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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

'The Vuolos Take LA' Recap

Counting On "The Vuolos Take LA"

  • Jinger, Jeremy, and five-month-old Felicity are in Los Angeles scoping out the area. They take a hike to the Hollywood sign and look out on the San Fernando Valley, which is where they are hoping to live.
  • “I chose to wear pants for the hike,” says Jinger. “We were going to be going down some steep hills, and so I thought it best to wear pants. My parents always raised us just to honor Christ in everything that we do. That’s where the Lord’s led me as of now. Growing up, my parents instilled in us the importance of modesty, and so I’m really, really grateful for that foundation and for that training.”
  • Why did Michelle choose to start wearing solely skirts and dresses as a young woman? “I had a lot of baggage in my life up until the age of 15, and when I was born again, my life totally changed. It was just transformed. And as I began to read the Bible and pray, the Lord totally convicted me about the way that I was dressing.” Michelle mentions something that she shares in one of her books, about her practice as a teenager to mow the lawn in a bikini, not knowing that she could be causing men to stumble. “And so the best that I knew, and how I understood, I obeyed my Lord, and I just felt like I should wear dresses and skirts. My girls, I just dressed them in dresses and skirts, as well, being that that was my personal conviction. I think that part of it was just more of…Mama’s the mama, and I’m raising my girls to be modest and honor the Lord in how they represent themselves.”
  • Is there conflict between Michelle and Jinger over Jinger’s new wardrobe choices? Jinger says she spoke with her parents and shared her heart with them before she started wearing pants, and they encouraged her to walk with the Lord, honor Him, and maintain modesty.
  • “It’s okay that my kids may have different convictions than me,” says Michelle. “I know that He’s leading them, and that’s the most important thing, is their walk, their relationship, with God. And I honestly can say, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. You’re so precious, Jing!”
  • “I’m really thankful for my mom and I know the tears probably are because we are super close, and just knowing that we have different conviction on this aspect but that she still loves me the same, that just means the world,” says Jinger.
  • While in LA, the Vuolos meet up with their new friends, Cade and Gabby, who were both finalists on American Idol. Jeremy messaged Cade online because the two of them share similar theological backgrounds, and a friendship was sparked. They stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame and spot a star for the Backstreet Boys, a band that Jeremy loved growing up and still likes to sing to. “I knew the name Backstreet Boys before meeting Jeremy, but I hadn’t listened to much of their music,” says Jinger. When asked by the producers if they are familiar with the Backstreet Boys, Austin is, but Joy, Abbie, Jana, Jessa, and Kendra are not.
  • Later, they visit Venice Beach at sunset, and Cade and Gabby sing “Amazing Grace” for Felicity.
  • In Philadelphia, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, and Justin pick up three limousines and drive them back to Arkansas to sell at their used car lot. Jed is spearheading the operation. Three hours into the trip, one of the limos is leaking oil. They perform a little fix, and the vehicle is back in commission.
  • Along the way, the guys pull into an RV park and start a fire. “Jer and I are both 20 years old, and we’re getting about that point where we are starting to think about courtship,” says Jedidiah.
  • “I’m looking for somebody that‘s going to be a friend, companion, for sure somebody that is humble and has a learning spirit,” says Jason.
  • “I’m looking for a modest, righteous babe,” says James. All the guys laugh.
  • “Tall, dark, handsome, no I’m kidding,” says Jana, chuckling. “Really the biggest thing is someone with character, someone that is a little more established, just mature and wise.”
  • Does Jana feel the pressure to get married? “Well, some will pressure in some ways,” admits Jana. “I’m like, ‘Y’all, when the time comes, I’ll…figure this out. But if I was just sitting there like, ‘Oh man, I’m just waiting to get married,’ I think that would be more depressing. But instead, I really look at this as, okay what are other things maybe that I could be doing right now that maybe I can’t do later. And so I’ve really enjoyed the different opportunities that I’ve had to, I don’t know, travel, even still be able to travel with my family, that maybe my married siblings can’t do.”
  • “Different ones of us have been in relationships, courtships, whatever you want to label it as,” says Jana. “Of course it doesn’t always end in marriage, and that’s okay. It doesn’t have to end in marriage.”
  • Meanwhile, John-David and Abbie, who have been married for three months, embark on their honeymoon to Finland.  On the first day, they go on a reindeer safari. Then, they put skis on and are each given the reins of a reindeer. John moves faster, but they both have a blast.
  • The newlyweds also visit the White Cathedral. They are looking forward to staying in a snow hotel.

