ST ATEI\IE~T by

On August 14, 1993, I was brought by my father and grandmother never forget my first day there. At breakfast.there
r to

to

New Bethany

I'll Her

was a girl who came in the day before me

name was Jamie Caldwell.

Jamie did not want to eat her cereal and I witnessed 5 girls grab ncr, I was told, "If vou

slap her, kick her, and try to literally shove the cereal down this girl's mouth.

try to rebel against our rules, this will happen to you." My second day there, we went to church Brother Mack was preaching. He said all kinds of strange things to all of us He talked about

how wrong it was to wear pants, listen to secular music and socialize with people with diflereru beliefs He said if I didn't believe what he said, i was going to hell I was only 13 years old
and

no, I wasn't exactly innocent or the perfect little girl, but what he said reallv scared me while, I began wondering if he was right was true. So, after
4

After

months, I started believing what they

~ald

I felt that my parent had been hiding the truth from me all my life, and in my mind the
"Jot \ cry

Fords replaced my family because I thought they loved me enough to tell me the truth much later, my mind started changing

When I was there for 6 months, I got paddled

for

throwing a flash light to a girl and the girl didn't' catch it A few weeks later I got paddled again because a girl poured baby powder on me and both of us got paddled woman I felt so much love for didn't really love me as much as she said I started feeling that this Not too long afterwards,

Jamie Caldwell and I were talking about things we used to do at home, like what songs we listened to, schools we went to and things like that, which was against the rules. Another girl

found out somehow - Amiee Nelson and she told on us. All three of us got paddled and we all had to stand all night and the next day at school, I fell asleep, so I had to stand all day in school By that time, I really began to resent the Ford's I began to think seriously and I felt that they Everyone has a and followed the

never really cared about me. I remember having a "helpee" named Amy Rogers. "helper' when they come in, This girl has been there for a while and cooperated rules. rules The helper tells the new girl or "helpee" the rules and consequences Amy had what Mrs. Ford called and "attitude problem."

of not following the

They tied her up and hit her and

kept her in a room with a girl much larger than her for at least three days. I felt sorry for her. but

~.

they made another understand

larger girl her helper.

They finally sent her home with her sister

I didn't

how they could go home, yet, when my dad was having open heart surgery, we were They also rice up a
9

not allowed to go and see him and I didn't know if I' d ever see him again year old girl to her bed every night, named down a girl or saw a girl being held down Brother Christina Six There

were several times I had held [was there when

1 was Shannon Ellis' first helper.

~.

Mack slapped her across the Taee ..\2ecause she wouldn't

say her name

Then he gra0bed

her and hit her over and over again until she said her name girls "hold down" Misty Mao stomach

[helped

my sister and several other

I fell very badly because I kicked her several times in the bad: and some of the girls gOI. Angel Johnson was Kahna Sek was uiven 15 :,(k~ to:
......

I don't think anyone deserves the treatment

J .. "

treated verv badlv

Thcv bruised her face and made her vomit. The day [ left, Brother

saying goodby to Kana Xiong

Mack slapped me across the

t:1C~'

lie

took my glasses off my face, hit me with the paddle and said, if I didn't start talking, I would he paddled until I started talking My sister and I and several other people were expelled for The The~e

communication

with the boys. I feel that New Bethany does not know how to treat children than kindness and love

2 years and 9 months I was there I saw more anger and bitterness was a time that I thought the Ford's were wonderful

people, but now I know I was deceived Many girls only got bitter, angry. and It seems that they have to take I didn't
'.\'a111

These people have no business taking care of children. frustrated

and that is why they go home and get in more trouble.

all that anger out over someone and allot of times they take it out on their parents. anyone to feel the way I felt isolated, out-of-touch, and confused,

Date

MARLA CRIPPEN
NOTAiY PUBLIC

Stc,. of T."', My Comm. Esp. 1130/00