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the grapevine

(Issue #105; February 1, 2001.)

ONE MONTH IN MAMA AND PETER'S HOME--DIARY OF A FEMALE SGA

(Part one of a four-part series)

Introduction

       The Lord showed me to write a diary for a month.--Heaven knows I've never been able to keep up with a diary consistently, but this is reachable. And since I might be in Mama and Peter's Home for only a month, it's a good incentive. There are so many little things that I didn't notice when living in the Folks' Home before. But now tha t I've been away in another unit for a while and I'm fresh to the situation again (and yet I have the advantage of feeling perfectly at home here, since I lived and worked in their Home for a year and a half before and I know everyone very well), hopefully I can give what the Lord called a “fishbowl glimpse” of daily life in their Home.
       Actually, all everyone in the Folks' Home does (besides our tireless shoppers, handymen and childcare people) is sit at their desks for a good hunk of each day , tapping away at their keyboards to get sundry publications out to the Family and the GP. A good 90 percent of my day is taken up with that as well, so if the daily accounts seem scant, just remember what all those blank spaces represent.--Work … work … and, guess what? More work.
       I wonder if people realize that Mama's staff rarely see her? I mean, I wonder if they really realize it. I've been here for just over a week now, and I've briefly spoken to Mama three times in person (and that's an unusually high number)--two when she was walking somewhere in the driveway and I just happened to pass by, and once when I'd just finished hanging my laundry, last Monday. As I was walking back to my little room, I heard a “Hi, Honey, I love you!” I looked up and saw Mama poking her head out of her “upper room” door, waving and beaming at me. (Mama and Peter live in a room on the second floor, above the laundry room/tool shed.--It has a private entrance at the back of the house.) Since my little room is at the end of the carport (the carport is open on the sides, covered on the top), I have also heard her go by twice, and glimpsed her through my window once.
       We do get regular updates/prayer requests from her helper, Rose, or the Home Shepherd, and of course most people are connected by a phone intercom, so if they work with her they hear her voice daily or at least weekly. But since I'm a temporary resident, I don't have an intercom in my room. In any case, I reckon that'd be one of the surprises to a field person (barring leadership, of course, who come for the main purpose of seeing and talking to Mama and Peter).
       Okay, I'm writing about today though, so I'd better get on with it, or this'll be way too long for Jenna to pub in the GV.

WEEK ONE

Day One. Thursday.

       I woke up and quickly got ready for devotions, only to walk through the sliding door of the living room and realize (due to the empty couches) that it's private devotions today. Ha. So I grabbed a quic k breakfast--peanut butter/honey sandwich and a piece of fruit--and went back to my room. Three of the wonderful resident guys were in the kitchen, Joseph, Matthew and Keefe, all getting coffee or breakfast. Otherwise the house was totally quiet. I take private Word time.

       As I sit at my tiny desk in the room I'm staying in (the desk is just wide enough to fit my computer monitor and a lamp, with a pull-out tray for my keyboard), I have my curtain cracked so I can see one patch of greenery in the neighbor's field (this part of our backyard is a grassless courtyard--there's grass further out back where the laundry lines are).

       8:00 PM. Rebecca SGA (who loves to cook Indian food) has made us a delicious meal of lentils, rice, and Indian style peas/potatoes/cabbage. We serve ourselves from a counter in the living/dining room. The space behind it has been converted into a food-prep area for Mama and Peter's helper, Rose.
       It's a quiet meal as a few of the guys have gone to play bask etball (which they do about three times a week). Women outnumber guys in the Home, so their absence is noticeable.
       I sit with Yvonna, Jenna and Colette. The little girl entertains us with an incomprehensible song and such polite things as “How are you, Mommy?” said ten times consecutively. Then, after she almost slips off her chair once, a little wail, “Help me, Mommy, help me!” as she pretends to be slipping a couple more times.
       During dinner the intercom in the dining room rings. Rose answ ers it, and someone calls out to her, “If that's Mama, can I talk to her after you?”
       At prayer time we pray for people we know are traveling to Mexico and to Russia, for two of the staff who have headaches, three staff backaches, and our resident artist, Tamar, who has a neck and hand cramp!--This must be how the Lord keeps Mama's staff righteous--they have so many afflictions!
       I love the late evening. The street lights in the distance are beautiful against the night sky.
       I work after dinn er for a couple of hours, like almost all the residents here.

Day Two. Friday.

       I did it again! Went into the house for devotions, only to discover it's private devotions. Oh well, at least I'm up! During our united praise time we took a few minutes to thank the Lord for our birthday people (it's their birthday dinner tonight). Everyone popcorned things we like about them. Here are some of the things I jotted down:

       Fun
       Sexy
       Affectionate
       Reliable
       User friendly
       Enjoy good food
       Have soft hearts
       Beautiful additions to our Home
       Know how to enjoy life!
       Love the Lord
       Determination
       Hard workers
       Easygoing

       At prayer time we prayed for Rose's eyes, as they're sore. We also prayed for Mama's eyes and against a slight sore throat she had yesterday. We have a sick kitten--someone prayed it would get better so we can find it a better home. Someone prayed for a relative who has promised to support the Family financially. Three people have bad backaches and three p eople have neck aches. We prayed for Magda, who's visiting us for a while and is soon going back to Russia with a bunch of overweight luggage (forsake-all clothes from Mama and the Home here).

       4:10 PM. I just finished an hour-long soccer game, about six on six. It's hard work! Though of course, our “field” is only half-size, and our goals consist of two wooden posts and no net.
       Peter is in the workout area (a corner of the carport that has an old carpet on it), just outside my door, doing a little painting and fix-it work on the weight equipment. He's dressed in a light gray pullover work suit, his long hair partly back in a ponytail to keep it out of his face. The paint is bright, bright red. Jenna's dropped by to discuss some work with me, and we both bemoan the fact that we don't have a camera handy for some “now it can be told” pub someday.

       6 PM. Colette loves my miniature yellow stuffed rabbit. She dropped by to borrow it again, for the second time.

       7:45 PM. Almost t ime for the birthday dinner! I've been smelling the BBQ all afternoon and I'm FAMISHED.

       8:00 PM. It's dinner time, and none too soon. Everyone comes out of the woodwork and into our dining room. (We have several little square tables set up, sitting four-apiece in our rather narrow but long dining/living room. With the checkered tablecloths it's kind of cozy, like a little restaurant.) Contrary to our usually quiet and uneventful meals, tonight the dining room sounds like a college cafeteria, with Latin music playing above the happy din of conversation.
       It seems like everyone's a bit overdue for a party in this house. I've discovered that a good percentage of the people here generally do some desk work on their rest days, even, depending on the need. It's the era of action and there's so much to do!
       The party is quite a cultural mix: The meal is American--BBQ'd chicken and ribs, french fries, and salad. The beer is German (a special occasion treat) and the music Latin.
       After I get my food I hear a voice saying, “Come sit with us!” It's Misty, her husband, Matthew, and Mama's long-time secretary and custodian of the prophecy archives, June. Though our mouths are mostly occupied with consuming this hearty meal, my table companions do have time to share a few jewels of knowledge with me.
       There's a delicious, spicy BBQ sauce, courtesy of Misty. Matthew warns June that it's kind of spicy, and she responds, “That's okay, I was a Hari Krishna!” (Ha! I query June only to f ind out this is actually true!)
       At the end of the rare and sumptuous meal, we all lift our beer glasses and give three cheers for the birthday people. A hush falls over the room as people pray popcorn style for the Family, and especially for a couple of very sick brethren we have just heard about.
       King Peter has blended right in for this dinner-party, and after we all pitch in with dishes a bunch of us huddle around his corner table for 15 minutes of light-hearted conversation.
       Then we wat ch a birthday movie with an intermission for birthday snack, and hit the sack around midnight.

Day Three. Saturday.

       Keefe, one of our Home shepherds, has made pancake batter again for Saturday morning, to go with our “jam day” (since we only have jam once a week). I still have cake and icecream from last night (I was WAY too full to eat it!), so I just have that for breakfast. There are four girls in the kitchen (three SGA, one FGA) and we have a five-minute “grammar chat” while we're mak ing pancakes or eating, about common mistakes we make when editing.

       1:30. Lunch is leftovers from the feast last night, as well as leftover lentils and rice and veggies from the other day.

       4:45. Just made milkshake for people with some fruit I froze yesterday, and yogurt. It's thick! There's much more than I expected too, so I advertise to others that there are two pitchers in the kitchen. People are out of their cubbyholes, doing their weekly house-cleaning jobs. Peter's out in the exer cise area in his work overalls, painting again.

       7:45. It's Parent Time and I spy Colette out my window, helpfully pulling up little weeds that have grown through the cracks in the courtyard, with her chubby hands.

       8:15. While walking to my room, Mama opened her upstairs window and said “Hi.” We chatted for a couple of minutes about some work I sent to her to approve. She also commented on a video snack I'd made before (called muesli crunch bars) that she liked it but since she can't eat real sweet things, maybe next time I can try to cut the honey/sugar amounts yet still make it chewy.

Day Four. Sunday.

       Today was uneventful, except a little crowd of us got together for a “potluck” meal--where everyone brings their own little dish to contribute to the main meal of the day. This is a fun change from the usual “just make your own food” we do on Sunday. King Peter even showed up, deciding to come at the last minute, and as usual when he joins Home activities, we all felt com fortable chatting and fellowshipping with him.

Day Five. Monday.

       10:50 AM. I'm well into my work morning, consolidating my to-do list for the week. Our weekly grammar class (a recent development, for the beginner writers/editors) is being switched from Saturday to Tuesday evening.

