Appreciation for the Meetings

Some youths find it difficult to appreciate Christian meetings.  They attend because their parents take them.  However, if they keep up their meeting attendance, in time they may come to love the meetings.  Consider Alfredo, who began full-time service when he was 11 years old.  He admits that when he was about five, he tried to avoid going to the meetings because they made him sleepy but his parents would not allow him to sleep during the meetings.  He recalls:  "As I grew older, little by little, I became more interested in the meetings, especially after I learned to read and write because then I began to comment in my own words."

Cintia, a 17 year old girl who serves as a regular pioneer, tells how good association played a major role in her developing a love for God's service.  She says: "A good relationship  with the brothers and regular attendance at the meetings have kept me from missing my worldly friends and the activities  that are popular with kids, such as going to discotheques.  Listening to comments and experiences at the meetings produced in me a desire to give Jehovah all that I have, and I feel that the best thing that i have is my youth.  So I decided to use it in his service."

However, she admits:  "There was a time, before I was baptized, when I found it easy to miss meetings, using homework or other school activities as an excuse.  I missed several meetings, and this began to affect me spiritually.  I began to associate with a boy who did not study the Bible.  Thanks to Jehovah, I corrected matters in time."

Next time: A Personal Decision

The Watchtower, 2002