Bates Girls Trip to Romania

[FloraDoraDolly]

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...

My money is on the Babushka.

[ElphabaGalinda]

I like this term! :clap:

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

They could have sent only two of the girls with a male escort I guess :) Then, brother to protect them, and extra childcare at home! They probably weren't thinking like that though. Even though they're really not great, I like to think of them as better than the Duggars for some reason.

[fakepigtails73]

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.

I hate how the word "character" is always thrown around in Bates-Duggars conversations. Very Gothard-ish.

[DistantStar]

Yep, just what people like the friends and family of my Orthodox Romanian supervisors/coworkers need, to be told they're going to hell by smug American fundies. :rolleyes: Because it's not like they're Christian or anything. Or moral in any way. Suuuuuure. (I know the country is a mess. I've heard a few hints about what things were like in those years. I don't ask because, well, it's not my business, we're not that close. But it was a very different and very awful world.) But I like my coworkers a lot. Amazing what happens when you get to know people as individuals, not just targets for your religious superiority.

[marmalade]

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.

Priscilla Keller, Gothard flunkee, served as chaperone for both the Bateses in Romania and the Duggar girls in Peru last summer. Pris's intended is the idiot who thinks he's being funny by posing in the wheelchair.

[Haligh the Liar]

A family friend is taking a year off from college to do a world-wide mission trip. Her family is Catholic-turned-nondenominational Christian.

My Catholic parents felt sure that her mission trip is actually service oriented, not proselytizing, but unfortunately, her Facebook post from today talked about how she went to a village of "5000 people and zero believers", which makes me sad. She is also in Romania for the moment, which is interesting, considering the Bates girls' trip. I can't imagine they're doing work together, since, the girl I know is from a 'normal' family, attends a big state school, wears regular clothes and is in a sorority, but still...

[Patsy]

Romanian orphanage, 1990.

The Bateses dream world of human reproduction.

Did each individual baby get their own crib? How decadent!

edit: gmta, bananacat. Isn't it sad to see how our standards have changed in these days of godless selfishness and child-hating? :snooty: makes my heart cry out to the Lord to see children getting their own beds, instead of sharing a single mattress on the floor with two other bed-wetting children. Forgive us, Jesus!

[lilwriter85]

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.

When Boob and the older kids went on a mission trip. Michelle was left behind with the seven younger kids and she had to get help from Mary, Priscilla and Amy. I believe Mary and Priscilla stayed nights at the house. I remember laughing through that episode because Michelle "mother of the year" couldn't handle seven kids on her own.

In some ways, I think Kelly can handle certain things better than Michelle. Kelly doesn't seem as spoiled as Michelle is.

[lilwriter85]

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.

The mission trips that the Bateses and Duggars do are mostly proselytizing trips. They are just going around to spread the word of Gothard. Some of the missionary organizations that both families get involved with don't seem like good organizations. The missionary organization that the Duggars were involved with El Salvador seemed pretty negligent about the safety of missionaries, because their rules for apparel and footwear weren't strict. Also in that trip, they didn't deliver decent food or goods to the people. I recall they gave out candy and stuffed animals, which are good to give to kids, but those families in those villages needed better supplies.

The trip that the Bates girls took was proselytizing and not really about helping people with certain needs. I agree they are worse than regular missionaries, Some missionaries and organzations actually try and help people with needs like food, water, and shelter.

[Daenerys]

The mission trips that the Bateses and Duggars do are mostly proselytizing trips. They are just going around to spread the word of Gothard. Some of the missionary organizations that both families get involved with don't seem like good organizations. The missionary organization that the Duggars were involved with El Salvador seemed pretty negligent about the safety of missionaries, because their rules for apparel and footwear weren't strict. Also in that trip, they didn't deliver decent food or goods to the people. I recall they gave out candy and stuffed animals, which are good to give to kids, but those families in those villages needed better supplies.

The trip that the Bates girls took was proselytizing and not really about helping people with certain needs. I agree they are worse than regular missionaries, Some missionaries and organzations actually try and help people with needs like food, water, and shelter.

