Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)

[Sew Sumi]

The Bontragers are especially unappealing. The Maxwell SIL fits in perfectly.

[Barb23]

10 hours ago, Temperance said:

The Bontragers posted new pictures of the entire family on their main family blog. They have 10 kids and four grandkids. Four of their kids are married and each have one kid.  All of the married couples kissed in the first photo. 

Where's that "Gross" icon when we need it?

[Normades]

12 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

The Bontragers are especially unappealing. The Maxwell SIL fits in perfectly.

Yes and the stupid poses of the unmarried kids looking on in surprise are even more revolting.  Where is the barf icon when you really need it??

[Temperance]

The Maxwells are okay.  They spent Tuesday night in a tornado shelter. A tornado were 30 miles away and the tornado sirens were going off.  They relayed this news in the comments of their blog.  They live in Kansas. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Temperance

[Lunera]

More weddings this weekend. Where is Tabitha Paine? I think something went terribly wrong in her marriage. 

[Temperance]

40 minutes ago, Lunera said:

More weddings this weekend. Where is Tabitha Paine? I think something went terribly wrong in her marriage. 

Erin is recycling her MoH dress from Carlin's wedding up above. 

Chad's family keeps Tabitha in the background for the most part. One of Chad's brothers posted a photo of the whole family a few months ago. (I'm thinking it was around February?). (I saw this photo while lurking at FJ.) Tabitha and her husband were in the photo. It was hard to tell if she wasn't pregnant, but she had not had a baby yet. (They had been married atleast 18 months when the photo was taken. FJ knew this, because of how many babies in the photo.)  Besides his older sister Tabitha, Chad has three other sisters, one of whom married last year and one seems to have gotten married this weekend. 

[ehall1052]

1 hour ago, Lunera said:

Michael is like the female version of Chad....that girl can do anything!

[BitterApple]

I like the idea of a taupe gown for an older or second time bride. I don't have any issues with non-virgins wearing white, I just think it looks a little more refined. 

Everly is starting to look like a brunette version of Brooklyn.

I worry about Tabitha. I don't think it's a good sign that the family keeps her in the background. I hope Tim isn't mistreating her (especially given the actions that got him on the sex offender list in the first place).

[Marigold]

Ugh.

I forgot about that Tabitha Paine rapist husband.  Those two like fell off the face of the earth. 

Duggars are staying far away, I guess? Don't want to add another sex offender to their friend list. 

[Churchhoney]

6 minutes ago, Marigold said:

Ugh.

I forgot about that Tabitha Paine rapist husband.  Those two like fell off the face of the earth. 

Duggars are staying far away, I guess? Don't want to add another sex offender to their friend list. 

Am I remembering correctly? Didn't the Duggars host the engagement party? .... 

If so, that makes it harder to pretend you didn't know the guy.....  🤢

[zoomama]

i actually watched about a third of that make-up video. i must say that the voice coming out of jill r. is so not what i expected to hear. and whoever said she looked so young without any make-up is correct. she isnt doing herself any favors with all that piled on!

[Temperance]

 Dr. Paine (father of Tabitha and Chad) and Gil Bates are on the board of IBLP.  For years they (Gil and Dr. Paine) helped cover up the sexual misconduct of Bill Gothard, who molested as many as 34 women and teenage girls.  Eventually some of the women broke free of the cult and made allegations. Dr. Paine and Gil kicked Bill Gothard off the board to make IBLP more palatable. They also may have increased salaries from getting rid of Gothard. 

Paine, Bates, and IBLP been trying to distance themselves from Gothard ever since. Make it look a good organization. Erin Bates Paine said she no longer follows Gothard, but she's IBLP. It's just Gothard isn't there.  

When Tabitha's husband proposed, I believe the Duggars were involved. It does seem possible that they didn't know about her husband's past. Since it became public knowledge, that her husband was a sex offender, everyone has been trying to distance themselves. The Duggars don't acknowledge them publically. The Bates try to keep a very public friendly for the good of their show. They barely acknowledge IBLP even though Gil is on the board and they're still actively involved in the organization. (They just spoke at Big Sandy.) They are trying to distance themselves from anything scandalous including Gothard, Tabitha Paine's husband Tim, etc. The Paines are on the board of IBLP. Both Dr. Paine and Gil Bates want to make IBLP more viable so they're trying downplay anything scandalous, like an in-law with a criminal record. Basically everyone thought the marriage was a good idea in the beginning, and everyone has PR reasons now to hide Tabitha and Tim in the background.

[Marigold]

I think the Duggs hosted the engagement party for the rapist and Tabitha.

For such a "religious" family, they certainly have some violent and sick people in their home. But we don't want to go down that road again...already established a pattern with these people. 

[GeeGolly]

This is one of the reasons many religious organizations are so scary to me. Power and abuse run rampant. The Boy Scouts and Catholic church have both been recently back in the news. There's the NXIVM sex cult. Gothard. Scientology. And these are just current ones, the list goes on and on.