72 comments:

  1. I loved the shows. With conversation Jinger and Michelle had about wearing pants was priceless..
    Also their move. John and Abbie in Finland..the 5 boys road trip. Was really pack with a lot of information. Jana has had several men to court her.

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  2. Iv never understood the no pants rule, surely wearing pants is more modest than a skirt, you can see up a skirt with the slightest gush of wind & you have to be super careful when sitting down so as not to show too much leg etc, you don’t have any of these problems with pants, they are far more modest. I always wear skirts but that’s just because it’s what I feel comfortable in & my personal choice, however they are way more restrictive than pants for doing active things like hiking or climbing over rocks. I’m glad to see Jinger making her own life in LA with her little family, good luck to them.

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    1. If you ask me, a man, I think this whole pants vs skirts thing is overblown. Perhaps not for the reasons everyone else does however. I'm a conservative Christian man at twenty nine and let me tell you, there are both skirts and pants that will get men going. I don't think anyone's going to be staring at you in MC Hammer pants the way they would skinny jeans, likewise long skirts versus a miniskirt.

      To be frank the whole point is that the conviction is about not temping men with thoughts of things that cannot be righteously fulfilled. From my point of view, a skirt just fits differently than a pair of pants does. With that being said, you do have to pick your attire to match your activity and environment, but you can still be more modest than others when doing so.

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    2. Texas, since it’s a woman’s responsibility to ensure men aren’t tempted, is it a man’s responsibility to ensure women aren’t tempted? Bare six pack abs and tight jeans might cause a woman to stumble. Funny we never hear about a man’s responsibility in the quest to keep women pure.

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    3. Thank you Texas.
      Skin tight pants are far less modest in my eyes than skirts ( not mini skirts or tight skirts of course)
      You can see every curve.

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    4. @Anonymous October 24: 6:46. You make a perfectly acceptable point, one that I hold a conviction to as well, I don't take my shirt off when in public. Frankly I don't think it is funny at all that we don't hear about how girls might be falling into temptation, I think that conversation needs to happen and it needs to be taught. I think the reason that perhaps it isn't thought of as a huge deal is just the nature of men and woman, Men are extremely visual creatures. I think Dennis Praeger makes an excellent point when he said that there are no advertisements that just have mens legs on them, not body, just legs. However, there are ads with just a woman's legs on them, why? Because men are highly visual. This might mean that it is more important for a woman to be conscience about modesty, but if the male visual temps girls in the same way, it certainly needs to be addressed and taken seriously. I firmly believe in personal responsibility and the passage of scripture that tells us that we will be held accountable for causing others to stumble.

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    5. @Texas Such a patriarchal, androcentric response. How men about taking total responsibility for how they react to pants or skirts, not blaming the women for tempting the males?

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    6. 4:46, you're missing the point. Guys are wired differently. They can't help the immediate response to something visually stimulating, but they certainly can control how they handle it from that point on. However, women have no idea how strong a struggle that may be for some guys.

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    7. Texas - Those ads using women's legs are for things like pantyhose and women's razors. They are not aimed at men or the products they'd buy. Unless Mr. Praeger and other men are looking at another type of magazine than the rest of us are, those ads should be of no concern to them.

