Big Sandy Family Conference April 2017

[fundiefan]

The main things I've gotten out of this discussion-Big Sandy is where fundies go to play at real life & feel important. Fake training, remind the wimmenz of their place, ATI big shots get to bloviate, many get to sell their wares. No doubt there are daddy's & daughters scoping out which boys & families are the most godly choices for god to arrange a magical courtship & marriage.

I spent 3 Days last week at a conference dedicated to current mortgage regulations & Dodd Frank repeal & other possible government regulation changes...some of the most boring, frustrating topics a human can suffer through. And I'd be willing to bet I learned more about life & people than any Big Sandy participant. The days were sucker away with regulations but we went out to dinner and to a jazz bar and laser tag. I engaged with roughly 75 people I'd never met before and while most of us were there as job requirements, we all brought something unique -ourselves, experiences & perspectives-that made those 3 Days valuable.

When you go to a place like Big Sandy with everyone living the same lives & following the same rules, it's not a life experience, it's an ego pary.

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

On 28/04/2017 at 10:11 AM, metheglyn said:

The discussion a couple pages back about the ATI/Gothard Umbrella Song versus Rihanna's Umbrella reminded me of something that might have made the Duggars' heads explode

I'm not much of a Rihanna fan, romanticised orchestral cover versions of pop songs usually make me squirm with irritation, and I generally prefer traditional hymns and classical music for such grand occasions in such grand surroundings, yet I thought that (and the Coldplay song posted downthread ) worked beautifully!  Also, I learned that the Swedish word for umbrella is paraply  (I think) which is fascinating as Swedish is not a romance language, yet it clearly comes from the same root as parapluie. Might be a borrowed word? 

The Duggarlings could also learn a thing or two about how to do modest wedding dresses from both the bride here (she looked fantastic) and some of the other guests.  And how cute was that little todder clapping along to the music!

[flycat]

Was big sandy impacted by the tornados last night?

[EowynW]

4 hours ago, flycat said:

Was big sandy impacted by the tornados last night?

No. Heavy rain, I think,but no tornados. 

My whole area is, though. My job is completely destroyed. Friends have lost everything. It is so bad here we still can't quite process it. My inlaws misses a direct hit by 1/4 of a mile. 

[Audrey2]

38 minutes ago, EowynW said:

No. Heavy rain, I think,but no tornados. 

My whole area is, though. My job is completely destroyed. Friends have lost everything. It is so bad here we still can't quite process it. My inlaws misses a direct hit by 1/4 of a mile. 

@EowynW, I'm glad to hear that you are safe, but am so sorry to hear of all the ways in which your life, as well as your friends and family have been turned upside down. 

[EowynW]

3 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

@EowynW, I'm glad to hear that you are safe, but am so sorry to hear of all the ways in which your life, as well as your friends and family have been turned upside down. 

Thank you. It has been hard. Especially for my husband. His hometown of 400 (just & minutes down the road) has been torn up terribly. We have dead livestock everywhere. I think we are still in shock. It's going to be hard for this area to bounce back. Not much money in this part of Texas. Sweet people though. 

[2manyKidzzz]

48 minutes ago, EowynW said:

No. Heavy rain, I think,but no tornados. 

My whole area is, though. My job is completely destroyed. Friends have lost everything. It is so bad here we still can't quite process it. My inlaws misses a direct hit by 1/4 of a mile. 

So sorry to hear this. Sending wishes for recovery. 

[Howl]

I came here to check since the tornadoes in Canton were only about 40 miles from Big Sandy.  @EowynW, I am so sorry to hear of the devastation in your area. Hugs across the ethernet to a fellow Texan.  Is there any effective and organized local group helping out in your area that is able to accept financial donations via pay pal?  I know Red Cross may be there  but I'm looking for a more local entity or a church with a shelter.  

 

[EowynW]

7 minutes ago, Howl said:

I came here to check since the tornadoes in Canton were only about 40 miles from Big Sandy.  @EowynW, I am so sorry to hear of the devastation in your area. Hugs across the ethernet to a fellow Texan.  Is there any effective and organized local group helping out in your area that is able to accept financial donations via pay pal?  I know Red Cross may be there  but I'm looking for a more local entity or a church with a shelter.  

