welcome here, Aussie. We validate your story, and we embrace you just as you are.

I also validate your memories of the elitist attitude of most American NTMers toward those from other countries who joined our ranks. You are sadly so accurate in your observations. It is very ironic that far too many people who become missionaries see themselves as superior to their fellow human beings.

If those Americans looked down on Australians, just how did they perceive and treat the citizens of their host countries? Those non-whites who were even lower down on the totem pole than the Aussies and Kiwis? Especially because - gasp! - they weren't even Christians?

Sad, sad, sad. Pathetic.

When the time comes for IHART to investigate the atrocities in Oliguti and Numonohi, I do hope you will let your voice be heard, Aussie. Because those reprehensible adults who abused, molested and mistreated you need to be held accountable for their crimes.

But can I guarantee you that you will be treated with the respect and honor that is due you, even though you live in a distant country? No, I cannot guarantee that. In the end you may be frustrated, disappointed, and even angry.

But I still hope you will add your voice to the many others, because it is important that the world get an idea of the huge number of children who suffered torment on NTM's largest and greatest mission field.

Papua New Guinea.

Well said, Aussie and Raz. Hey Aussie, I once posted something on the PNG page about how bad I felt about how we Americans (MKs included) treated those who weren't Americans (specifically thinking of how the American MKs treated Brits, Aussies and NZers), but it seemed like others didn't know what I was talking about. I don't know if we were so insecure in being out of our parent's home culture, so had to cling to our American pride and be the only right ones and look down on everyone else, or what. I do know what you are talking about. Had you come to the USA, everyone would have been so fascinated with you because of your accent etc, but there in PNG we Americans weren't so kind to anyone different. I regret that very much.

Now, if I got to choose somewhere to live where I really wanted to live, it would be Aussie!

Something else I have come across - Commonwealth countries are much better at prosecuting older abuse cases, even ones that happened overseas. The USA if hopeless with that (hopefully they will change the laws to allow for that).