truthseeker

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Posts by truthseeker

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  37

  Who was a member here back in the late 1990s?

  by MebyonKernow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i often wondered over the years what happened to a lot of the old posters from this group.

  going back to the late 1990s a few of the names i recall...blacksheep, gypsywildcactus (i know she's ok as we're friends on facebook still), onacruise, minimus, veniceit, flower, prisca, bendrr, refinersfire, kent, englishman, shit...dare i say it evilforce lol, snittlesnacks (what a twat), scully, mouthy, talesin from nova scotia, xenawarrior.

  littletom (from glasgow in scotland), outlaw, goaty, bisous, uncle brucey (australian character who loved his wildkife photography) - struggling now to remember more names.i know there are many more.

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  truthseeker

  I've been reading this forum since 2000 and plucked up the courage to join in 2003.

  Used to be a member of Witnesses.net and Hour Glass 2 outpost.
  
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  12

  When you missed several consecutive meetings or took a vacation did you feel "weird" when you returned?

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  every now and again i would miss meetings due to health, surgeries, work etc.. when i would miss a meeting here and there i didn't particularly feel this "weirdness.".

  it wasn't until i would miss 3 or more consecutive meetings that i felt this weirdness upon entering the kh.. i can't really explain it but it feels like i was entering the kh for the first time.

  it's not like when you take a 2 week vacation and come back to work.

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  truthseeker

  Yes. I was inactive for three months. And when I went back to the Sunday meeting an elder said to me "we've missed you" which was cobblers because he never even reached out to me to find out why I wasn't there.

  Truthseeker
  
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  2

  Finding lost relatives or ancestry interest after leaving??

  by Bad_Wolf in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  while i was in the borg, the only relatives i knew and we mainly kept in contact with were jw's.

  on one side of my family, back to my grandparents, they cut ties with all the non jw family when they converted.

  i've found some through facebook, but only those i knew about.

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  truthseeker

  I started in 2006 to find out what happened to my grandfather and then I ended up doing my tree on both sides of the family.

  I met a couple of cousins online which led up to meeting them in person.
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  20

  Help: project to gather statistics on JW congregation finances.

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many countries demand that charities publish a yearly summary of their finances.. where i live (netherlands), charities must publish these statements themselves, and jw do this at jw-anbi.nl.

  (i'm quite certain almost no jw knows about that site btw.).

  anyway i've been working on automatically harvesting data from all the congregation finance statements to gain more insight in how the borg is doing over time.. now it occured to me that i could do this analysis for more countries and get an even bigger picture.

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  truthseeker

  Anders check your pm
  
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  62

  Enjoyed the Memorial

  by ScottyRex in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  probably not a popular opinion on here....and haven't been actively attending meetings since 1988....(i know i know a submarine attender) however thoroughly enjoyed attending this evening...was good to see lots of people i remember whilst growing up in this faith, they were genuine and the whole atmosphere was one of love.

  sure if i suddenly wanted to become active again and didn't change my lifestyle they would drop me like a bomb.....however i haven't and won't and they didn't and don't.

  this works for me.. i cannot demonize the witnesses on what i have seen tonight.

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  truthseeker

  My last Memorial was in 2009. They didn't even attempt to love bomb me.

  In any case, none of it is real. It's an illusion based on getting you to conform.
  
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  20

  Help: project to gather statistics on JW congregation finances.

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many countries demand that charities publish a yearly summary of their finances.. where i live (netherlands), charities must publish these statements themselves, and jw do this at jw-anbi.nl.

  (i'm quite certain almost no jw knows about that site btw.).

  anyway i've been working on automatically harvesting data from all the congregation finance statements to gain more insight in how the borg is doing over time.. now it occured to me that i could do this analysis for more countries and get an even bigger picture.

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  truthseeker

  I also update when congregations close, are disbanded or Kingdom Halls are sold off.

  I have the annual accounts report for each congregation.

  What's interesting is the legacies left to the congregations - in almost all cases, legacies are sent from the congregation directly to WT HQ.
  
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  20

  Help: project to gather statistics on JW congregation finances.

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many countries demand that charities publish a yearly summary of their finances.. where i live (netherlands), charities must publish these statements themselves, and jw do this at jw-anbi.nl.

  (i'm quite certain almost no jw knows about that site btw.).

  anyway i've been working on automatically harvesting data from all the congregation finance statements to gain more insight in how the borg is doing over time.. now it occured to me that i could do this analysis for more countries and get an even bigger picture.

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  truthseeker

  Anders,

  I have the stats for the UK. I periodically update the spreadsheet.

  Truthseeker
  
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  15

  Serving where the need is great or serving where their needs are great?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have any of you come across this rare breed of jw?.

  i know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a caribbean island where he is an active jw and then he flies back to his home european country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again.

  he is an active jw in his home country.. he's not a missionary and has never been to gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s.

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  truthseeker

  I think in a way it makes leaving more problematic as you surround yourself with friends who love Jehovah and you're literally living the dream life, not just going to work and meetings but living the life you've built.
  
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  15

  Serving where the need is great or serving where their needs are great?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have any of you come across this rare breed of jw?.

  i know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a caribbean island where he is an active jw and then he flies back to his home european country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again.

  he is an active jw in his home country.. he's not a missionary and has never been to gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s.

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  truthseeker

  Thank you for sharing your experience Zindag. It's very interesting.

  Yes, he had to learn Spanish and is fluent in it and helps on quick builds in the island and has bible studies etc. I often used to wish he would wake up and see that he's in a cult but perhaps he's better off in it because he's built a whole lifestyle around "the truth" - he would be devastated if he found out it was all a lie because everything would be a lie including the reason he went there in the first place.
  
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  15

  Serving where the need is great or serving where their needs are great?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have any of you come across this rare breed of jw?.

  i know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a caribbean island where he is an active jw and then he flies back to his home european country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again.

  he is an active jw in his home country.. he's not a missionary and has never been to gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s.

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  truthseeker

  Have any of you come across this rare breed of JW?

  I know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a Caribbean Island where he is an active JW and then he flies back to his home European country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again. He is an active JW in his home country.

  He's not a missionary and has never been to Gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s. He's been doing this routine for a number of years. He's in his early 40s, unmarried and childless; though he has come close to tying the knot on a couple of occasions. He's not a bad looking chap and I find it odd that he's still single in his 40s. He grew up in the truth and he's fairly popular in JW circles. He is fiercely loyal to the org but has often sported an unkempt beard.

  To my knowledge, he is not an appointed man, because he does not stay in the same congregation all year round. The fact that he has to fly back to his home country to work and save up just to fly back again means either he can't afford to live there all year round or he doesn't have residency rights to live there permanently.

  A friend and I were talking about this and my friend says he is away from scrutiny and can pretty much do what he likes as long as he goes to meetings and preaches. He has quite a following on Facebook and Instagram.

  It's a strange, if somewhat enjoyable lifestyle, surrounded by sun, sand and sea and able to travel as he pleases and be an active JW but not have any position in the org because he's not in the congregation all year round.

  I sometimes wonder if the friends who go abroad to serve "where the need is great" are not simply going because "their needs are great."

  Truthseeker