The Family / Children of God

the grapevine

(Issue #95; September 1st, 2000.)

Table of Contents:

          Charter stuff/home going notice2

          News from TEAM Foundation   4

          Zimbabwe book fair report          5

          Nubeat launched/leagl and media    6

          S2K and the Era of Action          7

          Happenings      8

          The Ripple Effect9

          Dear Mama/Activated mags are the way!/Mama Jewels         10

          You react to recent GNs          11

          Net news and witness  12

          Dream Journey/Ocean of Love         13

          Movie ratings/forum          14

          Activated CASH PRIZE notice16

Activated/GP tools news

Mexico’s calendar shiner

          Dear Sam has been our top calendar shiner: Over the past four months, he has sold a total of 400 calendars. His secret? He says:

          “I offer them anywhere like any other tool, put them into the person’s hands so that they can thumb through it, and usually they get turned on by the first thumbing. At the beginning when I started going to restaurants with the calendars, I thought, ‘Boy, this is a new product, a US$5-7 item, how is it going to go?’ Sarah and I have to be quick at the restaurant tables in order not to disturb the waiters, so there is not much time for lengthy explanations, but as we showed the calendars and let the customers look through them, they just started to fly out of our hands!

          “I always let people know that the calendars do not have a ‘year,’ they can be used year after year indefinitely. This is an important point, as the sale value of a calendar is short; usually by February people are not interested in buying them anymore.

          “I encourage people to buy more than one to offer as gifts, and quite a few people do.

          “I explain that the calendars have a universal Christian message which can be used by Catholics as well as Protestants. [Note: For non-Christian countries, the message is not too Christian and could therefore be described as “universal spiritual values.”]

          “The calendars seem to be going better than any other tool, because at least here in Mexico, they are something new, a new concept.

          “People really want them, and they will scrounge for the money to buy them. A restaurant waiter in the airport had me wait right there for an hour (I kept witnessing while waiting), until he had gathered enough tips to pay for a calendar. That’s how most people react. They are hot items, and people really like the fact that they are functional, feeding, and something they can use over and over, year in and year out! On follow-up visits, I often spot calendars sitting right on the desks. It’s been a blast. PTL!”

Headlines

Madagascar gets color posters

By Stephane, Rose and Constanza, Madagascar

          For the first time in the Malagasy history, we are distributing color posters! The printing of 39,000 African posters was finalized this month, thanks to Mateo in Spain who did the color printing for us. We printed two with French text and two with Malagasy text. We’ve heard no end of “ho,” “wow,” and “ha,” from everyone we give them to. We’ve also had many requests for smaller amounts to distribute to friends and colleagues.

Hot VCD: Countdown to Armaggedon

By Tim, Marie, Simeon, and Dove, Indonesia

          Countdown to Armageddon is still the most sought after VCD in Singapore. No matter what background or religion, when out witnessing the majority of new people met reach for the CDTA, while our older friends still make comments about what a very good program it is.

Song of peace

By Agustin and Paloma, Colombia

          Agustin’s song, Colombia, Cantando Vengo was recorded by the Peace Mandate Organization to be included in a series of songs for a special CD dedicated to peace. The recording came out beautifully. Some topnotch Colombian musicians participated.

5,000 Word Basics

By Byron, Marie, Sharon, John, Elise and Joy, Indonesia

          One of our friends spent $4,000 to print 5,000 Word Basics (in the local language) to give out! Just today we picked up 500 for us here at “Family Care” to use for distribution.

French studio rolling

By David, for the French studio, France

          After two long years of fighting to get the French studio set up and rolling, we’ve just finished our first project-Coloring the World-and orders are coming in. We want to thank everyone for their prayers, and Mama and Peter for their help. We’re getting ready to move on to new productions.

Charter Amendments For Fellow Members

By WS

          It was recently brought to our attention by one of our CRO offices that there have been a couple of Charter amendments that directly affect Fellow members, but that have never been included in a FM pub. We’re sorry about that! We’re including these points below for your reference, CM and FM Family alike. WLY!

          1. The updated Charter now specifies that FM new disciples should read the Babes’ course in the first 6 months:

Charter page 359:

Eligible for the following lit:

          0-3 months: CM/FM lit at the Home teamwork’s discretion. (Fellow Members who begin reporting as their own Home may begin receiving CM/FM lit as soon as they are approved by the continental office and their first report and tithe have been received by the continental office.)

          After 3 months they have full access to the CM/FM lit library and to receive personal copies of OPD CM/FM material.

