i received the following email written in spanish through my website, www.watchtowerdocuments.com.
i used google translation, which i posted below the spanish, but would like someone fluent in spanish to translate the email accurately.
from what i could make out, this information sounds interesting, so i decided to share it.
Marvin... Maybe the "speculative investments" being referred to are the African infrastructure projects that will be discussed at the Africa Investment Summit in London next week... There are two bethelites attending this summit...
dgp... thanks! I always wondered where that came from!
i received the following email written in spanish through my website, www.watchtowerdocuments.com.
i used google translation, which i posted below the spanish, but would like someone fluent in spanish to translate the email accurately.
from what i could make out, this information sounds interesting, so i decided to share it.
Mary... radio macuto means "gravevine" in most hispanic nations... (note my translation above)
i received the following email written in spanish through my website, www.watchtowerdocuments.com.
i used google translation, which i posted below the spanish, but would like someone fluent in spanish to translate the email accurately.
from what i could make out, this information sounds interesting, so i decided to share it.
i just posted it above... any time!
i received the following email written in spanish through my website, www.watchtowerdocuments.com.
i used google translation, which i posted below the spanish, but would like someone fluent in spanish to translate the email accurately.
from what i could make out, this information sounds interesting, so i decided to share it.
Sorry barbara... didn't notice you had the spanish text already in your post...
here's a pretty good translation...
According to a rumor that came from our administrative offices, a recent visit to our offices located at 25 Columbia Heights could have been by the new owners of the complex. According to the theocratic grapevine, the Society will rent (the complex from the new owners) for 5 years and then slowly transfer services and offices to the lateral building.
The project is the transformation of our theocratic offices into an area of luxury apartments, a shopping center and an apartment/hotel with (its own) spa.
What great provision for us all to see how the Society aquires great wealth and then invests it in speculative investments and things of that nature!
i received the following email written in spanish through my website, www.watchtowerdocuments.com.
i used google translation, which i posted below the spanish, but would like someone fluent in spanish to translate the email accurately.
from what i could make out, this information sounds interesting, so i decided to share it.
Barbara... I'll be glad to help... you have my email...
i've noticed an attitude among the friends that they feel that they are owed something by society.
example: at the last meeting one of the elders gave a talk about how "the system" is getting harder and harder to make a living.. .
i know its a recession out there, but to blame satan the devil for your economic woes is kinda harsh don't you think.
I've been out for almost two years now but, when I was in, my congo had about a 40/60 mix of working middle class (40%) and poor/retirees (60%)... Myself and others in the congo were often indirectly "guilted" by the elders (who were mostly poor) to help those who were "struggling" because they assumed that the working middle class in the congo had plenty of money to give away. It got to the point where my wife finally put her foot down and told me that I was being taken advantage of... turns out, she was right... One family I helped out was in dire straits because they charged up their credit cards furnishing their home with things I didn't even have in my own home... another single mother would frequent the hair salon but couldn't put food on the table... Yeah, I was stupid... but it really opened my eyes to the sense of entitlement that some JWs tend to feel to the point that they actually expect the wealthier JWs to spread their wealth...
a newly published article by british sociologist david voas argues jehovah's witnesses may be about to experience a collapse in numbers.
contrary to claims by american sociologist rodney stark who predicts strong future growth for jehovah's witnesses, voas shows that jehovah's witnesses' efforts at recruiting new members have become increasingly unsuccessful over the past few decades: the rate of increase has steadily declined, and the number of hours each publisher must preach to produce an extra convert has gone up substantially.
voas suggests a reason for the stagnation may be that there is a natural limit to the number of people in a given population that are susceptible to conversion to sectarian groups like jehovah's witnesses - the 'carrying capacity' of the population, and that the limit has largely been reached.
In my area, all territories are worked at least 8 times a year... the same faces knock on the same doors year in and year out... but so far, only 3 non-born-in baptisms in about 10 years of working a 7.5 square mile rural area (population approx 4,500)... 2 of those were mentally unstable and the other was a loner... if that's any indication, I'd say this british sociologist is not too far off in his assessment...
i've been a member of this fourm for quite sometime although i rarely post.
i do however, have my story posted on shauns' site http://jwfiles.com/jws-leaving/william.htm i also wrote and article for that site comparing the prophecies of 1925 and 1975. http://jwfiles.com/1925-1975.htm just a little background on me: i served as an elder in philadelphia.
i was the cong sec.
I often assisted the assembly accountant and on more than a few occasions I found myself on my knees counting money on the floor (because there was so much of it that the desk tops simply did not have enough room)... before I could finish counting even half of it, I'd sometimes hear the usual "deficit" announcement over the loud speaker... I always knew it was BS but I also knew I needed to keep my thoughts to myself (unless they were positive)...
How often did you hear the "deficit" announcement at you assembly and thought: "that's impossible"?
o.k.
... i know the big a isn't happening.... but i'm sure the watchtower will soon use this information in their boasting/ recruiting sessions.... http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/09/us-usa-housing-churches-idusbre82803120120309.
i think these chuches should consider taking a page from the watchtower's "revenue generation manual"... page 1: collect contributions so they can build their own hall, build the hall with free labor, make them pay for the hall a second time with a low-interest loan, make them remodel several times with low-interest loans... sell the hall and start all over again... lather, rinse, repeat.... .
O.K. ... I know the Big A isn't happening...
But I'm sure the Watchtower will soon use this information in their boasting/ recruiting sessions...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/09/us-usa-housing-churches-idUSBRE82803120120309
I think these chuches should consider taking a page from the Watchtower's "Revenue Generation Manual"... Page 1: Collect contributions so they can build their own hall, build the hall with free labor, make them pay for the hall a second time with a low-interest loan, make them remodel several times with low-interest loans... sell the hall and start all over again... LATHER, RINSE, REPEAT...
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