Bates Girls Trip to Romania

[GeoBQn]

Erin, Alyssa, and Tori Bates went on a mission trip to Romania.

 

gilbatesfamily.com/2011/11/25/romania/

 

 

Quote

Alyssa, Tori, and I were invited to accompany a team of students travelling to Romania on a week long ministry trip. It was a tremendously moving experience as we became aware of the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of precious people from other backgrounds and cultures.

 

While there, we visited schools and were invited to teach character lessons. We also visited the Minister of Health, hospitals, orphanages, and Gypsy camps. We were able to share the Gospel message of love and encourage others through music and song. We were given a police escort through town with the President and Mayor of the county, while passing out tracts telling of God’s love. I think we all have a new perspective of life and missions.

 

We serve such a BIG God, and we feel extremely privileged to be able to tell others of Him!

 

I'm guessing that their "new perspective" does not include how the country is still damaged from the anti-contraception policies of Ceausescu . . . or that "gypsy" is a derogatory term.

[gustava]

Gag me with a spoon.

[CanadianHippie]

I'm sure all of those who are suffering at the hands of the Romanian laws are thrilled to hear about such a BIG GOD and how much he helps people...

[finleeport]

This just shows how ignorant and uneducated some people can be, and mostly everything they do turns out to be stupid.

[Constance Vigilance]

"precious people" Uuuuggghhhh

[Visionoyahweh]

We were given a police escort through town with the President and Mayor of the county, while passing out tracts telling of God’s love. I think we all have a new perspective of life and missions.

I think this is code for '99% of people told us to go to hell when we handed them tracts'.

Romania was basically Quiverfull: The Country. See what crazy levels of breeding gets ya, Bates girls? Probably not, since you only see what you want to see. :snooty:

[godlytomatosoup]

Even granting that mission trips ever do more good than harm (and I'm still a bit ambivalent on that point) do really short term missions like a week achieve any good for the locals, or is it just a form of tourism that makes you look good as well as giving you a holiday in a foreign country?

[BlackHawk]

I almost started a thread about this.. it annoys me how these people don't actually SEE the country... they go to a few "perfect" places to see what they WANT to see. It's so fucking annoying to know they don't KNOW anything about the country they are visiting, just their own interpretation of what "god" is doing there. Ugh.

[Visionoyahweh]

Romanian orphanage, 1990.

The Bateses dream world of human reproduction.

[ElphabaGalinda]

They didn't really do anything useful there because all they basically did was tell people who don't need to hear it to worship their idea of God or else they'll go to hell. Not like they actually HELPED anyone. I think they used the trip to confirm whatever perspective they already had.

That being said, at least, unlike Jana Duggar, they didn't need to bring a brother as an escort. I'm sure there are plenty of Godly young men and women to look after them, but they didn't make them bring a brother. Or worse, a tiny child to take care of.

Speaking of which, wonder how Kelly Bates dealt with the loss of 3 off her best helpers. I'm sure better than Michelle Duggar would, but i'm sure it wasn't easy.

[Effie]

I'm sure all of those who are suffering at the hands of the Romanian laws are thrilled to hear about such a BIG GOD and how much he helps people...

Physical needs = food? Yes, right on.

I somehow doubt that praying to God will give poor families food on the table. I have never prayed and I have never had to go hungry.

So what is it that these missionaries believe in? That a greater faith in God will make a poor person less poor? Then why are there so many poor people in my mother country Poland? Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter (Poland) has been widely regarded as the most Catholic country in Europe. I doubt people living there don't have a strong enough belief. However, the poverty is decreasing in Poland (thanks to their economic reforms... oh wait, that's God!).

[CanadianHippie]

Physical needs = food? Yes, right on.

I somehow doubt that praying to God will give poor families food on the table. I have never prayed and I have never had to go hungry.

So what is it that these missionaries believe in? That a greater faith in God will make a poor person less poor? Then why are there so many poor people in my mother country Poland? Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter (Poland) has been widely regarded as the most Catholic country in Europe. I doubt people living there don't have a strong enough belief. However, the poverty is decreasing in Poland (thanks to their economic reforms... oh wait, that's God!).

Silly, Catholics are teh ebil. You have to be Independent Fundamentalist Baptist evangalizers in order for God to care.