       3:30 PM. I walk with Rebecca around the neighborhood for an hour of exercise.

       6 PM. Scurrying around, trying to find where all the food and spices are kept for the Indian meal (Chicken Vindaloo--without the hot spices), I want to prepare for tonight. Peter comes into the house and asks what is for dinner (a regular habit, so he knows what to look forward to, I assume). I assure him that the exotic-sounding meal is a favorite of the people back home.
       Due to the unique architecture of this house (it has a labyrinth of hallways that stumps any newcomer trying to find his or her way around), I'm able to play loud music during my dinner prep, and it doesn't disturb any of the desk workers in the h ouse! There are speakers in the kitchen, connected to the tape deck in the living room next door, for this purpose. (Swinging doors separate the two rooms.) The speakers are covered in garbage bags (I'm guessing it's to protect them from kitchen grease) and when the bass is heavy on a song, they vibrate with a unique percussion kind of sound. Tap a thin, taut garbage bag with the end of a metal spoon and you'll know what I'm talking about.

       8:00 PM. Some of the guys are out playing basketball again, so the remainder of the Home watches ice-skating highlights over dinner. There is a particularly charming couple, and all the girls go on about the man's long hair, to the playful frustration of one of our male Home shepherds. We assure him that he can safely drool over the female skating partner.
       One overall trait of Home members here: They're heavy on the appreciation for a good dinner! Since around sixty percent of the Home comment that they like the food, I can safely gather it was a success.

       11:40 PM. I finally turn off my computer and fall into bed, even as I am positive some of the hardworking residents are still tapping away at their keyboards, or putting files on the reader for Mama.

Day Six. Tuesday.

       Misty leads devotions. It's our communion morning, and after praying a blanket prayer for all the healing requests, Misty offers that anyone can present a prayer request for their work or spiritual lives. There's no advance warning on this, yet the response i s overwhelming. People ask for prayer for more quality Word time, against discouragement, for anointing for their work this next week, for more prayerfulness, to use the New Weapons more faithfully, and so on. At least 85 percent of the Home responds. We then popcorn one-word prayers to sum up all these requests, while the wine is passed.
       Praise time is unique. Misty passes a plastic bag around for people to reach in and pull out an item. Then everyone must praise the Lord for the person on hi s or her left. The catch is that the praise must be something to do with the item we have each pulled out of the bag! A few examples are:
       Little figurine of a green elephant: “This reminds me of India and then I think how our dear resident artist has such a heart for the missionaries on the field.'
       Yellow hi-lighter pen: “This reminds me of how faithful [one of our shepherds] is to highlight areas of my life that need work.”
       Hook: “when you attach this hook to the wall it can take a lot of weight, and I'm thankful for [my wife] because she can take a lot too!”
       Flashlight: “This flashlight reminds me of [our computer technician], because when you have a problem with your computer, he doesn't just tell you how to fix it, but he comes and he shines a light on the problem and really helps you with it.”

       7:50 PM. The cook sends a note around that dinner is early. We watch a nature video while we eat. Peter walks through and pats me on the shoulder, since I'm sitting in an aisle s eat. I do dishes with Matthew.

       9:15 PM. After dishes, Tamar shows me photos of her grandson. We talk for half an hour about our boyfriends and various “girl-talk” things.

Day Seven. Wednesday.

       For devotions we watch part of the video of the Book of Acts, dramatized.

       10:19 AM. Listened to a work tape from Mama.

       4:50 PM. Mama has someone ask me to call her. I go in the house and borrow the intercom phone on Louise's desk. In the course of the conversation I mention that I'm goin g to be sending something timely to approve on Saturday, then quickly add that she doesn't have to go over it on Sunday. She replies with a chuckle, “That's okay, I work most every day. It's my joy!” (Mama clarifies to me later that she does take time off regularly--and that she takes time with the Lord daily without fail.)

kidbits

       new babies born …
       Twins Joel and Jeremy, born to Farah on October 31.--Belgium
       Marco Kevin, born to Susanna and Giovanni on November 21.--Italy
       Jazmin Me rcedes, born to Carolina and Daniel on November 26.--Portugal
       Silvia Dolores, born to Chiara and Michael on November 27.--Italy
       Adrian, born to Kristy and Alito on December 9.--Peru
       Susana, born to Clair and Pedro on December 9.--Brazil
       Misha, born to Dove and Mark Beloved on December 10.--Russia
       Jessica Allison, born to Tabi and Tim on December 12.--Czech Republic
       Benjamin, born to Angelica and John Faith on December 17.--Hungary
       Claudia, born to Rosa and Simeon on December 25.--B razil

tidbits

       CM disciples …
       Daniel Bursuc (20, Romanian) joined in Romania.
       Aaron (30, Czech) joined in the Czech Republic.
       Naomi Meekness (24, Romanian) joined in Romania.
       Hope (20, Romanian) joined in Romania.
       Natasha (29, Russian) and daughter Natasha (9) joined in Russia.
       Tino (23, French) rejoined in France.
       Chesco (23, Canadian) rejoined in France.
       Angel (20, German) rejoined in Guinea.
       Matias (21, Brazilian) joined in Brazil.

prayer list

Europe and Africa

       Martin (formerly married to Indian Mary who went to be with the Lord about two years ago after a sudden asthma attack) in Mozambique and four of his childrenand two other teens were involved in a car accident in which three of Martin's children were seriously injured. Blossom (10) has a broken thigh and will be in the hospital for a month; John (15) has a bad head injury and a broken shoulder; and Crystal (14) has a gash in her cheek and a broken arm. Pray for their comfort and healing, and also that the Lord will supply visas for them, since at the time of the accident their visas had expired and they were on their way out of the country.
       Andre Helper: Prostate infection.
       A media campaign in Romania against small organizations, which could have adverse effects on the Family there.

North America

       Ariella Aidynn (3 mo., of Faithy): Reflux, resulting in slow growth and abnormal breathing.

Pacific

       Sweetie (of Jeff): Fatigue, blurred vision, dizziness, muscle spasms an d tight sensation in the chest.
       Ben Fields: Chronic and longstanding back problem.
       Mark (of Mary): Multiple sclerosis.
       Claire (of Fran): Fibroids.

South America

       Peace in Colombiaand Venezuela in light of recent upsurge in unrest.
       Cristal (of Timoteo): To undergo neck surgery soon.
       Christia (10, of Vitoria): Shoulder blade rotating out of place. May need surgery.
       Virginia: Serious migraines.
       Dave (of Ana): Trouble with sciatic nerve, causing a lot of pain.
       Vera: Herniated disk that is affecting the sciatic nerve.
       Giovanni and Gianfranco (12 and 10, of Andrés and Zulema): Severe myopia, which hinders their vision.

backtracking

Spanish Members Only site address
       The address given in GV #103 for the Spanish MO site was incorrect. The correct address is: http://es.familymembers.com

ads
       Interested in pricking a pin into the Devil's balloon of lies, cover-ups and confusion? Read HTK #99 “Honesty and Openness”--coming shortly!
       When asking the Lord for Hi s final word on this HTK before sending it out, He said the following: “Honesty and openness are indeed Heavenly attributes and something that the souls that come home to Heaven all learn about; especially the many dear ones who have not had the spiritual input that is so characteristic of My Family.
       “Get this message out now for My children. I say it over and over, the war being fought for their souls is strong and you do well to equip them with My weapons of spiritual warfare. Being honest a nd open is one of the weapons; it's like a pin in the balloon of the Evil One and his machinations. The mind is one of his favorite battlegrounds and this message gives strong ammunition to My children. If they read it and apply it, this message will be as a dart in their hands, which they can aim at the Enemy's balloon which is full of lies, gloom and confusion.”

legal and media

Uganda
       Simon, Kathleen, Celly, Happy - The NuBeat radio show is on the air! It airs Saturday and Sunday at 10 :30 a.m. on CBS (Central Broadcasting Service Limited), an FM station that reaches southern, eastern, central and western Uganda. The first show was heard on Saturday, November 4, 2000. We're estimating the number of listeners (each time) as 750,000.
       There was also a newspaper article written about the NuBeat radio show in the “Entertainment Beat” of the Sunday edition of the New Vision, written by Ernest Bazanye. Since this newspaper reaches the whole country we're estimating that maybe 6,000 ,000 people read the article. It was a favourable article printed on November 12,2000. Here's the article:

NuBEAT ON AIR
       At last, at long last, we are all systems go. NuBeat is on air. RadioActive and Aurora Productions came into town last year with a mission to bring out a radio show, called just that: NuBeat.
       But before they could do that, they stopped along the way to create some fantastic music with a few of our young talents here in the dusty city. They gave us “Soldier Boy” (first w ith Titan Takuba, then with Kawesa), and “Spirit of Africa” with Kawesa. They gave us “Cry of a Continent” where Lillian “Sister Slave” Kyeyune's lovely voice found itself a home. And more before they settled down on the dial.
       Most of the songs on NuBeat are original compositions recorded especially for the show. Over 100 singers and musicians from around the world contributed.
       “After being with us for a full half-hour on NuBeat, we hope you'll feel uplifted and inspired,” says presenter Sim on Peterson, of the show described as a Christian-based programme designed to appeal to all. “We hope not only to entertain you but also to leave you with something positive and helpful,” he adds.
       Besides music, there are health tips, a bit of comedy, plus interviews with local and international stars.
       The show airs at 10:30 on CBS 89.2 on Saturdays and same time on 88.8 Sundays.”