          During the first six months in the Family, must read the Babes Basic Course, page 410.

          2. There have also been two amendments to the “Statement on Fellow Members.” We have republished this statement and sent a copy to all FM Homes. Below are the two new or modified points.

          10. Fellow members may not engage in any verbal or written legal agreements in the name of the Charter Family or Charter Family entities, nor act as official representatives of the Charter Family without prior written authorization from their reporting office. They may, however, act in an unofficial capacity as a distributor of Family publications.

          12. The continental office reserves the right to withdraw permission for a Fellow Member or Home to distribute Family audio, video or printed publications if they deem that the member or Home is not abiding by point A.4. of this document.

Charter Chat

By WS

          Q: It’s excommunicable for a 28-year-old to kiss anyone under 18. However,          someone up to 27 has no specified excommunicable limit for how young a person they can kiss. This means that, theoretically, they could kiss a 15-year-old, and not be excommed.

          A: Though deep kissing between someone under 18 and over 21 is not listed under the excommunicable offenses, it is nonetheless against the Fundamental Family Rules (Sex and Affection Rules, E, F, G, see below), and those guilty can be punished and put on Probationary Status by the Home. And, if it happens again they could be recommended for excommunication (Offenses Warranting Excommunication, K).Or, if the Home doesn’t take action, the VSs or CROs may need to get involved and partially excommunicate or reclassify the offenders.

(Charter excerpts:)

          E. For teens (16 and 17), sexual activity is permitted only with consenting partners ages 16 through 20.

          F. For junior teens (14 and 15), dating with other teens ages 14 through 17 will be governed by the junior teens’ parent(s) or legal guardian(s). However, sexual intercourse or skin to skin touching of genitals is not permitted either by or with those under the age of 16. Teens 14 and 15 are not permitted to date or have any sexual activity with anyone over the age of 17.

          G. For those under the age of 14, dating is at the parents’ discretion, but only non-sexual affection is allowed.

          Q: Some of the 14- and-15 year olds I know don’t seem to understand what they’re allowed under the Charter as far as sex and affection. Some seem to think that the “skin to skin touching” clause for juniors only means that the skin of two people’s genitals can’t touch each other, and that hands, mouths, etc., don’t count.

          A: Fourteen- and-15 year olds are not allowed to engage in sexual activity, period, which includes deep kissing, with anyone over the age of 17 (Sex and Affection Rules, F). As for what they can do with those in their age group, basically, it’s “keep your clothes on.”-Hands and mouths on genitals are not allowed.

In My Arms

          Peter and Praise, Russia: One of our little twin boys, Kirill, went to be with the Lord on July 5^th. Thank you all for your faithful and fervent prayers, and though the Lord answered differently than we expected, we know that He was in control the whole time and allowed it all for a reason. Although it was hard to accept our baby’s return to Sender, the Lord gave beautiful messages and said that our babies had different missions in our lives and that Kirill’s was to break our hearts for a while. We are thankful for this little time he had on earth and we’re looking forward to meeting him in Heaven.

          Little Misha is growing very fast. He’s turning three months this week. He gained 1.5 kg in one month and now weighs 4.1kg, PTL! Jesus is so sweet and He takes care of him perfectly and supplies all his needs. Please pray for his hearing to improve, and for his continued health and growth.

          Jesus: Tender brides, come into My arms and feel the warmth of My love. Feel My tenderness toward you and My care for you and everything that concerns you. Know that I have felt every pain of your heart through this difficult time. Yet I have also seen your great faith in the midst of this trial.

          Though the situation with your little ones took a turn in a direction you weren’t anticipating, with little Kirill coming Home to be with Me, you are still trusting Me. Now you see-or will yet see-that I had a greater plan, and the healing that I spoke of for this one was a spiritual healing, a complete healing, a resurrection, as I called him Home to Me.

          Continue to trust, even if you may not understand, for I have given you two gifts. I have given you the gift of Misha, your little child to pour into and train on this earth. I also gave to you Kirill, your little child who is now with Me in Heaven. He’s growing stronger than ever and he’ll be serving you and helping you from the spirit world. These two little men are gifts of My love to you.

babymania

The Sign of the Three

By Jaz

          There are lots of things that come in threes-three strikes and you’re out; three fingers for the Revolutionary salute; three sheets of toilet paper at TSC … and many more, I’m sure. I had an interesting “three” of my own lately. It all happened rather gradually over the past months, but something about the devious little offenses sparked my curiosity right from the start.

