The Family / Children of God

the grapevine

(Issue #101; December 1, 2000.)

Ponder

           Feed your faith and you will starve your fears.

kidbits

new arrivals …

            Karine, born to Nana and Mike on July 14.--Curitiba, Brazil

            Portia Tatiana,5^th child, born to Magdalene and Chris White on October 7.--South Africa

 tidbits

 getting together …

            Chris White and Magdalene Scott “tied the knot” on March 31, 1999, in Lebanon. Congratulations!

LATEST NEWS FLASH (November 29:)

           Our brethren in bonds have been released!!! Please pray for all the details involved to go smoothly, and against any complications.

          We trust you'll still enjoy the testimonies in this Grapevine issue of the prison show where our brethren were in bonds, and the prayer requests for them--all of which have now been answered! Praise the Lord!

Prayer request for Homes in the Middle East

          Please pray for the Homes and teams in the Middle East region who have been affected by the deteriorating situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. GB our precious Family there who has been able to minister to many of the wounded Palestinians who have been sent to numerous countries in the region for medical care. The teams have been able to sing for these precious people, encourage them, give them prophecies and attend to them spiritually. PTL! In one way or another the ME area is definitely affected by the recent crisis. One of our Homes is presently without electricity or heating and we'd like to ask for specific prayer that the Lord will keep the Family in the area, protect them and continue to anoint everyone as they try to be an encouragement to the needy during this time for as long as the Lord indicates it's safe for them to remain in the area.

Pray for the Palestinian people

By Mama

Dear Family,

            Please remember the plight of the poor Palestinian people in your daily prayers. They're suffering tremendously, and the Enemy is having a heyday in his persecution of many innocent people. Your prayers can do mighty things.

            Our Family in the Mideast has reported on the situation firsthand, and they have been overwhelmed by the faith and positiveness of the Palestinian people, who, though suffering so greatly, remain trusting in God and not bitter or angry at Him. They are so receptive, appreciative of, and hungry for the message we have to give. They are desperate for a touch of love, a word of encouragement, a song, a ray of hope.

            Reach out to them in prayer, dear Family. Pray for their comfort, encouragement, and for peace. Pray also that our Family members remain safe, and able to visit the needy and be shining lights in this time of extreme darkness for those who have lost all, and are suffering so much.

          Here's what the Lord had to say about your prayers for the Palestinians:

            (Jesus:) Your prayers can heal hearts, mend bodies, and stop the bullets. Your prayers can give life--not only physical life, but more importantly, spiritual life. Your prayers can enable your loved ones to reach out to those who may be living their last day, and to save them with My love and salvation. Don't deny these poor men, women and children the opportunity to live with Me forever in a world where there will be no more war, simply because of your failure to pray fervently. Each prayer will save a soul. Each whisper to Me will bring new life, new hope and a reason for living.

            The Palestinians cry out to Me, and there are many who make intercession for them in the spirit world, including your Father David. Will you join the ranks of those who fight for them in the spirit? They, together with you, can win the battle for the souls, lives and eternal happiness of these persecuted people; and a home forever in Heaven, where they will never be driven out, never tormented, never harassed, and never forced to flee in fear and anguish.

            Will you be their prayer warriors? (End of message from Jesus.)

JAILHOUSE ROCK-ed!

By the Mexican Family

            Deep in the heart of Mexico on a highway going to the country's capital, one can see an awesome looking concrete structure off to the right of the road. The gun towers at each corner of this walled construction leave no doubt as to the nature of this large fortress--you're looking at a high security prison where over 2,000 inmates live and work. The reinforced concrete walls tower 30 feet into the sky and it would seem almost impossible that any earthly force could break through these massive walls … but on November 16^th, these Babylonic walls were not able to stand up to God's lighting bolt of love light and Heavenly music as 14 Family members made a daring jail break-in, all the way into the hearts of the prisoners and their brethren in bonds, Simon and Joseph! The Bible predicted that in the last times God's people would be persecuted and many delivered unto prison (Luke 21:12-18), and so has this Word been fulfilled as our brothers for righteousness' sake suffer at this very moment in prison. Yet they are not forsaken--for God has also promised a great deliverance for Simon and Joseph.

            This is only the beginning of a dramatic story of love, faith, courage and fight--against the spiritual forces that would seek to stop those that proclaim the truth and live Godly in Christ Jesus. Following are the heartfelt testimonies of several Family members who left their families and Homes and traveled hundreds of miles to bring a moment of joy, loving fellowship and hope to our brethren in bonds.

            AHLAI: We have been praying for Simon and Joseph so much that it was a real relief for us to see them face-to-face, hug them, hear their story firsthand, and learn how the Lord has taken this most traumatic experience and turned it around to make it a tremendous witness. They were just shining--we walked in and got big hugs and a few tears and … we just couldn't have loved them up enough for all they'd been going through. This was a little glimpse of the fulfillment of all the prophecies that we had been getting for them over the months--to see firsthand how at peace they were and trusting.

            What an impact they're having--not only in their section--but all over the prison of over 2,000 men. It's an amazing testimony; you almost have to be there and see it to believe it. In prophecy the Lord had prepared us for the visit and told us clearly that it was not only going to mean something to the ones inside the prison, but even more so how we would be afterwards. But I don't think that any of us were prepared for the heart-rending and emotional experience that it was to be--talking to other inmates whom Simon and Joseph had brought to the Lord, as well as many others who now because of our extensive performance would be coming to them, visiting, and wanting to know more. I'm so glad I got to go. It was a very emotional experience.

            Some prisoners who were in a stricter security area were not able to come to the performance, but I talked to many prisoners who, though they had never met Simon and Joseph, had already heard of the two Americans for Jesus that were in this wing of the prison. They'd already heard of their influence, their testimony and the unjust reason for which they were being held.

            At the beginning there was just a trickle of men that came to see the show, but afterwards there was an amazing crowd--they all came--very attracted to the Spirit. Some said there were preachers and sincere missionaries that would visit from time to time, and there's a church group in another wing that's gotten salvations among the men. But they commented that they'd never seen a free and happy spirit among young people, and it attracted even the most hardened criminals. By the end of the show we were getting smiles and tears from some of the ones who had had the most closed countenances.

            We're so proud of Simon and Joseph, who though in bonds are truly free in the spirit. They shared testimonies of their disciple Mauricio who is totally changed, and though he has another 8 or 10 years in front of him, is just happy to be alive and be a Christian and have the Word to study with our boys. There are five men in their cell and they introduced us to their other partners who have the same testimony as well. Some of them looked a bit teary eyed about the thought of not being released before Christmas--yet theirs was a precious sample of not being too worried; they knew it was all in God's hands.

            It was a miracle that Ben and Maria were able to arrange this show. At Jason's Home the Lord had spoken to them in direct prophecy about this being a ripe time to do anything and everything we can to see them released--and we know that they would do the same for us. The warden and prison guards that helped us through, and searched and frisked us were all amazed afterwards that our brethren were being detained if they were any part of a ministry like we portrayed in our program. The director awarded us a certificate of honor after the presentation.

          The whole situation is so ironic--on the one hand they're applauding our mission and on the other, imprisoning the missionaries who're a part of it. But we are not strangers to this and in the morning we read from “Endure Hardness,” these quotes came so alive to us: As a group we may be some of the first Christians to suffer in this new wave of tribulation and persecution because we are standing up for the truth and exposing the Devil's plan (“Endure Hardness” par. 30). Mama goes on to say, How much better it is to be in the forefront and learn to fight by many battles and to gain increasing strength for each confrontation with the enemy. Learning how to war, how to use the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith and being led step by step learning to become seasoned veteran soldiers who do not fear the enemy but who thrill to the battle.

            We would have to say that these dear boys, though they do not feel like it themselves--we can see that they really are fulfilling this. They are a tremendous sample to all of us. We hope these pictures will show you that even behind prison walls, all is well with our dear boys … until the day of their release. And please pray with us that this will come speedily.

            One of them, David, was pouring his heart out and when I asked him if there were any good coming of his stay here, he surprised me by saying, “I believe God in His mercy placed me here because it would be worse for me on the outside. I'd probably be a drug addict, on the streets and even killing people … so I know God put me here.” And then there was Joel, who to the same question said, “I came here when I was 19 years old and I didn't value what I had, my family, my health--I didn't value anything. I know that if I ever get out I will value and be thankful for every little thing.”

            On crutches, Jorge, who is a born-again Christian and his countenance proved it--couldn't stop talking about the Lord and was bubbling over with the Spirit. He said, “The Lord has put me in the most ripe mission field. I was saved in 1997 by that a pastor who came through and spoke one day, and my life has not been the same since. I have heard about los dos americanos [the two Americans] for Jesus, but as they are in a different section, I have been unable to meet them--it is an honor to finally meet them. We are in prison but we are rich in faith.” As you can see this is an experience that none of us will ever forget.

            Oh, and on behalf of Simon and Joseph--all of you who have sent prophecies, prayers and love notes to them--these have been the greatest encouragement. They shared with us that all these things truly made them know that the Family all over the world loves them, would die for them, and would do the same for you. Jeremy Spencer sent a biography of a woman who was saved in jail and afterwards became a missionary. ASCRO and the brothers in Thailand sent beautiful prophecies and letters of encouragement for them, as well as many other parts all over the world. Please know that all your contributions have had a big part in helping them remain strong through a very difficult situation--thank you so much!

          And please remember to keep dear Ben and Maria and Claire in your prayers, who have been laboring without surcease at the forefront of the battle to release our brethren. We know there will be a day of rejoicing soon for all of us when they are released. And at least while we are waiting on the Lord for that, we were able to go and have our party on the inside--it was truly a Jailhouse Rock!

