the grapevine
(Issue #62; March 15, 1999.)
Feature:
Honduras trip
kidbits
teeny treasures …
Kevin Brian, 3rd child, born to Crystal and Daniel on October 10.--Indonesia
Chantal Arrow, 1st child, born to Sylvie and Michael on December 31.--Australia
Maria Valeria, 4th child, born to Esther and Juan on January 7.--Argentina
Charlene Ai, 4th child, born to Mary and Ezra on January 13.--Japan
Joshua David Forward, 7th child, born to Joan and David on January 17.--Japan
Natalia
, 2nd child, born to Carol and Japes on January 19.--Brazil
Laurel Elizabeth, 7th child, born to Joy and Noe on January 23.--China
Nicole Shamae, 3rd child, born to Peace and John on February 20.--Indonesia
tidbits
new laborers
Maria Kazak (22), joined in Kazakstan.--January 1999
ponder
You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others.--Henry Drummond
10-Day Aid Trip to Honduras
Ruth and the
New Orleans Home, USA
For me it started while I was sitting in a restaurant with my teen daughter. While reading an article about the serious devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Mitch, I was so touched I started to cry. My daughter of course was embarrassed and asked me what I was crying about. As I tried to tell her, my voice cracked and I was so overtaken with emotion that I couldn't talk. All I could do was pray for the Honduran people, and I asked God to send me.
At a fellowship I
shared the vision with others and we prayed and received in prophecy that "Little is much when God is in it" and "Where there's a will there's a way." I started to make phone calls to see how we could get down there and got in touch with Mike B. (President of the International Children's Hospital). He had basically turned his ambulance company into a warehouse for receiving and packing donated items for Honduras and Central America. He was later instrumental in helping us with key contacts in Ho
nduras.
I called the Honduran Embassy and to our surprise the Consul wanted to meet with us. When we showed him our photo album containing pictures of previous disaster relief work, he was highly impressed and prepared a letter asking the First Lady to "take care of us" while in Honduras! We weren't quite sure what that meant, but felt we'd better be prepared with our best foot forward. So far we had Daniel, his wife Becky and myself ready to go … none of us really performers. Our clown (Smile
y - John B.) had just left for Bosnia for Christmas and we weren't sure quite when he'd be back.
Through a series of miracles the Lord supplied the funds for an 8-man team to go down to Honduras! Several people sponsored flying John B. back from Bosnia to Honduras. Chevrolet helped to sponsor another clown, Juan (of Ana). A doctor (Bob) and his wife (whom John B. met while canning) volunteered to go with us, as well as Joy (of Michael from Baton Rouge). So we got tickets for January 12, 1999.
Trying to home-school six kids didn't leave much time for provisioning. Also, I didn't know who would stay with my kids, as my husband works during the day. There were a lot of details still left to hurdle. Then we got a call from Ben and Clarissa who were on the road, a little weary and looking for a Home! Bingo! God bless them for staying by the stuff while I was away.
Five days before leaving, Dr. Bob was starting to get nervous as we still didn't know yet where we'd be staying, what we w
ere going to eat, how we were going to get around, or how we were going to get the 3,000 lbs. of donated materials down there.
Juan came from Florida with a vanload of medical supplies donated by a church. The local Walgreen's donated diapers, food and toys. Employees of a car sales company collected toys; a sweet nun from the Children's Hospital donated orthopedic equipment, and a local hotel collected 30 boxes of clothes!
It was Friday afternoon and time was running out, as we were leaving
the following Tuesday. The doctor's wife gave me a phone number of a hotel in Honduras, I called and, TTL! YES, the manager agreed to give us three rooms for 10 days! Another phone call and fax and we had our overweight taken care of! Once over those two hurdles, John called Dr. Bob with the good news which helped to further smooth his feathers which were starting to get a little ruffled by our "all by faith" mode of operation, ha!
One of the amazing things to me was that it seemed like we'd
just barely tap on the doors and they'd fly open. For example, my husband, Paul, had the idea to offer the CD Ritmo Sin Fronteras to a local Latin music store that owned a radio station. I had put this off as I had quite a long "to do" list. But I happened to be near the place one day, so decided to try. I offered the CD to the owner and his wife, and explained our vision to go to Honduras. They were so turned on they began giving me all kinds of names of other radio stations. To wrap it up they
asked me if I could be on television that night, as they had a friend with a TV program! "Of course, I'd love to," I managed to stutter. It was pick-up day, you know--market, bread, sorting vegetables, that sort of thing. I got home late that afternoon and called Becky to have her go with me. God bless her, she got up out of her sick bed to do the TV interview with me. It went well, and the message got out about our work as well as a plug for our CDs!
The trip to Honduras was life-changing fo
r all of us, and power-packed with miracles. We were able to do 16 performances in 10 days for thousands of people, and 1,850 souls were won! Ten thousand dollars' worth of medical supplies were distributed, as well as thousands of dollars of food, clothes, toys, etc. The Lord supplied printing contacts that donated thousands of Gospel and "Hurricane Mitch" tracts, which we passed out freely!
Doctor Bob and his wife treated hundreds of needy children. We had a birthday party for Dr. Bob and he
said it was his best birthday ever. They shared with us that it had always been their desire to go on a mission trip and this had been a dream come true. It was a real testimony for them to see how God supplies for His children!
The First Lady supplied us with a chauffeur-driven air-conditioned van, as well as a guide, who was instrumental in logistics and daily arranging our lunch and setting up appointments. We met up with California's channel 10, who filmed us for a story they were doing.
We were broadcast on the radio twice; one time for over an hour as John, Juan, Joy and Ruth gave their personal testimonies. The Mitch tract was read over the air twice, and the beautiful song, "Peace in the Midst of the Storm" was aired repeatedly. Two local newspapers also did spreads on us.
It was a miraculous 10 days! We have since come home and were invited to lunch with the Consul. He was again deeply touched by our testimonies and pictures, and couldn't believe that we wanted to return
to help his people again so soon after arriving home. He offered to help us get free tickets for our next trip! We want to eventually move our whole operation down there as we have fallen in love with these precious people and the adorable children who need so much help. Hurricane Mitch took over 11,000 lives, left one million homeless, and three million living under emergency conditions! The need for donations is urgent, and the road to recovery is long … but together we can make a difference!
(pic captions:)
1. Ruth handing out clothing and toys to children who had lost virtually everything in the hurricane and resultant flooding.
2. Steven (of Mariangela), Ruth (of Paul), Joy (of Michael) and John Beloved loading the donated medical supplies. The Lord supplied $10,000 worth of supplies for Honduras for them to take.
3. Our first show in one of the tent cities and shelters where the thousands of homeless live after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country. The children respond
ed enthusiastically to the happiness and fun of the clowns.
4. John Beloved and Ruth hugging a group of little children after a show at the tent city for the homeless.
5. John, Juan, Joy and Ruth explaining our work and the message of His love for the people of Honduras.
6. Boys at a prison for youth offenders study the New Testaments we brought them. Some are in for crimes like murder, although very young. We did 2 shows for this prison while there and a Bible study. The change we saw in
the boys was incredible.
7. In the cancer ward in the public hospital, Becky hands a toy to a little child after a show.
Park Home `98 Year Report:
By Joolz and Meek, Brazil
To summarize our ministries here at the Park (Service Home), we have: the RAD and BLAST studios, the North Brazil ABM, CRO base, we check and answer the "La Familia" Spanish E-mail, RDD (Rio Duping Department) to dupe CDs on order, childcare (18 kids) and witnessing (busking, tool distribution, provisioning, etc.). A
nd we're happy that, as is mentioned below, we've been able to act as a "retreat house" for those in need of rest and time away from their situation to be refilled and strengthened.
