Bontragers/Bowers/Helferich 9: Oh Nos! Chelsey Married a Maxwell!

[Caroline]

Speaking of Allison moving to Missouri aka Delta Variant Central (from what I hear on the news), here's a funny thing that happened today: Two friends and I were taking a walk on a beautiful coastal path in our town.  A group of women approached us from the other direction and one stopped to ask if we were local and could we suggest a good place to take a boat cruise. We recommended some places and asked where they were visiting from.  The answer:  Missouri!  All three of us took a noticeable step backwards, all of us thinking the same thing:  Are you all vaccinated????  I realize that any tourist we meet could also be unvaccinated, but when we heard the word Missouri we all thought exactly the same thing.  We nervously laughed about it as we walked away.  (Our region has a high vaccination rate with very little Delta circulating.)

[ElizaB]

I like how on Allison's Instagram post she mentions not really feeling ready when she found out she was pregnant. I am sure this is a thing most of these Fundi girls feel when they get pregnant right away but don't admit it. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, ElizaB said:

I like how on Allison's Instagram post she mentions not really feeling ready when she found out she was pregnant. I am sure this is a thing most of these Fundi girls feel when they get pregnant right away but don't admit it. 

I bet the ones who got pregnant the first month definitely feel that. I feel bad for those fundies.

[HereticHick]

On 8/6/2021 at 7:30 PM, Bluebirdbluebell said:

Being told you can't share a major move on your blog doesn't sound healthy. It's possible Allison isn't ready to share, but it seems controlling if her in-laws or husband won't let her tell people she changed states.

Agreed, especially considering how social the Bontragers are, and they seem to have friends all over North America & consider "hospitality" an important part of their family ministry. Its feels so creepy that Allison hasn't been able to even post, "hey y'all, we're living in Missouri now--contact me if you will be passing thru!"

[ihaveanexamintwodays]

On 8/6/2021 at 7:30 PM, Bluebirdbluebell said:

Being told you can't share a major move on your blog doesn't sound healthy. It's possible Allison isn't ready to share, but it seems controlling if her in-laws or husband won't let her tell people she changed states.

Honestly, it once again sounds like the Helferichs are running from or towards something sketchy.....relocate the whole family including adult married children to a new (and more politically aligned) state, no one posts about it on social media (most of the fam is private but the public accounts are hush-hush), I wonder if they're not happy about Marlin Bont sharing where his daughter and son-in-law are living...

[Themanda Duggar]

Alison probably posts more personal information to a smaller group of close friends, meaning people she actually knows, on Instagram.  She has lots of people who follow and view her posts who are not known to her outside of cyberspace,  and she has a new baby and all the protective instincts that come with the territory.  Why would she want to tell all of us where she lives?

If I had a big following of strangers on the internet, I’d be really careful about the information I share with them.

[fundiefan]

Regardless of what Allison does or doesn't post - the Helferichs are weird, and they kinda' scare me. 

Your entire family - grown, married children - picks up and moves to the middle of nowhere? Businesses get moved, homes, lives, everything. Why? 

When the house one of them bought was found, my first thought was "compound", and not in a creepy Maxwell taking over the neighborhood kind of compound, A WTF kind of compound. Middle of nowhere, 80 (If I remember correctly) acres, barely a single house but plenty of room for more, property made for livestock/horses of which they have none.

Hell, even the property & location aside - I'm freaked out by the whole damn family packing up and moving together. That's a level of enmeshment that is f*cing scary shit. I've read some of their Facebook pages, the few that they are. Every one of them is off their damn rockers. They buy tRump and Q hook, line and sinker. They promote it. They're in deep. They're not talking heads whining, they're lying liars who lie and promote the big lie & feed off of it. 

They're f*cking dangerous people who have done something pretty damn shady. No, moving to another state is not shady; moving you entire family of adult, married children & grandchildren & businesses to another state in the middle of nowhere is. 

Edited August 10, 2021 by fundiefan

[HereticHick]

This story, from yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is set in Wright County, home of the new Helferich compound:

"What it means to change your mind on the vaccine in the Ozarks"

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/parenting/aisha-sultan/sultan-what-it-means-to-change-your-mind-on-the-vaccine-in-the-ozarks/article_f513b39f-ce30-5f99-bdde-51363a2e2a00.html

"But not everyone in town would share his joyous reaction.

Vendoni works as a massage therapist, and one of her fellow therapists has refused to treat vaccinated people.

“I knew this was going to disrupt our relationship,” she said. Her friend will not see her since her husband got vaccinated.

Anthony doesn’t think there is anything he can say to persuade the people in his town to change their minds.

“The people around here are never going to mask up; they are never going to get the vaccine,” he said “I’m shunned from some people here because I got it.”

He says former president President Donald Trump himself could stand in the town square and call on residents to get the vaccine, and the vast majority, who support him, would refuse."