            DAN: I was supposed to be the video man at the prison show. We thought we had permission to be in there with the video and we did right up until the last second came, but the director changed the order (no video cameras were allowed, but they did let us take in one 35 mm camera). But the prison guards were so impressed with the show and were falling all over us with thankfulness afterwards, that I thought perhaps if they had a real vision of what was going to happen, they might have let us film anyway, even though it was against their rules.

            This was the most emotional show that I have ever seen the Family do as far as my feelings … and I know also for Simon and Joseph's feelings which were so evident--they were so choked up as we were leaving that they couldn't even talk. It was a beautiful show and a perfect mixture of message, music and comedy, and the prisoners really liked it.

            ALEX: One of the most moving experiences for me was feeling the gratitude of the men inside the prison. It was an unforgettable event and made me think about the beautiful Family we have and the incredible courage of our brethren--and how God's love and courage is transmitted during the most trying times!

          I also had the opportunity to speak with other prisoners and they spoke of how Simon and Joseph had shown such patience and have been good samples of what one should be like in prison. Seeing them was an experience that has changed my life. My concept of the Family in general is something that … well, my perspective has changed. I also had a feeling of impotence when leaving the prison--it was a feeling of anguish at having to leave Simon and Joseph there. I mentioned to the others that I would have liked to have stayed until we could all leave together. But thank God, I'm glad to see that our brothers are taking things so well, and that they're being such a sample in there. They looked happy--thank God for the Family.

            JASON: Our visit with Simon and Joseph in prison was a very special thing for everyone on the team. They were so appreciative--they really made you count your blessings! We realized what a blessing we have to be able to fellowship with each other every single day. They were so thankful that the Lord made it possible for everybody to come.

            It was beautiful to see how they'd been faithfully witnessing and plodding along there in the prison, because all of a sudden those that they'd been interacting with realized they're part of a much more powerful force and it really encouraged them. Simon and Joseph were able to come right into the area where we were setting up and be with us about probably four hours during our set up time and right until we left. Actually we kind of surprised even some of the administrative people that were leading us around when they realized toward the end that Simon and Joseph were actually part of our group; they were somewhat stunned, wondering how they'd gotten in there. We were able to use this opportunity to witness to them. Ben and Maria were able to explain the whole situation of how they were doing a missionary work here and had gotten accused with begging charges and they were actually put back there with hardened criminals, murders, etc.

            It was a beautiful thing to me how the Lord has given Simon and Joseph supernatural grace to be there--the Lord is helping me to realize that it's where He wants them for a time. It's not a mistake, and they're making the best of it. It's the kind of a witnessing opportunity which they wouldn't have chosen themselves, but the Lord put them in this situation and they're being witnesses and a testimony in spite of everything. This was a little taste of what many of us are probably going to experience more and more in future days ahead with persecution. It's not going to be an uncommon thing for us to have to learn to live under persecution situations or in prison, and actually turn around and make it a witness for the Lord's glory.

            Later, it was a bit of a shock when we had to walk out of the prison and leave them there--we all wanted to take them with us. It was a beautiful setup the way the Lord got our whole team of 15 in there, of us and we got to spend a good part of the day with Simon and Joseph. It was a visitors' day, so a lot of the inmates had their families and children visiting. The visiting areas are right alongside where we performed and they all could watch and it was a meaty testimony to all the families of the prisoners. I'm so thankful to have been a part.

          Please continue to pray for dear Simon and Joseph, that the Lord will speedily release them from their bonds.

            JONI: I felt very honored to be on this mission to encourage our brethren in jail, our precious men that are really our soldiers that we look up to--and also our ministry to encourage the inmates there. I was very impressed at how much faith Simon and Joseph seem to have, how much peace they have. It was on their faces and in the way the spoke. It was beautiful and convicting to see how positive they were in their situation. I thought it was sweet how the inmates that came to our show really soaked up every word that was sung and spoken--also the humility that they received it all, seeing that it wasn't the greatest of shows in the physical or technically, but it obviously had the Lord's Spirit. Everyone there was very touched and acted as though it was the best show they had ever seen.

          After talking with some of the prisoners I couldn't help but feel that the Lord had almost specifically put Simon and Joseph there to reach out to some of these who seemed so humbled by their experiences--so open and ready to receive anything that was of spiritual value. I see it almost as though the Lord placed a special blessing on Simon and Joseph to minister to these wonderful precious people there. God bless them!

            CEPHAS: (Note: Cephas dressed as a clown and his funny skits kept everyone laughing!) It was quite inspiring seeing the inmates' reaction, because whether we sang or did skits, it all seemed very special to them--they took everything in with great joy. They were like hungry sheep taking in every little word and action--every gesture we made they embraced from the heart.

            Joseph and Simon looked good. They were inspired and very appreciative that we could be there with them having a good time. They didn't conceal their pride at letting the people there know that they were part of our group. Their countenance reflected joy and a positive attitude about their situation. They did at the end show a bit of anguish, simply because they desired not only to be there at the program, but they wanted to come home with us. Well, we know that God has called them to something special here, a ministry where surely they are going to win many to Jesus.

            I also had the opportunity to meet Andres, one of the prisoners, and he told how he'd been in for 10 years and that his father had died. He said he was trusting that God had a plan in all that had happened to him and that he was truly grateful about the program we put on--that it was like a healing balm. Everything we did in the program, every word said was about love and reflected things simply--we didn't make things complicated nor did we talk of a far-off God somewhere in space. I think he felt we didn't put the doorknob too high for them.

          Even though he loved the songs and the message of love, he did at the end express a bit of sadness knowing that in a little while we would be leaving them, and he would be returning to his regular routine in prison, which not only consisted of eating, working and sleeping, but it was the thought of the cold reality of prison life that he was faced with. He spoke soberly of various incidents he'd had in his ten years in prison where they'd tried to kill him and beat him--until he couldn't take it anymore. This, he said, is the cruel reality of life in prison--where you can make enemies just with a wrong look. Later his wife and seven-year-old son walked up and he asked if I could make a balloon for the boy. I made him a special animal figure. With tears in his eyes he thanked me profoundly--and asked that we keep him in our prayers and to ask God for his freedom from this place.

            VAS: A few days before the show for the prisoners, my concern was that I could have a broken heart and an outgoing compassion for the inmates as well as Joseph and Simon. When actually going into the prison it wasn't that hard to have a broken heart, and I was very thankful that the Lord's Spirit fell upon us as we performed. The compassion we felt in our hearts was able to break through in the songs, showing we loved them. I'm thankful that the Lord's Spirit was there for them--it's all His miracle!

            Ben: Thankfully we've been able to visit regularly with Simon and Joseph. I think that one of the Family's concerns as well as mine, aside from hoping to see them free, has been their well-being and safety while in prison. But it truly has been a blessing to see how the Lord has raised up friends there that have actually taken it as a personal obligation to look out for our brothers' safety. Just last week Simon was telling me about an incident he'd had in the chow line where one of the inmates behind him started bothering him, and the second time this fellow tried something, Simon's friend who was there stopped this antagonistic person in such a way that he didn't bother him any more. So although they've had some close calls--not a hair of their head has been touched. The Lord will protect his own! TYJ!

From Joseph, after the show

          It was so wonderful seeing you here last week. It was truly inspiring to see your smile, as well as those of our other brothers and sisters.

          The day was so special. I felt the love radiating from all of you. Jesus was shining through all of you. Everything about the day was a highlight: Teary hugs to begin the morning; conversations about the Lord's provision and protection and promises mixed with a need for patience (the 4 P's! Ha!); a tremendous show before a captive and captivated audience; a beautiful peace in the midst of the storm that brought tears to my eyes; more hugs and photographs in the end. GBY!

          Jesus really shone through all of you! Thank you for your prayers and love; they give us the strength for each day and enable us “to count it all joy” to be in the center of the Lord's will, here in prison. The encouragement we got from fellowshipping with you all will last forever!

          Since the show, we have already distributed more than 400 posters, witnessed to at least 40 new people and prayed with more, TYJ!

          Thank you, also for the box of prophecy kisses; I've began my day with one and end my day with one. GBY! ILY! Thanks also, for the sweatshirt. They have come in handy with this new cold spell.

          You're always in our prayers. Thanks so much for all you have done, and for your prayers.

            I love you,

          Joe

            Mama prays: Dear sweet Jesus, Thank You for those beautiful, beautiful testimonies of the show in prison, and also Heidi's on behalf of her father, Simon, and Joseph in prison.

            Jesus, please do use these heartfelt testimonies words and testimonies to help our Family to fervently pray each day, so we can release Your power to work in this situation and to deliver our brethren from their captivity. Please help dear Joseph and Simon to continue strong and faithful for You. Continue to protect them from their enemies. Continue to protect them from all harm. Thank You for being such a wonderful Husband, and being right there every moment with them, while they labor for You to fulfill the commission that You've given them. Thank You for the wonderful work they're doing. Even though we desperately want them out of prison, and they want to be out of prison, and even You want to stop their suffering, You've had to allow them to remain a while longer in order to rescue those dear men from the clutches of sin and guilt, unhappiness and turmoil.

            Thank You, Jesus, for the wonderful work You're accomplishing there because of their yieldedness and their love for You, and because of the prayers of our Family. But do the work quickly, Lord, so they can be released speedily. Thank You in advance, precious Husband. We love You so much, and know that they won't be there one moment longer than they need to be. You do all things well, and all things do work together for good to them that love You.

My thoughts on this Thanksgiving [see pictures on MO site]

By Heidi, on behalf of Simon's kids

          I'm going to write something about my dad. I know it's not Father's Day, and no, I'm not just in a sentimental mood. It's because at this point in my life, on Thanksgiving Day, year 2000, I'm not thinking, “I wonder what Dad's going to be doing this Thanksgiving dinner?” This year I'm praying, “Dear Jesus, I ask you to please make Dad comfortable tonight, protect him and Jo from anyone who would do them harm. Keep them from sickness, and get them out of that damned prison!--Sooner the better, Lord!”

