I attended ATFs in Denver since 1996. The first time I went to ATF it was amazing, the preaching, the music, it was so wonderful. I wondered how someone could ever be that kind of Christian. I grew up in a Southern Baptist background. I went every year waiting until I could attend the HA. It seemed to me like a place a Christian could grow and develop into a respected Christian, where they were mentored and helped with the tough questions of faith. When 2000 came around and I was finally out of school, I went to the HA break out session. I signed up right away. I was unable to go on a mission trip with TMM that summer because the ATF I attended was in May. My GE rep hounded me ruthlessly and when I was unable to come up with the money for my summer trip he told me I should get on a plane and head to TX as an act of faith and God would provide. I didn’t and he told me I was less of a Christian for not having faith, or that I must have un-confessed sin to not have gotten the money in 3 weeks.
Well thinking this was just a fluke and the whole ministry couldn’t be this way I told him I would go on a Christmas missions trip and start the HA in January. I worked all fall full time to save enough money for the mission trip to Mexico and the HA. I did fund raising and saved every penny. I received one phone call from my GE caller, and 2 phone calls from my HA caller. None of which were good experiences.
During this time my family tried to talk me out of the whole thing because it seemed like a crackerjack kinda place that couldn’t organize a picnic much less an entire year and multiple mission trips. I feel I must clarify. During that summer and fall the GE and HA lost my pastor rec 6 times – 2 in GE and 4 in HA. He wouldn’t do another one if TMM had lost the last two. They lost a $500 check (more on that latter). 2 mission trip apps, 4 sets of photos (two of which I found during my time at TMM) lost an entire HA app from the ATF, lost a mailed in app and finally had to do one over the phone. They lost multiple checks (more later) for those times and then they lost another $50 donation check and I NEVER received the GE acceptance packet. I finally received my HA acceptance pack the first week in December, during which time I found out about everything that I needed for the HA.
I called and called and called and called and NEVER heard from my GE or ANY rep on where I was supposed to go when I got to Dallas, for my GE trip and my HA stay. I found out most of my travel arrangements, the 2 weeks before Christmas. It is very hard to fly from Denver or Albuquerque ( I finally found ONE seat on a delta flight from Albuquerque to DFW) I lost my way here, the 18th I think of December that year I did hear from my HA rep on what I needed to do. He told me there were TM people everywhere and all I needed to do was ask ANY information desk in the airport and they would direct me to a TMM personnel. I arrived in Dallas around 10AM CST. I had my 2 bags for HA trip and my GE trip. I wandered around D terminal going to every information desk in the whole terminal, nobody had even heard of TM, HA, GE or anything to do with the ministry. Around 4pm I began to feel hopeless. I went to the nearest pay phone bank, waited my turn and kept calling TMM 800 numbers for over an hour until I got a live person. I have no idea who it was but they told me where to go in B terminal to find the TMM people. At this point I was exhausted from carrying my stuff for 7 hours around DFW. When I arrived at B terminal at the correct gate a Team Leader (who was a GI) chewed me out that if I expected to be at the HA I should have been their much earlier and I had no excuse for being this late.
I kept trying to explain but was given no chance. It was a lesson I learned early and often at GE and TMM. I was expected to be perfect, to have knowledge of everything and not knowing was no excuse. Ignorance and naivety were sins to be punished most severely.
The Team Leader (TL) told me he was left in charge, the girls were to sit on one side of the door, the guys on the other and we were to have quiet times as punishment for being late. We were not to talk or do anything but read our Bibles. I felt like leaving the entire thing and losing all the money, and all the hope I had for my next year at this point. Well it gets worse.