Why can't we learn from history? So many abused in the name of religion. Scary, scary, scary.

[Rabbittron]

5 hours ago, Marigold said:

For such a "religious" family, they certainly have some violent and sick people in their home. But we don't want to go down that road again...already established a pattern with these people. 

Don't you know according to the Duggs it. Happens in every  family. 

[Churchhoney]

Patriarchal cults (and matriarchal cults, if there are any) exist for the sole purpose of giving a certain class of people large amounts of power that they don't have to earn or demonstrate in any way that they're worthy of holding. 

They parade about announcing that they exist for the sake of the group's welfare but, in fact, they clearly exist only to allow the leadership class to do whatever it wants with and to others without ever being questioned. 

And membership in the leader class is determined solely on the basis of whether a person possesses a particular attribute, like having a penis or being the oldest son. 

And if you're in that group, you get the privileges -- no further proving of self is needed. You get taken on faith. That's how all these abusers and crooks sneak in so easily. They're trusted because they have the mark of the leader class -- in this case, a penis and the willingness to spout whatever the group's main mantras are. And the other "leaders" will be loath to challenge them -- because to question the worth of anybody who has the power mark might open them all up to question. That's why they so fervently cover for each other.

Of course it works even better when you can tell the rest of the group (the underlings, the serfs, the victims, the marks...)  that things are the way they are because that's the way God wants it. So naturally that's what they always do. 

I loathe these people. 

(And yet, of course, this is a huge part, maybe even the largest part, of what humans are by nature. Witness the larger society, where this kind of shit also dominates, just in slightly different forms.) 

I think if we used our brains we could get better control of this hideous biological instinct. And I do think some people do and have done that. But it runs rampant far too often, as it does with these idiots. 

Edited June 3, 2019 by Churchhoney

[lilwhitelion]

I just googled Tabitha Robertson.  Appears she is the Home School Director at Temple Baptist Academy, a Christian school in Powell, TN.  Tabitha heads up the arm of the school that supports those that home school.  Her photo is quite good.  Nothing on the website that I can find that gives any info on her as the Home School Director.

[ginger90]

[lilwhitelion]

18 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Thanks you @ginger90!  I don't know how to post other media on this yet.

[DangerousMinds]

14 hours ago, Marigold said:

I think the Duggs hosted the engagement party for the rapist and Tabitha.

For such a "religious" family, they certainly have some violent and sick people in their home. But we don't want to go down that road again...already established a pattern with these people. 

Even the guy that married Bin and Jessa!

[Scarlett45]

22 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I like the idea of a taupe gown for an older or second time bride. I don't have any issues with non-virgins wearing white, I just think it looks a little more refined. 

Everly is starting to look like a brunette version of Brooklyn.

I worry about Tabitha. I don't think it's a good sign that the family keeps her in the background. I hope Tim isn't mistreating her (especially given the actions that got him on the sex offender list in the first place).

While I love taupe decor and makeup- I think it’s a hard color to wear, it’s too close to so many human skin tones. Unless you go for a very deep grey toned taupe, I think the color would not photograph well. 

Champagne and blush are non traditional bridal colors I enjoy on older/2nd wedding brides. 

Tabitha and her rapist husband- omg makes me want to gag. I doubt Tim is a kind husband. 

[OpieTaylor]

Tim Rodrigues has left Moody Aviation.

from the Rodrigues family:

Dearest Family and Friends,

We have a big announcement to make!! There has been a HUGE change in Timothy's future schooling plans for Missionary Aviation and we wanted to make you all aware of it. Let us explain.....

In Timothy's first semester of college at Moody Aviation in Washington State - we were all filled with exciting dreams for Timothy's future and his dream of flying to remote places to bring them the glorious Gospel. He did great in his first semester and worked EXTREMELY hard to pay his own way. When he paid his last installment (totally DEBT FREE) for that semester, he breathed a sigh of relief and expressed his joy to his college mates. It was then that one college mate in particular looked at him and fairly scoffed... "You may be able to do that the first year, but CERTAINLY not in future years!!"

You see, the aviation schooling is a 5 year program and his classmate (his senior) explained that the the prices continue to go DRASTICALLY up due to the type of training. For the 4th year of college there, Timothy would have to pay OVER $50,000 to cover college expenses, flight gas, etc.

This news nearly knocked the wind out of Timothy's sails. Most ministries that take missionary pilots (once they have finished college) won't even consider taking you unless you are debt free. So, this would put Timothy into a tailspin of MOUNDS of financial debt......just what Timothy was trying to avoid.

Before entering Moody, Timothy had asked SEVERAL times for a "break down" of the costs of each year there. They ignored his request, so learning of this, was a shock. He knew it would be expensive, but over $50,000 for just ONE year?!! Let's just say, you are PAYING for the "name" of Moody when going to school there. Our entire time of dealing with Moody last year while trying to enroll Timothy, was nothing but a headache. They were impersonal and we struggled getting answers from them to our most basic questions. However, we felt God leading to that end and had little to no other options for this line of work/ministry.