            Yep, you got it; I'm going to write about the two dear people who are spending this Thanksgiving in a Mexican prison. The purpose of this is to beg you to please keep them in your hearts and prayers, as they are in mine.

          I'm going to write a little about my dad, just to bring it closer to home for you, so you won't just be praying for “those two brothers you heard about in the Grapevine.” I don't know Jo nearly as well as my dad (of course), but I'll add a little bit about him as well.

            In March 1982, a little girl, 20 months old, was run over by a truck in a campground in Queretaro, Mexico. Her pelvis was smashed, some of her ribs broken; she now had a huge hernia on her abdomen, and the doctors didn't expect her to live. That little girl was me. Of course it was hard on both my parents, but from what I hear, my dad was the first to break down and cry. Anyway, it was because of the faith and prayers of my parents that I am alive and well today. I thank them for that!

          I have always been close to my dad. I can't remember a time when I didn't go out on road trips with him. He taught me the love of winning souls. He made everything fun! I remember a time when living with a certain family, whose daughters thought they were all that mattered because they were on the singing team. (I'm sure we've all met a few of those in our lives!) I was about six, and when I told my dad about my little trials, he told me that the next time they started up, I should look them in the eye and say, “You can be a stuck-up snob, but I still love you!” It sounds a little corny now (no offense, Dad) but, oh, the memory of the look on their face at being called a snob; it made it worth it all! Ha. And of course he instilled the lesson in me of “loving your enemies.” I can remember a trip I went on with him when I was seven, and I later found out that he was going through huge trials at the time, but all I remember of the trip is Dad singing, “Praise is the victory” over and over.

            My dad is a simple guy, nothing flashy. But to me he is a saint. He is an example to me of living for Jesus just because you love Him. Of taking life a day at a time, and making the best of it. As anyone (young and old) who knows him can testify, he's just an all around nice guy to be with! He makes four-hour Home Council meetings something to look forward to! He's always gotten right in there at get out and played with the rest of us. All the while trying as hard as he could to teach a bawling girl that it doesn't matter if you win or lose. Ahem. Dad used to be my reason for getting up in the morning and getting to devotions on time, or close to it. I can see him now, coffee in one hand, the hair on his head sticking out in all directions, half asleep himself, but he made reading the Word a fun thing. I don't know if all the stories he would tell bothered anyone, but I know that if you're anywhere between the age of 4-18, you really appreciate someone bringing the Word alive to you in that way.

          Of course at the age of 14 and 15, I went through the stage of thinking that Dad was from another planet and didn't understand me the slightest bit. But after moving away from home, and living with other people, I realized that parents will always love you through thick and thin, no matter what you do!

            When I was 16, and my hormones were thoroughly screwed, I did something that landed my dear self in the hospital. In-between falling in and out of consciousness, I remember my dad, not condemning me or preaching, but telling me how much he loved me, and reading to me. All I felt coming from him was love and concern!

          Two years ago when I first found out that I was pregnant, I was scared as hell; there were all kinds of thoughts and emotions swimming around my head, most of which weren't happy thoughts. I remember my dad looking in my eyes and saying “Oh, Heidi, you'll see, this is going to be the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to you!” And what do you know, now I do consider Brendon (1½ years old) to be the best thing I ever did.

            Earlier this year, David (my husband) and I went through the hardest time in our life. Our baby girl went back to Heaven after living 11 hours. Although I know that I could never have gotten through this without Jesus, and David, I will be eternally grateful for the role my dad played in helping me hold it together. Dad stayed with David and Audrey the whole time (they had transferred her to a different hospital). When the doctors first told them that she had died, my dad was crying, and an old man walked up to him, handed him a piece of tissue, and said “Don't cry, everything is OK.” Dad believed him to be an angel, and brought me the tissue when they had to come tell me the news.

            It was amazing to me how my dad behaved in the coming days, he would come to our room, laugh, tell funny stories. He would make me feel so at peace. Everyone in our Home was just wonderful! I know a lot of people have a hard time knowing what to say to you at a time like that and just end up making you and themselves feel uncomfortable. But Dad (Mom and Phoebe too, for that matter) was so cheerful, and did everything he could to keep our minds occupied. Dad took care of the legal stuff and getting the funeral organized, so we wouldn't have to, though I know it must have been hard on him too. Thank you, Dad. Thank you everyone that was involved!

            At one point, when I was so tired, and unwisely went to my room alone, I let all the anger build up and ended up throwing things and tearing my room apart, Ahem, sorry. I curled up in the corner and went to sleep. When I woke up, the room was cleaned up thanks to my sister Marieanne, her husband Mike and my brother-in-law, Jamie. Dad came in, sat on the bed and started talking and reading to me, never once mentioning anything I had just done. Telling me how proud he was of me, how much the Lord loves me, etc. Once again, not condemning me or preaching. Knowing I probably didn't want to talk about it either. He really couldn't have handled it better, in my opinion.

          The last time I saw Dad before he was taken to prison, he was so cheerful, going about his business of getting the house prepared for anything. He seemed so at peace. I gave him a verse card that I had found while packing and said a tearful goodbye.

            I was able to visit the guys in prison once. To be frank with you, the place gave me the shivers. I must've glared at every guard in there. When we got to Dad, Jo and Victor (who was still in there at the time), they were so cheerful about everything, saying how the food really wasn't that bad, talking about the nice people they had witnessed to, I started to feel bad about the way I was thinking before. Here they were, actually the ones having to go through the whole ordeal, and they were taking it better then I was.

          I was talking to Victor, asking him if he needed anything, saying that we could get it for him, and he said something like, “Oh no, really, It's not like I'm sacrificing all that much!” Wow, Vic! God bless you guys, I would've been crying my eyes out about the horrible living conditions, the dirty plates, the beans and rice, the scary looking men that surrounded me, just about everything. Those guys in prison really are our frontline solders, and the least we can do is pray for them!

            As for Jo, he was a sample of willingness and humility to me. He was always doing something, washing dishes, cooking, sweeping, etc. The guy would wake up at four in the morning so he could read the Word! He was a living example to me of treasuring what we have in the Word, that I, as a young person growing up with it, fail to remember from time to time. I know that at times he got frustrated with us young people. Poor guy, he was probably thinking, “What is it with these guys, they've grown up with the Word, they of all people should know how great it is, and yet I hardly ever see them reading it!” Ha.

            Well, I suppose I've rattled on enough. I just want you all to know how great these two are! My dad has fathered 12 kids, and we all love him so much! There are eight of them just waiting for him right now to come back; they need their dad! And the rest of us will be able to sleep at night knowing that he has a pillow under his head again. Please pray that they can be out for Christmas! Thank you all very much for listening to my story. There are countless people who have been giving their time to this case, I could never tell you how much I appreciate it! Thank you!

          I'd like to add about Mercy (who recently passed away), she was an angel here on Earth, as much as she is now. She stuck around and helped with my little brothers and sisters. To her kids: thank you! (Jason, I love you! You are in my prayers every day!)

--Love Heidi (or should I say, Simon's kids)

brotherhood

Kids' fellowship in Hungary

By Joy (of Ben), Hungary

          After the Lord reminded us of the need for our kids (especially those in smaller, single-family Homes) to have more fellowship times with other Family kids, we organized a kids' fellowship for all the Hungarian Homes.

            It was simple and pretty easy to plan and yet turned out to be quite a blast. We ended up with over 20 kids (YC up), and spent a Saturday afternoon together. Since we held this fellowship in November, just before Christmas push begins, the Lord led us to make the theme of our fellowship “Christmas Preparations,” and get the kids in gear for their part in our Christmas outreach.

          We had inspiration and a time for each of the kids to get up and present a little something to all. This could be a song, poem, verse, project they were working on, some of their art, or just anything that they were gifted in. They all did so well in their presentations, and even those who had not prepared something beforehand began to get “in the groove” after seeing the others get up, so they asked to be able to get up as well and presented an impromptu song or memory verse.

          We then gave out song sheets and the kids worked on learning a Christmas song in the local language, followed by Christmas arts and crafts set up at various tables in our dining room. The kids could choose which table they wanted to work at, or spend a little time at each. They turned out some beautiful cards and lots of far-out looking Christmas cookies that they could take home with them. In the end our sweet kids turned into lions, tigers, princesses and more, as we had dear Faithy doing face painting on the side as well.

          This fellowship was tons of fun for the kids and us parents as well, and besides a bit of extra clean up after the “hurricane had passed,” it wasn't much work to pull off.

          TTL for our dear parents who stuck around with their kids and helped them participate in the activities as this really helped to keep things flowing smoothly.

          We hope to set up a team that can help to coordinate and plan kids' fellowships on a regular basis as we've already received lots of ideas for our next one.

happenings

[Was it a mistake?]

Leila, Contato, Brazil: We got a phone call from some guy in the interior of a remote state of Brazil. As you know, ours is a huge country and this potential buyer was calling from “the boonies.” He was interested in wholesale, and asked us for our price for 70 videos--5 collections of Treasure Attic. We gave him our price and he decided to buy them. We were really happy and inspired with the sale and packed up his order immediately after we confirmed the deposit.

            Probably still under the effect of such an exciting sale, we packed 7 collections of Treasure Attic--that means 98 videos instead of the 70 of the original order. We didn't realize this until they got sent. Well, there wasn't much we could do, besides pray that our customer would be honest.

          He received the package, decided to keep the two extra collections, and we ended up making a bigger sale than the original order. TTL! Was it a mistake?