 

Churches are definitely better than the Red Cross. I  have heard that there are churches in rockwall that are accepting donations but I am not quite sure yet. Have you joined the Texas Disaster Recovery group on Facebook yet? There are people on there that have been pointing people from other parts of the state towards places to donate safely. My brain is still mush right now, I'm sorry. Things are still in such a disorder here. We can't even get into canton yet. 

[Howl]

I'll go to Texas Disaster Recovery right now.   I was shocked how many people were killed/injured.  Just checking on line, there were 4 tornadoes; at least some were EF 3 and apparently over 5,000 houses/businesses were damaged or destroyed. 

[EowynW]

42 minutes ago, Howl said:

I'll go to Texas Disaster Recovery right now.   I was shocked how many people were killed/injured.  Just checking on line, there were 4 tornadoes; at least some were EF 3 and apparently over 5,000 houses/businesses were damaged or destroyed. 

I would stake my life on there being a 5th in my tiny town. It would've been the second one through our town that night. We heard it, saw the power flashes, felt the inflow, felt the wind switch and smelled the trees being broken. There was some damage in a field south side of town but it was never confirmed. 

It looks exactly like a scene from tornado alley Oklahoma. It is very bad here. 

[feministxtian]

@EowynW and all the other Texans affected. I can't imagine. I just can't. My heart goes out to all of you. Sending you all love and light and prayers (if you want them)

[newyorkgirl52]

On 4/22/2017 at 5:19 PM, Destiny said:

So if big sandy is this week, doesn't that conflict with one of the Joy / Austin wedding date theories?

Krista's been posting on her instagram and Facebook (she's on FB as Kris Gay idk why) about booking a flight to Arkansas. And a woman (who I think is part of the home church fundie group...i think there were pics of them together at the other weddings or baby showers or something) asked if she was coming THIS weekend or in June...which makes me think some event like maybe Joy's wedding is this weekend...and then another event...maybe another graduation or maybe Joe is getting married...is happening in june 

But I feel like if it was a Duggar event also why would she post this public? Maybe accident? Idk. 

[justmy2cents]

@newyorkgirl52 Maybe Joy's shower is this weekend?

[newyorkgirl52]

5 minutes ago, justmy2cents said:

@newyorkgirl52 Maybe Joy's shower is this weekend?

Maybe. But I can't imagine someone thinking she'd pay that much for a flight ticket to go to a shower? 

Why isn't J-Rod speaking? lol We can always count on her to tell us what's going on!

[HereticHick]

49 minutes ago, newyorkgirl52 said:

Maybe. But I can't imagine someone thinking she'd pay that much for a flight ticket to go to a shower? 

Why isn't J-Rod speaking? lol We can always count on her to tell us what's going on!

I can see attending a shower--if I was busy the weekend of the wedding.

And did you notice this post on Jessa's latest Instagram?  I wish I knew where this person lives. But I get the feeling she's not in Tontitown, or she wouldn't be so excited about seeing them.

 

[Nikedagain?]

2 hours ago, newyorkgirl52 said:

Krista's been posting on her instagram and Facebook (she's on FB as Kris Gay idk why) about booking a flight to Arkansas. And a woman (who I think is part of the home church fundie group...i think there were pics of them together at the other weddings or baby showers or something) asked if she was coming THIS weekend or in June...which makes me think some event like maybe Joy's wedding is this weekend...and then another event...maybe another graduation or maybe Joe is getting married...is happening in june 

But I feel like if it was a Duggar event also why would she post this public? Maybe accident? Idk. 

WAIT, WAIT.

I just looked at this girl's profile to take a break from my diatribe about healthcare.

She's a friend of the Duggar girls? 

SHE IS A LIBERAL.

someone explain. my head is exploding. 

[newyorkgirl52]

18 hours ago, Nikedagain? said:

WAIT, WAIT.

I just looked at this girl's profile to take a break from my diatribe about healthcare.

She's a friend of the Duggar girls? 

SHE IS A LIBERAL.

someone explain. my head is exploding. 

