Where I lived in California in the late 60s early 70s the brothers built their own hall, a small round building. It was a wonderful
ampitheater inside and was cozy and pretty. The brothers paid for it themselves and built it themselves and it was a source of great pride for them.
Then all of a sudden in 1972, with the talk of growth in the air and the elder arrangement happening, the sale of the little hall was announced and the purchase of an old Baptist Church with many architectural and cosmetic issues was made. Well, not a small number of brothers who were not chosen as new elders but who slaved to build the little hall and who gave of their own blood sweat and tears (some who had spent time in prison for the Society during WWII) were absolutely crushed and devastated by this undemocratic move to an ugly Baptist Church that had to be completely renovated (at a cost of 2million dollars!)
I remember I was pioneering at the time and only 19 years old and very shy. I had left my entire family to be a JW and was on my own financially and making ends meet doing housecleaning. When I signed up for pioneering I was told I would get all sorts of support. But no one reported for field service for an entire summer while they were working on the hall.
I was too shy to beg people for help in F.S. in the afternoons and found myself day after day alone doing door to door work or return visits or back calls as they were called then. I was very naive and was asked inside one home where an old man made a pass at me. I was the only pioneer and that year. Anyway, stupid story short, I gave up amid the bickering I was hearing from the brothers and sisters about the
new hall and the homesickness for the old hall and being left to flounder in the F.S. for a whole summer. I quit pioneering and never tried it again.
My whole time I was a JW I was very naive to everything. I bought the whole stupid story hook line and sinker. I believed
that in 1972 the Great Tribulation was coming in 1975. I believed there was going to be a big influx of people flocking to Jehvoahs Ark of Salvation
and I wanted a share in that. I gave up having children believing that the end was any day. I did not pursue a career or full time job and married an elder in a wheelchair to help him and we auxilliary pioneered together. We never had two cents to rub together.
35 years!
I was a genuine believer too Angel Eyes.............but now I think I was a very stupid sucker. It embarrasses me to think how much I gave up uneccesarily. Other witnesses worked full time and bought houses and had oodles of kids and went on vacations and threw parties and had grand weddings and celebrated their anniversaries and wore expensive clothes to the hall and furnished their homes grandly.
I digress from the point of the thread: KH building funds. On some days I join the bitter I guess. Thats the connection.
Anewme