[Making the “Era of Action” change]

            CRO, South America: It helped me to read the Action Series that discussed the upcoming changes in our leadership structure. It helped me to change my focus on this [visitation] trip--away from table tending, and rather seeking more desperately for long-term solutions for the problems the field/Homes/individual members face--so that they can bear much greater fruit and enter into the exciting promises of the Era of Action. Most of our meetings centered on defining the vision and issuing the challenge, plus looking at practical steps of how their Homes could change to incorporate more personal witnessing and follow-up.

            For example, one Home was hardly sending any teams out, had no sheep, the young people were bored and without vision, very few souls were won each month and the Home was in debt. After giving the challenge, they are now winning an average of 600 souls per month and in 16 days paid off their debts, through a weekend ballooning ministry (giving out hundreds of tracts with the balloons). The young people have started personal witnessing in the universities and are looking for a place to hold meetings. They had their first Bible class with four hungry young people, have sheep coming to the house and one who is asking how to drop out. It didn't require a major amount of time, simply obedience to the vision and a willingness to try--but it's a night-and-day difference in the spirit of excitement you feel in the Home and seeing the young people bubble over with testimonies.

[Teacher Training Courses]

            Islamabad Home, Pakistan: Shell Exploration (company) sponsored $2,800 for another 20 days of teacher training for schools in the rural areas.

We did 20 days of “Teacher Training Courses” in Tarlai, Bhara Kahu (villages surrounding Islamabad) and Rawalpindi. The beneficiaries were:

            *56 teachers

            *29 schools

            *12 Master Trainers of ABES, a local NGO

            *Countless children these people will affect now and in the future.

            (Editor's note: See “Teachers Training Courses” article on the MO site for more details of the course. Read how the eager teachers refused to postpone the course despite no electricity in soaring temperatures, and the teachers' enthusiastic reactions to the course. Also read the tangible benefits the Islamabad Home has received as a result of diligently submitting reports to their sponsors.)

 [Check with the meteorologist]

            DJ (of Davida), Fareast of Siberia: Hearing from the Lord on even small matters can save us from so much unnecessary trouble. The other day I was thinking to go get the drinking water from the spring that is on the other side of town. But I had so many other things to do and was a bit tired to walk so far, plus we still had 5 liters left, enough to last till the next day. So I was planning to go the next day. But then I decided to ask the Lord. He simply told me that I'd better go today, as “tomorrow the weather might change and it will be hard to get the water.” Simple as that. I obeyed and went.

          The next day when I woke up, I looked out the window and guess what?--A big snow blizzard was in motion! It would definitely have been hard to walk for water in this kind of weather. Praise the Lord for His all-knowing gift of prophecy!

 [India project is rolling]

            Broad Island Home, Japan: As the result of a recent TV program [featuring us], we received many phone calls and help offers from sheepy viewers. The Lord supplied tons of used and brand new clothes, stationery supplies and toys. Most were very willing to give us donations as well to cover the shipping cost. The total donations from people who saw us on TV or read about us in the newspaper came up to about 400,000 yen. TTL!

           After the August 22^nd TV broadcast about our India project, our reporter friend, Mrs. H, was very anxious to find out the results of the broadcast. She was thrilled after hearing about all that happened. She took the film and went to the meeting in Tokyo where many TV directors and reporters get together and discuss future programs. Hiroshima TV is an affiliate of Nippon TV, and in the meeting, the attendees were very excited about our program and decided by majority vote that they will give the full budget to send the film crew to India with us to film our CTP attempt. The main reason why they chose us is because we are going with our big family and young people.

          Many young people in Japan are visionless and goal-less, and there is a growing problem with youth crime. Nippon TV wants to film our struggling attempt to go to India with the vision and goal of sharing the wealth from Japan, so to speak. All that to say, our sweet reporter friend, Mrs. H. and a cameraman will be traveling and living with us for a month in India!

          They want to make a 30-60 minute documentary which will be aired on nationwide TV sometime before the new year. So far they have filmed us doing our wedding ministry, packing all the shipping items, shipping a container, home-schooling, associating with our friends, etc., which will be all part of this long documentary.

          The Lord told us to lead Mrs. H. to salvation, so we witnessed to her when she came for the filming, and she willingly accepted Jesus as her Savior. Please keep us in your prayers, as we can't do this with our own carnal minds! It's beyond our imagination!

          (Update, September 26:) They aired a very favorable nationwide TV program on us this morning, and another program in Hiroshima area in the evening!

How's your Activated progress?

Activated subscriptions--right up front

By Crystal (of Peter), USA

            The thing that I found to be the most fruitful as far as seeing a breakthrough in getting Activated subscriptions was to not just “keep it in mind” throughout my regular witnessing, but making it the priority and offering it to everybody! A lot depends on how many people you ask. One of my main methods of outreach has been postering in parking lots. At first I changed over from offering posters to people to offering the Activated magazine for “any voluntary donation.” That was a blessing as I felt people were getting fed a lot more, plus they had the opportunity to subscribe if they were really looking for more feeding (I always inserted a subscription card into the magazine). But I was getting a little tired of the slow progress I was making in getting people to actually subscribe.

            One day I was praying desperately and asking the Lord to make a way and that's when I got this idea to put the subscriptions up front. I mean it takes me just as much time to offer a poster for any voluntary donation as it takes me to offer a subscription for $15. Of course there was the dilemma that, when I go out witnessing, there is the fundraising factor to be considered, because of course, the bills still need to be paid and you expect to bring in enough money to cover those. So when they don't want the subscription, I offer them the first issue for a voluntary donation, whatever they can afford. And believe it or not, after having been asked for $15, $5 sounds like very little to people and you often end up getting pretty good donations.

            Also, I actually don't ask for a fixed price of $15.00 for the subscription itself, but rather tell them it is a “suggested donation of 15 to 25 dollars.” Surprisingly, most people who pay up front will actually give at least 20 dollars. Whatever extra they give can go to the Home, which is a little boost to the Home's income.

            The first few times I went out like that, the Lord did some really encouraging things as far as the subscriptions were concerned. I had set a goal of 10 subscriptions each day and even though I didn't completely reach that goal each time, it did work out to that on an average. The fundraising side of things went a little slow at first though. But the neat thing about it is that you just know that you're doing the right thing and it gives you that extra faith that the Lord is not going to let you down. And sure enough, the first three days I put the subscriptions up front like this, I had someone give me a $100 donation each day. (Those that do a lot of parking lot witnessing know that that is a very rare occurrence. In fact in my three years of being here in the States, the biggest donation I've ever received before this in a parking lot was $20.)

          I've been going out like this quite a few times and I'm finding that I'm getting a bit more of a feel for who is a possible candidate for a subscription and who isn't, so rather than offering it to everybody, I might just offer a magazine or even a poster to some folks, but still mostly subscriptions.

Who Is Your King?

Jon SGA, Bangalore Service Home, India

            Something that the Lord led us to do was presenting our close friends and sheep with the vision of helping us reach our goals with the Activated  subscriptions. So at our youth meeting and Church of Love we gave them the address forms and encouraged them to get them filled out before our next meeting. Some of them succeeded in getting quite a few out. It's exciting because they feel needed and a part of it.

          It's pretty neat to hear the ways they present Activated to others. I remember one of our friends (a.k.a Sam), after getting a copy of “My King and I” would go up to people and ask them “Who is your king?” He then proceeded to tell them about how his King is Jesus and they could read all about it in the Activated mags!

JETTs have an Activated goal

Philip, 13, Bangalore Service Home, India

            One day while out, it was a real battle. No one was in or something, so we asked the Lord and He showed us to go see someone who used to pledge. On the way there, we passed a company that had taken some tools before and the Lord showed us to see them. The boss was not in so we started talking to the guy at the reception and he took Activated!

            We also had a JETT camp recently and the Lord showed us to set a goal to reach before the end of Christmas season, which is 10-15 Activated  subscriptions each!

Evening Activated Adventures

Chelle SGA, Bangalore Service Home, India

            It was late in the month and we were very behind on our Activated subscription goal. The alarm was raised and we got desperate! Those of us who were looking after the youth in our outreach prayed about a plan of action and the Lord showed us to take our sheep out one-on-one to get out the subscriptions. He showed us specifically which sheep to go with.

            I was drafted to be a team leader with 19-year-old Diane, and to put it bluntly, I was plain scared. I had never taken a sheep out witnessing in India before, all by myself, so desperation was really setting in. With shaking hands I called Diane and made an appointment to go out in the evening. I figured she knew the hot spots in town, so I quizzed her as to where the hangouts were and who should be our targets for the evening. With true street sense, she suggested we meet at the famous coffee/cyber joint where she said young folks would be able to afford the subscriptions.

            David (YA) and I met up with her after a day of outreach. The plan was for David to stick around in case we needed the support of a male (truly necessary) and for Diane and I to blitz the place. Right there on the street all three of us stopped for a desperate yet discreet word of prayer before heading off. Diane suggested a goal of five subscriptions for the evening. Our first destination was the cyber café where we met some of our good friends and were able to follow up on them. After surveying the scene further the Lord showed us that the folks in the café were not the sheep that He wanted us to meet, and He showed us to hit the streets.

            So we headed off and soon wound up in one of the mini-malls here. We had an on-the-go class of how to spot' em. You know, like to ask the Lord for a check of who the sheep were. Diane was targeting this foreign businessman who she felt sure was “totally Activated,” but he was proving a bit hard to catch as he was leaving in the opposite direction. So we stepped into a shop and the Lord showed me to offer Activated to the shopkeeper. While I was giving him the spiel, Diane bumped into a foreigner, who just happened to waltz into the same shop and introduced himself as Chris, a businessman here. On the spot both Chris and the shopkeeper got Activated. Wow! Were we jazzed.