Kenya
       Andrew, Mary, Phillip and Kerenina - We were invited to perform for a large function in England which consisted only of people who were originally from Kisumu (Kenya). This function is held once a year and we were able to perform and explain about the work that we were doing in Kenya and about the medical camps we had just recently held in the Kisumu area. Small parts from the show were aired on TV and there was a short explanation about who we are and that we were doing all this for our local NGO in Kenya. It was a wonderful witness as it showed how unique it is that these young people had giv en their lives to cause of bettering others. ZTV is a TV network that caters to the Indian population around the world. It is the largest TV network of this kind and has an audience of millions.

       Franz, Lily, Brian and Jolena - A lengthy article (double page with color pictures) appeared in the Kenya Times, a daily newspaper, explaining about our local CTP with homeless people, which our NGO Action in Focus is involved in. It reached 500,000.

Iceland
       Thaddeus and Sara - There was a photo and caption of Thaddeus ballooning in a nationwide conservative newspaper Morgenblaðið. It was very favorable and had a positive public reaction, reaching 15,000.

South Africa
       Esther, Jennifer and Chloe - The Durban Metro magazine, a community magazine sent to everyone in the Metro area who pays an electric or water bill, printed a very favorable article explaining our work and giving our contact details, reaching 500,000.

       Leland, Spring and Charity - Radio Tygerberg, a regional Christ ian station did a favourable interview with Francis (17, of James and Charity) and Leyland (of Spring) reaching at least 50,000.

Holland
       Richard, Joanne and Laura - “Christian Families Newsletter” a weekly e-newsletter for new Christians, published two of my (Joanne W.) articles, “Happy Birthday X?” and a short devotional about the true meaning of Christmas, and “God's Precious Pearls”--a feature article about the reasons God sometimes allows His children to suffer, reaching 30,000.

Ivor y Coast
       Paul, Mary, Jan, David - The Abidjan Planet, a small bi-weekly posh 64-page booklet did a very favorable article describing our CTP works in Abidjan, as well as our clowning and the purpose for our clowning--to fund our CTP works. It reached about 200,000 people, the upper crust of Abidjan.

Tanzania
       John, Martin, Nina, Sebastian and Esther - In the Arusha Times weekly newspaper we put together and publish a children's corner A4-size column, containing children's games, quotes and suitable family material reaching 5000.

Ukraine
       Job, Ruth and Ruthie - We were invited to a conference in Dnepropetrovsk about how to solve the problems of youth delinquents and how to help young people leaving youth prisons re-adapt to society. We gave a ten-minute speech about our previous work in youth prisons and our upcoming projects to train youth leaders, which was filmed and part of it was shown on national TV news. A report on this conference appeared on Ukrainian National News. Pa rt of our speech was transmitted along with speeches from the vice president of Ukraine and other officials. It reached an audience of 12 million.

Yugoslavia
       Andrew, Miracle, Larissa, Jonathon and Simon - RTK Kosovo television in Pristina (Albanian) aired the show for the Rights of the Child, which we had with UNICEF. It was very favourable, reaching 2 million. Klogs for Kosovo, a KFOR weekly newsletter did a middle page article with pictures of our CTP work. The same paper also ran an ad f or the Christmas CDs in two of its issues. It reached an audience of about 2,000 and goes to the families and friends of the British military. Also the IOM news (International Organisation for Migration) ran a picture of an event we did with IOM and the description of the show reaching about 5,000.

Greece
       Simon, Renee and Peter - Mega TV did a documentary-style program on the plight of refugees in Greece with the winter coming. We were invited to the refugee camp run by Doctors of the World to do a program with the children. The show went very well and included Joanna (11) and Esther (13) doing action songs with the kids and Simon practicing “Silent Night” in Greek with the Kurdish children, as well as clips of our Bible story (Noah's Ark) and English class. It reaches 1 million.

world news

Christmas in Palestine
       By Maria Swiss and Philip (of Faith), Mideast
       Thank you so much for thinking of our Home's survival and continuation during this time when our Palestinian broth ers were subjected to much violence and loss. The violence has calmed down some but the loss goes on, of course, and has for so long.
       Christmas had a different flavor this year and was less rah rah compared to all other years here. We went ahead and sang our songs indoors in Manger Square. The prophecy sent to us from Mama's Home is very beautiful and we got it printed just in time by a sweet local faithful friend so we could freely give it out to all.
       In one of the articles about Palestine in the last edition of the END (December), there is a picture of a broken house and a little girl standing on the window next to the big hole made by a tank shell. We visited the people in this house the day after it happened. The father, Jamil, has 12 children. He is a very kind Moslem man. The first thing he said when we sat down in front of him as his wife served us coffee was: “We are waiting for Issa [Jesus] to come back!” So we had a good chance to talk about the Endtime and he knows quite a bit about it from the Koran. We brought two boxes of food for his family later as well and gave some prophecies for their encouragement for which they were very thankful. There are so many more like him here, of course, and they've been too terrified to sleep in their own houses for the past two months. Of course there is much more to say on this topic of the suffering people endure. We are so glad to be able to stay and hope somehow that will be possible. Just about EVERYONE here is a sheep and we can't wait to get Activated in Arabic, that'll be great.
       For now we've also put together a special drama (the storm skit) acted by our clowns and a puppet show based on the poster-story “Helper from Heaven” to help children cope with being afraid and panicking. This seems to be well received and the adults who see it profit just as much as they often don't know how to reassure children and sometimes fail to show faith and trust.

Helping The UN Reach The Children Of Kosovo--2 Years Ru nning!
By Andrew and Miracle and the Oasis Home, Kosovo
       In November 1999, our work in Kosovo was just in its beginning stages. After working extensively with Kosovar refugees in Bosnia for almost a year, the Lord gave us the faith and burden to begin making trips into Kosovo in September, just a few months after the hostilities had ended and once we were sure the situation had stabilized.
       At that time, Kosovo was being swamped by humanitarian organizations, both governmental and non-governm ental (NGOs), which was immediately apparent by the sea of 4-wheel drive vehicles from the UN, OSCE, and other aid organizations which were plying the pot-holed streets of Pristina. We were not so used to this in Bosnia, as most of the aid organizations had long since moved on. We felt the Lord was leading us to seek out open doors to work together with other NGOs, and since our show and ministries were oriented towards traumatized children, Miracle had the vision to introduce ourselves to UNICE F.
       Unbeknownst to us, they were planning a big celebration to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was to be held on November 20th! It was the Lord's perfect timing, as the sweet German girl who was in charge of the celebration was looking for something special to go along with the more traditional forms of entertainment like songs and dances by different school children, reciting of poems, dedications, etc. When she saw our prese ntation album and saw what we had to offer, she jumped at the chance to have us participate! One very good friend of ours was one of the original drafters of the Rights of the Child Convention, and this German girl was the UN media representative who was working very closely with her.
       She asked if we could take on the responsibility of presenting in skit form the most basic rights which are guaranteed to children under the Convention, such as “education,” “safe environment,” “to be loved,” and so on. The Lord gave us the idea for a half-hour presentation that went through a day in the life of a child, where we highlighted the ten most basic rights. We mixed humor with soberness, and after each right was portrayed, the scene froze while a child from the audience passed across the stage with a big sign on which the right was written in Albanian. Thanks to the lively animation provided by Albanian Peter and Michael, our skit (which had taken a whole week to put together) was the high po int of the afternoon! We had also been asked to fill in some time gaps while the stage was being changed, with a few two- to three-minute bits, so the audience wouldn't lose interest. Andrew was able to do a few tricks from our clown show, and the Albanian boys kept everyone in stitches with their antics. While the guests were arriving, we also did face painting and made balloons, which the local Kosovar TV station enjoyed filming, as they were filming the entire event! That evening, we were air ed in the Kosovo news as well as on a satellite channel, which Albanians all over the world tune in to.
       This publicity and the good public relations we gained from our association with such a reputable UN organization became an excellent springboard that catapulted us into many more open doors to work with other NGOs. This year we approached UNICEF a bit earlier than last, to see if we could again be a help, and although the German girl had moved on, she left a note for her replacement that th is year she should ask “Healing Hearts” to organize all the festivities! Wow! We were a bit surprised, but happy to oblige!
       First thing we did was contact “Los Chavitos” (Gideon and boys) in Greece, who had come up to Kosovo a few months earlier to help us with a few concerts and shows. They confirmed that they would be free during that time, but the Albanian animation was not so certain, as they had several big fairs going on at that time. It wasn't until just three days before the event that we heard that dear Eman and Gabe would be able to come to our rescue to do the MC'ing. They were such a blessing and inspiration, like always. It just wouldn't have been the same without them! (WLY! Thanks, Tirana and Durres Homes for your sacrifice!) Lots of city fathers were invited, as well as the media, and a lot of our friends who we had invited also came. It was such a good sample to them of how we reach the people by letting the Spirit shine through us! This year's presentation was about 90% Family talent, as Erika's Albanian singing and David's lead guitar filled out the show!
       We want to thank our wonderful worldwide Family for upholding the work in Kosovo in your prayers! We really love and appreciate you, as we proceed together into 2001 and the “Era of Action”!

