LIFELINE for regular contributors to Free Minds, Inc.

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May 2, 2008  

    I was walking down to the pier this morning, reflecting on how God has blessed my life over the years. I can say, no man can buy or earn what I have, at any cost. What a wonderful thing! I enjoy the fruits of my labor.

      My dream for the next two years is to get to the point were I do not have to be involved in sales. By this I don't mean having workers in the office to do it for me, which requires too much training and other headaches, but rather, to hire temporary employees to do mailings and other physical projects. My volunteer ranks have dwindled. Cult ministries with employees are a thing of the past nowadays.

      I desire that virtually all anti-cult materials are available free on the internet as downloads or to link to sites where they may purchase such materials without my personal involvement.  The reason this is important is two-fold.  1. Sales are diminishing on the internet and will not recover. There is no longer much profit to be had in selling books of any kind.  2. The amount of time spent in printing, producing, marketing and selling books takes up way too much of my time, while very important projects sit in piles on my desk for several weeks at a time.

      For example, at this very moment:  I have three CD-ROMs with lecturers from the 1975-1990 era that can go up as free downloads on the Internet.  I simply haven't had the computer time, while it sits for two weeks.  I have a “New Projects” page to set up as a joint effort of several top level ex-Witnesses on the Internet.  I do not have time to focus on that.  I am behind on my Journal, because of my hand surgery (my hand will be usable in about 3 weeks), and I cannot answer hardly any e-mail and cannot afford temporary help to do any of this right now.  So these are my needs, friends. From now on I will not beat around the bush, and I will tell you my very specific needs.  If you are already giving regularly, I do not ask any more of you.  We simply need more contributors.  Volunteers are not the answer, as they simply make me a manager, eating up more of my time. Efficiency is the key.

      Currently, my time is being spent very inefficiently in fundraising through sales.  My sincere prayer for 2008 is that sales will be replaced by donations from new contributors.  (The core contributors are doing just fine!  Thank you.)

      As mentioned in the last issue of LIFELINE, we have three new websites that are in the process of going up.  The first is a new interface for www.freeminds.org , which has been overdue for at least 8 years, but I have not been able to design something that works better. 

      For those who are being caught up in the watchtower cult, the second website is www.watchtowerworld.org , which is a referral site to be used by Christians who refer people who are in sincere need of help to other mature Christians who are at least 50 years old, and who have had at least 10 years experience in the Watchtower.  We hope to launch www.watchtowerworld.org  at the beginning of June or July.

      My third project is www.ArmageddonOkies.com , which I hope to launch by late summer. It is a new experiment in educating the public about cults; think Sesame Street meets Lil’ Abner or something close; designed by an intervention counselor with a lot of silly humor from the backwoods. Sound ambitious? We’ll see how it goes! Gary Busselman of Armageddon Okies fame will be on board!

      The equipment I need is a new Mac laptop computer with full video editing capabilities, so that while my work on my main computer is printing and websites are being loaded and e-mail is being answered on the other computer, video can be processing and being uploaded to the Internet on the other one. Right now my computer spends a lot of time chugging even with the dual Pentium processor, just because there are so many things hooked up to it, and so many tasks it has to do on a daily basis. It crashes at least twice a day from video editing alone.  I can make much more efficient use of my time if I have a second computer. It needs to be a Mac laptop so I can move it around. This brings up the second needed item, which is a new camera for the project of Armageddon Okies and probably Watchtower World as well.

      My third desire is for a vacation this year.  Not just to visit my parents, but to get away. That way I can recharge my batteries. I am awake about 20 hours a day seven days a week, and sometimes I need a change of scenery in order to be productive. On 28K a year, I don't travel much at all.

 Free Minds’ needs are as follows, financially:

Camera    $1800

laptop   $2400 with software and preliminary equipment

temporary employees, $100 per month.

Vacation, only a prayer at this point.

 Thank God for friends like you that care and make a difference.  I thank God for such wonderful people in my life.  God bless you!

Sincerely yours,
    Randall Watters

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