            Praising the Lord all the way, we soon ran into another friend who was having some eats in the food court with a friend. After a good witness where Diane was able to share about her involvement with us, over a glass of juice, the friend also got Activated! By this time David back at the café had run into one of our friends, Priya, who we had not seen for a long time. They had a great class and some deep feeding time and she was able to catch up on the youth meetings she had missed. We came back to the café where they were and confessed the need for a little “show of strength” as it was getting late and some guys on the street were getting the wrong idea. When Priya heard what we were doing, she wanted to try getting folks Activated for herself. So all four of us went to another shopping complex, where Priya and David got out another Activated right away. Our last stop for the evening was the café again, where a young girl took an Activated for her mom.

            With a total of six fresh subscriptions we had reached over our goal for the evening. Whatta' miracle! Diane and Priya were amazed at how easy the Lord made it for us to get subscriptions from people we had never even met before! The next morning I called Diane to touch base and she had another two subscriptions waiting to be picked up! She went out again that afternoon with David and got another three subscriptions!

          Thank the Lord for giving us the vision of teaching others to teach others! As our sheep are getting Activated out, they are not only doubling our witnessing efforts, but they are becoming more and more turned on!

Letter to Shilpa from Jesus

Crystal (of Daniel), Rose Garden Home, India

            I have been witnessing to a 16-year-old girl who is going to college and also working very hard to get accepted in medical school. Her father is a doctor and very much wants her to become a doctor. She is from an orthodox Hindu family and has a lot of questions about God and religion. As I slowly led her to the answers by showing God's Word, she became closer to the Lord. One day during our regular walks together (I was pregnant at the time), she received Jesus into her heart. I gave her a lot of lit which was a good feeding for her soul.

            Then we had to move out of that area and I lost touch with her. Her parents kept close tabs on her so she was not able to visit us. Then the Activated program came and when I called her she said she would subscribe right away from her pocket money, without her parents' knowledge. Recently her friend gave her a Bible and she started reading it. Her mother found out about it and made her promise not to read it any more until she got accepted at the med school. This made her extremely sad as she was getting quite close to the Lord by reading and understanding the Word as well as our phone calls. She started getting under condemnation about this promise she had made and felt the Lord would never forgive her. One day she poured out her heart to the Lord in the classroom while the class was going on. Following is a letter she wrote me:

            I had the most wonderful experience of a lifetime. As you know my mother took a promise from me not to read God's Word, the Bible. I promised for a limited time, but soon began to feel more insecure than ever in my life because for the first time I had loved someone so dearly and suddenly I felt that due to my promise the Lord would never want to look at me or talk to me.

            So one day in class I cried very badly and while the class was going on I could not hear it. So I finally wrote a letter to the Lord asking forgiveness and asking pardon and wanted to know whether He would ever love me again. I wrote that I wished I could hug Him and hold Him for a long time and would never let him go. That was the last line of my letter after finishing the ending with “Amen.”

            I felt very light in my heart and was actually overjoyed at something. I didn't understand. Two days later the surprise and turning point in my life came when I opened my mail box and saw the second issue of Activated! I was happy to have finally received it, but I can't express the incredible feeling I had when I opened the envelope and looked inside to see the back of the magazine. There was the most beautiful letter anyone could have ever received, “A letter from the Lord.” It started saying “I long to hold you close, here on My gentle breast. … and here I patiently wait--for you!”

          I was so happy that I had accepted Someone who would be dear to My heart more than I ever dreamed of. I wrote you this letter because I want you to know and I want others to know of this experience I had. I hope that I've expressed myself well enough for you to understand the most beautiful and undoubtedly the most incredible experience of mine, talking with the Lord and he answering my letter. Yours sincerely, Shilpa

Giving Activated to a Muslim

Angie, 14, Bangalore Service Home, India

            A few of the teen boys and others in our Home were going to a basketball court and there was a soccer team that was having practice. The players were from the Middle East and half of them could barely speak English. The coach of the team (27) was very sweet and let our boys play with them. The boys told him about our work and what we do and he thought it was very nice.

            I wanted to give him an Activated mag, but I didn't know how to present it to him, because he was a Muslim. I prayed about it with someone and got how to go about it. So I gave him the mag and he said that he would look over it. After that I didn't see him for quite a while so during that time I prayed for him that he would like it and want to take it.

          Some time later I got to meet him again and he said that he really liked the mag and asked me to sign him up, but he didn't pay for it. So the next day Mamta and I went for a walk and we decided to meet him. We prayed that it would be easy for him to take it about the money because I was hesitating to ask him about it. In the end he was very sweet and offered to go to his house and get it right then. Later he gave us a mobile phone, God bless him. It pays to pray for people.

A Hard Nut Loves Activated

Abi and Jonathan, Bangalore Service Home, India

            One of our close friends who's already Activated said that her husband is really turned on about the mag and that he was eager to meet us. When we met him, some of his first words were, “I am a hard nut to crack. I went through multitudes of magazines and books and still was not satisfied, but this Activated magazine is just what I was looking for. It's simple but to the point.”

            We told him that he can subscribe his friends to Activated too. He really liked the idea and will try to find some ways to get Activated to a larger number of people.

mama's mailbox

Dear Mama,

                I'm just so thankful for the changes the Family has been through. I'll start with the “Loving Jesus Revelation.” I've been in the Family since '75 and married since '78, right after the RNR. We have nine beautiful children who are all in the Family at the present, for which I'm very thankful. In our marriage we've had ups and downs, often more downs than ups, and familiarity often got the best of us, or, should I say, brought out the worst in us. But the “Loving Jesus Revolution” (Was it revolution or revelation? Ha!) changed that!

                When it came out, we started loving Jesus together when we were making love, and the Lord slowly proceeded to renew our marriage. It wasn't a sudden change, but when we looked back after a year, at our first anniversary of Loving Jesus, we realized how the Lord had been blessing us and renewing our love for each other, with familiarity fading out and being replaced with a growing respect for each other 's qualities and anointing.

          It's been wonderful, Mama. It's truly been a turning point for good in our marriage, for which I 'm very thankful, not only for our sake, but also knowing how we affect our children and those around us. We still do have our ups and downs, but we definitely have lots more ups than downs and the downs are more padded. TYJ! He's wonderful!

--female FGA

entertainment

Movies Rated for YAs and Up

A MAP OF THE WORLD (1999)

Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore

            A mother's reputation takes serious hits when a child dies in her care and she's accused of abusing another child. Emotionally intense drama, with worthwhile lessons and insight.

Movies Rated for Senior Teens and Up

THEORY OF FLIGHT (1998)

Kenneth Branagh, Helena Bonham Carter

            A dreamer who aspires to human flight is assigned public service after one of his flight attempts off a public building. This leads him to meeting a young woman who is dying of motor neuron disease, resulting in some interesting developments.

THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999)

Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton

            Drama based on the true story of 73-year-old Alvin Straight, who travels hundreds of miles on his tractor to visit his estranged brother who has had a stroke. Slow moving, but interesting and touching.

Movies Rated for Junior Teens and Up

SWING (1999)

Hugo Speer, Lisa Stansfield

          British comedy/drama about a misfit, newly released from prison, who aspires to start a swing band, after having learned to play the saxophone from his former cellmate. (“Swing” is a type of dance music based on jazz, popular in the 1930s and 40s, sometimes referred to as “the big band sound.”)

Movies Rated for JETTs and Up

THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE (2000)

Matt Damon, Will Smith, Charlize Theron

          Set against the backdrop of a golf tournament in 1930s, Georgia. A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddy, who teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke, along with the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life. (Note: This movie could possibly be shown to OCs too, if the parents feel it is appropriate.)

Movies Rated for OCs and Up

JESUS (1999)

Jeremy Sisto, Gary Oldman, Jacqueline Bisset

          Made-for-TV epic about Jesus' life, focusing on His teachings as well as His relationships with Mary, Joseph, His apostles, persecutors, and Heavenly Father.

reviews

A Map of the World

            (Jesus:) This movie is very deep with many thought-provoking topics. It's not an easy movie to watch as it's fairly realistic and emotional. Each would need to pray before going into it, as it deals with a child's death, child abuse, being unjustly accused, prison, bitterness and forgiveness--all topics that are very emotionally charged. It's a view of how so many worldly people handle these things, muddling through without My love, care and comfort. In some ways it's very heartbreaking seeing the injustice of the System and of man without My love and mercy. It's a sobering movie about the unguarded moment and the dangers of not heeding My counsel of “having no appearance of evil.”

          This movie could be helpful to inform our people about the mistakes made concerning child abuse charges, why they happen in certain situations, and what motives certain people have for making such accusations. It's good for them to see that it happens to people in the world as well as the Family, and it's not just because of your lifestyle or beliefs that you are sometimes charged with child abuse. This is a common problem in the world today and many suffer from false charges, as is portrayed in this movie.

Theory of Flight

          (Jesus:) This is a worthwhile movie. Like all movies made by the world, you have to choose the good and eschew the evil. But I applaud the sweetness, and the portrayal of genuine love, unselfish love, pure love. It will not be to everyone's liking, because for some, the portrayal of the girl who is so handicapped is uncomfortable and unpleasant. But the beauty of her spirit is apparent, and the lesson is obvious--that she just needed someone to look past her body, into her spirit. That's the case with so many who are handicapped in some way, or even the case with many who don't appear handicapped physically, but have odd characteristics.

            So many people in the world are so hungry for deep companionship, the fulfillment of love and understanding, but don't receive it because it is the nature of selfish man to look on the outward appearance, rather than getting to know the heart and loving it with My love. That's why you, My children, are so special, and find such a need and vacuum and hunger everywhere you go.--Because you've learned to love with My love, to look past the outward appearance and look for the good in each person. That's what makes you so valuable, so special, so outstanding.