It was early December that I remember talking with Timothy on the phone and he was discouraged. Not ONLY about the finances but also the spirit coming from one professor in particular at the college. He continually criticized Timothy for using the KJV 1611 Bible (which we were told before he went there, that they did NOT care which Bible you used and NEVER "pushed" their preference on you.) We knew they were not "like minded" to us in Bible Version and some Bible Doctrine. However, we were confident that Timothy's upbringing and being grounded in a GREAT church there, would bolster Timothy's faith to stand strong. Timothy DID stand strong, and hence it GREATLY discouraged him when he suffered disdain and his professor looking him in the eye and telling him that he threw his King James Version of the Bible RIGHT into the trash! (If that doesn't prove that this version of the Bible is under attack, then what does??!!)

Between these 2 things, we KNEW there had to be another option for Timothy's schooling. We began to pray. Nearly RIGHT away, God answered our prayers. We found the ministry- "Wings As Eagles" in Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Brother Terry Rushing. They do not have an organized program for training, but work with some local, Christian pilots to help young men with this specific calling. They also have a local tech college - Fox Valley Tech - where Timothy has already successfully enrolled for this upcoming semester - August 2019. It is a FRACTION of the cost to learn airplane mechanics there as opposed to how much it cost at Moody. Timothy will literally save TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars!

We are THRILLED that God has blessed Timothy's desire to stand STRONG on the Word of God AND to stay as DEBT free as possible!! Timothy stayed in Washington this past semester and saved his money like CRAZY!

This June and July, he will be FLYING! Wings As Eagles ministry recommended a Christian pilot for Timothy to get his first installment of pilot training from. He gave Timothy a $ amount to come with to cover training and fuel expenses, and we are so proud of Timothy that he worked hard to save that!!

So, with that said, Timothy continues on pursuing God's call for his life- just at a different college / ministry. He is excited about his future!!

We are honored by Timothy's choices and can't WAIT to see pics / videos of him flying soon!! Timothy has "flown the nest" for good, because there is NO way he can give up his job every holiday / summer to come home to see us. We miss him, but talk and text him a lot. We have NO greater JOY than to hear that our children walk in truth.

We trust and KNOW that Timothy's steps have been ordered by the Lord and this brings us peace.

Psalms 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."

Thank you for your continued prayers for Timothy. We (and he) love you all.

In Christian Love, David, Jill & Timothy Rodrigues

[BigBingerBro]

Now that's scary.  I took several classes at Fox Valley Tech and lived in Oshkosh, WI.  Thank God I am far away from there now!

[Jeeves]

So, Moody wasn't so impressed by the Rodriguii's Godly lifestyle of grifting for Jesus that they waived or reduced their tuition and fees for Timothy. I think that was Plan A. Then, Plan B didn't work: the Rodriguii realized that they weren't going to be able to grift the amounts needed for Timothy to continue at Moody even when combined with whatever a young man could earn working part time jobs while attending school. 

Now Google and their network of fundies prayer has led them to this less expensive alternative in Wisconsin. 

Good luck to Tim. He's going to be attending a secular (!!) school to learn aviation mechanics. I hope he has a positive experience among the unsaved heathens he'll be rubbing shoulders with. OTOH he will be firmly in the IFB world with the Wings as Eagles ministry guys if they are going to be providing or coordinating his flight training. This is their mission statement:

Quote

Wings As Eagles Mission Air Service was founded in 1984 and serves fundamental Baptist churches and their missionaries. Our main purpose is to help churches and their missionaries in their "Great Commission" goals by taking pastors and their people on short missionary trips. This enables them to enlarge their vision for the souls around the world that need Christ as Saviour and it gives them a greater understanding and burden for their missionary's needs.

That apple isn't falling far from the tree. 

I'm sure the grifting for his education costs will continue until Tim's out of school and has his pilot's license. Is there a GoFundMe (or Go To Me Funds) page for this yet?
 

[Churchhoney]

57 minutes ago, OpieTaylor said:

Tim Rodrigues has left Moody Aviation.

from the Rodrigues family:

Dearest Family and Friends,

We have a big announcement to make!! There has been a HUGE change in Timothy's future schooling plans for Missionary Aviation and we wanted to make you all aware of it. Let us explain.....

In Timothy's first semester of college at Moody Aviation in Washington State - we were all filled with exciting dreams for Timothy's future and his dream of flying to remote places to bring them the glorious Gospel. He did great in his first semester and worked EXTREMELY hard to pay his own way. When he paid his last installment (totally DEBT FREE) for that semester, he breathed a sigh of relief and expressed his joy to his college mates. It was then that one college mate in particular looked at him and fairly scoffed... "You may be able to do that the first year, but CERTAINLY not in future years!!"

You see, the aviation schooling is a 5 year program and his classmate (his senior) explained that the the prices continue to go DRASTICALLY up due to the type of training. For the 4th year of college there, Timothy would have to pay OVER $50,000 to cover college expenses, flight gas, etc.