happenings

[Businessman hooked on the Word]
       Lynn at Bay Winds Home, Japan: I met Mr. T. through a business seminar I attend monthly. He is an executive of three companies. Though I saw him at the seminars o ften, I never knew he was so spiritually hungry until he came to me, asking if he could meet me personally since he felt peace whenever he was talking with me. On the first follow-up appointment, he poured out his trials and worries, how he has to pretend to be very confident in front of others when he is not, and how he is surrounded by people who only talk about money, etc. At the end of the appointment he prayed with me to receive Jesus into his heart. Later, I met him one more time and share d more Word with him.
       Since then we've been exchanging e-mails. I sometimes send a portion of Reflections or Mountain Streams with my e-mail. He wrote me the following e-mail letter about two weeks after he got saved. As you can see, he really liked the MO Letter, “Be So Happy!” It's one of the joys you can experience when you witness to somebody who never had a Christian background, that they get saved and grow to love the Word and Jesus so beautifully. Also, it shows us how those Japanese bu sinessmen are desperate to find answers to all their questions and worries.
       Mr. T. said, “The day before yesterday, a rather critical situation arose in one of my companies; therefore I will have to deal with it from Monday next week. Yesterday, when I went out for business, I lost a train ticket, which never happened to me before. I guess my mind was occupied with the situation. But it said in your last mail, 'so quit trying so hard! Let go and let God! Take it easy! Quit working so hard in y our own strength! Quit taking yourself so seriously!' I was greatly encouraged by those words. You seem to know everything about my situation. I guess I try to solve everything by myself and am too proud and too serious. I need to realize more how inadequate I am and become more humble. But these things are similar to the difficulties you face when you are trying to go on a diet. Though you know you need to do it, it's still difficult to actually 'do' it. I even don't have enough sense of humor to laugh at my mistakes. I guess I'm like the pastor who forgot to put his pants on. I'm feeling better now. I will try to be myself and 'do what I can do and let God do the rest' at my work. Although it may still be difficult for me to just laugh when the situation doesn't work out.
       “By the way, I like the CD Touch of Love very much. I listen to the songs over and over while I'm working with my computer. Thank you so much. I'm going to be more positive and try to take things easier. Thank you for praying for me. Yesterday, I downloaded the screen-saver from the Family's website and installed it on my computers, both at my office and home. Though some sentences are difficult to understand because they are in English, there is something that helps me to relax. I come home after midnight because I have to deal with some problems at my company and even at home I have a hard time going to sleep, thinking too much about them. Could you pray that there would be less conflict among the work ers and I will be able to improve the company's operation and environment?” (End of excerpts from Mr. T's e-mails.)

[Year 2000 fruit in a small Home]
       David Searcher and Space Camp team, Japan: As we took a look at our witnessing and distribution stats for 2000, we were happy to see the accomplishments of our small Home. All glory and praise to our dear Jesus for using us this way despite our weaknesses and shortcomings.
       Here is the totals of our tool distribution: Videos: 860; Tapes and C Ds: 1,800; Posters: 37,000; Total lit distributed: 50,000; Souls won: 650. At the same time we were able to have 45 visitors in our Home during the year. Another encouraging figure was the gifts that we were able to send to our dear Family missionaries around the world, a total of $8,600 besides our monthly tithes. We can testify that as we started giving more monthly gifts, the Lord faithfully brought in all the needed income to keep going. TYJ!

[When you've got a lemon ...]
       Mercy (of Abe) , Taiwan: Well, the chickenpox finally came to an end and it looked like we would be able to make a long-planned visit to a certain orphanage. We happily called the overseer and informed her that we were all healthy and ready to come. But to our dismay she informed us that because of a change of policy we wouldn't be able to come this year.
       Hmm, had we gotten our signals crossed? The Lord had told us quite clearly that we should contact the orphanage after the chicken pox were over, or so we t hought? The overseer went on to thank us for our good intentions, and said that she could feel a lot of sincerity from us, even though we had never met. She told us how sometimes students come to her institution to have a picnic with the orphans, but the children don't feel any friendship from these people, as they only do it as part of their required curriculum.
       I felt a little sad that we wouldn't have the opportunity to show these children some real friendship, when the Lord told me that th e overseer herself was a needy soul, and that I should witness to her over the phone. So I told her that since it was Christmas, I had a wish, and my wish was to see her in Heaven. I explained Salvation and eternal life to her and when I invited her to pray with me over the phone she did so wholeheartedly. At the end of the prayer she suddenly burst into tears. “I have never felt such love from a stranger, from someone I have never met!”
       This lady grew up as an orphan herself. She never marrie d or had children, and is now getting on in age and is in poor health. She just had an operation two weeks ago and she may not have much longer to live. Thank the Lord she can now look forward to everlasting life and the blessings of Heaven!

[Benkyokai--Witnessing Opportunity]
       Tommy at Mountain Streams Home, Japan: There are many types of benkyokai, which is basically a study session led by a locally famous or interesting person who teaches the class about their chosen specialty.
       When I w ent to Himeji city to attend the benkyokai, I met Mr. M. He is 50 years old and an organic farmer leading something of an alternative lifestyle, and was searching for the truth. He had been asking people a lot of questions, but on the way home he was very disappointed as he was hoping that from this meeting he could find the truth and the answer to questions he had about his life. Until then he had no interest in us, but in the car on the way back he realized that our young people are bilingual and started asking a lot of questions.
       For the last ten years or so I haven't used our dropped-out lifestyle as a witnessing method, but I began to talk to him about what we do and how we live. He started saying that it was impossible and I could see his doubts in his eyes. In the end he decided to visit our Home. When we arrived our children sang for him and we had dinner together. He began to cry and said that he had found the truth he had been searching for. A few days later Mr. M. came bac k with a truck full of organic vegetables which he donated to us.
       In Nagoya, when I joined the benkyokai there, I could tell they were a little wary of me. After the benkyokai the participants usually go for a drink and something to eat. At this second session, they decided that they would each make a short speech, but some people were already drinking and no one was really listening. My turn was near the end and when I got up to speak the room suddenly became silent. The Holy Spirit began to speak through me and said that I was a beggar and my Lord Jesus was a beggar and as humans before God we are all powerless.
       I don't remember what I said after that, but the Holy Spirit must have been speaking because right after the speech people came up to shake my hand. Also one of the people, a top police detective who was skeptical at first, ended up by shaking my hand and calling me a great teacher. Later we received donations of corn, potatoes, rice, and money, in addition to a lot of le tters from the people there. PTL!

Family National Anthem
By Mama
       We are happy to announce the release of a new feature CD of the Family's National Anthem at the Family Birthday Feast. Since our Family are music lovers on the whole, we're sure you'll be happy to discover that we went ahead and filled the CD up with a total of eleven new songs! There's something for everybody in there, and while every song might not appeal to everyone, we hope that each of you can enjoy something on there.
       The National Anthem is a song that the Lord gave especially to unite all of us in this new Era of Action, and we hope and pray that you will listen to it often, learn the words yourselves, and find pleasure in singing it unitedly at appropriate occasions. It's so sweet of the Lord to give us--a new spiritual nation--our own song to sing. It's something that represents our common goals and our unity as the Bride of Christ.

       P.S. If your Home has not yet heard this song, we ask that you listen to it unitedly sometime on the Family Birthday. As we explained in a previous Grapevine, we would hope that the “unveiling” of this song for your Home would be done in unison and that you would hear it for the first time when you are all together, rather than listening to it here and there at random. So if you weren't able to listen to this song during the Feast, please hold the CD when you receive it and then play it for everyone at a time on the Family Birthday that you feel is most appropria te, so it will receive the respect and attention it merits. Thank you so much! If you have time, you might want to review what the Lord said about this very special song at the end of GN 922.

post-its

ATC Replacement File Posted!

       We pray the Activated Training Course classes have been a blessing to you. We have amended and reposted the file of workbook 1A (filename: basic.01a.workbook.doc) due to some mistakes that were pointed out to us in the content. If you have already downloaded t he previous file please disregard it and download the corrected file that is there now. Sorry for the hassle!

Request from India Activated Desk

Dear Ones,
Thank you so much for all the finances you are sending our way to sponsor subscriptions. We really appreciate it. It is also a big blessing for those who cannot afford the subscription fees. In addition to sponsoring subscriptions for the deaf, and students, the funds are also providing subscriptions for many people who live in the N.E. of India. The people there are very sweet and super receptive; however due to various problems, oftentimes they do not get paid for months on end and sometimes their wages are quite meager.
       We do have one big request. When communicating with our desk, would you please first send us an e-mail sending us your key and asking us for ours. We are in a somewhat sensitive situation and prefer not to receive open e-mails about how you are sending us the subscriptions, etc. Thanks so much for your hel p with this!
       Love,
       Your India Activated Desk

NACRO CVC Desk e-mail is fixed!

Dear Ones,
       We love you all so much! We hope the CVC Program has been a blessing and help to you. We have recently been having a few problems with our CVC e-mail address and many folks have received a message back saying that their file was “undeliverable.” We want to apologize to any of you who due to this problem have not been able to get in touch with our CVC Desk. We are very sorry for this inconvenience . The CVC e-mail address (cvc@cvcollege.com) has recently been fixed and we have been able to use it to send and receive e-mails again TYJ!
       We would like to encourage anyone who would like to get in touch with our CVC desk to please write in and we will try to get back to you as soon as we can. We hope this information is a blessing and a help to all of you.

       Much Love,
       Michelle, for your NACRO CVC Desk

The BVM KidzVids Family Video Ministry Newsletter
--January 2001
By [main show ch aracters] Jasper, Freddie, Pancho, Chief, Misty, Dolly, Sandra, Boco, Chule, Wally, Tiggy, Gina, Spike, Rusty, Wolf and Daisy, Brazil

       Hey! Remember all those great Family Fun shows that the kids used to look forward to? Well, thanks to the Era of Action, at long, long last, we're putting the final touches on the brand newly revised Family Fun for the GPseries! That'll be eight new Family Fun shows re-edited and hosted by none other than the Froggie Band! That's right--Jasper, Freddie and Pa ncho will be back to host what most people are calling the best of the best of all your favorite Family Fun spots. The newly edited shows will be geared to showing at your Activated Sunday School classes, as we put them together with a GP audience in mind!

