Greetings my friends!
I have been on Disability (It just ran out - now I'm waiting for the FEDS to kick in Medicare and keep my permanent Disability state for living expenses). My Secretary and Treasurer are doing much of my work, and some by volunteers. But I have to stop the desk/typing/office thing for good. I'm destroying my body were I to start working again like that. I'm just an unpaid Board member along with my unpaid Secretary and Treasurer. So all your donated funds go directly to the non-profit efforts of volunteers, supplies, office rent, etc. Personally, I am going to have to continue to stay in the background, as I need ongoing physical therapy, mostly in my spine.
The final stage of Free Minds' agenda, considering how many Witnesses will likely be leaving in larger numbers in the years ahead, is to provide links and articles and ads for mental and physical health resources, interventions, professional advice, Christian counseling, secular (non-religious) counseling, etc. by those I know personally in those areas. I will not be personally working or doing the Free Minds Journal (printed version) anymore, but this e-newsletter will continue to come out every 2-3 months.
The needs of millions of Witnesses can be helped by keeping Free Minds' site alive, both for the new ones getting out or thinking of leaving, as well as it's treasure archive of articles, history, pictures, movies and videos, unique interviews (like the Nestor and Toni interviews). I think we have the largest repository of articles, vidoes, audio files from Watchtower history, news, commentary, and much, much more in one site than any other. 32 years worth! Something for everyone! Plus I will be combining several of my domains into the one freeminds.org site... hopefully the current freeminds2.org site, but that will depend on funding as to whether I can afford to do that or not. Please keep that in prayer! Because I will have to use other volunteers or paid workers.
I will also have to move soon, as our beach house sold (after 32 years of living here!). New adventures, where I do not know yet. But I have to stay away from computers more (because of my upper neck and back, Dupuytren's Contracture returning to my hand, and more inherited genetic stuff (hey, I'm an Okie!). But I'm also 62 now, and although all the members of my family live a long healthy life, getting older reallly can slow you down! :-)).
ANYWAY...
I will tell a little about the trip to Puerto Rico when I get all the videos up. They go quite well with Nestor's upcoming book, which I was unawares of until just recently. Nestor and Toni (seventies' Spanish Watchtower Translators for the New World Translation) - were at Bethel as the same time I was! Then they seemed to disappear for 32 years until now. then.
(The 2-week trip was originally intended to be an attempt to look for a retirement pad, but instead turned into a video shoot the whole 2 weeks! (I know, my mind is always active). I love Puerto Rico, but Toni and Nestor may be moving soon. We'll see.
blessings,
Randall Watters
http://freeminds.org/
[email protected]