This news nearly knocked the wind out of Timothy's sails. Most ministries that take missionary pilots (once they have finished college) won't even consider taking you unless you are debt free. So, this would put Timothy into a tailspin of MOUNDS of financial debt......just what Timothy was trying to avoid.

Before entering Moody, Timothy had asked SEVERAL times for a "break down" of the costs of each year there. They ignored his request, so learning of this, was a shock. He knew it would be expensive, but over $50,000 for just ONE year?!! Let's just say, you are PAYING for the "name" of Moody when going to school there. Our entire time of dealing with Moody last year while trying to enroll Timothy, was nothing but a headache. They were impersonal and we struggled getting answers from them to our most basic questions. However, we felt God leading to that end and had little to no other options for this line of work/ministry.

It was early December that I remember talking with Timothy on the phone and he was discouraged. Not ONLY about the finances but also the spirit coming from one professor in particular at the college. He continually criticized Timothy for using the KJV 1611 Bible (which we were told before he went there, that they did NOT care which Bible you used and NEVER "pushed" their preference on you.) We knew they were not "like minded" to us in Bible Version and some Bible Doctrine. However, we were confident that Timothy's upbringing and being grounded in a GREAT church there, would bolster Timothy's faith to stand strong. Timothy DID stand strong, and hence it GREATLY discouraged him when he suffered disdain and his professor looking him in the eye and telling him that he threw his King James Version of the Bible RIGHT into the trash! (If that doesn't prove that this version of the Bible is under attack, then what does??!!)

Between these 2 things, we KNEW there had to be another option for Timothy's schooling. We began to pray. Nearly RIGHT away, God answered our prayers. We found the ministry- "Wings As Eagles" in Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Brother Terry Rushing. They do not have an organized program for training, but work with some local, Christian pilots to help young men with this specific calling. They also have a local tech college - Fox Valley Tech - where Timothy has already successfully enrolled for this upcoming semester - August 2019. It is a FRACTION of the cost to learn airplane mechanics there as opposed to how much it cost at Moody. Timothy will literally save TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars!

We are THRILLED that God has blessed Timothy's desire to stand STRONG on the Word of God AND to stay as DEBT free as possible!! Timothy stayed in Washington this past semester and saved his money like CRAZY!

This June and July, he will be FLYING! Wings As Eagles ministry recommended a Christian pilot for Timothy to get his first installment of pilot training from. He gave Timothy a $ amount to come with to cover training and fuel expenses, and we are so proud of Timothy that he worked hard to save that!!

So, with that said, Timothy continues on pursuing God's call for his life- just at a different college / ministry. He is excited about his future!!

We are honored by Timothy's choices and can't WAIT to see pics / videos of him flying soon!! Timothy has "flown the nest" for good, because there is NO way he can give up his job every holiday / summer to come home to see us. We miss him, but talk and text him a lot. We have NO greater JOY than to hear that our children walk in truth.

We trust and KNOW that Timothy's steps have been ordered by the Lord and this brings us peace.

Psalms 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."

Thank you for your continued prayers for Timothy. We (and he) love you all.

In Christian Love, David, Jill & Timothy Rodrigues

This is bullshit, as usual. 

When this whole thing came up, I looked up Moody's fees online.

They list them. In great detail.

And they make 100 percent clear that the fees for each semester of the program cover the costs for that semester only. And that the fees rise over the years (and occasionally drop from one semester to the next), depending on the exact costs of the schooling for that semester. They list the fees in detail and break down what they pay for. They can do this because in their programs you take a prescribed set of classes each semester -- because it's technical career training. Not some kind of elective academic system. And they want people to know that up front. They lay it all out in one of the clearest fee-schedule documents I've ever seen. Obviously, they don't want people to enter not knowing what the financial deal will be for the next four or five years. They want them to be able to plan financially. 

I suppose Jill's hoping somebody will feel terrible about Tim and rush up to offer him his tuition money. Or maybe they've been begging people for this since the beginning and haven't found any takers. And now she's trying to attack Moody and bring down their reputation for not being 100-percent devoted to the KJV. Or something.

Just lies lies lies and crap as usual.

Stupidity. 

And a big bunch of cowed, ignorant and brainwashed kids caught in the middle. Horrible. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Churchhoney

[Jeeves]

2 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

This is bullshit, as usual. 

When this whole thing came up, I looked up Moody's fees online.

They list them. In great detail.

. . . in one of the clearest fee-schedule documents I've ever seen. 

I suppose Jill's hoping somebody will feel terrible about Tim and rush up to offer him his tuition money. Or maybe they've been begging people for this since the beginning and haven't found any takers. And now she's trying to attack Moody and bring down their reputation for not being 100-percent devoted to the KJV. Or something.

