It all seems to have started last August, with the arrival of the Pulley family: a young Australian couple with four small children, who had emigrated to Russia and originally settled in the Altai region — a remote section of southern Siberia that shares borders with Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.

There had been a few weeks of frenzied activity on the Feenstra farm in Nizhny Novgorod as they hastily built and furnished a small “guest house” on their property, hinting at a forthcoming surprise. But the arrivals were not relatives or friends coming for a visit; they were six strangers, suddenly relocated to the more desirable Nizhny Novgorod region, to “help out” on Countryside Acres. And that was all the explanation we were given. Not why the Pulleys had moved; not how the Feenstras could afford to build the guest house and pay their new helpers; and not how, or by whom, the arrangements had been made.

Then, just as suddenly, Arend Feenstra announced in early December that their entire family would be leaving for an extended vacation in Canada and the United States. Again, no explanation, no reason given . . . but a repeated assurance that they would “100% for sure” be returning to their farm in Russia. In the meantime, the Pulleys — not farmers by trade or background — would be in charge of the property and the animals.

After Arend’s emotional farewell to the farm — which sounded more like a Russian “proshchai” (goodbye forever) than a simple “do svidaniya” (‘til we meet again) — we followed the family halfway around the world to a grand reunion, and a joyous Christmas celebration, with their extended family in Canada.

Meanwhile, the Pulleys back in Nizhny Novgorod have broadcast on their own site, speaking of daily life on the farm, but never (in any of the videos I’ve seen) mentioning the Feenstras.

And, as if all of that hasn’t been strange enough . . .

Yesterday, Arend Feenstra posted a video from wintry Ontario, titled “Everything Changed in One Snowy Day,” in which he announced that eldest daughter Cora had taken a job in a nearby restaurant — which she had done “all on her own” — and would be going to live for the next three to four months with “a good Christian family” — not with her grandparents or other relatives — while her parents and seven younger siblings head south to warmer climes.

Arriving on the heels of their Christmas broadcast, when I commented on “their devotion to one another” and the “bond [that] gives them the strength to face whatever challenges life may bring,” the news of this split — even if only temporary — comes as quite a shock.

Yes, Cora is growing up. Younger brother Wesley just celebrated his 16th birthday, so she has to be at least 17, and possibly 18. For most 21st-century families, it would not be unexpected for a young woman of her age to want to exercise some degree of independence. But for an ultra-conservative, devoutly Christian family such as theirs — who left Canada two years ago for the explicit purpose of escaping what they call the “wokeness” of the general population — it seems highly unusual.

Not knowing what specific denomination of Christianity the Feenstras adhere to, one possibility does occur to me: perhaps this is something akin to the Amish tradition of Rumspringa — an opportunity for teens to explore the outside world for a short period of time before committing to adult baptism in the church. But that’s just speculation on my part.

Whatever the reason for this sudden development, a great many questions arise from the entire sequence of events over the past half-year: the hurried construction of the guest house prior to the August arrival of the Pulley family; the November issuance of Putin’s Decree No. 821 on the new requirement of military service as a prerequisite for Russian citizenship; and the sudden announcement of this very lengthy and expensive trip back home.

On each of those occasions, I wondered whether there might be something we weren’t being told. Taken together, a pattern seems to be emerging, hinting at long-term preparations for . . . well, for something we don’t yet know. Maybe it will turn out to be just a case of over-active imagination on my part. Or not.

But I intend to stay with the Feenstras to see what does happen next.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/6/26