What I'm about to relate is not "the nicest thing I've ever done for a Jdub", but it is a top 10. I just feel it is time to get this off my chest and put this out on the 'net, so maybe just one of the JWs who started treating me like crap years ago will know "the rest of the story".
Back in the 90s, when I was a totally braindead Jdub myself, I owned a single family rental house, which was 4 bedrooms with a full basement, which set on a large city lot. This rental house had had the same tenant for about 7-8 years, but that family finally bought their own home, so moved out. The house needed tons of work before I rented it out again. Because the house was located some distance from where I lived at the time, I planned on taking 4-6 months to get the house remodeled and re-rented.
However, after a month or so of getting the worst problems repaired, a JW family in that area approached me and asked me to allow them to move-in immediately -- and by the way -- could I give them a rent discount since they were fellow JWs?
They explained that the small farmhouse that they were currently renting for only $250 month was literally collapsing in on them and their several children. They went on to further list numerous family and financial problems which they had been suffering over the past couple years, all while the wife tried to "regular temporary pioneer".
They promised that if I would allow them to move-in immediately, and if I would buy all the materials, that they would do the remaining painting, minor repairs, and other non-skilled labor intensive items. By the time they got through working me over with their doing "all they could as a family for Jehovah, despite one obstacle after another being sat in front of them by Satan", I agreed to let them move-in as soon as some ongoing larger repairs were finished.
Not being a total idiot about how some JWs take advantage of other JWs, I specifically spelled out the repairs that I expected them to complete within 30 days, and those that should be completed within 90 days after their moving in.
I even gave them the first 6 weeks FREE!!! I explained that since their "service to Jehovah" was the most important thing in their family's life that I was also going to help them financially to get back on their feet. I agreed that if the wife would continue putting in large amounts of service hours and/or "temporary pioneering", and if the husband would do certain things to improve their lives, etc., etc. that they would only have to pay me $175 RENT per month, which I figured would cover the taxes, insurance, occasional repairs, and other incidental expenses on the rental house.
All seemed to go well for the first few months, with occasional notes tucked in with the rent checks thanking me for "helping them out in their time of need".
Then, after only about 4-5 months or so, I received their request to install new carpeting throughout the rental house. I responded that given their $175 monthly rent, and given the amount of money that I had spent prior to their moving in, that I could not afford to spend so much so soon. As a alternative, I gave them permission to refinish the wood floors themselves, with me paying for any needed materials. I never heard any more problems about the floors, nor about their refinishing the floors.
The "thank you" notes pretty much stopped soon after that, although I do recall that one or more later notes now thanked "Jehovah" for the "help" in their life.
After the end of the first year, I started hearing that the husband was barely showing up for work with a fellow JW, and that the wife was not putting in any more service hours than she had prior to the family's lowered rental expense. This "impoverished" JW family was also unnecessarily spending money on a house full of pets --cats, several birds, several aquariums, etc.
It took me several months to decide that I needed to stop letting these JWs take advantage of me, and I finally told them that I needed the house for personal reasons in 90 days (this was a monthly rental in which I only had to give 30 days notice).
Instead of "thanking me" for providing their family a place to move when their last rental house was "collapsing", and doing so for nearly 2 years at only $175 per month, they then started running around badmouthing me to not only the local congregation, but also nearby congregations. (It took me nearly a year to figure out why some JWs in this area were now giving me the cold-shoulder.)
While negotiating their move-out, I discovered that they had not done some of the stuff they were supposed to have done within 30 days, much less the 90 days stuff. They even eventually left leaving some things undone totally. Even with the 90 days notice, they snot-illy notified me that they were moving in 60 days, as if losing that extra $175 of rent was going to kill me.
They damaged the house while there, and even did more damage when moving out. They left a whole pile of garbage and broken furniture stacked outside the house for me to have hauled off. They even left a swingset in the sideyard, promising to come and dismantled it, which after several months I finally had to give them "x" days to remove before I threw it in the garbage. (The removal is another story you wouldn't believe. They came without first letting me know and without tools, and then went into my basement looking through my stuff looking for tools to dismantle the swingset.)
When I took possession of the house, I discovered that the husband -- without ever asking or even telling me -- had completely dismantled the propane central heating system, and had jimmy-rigged in an electric furnace (probably because they could get subsidized for the electricity but not the propane). What's worse, they moved out and left the propane system dismantled and the elctric unit like they had jimmy-rigged it up. After I had the mess they left for me corrected, several months later they even had the nerve to ask me for the electric unit back.
In the pile of garbage and broken furniture that they left for me to dispose of, I found an old solid metal lawn chair that I decided that I would salvage. I later spent more hours than it was eventually worth sanding and repainting it. My wife mentioned this to one of the local JWs, and it eventually got back around to my former tenants. Guess what!!! They came to me and asked for their chair back -- after they had thrown it out -- left it for me to pay to have hauled off -- and after I had spent hours and $$$ repairing.
About a year after they moved out, I tried to explain what had really happened to an Elder who was mistreating me due to believing the crap the former tenents were telling about me "evicting" them. When I made the mistake of emphasizing my own efforts at trying to help this JW family out, the Elder cut my own explanation short letting me know that if any "help" at all had been given to this JW family that it was solely due to "Jehovah's efforts" -- not mine.
Isn't life wonderful?
What's the nicest thing you ever done for a Witness?
by JH 20 Replies latest jw friends
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West70
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hillbilly
Handed a single- mom middle aged sister -type $100bucks...just for the hell of it. Pat is one of those people who "should know better" but is blinded by the Org.... I wish all of my old freinds could wake up and leave...................
~Hill
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bull01lay
thats so sweet yet sad, Bull01lay
Awww, thanks Ellie - - you've made me blush now !
West70 - Wow - That's quite a story! It's easy to see who the christians are, isn't it !!
Bull!
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calico
Free babysitting!
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mrsjones5
I held my tongue when a jw shunned me in my parents' house
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ICBehindtheCurtain
I MARRIED HIM
IC
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misspeaches
An elderly sister in my congregation had been recently widowed. Her husband had died after suffering for a very long time from emphasemia. (sp). She had never lived on her own and was so devestated about losing her hubby and living by herself. Although I was very happy and content living on my own I decided that the right thing to do was ask her to come live with me.
Well 12 months she stayed and turned my life upside down. I had to run her here and run her there. She was a demanding busybody. It was just awful.
A great learning curve for me!
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whyamihere
Acknowledge their existence....lol.
I have done many things........
Free babysitting as well although the baby was handicapped (really hard)
Did all the flowers for some weddings for free.....I would say over 100 hours worth.
I have done so many things it is hard to count.........
Brooke
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calico
More depressing is the fact that a lot of witnesses expect things or services for free! Then if you don't give it to them for free they treat you as if you are unloving!
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jaffacake
Spend the past year thoroughly researching his religion, in order to be in a position to guide him out of it one day. Ever the optimist...