       Having trouble finding a Bible teacher at home? Your search could be over soon! The production of the first 12 episodes of “What Is the Bible” is now underway and the first shows will be available in February. The duping of the shows will be limited (to see if anyone out there really wants pre-recorded Bible classes with fun skits mixed in). That means we'll be sending the “What Is the Bible” shows out on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you're interested in getting the first set of 12, we'd like to know today, as we're in the middle of making a deal with our local dupers. The more we dupe, the cheaper the duping cost gets. What is “What Is the Bible” all about? Get a copy of the first show and see if it's not going to change your life! After all, that's what the Word is supposed to do, right?
       A lot of other changes are underway here--more guys and gals joining the team to help us get the job done and other exciting shows are in the works. But before we go, we really wanted to tell you about a brand new show for your littlest of little kids called Animal Farm. That's right, a simple little show for all the simple little kids who like hearing Bible stories told by other little kids and by the animals at the Animal F arm! Do your kids like talking to animals and watching other little kids tell stories? If you think they do, then they're probably going to love this one! Well, we really need to stop here--all the kids and animals are waiting for us out on the farm to do a show right now…!
       And speaking of miracles! Here's a miracle that we're all thanking the Lord for: This month we completed construction on our new production rooms!!! And hey--that's a dream come true for all of us! Special thanks to Mercy i n Sao Paulo, who helped with a very big donation of the carpet that transformed our funky old rooms into a high-tech production headquarters! Thanks, Mercy! And special thanks to James and Christina and Gary and India and their Homes for their generous gifts that helped make it all happen. And thank You, Jesus, because without You, we certainly wouldn't have made it this far. And thanks to every single one of you who have supported us in one way or another and who have stood by us during the tra nsition we went through during the past year, moving our entire set-up into our new production Home. We still need your help as we are raising our own support and trying to complete these shows for your kids at the same time! This month we're forced to get rid of our old truck--the 1983 Ford pick-up truck that we've all grown so fond of… (well, at least some of us). Alas, it finally becomes too expensive to keep repairing the old truck and we're having to raise $1,750 in the next couple of weeks in order to get the kind of vehicle that we need for our work AND ministry. Wanna help? If you think we're worth it, please drop us a line and we'll tell you how to send a donation. And by the way, we accept small, medium and large donations, so please don't be embarrassed that you have such a small (or large) amount to help with. Anyway, for those of you whose hearts are touched, thanks for giving. And for those of you who are struggling yourselves, thanks for your support in prayer!!! After a ll, “prayer isn't the least you can do, it's the most!” Didn't Mama say that?
       And for those of you who'd like to get your hands on some of the great new videos we talked about in this newsletter, just drop us a note today at Kidz@KidzVids.com or visit our website at www.kidzvids.com!

Christmas feature

Hot Latin Christmas Explodes in Mexico!
By the Mexican Family, Mexico City

       Christmas Zocalo CTP, volcano explosions, encounter with President Fox, Mexican Army joins the Lord's Army fo r CTP! Read how this exciting combination of events were fused together by God's fiery Spirit on the eve of 2001 to produce a hot Latin Christmas.--A true, live, missionary adventure that will never be forgotten.

the pan and the popo explode
       On the eve of 2001, the political party PAN pulled off a staggering victory in putting their candidate Vicente Fox into the Mexican presidency--upsetting the PRI party for the first time in over 70 years! The country reverberated from this political exp losion, but most were happy, and hoped that this radical turn of events would bring about good changes for the country. However, the partying soon came to an abrupt halt when another staggering event took place about 80 kilometers outside of Mexico City--the giant sleeping volcano, El Popo, awoke with some mighty explosions, loud enough to push the alert systems to Defcon 5, or maximum alert, which led the army to forcefully evacuate 42,000 people from the surrounding towns. Mexico City's citize ns, who in years past felt protected by the distance between them and the Popo, were for the first time in centuries facing a thread of a dreadful ash fall-out and the major newspapers announced security procedures including the use of face masks and keeping indoors as much as possible. All schools were closed and the whole city paused with bated breath to see what would happen next.

surprise rendezvous with fox!
       Soon after the Popo, another big explosion was heard, not at the top of the vo lcano, but more towards thef Mexico City downtown area.--The Family detonated their yearly Feast of the Poor CTP at the Zocalo on December 25th and the fall-out went far and wide as seven of the nations' newspapers captured the Christmas event with pictures and stories for thousands of readers across the nation. Prior to the charity event, Family members distributed 12,000 flyers, inviting street kids, the needy and all to the feast at the Zocalo. (Amazingly enough, the Popo's explosions had cea sed completely by the time the Zocalo CTP took place on December 25th).During the presidential inauguration we'd heard about President Fox's concern to improve the “quality of life” for the poor and how he'd stopped to have breakfast with street kids on the streets of Tepito.
       A couple of days after the Zocalo event, several of the volunteers who'd traveled long distances were lodging in several 5-star hotels that had been provisioned by French Phoebe. It was at this time that Ben and Maria, w ho were resting up at one of these hotels along with Phoebe, met with none other than President Fox himself--as they were on their way to dinner one evening! The three of them had been standing in the lobby when Phoebe found out that the President was staying at the same hotel and just then noticed several security men positioning themselves by the doors, and she whispered to Ben and Maria, “I think the President is about to walk in!” None of them had time to react any more than a quick prayer a s Maria lit up with a big smile and said, “Here he comes.” President Fox came walking towards them and right when this towering man wearing cowboy boots was almost on top of them, Ben stuck out his hand and said, “Hello Mr. President!” The president paused for a moment at which time Maria and Ben were able to explain a bit about the Family and gave him some lit, as well as an explanation about our missionary work around Mexico which he thanked us for, and seemed to really appreciate. Although ou r meeting with the president wasn't exactly something that we could have planned, we felt quite touched by the friendly manner in which the president responded to our little “surprise encounter” With a parting handshake Fox started to walk away but not before Phoebe smiled at him and said, “Que Dios te bendiga.” (God bless you!) President Fox stopped momentarily and a wide smile came over his face. He replied, “Gracias, y que tengan un feliz ano Nuevo!” (Thank you, and have a happy new year!) Th en he disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. One of God's amazing miracles!

nothing is impossible!
       This year's Christmas CTP needed the “Nothing Is Impossible” vision as we were faced with a staggering 1,500 kilos of rice to cook, another 1,500 kilos of beans and 600 of meat and soya, as well as 600 kilos of potatoes, and 500 kilos of carrots.--There was the coffee too! We borrowed a couple of old stoves from a friend and as we stood there looking at them, we must admit, our puny bra ins were on the verge of a carnal meltdown wondering how in the world we could pull off this massive cooking job on these old stoves! But God was light years ahead of us and was already answering our desperate prayers for big miracles! Joy, who'd come to help us, had the idea of asking the Mexican Army to do the cooking for the Zocalo CTP. At first we thought this idea was a bit far out--but after prayer and some confirmations from the Lord, we called an army base explaining our work of feeding up to 10,000 poor every year on Christmas Day and asked if they would like to help us by cooking the large amount of food this Christmas meal would once again involve this year. Well, to get to the exciting end of this story, after a bit of persistence and not believing the impossibilities and red tape that initially seemed to stand in the way of our request coming through, we got a “YES,” and they agreed to help us cook all the food we needed!
       When we got to visit their kitchen to see where t hey would be preparing the food, we were impressed with the cleanliness of their facilities. Even though they'd just cooked lunch, the floors were shiny and every piece of equipment was clean and spotless. The next day an army truck pulled up in front of the Home to pick up the food supplies. Some of the neighbors looked on, somewhat awed at seeing all the soldiers going in and out of the house with sacks of food. From what we heard, alternate platoons of soldiers ended up cooking through the ev ening of the 23rd of December. They wound up cooking all day on the 24th and all through that night and by 8:30 a.m. Christmas morning, their trucks pulled up to the Zocalo to start unloading the first batch of cooked beans, rice and meat. It definitely was taking an army to cook for the army of the multitudes we were to feed on Christmas day--and God in His pre-vision already had the army's kitchens reserved for this big task, TYJ!

Mexico and US homes unite to feed the poor!
       This is the se venth year that that Mexican and US Homes have planned a massive “feed the multitudes”feast for the poor of Mexico city. Over the years the charity project has grown and our faith has been pushed to its limits as we've studied the ever-increasing logistics of acquiring the large amounts of food, transportation, manpower and other pertinent paraphernalia required for this colossal event. Some might find it difficult to understand how a soup line could possibly be such a big deal--but those who'v e experienced front line duty on the serving lines at this CTP know what we're talking about.
       It's like “That Banana There!”--You start out at 9:00 a.m. unloading two tons of oranges, 100 cases of bananas, food containers with the 1,500 kilos of cooked rice, 1,500 kilos of beans and 600 kilos of meat, ten thousand disposable plates, cups, etc., etc.--and by 10:30 a.m. you've got your plastic gloves on and you're dishing out the first plates. By 2:00 in the afternoon your right hand is becoming numb from the weight of flipping a full ladle about two or three thousand times.
       By 5:00 in the evening your whole body is aching and you're starting to look around for a replacement. But everyone is busy, busy, busy, replenishing the serving containers, and carrying bags of oranges and boxes of water to the front. Others are witnessing and passing out free posters, and the hungry keep coming, holding empty plates out to you. But you see the look of appreciation in the faces before you--the r ag-tag man who has tears of joy and gratitude running down his face because he this is his first meal in three days; the widow woman who's also wiping her tears because for the first time in her life someone gave her something for free; and the blind man and his son who are thankful that God didn't forget them this Christmas. All of a sudden this winter day is not so cold for these precious souls, and you don't feel the tiredness anymore. You're just praying that the food never runs out 'cause y ou'd like to dish out plates until no one is left hungry. Today the food ran out at 9:00 p.m., but the multitudes of hungry people were fed!
       Now it's time to start on the clean-up operations and thankfully the clean-up crews have already been working on this for three hours. Around 10:30 at night you finally go home, dead tired, but with a supernatural feeling of satisfaction--knowing that today you gave Jesus the best Christmas present … you fed His poor lost sheep physically and spiritually.