          The first happened when Kimby was a little short of two-and-a-half. We’d put her down for sleepover night in the little trundle alongside our bed. After she was tucked in for the night, we exited the room for movie night. All seemed well, and we didn’t hear another peep from her. When we came to bed, however, something about the room arrangement struck me funny. At first I thought there’d been some kind of a break-in, but of course I dismissed that right away. Over in the corner of the room, the big straw hamper was tipped over, and the clothes that had been on top of it were sprawled everywhere. A Scrabble game was also suspiciously poised in the rubble.

          We turned our attention to the trundle bed; not a sound from the sleeping darling. From what we could piece together, Kimby had stealthily gone in pursuit of the Scrabble game (her personal favorite), which was stored near the hamper. She must have knocked over the hamper by mistake, and had probably guiltily retreated to her bed without even completing her mission.

          That incident on its own set off no alarm bells, although it did provide us with a few quiet chuckles at our daughter’s inner determination-and apparent skittishness. But then a month or so later came strike two. Kimby had just decided that she no longer wanted to wear diapers to bed. In the interest of keeping her bed dry then, I’d only given her a sip of water, and when she wanted more I told her to wait till morning. When Pixie began to fuss and I took her out of the room, I moved the remaining cup of water from my desk onto the dresser, which was a little higher up. I don’t know why I did that; that sneaking little feeling just seemed to suggest it.

          A little while later I peeked into the room to see how she was doing. The music was on and although I could hear her muttering in her trundle bed, she didn’t notice me coming in. I decided to keep a low profile, hoping she was still asleep. Spotting the cup of water on the dresser, I decided for a quick drink before I left. Then I noticed something weird about the cup, and took it out in the hallway for a better look.-There, sitting in the bottom of the glass, was my little ceramic babies-in-a-tub figurine!

          Now that really threw me! The cup was in the identical position as I had left it, but those babies were not in that cup at the time that I’d filled it up. That was when I knew there had to be a Strike Three. (This kind of ingenuity always travels in packs.) All I had to do was wait.

          Strike three was a little more subtle, but just as devious in its own way. It caught me unawares one night at Parent Time. Kimby had been repeatedly drawing on her little green plastic table, and I’d had to swat her hand a couple times. This final attempt appeared to have delivered a clear message, and she had now taken up drawing in an old magazine that we were cutting up. After a few moments Kimby turned to look at me and said, “Do we draw on tables?” “Oh no,” I replied. She gave a gleeful grin. I followed her pen downward as she returned her attention to her little magazine-and started coloring right next to (but not quite on!) a picture of a table!

          Who can understand the mind of a child? Who can tell the pesky thoughts that take life in those little brains? This is the type of creative genius that parents pull their hair out over for all of the first X-number of years till a child reaches full maturity.-Patiently correcting, coaxing, teaching, and correcting some more. And then, finally, one day those overworked synapses come to some fruition. Who knows what happens? Something clicks in the mind of the astute little dramatist, and suddenly the audience’s tune changes: What a bellwether! A true leader! Takes such initiative in her field!

          I guess the bottom line is that I’m seeing that the naughtiness of youth, if corralled and trained from an early age-making full use of the Lord’s direction in how to do so-can one day turn a mischievous, limit-testing child into a brilliant, motivated grown-up. It just takes time, prayer, and a full lifetime for us parents.

          Have you ever wondered just what a febrile seizure is?-And exactly what you should do if you are caring for a child with one? And what about that famed “Mozart effect”-what is that, and is it really a true phenomenon? Or has the question of whether or not to give your children personal money ever become an issue for debate? For to-the-minute news and word from Heaven on all of the above, don’t miss Kidland #12

kidbits

          Ana-Maria, born to Julia and Victor on February 29.-Europe

          Elva, 11^th child, born to Rejoice and Caleb Fighter on March 23.-Sweden

          Erika and Bianca, born to Lisa and Daniele on June 23.-Europe

          Albin Andres, born to Felicidad and Abner on July 1.-Colombia

          Natanael David, born to Susana and David on July 10.-Europe

          Robert Christopher, born to Sara and Levi on July 17.-Europe

          Nicolas Andres, 4^th child, born to Carmen and Juan on August 17.-Peru

          Yasmin Farrah, born to Katie and Shajjad on July 19.-Europe

tidbits

new disciples - July …

          Alexandre (22, Brazilian) joined in Brazil.

          Matheus (25, Brazilian) joined in Brazil.

          Marcelo (27, Brazilian) joined in Chile.