The bus came back at around 7pm. Since I was going to be in the HA, the TL told me to wait at the back of the line and make sure that everyones bags and things got on board. I lost my bags because of that TL, I did not recover them until the next day. Well needless to say I was told to keep my sleeping bag and Bible out. Me, the TL, and 2 other “lucky” missionarys were not able to go on the bus because of not enough seats. I had not eaten since 6am MST that morning. I was not allowed to leave to eat, no food was provided. I had to sit and read my Bible and think about what kind of a horrible Christian I was for being such a bad sinner, (sorry for the sarcasm). When I arrived I had to go directly to bed and had to be chided yet again for being late by the Project Director (PD). I was told I should have paid better attention and eaten at the airport before I came. I was told that I was on thin ice and in danger of being BV’d because I told them I wanted to eat before I went to sleep. I was never given a chance to explain. I went to bed hungry. We were woken up and got on a bus and headed for Mexico.
Once I was on the trip with my TL’s and my MA things went MUCH better. My MA was also going to the HA, his name was Alex. Me and Alex became best friends during our times together at the HA. I avoided the other HA people except Alex, especially the PD and the TL that I met at the airport. The trip went well. It was not exactly what I expected but not bad. Not the best mission trip I had ever been on, nor the worst. The worst was during my year at the HA…
8 comments:
“We expect you to be adults here, kid! Now go stand in the corner!”
Ah, the mishandling of interns/missionaries by TM “leadership”. Where’s the compassion and understanding? Where is the Jesus-love in all of this? Aside from that, where is the customer service? Missionaries pay a lot of money to go on trips, and TM handles them as though they are doing them this great favor. How can a company function at this level of disorganization and lack of communication (avoidance of communication)? Boggles the mind. Sorry you went through that.
June 15, 2010 9:10 AM
Jacqueline said…
Mike,
I’m so sorry you went through that. They threatened you to get BV’d because you were HUNGRY? Come on people!
“Even you who are evil give good things to your children. . . “
June 15, 2010 10:47 AM
Shannon Kish said…
Wow Mark, good to see you here.
You know, for a long time, I thought I was alone in feeling the way we do about the HA. I knew others felt this way, but none of them were from my class. Recently, however, there have been several of our classmates here and it is more comforting.
I also got lost in DFW on a Christmas Trip. I wandered the terminal for a while, called the 800 # and go no one, and then finally, some other lost missionaries turned interns came walking. So, I was lost, but not alone. My group, however, never went to campus. We went to a church in Dallas until we had to leave.
Mark, I’d love to know which January you were. Find me on facebook. 🙂
June 15, 2010 11:33 AM
Candor said…
Mike – Since the cult will NEVER apologize to you – I’ll do. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. You didn’t deserve it and you definitely didn’t PAY to have someone treat you like that. It’s so inexcusable it makes me sick. (My own opinion is that) a lot of the people running the trips are class 1 a-holes. And a lot of the people who aren’t are just too unorganized, incompetent, or completely ignorant to get anything done right anyway. Sorry you had to find this out from firsthand experience.
June 15, 2010 11:37 AM
squeakycheez07 said…
What do you expect from a ministry ran by 18yr olds?
When I was there, yeah, I did my best to keep in contact with my people. I was chewed out by parents. But, I didnt give a crap. I hated my job.
Mark. I’m so sorry they treated you that way. I’m looking forward to part 2.
June 15, 2010 12:10 PM
Anonymous said…
I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I worked in International Operations (Now GE) when I was an intern and the majority of the people doing shuttle runs were on little to no sleep. Not that this excuses their behavior but it could account for some of the short tempers and lack of compassion. The lack of sleep is a whole other issue. Thank the Lord for his grace and mercy over those driving the shuttle buses.
June 15, 2010 3:33 PM
Mynda said…
I keep seeing a re-occurring theme of
“I must have un-confessed sin to not have gotten the money in 3 weeks.”
It seems like if something goes wrong then it is the fault of un-confessed sin….
What a terrible thing to live under.
June 15, 2010 5:58 PM
Candor said…
I also apologize for calling you Mike, Mark. 🙂
June 15, 2010 7:04 PM