      I'm not buying that "men are highly visual." Women have eyes and brains, too. Men have been using that line as an excuse for their own weaknesses and bad behaviors for centuries. It's time it stopped. You'd think the Me Too movement would have alerted men to what happens when they can't control themselves and behave properly. No excuses any more.

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    8. Texas, I agree with you! Most women are not nearly as visual as men. There are some women that can be tempted that way, but almost all men have that issue. I heard a speaker say recently that this wasn’t a problem until recent times. There were not billboards and computers and pornographic images everywhere.

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    9. @October 25, 7:55PM. I have no interest in arguing with you, it seems like you've already made up your mind on the subject. There are plenty of studies, medical, physiological and scientific on the subject of the male visual susceptibility.

      I personally don't understand the attitude of folks that can be told that "X" makes someone struggle and their immediate response is "I don't struggle that way, so I don't believe you".

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    10. @8:24 Not true. There have been images like that since art and photography began. You just didn't hear about them unless you were involved with them. There is absolutely nothing new under the sun in that department. Men struggling or addicted to that stuff make up the minority, not "almost all men."

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    11. Men are not wired differently in the sense that they are pre-wired in some way to be tempted by women. The only physical difference between a male brain and a female brain is the way the neural connections are arranged (front to back or side to side) and the amount of white and gray matter the two brains have. That has nothing to do with social behavior when confronted with particular pieces of clothing. That is learned behavior. Men can help it. Men can learn to control it.

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    12. 7:55, maybe try having honest talks with a few men. My husband has explained things to me that I've also heard other men say, and it is not the same for women.

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  3. Excellent recap. I enjoy reading these, as we do not have tv

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  4. who buys cars without test driving? seems they need to do a better job on that one.

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    1. They bought the cars to sell to OTHERS on their used car lot.

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    2. What TLC puts out onto TV for viewers is an edited version of their daily lives. They probably did test drive them first but we did not see that. The issues that they had started hours after they had driven them off of the lot. Most test drive are about 30 mins or less.

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    3. I don’t think they allow you to test drive cars at an auction.

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    4. So these OTHERS get the clunkers instead?

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    5. Well I would imagine alot when you are talking about wholesale. After all many are bought at auction with no option to test drive so they would be used to that. All you would care about is that you are getting a good deal for resale and looking for certain warning signs/factors that would effect the value.

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    6. They didn't have issues until they'd been driving for several hours. That would not have shown up in a test drive. Actually watching the episodes clears up a lot of these questions.

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    7. When you buy cars at auctions you don't get to test drive them. They buy these cars and then sell them to the customers at their used car lot. It's called "flipping cars".

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    8. I am the 3:16 commenter. I want to add that they said they would have the cars checked out at the lot. This should be obvious that they would check the cars out more closely before selling them but I know how some of you jump to the worst assumptions so I wanted to add this.

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    9. Anon 1:30 I don't think anyone was suggesting that the Duggars didn't make any needed repairs to the cars they bought at auction before selling them on their used car lot. Most states have laws to ensure car dealers don't sell unsafe cars with known problems.

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  5. Great show glad they set everyone straight about the girls that chose to wear pants now. I mean what mom would throw away a child because they had a different way of doing things in life?

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  6. Loved this episode! Loved each section, the boys on their road trip for work, Jinger, and the honeymoon. Keep it up please. :)

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  7. I love, love, love this family! However, they are not doing themselves a favor by staying with TLC. It would be interesting to see how Up TV would handle this family’s goings on. I watch many of the Bates shows over and over again since the first season. Unfortunately, that is not the case with Counting On.

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  8. I’m pretty sure there are deeper issues involved about the pants wearing. Last time jinger cried on TV during an 19kac episode, it was over her testimony. It wasn’t until 2 years later why it made sense for all those tears.....

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    1. I am not able to watch the shows. Could you give a little more detail about the episodes you are referencing? Thanks!