The Straight Story

          (Dad:) This fellow undertook a superhuman task because of his love for his brother. Though some may find this movie slow and dull, others will find it inspiring, even thrilling, in the message that it portrays. Don't go into it expecting action and adventure, or even a lot of drama. Think of it as a slow portrayal of a man's attempt to do the impossible.

          In a way, it's like our Family. We set out as a handful of nobodies, with nothing, no backing, no credentials, no one who thought we could make it. It was an impossible task--and it still is! But we've done it! And we're doing it!

            This man's task and accomplishment is similar. He just did it slowly, one day at a time, one mile at a time, one obstacle at a time. Be prepared to just sit back and see the old man achieve this task, and don't expect fast action or scares or thrills. It's just a simple picture, a simple lesson, with fine acting. If you go into it that way, you'll enjoy it.

Swing

          (Jesus:)  This is a sweet life story/love story with a lot of good old-fashioned fun. It's a simple story about life and love, about getting a new start, about living and learning. Some of the characters in here are a bit odd, and certainly not role models in every way, but it's on the overall uplifting and inspiring.

The Legend of Bagger Vance

          (Dad speaking:) This movie has a message of overcoming in the midst of adversity. A message of believing--believing in yourself--but you as God's children, as God's bride, can apply the message of having faith to do anything--and you can, as you apply His promise to you in Philippians 4:13.

            The Lord has promised us that we will not be prosperous and popular in the ways of the world, but He has promised to do great things through us, if we yield our lives and give them totally to Him. Let this movie be an inspiration to you, that, “I can do anything through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

          There is also a good message of how if you try to do it in your own strength, you will fail. But if you allow the Lord to work through you, He will not fail.

Jesus

            (Jesus:) What a beautiful movie! I inspired this movie and I'm happy with the results. The message portrayed is very special.--It's not only showing about My life and message, but in particular it focuses on the aspect of My life on Earth that I've been trying to communicate with you, My Family, about in recent years. It shows My human side, My longings, My heart, My feelings. It shows how real the Enemy's temptation was. It shows how great the spiritual battles were. It shows how monumental the choice and sacrifice that I made was.

            It shows My personal love for My disciples, and My intimacy and friendship with them. It shows that I enjoyed Myself and liked to have fun. It shows I wasn't a stuffy, religious, holy man. It shows the freedom that I lived and showed and gave. It shows the freedom My disciples felt to talk to Me, to express anything they thought and felt.--Just like I want you to be with Me. It shows that I had a longing and need for love, and that I knew what it meant to love.

          Of course it wasn't perfect. Historically it was slightly flawed in parts. The portrayal of Pilate, the governor, and his role in My crucifixion, is the one aspect that was most doctrinally “off.” That was the one thing where the producers missed it. Nevertheless, the Gospel is preached. The message of My love--My love for all mankind and My love for each individual--comes through loud and clear. You in My Family know the truth from the Word about the history of My life and death. You know who it was that motivated the people to kill Me. You can impart this knowledge to your young ones when you watch this movie, if they don't know already. Yet that is a minor element, and on the overall this movie is very wholesome and worthwhile.

forum

[Video night problems?]

            Pandi, Brazil: For a while in our Home video night was a real trial, with people complaining if they didn't like the video chosen, or because they had already seen it, etc., besides spending a lot of time looking for a video, as we really were trying to please everybody! To make it short, video nights were not the enjoyable activity that it is supposed to be! To the contrary, it was not helping our unity at all!

          Someone new in our Home had the wonderful idea of making a list in alphabetical order of everyone in the Home--that way every week someone gets to choose the video of their liking, has time beforehand to make sure that it is on the list and also is in charge of getting it and returning it. We also made a little rule: no one is allowed to complain, even if it's not your preference, as we all have a turn! &&&

[Some sad stories]

            CRO, South America: This “Problem-Solving Steps” list in Action Series, Part 3 (GN 908, “The Family's Future and Expansion Program!”) is fantastic. I know it will be a tremendous blessing to all.

          One thing that happens quite often between the Homes and also between Home members, is that they base a lot of their conclusions on mere rumors. This causes them to get easily hurt or offended by things that they heard someone else said about them or about others regarding situations that involve them. Oftentimes the person never said those things about them or anyone else, but since they heard it “through the grapevine,” they believe it as fact. I often tell people that if they didn't hear it directly from the person themselves, then they should give that person the benefit of the doubt before getting bitter towards them for something they possibly never said. The best thing to do when you hear that someone has said something about you, is to pray and hear from the Lord and if He confirms to do this, communicate with that person and share your heart about your feelings and explain the hurt that their comment or story has caused you. Chances are there may have been a big misunderstanding and you will be happy to know the other side of the story.

            This also happens to us at times when we visit a Home or talk to someone. Later on you hear that the person told someone else that you said such-and-such about them or about their situation and people get very offended, when in reality you said something completely different.

            One example, fresh in my mind, which clearly portrays this scenario is that the other day we got a phone call from a Home explaining that there were major problems with disunity in their area. We lovingly asked them to please pray together and then take some time to write us about the situation, as it's best not to talk about these things over the phone. We explained that if they wrote it all down and sent it to us, we could take some time to pray and hear from the Lord for them, and get back to them with any counsel or direction that the Lord gave.

            We later heard from another Home there, that the person who we said this to, decided to call all the Homes in the city to tell them that we had asked the whole area to get down on their knees in prayer, and to write us immediately with their side of the story. They explained that the message which was passed on was that we were praying about what judgment to pass on them all for their unloving behavior. This caused a bit of fear in people, to say the least. (But notice that I said, “we heard” that this happened, because actually, since I didn't get to talk to that person yet who reportedly called the rest of the Homes with the above message, I also don't want to come to the conclusion that this is exactly what happened either. You see what I mean?)

            Sadly, things like this happen quite often, and I'm sure that it must be similar on the Home level. One thing that happens is that people oftentimes use others to say things that they themselves feel about a person, but don't have the guts to tell them themselves. It's fairly easy to unknowingly end up in the middle of a bitterness squabble or dispute without having said barely anything related to the tumultuous situation. Sometimes you can even be involved because you didn't say anything, therefore people take it to mean that you are in agreement and back their conclusions because you didn't specifically say that you don't disagree with their analysis of the problem.

            This happened to me recently when someone shared all his concerns and complaints with me about a certain person. I didn't take sides, but neither did I specifically say that his conclusions about this person were incorrect, but rather led him to the Word, expressed the need for him to pray and hear from the Lord with those involved, and I encouraged him to share his heart with this person and see what the Lord would show them together. I heard that later that the next time he saw this person, instead of following that counsel, he told them that I agreed with him about their problems, that I was very aware of their NWOs, and would be praying about what to do about it. So then the other person felt misjudged and bitter toward me for “just believing one side.” This poor person was tempted to give up all together, because “what the heck, my shepherds don't even understand me, and on top of it, they condemn me too!” But here's where the ball bounces back in my court again, since that person didn't come to me and tell me that they were offended by what had happened, but I heard it from someone else. Then again, I don't want to come to the conclusion that the guy that I talked to went and said the things that I put above. See how confusing it can get when people don't just go to the person they heard said things about them or others and cut the thing at the root before it turns into this whole “he said, she said, they said” soap opera?

             Most importantly, I feel this clearly confirms the need to hear from the Lord more in prophecy about everything, as He is the One with all the answers and knows what is really going on and what people are truly feeling. He can save a lot of heartache and misunderstandings if we'll be faithful to come to Him and hear from Him before coming to our own conclusions on matters which could be dangerously wrong and affect your life or the lives of others in a big way.

            All that to say, there are probably people out there that think you feel a certain way about them or have a negative mindset toward them, when in fact, your viewpoint on them could be just the opposite. It's really sad when this happens, as oftentimes you find out about it months or years down the line because the person involved doesn't approach you to share their heart about their feelings, but chooses to get bitter instead. I believe the Enemy uses this tactic quite often in the Family, as it's a very effective way to get in with disunity. He knows that the only way we'll overcome this particular attack is if we humble ourselves and have honest communication in our Homes and cities and be more faithful to hear from the Lord in prophecy on these matters. Lord help us hear from Him more and do the humble and loving thing--and honestly communicate in love!

on the net

Pic of the Day, found on GP Family site

            By Blake, for the WEB team: The  Pic of the Day has been up for 8 months now. One picture for each day, with a quote. That's about 240 pictures so far.

          On the Family GP Web, the Pic of the Day is available to be subscribed to, so some are being sent as emails daily, and they can also be sent as e-cards. So the actual figure as to how many have been downloaded, viewed or emailed is unknown at present.

          We currently have 60 pics being emailed out automatically DAILY! These are not included in the figures below. That's another 1,800 a month as of now. With each subscription that will increase by 30-31 per month.

          On webshots.com, they allow all members (4.5 million members) to have a favorites list so they can get quickly to their favorite pics. Our sections now have 32 people linking us on their favorites list.

          Below are some comments that have been sent from Webshots, via email and via a guest book they provide for people to make comments.

Pic of the Day                      Total downloaded                      GP Web         Webshots

240 Pics/8 months                      77,070                      20,470                      56,600

Monthly Average                      9,633                      2,558                      7,075

Daily Average                      321                      86                      235

            I have to tell you how much I enjoy all of your photos and the inspiration they give me. I was trying to just look at the current days photos of July, but could not wait, so have completed the month's collection today.

            I work for an independent insurance agent in Enid, Oklahoma and all of these photos certainly brighten my day. It is a one-girl office, so I have a little free time.

            Thanks for sharing these with me and everyone else who is interested in this type of inspiration. I don't think we can ever get enough. I love what your community page says about nature feeding your soul. How true, how true.