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, HereticHick said:

This story, from yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is set in Wright County, home of the new Helferich compound:

"What it means to change your mind on the vaccine in the Ozarks"

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/parenting/aisha-sultan/sultan-what-it-means-to-change-your-mind-on-the-vaccine-in-the-ozarks/article_f513b39f-ce30-5f99-bdde-51363a2e2a00.html

"But not everyone in town would share his joyous reaction.

Vendoni works as a massage therapist, and one of her fellow therapists has refused to treat vaccinated people.

“I knew this was going to disrupt our relationship,” she said. Her friend will not see her since her husband got vaccinated.

Anthony doesn’t think there is anything he can say to persuade the people in his town to change their minds.

“The people around here are never going to mask up; they are never going to get the vaccine,” he said “I’m shunned from some people here because I got it.”

He says former president President Donald Trump himself could stand in the town square and call on residents to get the vaccine, and the vast majority, who support him, would refuse."

I was just reading about certain parts of the country are promising incentives to move there. Because so many people have left smallish towns in the last couple of decades for bigger cities. And it has affected many of those places economically. And now that so many people are working from home that started with the pandemic, they can now move away from their job and still work from home, one place mentioned was NW Arkansas. I was like, nope! I would not be surprised if all the places mentioned had poor vaccination rates. If they really want to entice people, they should get their vaccine rates up. Otherwise no one will be moving to those places.

[Jasmar]

6 hours ago, fundiefan said:

Regardless of what Allison does or doesn't post - the Helferichs are weird, and they kinda' scare me. 

Your entire family - grown, married children - picks up and moves to the middle of nowhere? Businesses get moved, homes, lives, everything. Why? 

When the house one of them bought was found, my first thought was "compound", and not in a creepy Maxwell taking over the neighborhood kind of compound, A WTF kind of compound. Middle of nowhere, 80 (If I remember correctly) acres, barely a single house but plenty of room for more, property made for livestock/horses of which they have none.

Hell, even the property & location aside - I'm freaked out by the whole damn family packing up and moving together. That's a level of enmeshment that is f*cing scary shit. I've read some of their Facebook pages, the few that they are. Every one of them is off their damn rockers. They buy tRump and Q hook, line and sinker. They promote it. They're in deep. They're not talking heads whining, they're lying liars who lie and promote the big lie & feed off of it. 

They're f*cking dangerous people who have done something pretty damn shady. No, moving to another state is not shady; moving you entire family of adult, married children & grandchildren & businesses to another state in the middle of nowhere is. 

Reminds me of the Mortons in Paraguay. While I don’t wish those scum on the innocent people of Paraguay, I have to admit I’m glad they’re mostly not here now.

[Nothing if not critical]

13 hours ago, Jasmar said:

While I don’t wish those scum on the innocent people of Paraguay

Well, judging from Kressant’s insta they mostly hang out with people of German descent there. Considering there’s a certain type of German who tended to emigrate to Paraguay (hint: starts with “n”, rhymes with “shmazi”), I think the Mortons fit in perfectly….

[JermajestyDuggar]

The Bontragers posted a family picture and Praise has a small bump. They will probably announce soon because there will probably be people asking. Those two looked so in love at their wedding that a lack of a bump would be surprising. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by JermajestyDuggar

[HereticHick]

7 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

The Bontragers posted a family picture and Praise has a small bump. They will probably announce soon because there will probably be people asking. Those two looked so in love at their wedding that a lack of a bump would be surprising. 

I noticed that too. And at least Alison and Jeremy left the family compound to attend the Bontrager vacation. Alison looks like she's wearing a wholesomewear swim suit in the tubing photo.

Isn't it time for Josh and Cass to announce another blessing? Little Winston is 16 months old I think.

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

I noticed that too. And at least Alison and Jeremy left the family compound to attend the Bontrager vacation. Alison looks like she's wearing a wholesomewear swim suit in the tubing photo.

Isn't it time for Josh and Cass to announce another blessing? Little Winston is 16 months old I think.

It’s funny because if you look at their blog, way back in the day Chelsy and Allison wore board shorts and t shirts to swim. Not wholesomewear. I wonder if she had to change what she wore swimming because Jeremiah preferred it. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by JermajestyDuggar

[fundiefan]

18 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

It’s funny because if you look at their blog, way back in the day Chelsy and Allison wore board shorts and t shirts to swim. Not wholesomewear. I wonder if she had to change what she wore swimming because Jeremiah preferred it. 

I think we talked about that at the time - and assumed that yes, her husband/his family have stricter modesty standards. She started wearing the fake slips / skirt extenders when they were married. And layering up on the tops. No doubt swim wear went along with that. 

I noticed Praise's bump too. And am not the least bit surprised. First, they're fundie, so duh. Second, they're Bontragers, so double duh. Third, they were itching to get on with it; the fact that they are into each other is all over their faces & body language. (Not a bad thing; it's actually nice to see a fundie couple who is truly a match for each other rather than marrying someone they barely know because daddy their god said it's time). 

