Smiddy: She was very resistant to the idea that the time card was in any way a report to men for recognition. I let her wander a lot in her conversation with me, but refused to take any of the bait she threw out there for me with the WT lies. Instead, I marvelled at the way she jumped from topic to topic, when she didn't want to answer my question.
I kept asking her why the hours were reported. I asked her what would happen if she didn't turn in a time card? When she denied that it mattered, I asked her if she was a pioneer. "Is it true that you have to report a certain number of hours in order to maintain the different titles and levels in the organization?" I confessed that I'd never filled out a time card, since I never had the privilege of doing field service work.
She said, "My daughter is a pioneer, and she agrees to do a certain number of hours each month. She works part time, so she can do 70 hours of service work each month." She didn't say it with a prideful tone of voice, but I did react when I heard that figure. Honestly, I never realized. I guess I never asked.
She then told me how it didn't matter if you were a pioneer or an elder. "We are all the same. No one is treated any differently within the congregation." I nodded and agreed. :| She made several disturbing statements that my husband jumped at, while I was repeating the story... trying to bait me into changing the subject.
I know the time card is a minute detail, that they are trained to not even think twice about. They just do it. She was totally thrown by my bringing it up, not because I knew about it, but because it had nothing to do with anything Jesus said. I'm hoping that next time she fills out that card and turns it in, a thought might pass through her mind about it. They are keeping track of your work. The men are keeping track of your efforts.
(There was no mention of it being an estimation of her spiritual health, as has been suggested in my other thread, asking this same question. Thank you, SFPW, for preparing me for this visit by the JW at my door. I appreciate and value your insight.)