Did you get counselled for going backpacking months at a time?

by truthseeker 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  truthseeker

  Not many people will have faced this situation, but I know at least one brother who was counselled on backpacking. It was said that he would be damaged spiritually.

  How would he get to the meetings in countries he travelled in?

  What if he was 100's miles away from the nearest hall?

  How would he get his time in and report it?

  Being away from Jehovah's organization for any long period of time was considered a no-no.

  Have you had or heard of any experiences of brothers or sisters who have gone back packing or travelling and be counselled for it?

  In the UK it is common for students to have a gap year before they go to university, and if they are of means and have an adventuresome spirit, many like to go abroad to travel.
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  Billygoat

  Have you had or heard of any experiences of brothers or sisters who have gone back packing or travelling and be counselled for it?

  I can't say I've heard anything about getting counseled for backpacking. But I do know that ANYTIME we were out of town for family reasons or vacation, that skipping a meeting would just be out of the question. We ALWAYS found the local KH to visit.

  Today, when my husband and I travel, we do not feel the terrible guilt or shame in not attending a church. We aren't there because someone is keeping track of us or guilting us into it. We are there because we want to be. And we sincerely miss it those times we are out of town. And when we do go camping or backpacking, we feel so close to God out in nature. There really isn't anything like it.
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  FairMind

  I was counseled for day hiking (carried a backpack) since I did it on a Saturday or Sunday and would miss either the Sunday meetings or field service.
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  willyloman

  No but I know someone who did. A "bro" in our old hall was married to a school teacher (UBM) who had summers off. Come the middle of June, they disappeared into the mountains 500 miles away and backpacked/camped for a couple of months. Then they'd return just in time for start of school.

  He was told repeatedly that he could not be considered for apptmt to MS because of this prolonged absence.
• 

  Billygoat

  Willy,

  He was told repeatedly that he could not be considered for apptmt to MS because of this prolonged absence.

  Maybe that was his plan.

  Andi
• 

  xjwms

  This subject is a new one on me

  However, ... you made the point.....meetings, ...mettings, ...meeetings can't miss em.
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  anewme

  Oh how I wish I did get counseled for backpacking!!!!!
  
  I wish I'd done SOMETHING instead of listening to that rubbish for 35 years!!!
  
  Isnt it awful???? Imagine not allowing people to take a vacation or explore the world!
  
  Oh I want to share a funny memory I have of a sister who was being counseled in the back room after a meeting. (I was the dutiful elders wife waiting outside for her husband and saw this drama.)
  
  All of a sudden this very fat sister burst out of the meeting crying and screamed as she was leaving
  "What more do you want from me? YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN MY BIRTHDAY!!" And out she stormed.
  
  I dont know what made me think of that scene. Maybe it is the absurdity of the cult.
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  lost_light06

  That reminds me of all the times we went jetskiing or snowboarding on the weekends. My friends and I were always looked down on for not going out in FS or missing the Sunday meeting becuase it fell right smack in the middle of the day (1:00, 3:00). How dare we work all week long to support ourselves and then spend our weekends on recreation instead of service to the society Jehovah. Even if we did make it to the meeting, we weren't spending the morning or afternoon before or after meeting in FS. Makes me sick to think about all the crap I missed out on when I was young and in my prime (physically and monitarily) simply to please the elders.
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  Dune

  For years there was a ministerial servant that would constantly irritate the elders about another brother who used to go hunting.

  Everyone elsel loved him because when he came back from the country he'd give us frozen bacon and venison meat slabs. Yum.
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  Tish

  I can only imagine that there would be problems if you did not get your report in on time for talking to other backpackers!

  I suppose you would have problems not knowing where to knock, but seriously does that mean that John the Baptist would have also been counselled??