Posted by ANDY [ANDY] on October 30, 1999 at 12:26:54 {G0PnT/qYmkqTvkv3njLwxhvS/hG.LU}:
In Reply to: they begin to suspect posted by metatron on October 30, 1999 at 08:39:38:
Hi Metatron;
You know those numbers always made me wonder. Every time the C.O. came to visit the congregations field service hours were always slightly above the average of 10 hours per publisher.
What made me question this was that I know that hardly anyone went out on weekdays. We had two pioneers who were out, but hardly anyone else during the week. On weekends if there were five people it was a good turn out. Yet the numbers were always above average. There were over 120 publishers, some never went out a single time in a month, yet the hours were up.
I am sure the hours are still up, I haven't been out in over 5 years, yet I drive by the hall and only one day a week do I see any cars parked there. It is always the same ones. On weekends the elders that live by me hardly ever go out more than once a month. There are four elders, and I think they take turns going out on weekends.
As for magazines, If we placed one set of magazines when we went out we were lucky. Most people just didn't answer the doors. Sometimes we went out for a long day, usually those days would be in the boonies. We could drive for hours without seeing a house. The roads were bad, so time really went slow. Somedays we never found anyone home. Of course we dropped of the magazines at the laundry mat before we left, so the hours would be counted from that point on.
I remember one C.O's visit the elder who kept track of field service hours was behind on his record keeping. He called us and was checking on time from over 4 month back. I told him I just couldn't remember that far back. What he put down only he knows, but the averages were above average once again.
The one thing I will never forget is one elder telling us during a local needs talk that our turn out for field service was really bad. He gave us the usual speach, but he added that we, the rank and file, were making him and the rest of the elders look bad, so we better get busy and increase our hours. I couldn't believe it. He was looking bad, so he got ticked at us. Those who say field service is voluntary are in need a head check.
One last thing. I live by two elders. Both are in good health and their jobs would allow them to pioneer any time they want. One has aux. pioneered once. The other never, at least in the last 10 years that I have known them. Now both of these elders have given talks about pioneering and how great this is. Yet neither on does it himself. There would be no financial problem, there kids are all teenagers, so why do they promot pioneering to the ones who do have financial problems, and have young children?
How are these guys setting a good example? How do they expect others to endure hardships, when they won't even take the time to practice what they preach?
Oh well I guess as long as the "hours" are up, and the C.O. doesn't catch on, who cares!
ANDY: