My story of becoming a circuit overseer after Kin Suen visited our congregation. (page 3)

Ron.W.

Thank you very much for sharing your story.

I grew up wanting to be a missionary. My best friend and I drooled over a pic in the literature when we were around 15/16 in the 1970's or 80's of a brother (missionary or co) in some far off exotic country witnessing to someone in a very remote area on horseback.

The fact that the brother was wearing an open necked shirt and had a machete on his belt sealed the deal.

This was the life we wanted to live!

We both went for it - got baptized, auxiliary pioneered, regular pioneered. Partook of every spiritual opportunity the org offered - quick builds- pre convention work - assembly volunteering etc etc

Many parts on assembly from every co that came to our circuit - we loved their company, and they seemed to love ours..

We both even resisted all the advances of some gorgeous sisters, because we weren't going to consider marriage until we were both 'spiritually mature' aged at least thirty..

Then aged 19/20 I attended the district convention missionary meetings (Ron Drage) I think took them..

It suddenly struck me that the average age to become a missionary was around 30.

I just knew in my heart of hearts I wasn't going to last that long - ten years before I could achieve my goal.

Instead I attended the bethel meeting at the the district convention, and when the brother outlined the personality types needed to succeed at bethel I just knew that wasn't the place for me..

I started to spiritually die from that moment on - ten years too young to reach my missionary goal..

I carried on pioneering but I knew that it was inevitable that it was only to be a matter of time before I joined the ranks of publisher again..

My best friend made it - life threw him some very very harsh curveballs, but he managed to become a co - can't say too much as he is still serving - not in some hot tropical country with a machete attached to his belt, but a large, wicked city where the machete might come in handy..

All our dreams happened so many decades ago, but time has flown so fast, in many ways it feels like yesterday..

ExCircuitOverseer

Ron W. Wow your friend is still a CO. I wonder what he is thinking as the years go by. It became obvious to me as a CO that SOMETHING was wrong. I just couldn’t put my finger on it, or I was too afraid to realize the truth. When you see behind the curtain it’s so fake, so contrived and as a CO you are part of the curtain. I gave so many talks that people said they liked and I realized I was helping to convince people to stay on as Witnesses. It was a weird feeling. I wonder what your friend thinks about on Sunday nights after his congregation visit is over…

liam

I wonder what your friend thinks about on Sunday nights after his congregation visit is over…

Probably the same thing my 78 year old Boomer Grandfather thinks after every Sunday Meeting.

He MUST believe........ All of His support, His network of friends and family is based around what they all believe is a support network.

It would absolutely not benefit Him at this point in his life to walk away and be alone for the remainder of his life.

Suck it up and finish your earthly course is the best option at this point in life. Keep looking forward and don't look back at regrets, because there's nothing one can do about the past. Especially when it wasn't your fault.

Dagney

It became obvious to me as a CO that SOMETHING was wrong.

It's funny you say that. I asked a friend who went to Bethel in the mid 70's and stayed until 1982 why they left. She said they knew something just wasn't right. She and her husband were there through the whole Franz thing.

Good thing is she left, went to school and became an elementary school teacher. We got reacquainted after 40 years, and she with two other teenage friends formed TNT, "The Nasty Truth" club.

Ron.W.

ExCircuitOverseer..

Again I can't say too much, but my friend (who I will call 'Martin') is an extremely wealthy man..so the 'truth' is like a glorious exclusive club with a spiritual lifestyle and no money worries..

But I don't think that is his main motivation to stay in and not see for himself the glaringly obvious facts that the jw's have got is so so wrong ..

He shares a detail with my other lifelong friend, a girl (I will call 'Penny') that I grew up in the truth with and have always stayed close with my whole life..

(We would have got together if it wasn't for my spiritual pious attitude about waiting till I was 30 to get married.)

She was different, became a wild child, went to live in the USA, married a few times, had men when she wanted, rejected the truth, even got me to look at apostate websites when I was so much more naive..

What they both have in common is losing a parent. I noticed a spiritual change in both of them.

They became entrenched and deeply anchored in the jw religion like never before after their loss.

With my former (girl) friend I would NEVER have seen that coming or predicted that.

Now she's super spiritual and has re-embraced the jw's like never before..

My mate who is the co has become the same - super devoted to the cause - in the hope of seeing his lost parent again..

Two friends, two different backgrounds that I know so well - the loss of a parent and then strongly and passionately returning to the jw's with a vengeance is what they both have in common..

Beth Sarim

I cant possibly imagine.

What it must be like to enter the real world. After having spent decades in some la la land waiting for this Armageddon & paradise which will never come.

Then realizing it was all a sham,,, not only the shock & horror of all that but.....

Then to face the likelihood of being ostracized & shunned on top of all that & then ...

Having to attempt to to navigate life in the real world where you have no friends & no marketable skills!!!

Diogenesister

Hi Rivergang. I had to look up “Road to Damascus.”

Eh?🤷‍♀️I knew witnesses Bible knowledge isn't as good as we think but even a CO?!😂

dropoffyourkeylee

I knew witnesses Bible knowledge isn't as good as we think but even a CO?!

Likewise, makes me wonder about the veracity of the OP

ExCircuitOverseer

Hi Diogenesister and Dropoffyourkeylee yes my knowledge of life in general back then was pretty bad. Read my posts as Bonafide back then they are mortifying. I read the Bible 4 times and I read all the old WT bound volumes but I was so ignorant of the world around me. I remember talking to a NY Bethelite once and we both didn’t know the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. We don’t know what the terms even meant. I didn’t know what oral sex was either but that’s another story.

Acluetofindtheuser

Your old "Bonafide" account has been removed along with all your posts.

There are threads of people asking where you went. They even link some of your content which ends in a dead link.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/187226/bonafide-where-you

The following link is a dead end.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/183305/1/The-guy-that-claimed-he-was-going-to-bring-down-the-WTBTS

You could ask Simon to restore your old account if it's still stored on some server.

My story of becoming a circuit overseer after Kin Suen visited our congregation.

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