Morton's headed to Paraguay?

[MissBitters]

I follow Addie and some other Mortons' IGs that I can't think of right now, but Addie is the most active poster. MissBitters, I reported three pregnant Mortons a few weeks ago in the baby watch thread. The hard part for me is that I have trouble telling everyone apart (Martha is the only one I could pick out of a lineup).

There was a post 'one day ago' quoting Isaiah 55:12 (it's a pic of a cloudy sky taken through a window screen) where Addie answered some followers' questions about the trip. She said they'll be back in the spring, it's not a typical mission, and she hopes to put a letter from Papa Morton on the blog soon.

They're in Miami now, doing bureaucratic stuff at the consulate. Three hours ago she posted a pic of Sam and Alyssa canoodling in a hallway, so I guess that means Alyssa's going to Paraguay, too? How close are the Campanas to Miami? Maybe she's just visiting, or they're hosting the Mortons, but I inferred that they were staying in a hotel. I'm off to reexamine these pictures now. :think:

Thanks for the updates! I miss reading their blog & am disappointed their instagram is private. I am surprised they are considering moving away from Georgia since the whole being southern thing is a big part of their persona. I highly doubt their area of Georgia is getting too liberal :roll:

[Seven Severn]

Sounds like a Libertarian's paradise:

They've recently instituted a 10% tax, but it only applies to income earned within Paraguay. Even online businesses don't count.

[SolomonFundy]

Thanks to all of the sleuths! I have to say, I'm pretty shocked that the whole tribe is looking into a relocation. I guess if enough of them go at once, it won't be quite as much of a culture shock. Yet, clearly, at least some of their adult children plan to stay in America. Andrew literally JUST finished building a home to share with Kennedy. Poor Martha JUST had her first baby, and now most of the family who could be of help to her are gone for six months.

Obviously, with so many people in their extended family now, it would be impossible to pick a time to leave that wouldn't somehow interfere with someone's birth or marriage, but it still seems kind of abrupt. I remember a few years ago that Micheal was fighting some local legislation about the use of land in his area. Maybe something else has come up?

I don't see the move as limiting Addie's romantic options. The Mortons and Campanas don't seem to be racist, and even if they are, there are lots of different cultural groups in Paraguay. If they mingle with people who share their values, I'm pretty sure they'd be okay with any match that Addie favored. It can't possibly be worse than it currently is in Georgia for Addie. Clearly, the available pool of suitable males has been exhausted. However, I'm still not convinced that Addie has her eye on matrimony. Unlike Sarah Maxwell, for instance, Addie doesn't seem to long for children of her own.

[halcionne]

Andrew and Kennedy are on the Paraguay trip. Also Sam and Alyssa and the younger Morton boys. Let's see if I can count the 14 people in the group:

1. Papa Micheal

2. Mama Jeanine

3. Addie

4. Andrew

5. Kennedy

6. Sam

7. Alyssa

8. John

9. Edwin

10. Paul

11. Wesley

12. Rachel

13-18. Their five kids

Hmm, did they not all go to the consulate and the number 14 only referred to the ones who did? So if we include Katie and Alan's family, we're up to 27. Micheal Junior, Kressant, and company bring it to 33. What are they doing? :think:

[Kira]

Andrew and Kennedy are on the Paraguay trip. Also Sam and Alyssa and the younger Morton boys. Let's see if I can count the 14 people in the group:

1. Papa Micheal

2. Mama Jeanine

3. Addie

4. Andrew

5. Kennedy

6. Sam

7. Alyssa

8. John

9. Edwin

10. Paul

11. Wesley

12. Rachel

13-18. Their five kids

Hmm, did they not all go to the consulate and the number 14 only referred to the ones who did? So if we include Katie and Alan's family, we're up to 27. Micheal Junior, Kressant, and company bring it to 33. What are they doing? :think:

35. Michael Jr and Kressant have six kids.What about Cleve and Lise, are they going to Paraguay?

[hoipolloi]

Whoa. This is pretty bizarre but thanks SO MUCH to all the sleuths who are shedding light on it.

Re: Paraguay. Hmmm. No or low income taxes are all very well but but do they speak English there -- you know, the way REAL godly & manly men do?

ETA: Had to LOL at this section of the linked guidance for moving to Paraguay (qwealthreport.com/update-paraguay-for-under-the-radar-residence-citizenship-investing/):

It used to be that you could get your Permanent Residence, leave for three years, then return and apply for Paraguay citizenship by naturalization on the basis of holding the residence card for three years. The Paraguayans didn’t care at all. A number of my clients did this and are now proud holders of Paraguay passports.

Unfortunately, word got out on the internet and the Paraguayan authorities were deluged with citizenship applications from people who were, quite frankly, idiots.

[Seven Severn]

Having never planned a trip this large/long/extensive I have to guess that this has taken months to plan. Hell, planning may have actually started before Martha even got married last year. Does anyone have any insights into what sort of planning this kind of excursion requires? I wonder where they're staying. Could anyone down there put the whole clan up for six months while Mike looks for property to buy? This whole thing is fascinating to me.

[love2scrap]

From Addie's instagram post comments, it's clear that cleve and lise, noah and darth, andrew and kennedy, tom and alyssa did not go on this trip. Wes and rachel are joining them the following day. Possibly other non-family members along on the trip?

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

In response to Rebecca Loomis three days ago, Addie says it's just their family and their brother Wesley and his wife and family that are moving.

