I'm sure everyone on this board has at least one experience similar. I will share this with you....because every time I think I've told you every thing, another memory come rushing in.
When I was about 10, my parents went out of town for the weekend. They hired a young black sister to babysit us. (Color is germane to the story....read on.....)
This sister was beautiful and kind, but her worldly family really was the PITS.
While my parents were gone, her worldly cousins/brothers drove up our driveway, got out of the car, and proceeded to tell this sister that they had come to "visit."
There was one young man who used a walker to get around. He kept telling them, "No, don't do this, let's go." They paid no mind, he was very distressed.
Truth be told, they were out for no good, they came to steal and rob from our house. The sister did not stop them from rummaging through our whole house and stealing things!
As kids, we were in shock and quite frightened! There were strangers in the house, and we felt very unsafe! Imagine how you would feel watching people go through every room in your house stealing stuff, and all there are, are little kids who don't have the nutz yet to stand up to you. (Of course, that *was* in the dumb days; now kids will call 911 faster than you can blink, LOL)
Frankly, we were petrified.
The sister begged them to go, but did not call the police. My sister and I were going to call the police but she begged us not to.
When my parents got home, she gave them a watered down version of what happened. Come to think of it, she never babysat for us again either. (See my thread entitled "Joanne never liked me, anyway.")
As my parents were going to call the police, another car pulled up in the driveway, and out came the young man who used the walker. He gave my father back some of the stuff they had taken and apologized, sincerely. He said he had tried to stop them and tell them what they were doing wasn't right, but they did not listen.
He also told my father he wanted to study the Bible with him, and we got to know a little more of his story.
"Willy" was the son of someone whose children had more than one.....um.....baby daddy. If I remember correctly, he didn't know who his dad was.
In high school this young man emerged as a gifted sprinter, running the hundred yard dash in 10 seconds! He was being recruited by many colleges and universities with prestigious track teams.
One day, two buddies got into a fight. He stepped between them to "break it up." One pulled out a gun and shot him. He was immediately paralyzed from the waist down.
We met him about 4 years later. His life was going nowhere, all his prospects had gone dark overnight. Now he was stuck and at the mercy of his not-too savory family.
So anyhow, back to the story, he told my father that he was ready to study the Bible, and our whole family fell in love with this young man.
He progressed rapidly, and got to be very close to our family.
About three months before the upcoming assembly, things suddenly changed! A young MS in our cong. who was "reaching out" HARD began to buddy up to "Willy."
Us kids weren't stupid--we began to tell my father that this MS was trying to "steal his Bible study!!!!" The audacity!!! Sure enough, because "Willy" didn't understand the political intricacies of the JW cong, this MS was able to convince him that because he was a younger man than my father, he was able to understand the lingo and could relate to him better!
The MS even had "Willy" ask my father if he (my father) minded that he (Willy) had a "supplemental" Bible study with this MS dude. [8>]
My father and mother clearly saw what was happening, and although us kids were outraged, they kept saying things like "The glory belongs to Jehovah" and "The important part is that he know the truth!" and other bull@*#&.
The MS was the one reporting the study some three months later when "Willy" got baptised, and quite gloated over the whole situation. A little sanctimonious if you ask me.
So there you have it. How my parent's "student" got stolen away from them...a mere three months before baptism. After WE were the ones who "found" him, and worked with him for the whole time. As you can well imagine, this was grist for the gossip mill for quite a while!
By the way, I mentioned that he was black. The MS was a white guy, and his wife (also white) came from the same low income housing projects that "Willy" did. More than one time they could be heard making jokes about the ...people who lived there.
I guess it's different if you can count one of "them" on your Field Service report, though.
Ah, the love.
Lisa