Only in WatchTarded World..
Armageddon!!..
Thats not Funny!..
Dam I hate that Effin Dog!..
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... OUTLAW
JW's on Christmas Day
by Jim_TX 26 Replies latest jw friends
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OUTLAW
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undercover
I was raised by gung-ho JW parents who dragged us kids out every Thanksgiving, Xmas and Easter. I absolutely loathed those days. I was thinking about this on Xmas day, sleeping in, and not having not to get dressed to endure two/three hours of freezing temps, and knocking on doors of people enjoying their holiday with their families, only to piss em off as we tried to push an anti Xmas message WT on them.
I sorta got to reminiscing (if you can call it that... maybe 'reliving the nightmare' is more apt) about it while I sipped my spiked egg nog on Xmas morning. The worst was as a kid, when the door was opened and you saw kids, still in their jammies, not much different in age than yourself, laughing, playing with new toys, eating candy, having a blast. Sometimes there was a fire in the fireplace, the smell of pine tree, coffee and various other good food smells wafting out into the cold air. And there I was, out in that cold air, a child in a suit, holding a bookbag and WT magazines, looking like a minature version of the sour old people that I was in service with. And then seeing the Xmas cheer leave the face of the householder as they realized I was not Auntie Mabel or Uncle Jimbo, but a JW looking to intrude in on their holiday. More than once I was chastised for disturbing people on their most sacred of holidays.
When I got old enough to make plans with friends, about the time one of our group got a driver's license, we'd make plans to go out in service, but ditched it for hanging out somewhere warm and dry for a couple of hours. I remember for awhile, we went to video arcades, where we'd run into other JW kids (not ditching service) and word was getting back that we were ditching service for video games, so we had to find new haunts. By the time I was 18, I had made a definite stand to never, ever go out in service on a major holiday. It pissed my parents off at the time, and dismayed a couple of elders, but I hated it so bad, that I was able to argue my case quite well...at least well enough that no one ever convinced me the error of my ways.
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nuthouse escapee
If I recall correctly, only did X-mas Day witnessing once and that was enough. The people answering the door were so totally pissed off. I felt that it was rude and disrespectful so never did it again.
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Quendi
To my shame, I must admit to being one of those door-knockers on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I suppose I was lucky because I never got an angry rebuff from the householders. Indeed, when I took part on Thanksgiving Day, I had some very interesting conversations with people. However, I did not make this a yearly custom. I went out on one Thanksgiving Day many years ago in Boulder, Colorado and a Christmas Day some years after that in Redondo Beach, California. The Christmas witnessing cured me once and for all and I made it a point to never disturb people during the holidays again. It is a rude and insensitive practice and should not be encouraged.
Despite my own decision, I noted that congregation elders frequently announced that there would be field service from the hall on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day mornings. Some of the more zealous publishers and pioneers participated, but I noticed they seldom talked about their experiences and the receptions they got making me think that my decision to withdraw from the activity was the correct one.
Quendi
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whathappened
OUTLAW: I bet Morrison does hate you. (we all love you, though, so that's OK)
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finally awake
I remember going out on Thanksgiving once. We made of point of skipping houses that appeared to have visitors. The few people we actually talked to were mostly polite, only one yelled at me for interrupting her while cooking. There were a few people who seemed lonely, with no family to visit.
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james_woods
Like I said before, they are not doing this with the honest intention of making converts.
They are doind this to prove themselves to one another, and perversely because they KNOW that the people they are calling on hate it.
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Balaamsass
Always seemed like a "loyalty test" to me by some to see WHO went out in service. As an Elder, some A-hole Elder would always try to rope me into pushing it for our bookstudy group...NOT.
Tried to get out of town for a week whenever possible and avoid JWs, neighbors, and co-workers. (LOTS of JW groups in California at Ski resorts and the beach on holidays).
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DATA-DOG
The GB want you to be hated so they look like they know what they are doing. I took some time off this week and there is no way in hell that I was going in service. Even before waking up to TTATT, I would not ruin someone's holiday. JW's can be some of the most tactless people on the planet.
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Jim_TX
Since we're all taking trips in Mr. Peabody's Way Back machine...
Not dealing with field service on holidays, but in a similar vein - one time my mother and us kids were travelling on Thanksgiving Day. I don't remember the 'why' of it, but we were coming back home to San Antonio, and the big 1952 DeSoto broke down in a city north of here. I believe it was Temple, TX.
My mom was sitting in the driver's seat and mumbled, "Now... who do I know that lives in Temple?"
We all chided her, as she ALWAYS seemed to have some relative living somewhere... but we couldn't believe that she had one here - in this city.
Well, she thought for a minute, and then got out and went to the pay phone and looked in the local phone book. She found a name that looked familiar, and called the number. In a matter of minutes, she had found a long lost relative on her side of the family.
I need to inject that the relatives that she had, were not JW's. Here they were, in the middle of their own Thanksgiving celebration, but took the time to come out and 'save' us. They hauled us to their home (I think we left the car there at the gas station).
I remember it was in the evening, and they had the television set turned on - watching a football game... the Dallas Cowboys were playing (those were the days when the Cowboys could really kick butt).
These kind people, opened up their home to us, and fed us, and let us spend the night with them, all the while, my mom was talking about 'who died' - and 'who lives where' to the relatives and all.
As a kid (well, early teenager), I had never seen so much food in all my life - and it was leftovers - as they had already had their meal. We feasted that evening, but it wasn't 'Thanksgiving'. Not for us. Plus, we got to watch television - in color!
Oh... and to top it all off, one of the men was a mechanic, called around, and found a replacement water pump (the part that had broken), and they replaced it on the car, and we were able to be on our way later the next day.
I tell ya... those 'worldly' people are truly evil. (said with tongue firmly placed in cheek)
Regards,
Jim TX