International Conventions

by stillajwexelder 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  The Oracle

  Don't forget the Bethel tours!

  Nothing like spending tens of thousands of dollars to fly to some exotic land and then spending all day walking around a factory, seeing an industrial sized kitchen! A dining room that can seat 500! Hey, there's a big map on the wall! Holy moly - they have books printed in a foreign language here! Whoa, lookit that - a big washing machine! A provision from Jah himself!

  And if you visit more than one country, you actually get to visit the Bethel branch in each country!

  I'm sorry, the excitement is getting to me, I have to stop now...

  Sir82,

  Thanks for the laugh!

  The Oracle
• 

  WTWizard

  $2,500 to go to one of those wastefests? For about that price, you could go on a real vacation cruise. I wonder how long it would take to run up $2,500 going to your local or regional amusement park or one in a nearby region. Spend a week or so camping in a place like Old Orchard Beach, Maine or in the redwood pard near Yosemite Park and see if you spend that much money. Plus, I bet you will have a lot more fun with your money than going to those wastefests.

  Or, just imagine what $2,500 could do toward Christmas. I wonder how much of your Christmas shopping list could be knocked off with that kind of money. Two computers (if they are both expensive laptops) would go for about that. A big-screen TV could cost that. Or you could knock off the kids' toys or a lot of food and travel money for the holidays with that amount of money. And it could pay for a ton of decorations (just ask Lady Liberty how much money those things can cost). In the end, it will be worth more than wasting it on one of those wastefests.
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  I went last year to Hamburg Germany...with sightseeing also in London....

  ...laughing at the bethel tour comments...it is soooo lame now in retrospect....we only got to do see london bethel..not the huge germany printing branch...glad i missed that...we toured Hamburg and another old german city as part of a last minute change in our tour....(overbooked the hamburg hotel,,,so we got bussed an hour away to Luneburg...best part of the tour...so pretty...)

  We got to tour London on our own and part of Germany on our own...the London tours we had dub tour guides...but in Hamburg...we had an older non JW LESBIAN tour guide who made comments about how "socially advanced germans were for accepting the gay lifestyle unlike when the Nazis were around",...most of the dubs were like "huh?...does she know who she is talking too?" LOL ...funny as hell now....irritating then.

  It was fun for the most part...but even there you couldnt get away from the Borg rules. I was a bus captain assistant (this could out me...LOL) ...and the bus captain told us we had to be at the bus after the friday session by 430pm...of course, the convention did not end until 5pm i believe..and of course it ran waaaaay over.....

  at lunch some of the group asked me what to do ....I told them..."welllll. the bus captain said 430....but the GB always instructs us not to leave until the final prayer is over....let your conscience be your guide," Every one I told that to showed up at about 530...after the prayer and after listening to people sing some more....

  word got back to the bus captain and he cornered me on not doing as i was told...i told him the same thing i told the other delegates...what could he say? the next day, the GB got wind of foreign delegates being told to leave early....and the GB member there announced that foreign delegates were not to be at their buses until 45 min after the closing song to enjoy fellowship..... lol...snakes was right!...bus captain apologized.....

  But you are right about the expense..it was about $2800 US....$2500 after the gave us a refund for the hotel snafu....I really wanted to go to the 2009 conventions ...but now?....I definitely am not going anymore..something about being inactive or something ....even if I were still an elder I wouldnt waste my money again...truly once in a life time experience...because you realize its a waste of money!

  I am going to the Caymans later this month...not planning on visiting any KHs or branches either....LOL

  Snakes ()
• 

  BluesBrother

  We all laughed at the direction given to us when I was cong sec. in early 90's . The conventions were in Eastern Europe . It boldly said

  "Do not recommend oddities" (when endorsing delegates for the trip)

  That ruled half the cong ! but the oddities were the sweetest people.....
• 

  NotaNess

  Im wondering, if the people in charge of renting out these parks and arenas for the CONventions were of the Christian faith...would they be so willing to rent them out if they knew the very people they are renting to, believe they are being lead by satan, and part of "false religion". Or is the money just too good to pass up? Would be interesting to have someone pay for one of those planes to fly overhead with an appropriate banner message for the witnesses.
• 

