Pioneer Jehovah’s Witness
When Does It All Start For You? The beginning of change
The beginning of change…
My folks became Jehovah’s Witnesses when I was in the first grade. This changed things. Being young you really don’t realize changes taking place. At that age you more or less go with the flow and adapt to the rules of your home without much thought. We were encouraged to associate with other children of Jehovah’s Witnesses. My folks were lenient in allowing me to play with Jenny; we were friends prior to them becoming involved with this religion. When Jenny moved though, I really didn’t have too many options available. I have three brothers, one that is older than me and two younger. I hung around my older brother and the boys within the neighborhood. I became immersed in the religion and tried to make a place for myself there to fill the void. We had meetings three times a week, Tuesday evenings for one hour, Thursday evenings for two hours, and Sundays for two hours. On Saturday mornings we would meet at the Kingdom Hall and divide up into small groups and go out in field service. This involved going from door to door telling others about God’s kingdom. I became extremely involved in all of this.
For one reason or another, my parents would stop going to the meetings. I never knew why this would happen and I never asked. They would miss meetings here and there and then they would miss many. My mother was a “stay at home mom” with us kids and my father was a firefighter. The schedule for firefighters was 24 hours on and then 24 hours off for 10 days followed by 6 days off. If meetings were on his days at the station he would miss and it would be more difficult for my mom to get us all going without him. My mom was more sensitive to being around some of the followers. She felt that she was being judged or ridiculed and those feelings would become overwhelming in time to her. I believe this may have been a lot of the reasons why they would stop going. Whatever the situation was though, I didn’t want to miss the meetings.
We lived fairly close to our Kingdom Hall so I told my mom that I wanted to walk to the Hall. I was 12 years old and didn’t see why I shouldn’t be able to. She was apprehensive at first and then figured that if I called her as soon as I got there it would be okay. Meetings started at 7pm and ended either at 8pm on Tuesdays or 9:10pm on Thursdays. I would have someone from the meeting give me a ride home afterwards. I loved it because I was able to still go the meetings and be with people who seemed to want to be with me. I was able to create my own little world of belonging. During the school year I would maintain that sort of schedule and then in the summer I was able to devote even more time. I was able to go out in field service throughout the week with older ones that pioneered. Pioneering is something that baptized Witnesses can do at different intervals. Auxiliary Pioneering is devoting 60 hours a month to the field ministry and Regular Pioneering is devoting 90 hours a month. To many this would not seem like a fun way for a child to spend a summer but to me it was. It kept me busy, I had plans, and I was happy.
I will continue with more soon. Go now to my website at www.likemindedpeople.me and look through what became a blessing to me and my family.
The beginning of change…
My folks became Jehovah’s Witnesses when I was in the first grade. This changed things. Being young you really don’t realize changes taking place. At that age you more or less go with the flow and adapt to the rules of your home without much thought. We were encouraged to associate with other children of Jehovah’s Witnesses. My folks were lenient in allowing me to play with Jenny; we were friends prior to them becoming involved with this religion. When Jenny moved though, I really didn’t have too many options available. I have three brothers, one that is older than me and two younger. I hung around my older brother and the boys within the neighborhood. I became immersed in the religion and tried to make a place for myself there to fill the void. We had meetings three times a week, Tuesday evenings for one hour, Thursday evenings for two hours, and Sundays for two hours. On Saturday mornings we would meet at the Kingdom Hall and divide up into small groups and go out in field service. This involved going from door to door telling others about God’s kingdom. I became extremely involved in all of this.
For one reason or another, my parents would stop going to the meetings. I never knew why this would happen and I never asked. They would miss meetings here and there and then they would miss many. My mother was a “stay at home mom” with us kids and my father was a firefighter. The schedule for firefighters was 24 hours on and then 24 hours off for 10 days followed by 6 days off. If meetings were on his days at the station he would miss and it would be more difficult for my mom to get us all going without him. My mom was more sensitive to being around some of the followers. She felt that she was being judged or ridiculed and those feelings would become overwhelming in time to her. I believe this may have been a lot of the reasons why they would stop going. Whatever the situation was though, I didn’t want to miss the meetings.
We lived fairly close to our Kingdom Hall so I told my mom that I wanted to walk to the Hall. I was 12 years old and didn’t see why I shouldn’t be able to. She was apprehensive at first and then figured that if I called her as soon as I got there it would be okay. Meetings started at 7pm and ended either at 8pm on Tuesdays or 9:10pm on Thursdays. I would have someone from the meeting give me a ride home afterwards. I loved it because I was able to still go the meetings and be with people who seemed to want to be with me. I was able to create my own little world of belonging. During the school year I would maintain that sort of schedule and then in the summer I was able to devote even more time. I was able to go out in field service throughout the week with older ones that pioneered. Pioneering is something that baptized Witnesses can do at different intervals. Auxiliary Pioneering is devoting 60 hours a month to the field ministry and Regular Pioneering is devoting 90 hours a month. To many this would not seem like a fun way for a child to spend a summer but to me it was. It kept me busy, I had plans, and I was happy.
I will continue with more soon. Go now to my website at www.likemindedpeople.me and look through what became a blessing to me and my family. Cheers To You!!
About the Author
I have devoted 23 years of passion to living within the realms of alternative health care. This desire became even more prominent with the births of my 5 children. I set my intentions to attract people who are already looking for what I have to offer, the results have been magical! I love sharing my experiences and knowledge with others as to lighten their load and their learning curve. You can also go to my blog at www.attractiveminds.blogspot.com and view all articles surrounding my website and information. Cheers to All!