Well said. I was posting about the same time but I didn't realize that Moody's tuition and fees were all laid out online. I agree that Jill's Plan A was to grift the cost of Tim's education at Moody, but they just couldn't raise the money that way.

ETA: I wonder if what Jill *really* didn't get from Moody, was an agreement to waive or reduce Tim's fees because of how his family was too busy driving around the country in an RV singing songs about Jesus and having lots of babies for the Lord, to earn enough money to afford the fees. I can imagine Jill's DRAMATIC emails and phone calls, pointing out the SACRIFICES her Godly family makes to PRAISE the Lord and SPREAD the word and how SPECIAL her son is, and how Moody could BLESS this servant of the Lord by just a REASONABLE  reduction in their VERY HIGH fees . . . 

Now that I know what total bullshit she's talking about Moody not telling them the costs upfront -  it's even worse. 

I wonder how the flight training via the IFB pilot guys is going to play out. If Jill keeps stirring the pot and creating drah-mah in her usual way, those guys might back off out of disgust. Or, Tim could be a good student and they might be genuinely interested in mentoring him. Perhaps, however, not to the point of paying for his flight training. 

Stay tuned for the next episode of Fundies in Flight. Breathlessly narrated in EXCITEMENT and DRAMA by Jill R.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Jeeves

[FizzyPuff]

On 6/3/2019 at 7:03 PM, lilwhitelion said:

I just googled Tabitha Robertson.  Appears she is the Home School Director at Temple Baptist Academy, a Christian school in Powell, TN.  Tabitha heads up the arm of the school that supports those that home school.  Her photo is quite good.  Nothing on the website that I can find that gives any info on her as the Home School Director.

Can someone explain to me what a home school director is doing in a school? 

Do parents come to her when they’ve had enough of the school and want to home school? 

Or once a year or so does she bring some homeschool kids on a tour of the school? I’m confused. 

1 hour ago, OpieTaylor said:

It was early December that I remember talking with Timothy on the phone and he was discouraged. Not ONLY about the finances but also the spirit coming from one professor in particular at the college. He continually criticized Timothy for using the KJV 1611 Bible (which we were told before he went there, that they did NOT care which Bible you used and NEVER "pushed" their preference on you.) We knew they were not "like minded" to us in Bible Version and some Bible Doctrine. However, we were confident that Timothy's upbringing and being grounded in a GREAT church there, would bolster Timothy's faith to stand strong. Timothy DID stand strong, and hence it GREATLY discouraged him when he suffered disdain and his professor looking him in the eye and telling him that he threw his King James Version of the Bible RIGHT into the trash! (If that doesn't prove that this version of the Bible is under attack, then what does??!!)

Why do I not believe her that his professor threw his bible away? 

Sounds like Tim made this up or was reading the bible in class when he shouldn’t have and the professor may have taken it off him then gave it back after class. Then Tim made some story up to his mother about how BAD the school is.

Also do these people know the Duggars? They could have asked JD how he got his pilot license, as far as we know he didn’t go to college or anything.

[OpieTaylor]

45 minutes ago, Puffin said:

Why do I not believe her that his professor threw his bible away? 

Sounds like Tim made this up or was reading the bible in class when he shouldn’t have and the professor may have taken it off him then gave it back after class. Then Tim made some story up to his mother about how BAD the school is.

Also do these people know the Duggars? They could have asked JD how he got his pilot license, as far as we know he didn’t go to college or anything.

Great idea about asking the Duggars about JD's pilot training.

Re: Tim's professor, I had to re-read that part a couple of times, but I think the professor told Tim that he had thrown his own KJV bible away, indicating the professor's disdain for that version.

[Absolom]

Jill wants us to believe she, Tim, and David couldn't comprehend this chart?  It's readily available and pretty specific.  

[ginger90]

2 hours ago, OpieTaylor said:

Before entering Moody, Timothy had asked SEVERAL times for a "break down" of the costs of each year there. They ignored his request, 

Bullshit. 

[Churchhoney]

I think it's hilarious that nobody here has any trouble finding Moody's fees, now or a year ago.

I think it's quite depressing that Jill's fans will believe her bullshit because they won't bother to look. 

[NotFundie]

1 minute ago, ginger90 said:

Bullshit. 

Yes.  It's all total bullshit.  They knew the costs.  

This just makes me curious about Jilly's trip to Washington in April.  Did she go to help him pack?  Or - more likely - did she think this was her last opportunity to fly across the country?  I know she posted a ton of pictures of them sightseeing and eating out.  And was the GoFundMe to finish paying Moody or was it a deposit on the private flying lessons?  I think their lack of transparency about all this was way less than Christian.

From the way I read her post, he only did the one semester and then stayed out there to continue to earn money to go elsewhere.  I strongly suspect that he couldn't keep up with the classwork as well as not being able to afford it.  At least he had the good sense not to run home to West Virginia.

[Churchhoney]

2 hours ago, Puffin said:

Also do these people know the Duggars? They could have asked JD how he got his pilot license, as far as we know he didn’t go to college or anything.