 

I pulled some pics of her and the Duggar girls off of here for proof. I've always found her really fascinating because I can't figure her out. QUick summary: She went to John Brown University the christian college near where the Duggars lived in Jinger got married...she somehow ended up at the Duggar home church and became good friends with the old girls and was the assistant at Jinger's wedding...was part of Benessa's Bible study...and she used to comment on the Pickles page and try to defend them...I wouldn't call her  a liberal she made a really bad anti-choice back in January saying if you support abortion you wanted her dead cuz she was born to teen parents, after ironically going to the woman's march that was really confrontational...if you read her posts she still identifies as a conservative just a more modern conservative I guess? idk

She goes to law school in NYC and I had honestly thought the Duggars would have cut her off because she is very anti-Trump, and has been really open about stepping away from being a fundie which you can read about on your blog. I was hoping she'd help Jinger escape but jing is wearing pants so step in the right difrection. I'd still be surprised if the duggars haven't cut her off because of what she said. 

Like i said i find her interesting, she gives me hope for the duggar girls, if you ask her questions about her faith or community or anything she'll answer (i have before) but she won't answer duggar questions and she made a post about reading through FJ once and I think she doesn't post anymore cuz she has read what ppl say. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

[subsaharanafrica]

On 4/28/2017 at 0:52 AM, formergothardite said:

That would be Bill Gothard originally, I'm not sure who makes up the fake ranks now. The whole thing is to make people feel like they are doing something military without parents having to send their precious sons off to the real military where they will be exposed to the ebil world. 

I know someone who back in the day was told by Gothard at ALERT that he was not leadership material and would not be allowed into the Leadership Class (or whatever it was called).  

Years later he posted a giant FU Bill Gothard post to FB the day he made Captain in a branch of the actual military. 

From what he posted I assumed that in the early days at least it was all up to Gothard's whims. 

[Howl]

On 4/30/2017 at 10:31 PM, EowynW said:

I would stake my life on there being a 5th in my tiny town. It would've been the second one through our town that night. We heard it, saw the power flashes, felt the inflow, felt the wind switch and smelled the trees being broken. There was some damage in a field south side of town but it was never confirmed. 

It looks exactly like a scene from tornado alley Oklahoma. It is very bad here. 

The National Weather Service has now confirmed 7 or 8 tornadoes in the area that night.  I know the 24-hour news cycle has moved on, but y'all aren't forgotten. 

[EowynW]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

The National Weather Service has now confirmed 7 or 8 tornadoes in the area that night.  I know the 24-hour news cycle has moved on, but y'all aren't forgotten. 

So much rural land in this county I would be surprised if a few more roamed around the back country. We watched one tried to form above the house but after about 5 minutes it gave up. Was close though. 

 

Still a disaster zone. My FIL is the Mayor in one of the tiny towns hit and I don't even know if he has slept a full night since the incident. 

[Bretta]

On 25/04/2017 at 6:15 PM, formergothardite said:

Almost all these guys are ATI homeschool students whose parents sent them here. I doubt any of them are physically prepared for these things and from the stories I've read the staff don't seem to care much about ensuring safety. There were lots of stories about ALERT guys getting injured and the staff not treating it seriously. 

It is offensive how they pretend to be military while refusing to actually join the military.

I hope the picture of the guy talking to the woman sitting behind the desk wasn't a "share the gospel" picture, but I have a feeling it was. 

Your post just reminded me of the song "Two by Two" from Book of Mormon. "We are the army of the church of Jesus Christ.... Of latter-day saints". In fact, after growing up in ATI so much of the book of Mormon was relatable. The smiles, the hair, the uniform, the repression, the white-ness....

When Elder Price sang "It's something I've foreseen, now that I'm nineteen. I'll do something incredible...". Were taught that we (teens) need to get out there and tell people to stop using birth control and trust God's will, etc. Etc. 

[ophelia]

My heart goes out to everyone who was affected by the tornadoes!

But on a side note: wouldn't this be the a good time for alle these manly men over at the ALERT academy to show off how well they are trained and how quickly they can help? Since BRADRICK! seems to be out of order right now.

[Howl]

3 hours ago, ophelia said:

My heart goes out to everyone who was affected by the tornadoes!

But on a side note: wouldn't this be the a good time for alle these manly men over at the ALERT academy to show off how well they are trained and how quickly they can help? Since BRADRICK! seems to be out of order right now.

I've been wondering if they showed up to help.  Can't imagine the magnitude of the cleanup required. 

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

I've been wondering if they showed up to help.  Can't imagine the magnitude of the cleanup required. 

I didn't see any pictures on Instagram and they tend to post pictures when they actually go do something. The FB page just has them pretending to be real military. 

https://www.facebook.com/alertacademy/