          Alejandro (25, Colombian) joined in Colombia.

          Ruth Faithful (24, Russian) joined in Russia.

          Letizia (22, American) rejoined in Italy.

          John B. (Swedish) rejoined in Sweden.

News from TEAM Foundation

          Foundation now fully operational, we’re branching out into locating and obtaining various difficult-to-find or overly expensive educational products for the Family. Recent research via book fairs and meetings has started opening up a new field of projects and contacts for teaching and educational materials, but before seriously approaching these companies to see what donations or discounts may be available to TEAM Foundation, as a non-profit corporation, we must see if the item is one our Family needs or wants to aid them in the education of their kids.

          Listed below are some of the first items we are looking to offer as soon as we hear back from you with your thoughts and ideas, and/or projected orders. Obviously the size of our order to any one company goes a long ways in determining the price or discount we may receive from them. So far the following companies, in our initial approach and discussions with them, have promised good discounts, depending on the quantities.

          Please also keep in your prayers the sorting out of the final details to begin processing your CLE orders through TEAM Foundation. This is in the works now. We foresee this facilitating and speeding up your CLE order processing and to provide smoother, quicker financial transactions with CLE. We’re excited about the prospects and would appreciate your prayers to bring it into the final stage!

Sonday Phonics

          There’s a concern in many areas about some of our older children not having a real grasp on reading-the single most important need to getting a good education in any subject-and many families have been writing with ideas, or questions, seeking for a good phonics program.

          Here’s an explanation of the Sonday Phonics course from Ginny:

          “When Sonday System was explained to me, it seemed suitable for teaching older children, or even JETTs or teens who aren’t reading well. In most cases the way to help them is to give them a consistent and structured phonics program. I learned with one dyslexic child I taught, how important phonics is when teaching reading to children who haven’t grasped the concept of reading. The CLE ‘Learning To Read’ is a good example of a structured phonics program, but CLE, as well as quite a few other phonics programs, is geared towards young children. In most cases it is adding insult to injury to ask older children, JETTs or teens to use a program that has coloring pages, childish illustrations and stories, etc. So one thing I like a lot about the Sonday System is that it suits older learners better than some of these more kiddy types of programs. If you are looking for a beginning reading program for a very small child of 2 or 3, this isn’t going to interest them as much as one of the more colorful, childish ones, but you can use this system with children from about 4 or 5 upwards, as long as you don’t bore them with it by doing it too long each time. It does have games and ball rolling, etc., that appeal to young (4 or 5 and up) children, too. The system seems geared especially for children having trouble learning to read.

          “It also teaches writing and spelling, and includes writing paper and transparencies so that you can re-use the writing paper. The kit is non-consumable, so everything can be used again and again with other children. So although it costs a bit, it is a long-term investment, unlike workbooks which are cheaper, but have to be re-ordered and paid for with each child.

          “The Sonday System comes in a plastic case, which contains everything you need, including alphabet cards, blend cards, word cards, a slider for reading, a game board with markers and die, sand tray, teacher and learner books, etc. You need only provide some basic supplies: glues, sand, sugar, baking soda, but all in all it’s a pretty comprehensive kit, which makes it easy on the parents/teachers. Readers are not included; they use more ‘sentence reading,’ so that’s something to take into consideration.

          “There is a detailed teacher’s book and an instructional video that comes with each course. The video goes through each step, with the author actually teaching each particular step to a child. It’s also helpful for folks whose first language is not English, so using this system helps provide an education yourself in how to teach phonics.”

          Once we receive your comments and requests, we’ll be able to formulate a better idea of the pricing we can get from the company. The complete set is advertised retail at $249, but the Sonday company has already said they may be able to reduce that considerably. They are willing to work out some “creative” financing if we order enough of them.

Dorling Kindersley Flashcards

          Many families are probably familiar with the DK Flashcards. DK produces 6 sets of high quality, colorful word-and-picture cards-ideal for preschool learning. The DK flashcards are quite well done, realistic and durable. The cards are available in English only. Each self-contained pack contains thirty 5 ¼ x 7 ½-inch cards of realistic pictures with very clear and boldly printed words on the back. There’s a word game and note to parents and teachers included in each pack as well. These could also make great teaching English tools. Here are the set titles: On the Farm,Clothes,Things That Go,At the Supermarket, In the Home, and In the Garden.

          If purchased retail, the price would be $48 for a set of 180 cards, or $8 per individual set of 30. We hope to provide them to you for considerably cheaper, depending on the order we can make with DK.