January `98--FC leaves
The year kicked off with the departure of our sweet FC team. This meant the Home went from being "WS/selah" to being a considerably more open Home. Immediately after FC's departure, we began receiving new personnel (and haven't seemed to stop since, ha!). Personnel-wise we have remained pr
etty constant at 35-40 persons in our Home, with people coming and going, etc.
Young Population
We're comprised largely of young people: SGAs, Yas, and we've had a few teens also. Out of the average 20+ "adults" which we usually have amongst our fluctuating personnel, 65-70% are second generation.
Our kid population currently stands at 18. Thirteen of those kids are under five years of age. Visitors often remark how many little guys we have. They sure help to keep us out of trouble, busy
and inspired.
Witnessing
Witnessing was a major change for those who remained after FC left. Although most have been in normal witnessing situations before, it was an adjustment getting back into the swing of things. TTL, He really poured out His blessings and we can honestly say there's been no difference at all in our current standard or way of operating as compared to before when we were fully supported. So far the Lord has used singing/busking to be one of our main sources of income, su
pplemented also by CDing done by our witnessing teams, usually in gas stations, at stop lights, etc.
CTP
Sam and Maria began going on a weekly basis to teach and help out in the day-care center at a local favela (slum) center not too far from where we live. Since their original vision of helping those people, several other Homes in the area began participating as well and now we are able to supply the center with food on a regular basis. We also provide materials, personal assistance, class
es for the young people etc. It has blossomed into quite a beautiful CTP endeavor.
"Place of Rest"--Mini-Retreat
In more recent months our Home has been somewhat of a retreat for Family members to visit for a day or two for W&R. We made a list of the people we could remember off the top of our heads that actually stayed with us for at least a day and night--some for much longer--and we came up with a total of 75 visitors! Not counting the ones that only come to rest for the day!
We also h
elped to host what we called a "Mini-Retreat" for shepherds that care for our ever growing population of Live-out members. We received 30 people from Rio, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Belo, Curitiba and Blumenau. We got together to read the Word and get filled up with the "Spiritual Health Revolution."
We also held an OC "day camp." The Lord has blessed us with a spacious and beautiful property which we've been extending the use of to others besides our own Home.
RAD Studio News
Major highlights
of the year include: finally completing the first in a series of two "Kids Audio Tapes." The first tape is a selection of ML and story-related songs, which we pray will be a blessing to the Family kiddos. The boys also participated in a local area project, producing several songs for the Portuguese Loving Jesus tape, as well as keeping up with some FTT production. One inspiring happening this year was Philly's visit from JAS, which though brief it was nice for the guys here to have another studi
o musician around for a while. The studio was able to upgrade with some new equipment this year--thanks to a donation from SACRO. If our count is correct, RAD's two studios final produced about 34 songs last year, which roughly means three finished songs per "working month."
Other studio news was BLAST moving in, or at least under the same roof as RAD, which means we have three operating studios again in our Home. What's that old saying "birds of a feather flock together"? Or we could say "sin
g together."
BLAST Studio News:
This year we finished Para Ti, Jesus #1 (Loving Jesus #1 in Spanish/Portuguese), did quite a bit of work on Paulo and Nina's Brazilian style CD; revamped the Portuguese translations for the new Kiddie Viddie series; contributed some songs in English for Wings of Prayer as well as Dancing with Jesus, produced four new Treasure Attics, and started the production of Para Ti, Jesus #2 that is now near completion.
Well, `99 here we come! If `99 tops `98, it prom
ises to be quite a year!
post-its
Want Ads/Bulletins
We've received a number of ads from Family members all over the world to be printed in the Grapevine. You may have noticed that yours hasn't yet been printed. We generally try to print only those that would be of interest or benefit to the entire Family. We generally do not print "personnel wanted" ads or things of that nature. However, we do forward all your ads to every CRO office, and request that they print them in their local bull
etin, so that the Family all around the world will read your ad, just not in the Grapevine.
Reflections available on the MO site!
WS: We will now be adding Reflections to the Members Only site's GP lit collection as they come out. So that means you can download and print these for your friends and contacts before the hard copies are mailed to your Home! The Easter Reflections should be up shortly. All GP tracts are now available on the Members Only site as they come out, also.
Visitation
in the Middle East
--CRO report excerpts
Karachi Home, Pakistan
There are three Homes in Pakistan (in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore) and most of the precious brethren have been there since 1989, when "It's Almost Over" came out. Some of the larger families from India who decided to stick it out on the mission field went to Pakistan and are still there. Although it is quite a sacrifice to be there, as the Family in Pakistan at times feels a bit isolated, there are also countless benefits.
The harvest is plenteous, and since the labourers are so few there are many open doors.
The Karachi Home consists of Gideon and Filipino Heidi with 12 of their 17 children. The total population of their home is 22: with Sam and Samaria, and Dutch Mary, a single mom with three boys (2 teens and one JETT), who have all been there for 10 years. They were joined about six months ago by a couple from the States, Sam and Abi, who lived in Bangladesh previously and have some experience living in a Mu
slim field.
T he Karachi Home has inherited lots of good established contacts from years of investment by previous Family members. They have been faithfully ministering to these friends and grounding them in the Word. When we arrived, they were having their Christmas Open House. The Homes conduct Open Houses by renting a big tent and provisioning a catering service, and then their friends and contacts just come to the house. On the night of our arrival, 200 people came for the Open House, and t
he night before 150 people had come. Gideon and Heidi's children, as well as some of Mary's boys, comprised the main singing team that performed. The program also included a clown show with a meaningful skit. The Home uses this same program when they visit schools and orphanages and when they hold camps for the SOS Village in Pakistan.
The Home in Karachi is quite active in terms of witnessing and reaching out through their CTPs. Their singing team also performs and the Home carries on a very
active program giving childcare seminars and executive seminars to companies, as do the other Homes in Pakistan as well. It's a good source of income as well as in meeting people for FU, etc. The Lord is really blessing their provisioning as well. It was inspiring to see how well the Home eats, considering that they are quite a big team with a large percentage of children. It's an active Home, both with ministering to the outside, as well as caring for their own children, teaching and schooling
them.
On our second day there, the Home was able to pick up a Toyota Corolla 1994 from Cal-Tex Oil Company, who had donated the car to the Family. They have been following up on the secretary of the company who became aware of their need for another vehicle. She was able to put in a good word for the Family and it was quite inspiring to see Gideon and Heidi drive up to the Home with a new car.
crusading
Peace (SGA, of John), Indonesia: This month, as a part of our Christmas outreach push,
we sent out a 4-man team consisting of 1 FGA, 1 SGA, 1 YA and 1 teen to Manado--an incredibly fruitful city located in North Sulawesi, on the island of Celebes. Upon inquiring into the fare of round-trip airplane tickets, we found that it would cost us over $1,100, so we desperately prayed for the Lord to do a miracle, and sent a fax to an airline that has helped us before.
However, as the day of departure approached, to our dismay, rioting and violence broke out in Jakarta, which ended the l
ives of 12 and injured many hundreds more. This was no small hindrance to our witnessing, forcing us to stay in our Homes and discontinue our outreach ministries for nearly a week. So with the present political upheaval we were uncertain as to the Lord's plan, and were desperate to hear from Him on whether we should continue with the road trip as planned, or whether He had something else in mind. To the surprise of all, the Lord said to go, and gave many encouraging and strengthening promises of
what He had in store! It was then, as a direct confirmation of the Lord's leading, that we heard back from the airline, who informed us that they had decided to give us four round-trip tickets completely free!
