Burden to Burundi, Zealous for Zambia

[RosyDaisy]

Nope, they ain't going nowhere. I don't believe it. Not. At. All.

[slickcat79]

He posted a pic of their suitcases packed. The container will take 2-3 months to arrive. He would like prayers that it is closer to 2 so that their house will be set up before "the 2014 model is released" :shock: I didn't know wtf he was talking about until someone else pointed out that he meant the birth of his next child.

Meanwhile, Esther will spend the third trimester of her pregnancy living out of suitcases with 8 kids in a developing country. I fucking hate this asshole.

[ViolaSebastian]

Uh...wouldn't it have made a LOT more sense to send the shipping container two to three months ago, so that their supplies would be there when they arrived?

[scc12]

I'm guessing he might do twitter updates? WIll he have cell phone reception there,anyone know?

[slickcat79]

Uh...wouldn't it have made a LOT more sense to send the shipping container two to three months ago, so that their supplies would be there when they arrived?

For all his talk about faith, I'm guessing he was also doubting that they'd make it there by this point. Although surely he would have been secure enough to send it at least a couple weeks ago :?

[Curious]

I can't believe someone sane hasn't stepped in and told him that he can go and do whatever God has called him to do, but he can't take his pregnant wife and 8 small children to the jungle where he admits that they might not all see their next birthday due to the dangers lurking there.

Esther needs to just put her foot down on this horrible idea, submissive wife or not. God gave humans a brain for a reason. He expects people to use it and if you husband is putting your children in danger, as a mother, it's her duty to say NO.

[browngrl]

I feel sorry for Esther.

When my mother, sisters and I came to Canada it took every penny my parents had just to pay for transportation costs. My dad had come to Canada some months prior to prepare the way for us so my mother was on her own. She had three children under three, a long long trip (multiple changes of transport on the way from a tiny village in India to Canada), no money left for extra food/toys/diapers etc and to top it off she spoke almost no English back then. She describes the trip as a horrible nightmare that just went on and on. At one point exhausted, hungry and frustrated by three children who were screaming because they were frustrated, tired and hungry - she just sat down on the airport floor and started to cry.

I can see Esther in the same position and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[ViolaSebastian]

I can't believe someone sane hasn't stepped in and told him that he can go and do whatever God has called him to do, but he can't take his pregnant wife and 8 small children to the jungle where he admits that they might not all see their next birthday due to the dangers lurking there.

Esther needs to just put her foot down on this horrible idea, submissive wife or not. God gave humans a brain for a reason. He expects people to use it and if you husband is putting your children in danger, as a mother, it's her duty to say NO.

Esther, if, by some great miracle you see this: Please, please now is the time to cut and run. I'm not being melodramatic when I say you would be saving you and your children from a great deal of suffering. Have you read about the ebola outbreak? Read about the ebola outbreak...

[16strong]

I can't believe that John is just dandy with the idea of his kids not making it to their next birthday. What a heartless S-O-B.

[Bethella]

I just hope that someone other than John and preferably a member of Esther's family has enough money to purchase tickets to bring Esther and the kids home when the shit hits the fan (and copies of their passports too). I can easily see Esther realizing that she's made a mistake and wanting to come home and John being too stubborn to admit he's failed and refusing to pay for their tickets/let them go.

[scc12]

Bf he went private on fb,by all accounts,Esther was 'on board' with this whole thing,and wanted missionary life just as much as her hub.at least that's how they came across,anyway.

[formergothardite]

If he goes I think he has had the visas all along and has been keeping them quite so that he can act like it is a miracle. But I still think that something is going on that is making him doubt that they will leave since he is still private. If he was confident in the ability to leave on time I think he would be bragging publically. He is an attention whore.

[nausicaa]

Esther needs to just put her foot down on this horrible idea, submissive wife or not. God gave humans a brain for a reason. He expects people to use it and if you husband is putting your children in danger, as a mother, it's her duty to say NO.