A Beka

          We’ve heard from a number of families that they are very interested in or are already using A Beka’s home- schooling materials to one extent or another-some wanting the full curriculum and others specific parts only to supplement to their present use of the CLE or other curriculums. A Beka is a very good, albeit normally quite expensive, Christian homeschooling course. We don’t have a lot of hands-on information to offer you as yet about making A Beka available more cheaply, but have contacted the company in the hopes of obtaining good bulk discount prices. Our initial inquiries with the company have confirmed that this is possible, but before embarking further on this venture it would be helpful to have an idea of how many families would be interested in ordering A Beka materials. After hearing back we’ll send more info of what we can offer and for how much.

Please send all comments, ideas, questions or feedback concerning these or any other products you’d like to see TEAM try to get for you to:

          mail@teamfoundation.com

          TEAM Foundation

          P.O. Box 165119

          Irving, TX 75016

          USA

Zimbabwe Book Fair

By Oli, Africa

          I’ve just returned from a book fair in Zimbabwe, which ended up being a blast of a week full of witnessing, learning and miracles! This international book fair is one of the main events of this kind for Africa and our team of four--John, Peter, Esther and myself-went there to promote our tools and look for any open doors to get them distributed throughout the continent

          This was my first fair and in some ways I was expecting an almost strictly business atmosphere--purely promoting our books and products. We did plenty of promoting, but in each meeting and with each person that visited our booth we were able to witness and people soaked it up. We met many sheep and the receptivity was incredible!

          Following John’s lead, he being the book fair veteran of our team, we would show and read from each of our books--this alone meant that each person got a good amount of Word while with us! Our strategy was to keep people in our booth, looking at what we have to offer for as long as possible.

          It was great to be able to see what turned people’s key. For example, From Jesus with Love was an absolute hit as it’s so beautiful, personal and new. No other publisher has anything like it, and once we read a few portions to someone, they just had to have it! The Bible Basics and Keys to Happier Living went like hot cakes! People love the Keys as it has real every day life topics that you won’t find in any other concordance or topical Bible!

          Our children’s materials were another favorite with the Stories to Grow By series at the top of the book list. We must have read certain pages from “Trudge and Zippy” over 100 times! Our Feed My Lambs was also a must-have item, with book 7 receiving extra attention from parents. --Could that be due to it containing verses on obedience?

          During the first three days we dealt mostly with trade professionals, publishers, distributors, librarians, bookshop owners and folks that worked in the education field, both in and out of government agencies and ministries. Then for two days the fair was open to the general public, and they could come and see and buy books! During these two days we pretty much cleared out our inventory of books and quite a few of our other tools as well! This was very interesting as through it we were able to more directly learn what the general public wants and is attracted to.

          The Lord took amazing care of us throughout our stay in Zimbabwe. As you can imagine, with all that’s been in the news about Zimbabwe, a lot of prayer went into each stage of our trip. The Family team there had just returned from South Africa and was extremely helpful and happy to have us. They put us up, fed us and lent us one of their vehicles for the duration of our stay. When later the Lord indicated that we should move closer to the book fair due to an impending three-day strike, He supplied rooms and breakfast in two nice hotels downtown! We prayed desperately that the strike would be peaceful and it turned out to only last one day and didn’t obviously affect the book fair in a negative way.

          Other miracles of the Lord’s love and care: A five-star hotel gave two of us a complete buffet dinner each night and a nice steak-ranch-style restaurant fed the other two of us for the whole week we were there. On the last day we asked Terrie, the manager of this particular restaurant, if he would like to give a meal for our whole team and the Home in Harare as a special close to this inspiring and fruitful week working together, and he gladly did. We had been witnessing to Terrie and some of his staff throughout the week and had given them a few books and a CD. On our last night the staff all came to our table saying they had prepared something special for us. They proceeded to sing us a song in shona (the local language), which we later found out was thanking us for having come and saying how grateful they were, etc. We were touched that they were singing this to us when they were the ones who had so sweetly cared for us! All of these contacts invited us to come back next year!

          This brought to a close our week in Harare, a busy week in which the Lord did many inspiring things to care for us and help us be a blessing and witness to many. At this fair the Lord raised up folks who are interested in marketing our materials in various African countries and there are many inspiring possibilities for us to now follow-up on. This fair taught us much about book distribution in Africa and gave us the exposure and opportunity to meet key people in this arena. We’re very excited at all the Lord is yet to do and the fruit that will be borne as a result of this fair.

