Just come back from the first day of the Gillingham, Kent, UK Convention. It was the first convention there, because i think they wanted to take the pressure off the Twickenham Rugby Stadium... My cong was assigned to Twickenham Stadium, not to Gillingham, but i "volonteered" was volonteered by our PO (the same one who's on a rampage to appoint me as a "Mini"...
I didn't do much today, was assigned to car park duty, then went to sit down for the 1st and 2nd talks... took some notes, then decided to walk around to look for "poztates"... i didn't find any... (we should have a way of noticing each other), i didn't write my name or cong on my badge, so i thought that might be a little sign which might go un-noticed by the R&F, but i didn't attract any attention apart from a couple sisters who looked at me and called me "Brother Blank"...
I've printed out all of eziekiel3's "apostacheques" (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/92176/1.ashx) and will be dropping them faithfully and discretely into the boxes tomorrow...
After walking around a bit looking for "poztates", i got sick of listening to the elder whining on about "obeiiiiiidience" and went back to the car park to eat my lunch and have a nap (which lasted 3 and a half hours)... after which i resumed car park duties, sternly told off a few brothers for "going against the guidence of Jehobah" by parking in the wrong place, and scolded them for completely ignoring the theme of the assembly, LOOOOL....
I've been thinking, what else could i do clandestinely to disrupt the Convention? lol.. as the speaker was talking today, a strange thought went through my head, do they actually check that all the baptismal candidates have done their questions? I don't remember there being a check when i got dunked... I could just bring along my bathing suit, jump in the pool and do it again LOOOOL... (i'd only do it at another Conv where nobody knows me though, lol)...
I've got a few "points" from the notes that i took from the first talk today, quite funny that people accept this as "truth".
- The brother said "It is estimated that if you walk down the average High Street, you are photographed some 400 times by CCTV cameras. We have one who is surveying us 24 hours a day, but we don't mind, because Jehovah wants the best for us."
- An interview with a brother and sister (who had to marry earlier in order to take care of the sister's younger "fleshly" sister) commented that "If Jehovah asks it of us, we will do it... because we know we'll get a blessing in the end"... Mmmmm, i thought we weren't serving for blessings ... At the end of the interview the brother doing the interview said to the audience: "It seems that Jehovah wants to see if we are really serious about doing his will, and THEN he gives us the blessing"...
- One 16 year old brother was interviewed and said that on account of his Irish hertitage and on account of his class at school knowing that JW's refer to each other as "brother and sister" he was know at school by the nickname "Brother Paddy" After regaling how much literature he has "placed" with his school-friends the interviwing brother said "You have a lovely relationship wih Jehovah 'Brother Paddy' "... As if a relationship with Jehobah is measured in "amount of literature placed"...
- Finally, a funky statement by the brother giving the talk about how we are "wonderfully made". After explaining how we can use our "gifts" of sight, hearing and speech, to bring praise and honour to Jehovah's Name, he said :"We should always view our senses as "GIFTS", we do not want to go through life seeing them as our "RIGHTS"...
I'm wondering is there anyone from this site who will be attending Gillingham tomorrow or Sunday? I'd love to meet up and chat. I'm just dying to talk about my feelings about the WTS with someone physically, instead of just typing to "faceless" people on the internet. It would be such a catharsis for me... I had planned to meet a guy i met on the "Common Bond" forum, but after a bit of chatting i found that he views himself as "spiritually weak". He actually wants to come to the Convention to recieve "spiritual encouragement" and he says he wants to "help me in my struggle"
Here's a picture from the Gillingham Stadium, it's the grounds of a 3rd division football team... The brother attending looks like a Jedi Knight with his "pony-tail... i think its just an unfortunately placed wire coming from the speakers... His florescent jacket was probably caused by my flash... (I'll get some more pics tommorow, good ones if i can)
