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Bontragers and Bowers Engaged


Bazinga

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I think most of us are aware of the Bontragers on here. If not, they can be found at http://bontragerfamilysingers.com/

The Bontragers have their first engagement (I believe). Their son is getting married to a girl named Carolina Bowers. I clicked on the link the Bontrager family provided on their blog post and I was surprised to see what felt like a carbon copy of their family. Another bus traveling, mega family of singers. Have fun down the rabbit hole- http://bowersbus.blogspot.com

As a side note- how do mega families like this do it? How can they literally make a living out of being traveling singers? I know the Bontragers also own and operate a farm....but this family....my mind is perplexed.

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Got to say, I did suspect that would happen given that the Bowerses are pretty much carbon copies of the Bontragers and are based in the same town. I noticed the other day that the Bowers blog hadn't been updated since January.

I'm surprised the Bontragers haven't been more snarked upon on FJ, to be honest. I've been been following the family blog and Chelsy's blog for a few years now and there's been plenty of snarkable material. They clearly have a good work ethic and love each other, but cancel out those positives by being obnoxious in several ways - they come across as smug, holier-than-thou, ignorant (but unaware of their ignorance), small-minded and condescending, particularly towards those who aren't their brand of Christian. They're a 'political campaigning family' who campaigned for Cruz - I give them a plus for being anti-Trump, but tbh I think Cruz would have been even worse than Trump in some ways so I can't give them much credit. Plus, they have Steve and Teri Maxwell speaking at their 'Turning hearts' event in the autumn, which speaks volumes! 

i don't know much about the Bowers family members except I think the offspring names all begin with 'C' and there's at least a couple of names I think of as odd (as first names), like Crockett.

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1 hour ago, Triplet3 said:

They clearly have a good work ethic and love each other, but cancel out those positives by being obnoxious in several ways - they come across as smug, holier-than-thou, ignorant (but unaware of their ignorance), small-minded and condescending, particularly towards those who aren't their brand of Christian.

Which is why I'm predicting a match with a Maxwell at some point!

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2 hours ago, Bazinga said:

The Bontragers have their first engagement (I believe). Their son is getting married to a girl named Carolina Bowers.

So it is Carson.  Here is the link to the announcement: 

http://bontragersingers.blogspot.com/2017/04/god-is-adding-another-daughter-to-our.html

2 hours ago, Bazinga said:

As a side note- how do mega families like this do it? How can they literally make a living out of being traveling singers?

With difficulty, I think.  

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36 minutes ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

Is this the first time a Bontrager child has courted/gotten engaged?

I believe so. Quite a few of their kids are still under 18. And the Bowers family has quite a few under 18 too. 

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Curt Bowers (patriarch) is on FB and he is friends with all the vision forum fundies. So I'm guessing they were into VF for a bit? 

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1 hour ago, ladyamylynn said:

Which is why I'm predicting a match with a Maxwell at some point!

If it's with one of the Maxwell girls I would honestly love to see it. The bontragers are steeped in fundamentalism, but the Maxwell girls really need a new headship. 

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I'm guessing Chelsy/John. Normally I would say she has a little too much spark for the Maxwells, but they might allow that in John's case, since he's the "rebel" of the family after all.

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3 hours ago, Triplet3 said:

Got to say, I did suspect that would happen given that the Bowerses are pretty much carbon copies of the Bontragers and are based in the same town. 

It appears that the Bowers only recently moved from Idaho, and they don't really explain it on the blog except to say that the lord sent them a house :pb_rollseyes:. Surely they're doing it to be closer to the Bontragers, as there's not many other reasons to settle in Iowa Amish country. I wonder if they plan on more courtships or maybe they want to combine the family bands? 

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14 minutes ago, Kariina said:

Apparently the blogging in the family is expanding, too. Had I been drinking when I opened up Alison's blog (and I should have been) I would have done a spit take:

http://www.fromallison.com

What a find!

Dear God, in whom I will pretend to believe for the sake of this post -- if you're out there -- please.  PLEASE let this blog continue to be this horrible forever and frequently.  How can only two posts make me want to cry with laughter?  It's the Platonic ideal of ultimate young fundie lady blog.  We have:

 

Delusion!  (there are NO other young Christian lady bloggers talking down to others instructing their peers in the ways of the Lord.  And fitness.  Same diff.)

