by LDH 95 Replies latest jw friends
I have known brothers who have financially supported struggling pioneers, who have gone out of their way to help them continue in their service even to funding the purchase of a car.
Ya don't friggin' say!!!!!
'Brothers' like my parents who are still under the delusion that Jehovah is blessing them. When the fact is, they have worked hard their whole lives.
They continue to share with an entire congregation, full of people who rejoiced whenever one of us kids had a problem.
Lisa
Hey Lisa,I can`t remember pioneers being helped out that much,maybe a lunch or dinner invitation,which was nice,but that was about it.Now if you were a Circuit Overseer that was different.I can remember my parent`s giving them $500.00 or more every time they came to town.My parents weren`t the only ones handing out the cash.The Co`s made out like bandits at a lot of their stops,I saw it first hand.Had you been a CO`s or DO`s wife you would have seen a lot more cash.You were just at the wrong end of the food chain...OUTLAW
Lisa,
LOL, I note with sarcasm that the experiences you relate aren't FIRST-HAND. Like I said, have YOU ever pioneered?
My husband was in the full time service for 10 years. Six years as a Pioneer, four years in Bethel. Symptoms of MS kept me from entering the full time pioneer work but I did auxillary pioneer.
Why are you so resentful of experiences that do not mirror your own? My husband said that he did not expect any compensation in any form from the congregation. BTW, he was a single guy on his own in Brooklyn, no family to help him out, when he pioneered. In addition my husband has just related to me an additional experience where the congregation we were both in provided a car for a pioneer sister in need, this particular event I was not aware of.
He said that the Society has many times advised the publishers to "count the cost" before engaging in full time service, and "expecting" the congregation to help out was not a part of the deal.
Sorry if I did not fill the bill when responding to this thread. Perhaps I should restrict my comments to those threads which do not involve discussions on the "full time service". Your comment reminded me very much of those JW days when we were good enough to make meals for the Pioneer School but never good enough to join in.
IW
I don't recall my wife and I receiving any monetary help when we pioneered for 6 years. Yet, like others, I did not expect it. I did not need it. UNLIKE others, I recall all the experiences of pioneers being blessed had to do with very dire situations where the situation was going to either put them out of home or food, or stop them from pioneering. So since I never faced that situation, I didn't expect anything. I don't ever recall any experiences of bro pioneer getting an upgrade from an economy car to a luxury car as a blessing, or getting free lunches, or whatever. So I'm not sure what the point of the thread is. Do others disagree with this?
Also, for those digging into the CO's/DO's about making out like bandits, remember that is only in certain areas. Many areas are very poor and rural and the CO's don't get the same treatment. Nevertheless, even if they did, I would hardly say it's a prosperous career, and I highly doubt many become CO's for the luxury of green handshakes.
amac
Hey Amac,it wasn`t a dig,it was an observation of things I`ve seen in my life.Like I said if you were a pioneer you were at the wrong end of the food chain.Cash wasn`t the only thing I saw given away. Trips to different countrys in the world,spending money for when they got there,hotels paid for, meals at restaurants ect..ect..ect..That may not be what they signed on for,but its what they got.They enjoyed the power of being a WBTS rep and all the perks that went with it.Not a bad life,especialy when they weren`t paying for a dime of it...OUTLAW
Outlaw,
My Mom hosted a CO and his wife. They arrived at our house with nothing but what they had in their car. My sister and I had emptied our dressers in our room for them, that was where they were going to stay for the week. They ate breakfast, went out in field service and in the evening the CO could be heard typing in his (our) room at night. They ate meals with us and befriended our single parent family. His wife even took to helping us curl our hair in preparation for the meeting.
It was one of the most inspiring experiences in my life. These two people unpacked a trunk and "moved" into our room, a week later they unpacked the room, repacked the trunk and moved on to the next congregation.
Not everyone in the Org. is greedy or bad.
IW
Hey IW,I never said the CO`s were greedy or bad.I`m telling you how they were treated when they were around us and our circle of friends...OUTLAW
CO's in my past were never hosted by my family, but I remember it was a fight to get them to eat with us. Everyone in the congregation was RUNNING to the sign up sheet to feed the CO and his wife. I do remember in Wichita a CO's wife looked at the casserole my mother made and made a remark like "I don't usually eat casseroles since I don't know what's in them. It's usually just a bunch of left-overs anyway." I was 19 at the time and remember wanting to tell her "If you don't want it, don't eat it. It's a free meal." I was on public reproof and on the verge of being DFed - wouldn't that have made a good impression? LOL.
Hi Island Woman, I agree that not all JW's are greedy or bad, but you have to admit that your experience with the CO was unique. His wife helped you curl your hair? Well, these were exceptional people, humble people, and they need to give lessons to the CO's I've known.
Hey Andi,some of them can get prissy,(LOL)...OUTLAW
