Thank you, kaik.... I was very interested to know how life was in other countries... I wondered, maybe, if elders had just decided to start doing things differently, asking for $$$....
You used the term "overseer", and although it is used for Circuit Overseer, this term was used long ago in USA as a word for "elder."... So, I thought maybe, since your mom was irritated, saying "Why doesn't he work for himself" that he was actually an elder (not a CO).... Especially after you told us the story about the problems in Prague..
I thought, 'Hey, maybe CZ became isolated, they did not know what it was like in other countries, and some men took advantage of that and told the bro's and sisters that they had to support the elders... ???? You never know, right?
Thanks for the insight!
cha ching