I don't think they were looking for a cheap pilot training as much as they were hoping for donors to get Tim a pretty prestigious education for their world! 

The thing is, though, Moody's trains you to be a bush pilot. Their deal is sending pilots to the world's remotest regions for mission work. So that requires plenty of additional specialty training and flight time. Plus you'd have to get more mechanics training for that, too, I think.

That's a lot different from the initial training JD went through just to get that private license to fly JB around! However, JB bought the plane(s), so that upped his costs quite a bit on the front end -- but meant that he didn't have to buy a lot of  flight time for JD in other people's planes. Of course, he didn't care about the cost because in the end it's all for JB's greater glory -- being piloted around in his private plane. No tawdry commercial flights for the Duggars! 

And now that JD has also gotten instrument training and a commercial license, I'm sure JB has spent about as much on that as Moody's spends on whatever percentage of their program gets you up to that level.

What puzzles me is that I thought the initial plan was to have Tim train as  an airplane mechanic at Moody, not a pilot. That's cheaper, of course. (not that it's cheap enough  for Jill.....)

ETA: Here's a story about some Moody pilots in Indonesia. "All the pilots with MAF are trained and licensed aircraft mechanics or engineers and are often asked to help the maintenance department with repairs."   

You can see why Tim would aspire to this life after his squashed existence. It has to sound very exciting and inspiring to him. But unfortunately he'd need some help from his reckless selfish parents to get it.....and he won't get that -- Worse, the lack of help won't even be due to the fact that they have all those other kids coming along behind him....He won't get help because his parents are selfish, lazy jerks whose full-time job is pretending to be saintly. 

https://www.therecordherald.com/article/20120128/NEWS/301289987

Edited June 5, 2019 by Churchhoney

[BitterApple]

Aw, poor Jill. I guess she couldn't grift enough from the old dears on Facebook to pay for tuition and her cross-country flights. 

[Saylii]

30 minutes ago, NotFundie said:

Yes.  It's all total bullshit.  They knew the costs.  

This just makes me curious about Jilly's trip to Washington in April.  Did she go to help him pack?  Or - more likely - did she think this was her last opportunity to fly across the country?  I know she posted a ton of pictures of them sightseeing and eating out.  And was the GoFundMe to finish paying Moody or was it a deposit on the private flying lessons?  I think their lack of transparency about all this was way less than Christian.

From the way I read her post, he only did the one semester and then stayed out there to continue to earn money to go elsewhere.  I strongly suspect that he couldn't keep up with the classwork as well as not being able to afford it.  At least he had the good sense not to run home to West Virginia.

Wasn’t Moody making him take remedial classes?  I thought that was one of Jill’s previous complaints.

If Tim was in remedial classes, I wonder if he had even been working towards the original program yet.  I know when I was in college, any remedial classes or retakes weren’t included in any official cost breakdown.  I could see a situation where Moody required XYZ remedial classes, Tim struggled and needed more before he could move into program full-time, and Moody was cagey about what all that would cost (especially if he wasn’t doing well).

[Churchhoney]

5 minutes ago, Saylii said:

Wasn’t Moody making him take remedial classes?  I thought that was one of Jill’s previous complaints.

If Tim was in remedial classes, I wonder if he had even been working towards the original program yet.  I know when I was in college, any remedial classes or retakes weren’t included in any official cost breakdown.  I could see a situation where Moody required XYZ remedial classes, Tim struggled and needed more before he could move into program full-time, and Moody was cagey about what all that would cost (especially if he wasn’t doing well).

Well, given how carefully they explain their fees, I doubt that they're cagey about the costs of the remedial stuff. They seem to go out of their way to let people know what the actual costs of the training are. ..... They probably learned to do that because there are so many aspiring missionaries out there in homeschooling families like Jill's where nobody' s actually employed. 

But I'm sure they only teach a limited number of remedial classes. After all, they're not in the business of running an elementary school.

Maybe Tim flunked an exam in a remedial course, and Jill wasn't able to grift enough cash for him to retake it or add a lower-level option in adult-ed somewhere or something. Let alone grift enough for the next level of courses at Moody. And it's no surprise she couldn't grift enough, since it's clear the grifting money has also paid for cross-country flights, gift boxes for mom, probably some dinners at the good Olive Garden. Etc. 

[louannems]

Jill is an idiot!  We all saw those high Moody fees and knew noway could a full-time student earn enough making minimum wage.  Tim should have started at a community or technical college to begin with.

[ginger90]

33 minutes ago, Saylii said:

Wasn’t Moody making him take remedial classes?  I thought that was one of Jill’s previous complaints.

I don’t recall if they were remedial classes. I do recall he was required to take some that HAD to be taken in Washington, even though they were available closer, if not by staying home. At the time, I believe they “didn’t know” that, either. Liberal Arts classes perhaps? Prerequisites? 