  NotaNess

  Would be funny too if someone got into the announcement booth and starting talking in a demonic style voice. what a sight that would be.
• 

  stillajwexelder

  yes - I only just realized after reading JHs comment - Armageddon wont be coming until at least 2010 then!!
• 

  sass_my_frass

  Any single woman will consider 2500 a very small price to pay to meet their dreamboat octogenarian elder who works in a car wash.
• 

  sass_my_frass

  The last one in Sydney was in the olympic stadium. There was a large Japanese international delegation, and as I never felt lonelier than when surrounded by 80000 victims of the body snatchers I found the Japanese fascinating that year. There was a special talk for them in Japanese one lunchtime, but the seating set aside for them was right out in the sun, facing into the sun. Late spring in Sydney is ferocious in a concrete stadium, especially when you're sitting around in your kimono. My brother (an infant elder), his father-in-law (a first aid guy) and I and a few others went over to the pub and bought out their stock of bottled water, carried them in and started walking down the ailes handing them out where these poor sucks were withering, fainting from heat stroke and being carried away to ambulances.
• 

  shopaholic

  It was fun for the most part...but even there you couldnt get away from the Borg rules. I was a bus captain assistant (this could out me...LOL) ...and the bus captain told us we had to be at the bus after the friday session by 430pm...of course, the convention did not end until 5pm i believe..and of course it ran waaaaay over.....

  at lunch some of the group asked me what to do ....I told them..."welllll. the bus captain said 430....but the GB always instructs us not to leave until the final prayer is over....let your conscience be your guide," Every one I told that to showed up at about 530...after the prayer and after listening to people sing some more....

  LOL...I was the at same convention...LOL...My bus left exactly 45 min after the program and didn't wait for anyone!...I got left behind on saturday and sunday...Hey, I had gift bags to give away and pictures to take! I would not do another international convention as I don't like a restricted travel itinerary which is one reason why I went with the land-only package when I did the Hamburg convention.

  I went to London beforehand as well, but on my own and not with through the society. I ran into a few folks that I knew from various parts of the States who were with the official tour group...I had on jeans and a cute blouse but no badge and the group leader tried to shoo the friends away from me even though several of them explained that I was pioneer and they had not seen me since I left for foreign service. He responded that since I wasn't in the group and didn't have on a badge it was inappropriate for them to converse with me for a long period of time although we were all standing at the time entry point waiting for next riverboat. It was funny watching them trying to ignore me when they wanted to talk with me.

  Ha..I won't even tell you how I was ignored at the airport when I landed in Hamburg. My flight landed at the same time as some of the other JW flights, I had on a nice KH outfit but I couldn't find my badge but I still mixed in with everyone. When people realized that I had a land-only package, I was clearly dismissed. I asked the german brothers and sisters working with the tour group if they would point me to the taxi to get to the train station and they checked my tag on my luggage (no joke) saw it was land-only and told me that they were there only to assist the friends that had the tour package. So I asked another brother, got the same response. Then get this, a non-JW came and asked me where did I need to go. I had the directions and everything and she said she worked near there and was going the same direction but by bus. So we're leaving out to go catch the city bus to the train and I'm told by a german sister "You have to wait here. The tour group is about to exit for their welcome and we don't want them to think you're with the group." Not exaggerating..LOL...cuz I told that story again that night at the hotel when some of the friends mentioned they didn't have a welcome group at all to greet them. Anyway, the lady led me to the correct bus and from there I went to my train and she was on the same one and got off one stop before me and made sure I knew exactly where to go. On our free day, when we were at the central train station, I heard someone call my name and it was the lady that rode the bus and train with me. As it turned out she worked at one of the restaurants at the central train station and me and the friends with me got a free meal and she got a fat tip.

  Unconditional human kindness triumphs over phoney-baloney-JW-conditional-love anyday. And if any of the GB-boys are reading this, you really need to tell your folks to get their act together because God don't like ugly!