In my opinion, these traditional marriages are an agreement in which each partner promises to fulfill a certain responsibility. The woman will raise the children, stay home, and be subservient to the man in return for the man protecting and providing for the family. John has done neither of those things (his children lived in a damn pop up camper!), therefore the contract is void and Esther can step up and tell him to shove it.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Dare I hope they are spending a few months in Lusaka before heading out to their mission location? At least there she could get what passes for health care. Seventh-day Adventists ran good hospitals in Malawi years ago and expatriates used them (private pay patient care was different). I hope Esther at least gets something like that, but I imagine she'll be in a village somewhere free birthing with her husband and kids to "encourage" her. :angry-banghead:

[tkr322]

When are they supposed to leave again? Wasn't it tomorrow or Friday?

[Trynn]

Dare I hope they are spending a few months in Lusaka before heading out to their mission location? At least there she could get what passes for health care. Seventh-day Adventists ran good hospitals in Malawi years ago and expatriates used them (private pay patient care was different). I hope Esther at least gets something like that, but I imagine she'll be in a village somewhere free birthing with her husband and kids to "encourage" her. :angry-banghead:

Seventh day Adventists also seem to have more oversight of their missionaries than John. I dislike the religion, (I grew up in it) but they do at least have some sort of oversight for missionaries.

[gustava]

When is Esther due? And what is the name of the town they're supposedly going to? Finally, most countries require incoming foreigners, whether tourist or not, to have a certain amount of $$$. Does that apply to missionaries in Zambia?

[scc12]

Esther is due in Sept.

[Ellimenopy]

Dare I hope they are spending a few months in Lusaka before heading out to their mission location? At least there she could get what passes for health care. Seventh-day Adventists ran good hospitals in Malawi years ago and expatriates used them (private pay patient care was different). I hope Esther at least gets something like that, but I imagine she'll be in a village somewhere free birthing with her husband and kids to "encourage" her. :angry-banghead:

This scares the beezus out of me. I just can't fathom anybody six months pregnant voluntarily leaving for the middle of nowhere when her last birth took so long. You can be pro-natural birth, even pro-home birth without being stupid. What the hell is John going to do if she dies or is incapacitated? Given the choice, I'd rather John pay for this trainwreck with his life instead of hers, but really, it's not inconceivable that this could take her out instead of him.

[ViolaSebastian]

It's especially disconcerting given the trouble she had with her last labor and delivery.

[SPHASH]

It's especially disconcerting given the trouble she had with her last labor and delivery.

Which each pregnancy the chances of a miscarriage or complications increase. Ask Mullet, Kelly Bates, and Melanie Maxwell.

[Mama Mia]

Which each pregnancy the chances of a miscarriage or complications increase. Ask Mullet, Kelly Bates, and Melanie Maxwell.

Technically I think it's more that you're just statistically more likely to have a problem pregnancy the more pregnancies you have, not that it's the number of pregnancies that causes the problems, if that makes sense. With maybe some exceptions for specific problems like an incompetent cervix. And that women who have lots of children will end up having some of them when they are older, but it is the advanced maternal age, not the number of births that leads to the increased chance of problems.

[Curious]

Technically I think it's more that you're just statistically more likely to have a problem pregnancy the more pregnancies you have, not that it's the number of pregnancies that causes the problems, if that makes sense. With maybe some exceptions for specific problems like an incompetent cervix. And that women who have lots of children will end up having some of them when they are older, but it is the advanced maternal age, not the number of births that leads to the increased chance of problems.

According to Wiki (my emphasis):

Risks arising from previous pregnancies

Complications experienced during a previous pregnancy are more likely to recur.

Many previous pregnancies. Women who have had five previous pregnancies face increased risks of very rapid labor and excessive bleeding after delivery.

Multiple previous fetuses. Women who have had more than one fetus in a previous pregnancy face increased risk of mislocated placenta.[4]

Social and socioeconomic factors. Generally speaking, unmarried women and those in lower socioeconomic groups experience an increased level of risk in pregnancy, due at least in part to lack of access to appropriate prenatal care.[4]

Add in the fact that there is basically no time for her body to heal before she is pregnant again and I doubt her nutrition and prenatal care have been exactly optimal. I wouldn't want to risk giving birth in the jungle where my husband readily admits some of my children may not make it to their next birthday.

[Justme]

Tomorrow is the BIG day! Friday, 6/6 they fly to Africa. Has anybody heard how things are going? How is Esther's pregnancy going so far?

[16strong]

If either Esther or one of the kids dies (I hope not), I wonder how TLC will spin it. :think: