Hi all!
Just to brief you all who dont know me since im still fairly new, I am Darren, I am 24 years old, and i studied with the JWs for about a year before i came to my senses.
Here is a little "experience" i had a short while ago, 2 or 3 weeks back i thought i would share it all with you.
I just arrvied in New Zealand a couple of months ago now, after being in England for so long, i decided to move back here and see my parents.
I was getting over the whole "indoctrination" process and things were looking good! Aside from the time i spent with JWs, i only ever spoke to them once, i was about 12 and they dropped a magazine off at my parents house from which i thanked them since my parents were not home, closed the door, casually threw the magazine in the bin and carried on doing whatever i was doing.
After all these years of not seeing them or knowing anythign about them etc, i did my study in the UK and left that and i am now here.
so i had much more of understanding about JWs etc.
My parents and I decided to drive to rotorua from New Plymouth for a family drive and quality bonding time :) On the way there, about half way through, we decided to stop on a lay by and there was like a patch of grass no longer than a strip of about 15 metres with 2 benches.
we had a little mini(ish) picnic there and coffee before continuing our road trip.
i forgot to mention that as we pulled up to stop there, there was a car at the first bench and a group inside and a few people outside.
I didnt think abything of it, i actually thought they must have been some family doing what we were doing, a road trip, since there were not even any houses near by, it was all lovely views of mountains/hillsides etc.
Anyway, We sit down at this bench about 5 or 6 metres away from them, and one raises there voice and says "Hi there!" So my Dad responds Hey!
"lovely weather today isnt it?" Immediately alarm bells rang off when i heard that, i KNEW after spending a bit of time with JWs, they all seem to have this similar personality they develop, mor elike a "cult personality" i would call it, full of false smiles and pretend happiness, But the conversations alway sstart off about the poxy weather.
So my dad replies and conversation is kept short about where we are from and what we are doing etc, it was actually nice.
My mother who is extremely ANTI JW, was quietly sitting down listening drinking coffee. Obviously my Parents know all about my past with all this nonsense.
So A woman walks over holding something.......(drum roll please.......) and as she approaches my father she says, "hi there thought i would come over rather than shout, were all actually Jehovahs Witnesses and i have this lovely magazine here with lots of benefical material that you could all enjoy!!"
My Mum sits there laughing, my dads jaw dropped, and i am partially stunned (since i have never ever had a run in with them before excluding the time i spent with them, and i left about 3 or 4 months ago and here they are)
So my dad says i am already a man of faith and i do not wish to discuss my beilefs with you because I BEILEVE it is PRIVATE. You might want to speak to my Son here though.
So she turns to me holding out this magazine (body language begging for me to take it) and says HI! im whatever her name was i forget, and i said hi im Darren.
I said i have no interest WHATSOEVER in reading your magazine, i have just been through an indoctrination from your religion and i am now recovering quite well!
She says "Oh, and what was the reason you decided to leave?"
I said i am here, with my family and we are minding our own business!!! it was a few scriptures that did it for me (it was really the truth behind the truth which i read online, but i wasn't about to tell her that, the convo may never have ended!)
So she goes on " DO you care to share the scriptures with me?" as she says this, she pulls out the pocket size bible.
i could read her body language like a book. Shes obviously very good at this, so im seeing ehat shes doing taking her bible out and asking me so as to provoke an answer for me which she could back up from the bible.
So i say NO! I do not wish to share it with you as i said, i am here with my family and i dont wish to be rude but this is kind of killing my family bonding time.
So she leaves after that and walks back to her group.
i wish i could have said a lot mroe, but it was difficult for me to think properly, plus my family were there and i didnt want to be out of line.
Anyway, this is my experience, not very exciting, but it extremely frustrates me because there we were my family and i trying to enjoy ourselves and some dogooder trying to poke their nose in, even when i said not interested, and i am here with my parents as you can see, she still persisted.
To me, that is a privacy invasion and i didnt like it to say the least.
here is me as an almost JW!! ....my embarassing past.