Ham

Thanks for the input folks. What did it cost me? A degree in Chemistry. Very likely a masters degree. I was at a point in my life that I had no idea where to go. With proper direction, things would have been very different. Add many years of time and ABS down the drain. With that said, I did end up in a half-way decent career. I met my wife on my WOW year. Have had two kids- they are better than gold; they are ten times better than me. I would not trade all the gold in egypt for them. I can only partially blame the stupid stuff we endured in TWI leading to breakup between me and wife. Would I have been happier if I ended up with what I thought I really would have liked to have? I cannot answer that question. "Life is like a box of chocalates, you never know what you're gonna get." There are a lot of people that have ended up a lot more miserable than me, and some of them have a heck of a lot more money. In many cases, I think TWI has made themselves too easy of a target as the reason for some peoples failures. That is their fault. They have truly given reason for "the ministry of the verd" to be blamed. Many times the blame is rightly placed, sometimes not. Of course, the outright fraud, abuse, and other despicable actions in some cases cannot be justified for any reason.. Looking back, I can see God at work, many times IN SPITE OF the stupidity and evil of others, and even of my own at times. After reading lots of posts, I think I can see that some left Egypt (TWI) with the gold. Others did not- they never found any "gold" there to begin with; some left having received abuse- in some cases criminally. To be on the receiving end of something like that must be a heck of a price to pay for nothing, or less than nothing. I think if I didn't get anything good at all out of it, I would be royally ....ed, and rightly so, considering the cost.

Yep.. I thought it was beginning to rain ice balls down yonder..

"Give a man a can of shinola to eat, he will probably stay hungry. Teach a man how to sell a can of shinola.." you get the picture..

Good question! I think they have grown accustomed to eating so much shinola, that it actually started tasting good. Seems they paired up with the right group- some enjoy dishing it out, others enjoy eating it..

Well, what more can you expect from a guy that calls rap an "ahhht form"?

Sounds like they should have "listened to the Misses.." heh heh.

Maybe I should have said, what has involvement in the ministry cost. Sorry to drudge up old memories Dmiller.. I just feel sorry for the young folks willing to lay life and liberty on line for that organization. Many have no clue as to what it is really going to cost them.

The ACS discussion got me thinking along these lines. I remember in PFAL one of the lasting statements was made about what the word cost you (compared to what Paul went through), and the teachers answer was "very little". Reading some of others experiences here, I no longer believe that assessment. So tell me, what did it cost you?

Hah hah hah.. I had a friend that someone actually gave one of them to. It needed major repair for something like every three to five hundred miles on the road.

Yugo would be a "swell" choice.. I don't think they make them any more. They had a hard time running even when they were new..

Now that you're spiritual enough for the ACS- go for the gusto! You may want to go Vey Disciple, or even the Corpse. I wonder what that would cost!

More thoughts on what the ACS cost: Plenty of suprise inspections from your gracious "overseers" to see if your housekeeping is spiritual enough. No lasting friendships. If you step out of line, you will find that they are not your friends; they will drop you like the proverbial hot potato. Ironically, they are only friends when it "comes to the word." A good education. Can't go in debt for anything, you know. Besides, you will not have time to do so on their schedule. Pets. Does anyone know, is the no pets policy still in force? Still, a "major pet" costs money. You will need to discuss the real need for a pet with your overseer, and perhaps their overseer. Pets cost money, money that you could ABS. Besides, you do not have time for pets or luxuries when you are "moving da verd." Cable TV and other forms of entertainment will have to be discussed with your overseer. "Would you like to come to church with me?" "No thanks boy, no church with you."

If I got a similar return on any other kind of investment that these poor devils did, I would get madder then he**.

It would be hard for me to imagine what it must have been like to have been on staff. Never alone, probably never a moment to relax- even in the shower!

What does suprise me is that they do not make them go to bathroom by twos. Apparently that is how they have to do everything else. Probably could give a good justification for it to. Yep- "Old Joe died in the John regurgitating and choking on the last household fellowship teaching."

Belle, for me it was a little different. I think I saw it coming for a long time. Kind of like slow withdrawl. When I finally left there were no real suprises.

And lets not forget, "A Loy by any other name stinks the same."

And it would not suprise me if the same policy is still in effect. Even at the worst job I ever had, I could get at least a short break to refresh. What does this say about TWI? I used to think staffers were so "blessed" to be near the fire, so to speak. Now I see it must have been about the worst job in the world..

There may be something to this wiping of the arse.. from other threads, I read that the poor staffers had to sign a sheet declaring that they were going to the toilet. In-friggin credible!

But it is so much more fun to say it with style!

For all of this they can call themselves "God's Elite." I would call it something else..

I wonder if the participants got what they paid for. Look what it cost: Cannot own a home. Never mind the policy that says you can own one, just no mortgage. (I have yet to find anyone, believer or unbeliever, that bought a home without one) $500+ in registration fees, plane fare, hotel and food Time that could be MUCH more profitably spent with family or friends Time and labor spent cleaning leaders' houses, cars, etc. just to be enough on their good side to be able to go. Not only cash for the event, but fifteen percent of their income donated faithfully for how long? The list could go on and on. What did they get? Old, rehashed PFAL teaching, a topical bible study that a second rate hack could produce, and a few assorted sharings. Must have really been worth it.

I remember a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away.. maybe not back that far. In the early 70's I found the leadership approachable. Exceptions were during classes, they seemed a lot less tolerant of questions then. As time went on, they were less approachable or tolerant of questions anytime.

More credibility than it deserves, in my opinion.

I think a lot of the "details" given are used to try to give the document a little more credibility.