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    2. If you have you tube you can search under “jinger Duggar’s testimony”

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  9. This episode was a good one !
    géraldine

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  10. I just love watching Jinger and Jeremy and little Felicity. Jinger is just beautiful inside and outside. She has such a tender heart and everything they Jinger and Jeremy do is to honor their Lord!!!!

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    1. Singing to Backstreet Boys and getting excited over other singing groups is honoring the Lord? Just wondering ……

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    2. 3:46, I’m sure that not everything they do is to honor God. They are, after all, only human and as such they are sinners just like the rest of us. Also, what we see on the show is a sanitized version of their real selves. I’m sure they’re lovely people in real life but they aren’t perfect.

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  11. Typo alert!:) Felicity is not 5 months! Great write up. I love how they are factual without personal commentary or opinion Ellie. Feels like watching the show! Thanks. Eileen

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    1. 3:49PM: Felicity was indeed 5 months old when that segment was filmed. Jinger identified her as being 5 months old.

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  12. Nice episode. They would do well to speak candidly about things like the pants issue in future shows. I liked the honesty. Jinger cried when her mom vocally accepted a choice different from her own. These tears were about more than just pants and clearly represented Jinger's choice of a very different lifestyle. I just love Michelle and her abilities as a parent.

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  13. Jana said"different ones of us have been in a relation of some sort"so I guess that includes herself,she must have been in a getting to know you relationship with someone but did'nt lead to courtship when they got to know each other better,poor Jana,it's not easy her watching her sisters getting married and starting a family while trying to stay strong and positive.

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    1. Josiah, josh and Jana are the onlyb3 that had courtships that didn’t end in marriage

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    2. What is she likes being single and doesn't want to get married?

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    3. Jana has already stated before that she has dated a few men, they just weren’t ever shown on the show.

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    4. I wish Jana could find someone to marry. But I doubt that any man of "character, humble and with a learning spirit" would want to appear on a realty TV show. I think she'll either have to compromise a bit or remain single.

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    5. This "poor Jana" drumbeat needs to end. For starters, you assume every woman wants the same things in life- like nothing more than to get married and have kids. I've known quite a few men and women who never married and were perfectly content with the lives they chose. For all you know, Jana's sisters are jealous of her!

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    6. I for one love being married with kids. I dont have to punch a clock, I homeschool and tutor one day a week. Dont get me wrong, I make sure to be punctual when we do have to be somewhere but I'm content not having to punch a clock

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    7. I agree, 7:34. I homeschool too, which can be a hard job, but I am so thankful I'm not part of the paid workforce right now. That has its own problems.

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    8. @7:34- That's wonderful that you love being married with kids. However, I'm sure you also undertstand that there are many people who do not share your opinions about marriage and having kids. This does not make them bad people.

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    9. My husband and i were talking about this whole debate yesterday. Can't we just recognize that working moms have their own set of stressors and work really hard inside and outside the home? Meanwhile, stay-at-home moms have their own stressors and work just as hard inside their homes. Why do we have to pit one side against the other? Why do we seek to devalue one, so the other feels more "right"? Hopefully, each side works really hard at their respective jobs and hopefully has their family's and children's best interests at heart. I've worked on both sides of this fence and both lifestyles require a lot of work, planning, and energy- just in different ways. Why can't we just support and pray for each other, instead of taking sides?

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    10. Maybe"poorJana" doesn't want to get married and/or have kids. There are a lot of single people out there, enjoying their lifes. I would.like to see her move out on her own and have her own life away from her family.

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  14. Enjoyed the show, except the LA part. The tour of LA was boring. Do not need to see the sights of Los Angeles. Felicity is adorable. She is a mini me of Jeremy. The car buying and Abbie and John-David on their honeymoon was good.
    Joan,Marion and Marilyn

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  15. Great episode, I loved it.
    Several siblings pointed out at Jason as the next one courting.
    I loved the Finland honeymoon! And Jinger&Jeremy climbing around the Hollywood letters.

