Jehovah's Witness from Youth Radio
Produced by: Youth Radio
Licensor: Youth Radio
Website: http://youthradio.org
Gabriela Jacobo's mom is a Jehovah's Witness. Many of her memories of childhood are overlaid with the prayers of her mother. But Gabriela has other memories too, memories of never celebrating a birthday, never being able to exchange Valentine's Day cards with friends in elementary school, never being allowed to celebrate anything but God because of her mother's religion. In this first-person narrative that mixes Spanish and English, Gabriela wonders whether she lost her mom when her mom found God. Learn more about Youth Radio at http://youthradio.org
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I want to say – thank you for this!
March 1st, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Same story here, I lost my youth when I found Jehovah. I was 16 when me and my mother was baptized. I bacame a Regular Pioneer at the local congregation when I graduated from high school. Going to college was no longer my priority, but to serve Jehovah full time. A year latter I begun to ask questions, and our elders, even the traveling overseers sensed something was wrong with me.
When I disassociated myself from the organization I found my life back, I became myself again. Then I was disfellowshiped from the organization. When the official annoucement was circulated throughout the entire district I felt as if I bacame a "wanderer" or a vagabond in our own backyard. I left my hometown, years passed I got married, raised my daughter in love, tolerance, and understanding.
Ten years latter my son came to our lives, but before his 7th birthday my wife died. But because I am an overseas contract worker, I have no choice but to leave my children under my mother's care. My mom is still a devout (and very fanatic) auxiliary pioneer Jehovah's Witness. But thanks to my daughter, now in her 20's, a free-thinker, preacher for religious tolerance, a theosophist, who believe that there is no religion higher than truth, things will never be the same again. They celebrate birthdays with their cousins, christmas, valetines, and even Ramadan, and the 2 muslim Eids. But they will do this without my mother, out of respect for her belief. We all love her as much as she loves her children and her grandchildren. My father died in 2004, a happy-go-lucky yet a very responsible loving father, an agnostic, with his own concept about the universe and god.