MK forum

Sounds to me like NTM has a lot of control over a lot of things. A lot of minds, a lot of shady pasts, a lot of information and a lot of money to keep all that control.

Oh did I say money? The love of which is obviously being used to protect crime instead of reaching out to the lost. Paul Fleming must be turning in his grave.

How much longer will the farce go on for? Till the money stops rolling in and the naïve open their eyes enough to stop it!

Let me recap the objectives named in Tibby's notification, sent out twelve long months ago, with my inserted observations:

Our original goals for this process have not changed. These are:

1. to remove any abusers who may be serving with NTM USA
In Dec. 2013, I sent an e-mail to Larry Brown, pointing out to him that there were FIVE child abusers who had been named here on Fanda Eagles, who were, at that time, still members of the mission. I just checked the mission website, and all five of these people are still members of the mission today.

2. to give victims an avenue to tell their story
Apparently the avenue for victims to tell their story is that they get to tell their story to investigators. Those stories are then entrusted to Theresa Sidebotham. I don't know what her current relationship with NTM is, but I do know that a year ago, she was described to some people as being a house counsel working for NTM.

3. to offer a means for counseling for any victims who desire that
I am now aware of several cases where NTM has capped what they are willing to pay for counseling fees. That should be revealed publicly, in my opinion. There is a financial limit to NTM's compassion for MKs in pain.

4. to learn from the past to make our organization as safe as possible for all children
I acknowledge that several years ago there was a good curriculum and a good plan in place for child abuse awareness, and there was mandated training at the Missionary Training Center and also for mission members who were finished with training and were out in their areas of assignment. However, it is my understanding that the originators of this program are no longer in the mission, and I do not know if there has been follow-through on keeping this curriculum going and enforcing the continued training on the field.



We believe that having Ms. Sidebotham coordinate the IHART process is the best path forward. She will be able to:

1. provide new avenues of communication
I am not sure how NTM planned for her to do this. As far as I know, all this has meant is that Theresa set up an IHART website. http://www.ihart.care/ The things posted on this website have been discussed here in the forums. May I point out that apparently there was no progress by IHART to report for the month of October. No update for that month, now past.

2. implement current best practices standards
We have not been able to ascertain exactly what that means, but we think the "best practice standards" Theresa is following are those set up by the Child Safety and Protection Network, an organization co-founded by Scott Ross, legal counsel for NTM, which is a network of mission agencies who help each other with abuse prevention and abuse response. (I would interpret this as helping each other protect each other's mission agencies ... but that is not a stated goal on their website. http://childsafetyprotectionnetwork.org/about )

3. further ensure the privacy of those who have entrusted their stories to IHART
Ensure the privacy of those who have entrusted their stories to IHART? How is this being accomplished, exactly? We know from the Pii experience with the data they had collected on Panama, that instead of sending all their information to Gammon and Grange, as previously decided by Pat Hendrix, Pii was redirected to instead send their information to Theresa Sidebotham herself, which they did. (A side note here, if you look at Gammon and Grange's website, they say they "serve all types of nonprofit organizations, including charities, churches, religious ministries, trade associations, and educational institutions. We will provide you with expert advice and affordable services for almost any issue your nonprofit organization may encounter..." http://www.gg-law.com/)

How is IHART going to ensure the privacy of those who have entrusted their stories to IHART? I think the answer is becoming rather obvious. Your privacy will be ensured because your story will never be told publicly. NTM doesn't want your story to be told. They don't want it to be told because the person who hurt you as a child was an adult member of their organization. It does not reflect well on the mission, if it is made known that there were people who beat children, or emotionally manipulated or abused them, or molested or raped them. It does not look good if people understand that in the past, the mission pressured parents to abandon their small children, as young as 6 years old, in remote boarding schools which were often staffed by underqualified or downright abusive missionaries. If the remaining two "ongoing" investigations are ever actually completed, expect that, like the Vianopolis investigation, no one will receive or read the report except the actual victims who participated in the interviews, and even the reports they receive will only cover the information they themselves gave the investigators.

Oh yes, your privacy will be protected. Your secrets will remain secret. And those who hurt you will remain protected and unscathed.

In closing, I will note that nowhere in Tibby's notification does it state that there is a goal of finishing the investigations into abuse in Panama and Bolivia.

I have learned to pay very close attention to the language people use. So I am pointing that out. Finishing the investigations, publishing the reports, and enforcing consequences to child abusers are NOT stated goals of NTM, in the notification from Tibby last year.

And so, a year later, we are still waiting ....

Waiting to hear nothing.
Waiting to see nothing.
And after ALL that verbiage!

Preach it, Deja do! You are so right!