So the team set off for Manado, and sure enough, as per the prophecies we had received, they found Manado to be completely untouched by the rioting or even the monetary crisis that has rocked the country over the last year. In fact, Manado subsists largely on exported spices to the West
, which gains them US dollar income. So our team found the economic system to be more stable than it had been during our previous visit, when we had gotten out about 1,000 tapes and hundreds of CDs, videos and posters!
Once again this year, though our team has been there merely a few days, the response has been overwhelming! After only the second day of outreach they faxed to say that they had already gotten out 190 tapes, 25 VDCs (video CDs), 20 videos and 18 CDs, and have been met with the s
ole response of, "Ini gaga!" (This is great!) as the people of Manado sit enthralled, listening to and viewing our beautiful tapes and videos! And what's more, our team has already requested to be shipped another large order of tools!
babymania
--by Jaz
"Number Two": Heavenly Insight
Three days after baby Lauren was born, I could tell Kimby was going through it a little.--Having been the youngest up till now, she'd been the star attraction. Now all of a sudden her little antics weren't
as big a deal anymore in comparison to the brand-new model, and I knew it must be kind of disconcerting for her, though she took it so gracefully and never showed any resentment towards the baby.
I found myself really torn up over the whole thing, because I felt so bad for Kimby, yet at the same time I knew it was for the best.--Because at this age of course it's cute to want to be the center of attention, but as you grow you've got to learn to let go of that, and if you can't then you're stuc
k with a lot of problems later on when it's no longer quite so cute. So even though it was a little tough, I knew it was good for her.
So I came to the Lord and asked if He had anything to say on the subject, and here is part of the beautiful message that He gave.
(Jesus speaking:) This is a crucial time for Kimberly. It is a time of growing, and as all times of growth are often difficult and have their times of heartache, you would not want to be spared of them, for they are the building
blocks that temper your spirit and make you into the vessels that I need you to be. In the same way I am working in the life of this one--who though so small in your eyes, is still a child of Mine, and a vessel in My hands, which I am preparing for her own unique purpose. This is an important step in her life.
Reaching out in love and compassion and providing the vital elements of strength, love, caring and attention is vital to help those who are going through rough times.--For how many have
fallen needlessly and stumbled through their tests for lack of one who would reach out a hand and say, "It's okay, I understand, and I love you anyway." That is very important in the life of this little one.
So it's very important that you stay sensitive and in tune with her needs, for thus you will be reaching for and seeking for My whispers on this matter, and thus you will truly be able to help her, as I best know how and can direct you in. If you will seek Me each time--even just a quick,
split-second question, and I can send the answer back just as fast--then you will know what to do at each given time.--When to love and when to be firm; when to give her time and hold her hand, and when to encourage her to be strong and to fight the Enemy.
You should give her lots of extra time, but also have lots of time all together as a family. For while you want to have special times with her, to reassure her and to be with her, it's also important that you become bonded as a whole unit, b
ecause that's really the way it is. Help her to take part in the care of the little one and help her to see her own role in helping, teaching and being a good sample for her new little sister. Help her to see that her place is assured, she is still just as loved, valued and needed--and even more so now than ever before.
Keep coming to Me as you have questions, and I will continue to guide you on this new exciting road of the bonding and strengthening of your family. I love you! (End of message
from Jesus.)
Toddler Time
Child-sized road map
Topic: Practical life
If you're going on a long car, train or bus ride, and you're familiar with your travel route, turn a large piece of paper or thin cardstock (A3 size preferable) into a road map for your child. Draw simple pictures of easily-recognizable places that you will see on the way--a park, a forest, mountain range, tunnel, shopping mall, restaurant, etc. (Or cut and paste appropriate pictures from magazines and travel brochu
res.) On the map include your Home, and your destination. Fold the map so your child can open it easily. Then you can help your child follow along with the map and be on the lookout for various landmarks on the way!
Word-based take-offs: Read together DM2:147 (May 26), and talk about the comparisons between the Word and a map. You could even memorize some key quotes from the DM passage.
Variations: Make a "life map," with Heaven on one end. Along the road you can draw things like "witnessing
," "learning," as well as "the Endtime," etc.
ask-a-midwife
--by Rose Midwife, USA
Q: I've read in a few childcare pubs that it's better to use cornstarch on the baby's bottom instead of the traditional powders that contain talcum powder. In our country cornstarch is non-existent, so I was wondering if potato starch could be used when cornstarch is unavailable. Does it work just as well, or are there reasons why we shouldn't use it? Is there any other healthy stuff I can use to avoid usi
ng the commercial concoctions?
--Joanne, Russia
A: Dear Joanne, I don't know anything about potato starch, but you could probably ask an older local grandmother (age 60 to 80+) and she could probably tell you. One of the best uses for cornstarch is to treat heat-rash, so I would ask her if potato starch can help heat-rash.
One of the main reasons for avoiding talcum powder is that if the baby inhales the talcum, it can cause a lung infection. Please don't use it on your baby's face for th
e same reason. So if talcum powder is all you have available, you need to remember to first shake it into your hand (away from the baby), and then with your other hand get a bit of powder on your fingertips and carefully rub it on the baby. This way it doesn't fly up into the air around the baby. Love you!
happenings
[Endtime prophecy power]
Christian, Bride Home, Romania: As you may have seen on the news, Romania went through a very serious and dangerous crisis when over 20,000 miners m
arched on Bucharest in late January, breaking through various police barricades, grabbing food and filling up their buses and cars freely on the way to the capital. As they got near the tension was very high and fear was in everyone's hearts. (The same scenario happened in 1992 and resulted in bloody clashes that brought down the government.)
We took time to ask the Lord specifically about the situation and what should be our attitude. The Lord told us who was behind everything, but the most a
mazing thing was that He specifically said that in a couple days this whole matter would disappear and that we had absolutely nothing to worry about. He cautioned us to be prepared, but He promised that when the real problem or riot would come, He would warn us. Can you imagine our reaction to this?--As at that time we thought we were in the worst of it! Both the Senate and the Parliament were in special session, and the President had called in the army and the tanks, and was on the verge of dec
laring a state of emergency.
Well, we went ahead by faith and continued our follow-up and witnessing, and started to share with our close friends a GP version of what the Lord had told us. When we went to see a firm's General Director for our weekly Bible class, the first thing an office worker said was, "Oh, so glad you came, as Mr. S. is very worried today about the situation with the miners!" I looked at her and said, "There is absolutely nothing to worry about!" She looked deep in my eyes
and said "Are you sure?" "Well," I told her, "I can guarantee you that everything is going to be back to normal in a couple of days, and all is fine!" Believe it or not, she sat back in her chair, broke into a big smile and said, "Wow, it's so good to hear this, I feel so relieved!" Of course we shared with them that the Lord had told us this in prophecy. But what a testimony it was to them all, when two days later the miners stopped and returned home to their city!
[Enormous present]
Phili
p and Meekness, Namibia: Our old van started to give us trouble and we were no longer able to take it out for witnessing trips. We desperately prayed for a new car, as without one here in Africa you are basically "frozen." The Lord gave us a vision of an enormous present wrapped in paper with red ribbon around it. One day our faithful supporter called and said that he had something for us. Philip went to meet him, taking our old van with him, but he returned home with new one--a VW van, just one
year old! This sweet man bought the van for us and also pays the insurance and car payments! A total miracle!
[Sapele fire victims]
Paul, Maria, Simon, Joan and Jan, Nigeria: A pipeline in Sapele in the south of the country exploded in a fire ball when vandals caused a leak and others started pilfering the leaking petrol. The place where the fire disaster took place is a three-hour drive from our Home. About 1,460 people died in this fire disaster; 500 on the spot and the rest later. Many
were admitted into a hospital where we were the comforters and organizers.