[Churchhoney]

40 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

I don’t recall if they were remedial classes. I do recall he was required to take some that HAD to be taken in Washington, even though they were available closer, if not by staying home. At the time, I believe they “didn’t know” that, either. Liberal Arts classes perhaps? Prerequisites? 

They were math prerequisites that I guess you could call remedial (or not) because they were courses at a lower level than their program begins at. 

And, yeah, they also 'didn't know" this, supposedly. It's amazing that nosy intrusive Jill would send her kid to a school that she knew absolutely nothing about, isn't it? I hate to think that anybody believes her stupid protestations about this, but I expect they do. 

At the time a certain amount of outrage was expressed even here about how ridiculous it was that he'd have to take those on campus and wasn't allowed to simply take them online. 

But I expect Moody Aviation gets a lot of incoming homeschoolers who have obtained pretty good scores in online math courses throughout their schooling, since a whole helluva lot of Christian homeschoolers "teach" math entirely online. And over time, I expect, they've discovered that you can succeed in many online math courses by various means -- such as learning for today's test and then immediately forgetting it all -- and come out at the end remembering very little and understanding nothing. 

But they teach you math you'll need to use to avoid crashing a plane or allowing it to fall apart mid-flight! So they want you in a classroom with a live teacher who gets this point and will teach for understanding. 

I can only imagine the total lack of comprehension you'd have after Jill has "taught you math" for 12 years or so. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Churchhoney

[galaxychaser]

What a bunch of liars. Plan B should be for Timmy to marry a rich widow.

[MargeGunderson]

I don't believe that Moody wasn't upfront about the costs, since they are clearly available on their website. But even if they weren't, Timmy and Jill didn't get all of the information they wanted but then went ahead with it anyway. That's absolutely on them. I agree that the more likely scenario is that Tim washed out/they couldn't grift enough money to continue. Easier to blame on the professor/the school/Satan. Is there anything they take responsibility for? 

[Heathen]

On 6/2/2019 at 4:48 PM, Temperance said:

Erin is recycling her MoH dress from Carlin's wedding up above. 

Chad's family keeps Tabitha in the background for the most part. One of Chad's brothers posted a photo of the whole family a few months ago. (I'm thinking it was around February?). (I saw this photo while lurking at FJ.) Tabitha and her husband were in the photo. It was hard to tell if she wasn't pregnant, but she had not had a baby yet. (They had been married atleast 18 months when the photo was taken. FJ knew this, because of how many babies in the photo.)  Besides his older sister Tabitha, Chad has three other sisters, one of whom married last year and one seems to have gotten married this weekend. 

Well, what the anal rapist likes doesn't make babies. 

Their abhorrent beliefs aside, I hope Tabitha is okay and that he does not hurt her. I still can't believe a fundie family basically sold their daughter to someone with his record. 

[3 is enough]

I don't follow the Rodrigues family as closely as others do, but this is such a steaming pile of crap.  I bet they were hoping that Moody would give Tim a full ride because they are such an awesome family and were shocked when all their prayers weren't answered. The whole Bible story is just a red herring so they could save face.

 I am just a silly heathen Catholic, but what is the whole Bible issue exactly?  Don't all versions tell the same story, just in slightly different wording?  What exactly is it about the KJV that fundies find to be so important?  I am baffled.

I find it very amusing that fundies revere the KJV since it is common knowledge that King James was gay.

Edited June 5, 2019 by 3 is enough

[Heathen]

Jill Rodrigues is so full of shit, she squeaks. 

[ginger90]

Just now, Heathen said:

Jill Rodrigues is so full of shit, she squeaks. 

The woman needs an enema .

As it always is, she places blame elsewhere.

[Churchhoney]

54 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

 I am just a silly heathen Catholic, but what is the whole Bible issue exactly?  Don't all versions tell the same story, just in slightly different wording?  What exactly is it about the KJV that fundies find to be so important?  I am baffled.

In the case of the Rodrigui and the Duggars, it's stupidity! Also -- we've always heard THIS one, so it's the only one we can stand. 

Some people actually believe that the KJV was itself divinely inspired. LIke, God decided to speak again, after the original bible, and spoke to these translators and these translators only. 

Another big issue has been that the more liberal Protestant churches embraced the new translations that were being produced in the late 19th and 20th century -- arguing that they were not just translated into more modern language but that they were incorporating newer, better archaeological and linguistic information to produce truer translations. 

But one of the biggest forces propelling development of fundamentalism through the 20th century has been abhorrence of mainline Protestantism and its embrace of science, ecumenism, and a politics oriented toward social justice. So anything the mainline Protestants like -- i.e., newer translations -- was immediately anathema to a lot of fundies. The Rs and Ds are devoted to this fundie tradition, of course. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Churchhoney

[Marigold]

4 hours ago, Puffin said:

Can someone explain to me what a home school director is doing in a school? 

Do parents come to her when they’ve had enough of the school and want to home school? 

Or once a year or so does she bring some homeschool kids on a tour of the school? I’m confused. 

I homeschool but I don't really know what this is either. 

