Covid Virus and serving where the need is greater

by eyeslice 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  eyeslice

  I get the impression that many of those serving where 'the need is greater' have had to return to their home countries due to the current Covid pandemic.

  Just over a year back the society was pushing people to go to places like India; not the easiest places to get to grips with at the best of times. Now I see that the Covid pandemic is pretty much out of control in India.

  It seems to me that 'needs greaters' were the Watchtowers way of getting missionaries on the cheap. You have to make your own way there at your expense then cover your own housing and medical costs. I would be pretty surprised if any financial assistance has been offered to those struggling to get home due to the pandemic.
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  Biahi

  I think most of these “need greater” are younger folks looking for adventure. On another thread, I recall this topic talking about people going to mostly nice places, like Hawaii or Caribbean islands, never some godforsaken hellhole.
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  slimboyfat

  Absolutely, gone are the days when Watchtower added 50 or more missionaries to the payroll every year through Gilead. All the Gilead graduates these days are people who are already being supported by the Society, such as branch overseers and senior bethel staff. They don’t take ordinary self-supporting pioneers and turn them into paid missionaries any more. They can’t afford it. The other side of that, as you say, is to encourage ordinary self-funded JWs to go and preach in more promising territories.
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  Rocketman123

  What Slim said ..
  

  and they are looking more for good actors for their up and coming video presentations.

  I wouldn't be surprised if they encouraged Gilead brothers and sisters to take acting lessens.

  The WTS/JWS has a working business model in action and it has been notably revised in recent years $$$

  I wonder if they will have the JWorg. video presentation Academy awards every year ?

  Stay tuned folks
  
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  dropoffyourkeylee

  There are some need-greaters who have gone into places I consider unsafe. I heard about some who went into Morocco, which being Moslem, makes it illegal to proselytize among Muslims, only to other Christians. They could find themselves in trouble really quick, and the WT I expect would not back them up. Dangerous.
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  LongHairGal

  BIAHI:

  Yes, I think in some cases younger people looking for adventure go to where ‘the need is greater’.

  In other cases it is older people going to more attractive places - maybe not necessarily where the need is greater. Maybe these Witnesses are fed up with the daily grind back in the states. The ‘new system’ is delaying so they want to experience ‘paradise-like’ conditions now. What also needs to be taken into account is political instability around the world and how sometimes desirable places turn into something not-so-nice and the JWs need to move elsewhere!

  Also, the problem is that some JWs weren’t exactly retirement age and not yet eligible for SS (even if they paid enough into it) when they went overseas! Maybe they had a stash of money and wanted to try it and hoped maybe the ‘new system’ would be here before the money started to dry up. So, now they are over sixty and have to deal with this!
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  hoser

  Being a need greater is all they have. They can’t be proud of secular accomplishments. That would make a person materialistic and considered bad association.

  In addition to long hair girls comment I have seen many sell assets too early in life and end up wanting.
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  iXav

  there isn't much to do when most JWs are now writing letters and making unwanted phone calls to people in the phone book. You don't need to be a needs greater to accomplish that. The normal preacher will likely not resume until well into 2022.
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  Phizzy

  Being the old cynic I am, I bet the Org. is recalling them just in case, because if they left them "in post" there is a legal argument that the Org owed a " Duty of Care" , even if they are Volunteers, and if someone were to die of Covid, a Law Suit could follow and be successful.

  It is always about the $$$.