After hearing from the Lord, we sent a four-man team to help the fire victims. When we arrived on the scene, two of us left for the villages to check out the situation, and the others went to see the victims whose families had been hiding them, even though they were badly burnt. There was a lot of fear, as the governor had made an announcement that people would be arrested and that no treatment would be given because th
ey were vandalizing the pipeline.
Despite the general climate, we along with the Red Cross volunteers encouraged families to send the wounded to the hospital. The next day all of us left for one of the hospitals to see how we could help. We went from bed to bed encouraging the families and the patients, praying with them and reassuring them that God would take care of them, and that He forgives us for all our sins. It was beautiful to see the patients--though many had third degree burns or wor
se--still trying to smile. We knew that even though many doctors were trying to help in the physical, our job was to help them spiritually, as spiritual doctors, and that is what we did.
Many were mourning at the villages, as about six out of every ten people had died. It was a very sad situation. The doctors said the few people that had survived needed a lot of blood supplements, juice, milk and things like that. So we headed back to our place and in about three days collected all the items t
hat they needed, including bandages, drips for IV feeding, plasma for the burns, etc.
They were so excited to see us back again, and were very thankful for the medicines and the little food we could offer to them personally. Although many countries had promised to help financially and materially, nothing had materialized as of yet. It was a race against time and we asked all the people who helped us to bypass all red tape, as scores of people were dying every day partly because of poor supplie
s. We recently made another trip to this town to see how the people were doing. We were able to talk and pray with them and distribute gifts.
[Stolen van]
John, Priscilla and Ester, Brazil: We loaned our VW van to a brother from another Home, and the van was stolen while he was using it. TTL for the new weapons as instead of "freaking out," we were able to stop and hear from the Lord, claiming that all things work together for good. At the brother's Home they received the story of Elijah an
d the borrowed ax head. We received that we should be working more closely together with this brother, as both our Homes are involved in the mass marketing ministry. The Lord said He was sorry about the loss of the van, but it was the only way He could get us together, as none of us had even thought about the possibility before.
We all felt good about what the Lord was showing us and were trusting that it would all work out for the best, although we were sad that without the van our CTP minist
ry would be seriously hindered. Then almost two weeks later, the impossible happened! The police had recovered the van! The Lord seems to finally be bringing a much sweeter spirit of unity and teamworking between our two Homes. Over the last year we've had some serious unity problems, but the Lord is starting to bring the victories that we've long desired.
[Pioneering Treasuring]
Peter and Andy (Hungarian), Hungary: After many years of preparation, last year the Treasures book in Hungarian
was published! Thanks to all who saw it through all the different stages to completion! It is an A5 size book with a very attractive cover.
Our Home had waited anxiously for its production, because we knew it would be a tremendous blessing for our Cats, friends and contacts. At first, because of its contents, we didn't consider it a potential outreach tool, but rather only for follow-up use. After most of our friends and contacts got the book in their hands, we kind of set it aside.
Then on
one occasion when we ran out of videos, CDs and tapes, but we really wanted to go out to do some outreach, the Lord showed us to go ahead and take the Treasures out. Since this book contains a more direct message, we were concerned about the reaction we'd get, or that maybe it would get into the wrong hands. On the other hand we knew it was the Lord's will, so we obeyed.
To our great joy and surprise, we came home the first day with an empty bag! We found that this book provides an opportunity
for us to witness in a much more open way. We were relieved to see people's hunger for the Word, and we met people who started to read the Treasures right on the spot. Besides the Treasures book, we're now distributing other booklets in large numbers, such as Glimpses of Heaven and Future Foretold.
[Dan's university]
Dan, Christina, Vera, Ruth and Daniel, Ukraine: Dan (national, YA) finished his studies for this semester. Even though it was a drag at times for him to attend university, the
Lord opened the door for him to witness to various teachers and professors. On one occasion Dan had a long conversation with one of the professors, explaining his beliefs. Even though the professor wasn't convinced of Dan's point of view, he was interested. A few days later Dan was supposed to have an exam with the same professor he'd witnessed to. Everyone was waiting nervously for their turn. When it came to Dan's turn, the professor just said, "I'm not going to test you. I admire people who
have strong beliefs in something--you have passed!"
Thoughts on Feast `99
Mercy and Jonathan, SPALIM: We especially appreciated the more relaxed schedule to have personal time to pray and to assimilate the Word. Our nightly meetings were fun fellowship--enjoying being a Home and doing things together, which is what our Home needed probably more than extra hours of reading or more "spiritual" meetings.
One night we got together with all the children and asked the Lord for mini-prophecies
, that would relate to all. The Lord spoke beautifully through young and old. That same night we had impromptu skits based on "Living the Law of Love" quotes--funny, but poignant. The next night we dressed up and had a "One Wife" marriage ceremony where we all said our marriage vows to each other and Jesus. The next night was a beautiful open-heart meeting where we presented our personal prayer requests. Our 18th party had a soccer game, pool volleyball, "Olympics" and a Heaven's Library costume
party. Because most of us have lived together for a long time and familiarity so often creeps in, these united times helped us to relax, enjoy and see each other in a different light. It set the tone for many of the areas that the Lord has told us in prophecy that He wants us to work on this year.
Thanks to all those who had a hand in the children's pubs and the Hope TKs for the Feast. There was more than enough not only to keep the children occupied, but also feeling that they were right in
step with the spirit of what was happening with the rest of the Home. The new MLKs are fantastic in that they feature the latest moves of the Spirit. The kids (mainly 6-year-olds) have the KTKs and the LOGs down pretty well but aren't quite ready for Jr. DBs, etc. The MLKs have bridged the gap and have helped us keep the kids up on the New Wine. GBY!
David Searcher for Space Camp Home, Japan: Reading the Word together has been difficult to do on regular days, so the time of united reading wa
s special for everybody. We all can testify that this year's Feast was the most relaxing and enjoyable that we've had so far. It rekindled the unity in our Home and brought a fresh inspiration for our work for the Lord in our lives and Home.
Angie, Kathmandu: This year's Feast left a lot to each individual Home's prayer and planning. We were thankful for the instruction that we did receive in the GN, but wondered how the "individual" bit would turn out, seeing as our team was pretty small at
the time of the Feast, and we didn't feel too "idea ridden" at the time of our planning. Lily and I got together to pray for some new dropouts from upstairs as far as what to do on our Loving Jesus night. Here are some new ways to enjoy Him and each other that we tried and proved:
1. Blended Kisses: We did this with teams of 4 people, and 4 bits of paper--1st person writes an adjective, 2nd--a noun, 3rd--a verb and the 4th person blends them (as smoothly as humanly possible) together to make
a brand new, on-the-spot praise kiss! Some of the results were most stimulating!
2. Composing Praise Time Limericks (in five minutes): The title of this activity is self-explanatory, but we felt that it wouldn't be the same without including some of the products of our crazing, praising brains for you to sample:
From the majestic Himalayas in the snow,
To the depths of the darkest ships bow,
We can always be forever
And spend nights together
It's because You're immortal, I know.
-
-Frankie
When at 5 I flip on the TV
To give my flabby stomach a squeeze
(referring to a video work out)
I am not blessed
And my stomach's no less
For I missed having praise time with Thee.
--Sara
The sight of Your lips can't be missed
I'll do anything just to be kissed
Honey words wet and warm,
You know I want more...
Surround me in steamy love mist!
--Angie
Jesus You're extremely fantastic
Unlike the Enemy who's spastic
You're much better than a meal,
And Y
ou created the seal,
While the Devil's still playing with plastic.