By John (of Abi), Europe

          We had a distinguished (and controversial) guest at our stand. On the last day of the fair, President Mugabe came to our stand and talked to us for three or four minutes. We heard that he might be coming to the fair, and I thought, “Hey, let’s clean up the stand, let’s get ready, maybe he’ll stop by.” So we straightened everything up, and I asked the Lord, “If he comes, what book should I give him?” Both Oli and I received to give him Understanding God’s Word (the Activated book). So, lo and behold, he stopped at our stand (he didn’t stop at many stands). In fact in our section, in which there were 20 stands or so, he stopped at three stands, and ours was one of them. It turns out he has a three-year-old, so we gave him a TA video (We Can Get Along), and I also gave him my card. We also had a photo taken with him.

NuBeat Radio show launched!

Dear Family,

          We love you and are so thankful for each of you, our dear co-laborers! With this note we’re announcing the launching of the NuBeat Radio shows for Africa! The Africa Radio Ministry team (ARM) has been working hard to put together these power-packed shows and have completed the first set of 12 NuBeat shows. These are now being sent out to the Homes and will soon be rocking out on the airwaves across the continent! From the response received so far to test runs in one African country we anticipate quite an explosion! Please keep each aspect of this ministry in your prayers as so much is still in the pioneering stages.

          Would you like to be part of the FU explosion that the Lord has promised from this new ministry? In praying about how to handle the responses that these shows are bound to generate the Lord gave the plan of linking up the radio FU directly to the Activated by offering a free Activated mag to each person who responds. Would you like a part in making this possible? Then don’t delay-you can today! A gift of only $13 can make it possible to send free mags to 20 sheep that respond to the shows. $65 will make it possible for 100 people to be reached! Do you have a burden, would you like to help? Please send your gifts via EURCRO to the “Africa Radio FU Fund” and we’ll send you updates on how this ministry is going and growing! This is an all-by-faith venture of the African work; the sheep in Africa desperately need you!

          Love,

          Your Africa Shepherds

legal & media

          TANZANIA - Ricky, Martin, Nina, Sebastian and Esther: We produced a Children’s Corner (which fills a third of a page) for the local newspaper which has a circulation of 5,000 and it is published weekly. It’s in English and reaches the Arusha district and other major towns in Tanzania. So far four issues have been published and people have already started writing in to our e-mail address.

          GREECE - Simon and Renee: Five of our children were able to take part in a children’s talent contest on a famous prime time variety show called “Bravo” on Mega TV (audience 2 to 3 million). The children sang and danced to “What Everybody Needs Is Love,” accompanied by the studio musicians. The host also interviewed Joanna (11) asking a few questions in Greek about our family. Jenny (7) took part in a laughing contest in another part of the show-it was hilarious as Jenny sure knows how to get out of herself, and she won!

The GP arena

By Celeste, EURCRO Media Desk

          Over the past year we’ve gotten more involved with the GP e-mails that are coming from people in the European and African continents through the Family’s Web site. God bless dear Promise and those at the 800 # in the States who have been passing them on. This is truly a fun way to keep “witnessing,” even though sitting at a desk.

          Up to date we’ve received at least 850 e-mails from the general public (this does not include the various academics and media people we communicate with on a regular basis). The questions vary and we often get some pretty outstanding comments and inquiries, but the witness is truly getting out. We’ve incorporated the Salvation prayer into our introductory note for those who write in for the first time. Though we don’t always have a way to assure ourselves whether they prayed the prayer or not, we have had some beautiful reactions from people who testify to how “it really touched them to read the prayer.”

          Besides sending a personal reply to the questions they ask, we’ve also been sending out mass GP e-mail mailings twice a month, which usually consists of a short note to greet them, plus a Reflections and FAR. This has proven to be a good way to continue to feed those who are hungry for the Word.

Some grand totals from the past year are:

          E-mails in: at least 850

          E-mails out: almost 4,000

          Pieces of lit sent: an estimated 10,000

          And that’s just the GP side of things. We’ve also gotten rolling with the former members and LINers who are in the EURCRO area. By sending them the Winepress and other feeding material we’ve seen them grow and become so much closer. Our Winepress list has grown from 30 people when we first took it over (February ‘99) to over 60 now.

Letters to the editor

Re: “Never Bothered to Respond”

          I relate to your predicament. I was in a situation where I wrote to several Homes in a certain field asking to come over. The majority of people failed to send a response of any kind. What they didn’t know was that I needed a reply of some sort, as my visa was about to expire and my decision on it hinged on an answer. It seems that for many people e-mail messages have an unlimited deadline for a response and many seem to feel little or no obligation to reply.

