We have another story that reinforces the adage that you have to be careful what you wish, or pray, for. Hannah Gastonguay, 26, and her husband Sean, (and his father) took their two young children on a small boat to leave the United States to “see where God led us.” The family opposed what they viewed as the lack of religious freedom in the United States and set out to find a new home on the tiny island nation of Kiribati. Instead, they found themselves battered for weeks in powerful storms that left them adrift with little food or water. They were finally rescued, taken to Chile, and now plan to return to Arizona.
The small boat held Hannah, her 30-year-old husband Sean, his father Mike, and the couple’s daughters, 3-year-old Ardith and baby Rahab. It was a considerable risk when they set sail from San Diego. They were eventually found by a Venezuelan fishing vessel and then transferred to a Japanese cargo ship which took them to Chile. Once in Chile, the godless American government that they were fleeing arranged for tickets to take them back to Arizona.
Hannah Gastonguay said that they wanted to leave a country where they felt Christians were being forced to support “abortion, homosexuality, in the state-controlled church.” They also objected to being “forced to pay these taxes that pay for abortions we don’t agree with.” She insisted that “[t]he Bible is pretty clear.” That led them to set out to move to an island and put themselves in God’s hands. They would be adrift for 91 days but insisted that they never lost faith “God would see us through.” They don’t blame God for the storms and instead insist that “[b]eing out on that boat, I just knew I was going to see some miracles.” Result: the trip proved that God had a plan all along for them
Hannah says that they are now planning to go back to Arizona and “come up with a new plan.” God only knows what that will be.
Source: Chroncile
It is pretty clear to me what this family really means by ‘religious freedom:’
Kiribati is a majority-Christian country which almost completely bans abortion (except for the life and health of the mother) and where homosexual acts are still criminal offenses.
I’m kind of amused however that they thought they could just jump out of a boat to immigrate there…
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syrbal,
the traditional way to determine in democracies where your tax money goes to is to vote people with similar spending priorities into the budget making institution (congress in the USA, I suppose?).
Even countries with a very strong tradition of direct democracy like Switzerland usually exempt the budget — it tends to be too complex for ballot-type yes/no questions.
Reading excoriation of those who need public help, lazy bums, etc, on Huckabee;s posting on FB (I “like” him to read what the uber right is saying).
Asked them was it G-d’s will they come back or a waste of taxpayer $. It will be interesting to see what they say. They usually precede their hateful comments with we are a christain nation, etc Was this “christian” that the gov’t pay for them to come home? If they went to find G-d does that make them more worthy of taxpayer dollars?
Buddha and Mohammed also hate the Cubs.
:::sigh::: You know, I sometimes wish American tax code/forms had a section with say…ten categories of where tax money GOES. I’d say let people choose half of them, effectively opting out of the other five. And then, also, they cannot actively take PART in the other five….say you don’t want to pay for “social welfare” programs —then don’t queue up for money, either. We’d quickly find out how fast and far people would REALLY “walk” their walk then.
Schools might get more funding and the Pentagon could hold bake sales. And people like this family could quit bitching about where “their” tax dollars went.
the tone of your responses is so ‘holier than thou.’. WoW
Not all people are ‘blessed’ with your collective intellect.
[music]
And London Bridge has fallen down..
And moved to Arizona!
Oh, I know why.
To substantiate the rumor that Jesus was a hoosier
Who lived on oakies and flies.
When you’re from down South and you open your mouth
Ya always seem to put your foot there.
Gonna go home to the Armadilla,
Good country music in Amarilla and I know why.
etc.
name of musician unknown.
Those people should have gone down with their ship. Arizona is already full of wackos.
Coming soon to a theater near you: “Swiss Family Dumbinson”
I’m pretty sure any alleged Creator of All wouldn’t be a nationalist.
However, if God exists, he clearly hates the Cubs.
OR
Despite our country’s problems, God knows USA is still the best place to be.
ARE,
I’m not one for putting kids into the CPS system without really good cause, but I’ll have to agree this situation fits that bill. The recklessness, danger and stupidity of this “plan” and how they went about executing it cannot be underestimated. The sea will kill you in a heartbeat if you don’t know what you are doing or disrespect it.
The only possible justification for the US paying for their tickets back to the US would be to save the lives of those US kids. The AZ department of Child Services should meet their flight back with papers taking those kids and placing them in a safer place, either with sane relatives or foster care.
It is clear that Child Protective Services should step in and take thoes poor kids. That should be the price of their tickets back to the US.
Let me get this straight.
You hopped into a boat to see where “God would lead you” and ended up in Arizona?
You may have been fleeing non-existent “persecution”, but you may have proven that if God exists, he/she/it has a perverse sense of humor.
I object to paying taxes to have the government bring them back to Arizona.
Family Abandoned U.S. To “See Where God Led Us” . . . Only To Be Led Into A Series Of Storms Leaving Them Adrift For Months
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There’s a macro lesson in that title for us all. Had they all drowned, God just called them home their friends at church would say. If any of them survived, it was God’s providence all along that saw them through.
Must be nice knowing that whatever happens there’s a religious excuse available. See you really can have it not just both ways but all ways.
Maybe they should try Saudi Arabia.
The United States has the most religious freedom of any nation in the world – so much so that we have to tolerate other citizen’s religious freedoms and outlaw the government from imposing one religion over another. They want a theocracy not religious freedom.
sorry, RESCUE…….. those DELUSIONALS…………
How much did it cost us to rescew these ”DELUSIONALS”????? Force them to pay for it!!! If they can’t afford it, take their children away and sell them!
A mental health evaluation might be in order…. My, my the insanity…
Insanity….clearly these individuals have no appreciation of the religious freedom that is enjoyed by religious individuals in the US. It is likely of course that their idea of “religious freedom” is that everyone should forced to believe what they do. I feel sorry for and concerned about their children.