[liltwinstar]

Also, weren't they accompanied by the mayor or something? So they were clearly going to see a biased view of the city they were in. Also, they were there for a freaking week! You can barely adjust to the time difference in a week!

I did think the conservative black suits were interesting. They were clearly trying to look like a spiffy American business group, you know?

Also, most Romanians are Orthodox Christians, so they're pretty aware of Jesus...although it would be awesome to see a smack down between an ATIer and a devout Babushka...

[bananacat]

Romanian orphanage, 1990.

The Bateses dream world of human reproduction.

Nah, the Bateses would think those kids are being spoiled. They'd like to see at least two infants in every crib, and they'd wonder if there's any way to make bunk cribs. They'd also want bunks for teenage girls to care for those infants instead of an adult nurse who should be with her husband making more babies.

[doggie]

I am so tired of these feel good trips. feel good for the people doing it not the people they visit. the money spent on this fubar would have helped the people so much more if it was spent on them. Preaching to them is not helping them.

[Maul the Koala]

Even granting that mission trips ever do more good than harm (and I'm still a bit ambivalent on that point) do really short term missions like a week achieve any good for the locals, or is it just a form of tourism that makes you look good as well as giving you a holiday in a foreign country?

Bingo. A lot of volunteering abroad is essentially tourism that makes you look good.

/not bitter that some of the post-secondary scholarships in high school went to people who could afford to go 'volunteer' abroad. Not at all. Especially after finding out they didn't actually do much volunteering.

[Mommy22alyns]

Even granting that mission trips ever do more good than harm (and I'm still a bit ambivalent on that point) do really short term missions like a week achieve any good for the locals, or is it just a form of tourism that makes you look good as well as giving you a holiday in a foreign country?

I think it's a form of tourism. Like MckMama's trips to Africa. :roll:

[clover_leigh]

Yes,Im sure they're so much more informed and aware after their visit.

[Rachel333]

I like the term "voluntourism". It's absolutely a form of tourism. It really annoys me when people on mission trips and other volunteer trips don't think they're tourists. I've actually people complain about their mission groups being forced to pay tourist prices at tourist sites when clearly they weren't tourists.

The worst example of this was a (nonreligious) trip where people could pay to give food to poor villagers. Like a petting zoo or something. What MckMama is doing is kind of similar. I could write pages on why her trips bother me.

[demgirl]

I'm guessing that their "new perspective" does not include how the country is still damaged from the anti-contraception policies of Ceausescu . . .

I mean, really.

[MrsYoungie]

They are invited to teach character lessons? So mostly they are spreading the Word of Gothard? What a load of rubbish. Even worse than regular missionaries.

[Mommy22alyns]

They didn't really do anything useful there because all they basically did was tell people who don't need to hear it to worship their idea of God or else they'll go to hell. Not like they actually HELPED anyone. I think they used the trip to confirm whatever perspective they already had.

That being said, at least, unlike Jana Duggar, they didn't need to bring a brother as an escort. I'm sure there are plenty of Godly young men and women to look after them, but they didn't make them bring a brother. Or worse, a tiny child to take care of.

Speaking of which, wonder how Kelly Bates dealt with the loss of 3 off her best helpers. I'm sure better than Michelle Duggar would, but i'm sure it wasn't easy.

Well, you notice that Michaela didn't get to go...

[formergothardite]

They are invited to teach character lessons? So mostly they are spreading the Word of Gothard? What a load of rubbish. Even worse than regular missionaries.

Yeah, sounds like a Gothard thing. Those poor people in Romania having him and the Bates family inflicted on them.

[ElphabaGalinda]

Well, you notice that Michaela didn't get to go...

I did notice, and I assumed that was the reason. But 4 sisters/moms are better than one :D Didn't Michelle need grandma and Amy when she was left with only 1 JSlave or something? Wonder how Michaela got to be the unlucky one to stay to watch the kids.

[Visionoyahweh]

I like the term "voluntourism". It's absolutely a form of tourism. It really annoys me when people on mission trips and other volunteer trips don't think they're tourists.

I like this term! :clap:

That being said, at least, unlike Jana Duggar, they didn't need to bring a brother as an escort.

I'm sure they wanted an to send a male escort, but they don't have the Duggar infinite fortune to fund these things.