Creepy, unintentional double-entendres! (how sheltered are these people?)

Only two posts, including an intro, but already a link to "Shop" -- of course!

A reassurance that "I love you girls" within the first advice post!  (Giving away pieces of our blogging heart already?)

Comments from her friends that include "I seem to always run out of time or am stressed trying to do it all. " (if this is true at your age, as a stay at home daughter, then howzabout we stop with the pretense that older daughters aren't raising the kids and running the household instead of the parents?)

And my favorite: "I will be honest here- I fail sometimes..." (as if it were some great concession, and we should take this all as evidence of her humility or something) "...but I am learning, and I am trying, oh I am TRYING..." (I guess she's saying her readers are not trying or else, well, what would be the point of this post?

 

She strikes me as the kind of person who would be on stage and magnanimously tell her audience, "You know, I made a mistake once... " and look beatifically down upon them from on high.

 

I just.  Nurture your brothers' manhood.  All righty then.

 

Long live this blog.  What a start.  Wow.

 

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@Pianokeeper all of that and more.

Just...I dunno. The imagery is just beyond hilarious and disturbing.

I know this is ultimately a rhetorical question and I'm aware of the whole patriarchal dominion thing but...why is everything SO gendered to the point of absurdity with these people?

Why is it framed as sisters either "nurturing" or "squashing" their "brothers' manhood"? Why can't it just be a post about choosing your wording with siblings to encourage trust and nurture self-improvement by example? That's an important relationship lesson for siblings to learn, certainly -- how to communicate and lift one another up. But that concept has no sex/gender. It's just healthy communication.

(Unlessyou'reafundieandyouthinkmenmustconquertheworldandwomenarejustvesselstocarrytheirheirs)

Still squicking about the horrific double entendre. Get it together, A! I can't imagine what the "Young Women's Retreats" she runs are like.

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3 minutes ago, Kariina said:

@Pianokeeper all of that and more.

Just...I dunno. The imagery is just beyond hilarious and disturbing.

I know this is ultimately a rhetorical question and I'm aware of the whole patriarchal dominion thing but...why is everything SO gendered to the point of absurdity with these people?

Why is it framed as sisters either "nurturing" or "squashing" their "brothers' manhood"? Why can't it just be a post about choosing your wording with siblings to encourage trust and nurture self-improvement by example? That's an important relationship lesson for siblings to learn, certainly -- how to communicate and lift one another up. But that concept has no sex/gender. It's just healthy communication.

(Unlessyou'reafundieandyouthinkmenmustconquertheworldandwomenarejustvesselstocarrytheirheirs)

Still squicking about the horrific double entendre. Get it together, A! I can't imagine what the "Young Women's Retreats" she runs are like.

It's not just a fundie thing. I've seen the extreme gender role stuff from conservatives as well. It's almost become political in nature. I think it's push back because the LGBT community is much more accepted now and many people don't like it. So feminism is ruining masculinity along with trans acceptance and all that. 

But I seriously love her title. It made me guffaw. 

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The nurturing/squelching your brother's manhood post sounds suspiciously like submission.

Suggesting that brothers should drive, and not be corrected comes across weirdly submissive, especially if it's a younger brother.

I mean, "don't correct your brothers, they're MEN" :my_confused:

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Why, oh why, did I click that link???

For starters, the photo in the "Brothers" post shows Allison with a boy much younger than herself. If her family is like every other fundie family, she probably helped raise this boy, cleaned up after him, changed his diapers, etc. Now she's supposed to regard him as a man who outranks her and she's telling her followers to do likewise with their male siblings? Can you imagine Jana Duggar trying that with the howlers? She's their mom!

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10 hours ago, Bazinga said:

As a side note- how do mega families like this do it? How can they literally make a living out of being traveling singers? I know the Bontragers also own and operate a farm....but this family....my mind is perplexed.

The Bontragers also own a hotel. Although I don't now how frequently people stay there since they live in a pretty rural area.

 

6 hours ago, hollyandivy said:

So this will be the new S'Morton connection?

I hope so. I need some new fundies to snark on.