          Amazing pictures and sayings. You have made my day, month and (hopefully) years to come.

          I have found the photography A1, the thoughts A1, but put them together and the result is AA11!!

          Started to show my appreciation for your albums with the September one. At the risk of being repetitive, may I say ditto for this July one, too.

          Profound thanks for the splendid photography and the pearls accompanying it. They complement each other so well.

          Enjoyed your album. I feel like I have been on a tour with you.

          You have the best photos for making desktops and screensavers in the world.

          Wonderful that you include God in the beauties about us. Congratulations on a beautiful job. You deserve to be featured.

Prayer List

Situations Needing Extra Prayer Power

            Steve (of Tabitha), Japan: Brain abscesses affecting memory, emotions, reading, writing and general comprehension and causing blindness in quarter of eyesight.

Europe and Africa

            This winter is predicted to be one of the toughest ever in the Ukraine, due to cuts in gas, electricity and hot water. Pray for our Family and friends there.

            Mary (of Abner): Hernia.

            JoyHarmony: Knee problems.

            Rosa: Heavy periods, arthritis and digestive problem.

            Children in Gideon, Lily, Elia and Francesca's Home: Severe bronchitis.

            Misha (baby, of Philip and Praise): For improved hearing.

            Simon (of Merryheart): Constant headache, rushing sound around ear and back problems.

            Mary Meek: Heart trouble.

            Cyrus (baby, of Elenor): Sickness causing dangerously low blood sugar.

South America

            Mari: Cyst on her ovary and myoma (tumor composed of muscle tissue) on her uterus.

            Amber: Extreme pain in neck and back, due to several accidents. Dizziness.

Testimonies of Answered Prayer

            From Josue and Trust, Spain: Since asking for prayer for our autistic six-year-old, Oliver, he has progressed by leaps and bounds in his communication and interaction with others.

            From Sher*, China: Over the last year or so I have had reoccurring pains in my lower stomach. However, I'd been blessed with good health most of my life, and I didn't take this that seriously. A couple of times my teamworkers counseled me to have a check up, but being busy, I never made the time to get around to it. I had the opinion that I was “trusting the Lord” and wanted to “endure hardness as a good soldier.”

            Over the last few months the Lord has been pointing out my need to show my weakness and be more dependent on Him. How my “enduring hardness” often tended to be more of a self-righteous works trip. So, about two months ago, I went for a check up. At this point I was in constant discomfort with sporadic attacks of strong pains. I later found out that the long-term pains in my stomach were probably from food blocking my intestines, but more seriously it turned out that one third of my uterus was infected. This really came as a shock, especially since the doctors weren't sure how I got it, or for how long I had it. The doctor said that if not corrected I wouldn't be able to have kids. That really hit me!

          The Lord encouraged me to go through the medication, IV drip, etc., but he also encouraged me that He would heal me. He said that He was allowing this firstly, to humble me before Him, to make me more dependent on Him; secondly, to humble me before others and show me and them how weak I am, and how much I need them. Apart from two weeks of medication, I spent six hours a day for five days at the clinic getting the drip, but as weakening as it felt physically, it was strengthening spiritually, because I would bring my laptop and catch up on extra time with the Lord.

            I heard from some people how they had to fight this for years, with tons of medicine and specialists etc., how it was a reoccurring problem, and that it would never go away in such a small amount of time and with so little medicine. The Lord continued to promise His healing though; He said that this was a blessing He had allowed to bring me to a greater level of commitment and closeness to Him, that I'd look back and be so thankful. I also received those famous “fiery trial” verses and I took this to mean that it would still be a fight.

            Then one month after it started I went for a second ultra sound, and to the surprise of all, I was completely better. PTL! Almost as quick as it came it was gone, leaving me wondering what I did to deserve such speedy and miraculous healing. I'm reminded how Grandpa said that he got many healings he didn't deserve.

          Just as He said, I'm now so thankful for that time and that I had this affliction because it's greatly strengthened my faith and brought me closer to Him. Though I still have a long way to go, it's made me realize how weak I am and how much more I need Him and others. (*Alias used.)

post-its

New CLE ordering procedures

By the Family CLE Department, USA

          Greetings from your Family CLE Department! There are some changes taking place in the processing of our Family CLE orders, which we hope will help make things as easy as possible for all of you, our faithful Family parents and teachers, to get the CLE materials.

           Up until now the Family has been receiving a 20% discount on all CLE Light Units and Answer Keys, and a 10% discount on all Teachers Materials and Supplementary items. This discount has been available only during certain months throughout the school year. However, the CLE office recently informed us that they have changed their policies and Family members will now receive this discount throughout the whole year, TYJ!

          The CLE office has also recently given TEAM Foundation the authority to receive and deposit all payment types directly through our Family CLE office and then send the funds received directly to the CLE office each month rather than sending in many small checks on a daily order-by-order basis.

          We were very inspired to hear about this as we hope this will make things easier for you, as you will no longer have to pay for and make a bank check out to Christian Light Publications every time you wish to place a CLE order. You can now send personal checks, cash, PMOs or credit card numbers directly to us and we will take care of processing the funds and sending them in directly to the CLE office so they can release the orders as soon as they receive them.

          Please note though, that if you send payment by personal check, it must be drawn on a U.S. bank checking account, not on a foreign bank, and in U.S. dollars only. Also, if you choose to send your payment in cash (U.S. dollars only) along with your order, it is “at your own risk.” We can only fill an order when we receive payment with it. Thank you.

            You can make any personal checks or PMOs out to TEAM Foundationwho will now process and send the funds directly to the CLE office once they receive them from you. Please remember that personal checks, though handy, take time to process and collect on, which will delay your order delivery. We will not process and pass on your CLE order until your check has cleared the bank. This goes for all payments--as has always been the policy: The funds must be cleared before we can process the orders.

          TEAM Foundation is also set up to process any credit or debit card payments as well. All you would need to do is send in the following information for us to process your order on your credit or debit card:

          Type of credit card you have (Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express)

          Credit card number

          Full name of the person on the credit card

          Expiration date on the credit card

          Billing address of the credit card*

            *The “billing address” is the address where your credit card company sends you your statements--not necessarily the address that you want your CLE order sent to, if different.

            Once we receive this information with your CLE order, we can process your order by charging it to your credit or debit card.

            We hope to begin implementing these changes as soon as possible. So again, we would like to ask that all Homes or individuals begin placing all CLE orders through TEAM by sending all orders to the following TEAM address(es) and by making all checks, bank drafts or PMOs payable to TEAM Foundation--effective immediately. Thank you.

          You can now contact CLE and send your orders to:

          TEAM Foundation

          P.O. Box 165119

          Irving, TX 75016

          Our phone number is: (972) 871-8898 or (972) 953-0757

          Our fax number is: (972) 871-8898

          Our toll free number is: 1-888-871-8388

          Our email addresses are: famcle@myexcel.com or mail@teamfoundation.com

          We hope these changes will help to make things easier for all our Homes worldwide.

Eurcro's Ads Bulletin is now classified CM/FM

          (From the Eurcro Office:) We're announcing this change so that everyone will be mindful of the wider audience when sending in ads which will be published in the Eurcro bulletin. We would also like to ask that you specify your Home's status when sending in ads so that we can include that info when printing your ad.

          As always, addresses, etc., will generally be printed as sent to us, since it's your Home's decision whether to have direct contact info published (see Charter page 161), with the exception of some sensitive fields. You must have a Home teamworker sign and send in your ad if it contains direct contact info (see LNF 260).

            (Editor's note: You may be interested to know that the want ad bulletins in NACRO, PACRO and ASCRO are also classified CM/FM.)

Family Memorial Web site

By Gabriella Gypsy

                A big “thank you” to all those who've sent in memorials for the (GP) Family Memor ial Website. Here is the website address: http://fly.to/familymemorial

            Please don't add “www.” or “.com” or you will be unable to view the site. If you have any trouble viewing it, try this: http://www.angelfire.com/co3/cbh/index.html

     Here's a wee request: There are many of our heavenly brethren still not included on the site. If you knew them, even briefly, and they touched your life in a special way, please won't you write something about them? I know it takes time and thought to do these memorials, but I've had some amazing experiences with the ones I've written. Talk about “ghost writing!” Wow! The best time to do this would be approximately now. Please! Even if it's only two sentences. Thank you. I 'll be waiting to hear from you! Email: gabriellagypsy@yahoo.com

 ads

             Beautiful, uplifting and easy-to-use Christmas e-cards, with customized messages, now available on the Family (GP) website. Spread a bit of cheer this Christmas season by sending family and friends one of these truly unique and memorable cards.

 legal and media

Results of two surveys conducted with Family members presented at (academic) SSSR Conference

By Marc and Claire, USA

            Over the last couple of years many of you have participated in several academic studies/surveys conducted by two of the foremost experts in the fields of psychology and sociology, as well as a study by a PhD graduate student. An analysis of two of the surveys has been completed, with the findings being presented at the recent SSSR Conference (Society for the Scientific Study of Religion) which was held in October. Dr. Sell (graduate student of Dr. Malony) presented his graduate work on the young people in The Family entitled, “Personality and Religiousness in Youth Members of The Family.” Dr. Malony presented his graduate student's research on sexuality amongst adolescents in the Family, entitled “Correlates of Adolescent Sexual Activity in The Family.”

          The presentation of the papers went very well and the findings were well received. The reactions from the audience were interesting as we ended up fielding a lot of questions on our sexual beliefs, the Law of Love, how the young people manage if there aren't eligible partners in their communities, etc. It was a positive conversation and gave us an opportunity to explain more about our sexual beliefs in a positive, non-defensive way. TTL! The research data and conclusions helped to once again confirm our court decisions as well as the changes that have been made over the last decade and a half. Dr. Malony mentioned that his paper will be published in a highly respected academic journal, which will be a real blessing as this is widely read by the 400+ scholars that attend this conference.

