xjwsforChrist

I mean, c'mon: are we to TRULY believe that an organization as METICULOUS about counting... time, members, literature placements, no. of congos, Bible studies, KHs, baptisms... and God knows what all else... DOESN'T keep METICULOUS track of the ONE number on which there very (false) premises are based??!

The good news is that you have renewed contact with family.

The bad news is....count the cost. It's sad that the mom has cancer and that it has progressed to the stage where she must seek treatment so far from home. How convenient that you and yours live in the area!

Convenient if they can work on you for lodging (evenif a small sum is paid "to cover expenses" as well as for any additional accommodations such as rides to pick up and drop off the traveler(s), runs to the doctor(s), clinic(s), hospital(s), to stores for necessary items inconvenient for them to transport, refreshment(s) for the traveller(s), extra cleaning and preparation for stressed, exhausted, ill or taking care of ill "guests".

I sense a "family conference" in the making. The thing is, as much as a person (you) may want to help, or reason that such contact will spread The Good News, one's main responsibility remains one's own (nuclear) family, one's own household. Taking proper care, even part-time, of a person with a serious illness, is draining, both in terms of finances and wear & tear on household members. Even if you feel able to take on the extra load, does everyone else in the household, after reflection, feel the same way?

Back in the day when "family" was all a person had, there were no alternatives. Now we have insurance policies, home health care, visiting services, transportation services, hospital stays, convalescent care, and more. Many people are afraid to reach out for services, reasoning that they'd rather stay within the comfort of family. Even the sick person, though, needs to count the cost; the effect on helpers during and after the immediate situation. Counting the cost goes far beyond dollars and cents or emotional crisis. Love can mean protecting yourself and your household as well as extending appropriate assistance to others.

Forewarned is forearmed. I hope your visit with these relatives is both peaceful and productive. If, though, either on the initial visit or subsequent contacts, you must exercise humility in order not to exceed limitations, I hope that your loving spirit is met with acceptance all aound.

Peace!

God: "Noah, report"
Noah: "Preached to 230 people, engraved five messages in doors, left 18 banana leaves with messages on them, counted ninety hours from hut to hut"
God: "Really? Because i don't keep count of any of that"
Noah: "Just kidding. All i did was tar the ark this month."
God: "THAT i'll write down"