--Nina
Dear Mama,
(Editor's note: This dear brother has been experiencing continual severe afflictions for a long while.)
It's always been difficult for me to know how to respond when people ask me how I am or how I'm feeling. Because I so often feel bad or am fighting some kind of affliction, it has been quite a dilemma for me for years--finding the balance between speaking faith and having a positive, fighting attitud
e, but also honestly letting people know how I feel and being faithful to humbly ask for prayer. It's especially difficult when an affliction or health problem goes on day after day without any noticeable improvement. But since I've been here in your Home I've been able to see a beautiful sample from you and others of how to go about it.
You and Peter are so faithful to let the whole Home know when you need prayer, even on a daily basis. But you also are such samples of smiling, praising the L
ord, and testifying of how He is answering prayer and healing, even if at times it's only slightly or little by little.
In previous situations, whenever people asked me how I was doing, I sometimes got the feeling that they didn't really expect or want to hear about it if I was feeling bad. With some people, it was mostly just a polite way of greeting or saying hello. It wasn't that they weren't loving or caring. But I think that few people can really relate to what it's like or understand how
someone can always be weak or afflicted or need to continually be asking for prayer for their health. After a while you begin to sense that people feel very uneasy about it, like there must be something wrong with you if you have to keep asking for prayer.
Again, it wasn't that these people were unloving or insincere, it's just that here it seems that people don't ever get tired of asking how I'm feeling; everyone is so sincere and considerate and loving about wanting to know. They also go ou
t of their way to sympathize and let me know that they are praying for me and that they really care. In spite of this, it's still very hard for me to ask for prayer whenever I'm feeling bad, so I normally tend to reserve my prayer requests for those days when I'm feeling exceptionally bad and almost can't go on anymore. I guess I'm afraid of people getting tired of hearing the same old thing. But rather than looking down on me for needing to ask for prayer so often, people here often comment tha
t they admire me for being humble enough to faithfully ask for prayer whenever I need it.
I know that it is probably for the most part a reflection of what they have seen in you and Peter. And in fact, several people have made a point of encouraging me that I shouldn't feel bad or like something is necessarily wrong with me if I need to ask for prayer often--and they use you and others as examples of this.
Of course, nobody likes to hear wimpy, whiny, murmuring, poor-me kind of prayer reques
ts all the time, so I'm not talking about that. But since it's very humbling to ask for prayer, it's a tremendous blessing to be able to feel free to just be honest and open, without feeling that everyone is going to look down on you for being weak. In fact, I'm actually beginning to realize that it's an honor to be weak and nothing to be ashamed of--not weak in the spirit or in faith, but weak in my own strength or abilities, so that the Lord's grace and strength can shine through.
(Mama: Dea
r Family, please pray for this dear one who suffers extreme dizziness to where sometimes he can barely walk. He's such a fighter and keeps on going and is a real sample to all.)
--FGA man, Mama's Home
entertainment
Movies Rated for Junior Teens and Up
CAN'T HARDLY WAIT (1998)
Ethan Embry, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Comedy about a group of teens celebrating the end of the school year at a wild party. Contains some bad attitudes and behavior, but also has a lot of good lessons and exposes t
he futility of the values that the System promotes.
GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI (1996)
Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods
Drama based on the true story of a woman's fight to bring to justice the man who murdered her husband, a civil rights leader, in the 1960s. Some of the characters are played by the actual participants in this story.
NETFORCE (1999)
Scott Bakula, Joanna Going
Suspenseful drama set in the year 2005, about a group of Internet crime investigators who become entangle
d in a complex plot with far-reaching implications.
STILL BREATHING (1998)
Brendan Fraser, Joanna Going
Character study/love story about an eccentric young street performer who sees his true love in a midnight vision, and sets out to find her.
reviews
Can't Hardly Wait
(Jesus speaking:) This movie was put together with real forethought, with its intent and purpose to help young people see the vanity and shallowness of these frivolous adolescent ways. On the surface these parties se
em to be so exciting and so much fun, but as the movie progresses, it becomes very evident that none of the young people are truly enjoying themselves or having fun. It just becomes more and more confusing, destructive and futile.
There are good lessons in this movie on not trying to be someone, as in the instance of the white Jewish boy trying to appear to be a Black and cool, the athlete trying to be so independent and needing no one, but in the end pleasing no one including himself.
This
movie is a genuine exposé of the bad values that the System promotes to its youth: the worship of athletes, the abuse of alcohol, vanity, worldliness and lust, and the many other things that grieve My Spirit and stop the flow of My love to My children. (End of message from Jesus.)
Ghosts of Mississippi
(Dad speaking:) This is a real good fighter movie about a woman who held on, never gave up, through thick and thin. It's something that you can sit back and admire and apply to your own life.
Try it on for size and say, "Do I have that much fight in me that I would hold on for the cause of Christ, against so much opposition, when it seemed I was standing alone for years and years?" Beloved, this is a good portrayal of the way we should be in spirit--fighting against the ol' boy with our last dying breath, and never giving up till he's out of action. Hallelujah! God bless her!--And all of you fighters for Jesus! (End of message from Dad.)
Netforce
(Dad speaking:) This is a prett
y interesting, suspenseful "away from thinking" movie. It doesn't have a whole lot of lessons, but if you're in the mood for a little entertainment and you just want to relax, this would be fine to watch. Of course you'll want to be on guard against the negative aspects--some bad language, some violence and bad attitudes--but overall I would say it's a pretty good, exciting movie that'll keep you guessing all the way through. (End of message from Dad.)
Still Breathing
(Dad speaking:) This i
s another one of those "finding the true values in life" kind of movies. The way to be happy is to make others happy. That's the law of God, as sure as any law of physics. The only way to find true love is to be willing to live to give it out. And that's the best message that you can get from this film. (End of message from Dad.)
personals
Angelique and Emma, please contact Ivan ASAP. My e-mail is: Seapands@poikc.bashnet.ru.
Magda (Finnish), write to your dotchka #3, at e-mail: TApoose@
hotmail.com. She will be sooo happy!!
Jerry (SGA) is seeking contact with Gabe R., David K., and Jom Home. E-mail: or via EURCRO ABM, Attn: Split Home.
David B. (of Miguel Volunteer and Ruthie), write to Brunie (a.k.a. Daniella, of Faith and Tiago) at e-mail: m_drumond@hotmail.com.
Josiah, contact Brunie (a.k.a. Daniella from Argentina) at e-mail: m_drumond@hotmail.com.
Jonathan (formerly Abraham Snowman) and Cristobal, please contact Ruth (Venezuelan). E-mail: norbert@
etheron.net.
Claire (Swedish) is looking for Sara. We lived together in Seattle about three years ago in Eman and Meek's Home. e-mail: kippers@algonet.se.
João David (who used to live in Santa Catarina, Brazil and went to Angola, David and Madalena would like to hear from you. E-mail: Famlyjac@escelsa.com.br.
James and Joanie (in Sri Lanka) would like to get in touch with Peter and Crystal, (USA?) who recently sent us a gift. Please contact us at e-mail: or at Mr. L. W
alton, c/o Wendo, 255 Quarry Rd, Dehiwala, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Joy, I seem to have lost contact with you. Please contact me and let me know what's going on.--Your Dad. Write to me via the China Desk, CN619 Gateway Home, China. ILY!
former members seeking contact
Canadian Jonathan (J.R.), please contact Mr. L. Laan (formerly known as Tim) in Holland. Mr. Laan is a former member who is looking to contact you. Please contact Mr. Laan at the following address or phone number: L P Laan, Kore
nmolen 9, 1733 PH, Nieuwe Niedorp, Netherlands. Tel. and fax: 0226413014.
Palikari Fotini contacted us from Greece. She would like to get back in touch with Michael M. (Abner). He's from the States, married to a British girl, but lived in Greece between `78 and `80. The last place she heard from him was in England. She then went by her nickname "Fofi." If anyone knows of his whereabouts, or even knows "Fofi" and would like to get back in touch with her, you're welcome to contact us via the Fam
ily Information Department at info@thefamilyeurope.org.
Irma and Urs Vescoli would like to have contact with Matteo and Manuela N. from Italy. Last she heard from them they were in St. Petersburg (Russia). You can get their address from us via the Family Information Department at info@thefamilyeurope.org.
help wanted
With your help we can make it to Africa! The Lord has told us to spend the months that we would normally spend raising our fare to obey the Lord, and continue to strengthen
the believers here before the night comes. Will you help us do His will? Last month we won over 1,500 souls and reached hundreds of thousands more with the message. Please send your gift to Jonathan, Mary, five children (CIS) and two teens to UI006 DESIGNATED AFRICA.
We have been serving the Lord in China for the past three years and have distributed His Chinese Word in areas that have never even heard of Jesus, much less visited by a "laowai" (foreigner), and which also has resulted in the
salvation of many Chinese. Our children have played a very important part in our ministry and have given their lives to preaching the Gospel. They've had to forsake friends in order to fulfill their calling of being missionaries to China.
Due to the restrictions and sensitive issues within this country--not openly witnessing, provisioning, etc.--we've had to live as a small unit simply living by faith and doing the best we possibly can for Jesus and lost souls. Presently we are undergoing a v
ery large loss in our support and we need extra support--yesterday. Very little of our support has come from outside of the country and the rest from miracles within. When we took this need to the Lord, He spoke through one of our children, reminding us of His unfailing supply, and also telling us that He wants us to go on the road where we have not yet been to reach His lost sheep.
So we have decided to step out by faith and do what the Lord has shown us, but we also wanted to ask for your he
lp. Will you share with us in the rewards that are eternal? Will you help a missionary family to reach China with the Words of Life? Time is short and China is calling out. Will you help? Please send gifts via PACRO to: Andy and Joy (CN602) Thank you!
Following is a three-month needs list:
Rent - US $1,000
Food and utilities - US $1,200
Transportation - US $200
Road trips - US $1,000
Mailing trip - US $700 (Every now and then we have to make a trip of over 2,000km to pick up our bac
klog of mailings [though we receive mailings regularly via e-mail].)
grapes
BIG, BIG THANK YOU to: Job, Ruth, James, Joan (UI 004) and Samuel and Clara (CO 204) for your gifts of love and response to our request! GBY! We are very, very, very thankful--your gift goes a long way here in Africa! WLY! (Our e-mail: phlmeek@iwwn.com.na)
--Philip and Meekness, Namibia
There's a brother who's a computer whiz,
But also knows how to have fun with kidz.
And though he has jobs to do with no
end,
He cheerfully came to lend us a hand,
When dad had to go on an important mission
And mom had nine kids under her supervision.
He gave it his all and was never gruff,
Dear Uncle Chip, we can't thank you enough!
--Abe, Mercy and tribe of nine, Taiwan
The Accra School Home wants to thank Autumn, Michelle and Maria for their faithfulness and spiritual maturity, which helped the Home. In times when there was sickness and lack of personnel you gave your all to see the Home function
ing. Thank you for running the nursery all by yourselves. You are a very necessary part of the work here.
--Emmanuel, for the Accra School Home
I want to give a special appreciation to Judah and Pandita who work so hard and faithfully with the children, keeping them on the right path, IN JESUS' NAME! I am eternally grateful!
--Ivan
I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to a great guy who helped me full time with my four little kiddos for one and half years (my husband left the
Family). He laid down his life in every way and loved them as his own. We couldn't have done it without you, and we think you're the best--Sean P.!
--Magdalene Scott (SGA), ME
We are so touched by the answer to our want ads for help. We'd like to thank our regular supporters, Miguel and Victoria who have supported us for years, Miguel and Ester, Estevan and Amor; Michael and Brazilian Maria, and Paul and Olivia, Andrew and Joanna, the Hilltop Home.
A big thanks to those who have helped us
once or a few times: Victor and Pilar, Tim, Claire, Stefan and Jo, Luke and Suzanne, Rachel, Thadeus and Sara, Samaria, Abel and Angel, Caleb and Chaco, Caleb and Rejoice, MM Home in Hungary, Andrew and Katrina, Emanuel, Maria and Shari, Micah and Trust, Ben and Harvest, Don Walker, Taiwan TW240, Aaron and Rose, Peter and Ester, India Abel and M. Claire, Byron, Mercy, YA Ruth, Steven and Faith, Martin, Mercy and Ester.
You're all wonderful and we appreciate very much your sacrifices. May God
bless you 100 times for your love for us; you have a part in our work and pioneering efforts. If we forgot anyone, please know that we appreciate your help very much.
--David, Paloma and family, Astrakhan
forum
[Kids to the mission fields]
Lisa, EURCRO: Many of the families who went to Africa did so largely to help their children; to get them out of Europe and away from worldly distractions and teach them how to be missionaries--to get back to a simple love for the Word and obeying the
Word. I'm so touched when I visit the Homes in Africa, because when Daddy comes home with a new mailing, it's a big deal! It's spread out all over the house, and from the tiniest little one all the way on up, everyone is on their beds reading the new mailings. Little sister's reading to little brother, and it's a big happening! It's so important to them. The Word is center stage again and it's so beautiful to see. I saw some of those same kids in Europe two years ago and they have changed so muc
h since then.
Little kids are learning how to prophesy! In one Home while I was giving a class to the children on prophecy and taking time to hear from the Lord, the kids said, "We need to talk to the adults because we haven't been out witnessing for awhile. Jesus told us we need to go out witnessing more." (This Home is usually very faithful with taking the kids out regularly, they had just had a busy spell.) I told them, "Yes, you should go and talk to the adults about that." They said, "Oh,
but they won't listen because they are so busy!" I asked them, "Did you pray that the Lord would work it out?" "Oh, no!" So then they stopped and prayed, and the Lord of course answered!
[Studying sunsigns]
Maria, Germany: Since "What's your sunsign?" is a common question within our precious Family, I'd like to suggest we remind ourselves of the good qualities we've seen in particular sunsigns, or that we look in Linda Goodman's book to find some (because there are quite a few). Then next
time we can say: "Oh, so that means you're very perseverant" or "it means that you must really pray before making a decision" or " it's a little difficult for you to make a sudden change but when you do you put your whole heart into it" and so on. I'm sure it will encourage people, especially some of us who usually are reminded of weaknesses that we're striving to get victories over. This is love and I'm sure the Lord will help us if we try. GBY!
[Those smells]
S., Europe: When I joined the
Family many years ago, the boys' room was in the basement of a little house. We kept our clothes and suitcases in a little room, where we also stored the Home's food. When my girlfriend (whom I knew before joining) visited me for the first time, she was quite reserved, and it took quite a while to even get her saved. Later she told me that one thing that really bothered her was the strong smell in my clothes. The smell came from damp air in a room where lots of people lived, with very little ve
ntilation and the smell of food as well.
The reason she remembers this story is because we have many different brethren passing through our Home, and there are some that have reminded her of this experience by the smell of their clothes. We've also experienced in different Homes, when we stayed overnight, that we've later had to wash all our clothes--even those that were in our bags--because we couldn't stand the smell. The problem gets worse during winter when a number of people live in a roo
m that is not properly ventilated. It seems many people don't air out their rooms or public areas after cooking because it is cold outside and it costs heating-energy.
