And I miss them.
It was worth arguing once in a while to save 400 CHF a year.
They were never the smartest peas in the pod and it was quite easy to totally confuse them.
US Mormons have done a lot of charity work after revolution in my hometown, it wasn't easy for them, they were 18. They used to hate bothering folks at home, but had no choice..
Well, I meant shinenigans.
I offer Jehovah's Witnesses water and the use of my bathroom, and politely send them on their way.
It's like a full A4 page of nonsense. Stuff about being happy and loving each other and friendliness ..
First time I skipped to the end to see if there was a point to it and noticed the [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) email address.
Yet to notice who drops it in the mailbox
But special humans can interpret this into all sorts of things, much like somebody talking about abstract art.
As my house is on a private gated development, I hope they don't think they have a captive audience
Two ladies came a-callin' shortly after the moving van left. Speaking no German and still imbued with 'Midwest Nice' social norms, I invited them in while I tried to puzzle out who they were and what they wanted.
Once the penny dropped I politely declined and thought I pulled it off... until the next day when the two ladies appeared again, to escort me to a meeting.
I fell back on the confused expat thing and beat a hasty retreat. Then signed up for a German course.
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Five years and another move later, this time with somewhat functional German, I ran into a nice older lady while out walking the dogs, exchanged pleasantries as you do. And kept running into her most days. Turns out she is the local JW.
So while I've had many walks discussing the finer points of whether dogs will be counted among the 144,000... I can't knock the JWs. She is the only person in the village who has ever offered me 'per Du'.
Their thing isn't my thing, but the Swiss JWs are polite and friendly. So live and let live.
Back in the late 60s my mother used to invite Mormons in, she asked one pair if they'd give her a copy of The Book of Mormon to read, then come back a week later to debate it with her
The rain falls on the good and the bad (Matthew 5:45). And don't listen to conspiracy theories. (Isaiah 8:12)
Bernard Black explains the Gospel to avoid doing a tax return.
When they returned for their third visit, I asked how much time they had left before they'd have to return to the States.
"Less than two months!"
And I asked: "And does your family know?"
"Know what ?"
I replied: "Well, I mean, about the two of you. Do they know?"
They blushed deeply and swallowed hard and one whispered: "Please, what do you mean?"
I said: "Well, I may be reading you wrong, but to me, you look like you love each other very much, and that you'd like to spend the rest of your lives together, as a couple. In other words: I think you're gay. And I don't think your religion likes that, very much."
For a moment neither spoke, then one started to cry, and then they told me how they'd been trying to "struggle against their same-sex attraction" but had finally given that up and admitted that this is sex, and in their case this is also love.
That visit and the next one were all about when to come out, if at all, and to whom, and how their parents and religious leaders were sure to condemn and possibly reject them, and how many gay people there might be in the world, and what would happen if they were shunned or left on their own accord, and where they could go and how they might earn a living, and how if they didn't stay they wouldn't be able to pay for their education, and whether one could keep such a matter secret, and why it is healthy to be true to oneself.
They left grateful to have been heard. It was all rather wonderful, and rather sad that such love could not be enjoyed and celebrated.