special recognition:
       This special event would not have been possible without the loving sacrifice and hard work of many who came not only from all over Mexico but from as far as Washington, California and Texas. God bless each one who forsook their Christmas push, Homes and families to come feed the poor on Christmas day!
       Dust and Ahlai, Ben and Maria, French Phoebe, Joy, Gabe and Quina, Mercy, Miggie, John, Robin, Renee, Alex, Emma, Angelic, Kim, Michael, Stephanie, Jessica, Jonathan, J ono, teen Ben, Esther, Martin (market friend who donated two tons of oranges), Zech and Hannah, Tatianna, Bonny (who donated 150 cases of purified water), Simon, Angie and their children's singing team, Janette, Mauricio and his sister, Andy, Gabriel, Rain and Rejoice, Cesy, Ben (of Ruth), Francisco and Margarita, Luz, Andy, Eric, Brian and Liza, Juan S. and sons (who donated the use of his 5-ton trucks), Emmanuel and Nina, Becky, Isaias, Solomon and Belen, Pedro, Hector, and all our precious co ntacts and friends who donated, prepared, and made this years' Zocalo Christmas meal a reality. We couldn't have done it without you!

Former Prime Minister of Japan praises work done by Side by Side International
By Joseph and Sara, Japan
       We paid an official visit to friend and former prime minister of Japan, Mr. Tsutomo Hata, at his office in the Diet Building in Tokyo on the 25th of December, 2000. He presented to us a plaque encouraging us in our work. We were able to read some of the C hristmas Reflections together and spent almost 40 minutes with him, even while his waiting room was full of politicians waiting to see him. We asked Mr. Hata for his remarks for the past and the future and also any comments about the work that we are doing, the following is what he said:
       “Looking back in the past we can see that the 20th century was the time of wars, a time of development of technology and the emerging of the ecology movement. The 21st century is about to begin. The kings of t he North and the kings of the South are meeting together and through this we can get a glimpse of peace. As we enter this new era I hope that the world will become a peaceful place for all people to live together safely. You at Side by Side International (our project name) have been making a daily effort in helping to heal the wounds of war in Cambodia by giving them hope and encouragement. Your effort is bearing good fruit and helping to bring peace to this world. I respect you and the way God has led you in this effort.”
       We were able to read this message to the 120 people who came for our annual Christmas Celebration.

Christmas 2000 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
By Marty and Anne, Taiwan
       Constant change is one of the things we can always be sure of in the Family. For our family of 12 this applies well to our singing team … and this year Brandy (5) and Vanessa (3) joined their older brother and sisters in our Christmas show! The Taiwanese people really enjoyed the younger ones being in cluded! Jesus's promise of a greater anointing of His Spirit was evident in Vanessa, as last year she would run off stage soon after the music began. This year she was a star in our show, singing with joy and boldness, and although she did run off twice during the tour, she came back both times to finish the song! Brandy also was a great addition, bringing lots of enthusiasm and singing his parts well.
       This Christmas we found ourselves a single-family Home and needed to adjust our usual plans of many shows and busy outreach. But the Lord came through anyway and showed us He's not limited by how few we are. The shows we did do were fruitful and our little team got out almost 1,000 CD cards, besides a few regular tools!
       A kindergarten purchased 540 CD cards and invited us to do our show at their Christmas party. When we arrived, a very well-behaved audience of almost 500 children, aged 4 to 6, were waiting. They were so cute and we wanted very much to get them saved but were a bit ne rvous about offending the teachers by praying the salvation prayer with them. We thought to ask first if it'd be OK, but the Lord showed Dad it'd be best to go by faith and claim the land. So part way through our show we stopped and explained salvation in simple terms and started the prayer. But the kids weren't getting it. Remember these were little folks. Just then the Santa Claus, who had been watching from the side, came out in front of the stage and grabbed a microphone, repeating Elaine's prayer again, louder and slower so the kids could follow. We found out later the Santa was the director of the whole school! We'd been like the guy crawling across the ice, when our spirit helpers had arranged everything in advance so the victory would be sure.
       Just a few days before Christmas we helped in a program for a hospital, doing our show and then visiting the rooms of those children who couldn't come to the show. Several of our friends had sponsored 100 CD cards for this occasion and it was fun to be able to give these kids such a beautiful gift!
       We also did a fun show for the Kaohsiung Architectural Association's year-end party on the 38th floor of the city's newest high-rise. It was arranged by our old friend, Peter, and included a yummy buffet dinner. The Lord's shiner prize for His valiant young troops! TYJ! So all in all, we had a wonderful Christmas season 2000!

Road Trips, Shows, and Shami Ami!
By the Lahore Home, Pakistan
       In December 2000, we sent two road tr ips to Faisalabad and Sialkot and held 15 Christmas shows for poor schools and institutions. We also had our annual function Shami Ami (a big colorful tent used for marriages and functions that covers our entire garden with stage and seating inside) where we invite all our friends, supporters and neighbors to come and see our Christmas show. A close friend supplied the catering free of charge and about 150 guests attended. Finally we had two bookings at the Pearl Continental Hotel, the best 5-st ar in Lahore, where the children sang in the lobby for 2 nights, the 24th and the 25th. A total of 4,000 people gathered to watch the children perform on both evenings.
       Even though this is a Muslim country, we were able to give quite an extensive witness through these shows. We passed out several hundred Christmas posters and prayed with over 500 hundred people to receive Jesus. (God bless JETT Stevie who has been working hard to learn Urdu and was therefore able to personally lead most of the se souls to the Lord.) Three newspaper articles were published about our activities. We are a Home with only four adults and 12 children, so it was quite a busy time!

Christmas 2000 in Cambodia!
By Tommy and Serena, Cambodia
       This Christmas and New Year season was one of the most fruitful we've ever had here, as well as the most hectic on many levels. At the beginning of December, there was a coup attempt and nine people were killed and many arrested. Two more attempts were expected before Christmas, but we prayed desperately and thank God they didn't come to pass. It was an intense time for us both physically and spiritually, but we were nevertheless able to do many things:

       We gave out more than 26,000 “Man of Love” posters in Khmer, in the Phnom Penh region, on the road to Vietnam and in the Kampong Som and Kampong Speu regions.
       We distributed 8,000 pages of DF classes, Christmas stories, and Reflections in Khmer.
       We led 655 souls to the Lord.
       We did six Christmas prog rams: two in orphanages, one in the Mother Teresa hospital for terminal AIDS patients and three to the street children and slum areas. Our teens put together a singing program of Christmas carols accompanied with dances that they choreographed themselves.
       The Lord supplied all the food, drinks, cakes, chocolates, Christmas trees, lights, tinsels, hats, and presents for 350 children in orphanages.
       We performed the Nativity and “The Rock in the Road” skits in Khmer.
       Our CDs, Christmas Treasu res and Little Drummer Boy were playing all over town in the restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets. Everywhere we went we would enjoy our own music playing on the speakers.
       We even had the courage to sing a song in Khmer, which was a first!
       Our TAs Happy Holidays and Christmas Friends were put on TV in the local language, reaching 7 million people in Cambodia.
       We were able to feed many street children and poor families living in the streets with specially prepared German hot dogs.
       We got our first Activated subscribers in Cambodia.
       Our Bible classes are going very well and we have now three on-fire catacombers who go out witnessing with us from time to time. One of them kept coming to visit us every day during the Christmas holidays and got to help us with the programs and the witnessing.

       So things are really booming around here, PTL! Please continue to pray for political stability in the country so we can continue to operate freely and help as many people as we can. Your gifts are of course welcome and will be used to help translate and dub more TAs in Khmer to be put on TV so that the whole population, adults, and children, of Cambodia can benefit.
       Thanks again for your faithful support and for your prayers. We couldn't do it without you!

Deluging Schools, Dad in the Paper, and Live on the Air on Christmas Eve
By the Baia Mare Home, Romania
       It was our desire to win more souls this Christmas. After praying desperately, the Lord showed us to reach the hi gh schools. It's amazing how the Lord opened the door for us to reach almost all the high schools. Though the staff at some schools were not so sheepy, nevertheless they agreed for us to give each student a poster (mainly Man of Love) and give them the Christmas message (which of course is the salvation prayer).
       Our team went out daily for almost two weeks, going school to school, room by room, giving out posters and praying with the students.
       Meanwhile our singing group--Joel 5, Clara 6, Lu cia 5, Alin 2, and Anita 3--went with us caroling to factories and prayed with people at the end of each program.
       The result of all this is that we won 5,565 souls. We distributed about 7,000 Man of Love and What Everybody Needs Is Love posters and distributed 135 Christmas storybooks (most were sponsored and given to schools). We distributed a tremendous amount of tapes and CDs as well, which helped us financially.
       Our Christmas Reflections were also printed in the OPINIA newspaper, coverag e about 300,000 readers. This included “Love Goes a Long Long Way,” with the words “by David BRANDT BERG”in bold letters, ha!
       We were so happy that the Lord helped us to reach our goals and yet He showed us that we could do more. So we asked the Galaxy FM radio station if we could sing Christmas carols live on Christmas Eve, and they agreed and even asked us to introduce ourselves and explain what we are doing here in Baia Mare. Romanian Rachael and Josiah PI sang two Christmas songs. Afterwa rd they delivered a salvation message and encouraged the listeners to pray and repeat the beautiful prayer. On the air. Live. On Christmas Eve. Listeners, approximately 250,000. Isn't the Lord wonderful?

