Faithful Witness

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Posts by Faithful Witness

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  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

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  Faithful Witness

  Thank you, but I don't see that happening for us. It is sad to see my once thinking and aware sister, being controlled this way. Yes, part of it is her fanatical husband, but she called me herself about 18 months ago and explained how she has to protect her children from us.

  I have now received a reply from my email to her. I'm not sure what to do next, but I will not agree to these terms. I will continue being kind when I see her or any in her family. If they want to act like jerks toward me, so be it. I will not stop being kind, or loving my family.

  Whatif: I'm glad to hear your story is happier than mine. You don't realize how lucky you are.

  Here are the words of my sister, who has known me her whole life. She knows my nature, and the peacemaker in me is not going to let this be the end of the story... I just see that this is going to be a very very long road. I hope she does not take my mother with her, even further into this mind game she is insisting on playing.

  "While I appreciate the thought, please do not send us gifts.

  Our kids are not missing out on anything other than things we try to protect them from.

  At this time, based on prior encounters and their affect on me emotionally, I think it would be best if we didn't communicate.

  I hope you can understand my decision and the fact that it is not meant to offend anyone.

  Sent from my Kyocera Hydro"

  I thought things were getting better, when she sat and spoke with me this past September. I'm not sure if that was one of the "encounters" she is referring to... Not really sure which ones she means, except the one where she called me and told me that she was not hiding behind her husband.

  2 quick observations from this little note that speaks VOLUMES:

  1. She has a smart phone now! 2. She did not answer me about whether she received the food gift. Did they eat it? How about the restaurant gift card I sent over the summer break? Did they use that?

  I most certainly do NOT understand that decision. I need some clarification.
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  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

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  Faithful Witness

  When I was in high school, all the students exchanged Christmas cards around the school. I gave them to my Jewish friends, and they gave me Happy Holidays cards. Now, my husband works in the technology field. Many of his coworkers are Hindu. We did actually send a small gift home for his friend's little boy. We used snowman wrapping paper, and the gift was accepted gladly by his mother. Holiday sweets and goodies were gladly accepted by his coworkers of every belief.

  The JW's are not just some other religion. They have a whole different set of shifting rules.
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  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

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  Faithful Witness

  I also did check with my mom, before sending the calendar and the building set. I asked if she thought my sister would give them to the kids, and she said she didn't know why not. I didn't know what the reaction would be, but since last year was a disaster when we didn't include them, I didn't mean to hurt anyone by trying.
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  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Faithful Witness

  Whatif: Thanks for using your first post to reply to my worries. I appreciate your insight. Maybe I can explain better some of the history behind this brazen act of sending a (gasp) gift in the mail while the kids were off school on their 2 week winter vacation. I sent cards last summer, which my sister admitted to opening and reading.

  We have spoken about 2 times in the last year, the 2nd time being one where I thought we actually made a connection.

  I was never a JW. We abstained from Christmas for 3 years while studying with them, and quit the whole affair when we discovered what they really were. Our family used to have a big Christmas, and my niece and nephew were the center of a few huge birthday parties in the past. They are old enough to remember the fun Christmas parties, and my sister was the one who loved gift-giving most of all (5 daughters, 1 is now JW, along with my parents).

  I have been tiptoeing around their rules and fears for a few years now, trying to please my parents and sister by working around their beliefs. We created a whole new idea, just so the JW's and the non-JW's could be together as a big family once a year. Our "homemade trade" ended 2 years ago, when my sister decided it was no longer ok to even come to my house, the only location that geographically worked for everyone.

  I was never a JW, so have never agreed to live by these absurd rules. I have gone beyond being accomodating and patient through this ridiculous and unfair treatment my family gets, simply because we refused to jump in the pool and submit to that organization.

  The JW's have infiltrated and divided our family, like has happened to so many others here on this forum. My mere existence and generosity have been insulted and rejected for no good reason. I'm not shoving anything in anyone's face.

  Just a little side note. Last year, my sister and parents were offended when they were NOT invited to the Christmas party at my other sister's house. We, of course, did not invite them because we didn't want to rub it in their face that we were celebrating a holiday they used to love, but that they now hate. So which is it? Give an invitation or a gift, so you can be rejected? Or have them cry and complain when you don't include them? This year, I decided to err on the side of giving. My bad. I don't regret it. I am adult, and I take rejection well, even though it does hurt.

  Last year, they felt left out. She sure has me guessing and jumping through hoops!

  I hope the kids understand that we all want them included.
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  19

  The Total Embracing Of The Internet - How Will It All End?

  by baldeagle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i havent been to a meeting in four years.

  during that time i completed a successful fade from the organization after almost 40 years being baptized.

  it seems nothing anymore will surprise or shock me with these latest bunch of brooklyn leaders.

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  Faithful Witness

  I want to know when the JW's will start advertising their cult with banner ads, like the Mormons do.

  What kind of monitoring can they do at KH's, when people use their WiFi? What types of privacy infringements can they sneak into their "terms of use?"

  If they are smart, they are looking for ways to grant themselves access to view your internet usage, both at and away from the KH. I'm not sure what is legal, but I'm sure there are ways to track users somehow.
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  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

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  Faithful Witness

  I contacted Amazon, and it was confirmed that the packages were delivered, but refused by recipient. I decided to send an email to my sister:

  "Hi (Sister),

  I sent packages to (nephew) and (niece), and received confirmation that they were delivered on 12/18.

  Yesterday, I was informed that those packages were returned as undeliverable. Did I send to the wrong address? I sent another package to your family, with some treats. Did you receive that one, or did your neighbors eat it? I'm confused. I have been struggling with this concern for (niece and nephew), always left out of every family occasion. I thought it would be nicer to give this year, than to exclude them again. I shopped carefully, looking for gifts that were neutral but fun and useful. I really do love you and your family, and want you to know that we care a lot about your kids and their happiness. If you will accept them, I will send the gifts again. I hope you will consider sending me a reply to this email, either way. Sending our love to you all, Faithful Witness" Quite honestly, I do not expect a reply. I may follow up with a phone call. I know she is out in service right now. Thank you all for your replies. I know I'm making a fool of myself, but I agree with Xanthippe. I am done being controlled by the JW's.
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  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Faithful Witness

  The food gift was delivered separately, from a different company. I received confirmation of delivery on December 18, and then an email telling me that the package was undeliverable, two weeks later. I wonder if they called UPS for a return pickup, or if they drove the packages back themselves.

  Should I email my sister, and ask her what happened?

  I'm not even sure the kids knew about the gifts. I am tempted to try again, timing my order so that they will be delivered on a Saturday. They will all come home from service, and see the gifts waiting for them on the porch.

  I mentioned it to my mom today, and she seemed genuinely surprised and disgusted. I had asked her opinion beforehand, and I also emailed my sister to let her know they were coming, and what was inside the boxes (a kitten calendar and a building set).

  I've wrestled with this idea since we started celebrating Christmas with my kids 3 years ago. I made the comment today to my mother, that I decided to err on the side of giving, instead of excluding the kids.

  Oh well, I did try. Maybe they got and ate the treats, and then felt so guilty for it, they couldn't bring themselves to open the gifts. Or, the parents ate the food and never told the kids about it.

  I will never understand the JW mind games, with their ever-changing rules. Those poor, lonely kids.
• 
  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Faithful Witness

  The other package, which was a box of treats in a blue box, was reported as delivered and accepted.

  I'm going to assume they ate it, but who knows.
• 
  19

  I got my money back

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted a question here after i sent packages to my jw niece and nephew in december.

  i wasn't sure what the response would be.

  yesterday, i got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Faithful Witness

  I posted a question here after I sent packages to my JW niece and nephew in December. I wasn't sure what the response would be.

  Yesterday, I got an email that the packages were "undeliverable," and my money was refunded. I'm assuming they refused the delivery.

  I hope I haven't made things worse for the kids.
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  11

  JW. Org logon to email them

  by sherrie11 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it doesn't allow anyone to register.

  are they to scared of the feedback from those who know ' the truth about the truth'.

  it seems to me they should not even have a contact us function (especially if your main form of contact is email, which is the norm for 2013) who designed this thing................. are the elders and the privileged jw's sent their logon details... i would love to know the secret squirrel shite.

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  Faithful Witness

  It sounds like another way to control people, and of course get money.