-Marooned in Melbourne

Re: Babymania “grossies”

          The last two Grapevines (issues #85 and #87) had really good articles in Babymania, as we were faced with sleepless nights and the toilet language at all sorts of times from our five children, ages 6 and under. I really laughed at the way the article expressed the “grossies” and it made me ponder about the way I handled the situation with our kids. I handled it a lot more seriously and didn’t have much success until I prayed. The Lord also showed me that it is just a passing thing and it will go away as long as I pray and don’t get too heavy on the correction side, as that only draws even more attention to that sort of behavior. It is nice to be able to read that other parents are also going through similar things with their little ones, as we are here a bit far from other families with similar ages of the children and can’t “compare” the stories!

-Victoria, Australia

S2K and the era of action!

By Leila (of Sam), Brazil

          Recently the Lord has been doing so much. This new era of action is so incredible and exciting! After the Shakeup, I guess the feeling had kind of been like in “Alice in the Magic Garden” after the Lord gave the call to uproot, and now it’s like there are lilies popping up everywhere. You know how in that dream everyone was so happy afterwards, singing and dancing and hugging? That’s a bit how it feels. Almost everyone you talk to is full of excitement over what the Lord is doing right now in the Family. The “Our Activated Future” GN was awesome.

          We’ve been holding meetings every month here with the young people-three day meetings for a different age group each month, from JETTs to senior teens). The last one we did for the senior teens was fascinating! The Lord led us to invite Tommy and Juan (two of the main follow-up guys here) to lead some witnessing classes, but we had no idea how far it would go. By the end of the meetings the Lord was promising that the harvest these young ones would reap would be incredible. He told the follow-up guys that the whole live-out vision and work they have now was small in comparison to the great harvest of disciples the young people would reap! Right after the meetings, we received the GN “Our Activated Future.” It was so encouraging as everything the Lord had shown us about witnessing being “it” and the amazing prophecies He gave at the meetings were so right on with that GN.

          Normally during meetings like these, the young people always have a change in the spirit, and by the third day, everyone is pretty red hot, but it’s more in the spirit that you see the change. This time, however, they all knew this was a special call, and the start of something big and different. After the day we had the witnessing meetings, everyone was so excited, they didn’t even want to go to dinner. It was a real spiritual high.

          Now we’re seeking the Lord and working on putting some landing gear to the vision. We’ve started a Bible class at Juan and Eden’s house where the young people can bring their sheep. What’s so neat is that everything is already set up and waiting to explode. GB Tommy and Juan and some others who have been involved in the follow-up ministry and have been working with the live-outs. The machine is in place, and it seems the Lord is leading to merge the vision the Lord is giving for the young people along with the program others already have going, and the live-out disciples they’ve already won. Our next three-day meetings will be to touch base and see how it’s going with the sheep that each young person has on the line.

          Another neat thing is that even though there have been a few young people still in the meetings who have done their best to pull the wrong way, the Lord’s Spirit is so strong and the dedicated young people are so serious this time around, that they get singled out right away. The consistency of having these meetings on a regular basis seems like a real key here, as then it’s so obvious who doesn’t “want the books.” After our last meetings, already one young person who has not been up to CM standard has been reclassified. There were two others that we were going to have to follow-up on, but we prayed for them to get on board or leave of their own accord, and the other day we found out that one of them decided to go FM and the other one has chosen to leave the Family. I hope it doesn’t sound like we are happy about the young people leaving, as we’re not, but it’s relieving to see some of these guys who have been hanging around and pulling the wrong way decide to move on from CM status.

          For all those who fight the battle of the bulge, don’t miss our special feature: “How to Shed the Pounds His Way!” Coming your way soon in Eve #10!-And while you’re there, you might be interested to learn some incredible healing secrets that are right in the palms of your hands. There is also a detailed article on malaria, and some cool tips for reviving your sex life. Don’t miss Eve #10!

Visitation to Lebanon

By Emmy, VS, ASCRO

          Ministries: It’s very inspiring to see how the work there continues to grow and prosper. The Home has some very fruitful ministries, which include…

          The prison ministry: French Lily and Zach go there once a week to teach English and have quite an opportunity to witness to these folks. They have many touching and inspiring testimonies from this ministry, as there are so many desperate folks who are so eager to receive a little bit of love and attention, and are so thankful for the chance to pour out their hearts.