My favourite mission people are the Salvation Army. They work mainly within the country, doing unglamorous work like running soup kitchens and charity shops. As far as I know they believe that they show the greatness of their God through their actions, and not through their proseletyzing. They are the least pushy Christian group I know.

[Kelya]

uhm i'm going to romania this week. weird. also blah blah Bates, stupid missions, blah blah. but mostly weird.

[lilwriter85]

My favourite mission people are the Salvation Army. They work mainly within the country, doing unglamorous work like running soup kitchens and charity shops. As far as I know they believe that they show the greatness of their God through their actions, and not through their proselytizing. They are the least pushy Christian group I know.

I agree with you on the Salvation Army. I know people who have volunteered with them and they say the organization treats their volunteers well. There are some Christian organizations that are pretty decent in their missionary work.

[Constance Vigilance]

My favourite mission people are the Salvation Army. They work mainly within the country, doing unglamorous work like running soup kitchens and charity shops. As far as I know they believe that they show the greatness of their God through their actions, and not through their proseletyzing. They are the least pushy Christian group I know.

They are homophobic however, so they are on my shitlist. There are plenty of charities that don't think whole swathes of people should be cut off from finding love and happiness.

[Mais Pourquoi]

When Boob and the older kids went on a mission trip. Michelle was left behind with the seven younger kids and she had to get help from Mary, Priscilla and Amy. I believe Mary and Priscilla stayed nights at the house. I remember laughing through that episode because Michelle "mother of the year" couldn't handle seven kids on her own.

In some ways, I think Kelly can handle certain things better than Michelle. Kelly doesn't seem as spoiled as Michelle is.

The Bates lived in that awful little bungalow with just as many kids as the Duggars had up until their 18th child or something (Michelle had a nice house to boss the JSlaves around in by #15 I think). There also seems to be more older boys than girls in the Bates family, so less 'helpers' for Kelly, and no grandma as a live-in babysitter. Kelly 1, Michelle 0.

[Daenerys]

They are homophobic however, so they are on my shitlist. There are plenty of charities that don't think whole swathes of people should be cut off from finding love and happiness.

To be honest, all the Protestant/CofE sects say they are anti-gay, but in my experience (raised in the faith) no one really gives a shit. They are, in my opinion, within a few years of having homosexual clergy. There are already celibate gay clergy who are openly in favour of gay marriage, and as the older, more homophobic generation dies, I think it will actually happen.

[Daenerys]

The Bates lived in that awful little bungalow with just as many kids as the Duggars had up until their 18th child or something (Michelle had a nice house to boss the JSlaves around in by #15 I think). There also seems to be more older boys than girls in the Bates family, so less 'helpers' for Kelly, and no grandma as a live-in babysitter. Kelly 1, Michelle 0.

Yeah, I am sure that Kelly actually does contribute to taking care of her children, and I do get a warm 'motherly' vibe from her that is completely absent in Michelle. I think she does actually bond with her children and although the older ones do take on a lot of responsibility there doesn't seem to be this regimented buddy/surrogate mother system to the same extent.

[marmalade]

The Bates lived in that awful little bungalow with just as many kids as the Duggars had up until their 18th child or something (Michelle had a nice house to boss the JSlaves around in by #15 I think). There also seems to be more older boys than girls in the Bates family, so less 'helpers' for Kelly, and no grandma as a live-in babysitter. Kelly 1, Michelle 0.

Heck, they have a son who goes grocery shopping without a female "chaperone" to "help." And he PAYS the bill, continuing the illusion that if Gil can pay the taxes and keep his kids stocked in cowboy gear, he's supporting his family. Two points for Lawson's shopping, minus 3 for patriarch's inability to support family without help of his kids. Bates 0 - Duggars 0.

[lilwriter85]

Yeah, I am sure that Kelly actually does contribute to taking care of her children, and I do get a warm 'motherly' vibe from her that is completely absent in Michelle. I think she does actually bond with her children and although the older ones do take on a lot of responsibility there doesn't seem to be this regimented buddy/surrogate mother system to the same extent.

I agree, I also get more of a motherly vibe from Kelly than Michelle. I also Kelly seems to homeschool her kids a tad better than Mullet does with hers.