          Dr. Sell had been receiving e-mails from about six different sources attacking us and attempting to discourage him from presenting this paper. When talking with him before his presentation he said that this was not unusual as every religious group and even major denomination have their share, howbeit a vocal few, of apostates who are disgruntled and are very outspoken in denouncing the group they were once a part of.

            At this time there are two more academic studies on The Family in the works, the findings of which should hopefully be published within the next year. Please keep the speedy completion of these studies in your prayers, that they will be factual.

            We're including here quotes from Dr. Sell's paper as a summary and conclusion of his research which is quite positive and encouraging.

Quotes from Dr. Sell's presentation:

          “…the Impression Management scale score was significantly lower than average, suggesting the participants answered more openly than many who take the test (16 Personality Factor Scales). Mean group scores…were within the average personality domain with no pathological trends. Mean SASB Intrex scores suggested that participants had healthy introjects*, viewed rebellion in relationships negatively, and highly prized internalized self-discipline. … SASB Introject scores were all in the relatively 'healthy range.' [*introject: to incorporate characteristics of a person/object into one's own psyche unconsciously]

           “Religious Maturity. RSI scores suggested that participants had significantly greater religious maturity than Christians in conventional churches on whom norms were based. Six of the 8 Dimension scales (Awareness of God, Acceptance of God's Grace and Steadfast Love, Knowing God's Leadership and Direction, Involvement in Organized Religion, Being Ethical, and Affirming Openness in Faith) scores were found to be both significantly higher than the norm. … The Family participants had a significantly higher general factor score for overall Religious Maturity. (Dimension Total) suggests that they have greater religious maturity. Six of the seven RSI Factors scores were found to be both significantly higher than the norm. … Worship and Commitment, Involvement in Organized Religion, Avoidance, and Fellowship scores suggested greater religious maturity than the norm. The Family participant's significantly higher general factor for overall Religious Maturity (Factors Total) suggest that the sample was, as expected, more mature in this domain.

          “Religious Motivation. Participants' obtained scores on personality (traits and introjects) and religiousness (maturity and orientation) scales of youth members in The Family was examined and consistent with the hypotheses of overall good mental health, overall greater religious maturity, and had more intrinsic religiousness than norm-group peers. These results suggest that participants appear to have been raised in and/or continue to live in psychologically and social healthy environments. That The Family members in our study sample, on average, obtained psychologically normal scores, suggests that they differ little from those of the normal population was supported by the results. This is not to say that no maladjustment exists amongst The Family's membership, but rather, that there appears to be a preponderance of overall normality.”

QNAs

TeleTRF Stats Tip: How to count CD Greeting Cards

By WS stats department

            Please report these as CDs distributed. On the TeleTRF, that's one CD distributed (one piece), no pages.

            Even though the CD cards have both the card and the CD, we felt it would be simpler for everyone if we count these tools as one piece each, since you can't get them out separately.

          As far as pages go, we're phasing out counting CDs, tapes, and videos as 50 or 200 “pages distributed” respectively, again, to simplify the reporting for everyone.

          Much love and prayers as you share His love via music!

help wanted

 Start-up angels needed!

            Have you ever wanted to help with gifts at TRF time but felt that you don't have enough to give to make a difference?--Read on.

            We are starting a small Internet start-up geared primarily to reach the ever-growing Internet world with our multi-lingual children's tools and teacher/parent material. To do this we need to set up an on-line shop of our tools for people to order from. We need your help to make this a reality as this is a big project and totally a grass-roots project basing from a field Home. It is not supported by WS or our local area so we wanted to ask our dear Family for help with this.

            Would you or your Home like to be one of our angels? This is a long-term project and we don't want to take from what you might normally give as your regular gifts or offerings to other needy projects so we're asking for a minimum of $1 (US). That way everyone can afford to help, but the sky's the limit. It might not seem like much to you but if everyone helps with something it all adds up, and would enable us to take care of the paperwork and the setting up of a legal identity as well as the developing of the site itself. We will have this fund open for six months after the issue of the Grapevine this is published in, so if you can't help the first month, there'll be more time for you to in the future when you're able. You're welcome to help with a one-time offering or smaller amounts regularly depending on what is more convenient for you.

            Also, anyone that has ideas for a name for this on-line shop can send them to our e-mail address and we'll consider them all and mix them around till we get one that we feel is the clearest representation for the site and that is not already used on the Internet. So let us see what you come up with!

             Being a kids' site, we are also in need of kiddy-cartoon-style artwork to enhance the site, so those interested in using their talent to inspire countless kids on the web can send a sample to us via e-mail: KWProject@hotmail.com.

          If you want to know more, write and we'll send you a more detailed project update and flyer of the tools covered in this site.

            Please send all monetary gifts via your TRF clearly marked “Kids Web Project Fund”(KWPF) at ct-008, SEEC area, EURCRO. Thanks!

          *Start-up angels: Or angel investors, are caring individuals that give or loan money to an Internet start-up to enable them to initially make the needed investments to get set up that would not otherwise be possible--a God-send.

 personals

             Heidi is looking for Elisabeth. Where are you? Haven't heard from you in forever! Please write me at Kismet184@aol.com.

            Lizzy is looking for Heidi C. O. Last heard you were in Australia. Write me at BlueDoll19@aol.com.

            Samuel and Crystal would like to get in touch with Patience (Miriam). I (Sam) first met you in Bombay in 1983, and later in Delhi. After India we heard you were in Pakistan. Email: bngsh@vsnl.com.

            Hey Chris (Konen), contact me at: plasma_chic@yahoo.com.

            This is Meeky. I'm looking for Jonathan and Tabitha in Brazil. Last we met, I believe it was in Sao Paulo. Please write me at: asherjoan@aol.com.

            Rozy B. (of James and Liberty), where R U girl?? China's calling out....hint hint! Write me: asianviolet83@yahoo.com.

            Heidi and Nozomi, formerly in Okinawa, Kristina O. (of Jonathan and Faith), Lisa S. (of Martin and Anne), Michelle (of John and Joannie), where are u guys???? Write me: asianviolet83@yahoo.com. &&&

            Calling Martin and Joan, last heard of in Chile. Can you please get in touch with your son Matthew via your ex-wife or via the UK ABM? Thanks!

Shine On--October 2000

TEAMWORK                        Per Adult                        Total

SOUL SHINERS FOR OCTOBER 2000

Josue/Maria, Mexico                         1,172                        4,689

Pablo E., Chile                        1,004                        2,008

Rejoice/Happy/Nina, Brazil                        806                        7,260

Pablo Testificador, Ecuador                        550                        1,100

Martin/Esther/Joao/Adriana, Brazil                        500                        3,500

Juan/Maggie, Mexico                        333                        1,000

Andrew/Simon/Sunny, India                        275                        1,102

John/Marianne/Maria, South Africa                        266                        800

Juliet, Brazil                        245                        1,226

Amor, Mexico                         225                        675

POSTER SHINERS FOR OCTOBER 2000

Maggie/Serena/Tommy, Cambodia                        1,518                        9,112

Martin/Mercy/Selah, Mozambique                        1,390                        9,735

Marianne/Shine/Timothy, USA                        1,008                        10,075

Michael Christian/Maria/Sapphire, Japan                        974                        2,924

Jeremiah/Mary, Japan                        803                        3,212

Rebecca/Ryan/Christina, Puerto Rico                        800                        1,600

Juan/Leticia/Maria, Mozambique                        775                        6,200

Susanna/Chris/Christina/Luke, Spain                        612                        2,450

Emmanuel/Lydia/Paul, Japan                        577                        2,311

David/Pandita/Phoenix/Tim, Japan                        562                        4,500

TAPE SHINERS FOR OCTOBER 2000

Peniel/Belen, Mexico                         750                        1,500

Joao/Clara/Luiza, Brazil                        327                        1,310

Juan/Ester, Brazil                        266                        2,400

Patrick/Mark, Ghana                        263                        790

Pablo E., Chile                        259                        518

Davi/Madalena/Andrew, Brazil                        168                        1,011

Sam/Maria, Brazil                        138                        276

Samuel/Clara, Spain                        133                        266

Pablo Testificador, Ecuador                        128                        257

Matthew/Mercy/Philip, Taiwan                        120                        600

VIDEO SHINERS FOR OCTOBER 2000

Ben/Meekness, Botswana                        70                        210

Esther/Jennifer/Chloe, South Africa                        62                        683

Gabriel/Sunshine, Mexico                        25                        100

Angel/Esperanza, Colombia                        23                        46

Joao/Clara/Luiza, Brazil                        21                        86

Patrick/Mark, Ghana                        20                        62

Gabriel/Jemima/John, Brazil                        17.5                        35

David/Cristal/Maria Belen, Ecuador                        17.4                        157

David/Pandita/Phoenix/Tim, Japan                        17.3                        138

Bathsheba/Mary/Peter/Sam, Indonesia                        16                        101

Also Included with this file:

Elite Bruce (By David Komic)

            Caption 1 The Battle of Pretzel Pass

            Caption 2 On the battlefield, as the conflict intensifies, a war of words is about to be waged…

            Caption 3 A lone unmarked plane flies over the front lines

            Caption 4 A figure dumps boxes of pamphlets out of the plane and down to the soldiers below.

            Caption 5 SURRENDER ELITE BRUCE! You are a PRETZEL! Leave now in order that you may grow a brain!

            Caption 6 Bruce goes through some intense soul-searching.

            Caption 7 Am I merely a pretzel? Should I just leave and go grow a brain?

            Caption 8 Suddenly Bruce remembers 'The Ballad of Private Cedric--the Cerebrum Cultivator'

(End of file.)