How many of you did this?
Many JWs sold their homes and moved across country to serve where the need was great. In the last couple of years I have remembered several people who moved from western Canada to Quebec where we were told the need was great out west. Some sacrificed their families, friends to go it alone. For some it meant moving to new countries where they would be the only JWs in the area. Many had to learn the language of the area to be able to preach to the people.
Shortly after I was married in 1970 our new kingdom hall was built and another new cong was formed for the french speaking people. Some french JWs came in to act as the body of elders. And a few people in our cong went to join them.
We got to live in our own place but at least we didn't give up our families. My husband did speak french but I didn't. My mother spoke only french until she was 16 years old but my father forbid her to teach it to us. When my grandmother and my 3 uncles and aunt came to live with my mother french they had a rather odd way of speaking in french until they couldn't remember the word they want and would switch to English until they didn't remember the next word. Sentences flowed back and forth across the languages as if it were one language. This is not a good way to learn to speak another language.
My uncles also made fun of us every time we tried to speak french so it became very difficult for me. In school the class had 3 years of french studies and I had none. Between the flowing back and forth between languages and my uncles mocking us at home and being 3 years behind in french class I didn't learn very much. And I developed a lot of anxiety about speaking french.
Yet here I was in a french speaking cong. trying to understand and express myself. It was a nightmare and I hated it.
The elders put me on the school immediately and within a couple of months I had to give a talk. This was not going to go very well and I knew it. There was no way I could even write never mind give it. My mother and husband helped me with the writing piece and I went over it time and again. Listening to my mother and grandmother had given me a pretty fair ability to pronounce the words and I did understand what I was saying so it wasn't all bad. And I got up there and gave my talk proud that I hadn't keeled over on the platform.
After the meeting one of the elder's wives came up to me and told me I was a liar. I could speak french but just chose not to. I tried to explain in french that reading it off a paper was one thing, speaking in a conversation was quite another. My guilt and shame responses kicked in and I felt bad for doing such a good job of reading the part
We were in the cong for almost 2 years. During that time I would listen to the talk and in my head translate it into English. It was hard work and I know I missed most of what they were saying. Before our first child was born I explained to my husband how hard it was to be in the french and with a new baby there was no way I could pay attention to the baby and the french. Happily he agreed we should move back to the English cong in the same hall (our old cong).
As much as I thought I hadn't learned much french it was quite a surprise that for the first while, would translate the talk into french and then back into English so I could understand. One day I realized what I was doing and was able to stop
- So how many of you moved to serve where the need was great?
- How far did you go?
- Did it mean learning a new language?
- What was difficult about the move?