Maybe we are too "nosey," but it also could be a bad sample to our sheep and a hindrance when out witnessing. That would make it worthwhile to keep clean and air out our Homes a little more! GBY!
[Color poster tracts at lights]
Marianne, USA: I love postering at the lights, as I can get out so many posters and see so many p
eople in such a short time, but I didn't feel right about selling the color-tracts as they were so small--I just wanted to give them away. So I started carrying both tracts and posters.
I always offer the posters to the driver of the car. If there are a lot of students in the car, I give them all tracts, like the "Lion, Dragon and the Beast" one, and then ask the driver for a donation for the poster.
If there are children in the car, it seems like they all want one. If you have large posters
, it can be expensive to give to them all and the parent feels guilty if they can't give you a big enough donation, but how can you refuse a child who's asking for one? The perfect thing is the "Man of Love" tracts. I tell the mother, "Every child should have their own picture of Jesus!" They are so pleased and the child holds that picture like they are cherishing it. I think they appreciate it more than the posters because it's small and it doesn't wrinkle as much, and it's "their own."
As yo
u're walking down the island, sometimes people are jaywalking across the street and looking at you like "What are you giving out?" It's so easy to give them a tract without missing a beat of catching all the cars in line.
The tracts fit perfectly in the glove compartment of your car, so when driving to and from your spot, you can always be ready to give to those you meet along the way, like while filling up the car at the gas station and stopping to get a drink at a convenience store. You're a
lways passing people. They only cost two cents to print!--Imagine giving a person two pennies to read your message! So cheap!
The tracts are certainly an answer to being able to reach EVERYBODY! There's no excuse why everyone that you pass can't get SOMETHING from you. When I was a babe years ago, the saying was that you could always tell where the Children of God had been, because they left a trail of lit in everyone's hands wherever they went! We should still try to practice this--and now we
can do it in color!
Who'll be the "stars" this Christmas?
By Joolz, Park/RAD Home, Brazil
"If you are nothing but a nursemaid to your own or maybe even somebody else's children sitting there alone in the nursery, helpless, hopeless, and despairing, sometimes in the midst of bedlam and wondering what you could possibly do with nothing but a Bible and those babes in your hands …" Think again! (ML#315:50)
Our story begins in mid-November `98 when a small group of our Home's personnel g
athered for a PPM (prayer and prophecy meeting) regarding our Christmas plans. I guess every Home is familiar with the "What should we do for Christmas?" scenario which comes upon us once a year.
We had already gotten a few offers for our seasoned studio personnel singing team to put a choir together. That sounded extremely reasonable to many of us, yet in light of exercising our new gifts we also wanted to check in with the Boss and see what He thought. Surprisingly enough, we received from t
he Lord that our kids were going to be the "stars" this Christmas. (Mom and Dad gasping in the background: "What??? We're not the stars anymore?") Several of us also got the phrase "what is that in thine hand?" and received beautiful encouragement from the Lord to put the kids first!
Perhaps that doesn't seem surprising to you. (Have you ever visited our Home?) To paint the picture a little clearer: Our Home currently has 18 children, 13 of which are under the age of five. (Just think of all t
hose potties that get emptied everyday!)
By FAITH, a couple of people went around advertising our "marvelous kids' Christmas choir," and we began to practice. By the first week of December no offers had rolled in and the practices were somewhat painstaking and tedious. Countless times we asked ourselves, What on earth are we doing? Our primary motivation was knowing that the Lord had encouraged us to "go for it with the kids" and that He was indeed going to bless it, so we stuck to the task.
In the meantime the Home agreed to invest a couple hundred dollars into purchasing very nice Christmas costumes for the kids. Slowly but surely, with seven of our "oldest" kids (ages 4-7), a couple of mommies and a daddy, we polished a repertoire of eight simple Christmas songs with acoustic accompaniment.
To make a long story short, this Christmas ended up being one of the most exciting and fruitful, fun-filled Christmases many of us ever experienced. By the second week of December, offers w
ere coming in from all over the city! The kids performed in five-star hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and were able to participate in several CTP shows. The local paper covered the kids' presentation, and we were filmed by national TV and aired on Christmas day! It was absolutely INCREDIBLE to watch the Lord use the kids. Many times people were moved to tears watching our little "tots" singing for Jesus.
On Christmas day we performed at a five-star hotel, and among the clientele was a tab
le of British Airways stewards and stewardesses celebrating Christmas with their families. One of them remarked after the show, "It was worth flying halfway around the world just to see these kids!"
We prayed with 1,300 people and distributed over 1,000 CDs. The Lord also poured out His blessings abundantly, as for several of the shows we were got paid $300-450 per half-hour show, besides being able to witness and freely distribute our tools!
It would be great if we could pocket even just an
eenzy bit of credit to ourselves, but we can only say it was just the Lord. Thank God for the new gift of hearing from Him, otherwise we would have NEVER proceeded as we did with that "crazy idea" of using the kids. It was a lot more challenging than our usual YA/SGA singing/busking teams, as you never know quite what to expect working with children that young, ha! We will spare you the "Oscar winning" details, but every show was a miracle and the kids were instrumental in keeping us very despe
rate in prayer for each and every performance.
"Little is much if God is in it," and we were by no means professional by any wild stretch of the stretchiest imagination, ha! WLY and pray that this testimony encourages you in using your kids and in your witnessing!
QNAs
Children's mailings
Q: It would be good if the Heaven's Library would come one per family, as this is a pub that we (I'm a parent of a large family) like to keep for the children to re-read. Right now we are two families
and receive two copies of the mailings, but until recently and in the near future we'll have three families and most likely will still receive two copies of the mailings.--John, Marie, Peter and David, Canada
A: (WS:) All kids' pubs, including Heaven's Library books, are designated to be sent out at the rate of one per family, so each family (or single parent) with children (under 16 years of age) can keep their own copy. Homes with no children get one copy.
letters to the editor
Re: Tr
eated like a pariah (GV #57)
I would like to encourage anyone who feels in any way stigmatized by the place where the Lord has put you in His wonderful Family. Also, if you are looking to your brethren (CM or FM) to encourage you, the Lord might make it so that you will not find what you are looking for from them. This isn't to say that we as a Family shouldn't try to encourage each other. Not at all! On the contrary we should do all that we can to help one another live the Lord's Law of Love.
But it could be that the Lord is trying to teach you a lesson that He had to teach me--that is to look to Him for my encouragement and not be so dependent on what others think about me.
About 14 years ago I was in a position where I was virtually excommunicated from the Family but I was desperate to rejoin, (That was in the days before there was any FM status.) However I was kept at arm's length by Family members, and for good reason. When I cried out to the Lord, however, He would always enc
ourage me, and told me that in His eyes I was still a member of His Family (Eph. 3:14,15) but that I had lessons to learn. He helped me to see that His Endtime Family was an army of witnessers and that to be a member of this Family all I had to do was be a faithful witness. So I took it from the Lord that Mark 16:15 was my commission from Him, no matter if I ever got back into Family fellowship or not.
While out distributing the Endtime News I ran into a Family member. If I ever met a Family m
ember on the street I always took it as a sign of the Lord's blessing. This brother stopped and talked with me and I really appreciated the fellowship. He proceeded to tell me that the Family was really tightening up and that the standard was getting so high that he doubted I would ever be able to rejoin. I said, "What do you mean? I'm already in the Family in spirit, because I'm witnessing and the Lord's told me that He's going to bring me back to full fellowship in His time."
