Wow....you guys have had some CRAZY fs experiences! I never had anything mentioned previously happen to me: no sicced dogs, no guns pointed at me, never got chased. There was one time where I thought something bad was going to happen. We were working Section 8 housing (lower income). I and a Filipina sister knocked on a door and this enthusiastic Mediterranean-sounding gentleman answered.
"Hello! Who are you? What are you here for? Are you here to spread the word of Christ?" he fired off to us. We were taken aback by his ardent questioning and insistent, loud tone of voice.
"Yes...yes we are..." I managed.
"Come! Come, come, come, come in! Please!" he gestured, clapping me on the shoulder. I exchanged concerned glances with the sister. A debilitating wave of anxiety washed over me. I felt like a cattle knowing he was on his way to the slaughter. Getting away from the door seemed like a great idea, but I had never been shown this much interest, so I meekly agreed to go in. The sister looked concerned but said nothing. The man ushered us inside his apartment.
The apartment was poorly lit and somewhat untidy. At that moment I expected somebody to come around the corner with a shotgun and pump me and the sister full of buckshot. I imagined the headlines: "Two Gullible Jehovah's Witnesses Murdered." I knew we'd be dead, but at least we'd be martyrs. "Come, come! Look at this! This is my chapel," he informed us. He was referring to a picture on the wall of Jesus, non-WTS style. The bookcase underneath the picture was lined with unlit votive candles and decorative doilies.
"Now, who is this man?" he asked.
"It's Jesus," I said.
"And who is he? Who is Jesus?"
"Jesus is God's Son."
"Yes, and...?"
"Our Lord," said the sister.
"Yes, and...?"
"The Prince of Peace?" I offered.
"Yes, AND...?"
"He's the Messiah...?" By this answer I felt confused. I wasn't sure what answer was going to get him to stop, but I needed to come up with something different.
"Yes. And?"
"He's our Savior."
"Yes! Our savior! And if you're not here to talk about him, then you may go."
So, long story short, we gave him a Jesus mag. (thank goodness we had some at the time) and a Require brochure. The sister encouraged me to go back on him, but I had never been that scared in quite some time. Besides, I admired his zeal and didn't want to see a man like that trudge to the meetings day after day. Mainly I didn't want to see him again...