Jesus goes behind bars!
By Abe and Mercy, Southern Taiwan
       Security was tight as we approached the first gate with our nine children, singing equipment, and bags with costumes and props. The guards questioned us concerning our purpose for coming. Then followed some exchanges on the intercom with a higher officer who knew about our coming. Next all our stuff had to be opened for inspection by the guards, and mobile phones had to be deposited in a locker. After several more iron gates were unlocked before us and safely locked behind us, we were finally inside the local center for delinquent youth.
       “Oh, this place doesn't look so bad!” we exclaimed, as we looked at the well-kept sports grounds and modern, clean buildings. Yes, just like a modern school, agreed one of our friends wh o had come with us.
       Just then, we heard the shouting of military commands and the guards led a group of boys with crew-cuts and dressed in brown khaki uniforms towards the building that housed the auditorium where we would be doing our performance. When one of the boys chatted with the boy next to him, he got immediately yelled at and rebuked by one of the guards and made to squat on the floor. Later one of the officers told us that the 150 boys and about 20 girls in this institution ranged in age from ten to eighteen and they were imprisoned for every kind of crime, from theft to robbery and even murder. That's why security was so strict.
       These boys hear a lot of sermons from “religious” people about how bad they are, and how sorry they should feel, and how much better they should do things in the future and how thankful they should be to society for giving them another chance and so on. When we smiled and waved to them they were obviously relieved. And when the kids started out w ith some lively dance and song numbers they really warmed up and started to smile themselves. Then the older children told some encouraging and uplifting stories and anecdotes in Chinese and most of them listened intently. They really came to life when we performed several folk songs sung in the local Taiwanese dialect, which is the predominant language in southern Taiwan. Finally they all got quiet as Elisabeth (13) sang “You can Become God's Child” in Chinese. Right after that, Esther (17) led all the boys and girls in a simple salvation prayer.
       The director of the institution used the occasion to tell those young people that today they had seen an example of a warm, close-knit family, something the majority of them never experienced, as most of them come from broken homes. He encouraged them that this was something they should strive for in their future lives, that even though they came from sad situations they could build a better life with their own future families.
       Since secu rity was so tight we were not able to talk with the young people individually, we could only smile and wave at them and wish them Merry Christmas, but we could see that their spirits had been lifted this day and that most of all they knew Jesus was now their Friend forever. One of those tough-looking boys, when he passed by us, said very sincerely, “Thank you for coming.”
       As an added benefit, our friend who had not gotten saved yet, was so moved by everything she saw that day, that she prayed right along with the young people to receive Jesus. Before we left she told us that her heart was filled with emotion after everything she heard and saw today and that this was the first time in her life that she had prayed.

News from East Taiwan
By Eastgate Home, Taiwan

       CTP shows: Our children prepared a selection of Christmas songs in Chinese and English with dance routines to help us spread the Christmas message. We performed in some of the most famous hospitals on the east side of Ta iwan; the Buddhist Tsu Chi Hospital and the Municipal Hospital in Hualien; the Mackay Christian Hospital in Taidong, and the Catholic St. Mary's Hospital along with the Bo Ai Hospital in Ilan. We later sent a team to go around the wards in the Bo Ai Hospital distributing Christmas tracts and posters and comfort to those sick and infirmed. The children also sang at some handicapped children centers, the Mennonite New Dawn Center and Catholic St. Camillius Center, bringing some of the Lord's love to those “special” kids in His eyes. And not forgetting the old folks, we were able to do some shows for some of the old folks homes we know, the Tsu Chi Buddhist Old Folks in Hualien and the Sisters of the Holy Cross Old Folks, run by Swiss nuns in Taidong County.

       Delivery to mountain tribe villages: Because part of our yearly outreach is taking deliveries of clothes and food to the mountain tribal villages, we scheduled an 8-hour drive to one of the villages affected by the earthquake last year. We took up lots of clothes, toys, shoes, cereals, milk powder, all of which was greatly appreciated. We joined their Sunday evening service and sang and danced along with them in their small church. It seemed even smaller than last time we were there as they had set up a drum set in the church for added accompaniment to their songs, complete with guitar and piano. We ended up staying the night with them in their village, rising in the morning to songs about the Lord being played from a ta pe player somewhere in the village. What we thought was the church playing songs again was in fact some workmen working on building some new housing who were listening to songs about the Lord as they worked. This particular tribe is noted for its singing and musical abilities and there are some young people we are wanting to get to come to our youth club in Taichung city, the one nearest to them.
       Previous to this we spent an evening ministering to one of the village pastors at a village we oft en visit in Hualien County. We sat up till midnight singing songs with him and his wife, with them singing in their own language and us singing Family songs. One of the most beautiful songs was when they sang “Silent Night” in their own aborigine language.

       Friends and neighbors: We spent the rest of Christmas with our friends and neighbors who visited us. The children sang for them, and we talked and spent time bringing them closer to us and the Lord.

       Tool distribution and Souls won: We continued with our Christmas CD cards distribution as well as other Christmas CDs, Christmas posters and audios, Christmas cards and Christmas Reflections. During this month we were also able to win another 800 souls for the Lord, part of our Christmas gift to Him.

Christmas in Bosnia
By Sarajevo Family team

       At our Christmas shows in several schools and a children's center we reached about 3,000! Over 1,000 souls were saved and we distributed more than 4,000 pieces of lit (posters and Pr ince and Magical Power)!
       We did two shows for the SFOR military hospital personnel and other soldiers at a base near Sarajevo. These went very well with hundreds of soldiers and officers really enjoying the show, which included many Christmas songs and meaningful country and Gospel numbers. At the second show, which was for their New Years celebration, the first song we sang after the stroke of midnight was “Amazing Grace” and several soldiers on the front row were moved to tears. Many told us later on that our show was just what they needed, and the officers in charge were very thankful for the good atmosphere we helped to bring to their party which otherwise would have been more focused on drinking and shallow partying.
       On the media front there were big victories! KISS TV (reaching about 700,000) broadcast the Treasure Attic shows “Christmas Treasures” and “The Fantastic Journey” several times during Christmas and OBN (national channel reaching a population of nearly 4 million!) broadcast Countdown To Armageddon (overdubbed in Bosnian) so that was a lot of quality media witness! OBN station is working on translating all 26 Treasure Attic shows to broadcast on their children program! Also, a private TV station in Sarajevo did an interview with Stefan and Fay (Bosnian nationals) about the children's and other CTP shows and showed clips of some of the shows--very positive!
       A visiting team came all the way from Spain, bringing lots of nice CTP aid and needs for the Home. They visited two Kosovar refugee camps with us, as well as joined us on witnessing and follow-up! Their puppet show was thoroughly enjoyed by the children and we had some good follow up together. GB John Little and his team and a special thank you to Rose for holding the fort!

personals

       Job and Charran, where are you? Have a prophecy for you. Write Michael and Rose

       Lydia Cook, please contact Michael and Rose. Portugal 1987.

       L ooking for: Nathaniel andGlo (last had contact while you lived in Florida), as well as Luz and Ricardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil), and Dust (SGA) possibly in Indonesia. Peace L. would like to get in touch with you. Since I don't have your present addresses, you could contact me via my e-mail or snail addresses, which are: mike..ray@bih.net.ba / P.P. 99, 71000 Sarajevo, B i H (Bosnia).

       Charity (Japanese Live-out) is looking for David (American) and Ina (German). I lost your e-mail address and stree t address. I want to get in touch with you! Please contact me at: Yuri-ya@clubaa.com. Thank you!

       Eman, I lost your address. Please write me as soon as you can! Maria: jungle04@datanetbbs.com.br.

       Silver Liz, it's Honey Liz! I'm crazy to hear about you. I lost your address so write me soon k? Love U! Maria: jungle04@datanetbbs.com.br.

       This is Ericka looking for Carina Roberts, lived with her in Peru. Last I heard she was no longer in the Family so if anybody knows of her whereabouts pl ease contact me at: Thanks! joscla@baydenet.com.br .

       Andre, please contact Serena as soon as you read this. We knew each other in California and somehow lost touch. My e-mail is: serenaa@mail.ru.

former members - seeking contact

       Shawn LePore (was Dawn Millenium) would like to get in touch with Hepher North. Knew him very well many years ago. Please write to: shawn_lepore@hotmail.com.

help wanted

       Hi, my name is Simon (17) and I'm a young person stu dying in Mainland China. I've lived in China over a year and my goal is to learn the language. I've been studying for a few months now and my semester is almost over. I am writing this because I would love to study for another term, but being that I am studying there is no real way I can come up with enough money for another term which is US$1,000. So if there's any way that you, the Family, could help out it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Simon in CN604.

       My three teens, Paul (17), Jo y (16) and Michael (14) and I (single mom) are in need of your prayers, love and support. The Lord has shown us to open a new Home in Cambodia, as we take this step of faith by obeying, we believe He will do all the rest. He has shown us to ask you for help and prayers. We would need $3,000 to help us get started, for tho' the country is poor, the cost of living is quite high. So we would really appreciate if you can help us in any way--any amount would mean a lot to us as it comes from your lov ing hearts. Please send all designated gifts for Maggie (Malaysian) and teens (in Cambodia) through the ASCRO office. Thank you very much!