[halcionne]

From Addie's instagram post comments, it's clear that cleve and lise, noah and darth, andrew and kennedy, tom and alyssa did not go on this trip. Wes and rachel are joining them the following day. Possibly other non-family members along on the trip?

Andrew and Kennedy were photographed in Miami, and while I suppose they could've gone back to Georgia, it doesn't make sense to me that they would have.

[Escapefromfundiedom]

This while adventure is majorly stoking my wanderlust. I have long had a pipe dream of traveling (and possibly moving) to South America...I don't know why. I am a little sad that dear Addie is going to move and see these beautiful places and probably never appreciate them outside the context of her fundie bubble.

[Seven Severn]

Bumping this in hopes of updates from FJers with access to Morton Instagrams. What kinds of things has Addie been posting?

[halcionne]

She posted a picture of Domino's Pizza.  

Per Keni's insta: It turns out Andrew, Keni, and Alyssa didn't go to Paraguay, but stayed in Florida. 

Sam posted a pic of Addie and a mango tree. Alyssa commented that she can't wait to see him in 15 days.

[SamuraiKatz]

Maybe they are headed to some libertarian commune in Paraguay.  Kind of like this place in Chile:  http://galtsgulchchile.com/ .  It failed spectacularly....  http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/09/15/libertarian-utopia-styled-after-ayn-rand-book-spectacularly-falls-apart-almost-immediately/ .  Only time will tell. 

[Seven Severn]

Maybe they are headed to some libertarian commune in Paraguay.  Kind of like this place in Chile:  http://galtsgulchchile.com/ .  It failed spectacularly....  http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/09/15/libertarian-utopia-styled-after-ayn-rand-book-spectacularly-falls-apart-almost-immediately/ .  Only time will tell. 

Thanks for the links! Really interesting stuff! If the Mortons, et al. are going to live on a compound then there's no doubt theirs will be a success! Others failed because they weren't doing it right/weren't Christian enough.

Who else is down Paraguay way? Do we know?

 

[Escapefromfundiedom]

I doubt the Mortons would buy into someone else's compound. They would do their own...they have enough people to be close to self-sufficient, between farming skills, building skills, sewing, etc. Of course medical care would be a problem...but I am guessing that's not a huge priority for them. One of the brothers' instas has a picture of a nail in a hand from a nail gun accident...doubt there was a trip to the ER for that.

Not surprised to hear Galt's Gulch is a failure...I heard about it a few years ago, but the thing about libertarians and especially objectivists is that they generally don't Play Well With Others so...not a huge surprise that an endeavor that required cooperation like that would be a failure of catastrophic proportions. So sad for the suckers who lost their savings over it though.

[halcionne]

Multiple Mortons posted today that they went to the zoo. 14 year old Edwin says it's the first time he's ever been to one. It's not quite clear, but I'm guessing they're still in Asuncion. 

[halcionne]

Addie has just posted that the majority of their group left this morning for Filadelfia, but she and Sam are still in Asuncion until Monday.

[Seven Severn]

Thank you for the update, halcionne! It's frustrating that they're not posting more or being more forthcoming about their reasons for being there. There are so many questions that I want answered, goddamnit!

[browngrl]

Bumping to find out if anyone has any more information. I find this move so odd that my curiosity has been piqued.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Bored at work, did some serious sleuthing. If you look at the Smith's blogger profile you can see another blog of theirs about a trip to Paraguay in Sept. 2008. Just a few entries with no particular details, unfortunately. Neither the Smith or Morton family blogs make any mention of this trip, even though it sounds like several members of each family went. In fact, there's a post a few months later on the Smith blog where someone asks which countries they'very visited, and Paraguay isn't on the list. Strange! 

I found a comment from Kressant from two years ago on a blog by some missionaries in Paraguay with a group called New Tribes Mission. She doesn't mention moving there herself but maybe she is friends with these missionaries or was doing research on missions in the area?

I also found a comment from Jeanine from a few months ago on a site called expat-blog. She says that she and her husband were looking for a farm because "our married children want to homeschool in Paraguay."

[NachosFlandersStyle]

I'm also reading up on the Chaco region. They said they're in Filadelfia, which with a population of 10,000 is the largest town for 250 miles! Very remote agrarian district, cattle is the big industry. The population is divided between indigenous groups and Mennonites, with relatively few "latino" Paraguayans. Supposedly the area has the greatest concentration of Mennonites in Latin America.

[tumblr]

I am going to bump this again to see if anything new has come about. This is a very odd thing and it gives me the heebie jeebies honestly.

[Kak]

Only indirectly relevant, but I had a Christian missionary call at my door this week asking for help for his mission to Paraguay. I'm in the UK! He said his group was going to offer practical help and spiritual guidance. I'm kinda sorry now I didn't talk to him, but I didn't really believe him, it just seemed too random. I was at home sick too, so needed to get back to the sofa and telly. 

[halcionne]

1 hour ago, tumblr said:

I am going to bump this again to see if anything new has come about. This is a very odd thing and it gives me the heebie jeebies honestly.

Addie and company have posted a handful of pictures displaying Christmas ornaments and the like while commenting on the novelty of having Christmas in summer. She suggested earlier that they would have limited access to the internet, and posts they make are stamped (not the right term, sorry) from Filadelfia, which may shed a bit of light on their exact location.