by megaflower 24 Replies latest watchtower scandals
How often did you have to talk yourself into going out?
How often did you wait till the end of the month to get some time in?
How often did you fudge your time?
After you finished your day in service (or hour) you felt emotionally exhausted?
I always had to talk myself into it, could not stand service
end of the month-often
sometimes I fudged my time esp as I knew I was fading
totally exhausted and sometimes anxious too
I usually had a good time once I got out. Especially if I could get in a group with a hottie or two! Getting up and dressed and around was always the hardest for me!
After you finished your day in service (or hour) you felt emotionally exhausted?
I despised field service...I would dread it all week looking forward to it on saturday the entire day would go by so slow I would pray no one would answer the door and collapse in exhaustion at the end of it just to start the cycle again the next week....
How often did you have to talk yourself into going out?
In the last few years, I had to talk myself into it everytime, sometimes I talked myself
out of it easily. (Tired, late, important elder stuff to do, headache)
How often did you wait till the end of the month to get some time in?
Just a few times, but I did notice that I didn't have my 9-hour minimum sometimes.
How often did you fudge your time?
Only during two periods. The last six months of a year of pioneering, I did most of
the time, but I counted the time spent at the library researching the "real truth" of religion.
The other period was before I officially started fading, while still an elder but ready to resign-
I put down a few hours without actually doing them. That went on just a few months then I
switched to reporting ZERO hours. I haven't bothered since then.
After you finished your day in service (or hour) you felt emotionally exhausted?
Quite often. I can't remember feeling refreshed by field circus.
I can't say that I ever really looked forward to service but, there were times I had to push myself out the door. Depending on the car group, we had fun sometimes.
As for actually talking at the doors.... I did Hate that. I never felt good enough, and always came away from the door thinking there was no way that householder should be judged by what I had just mumbled...
I did go out regularly tho... I didn't care for the end of the month rush.
I felt pretty good after service, considering what it was... I guess I felt I had at least pleased man, if nothing else...
I don't remember fudging on my time... but, that was 10 years ago...
Cas
I used to go out a lot with an older brother and sister in our congregation--I just loved that couple. They didn't usually feel like doing door to door, so they would concentrate on Return Visits. They also got to know where all my RV's were too. Our congregation territory was pretty scattered, so we did a lot of driving. It got so I didn't even have to tell the brother where to go. He knew where to go. I would jest that he was on auto-pilot. They also liked a long coffee break, so the morning was usually quite pleasant. Didn't always get into his group, however, and those mornings were not so happy.
It's funny how many people "just don't feel well" on Saturday mornings. Or get up and look at the weather channel and say "it's just too cold today" and the excuse list goes on and on. If they do muster up the courage to go, sometimes it's this "I think I'll just do calls today" The question in my mind is if it's a life saving message, why all the excuses? If the neighbors house was on fire and they were asleep inside, would we make excuses? Maybe if the witnesses were preaching a real life saving message they would be more aggressive. I've often wonder how much JW's that are suppose to be in "Service" contribute to McDonald's or Starbucks profits. I'd bet it's significant. How about spreading the real Gospel message without all the pressure and hype and excuses. Jesus said that he was "the way and the truth and the life" Why not just tell others that simple message, along with some of the other messages in the Bible and forget the organized door to door effort that spreads a message that is subject to change with the next issue of the Watchtower? Makes more since to me. seek2find
I was not employed during the day so I had a lot of free time. I had been feeling down, so of course everyone told me to do more and then I would feel better. I started going out in service all day, everyday, thinking boy I should start to feel great since I should be getting Jehovah's blessing poured onto me. Often I would go home because there was no one else out, or there would be two people at the meeting and they were going to a bible study so I couldn't come. Most days we just drove around, took like 2 return visits, then went and had breakfast. I always came home feeling irritated and exhausted. I have never looked back.
While I was regular in field circus, I would hope no one would show up. And there was that dreaded van, sitting out there every time just waiting for time to come. I knew that if I blew off field circus, Brother Hounder would be visiting me because they knew I had Tuesday and Thursday evenings and nights off.
After 1996, I started making a habit of putting in only one hour of field circus a month (still one too many). I would always wait until the end of the month, rarely more than 3 or 4 days before, to do it. Ultimately, I would often do "dummy service" where I put in the time but did not even make an attempt to do anything with it.
It almost never made me feel any better. In fact, more often than not, it would make me want to .
1. Every single time I leave the house
2. I get my time in as quickly as I can so its over and done with and I can rest
3. Never
4. Yes, always exhausted and then have to do the work I get paid for to boot