[browngrl]

On 8/10/2021 at 11:37 AM, JermajestyDuggar said:

If they really want to entice people, they should get their vaccine rates up.

This is how I feel but I'm not the target audience for a move to the country.  A lot of fundies/conservatives (ie the sort of people who might be tempted to move to a rural setting) seem to be pretty well steeped in the conspiracy koolaid. Mariah (Alyssa Morton's sister) made an instagram story about how she is more concerned about the "dangers" of standing beside someone who has been vaccinated than someone who has covid. I think she was concerned about something toxic being shed by vaccinated people. She did a poll on it and it seemed that most of her followers agreed with her. Anyway, the point is that fundies - and a lot of conservatives- might see non- vax as a positive. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

3 minutes ago, browngrl said:

This is how I feel but I'm not the target audience for a move to the country.  A lot of fundies/conservatives (ie the sort of people who might be tempted to move to a rural setting) seem to be pretty well steeped in the conspiracy koolaid. Mariah (Alyssa Morton's sister) made an instagram story about how she is more concerned about the "dangers" of standing beside someone who has been vaccinated than someone who has covid. I think she was concerned about something toxic being shed by vaccinated people. She did a poll on it and it seemed that most of her followers agreed with her. Anyway, the point is that fundies - and a lot of conservatives- might see non- vax as a positive. 

I was just reading about religion and the anti-vaccine stance. All religions have become less anti-vaccine since the spring. The biggest leaps have come from black Protestant communities, Catholic communities, and muslim communities. The smallest change has been from the Christian evangelicals. They say evangelical pastors have a high rate of vaccination but they are afraid to bring it up to the congregation. They are afraid they will lose people and start arguments in the church. One evangelical pastor said, “Tucker Carlson has them for 20 hours a week. I only have them for 1.” But what these pastors don’t understand is that they have more influence than others. They should speak up. Even if it causes arguments. They need to tell their members it’s the Christian thing to do.

[petrushka]

I will guess, based on that picture that both Praise and Cass are pregnant...wouldn't be surprised at all if Lina was, too.  I think the Bontragers will have a grandbaby boom in 2022.  

[postscript]

1 hour ago, petrushka said:

I will guess, based on that picture that both Praise and Cass are pregnant...wouldn't be surprised at all if Lina was, too.  I think the Bontragers will have a grandbaby boom in 2022.  

I had the same thought. Both Cass and Lina are wearing loose outfits, and Lina has a strategically placed baby covering her tummy. They are both due for announcements. I think 2022 will be the year of “everyone gets a baby!” in Bontrager land. Hopefully the exception will be Chelsy. 

[anjulibai]

Where are you seeing this family pic?

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think from now on, Cass will often be the one with closer spaced babies compared to Lina. I think Praise will announce first. Then Cass will announce a couple months later. And then Lina will announces couple months after that. Then Allison will announce. It will just be baby after baby in Bontrager land.

2 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Where are you seeing this family pic?

Bontrager family instagram. 

[anjulibai]

Thanks!

[fundiefan]

44 minutes ago, postscript said:

I had the same thought. Both Cass and Lina are wearing loose outfits, and Lina has a strategically placed baby covering her tummy. They are both due for announcements. I think 2022 will be the year of “everyone gets a baby!” in Bontrager land. Hopefully the exception will be Chelsy. 

I don't think Chelsy will be an exception. Madeline was born in July. That gives Chelsy 17 months to produce #4 by the end of next year. That's more than enough time for two people who very much like each other and refuse birth control. She has until March to make #4 & birth it by the end of 22' - that's 7 months from now. Plenty of time. 

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if every married Bont produced a grandchild for Marlin in 2022, Can't tell how far along Praise is, but this one could easily be due in 2022 - and if not, she could also easily have another one in that 12 month period. 

[anjulibai]

Had a chance to check the pic - Praise is definitely pregnant. Can't tell about Cass, but I don't think Lina is, or if she is, she's very early.

Chelsy posted that Madeline's original due date was Sept. 14th. That would have put 14.9 months between Madeline and Elliot. Elliot was born 16.8 months after Axton. There's definitely more than enough time for Chelsy to get pergnant and give birth next year, given her track record. 

[Bluebirdbluebell]

17 hours ago, fundiefan said:

I think we talked about that at the time - and assumed that yes, her husband/his family have stricter modesty standards. She started wearing the fake slips / skirt extenders when they were married. And layering up on the tops. No doubt swim wear went along with that. 

I noticed Praise's bump too. And am not the least bit surprised. First, they're fundie, so duh. Second, they're Bontragers, so double duh. Third, they were itching to get on with it; the fact that they are into each other is all over their faces & body language. (Not a bad thing; it's actually nice to see a fundie couple who is truly a match for each other rather than marrying someone they barely know because daddy their god said it's time). 

Fourth, by fundie standards she's older and needs to start her quiver ASAP.