8 hours ago, ladyamylynn said:

Which is why I'm predicting a match with a Maxwell at some point!

Like a previous poster said the only possible match I can see is John and one of the older girls. I don't see any Maxwell girl ever entering a courtship or even getting married. And although Chelsy and Allison are 1+ SAHDs that are very, very fundie so there might be a lot of possible suitors. Maybe an older Bates (Nathan?) or Duggar son (JD?).

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11 hours ago, SoGladIWasCofE said:

The nurturing/squelching your brother's manhood post sounds suspiciously like submission.

Suggesting that brothers should drive, and not be corrected comes across weirdly submissive, especially if it's a younger brother.

I mean, "don't correct your brothers, they're MEN" :my_confused:

What I don't get is if the "man" is acting recklessly, such as driving too fast, etc. There is nothing wrong with nicely suggesting ways to improve, especially if let's say they are new to the experience of what they are doing. As in this case, driving. It's a shame that her followers even listen to this advice.

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I just put 'nurturing your brother's manhood' in the user title suggestion box with links back here.  That one was too good to bypass.

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13 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

Is this one of the Betty Bowers???? :my_biggrin:

That was my first thought, too! 

13 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

It's not just a fundie thing. I've seen the extreme gender role stuff from conservatives as well. It's almost become political in nature. I think it's push back because the LGBT community is much more accepted now and many people don't like it.

 

Oh, it's totally become political in nature. I think it always has been, though hopefully that will stop some time. I agree it's partly pushback against LGBTQ persons. There's also still a lot of emphasis on how American families are broken because of divorce, single moms, etc. in conservative media. It's tied to the fantasy of how before those things were "common" (which really just means legal for divorce and visible for single motherhood) things were wonderful for everyone because they all stayed in their neatly gendered roles and always liked it, damnit! 

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14 hours ago, Kariina said:

Had I been drinking when I opened up Alison's blog (and I should have been) I would have done a spit take:

I did.  A dog got dowsed in tea.

13 hours ago, Kariina said:

Why is it framed as sisters either "nurturing" or "squashing" their "brothers' manhood"? Why can't it just be a post about choosing your wording with siblings to encourage trust and nurture self-improvement by example? That's an important relationship lesson for siblings to learn, certainly -- how to communicate and lift one another up. But that concept has no sex/gender. It's just healthy communication.

I believe it was "squelching."  For some reason I find that funnier!

She is also ripping off the Botkinettes, although they actually do believe in intervening in cases of serious sin but only like Abigail.  https://botkinsisters.com/article/when-a-brother-needs-rebuke

14 hours ago, Pianokeeper said:

Only two posts, including an intro, but already a link to "Shop" -- of course!

Yes, she has an "Shoppe."  https://www.instagram.com/psalm62shoppe/ I don't think much of her jewelry.  And, bestill my heart, is that a Bates girl modeling a necklace or do all these fundie maidens look alike.

8 hours ago, ophelia said:

The Bontragers also own a hotel. Although I don't now how frequently people stay there since they live in a pretty rural area.

It is more of a motel.  They are in Amish country so they get some tourists as well as business travelers.  I looked it up recently because the Maxwells are headed in that direction: 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g38033-d645786-Reviews-Dutch_Country_Inn-Kalona_Iowa.html

I'm still hoping for a Mitchell and Anna or Mary Maxwell courtship although pigs will probably fly before Steve lets go of the girls.

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11 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

 And, bestill my heart, is that a Bates girl modeling a necklace or do all these fundie maidens look alike.

That is a Bates! 

One of the Maxwell girls marrying into that family would be a huge step up for them. They might get to have some *fun* and discuss something besides death. Sadly I'm not sure Steve would loosen his grip on any of them that much. 

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Yup, definitely Carlin and Bates family friend Courtney (I forget the surname). 

And WTF with that post. A gentle rebuke ("hey, maybe don't mash the gas pedal") is squelching a boy's manhood?? What is she on? This just reinforces the fundie idea that everything a man says and does is 100% correct no matter what. If Anna Duggar had been the one to cheat, all hell would've broken loose. Since it was Josh who cheated, he just gets an "awww it's OK Jesus forgives you".

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