I was tempted t
o get discouraged and bitter about this incident, but when I checked with the Lord He told me not to worry. He told me to believe His Word rather than what people said, and to take it as a challenge from Him to press in more on my NWOs. He reminded me that all things that happen in our lives are to test us, and they can make us either better or bitter. This cheered me up and I thanked the Lord for giving me another chance to have fellowship with a member of my Family, even if I found it hard to
agree with his views. It was all Romans 8:28.
The Lord kept His Word as I was faithful to witness, and He had mercy on me through Dad and Mama and their intervention, when I appealed to them directly asking if I could rejoin. I was so happy to be allowed to return to full Family fellowship again. It was those years in exile from my heart's desire, though, that really strengthened my connection with Jesus, which had become so weakened before due to my looking so much to man rather than to Jesus
. He certainly had to teach me that He will have no other gods before Him and that I had to trust Him and His promises, not my own perception of things.
I wanted to share this as the Lord is continually teaching me to keep my eyes on Him and not to look at man and all of our weaknesses. I have to thank Jesus for everything and keep witnessing if I want to be in the center of His will and have His victory in my life. TYJ!
--Steven (of Tabitha), Japan (formerly Samson of "Son of Sam")
gainin
g givers
As we pour out by giving an extra 2% above our tithes for other needy missionaries and extra donations to WS, He keeps pouring in even more. We can surely never out give Him, TYJ! He again supplied abundantly financially through the Christmas road trips and our mail ministry, so we could even put aside a buffer for each family in case of pioneering a new field, emergency or some better equipment (vehicle, computer) according to each family's faith.
--Mark, Marianne, John and Maria,
Slovakia
As soon as we made the decision to go to the field the Lord blessed us with a note from FCF telling us that our queen had just sent us $6,700 towards our trip to pioneer in Africa. It is such a blessing to have FCF, as this has helped our supporters that we have known for over 14 years give to us in a bigger way.
--Martin, Nina, Sebastian and Esther, Italy
behind the scenes
Mama's Home
Hope you all had an inspiring and refreshing Feast time! We sure did. In the last month
or so we've seen a lot of changes and reorganization on the work front, as we're getting better streamlined, adjusting who works on which pubs and ministries, etc., in order to better serve you! There are two new pubs in the works as well--though they're still in the idea/creation stages--but hopefully within a few months they'll have materialized on your end. All women and young folks, keep your eyes out for them!
Several of you have written in, asking for some of our pubs, such as From Jesus
-With Love, etc., to be adapted for the GP.--In general, requesting more GP tools to feed the sheep. The good news is that there is a whirl of activity in the GP department, with more details coming soon on all that they've been working on, DV!
At the beginning of the year, Peter, Matthew and Francis visited California, where they held a 10-day meeting--attended by a representative from each CRO teamwork, and several other Family members already involved in mass marketing, tool distribution, a
dvertising, etc.--concerning new GP tools and ways to get out the message in greater ways than ever.
Thanks to your prayers, Mama has been feeling much stronger. She's even been able to go on hour-long walks without feeling too weak or getting headaches--a tremendous miracle! Also, in answer to your prayers, she's gone for several months without having any periods, which has helped her to regain her strength. Please pray for her ingrown toenails, which is very painful at times and makes it dif
ficult for her to walk and get the exercise she needs.
Shine on
TEAMWORK Per Adult Total
SOUL SHINERS FOR JANUARY `99
Samuel, Rosita, Mexico 1,000 2,000
Abel, Marie Claire, India 845 3,381
Korat Home, Thailand 649 2,597
Lalo, Ruth, Sweety, Mexico 596 3,577
Abner, Elisa, Mary, Ukraine 415 3,326
Simon, Ruth, Janeth, Angie, Mexico 350 2,100
Nehemiah, Sara Lynn, Jonatan, Mexico 326 3,258
James, Flower, Crystal, Dulce, Mexico 300 1,200
Jonathan, Mary, Benjamin, Angela, Ukraine 250 1,5
00
Steven, Christina, Michaela, South Africa 249 747
POSTER SHINERS FOR JANUARY `99
Steven, Mercy, Japan 1,835 3,670
Michael, Maria, Japan 1,692 3,384
Abel, Marie Claire, India 1,615 6,460
Don, Tena, USA 1,500 6,000
Josias, Sara, Elizabeth, Patricio, D.R. 1,142 8,000
Dust, Heidi Peacemaker, Italy 1,022 4,090
David Searcher, Pandita First Love, Japan 1,005 4,020
Peter S., Crystal S., Mary M., USA 910 5,462
Andrew, Phoebe, Ben, Tirzah, South Africa 857 6,000
Adino, Abrahim, Joana,
Brazil 856 2,570
TAPE SHINERS FOR JANUARY `99
Dani, Vicky, Sunny, Maggie, Hungary 229 916
Joao, Clara, Brazil 172 1,037
David, Joanna, Brazil 111 223
Francisco, Joanna, Luana, Brazil 99 297
John, Angeles, Amor, Portugal 96 289
Abel, Flor, Peru 81 245
David, Madalena, Andrew, Paula, Brazil 75 375
David, Maria, Portugal 74 148
Felipe, Vitoria, Brazil 74 298
Ivan, Becky, Alfredo, Rachel, Brazil 66 400
VIDEO SHINERS FOR JANUARY `99
Martin, Marie, Holland 38 76
Matthew, Mercy, Tai
wan 36 108
Josue, Ruth, Michael, Praise, Romania 26 105
Miguel, Samuele, Paloma, Ester, Brazil 19 77
John, Clara, Maria, Brazil 16 82
Nehemiah, Meekness, United Kingdom 15 62
Andrew, Lily, Franz, Mary, Kenya 13 111
Andrew, Phoebe, Ben, Tirzah, South Africa 13 96
Abner, Esther, Andrew, Lena, South Africa 13 65
Paulo, Maria, Brazil 13 27
FREE POSTER SHINERS FOR JANUARY `99
John, Joy, Ukraine 1,250 2,500
Nat, Eva, Joanna, Russia 1,167 9,340
Peter, Praise, Davide, Ukraine 882 3,530
Jonathan, Sara, David, Esther, Ukraine 694 6,250
Daniel, Sara, Lisa, Milah, Russia 518 5,189
Michael, Catrina, Jonathan, Patience, Latvia 506 2,025
Virginia, Ruth, Angel, Steven, Russia 475 2,850
John, Faith, Jahmai, Poland 447 3,132
Aaron, Flame, Grace, Poland 416 3,335
Job, Ruth, James, Joan, Ukraine 409 4,500
Included with this file
cute kids (peanuts `n' raisins) Jeremias (1 1/2, of John and Sara), Brazil
Caption 1 Mommy, where did Daddy go?
Caption 2 Oh, he's out witnessing
to the sheep.
Caption 3 Did he go witness to the monkeys too?
Newdayz (by David komic) Louie learns a lesson about lovingkindness!
Caption 1 Why do I have to live with someone as loud and overbearing as Dougal?…groan gripe etc.etc.
Caption 2 The next day Louie gets sick…
Caption 3 Sniff, suffer.
Caption 4 I'm sorry to hear that you're sick, Louie. I've made you soup
Caption 5 Guilt! Conviction! Remorse, regret! Oh, miserable wretch that I am.
Caption 6 Later: Louie is cured--in
more ways that one!…
Caption 7 Good ol' Dougal--what a great guy! So cheerful and outgoing!
Peculiar People (by Zeb)
Caption 1 Boy, this series was written just for me! I'm so weak!
Caption 2 Yeah, me too! I can't even lift my fleebag anymore!
Caption 3 I don't think that's what it's was talking about.
Caption 4 Really?! Maybe I should read it again.
Caption 5 I think so!
(End of file.)