Has anyone else noticed, it's now been over a year since NTM introduced the new, improved IHART, with Theresa Sidebotham at the helm? (This was the point at which it became abundantly clear that IHART never was, nor ever would be an independent company run by Pat Hendrix, because if that had been the case, New Tribes Mission could not have replaced Pat with Theresa in IHART, which NTM now calls "a process of NTM".)

Over a year.

What was it that Tibby Westcott wrote in her announcement of Nov. 6, 2014 (see the first entry of this thread)?

She said NTM's goals for the "process" had not changed. They reportedly still want to to remove any abusers who may be serving with NTM USA. Then why are there five missionary abusers who have been named here on Fanda Eagles who are still listed on NTM's membership list? NTM says they wish to give victims an avenue to tell their story. This "avenue" is evidently the telling of the MK's story to IHART (CSPN?) "investigators" ... and then what? In the case of the Vianopolis investigation, each MK was mailed a report of their own story, and their story only. This is a story already known to the MK survivor, because they lived it! Is this all that is meant by having an "avenue"? NTM says it will offer a means for counseling for victims. And yet, in the case of those who are the most in need of long periods of counselling, NTM has capped what they will pay, which in essence says to the MK, "You're not over that yet? Well, we're done paying for you." NTM also claims it wants to make the organization as safe as possible for today's children. I would like to know what has happened with the child safety curriculum which was so carefully designed by missionaries who are no longer a part of the organization. Is this well-meaning program still being taught and enforced as passionately as it was when those people were still in the organization, making sure it was being implemented? I do not know.

Tibby also wrote, over a year ago, "We believe that having Ms. Sidebotham coordinate the IHART process is the best path forward. She will be able to provide new avenues of communication, implement current best practices standards and will further ensure the privacy of those who have entrusted their stories to IHART."

The best path forward? New avenues of communication?

In an entire year, Theresa Sidebotham has not brought the Panama investigation to a close. This is an investigation that was essentially already finished. In fact, a Recommendations Panel had already met, and had submitted recommendations for consequences for the findings of the investigators.

The only thing that has been visible to the waiting public, that has been produced by Theresa in a year is the IHART website. http://www.ihart.care/

Here you can read progress reports, where Theresa writes things like this:

Feb, 2015: "I am very pleased to report that this team (Bolivia) is making good progress toward a comprehensive finished investigation."

April, 2015: "The Bolivia team is making good progress ..."
"The Panama team ... is on target with their planned timeframes and goals."

May, 2015: "Both the Bolivia and Panama teams are making good progress ... they are staying within the timeframes they have planned ..."

June, 2015: "Our two investigations in Panama and Bolivia continue to be on track ..."

October, 2015: "Both teams have continued to make good progress toward their completion goals."

Just cut and paste, Theresa. Just cut and paste.

And keep collecting your fees, or your salary ... whatever it is you're being paid, from the donations of God's oblivious people, and the faithful mission members who are not asking hard questions about where the money is going that is being taken out of their vouchers every month.

So how much does one get paid for doing this? Shall we say $100 per hour.

$13 goes into $100 7.7 times.

So every hour (at $100 per hour) 92 folk in PNG will not be getting enough rice to feed themselves for 3 days, because it has been spent going round in legal circles or going no where at all.

Now if this has taken a year and a lawyer works 40 hours per week, that is (52 x 40 x 12 x 7.7 ) 192,192 drought stricken folk in PNG who will not be getting rice for 3 days.

Now I might be wrong on how much a lawyer charges in the States, quite possibly I underestimated the charge out rate. I did have to employ a lawyer down here to sort out a divorce settlement and got charged $600 per hour 10 years ago. That would put the figure at over 1.1 million.

Food for thought (but no rice)

Ugh!

I think Bemused is painting a cryptic metaphor. It's not about rice, it is about where the money is going. Missions collect money by telling donors it is going to reach the unsaved in the wop wops and build churches e.t.c. But in NTM's case much of that money is going to pay legal expenses and people who are no where near the wop wops, cuz they is still at home with nice little titles and comfortable jobs.
So who really is getting shafted by all this time wasting that Raz so kindly points out, the BROWN GOLD. So are the donors and so are all the victims. It's really bad stewardship and I bet God is spitting tacks, because it is being done in His name.

I think NTM is deliberately messing around so they can buy time to get their assets into places they can't be reached by legal judgements that go against them. And I bet my bottom dollar the places they are being hidden will be controlled by a select few who are just waiting for the right time to abandon ship and sail away in their well provisioned life boats.

Got news for you boys, you are being watched and not just by God!

THERE IS NO RICE BECAUSE THEY ARE DENYING HIS NAME THRICE AND THE COCK IS CROWING.