Yeah steve2 . . . strictly "informal witnessing" at kiritehere beach . . . gotta make the time "count"
Where the need is great
by noontide 35 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
FirstLastName
This post brought back many memories in my JW elder home as a kid.
I had some very good friends that moved about 3 hours from us in a more rural area. Somehow every summer, the need was great in their area and we would visit them for a week. We had about 4 families that would travel up to their house and camp out on their property. Every day for a week we went out in service with their congregation. I bet that hall loved it - I think we covered their entire territory every summer.
Also, I remember grimacing at conventions when they would interview young people on stage. The elder would ask " what do you want to do when you grow up", and the canned response was always " I want to serve were the need is great"
-
dgp
Anyone interested in checking this page?
-
sizemik
Thanks for the link dgp . . .
Am I being a bit cynical . . . or are the "target markets" leaning toward the less developed lands (less access to internet, information etc)?
-
dgp
I wouldn't really know, but I think it's a combination of factors.
Because of the indoctrination, Jehovah's witnesses everywhere tend to have low income. Now, low-income in the United States or Canada is something completely different from low-income in, say, Honduras, where some of these need greaters go. So anyone moving there has to think that, unless he or she contributes with a particular skill that has a market there, their income will be very, very bad. It helps if you sell your small apartment in, say, Spain, and use the money to live in a poorer country, where the money becomes a small fortune.
Also, I believe that in the larger countries all the preaching is basically done. I assume it's very difficult to make a convert everywhere, but it must be a lot more difficult to get someone into the organization in countries where Jehovah's witnesses have preached longer and where people are better informed. So, poorer countries, there we go!
Besides, I also speculate that missionaries tend to think of themselves as people accepting pain and hardships "for God". So, it doesn't feel like you're a missionary if you go to, say, France. Cynics would say you moved to where comfort is greater. Therefore, you move to an area where you won't have the same niceties as you'd have at home, and thus you can claim that you're going an extra mile. Which is sort of the case.
And then, people in those areas are less informed, and the level of discussions is certainly much lower. People in those areas are more used to seeing The White Missionary bringing God's Word. That used to be the case with Catholics as well, until not so long ago (these days, it's not that easy to find a Québécois, say, as a missionary). It's not that people are stupid; certainly they are not. They are simpler folks who may know something is wrong with a straw man argument, for example, but can't find the words to say what they mean and why they feel it's wrong.
On the other hand, these people can also be a much tougher cookie to convince. They were told that staying away from "the Church" is bad, and they are stubborn.
Again, Mormons have it easier than Jehovah's witnesses. They invariably look friendly, are well-groomed (not always the case with Jehovah's witnesses, believe it or not) and seem to walk tirelessly.
-
godrulz
Bermuda sounds good. Is it still open?