Treating the pioneers "Just So."

by LDH 95 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  IslandWoman

  Hi Amac,

  IW, I enjoyed your post. I, too, had good experiences.

  Thanks very much for your post and kind words. I'm afraid it does little good here to try and say "hey, some brothers and sisters are fine people," that's not what many want to hear. Just like most JWs would also close their ears to the fact that not all who leave and are vocal about their leaving are apostates.

  People like to draw lines in the sand and would rather not have any demilitarized zones in their wars.

  "Let your light shine" is really "Let our light shine, or shut-up," for most JWs and apparently not a few xJWs.

  It would be great to have a DB for "progressive" xJWs and JWs, one in which concerns and solutions could be discussed and debated but with respect for each other as intelligent people. Many would say it is a fantasy because JWs are so closed-minded, but I think that many xJWs are also closed-minded. Needlessly humiliating or attacking the post of a new JW poster here is well, just plain stupid. Yet, this is what is done even by those who have come to be known as a "great one" in the land of xJW discussion boards. They revel in calling JWs names, degrading their intelligence etc. This is the ploy of an immature person. The mature person extends the hand and if it is rejected, moves on.

  My sister and her husband have left and are trying to fade out of the JWs. They will never come here, never. Too much hate and anger for the JWs here. They don't hate, they are moving on even though they have lost a child to the JW blood doctrine. They do not participate on any xJW discussion boards and do not feel a need to. I think it should be asked why it is that many of the "real" greats in the xJW world the Pentons, Franzs, Andersons, Jonssons etc. do not post here? If this place was representative of all xJWs then you would think that people of that caliber would certainly want to post here. The reality though is that this DB is not representative of all xJWs. It attracts those who have a kindred spirit that is all, but not all xJWs feel a kindred spirit with this DB.

  Sorry to have gone on and on about this.

  Take Care,

  IW
• 

  LDH

  AMAC

  Perhaps the WBTS should add a disclaimer to your application to pioneer. You know, kind of like the Don LaPre thing.

  YOU may earn MORE or LESS depending on your situation!!!

  The whole point had NOTHING to do with being supported financially as a pioneer. It had to do with being a disillusioned teenager who thought it was "her fault" that nobody was coming into the "truth."

  Lisa
• 

  LB

  So Lisa you felt guilty then as you hadn't been bringing anyone into the truth? I think I understand, after all we got hammered at every meeting and convention that we weren't doing enough. Then you add on top of it that you weren't getting any "visable" blessings, it just added to your lousy self esteem at the time.
• 

  hippikon

  A few years ago we had we were leaving the district and invited a few friends around for lunch to say goodbye. Our house has always been an open home for visitors but on this occasion a couple of pioneers turned up uninvited Not a problem normaly One of them brought a packet of biscuits as a contribution for lunch Nice touch thought. They made themselves at home, ate all the expensive items on the table, counted the time (there was n unbaptised publisher there) and took the biscuits with them when they left. If they had bought nothing I would have been quite happy to have them. I was quite insulted and.. One of the pios was a single mother with a couple of Brat kids. I always thought she would be better off providing for her kids properly but I guess she would rather have the hero status of being a pioneer.

  (Note: As a welfare beneficiary with several kids she was making more money than me at the time)
• 

  IslandWoman

  Lisa,

  If you had posted what you just said:

  It had to do with being a disillusioned teenager who thought it was "her fault" that nobody was coming into the "truth."

  Lisa

  at the beginning of your thread I would have sympathized with your situation. But what you posted was:

  When I was regular pioneering (for almost four years) I thought for sure the congregation would be generous with me. I didn't necessarily *need* anything, but surely Jehovah would let me see how much the congregation "appreciated my efforts."

  These are the two items I received for four years of free labor:

  1. A pair of pantyhose

  2. A five-dollar bill

  Both items came from an elderly white sister,(husband not a JW), who I used to visit frequently. It was her "widow's mite."

  I NEVER recieved anything else.

  Therefore, after my first year of regular pioneering, I stopped putting money in the contribution box.

  Lisa

  There is no way I could have understood your meaning, as posted in your last post , from what you actually said in your first post.

  IW
• 

  LB

  Hey I think they may have just made up. OFF WITH THE BLOUSES, IT'S TIME FOR A HUG
• 

  LDH

  LB, you nailed it.

  I graduated High School in 1986. My parents told my guidance counselor to his face that there was no reason for me to go to college....the end of the system would be here before four years was up. I believed with all my heart that every day out in service I had to make it count because Armeggedon might start tonight.

  And then, to top it off, I got a sign from Jehovah that I made the right decision about pioneering. The UN declared 1986 the "Year of Peace and Security." Now how the hell is a 16 year old supposed to interpret that after years of brainwashing?

  The JWs were RABID in the late 80's and early 90's....ANY SECOND NOW.

  I thought for sure since we were so close to the 'end' people would be flocking to hear the good news about Jehovah and the New System.

  Imagine my disappointment when it became a rote performance of trying to keep a smile on your face while in field service with people who didn't like the "young" pioneers.

  Every year that went by I got more and more disillusioned. Finally, when an elder named Ken McCarthy (who had been reg. pio'g with his wife Debby for years, and seemed to have it in for my sister and I) met with me and another elder to discuss going off the pioneer list due to my dad's illness, it was totally anti-climactic.

  Multiply that times YEARS and you will see why I was looking for a blessing.

  Lisa
• 

  IslandWoman

  LB,

  LOL, man don't make IW like you now! She's one demon you know!

  BTW, what happened to your cowboy I miss him.

  IW
• 

  amac

  LDH, Thank you for clarifying that. Because the thread was titled "Treating the pioneers 'Just So.'" and your initial post stated:

  All my life growing up I had heard about how "jehovah takes care of those who put Kingdom interests first." ...When I was regular pioneering (for almost four years) I thought for sure the congregation would be generous with me. I didn't necessarily *need* anything, but surely Jehovah would let me see how much the congregation "appreciated my efforts." T

  It seemed that you were talking about restitution for your time and effort rather than confirmation that you were doing good. I'm glad to know otherwise.

  amac
• 

  LDH

  IW, I thought I made it clear from this sentence:

  but surely Jehovah would let me see how much the congregation "appreciated my efforts."T

  That I was looking for a SIGN not an actual check for a job well done.

  I guess not.

  Lisa