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  16. I want Jana to get her own show. I want to see her projects, gardening and single life. And Jinger and Jeremy should have their own show in LA now. They are the most interesting ones. The rest is just courtship-marry-babies-repeat. It's gotten so boring. It was actually nice to see the boys yesterday. Something different...

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    1. If Jana moved out on her own, that would be Must See TV!

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    2. I can't imagine Jana talking to a camera for a whole show.

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    3. I can't imagine Jana talking for a whole show either, unless she's explaining a project as she walks the audience through it. But we never really get to see this on the show either because everyone else is throwing ideas out and Jessa often takes over whatever the project is. Soemtimes I wish Jessa would leave, so we could actually see Jana man the project she envisioned from beginning to completion. Jana has the technical knowledge and knows what needs to be done, in what order. But the family dynamic has clearly allowed Jessa to take over- not a healthy dynamic.

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  17. Dont live @ home anymore you dont answer to your parents anymore . Do what MAKES YOU AND YOUR OWN FAMILY HAPPY! Also MUCH BIGGER THINGS TO worry about Jinger wearing pants

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  18. really liked the show focusing on the young guys. there's 3 of them at courting age so i'm hoping they'll be on more often

    loved john-david and abbies's honeymoon! finland is so beautiful. i like that they waited to do something 'cool' like this since abbie loves cold weather!

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  19. I’m only finding a total of 4 shows for season 10 of Counting On. I hope that’s just a partial listing. How disappointing if that’s all there are...

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  20. When my daughter was about 13 she went to the mall with her friends. They all want to buy clothing that they thought their parents wouldn't allow. Some of the girls bought it and then snuck it into their house but my daughter called me from the mall and asked if it was ok with me. She did this in front of her friends. I thought it was very mature of her and told her it was her decision. She is an adult now and I would never expect her to ask permission on clothing. If you help them when they are young then they should be able to make a simple decision, as an adult, without seeking approval from their parents.

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    1. 13 is an adult? Wow, there are a lot of things a 13 year old shouldn't wear and I hope if she ever did go too far you would say something.

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    2. She was 13 when she asked permission. She will be 25 next month. There were quite a few things that I said no to before she even had the chance to ask. I never said 13 is an adult.

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    3. The point is, Anon gave her daughter reasonable freedoms at age 13, and she grew into a responsible adult able to make her own choices. I never had problems with clothing with my daughters, either. They had no need to "sneak", we discussed everything together and reached agreements through this process.

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  21. That hike down to the Hollywood sign was treacherous. I was grabbing for Felicity when Jeremy started to slip and when Jinger told him to catch her if she fell i said no he needed to move so she wouldn't knock him down with the baby strapped to him. Im all in for the baby safety. I would love to see the sights like that.

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  22. The more I watch Jeremy in TV the more I can’t stand the guy. At least on TV. There’s something about him I can’t put my finger on. And he seems to be very prideful. Not a good trait for a preacher. It seems as if he craves attention.

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    1. I agree about Jeremy. His perpetual smile as he talks gets annoying. I think he’s trying to hard for the cameras.

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    2. He doesn't perpetually smile as he talks.

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  23. Just a correction the White Cathedral in Helsinki is Lutheran not Orthodox as JD described....
    There are some Russian Orthodox churches there since it used to be part of Russia.

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    1. JD even said it was "Greek Orthodox" church :). That was so funny because Greece is way down south from Finland, and if it was an Orthodox church that would be Russian Orthodox.

      I guess in Arkansas they only know about Greek Orthodox.

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    2. Well it was originally built to honor Czar Nicholas so I guess it might be called that. But since the Lutherans took it over that's a bit of a stretch. Anon 5:13: it's all Greek to the Duggars anyway.

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  24. Were the first shows 1/2 hour or 1 hour in length?

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  25. I have to say that Ben’s beard is not attractive and the unshaven look on some of the others isn’t either. Especially on Josiah.

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