She got that from the Young People Ask book chapter which says romantic novels don't encourage singleness?
If You Have Had the CO or DO Stay With You...
by A question 28 Replies latest jw friends
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clearpoison
Yes, CO couple multiple times. Mostly while we were travelling elsewhere during CO visit week (how on earth our prearranged trips always collided with CO visit that was arranged on busiest vacation period?). We had good experience with them, home was always tidy after they left, maybe even tidier than originally. There was always some kind of token of appreciation, flowers or card.
Once we happened to be present while they were staying with us. Ofcourse they did their routines and that way were very much away. But during dinner and evening we had interesting discussions, I was not the exemplary brother at all, but I did not felt like there was pushing or intimidation. It was just interesting discussion with challenging viewpoints coming from both sides. Wives spent their time again mostly together sipping wine and watching TV. Both the CO and his wife took time each day around 20-25 minutes to read magazines and discussing them together in their room and day before public speech CO rehearsed it for a while, even he had held it already multiple time. Very thorough in that sense. Food we offered was always well received and appreciated, breakfasts we asked them to arrange themselves from existing ingredients as we were working and kids went to school (this visit wasn't during the vacation period). I must say that this visit in our house for me was far more refreshing than the program of CO visit itself. I really have fond memories of that visit.
CP
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Vidqun
My recent experiences with them were mainly unpleasant. Outside field service, they don't seem to be able to think for themselves. However, this is not a generalization. Some of them had been very pleasant. My parents were overseas, so I had to look after the CO and his wife. I went to a lot of trouble preparing for them and stocking their larder. After the week, I was virtually bankrupt. I breathed a sigh of relief that the week was drawing to a close. After the week they asked if they could stay for another week. My world came tumbling down.
One CO couple expected us to serve them hand and foot. The wife did not lift a finger to help. They never paid for anything, and saved all their money for overseas trips. When we explained to them that some of the poor brothers and sisters would use up their total monthly allowance to prepare a meal for them, they looked at us with blank stares, as though that was the norm. I got the impression they live in a different world, a world without empathy. The last two I confronted with the UN-NGO scandal. The first one went grey with shock. Eventually he said: "We all do stupid things," which was a good answer. The second one took the standard line: "For us is not to reason why, for us to do and die." Well, I told him I felt humiliated and deeply stumbled. Perhaps now I am a marked man? Hopefully they will avoid me in future.
The DO complained that the little bar fridge in their flat froze everything. I went there and showed him the little knob when you open the door. This you can turn up or down. The last round I stocked the flat and fridge with two weeks of supplies. The CO arrived the Monday night. The Tuesday afternoon he came to the house, wondering where their food was. I, as the host, were supposed to feed them according to the program, which I only received the next day. So after all that, never again. But that's what I said last time....
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cantleave
When I was kid I loved my mum having them to stay.
John Blaney, a well known CO in the UK, in the 70's, was an absolute hoot.
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Alfred
In the late 70's, we had CO Rene Vazquez (mentioned in COC) over for lunch a few times... He was a pleasant, humble and spoke from the heart.
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Decided
When I was a kid we had the CO stay at our old log house with no inside bath room or toilet. I don't remember what it was like though.
Later when I was in my own house we had the CO stay with my wife and I. I don't remember much about it then either.
Ken
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WTWizard
Good thing I never wasted the time having a hounder-hounder staying in my apartment. Besides all the time it would have wasted, I am sure they would have worked with the scumbag that dragged me into the cancer in the first place to get rid of every single one of my records (except the Kingdumb maladies) along with every single recording of them, my Commodore 64 computer, my collection of VCR tapes, and everything else that was of value for me.
They want to try that rubbish on me now--hope they like Christmas songs and decorations.
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sabastious
He was pleasant.
The CO's job is not very hard. Time consuming and frustrating yes, but not very difficult in the slightest. CO's get catered to like children, are beloved by their congregations and get to consider themselves similar to Paul and Barnabas in Bible times. Was he smiling ear to ear?
-Sab
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N.drew
I did not have the brothers over to stay the night. But once I had the CO and his wife over for lunch. It was a good experience.
I just want to affirm what Vidqun said thus " I got the impression they live in a different world, a world without empathy"
It was during a congregation problem between a pioneer sister and me. At that time, that lasted several months, I did not feel one iota of empathy from the brothers. Not from any of them. A little bit from the sisters, but none from the brothers. So then, it's not definitely Vidqun's biased negative viewpoint, but it is real. It's real that empathy is rare among the congregation, from my point of reference.
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Vidqun
Thanks Nancy, thought I might be a bit paranoid. Many, many years ago (over 20) I attended a Ministerial School. A brother gave a talk on empathy, and he stressed the point, If you don't have empathy, you have a big problem. Don't say, I am a man's man, I'm tough, I don't show emotion or sympathy. Know you've got a problem, and work on it. So what has happened in the mean time? Has empathy become "old light"? Today, I would avoid becoming an elder or MS at all costs. Why? I don't want to end up like them.