A guess would be that she heads up the umbrella school for states that require an umbrella school? I'm in an unregulated homeschool state so I don't know how that works.

The school might also sell their curriculum/lessons plans to homeschoolers.

The school might have online classes.

Truthfully it sounds like a job that takes about 5 hours per week. Busy work for someone who is not pregnant and serving her anal rapist master. 

[Churchhoney]

9 minutes ago, Marigold said:

I homeschool but I don't really know what this is either. 

A guess would be that she heads up the umbrella school for states that require an umbrella school? I'm in an unregulated homeschool state so I don't know how that works.

The school might also sell their curriculum/lessons plans to homeschoolers.

The school might have online classes.

Truthfully it sounds like a job that takes about 5 hours per week. Busy work for someone who is not pregnant and serving her anal rapist master. 

Here are the rules for Tennessee homeschooling I just dug up at HSLDA.

Looks like Tabitha would have involvement with Options 1 and 2 for homeschooling. For Option 1, she might be involved with homeschooled kids who need remedial work and have to get that in concert with a teacher certified in Tennessee. So she might help the school and its teachers coordinate with families who are in that position.

And in Option 2, it appears that Tennessee has a specific homeschooling category in which the parents sort of operate under the auspices of an actual private school sponsored by some religious group. So coordinating that might be her Job One? 

 Quite an interesting set of homeschooling laws, actually. I wonder whether it's because they have so many conservative-Christian homeschoolers? -- 

https://hslda.org/content/hs101/TN.aspx

Option 1: Independent home school.

1. Ensure that you have the required teacher qualifications. 

You must have at least a high school diploma or a GED.

2. Submit a notice of intent. 

3. Submit proof of immunization. 

4. Provide the required hours of instruction. 

5. Maintain attendance records. 

6. Test your child in grades 5, 7, and 9. 

In grades 5, 7, and 9, your child must take a standardized test administered by the commissioner of education, by someone designated by the commissioner, or by a professional testing service approved by the LEA. You may be present with your child during the 5th-grade test.

Here is what to do if your child’s test score is low: If your child’s test score is six to nine months behind his or her appropriate grade level in reading, language arts, mathematics, or science, you must submit a “remedial course” to the local superintendent. The remedial course must be designed by you and a Tennessee-certified teacher who is certified or endorsed in the grade level, course, subject matter in which your child is being remediated.

Additionally, if your child’s test score is more than one year behind his or her appropriate grade level for two consecutive, required tests, and if your child is not learning disabled, the local superintendent may require you to enroll your child in a public, private, or church-related school.

Options 2: Church-related school.

A church-related school (CRS) is a school operated by a denominational, parochial, or other bona fide church organization and accredited by the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools, the Association of Christian Schools International, the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Tennessee Association of Non-Public Academic Schools, the Tennessee Association of Church Related Schools, the Tennessee Alliance of Church Related Schools, or a school affiliated with Accelerated Christian Education, Inc.

Here are some websites that can help you find a CRS:

The website of your chapter of the Tennessee Home Education Association (THEA) usually has contact information for local CRSs.

Another list of schools is available on the website for the Tennessee Department of Education. Any school under Accreditation Category 4 is a CRS.

Local homeschool groups in Tennessee may be able to refer you to a CRS.

1. Enroll in a church-related school. 

2. Comply with policies established by the CRS. 

Option 3: Category III distance-learning school.

“Category III” schools are non-public schools that are accredited by one of the following: any accreditation division of AdvancED (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI)), the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), any accrediting association recognized by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Commission on Accreditation (e.g., the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS)) or the National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA) according to the procedures and criteria established by the association.

Category III schools must report student attendance information to the director of the public school system where the student lives.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Churchhoney

[Marigold]

@Churchhoney

Yes, that's it. It's an Umbrella School. She must be the lady who coordinates the paperwork for the umbrella school. 

Yawn. 

I do know that it sounds complicated and official on paper but I have friends who must use an umbrella school and it's really zip, zip, zip. No big deal unless there is some sort of a problem and most families are not having problems. 

Tabitha really has quite a career going there.  (eyeroll).  Well, at least she is out of the house and working, I guess. She might even have a cell phone and can google things and expand her mind.  

[Churchhoney]

3 minutes ago, Marigold said:

@Churchhoney

Yes, that's it. It's an Umbrella School. She must be the lady who coordinates the paperwork for the umbrella school. 

Yawn. 

I do know that it sounds complicated and official on paper but I have friends who must use an umbrella school and it's really zip, zip, zip. No big deal unless there is some sort of a problem and most families are not having problems. 

Tabitha really has quite a career going there.  (eyeroll).  Well, at least she is out of the house and working, I guess. She might even have a cell phone and can google things and expand her mind.  

So it's a smoke screen, in other words! lol

Option 1 might be a little more substantive, then. .... Depending on how hard the Tennessee tests are ....Maybe nobody ever fails them!

Poor Tabbie.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Churchhoney