       A large family needs help to be able to stay in the fruitful mission field of India. Eleven of us (a mother and 10 kids) need to renew our long-term visa which will cost US$1,200. We desperately need help towards this expense. Please send your gifts to “Paul and Lily, IA51, Bangalore.” TY!

ponder

       Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possibl e, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.--St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Time to make the e-mail switch!

The IBM e-mail addresses [mpg@ibm.net, grape@ibm.net, homemail@ibm.net] are closing! If you're still using them, please switch over to the new listing of e-mail addresses below today. And please also try to make the switch to PGP from CPY! Thanks!

Department       E-mail address
Mama        mama@wsfamily.com
Peter       peter@wsfamily.com
To write BOTH Mama and Peter, write “To Mama and Pe ter” in your file.

Activated        activated@wsfamily.com
Art contributions        art@wsfamily.com
Blade       blade@wsfamily.com
END       end@wsfamily.com
Eve       eve@wsfamily.com
FAR       far@wsfamily.com
Family Care       familycare@wsfamily.com
FED/CVC       fed@wsfamily.com
FSM       fsm@wsfamily.com
GP       gp@wsfamily.com
Grapevine        gv@wsfamily.com
Heaven's Library        hl@wsfamily.com
Kidland       kidland@wsfamily.com
KidzBiz       kidzbiz@wsfamily.com
Prayer List       pl@wsfamily.com
TeleTRF questions       teletrf@wsfamily.com
Web team       web@wsfa mily.com
WS business       ws@wsfamily.com
Zine       zine@wsfamily.com
Any other pubs       pubs@wsfamily.com
Any questions?       question@wsfamily.com

Personal mail to anyone in WS       wsmail@wsfamily.com

entertainment

Movies Rated for Senior Teens and Up

SKULLS, THE (2000)
Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker
       Thriller loosely based on a secret society that exists at Yale University (see WND 355). A student who has had to struggle to make it into an Ivy League school gets more than he bargained for when accept ing membership into a secret society.

LOSER (2000)
Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Greg Kinnear
       A college student, branded a loser by his roommates and shunned from their company, falls in love with a co-ed who has eyes for their professor.

BOYS AND GIRLS (2000)
Freddie Prinze Jr., Claire Forlani, Jason Biggs
       Two college students' long-term friendship is put to the test after one night of intimacy.

Movies Rated for Junior Teens and Up

MISS CONGENIALITY (2000)
Sandra Bullock, Benjami n Bratt, Michael Caine
       An FBI agent must go undercover as a contestant in the Miss USA Beauty Pageant to prevent a suspected bombing.

MANSFIELD PARK (1999)
Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz
       Based on a novel by Jane Austen. A poor girl is sent by her parents to live with her aunt at Mansfield Park, in order to give her a chance at a better life and social standing.

Movies Rated for YCs and Up

THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD (2000)
Animation and live action mix, Alec Baldwin, Peter Fon da
       A young girl sets off to visit her lonely Grandpa, but finds herself on a great adventure that leads to a meeting with Thomas the Tank Engine and Mr. Conductor.

reviews

The Skulls
       (Jesus:) This movie is not so realistic in some ways, because when you get trapped by the Enemy, it's not so easy to get loosed from his grip without My miracle-working power. However, it had good lessons on the true values of life. It also showed what some of the consequences can be of getting involved in such a group. It's a good warning to stay away from them. It was a simplistic exposé on secret societies and will probably be enjoyable for most people.

Loser
       (Dad:) The main actor in this movie reminds me a lot of our kids--good looking, smart, yet kind, considerate, trusting, and loving even to his own hurt. This poor fellow was persecuted by those bullies just like I was when going to school. Tactics have changed, but it's still the same old game--evil hates good--but thank the Lord, ri ght always conquers wrong. Even though it's a sweet movie and the young man is a good sample, the awful System attitudes of the bad boys makes this movie somewhat undesirable. It would be a shame if any of our pure, wonderful young folks would be tainted by their bad attitudes. So pray before you watch.

Boys and Girls
       (Jesus:) There's not all that much to this movie, although there are a few nuggets about being honest and not playing roles or trying to be someone you aren't. It's more of a light entertainment movie.

Miss Congeniality
       (Dad:) I thought this movie was pretty cute. Although it's not exactly a lesson-filled movie, it's still pretty fun and entertaining. It does give you a clearer picture as to what these beauty contestants actually have to go through mentally and physically to be able to achieve their goals, and how empty and meaningless their lives really are! It's a funny movie and I think some of you will really like it!

Mansfield Park
(Jesus:) This movie g ives you a peek into how life used to be. It is a character study, a study of romance in a time when conventions and delicacy prevented honesty. But the young girl makes good choices and there are some good lessons.

Thomas and the Magic Railroad
       (Dad:) This kids' movie was made to be seen by even the young ones. It's got the bad guy in it, the diesel engine, yet even he doesn't get his way, nor does he win in the end. There is no actual violence done to anyone that is really hurtful, the ch aracters are sweet and kind and even though it's a bit hard to follow at first, the story itself is cute and harmless for our kids.
       As always, parents should preview and watch this before showing to the kids, so they can have time to know what to explain to the little ones. But it's a sweet movie, one with a message of helping others, and the make believe is easy enough to explain to the kids, that that's what it is, make believe.

October--December 2000 Activated prize winners!

Rank       Home #       Home Name       Subs.       Prize
150 SUBSCRIPTIONS MINIMUM
1       IA21       Bombay DF Home       457       $500
2       IA42       Bangalore Service Home       423       $500
3       IA40       Rose Garden Home       357       $500
100 SUBSCRIPTIONS MINIMUM
4       IA08       Prem, Ruth, Simon       259       $300
5       IA23       JTC       224       $200
6       IA25       Simon, Sarah, Mark, Faith       186       $100
7       IA27       Elkanah, Faith, Peter, Pearl, Steve       134       $100
8       IA50       Castle Home       113       $100
9       IA06       Dan, Abi, David, Lisa       111       $100
10       Open       -       -       $100
As explained earlier, only the top 10 winners receive prizes, but we're listi ng the top 20 for everyone's inspiration. In order to qualify for one of the top 10 slots, you have to get a minimum of 100 subscriptions, which is why the 10th slot is empty.
11       IA38       Josh and Lily       53       N/A
12       IA28       Tim, Mary, John       36       N/A
13       IA55       James and Team       35       N/A
14       IA51       Paul, Lily, Michael       33       N/A
15       IA60       Willing       32       N/A
16       IA35       Madras Deaf Home       31       N/A
17       IA05       Delhi Deaf Home       28       N/A
18       IA52       Andrew, Esther, Rafael       25       N/A
19       US3054       Peter, Crystal, Jenny       25       N/A
20       IA33       Andy, Ruth, Tom       24        N/A

Shine On--December 2000
TEAMWORK       Per Adult       Total
SOUL SHINERS FOR DECEMBER 2000
Charity/Daniel/Happy, India       5,250       21,000
Samuel H.H/Rosita H.H, Mexico        4,861       9,722
Lalo/Ruth, Mexico        2,625       10,500
Faithy/Mark/Prem/Shar/Simon/Vic, India       2,399       14,397
Willing, India       1,896       13,276
Josue Fiel/Maria Fiel, Mexico        1,623       3,245
Jonathan/Jose/Marianne, Mexico       1,388       11,100
Daniel/Crystal/Steven/Claire, India       1,313       5,254
Andrew/Simon/Sunny, India       1,010       4,042
Francisco/Margarita/John/Sarah, Mexico       855       4,275

POSTER SHINERS FOR DECEMBER 2000
Charity/Daniel/Happy, India       5,025       20,100
Serena/Tommy, Cambodia       4,333       26,000
Michael/Sylvia/Mike, Kenya       2,666       8,000
Sharif/Joanne/Rima, Nigeria       2,322       18,576
Willing, India       1,602       11,220
Andrew/Simon/Sunny, India       1,538       6,153
Eli/Tirzah, Japan       1,500       3,000
Daniel/Crystal/Steven/Claire, India       1,420       5,683
Maria/Michael, Japan       1,322       3,966
Joanna/Peter/Praise, Philippines       1,000       3,000

TAPE SHINERS FOR DECEMBER 2000
Jeho/Consuelo/Lizzy, Brazil       2,380       16,664
Joao/Clara/Celeste, Brazil       652       3,263
Francesco/Claire/Jesse, Taiwan       635       2,540
Lalo/Ruth, Mexico        610       2,440
Marcos/Abby, Brazil       564       1,129
Crystal/Jenny/Mercy/Peter, USA       558       2,790
Primavera/Amor/Juan, Chile       514       2,570
Marty/Anne, Taiwan       503       1,006
Ivo/Silvana, Brazil       460       920
Luna, Spain       408       816

VIDEO SHINERS FOR DECEMBER 2000
Marie/Simeon/Timothy, Indonesia       34       206
Daniel/Naomi, Japan       33       200
Aaron/Dulci/Miriam, Spain       32       160
Chris/Ginny/Solomon, USA       22       237
Paul/Ol ivia, Kenya       20       41
Michael/Sylvia/Mike, Kenya       20       61
Angeles/John/Autumn/Marie, Portugal       19       238
Serena/Tommy, Cambodia       19       116
Joao/Clara/Celeste, Brazil       16       84
Joseph Sword, Colombia       15       30

Also included with this file:
Peculiar People (By Zeb)
       Caption 1 Okay, folks! It's dishes time! Come on! Let's get going! Press in!
       Caption 2 By the way, once we're finished we have a new video to watch!
       Caption 3 Works every time!