          Weekly CTP at a children’s cancer hospital: Every week, two or three of the young people go as clowns or different characters to this home for children with cancer. They plan activities and fun for the children to do that day. They have established a close relationship with many of the children and parents, and do a lot to help take care of the kids. When we were there, the Children’s Home was requesting that they come much more often, as it’s the main highlight in these children’s lives.

          Clowning and birthday parties: Their clown team (most of the Home’s young people) have become quite famous in Lebanon. They have been involved in a TV series for children, and as a result, kids and parents everywhere know them. Consequently the team receives requests and invitations pretty much every day to perform at birthday parties, shows, fairs, etc.

          Other: They have other CTPs going as well, and also continue on with the regular outreach and tool distribution. They also have a very fruitful provisioning ministry. The bulk of their fundraising comes from the shows and parties that they do, but everyone in the Home has a real burden to do more follow up and get out the Word. While we were there, we took some time to ask the Lord what more we could do to minister to those who the Home is in contact with and to build a more firm foundation in the Word, etc. The Lord gave lots of wonderful instruction and direction which the Home is working on implementing.

          Potential new disciples: One other very inspiring point is that right now they have two potential disciples on the line, and one of them is a national!

happenings

[Table tracting]

          Leland, Spring, James and Charity, South Africa: We have been learning the great advantage of having a regular table set up in the malls and marketplaces on weekends. Since we’re a small Home, much of our week is devoted to children’s schooling, and the weekends are reserved for witnessing.

          We’ve been writing malls and getting permission to set up tables to display our children’s educational materials. Some malls have given us permission to set out tables weekly. Along with selling our tools, we give out tracts and ask those we feel can help with donations to our missionary work. We laid out a “Why Disasters” tract from the GP DM and a woman who received it said, “I read your tract explaining why the disasters in Mozambique and South Africa happened, and I wanted to give you this money that I had been saving up to give to missionaries.” It turned out to be R250-a real boost in our income that day. Another woman who had seen us every week had saved up money to give us and presented us with a R200 donation! Many have come to our table to be prayed for, and we’ve seen the lives of many people turned around because of our prayers.-Court cases have been dropped, marriages restored, children healed, souls saved, people have gotten Activated, and the Lord has raised up outside witnessers who come by regularly to get quantities of tracts from us to distribute to others. We’ve been keeping an address list of those who get our tools as well as names of interested contacts to send our newsletter to or to contact in the future about getting more of our tools. We’re thankful for this outreach method.

[English camp and correspondence course]

          Micah, Thailand: This month we held an English Camp. Mario (15), Justin (13) Marianne (12) and I went with a group of 50 students from a school down to Siam Park in Bangkok for two days and one night. At first the kids were a little apprehensive, as even though they had seen our singing group perform and some of them had even written in afterwards, it was a totally different thing living together for 36 hours! Well, once we got down to Siam Park and the Opening Ceremony was held, we started playing games with them and the ice broke. In-between class times we all were able to go on the rides for free which was a lot of fun.

          Just being around the kids and doing things with them gave us lots of opportunities to help them practice their English. At night we built a campfire where we played more games which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. The next morning we held four rounds of classes with four different groups and then went into Siam Park again. While all the kids and even the other teachers that had come stayed in very modest housing, they treated us like VIP’s and put us up in a nice air-conned room, and even had a special closing ceremony and gave us a donation for our efforts. GBT!

          From our Christmas singing tour we had gotten the idea to have an English Club correspondence course. We designed an English Club magazine and asked for 20 baht/month for membership (to cover the costs). Nine kids from the English Camp became members and now we have 14, including kids from other schools. It’s starting to snowball! The potential seems unlimited and we have the vision to have little catacomb groups in all the cities where we have performed and where we’ve gotten good mail response.

[Bikes in abundance]

          Rose, Spain: The children had been praying daily for bikes for months, so I suggested that OC Ben (10) try to provision them himself from a second-hand local newspaper. He seemed inspired about the idea, so I wrote a script in Spanish for him to use. The kids prayed and Ben went on the attack. After a while he had memorized the script and was adding words of his own, very inspired. The results?-He provisioned 12 bicycles! One per person! On the next weekend we went to do the pick ups and 12 souls got saved! Every single person that helped got saved and was touched and promised to help whenever they could.

[Who’s in charge?]

          Ben (of Angela), Namibia: While on the road to sort out visas and do some outreach, I stopped at a gas station where the owner helped me once before with the petrol. As it turned out, this time he was on holiday. I talked to the manager but was told that he had no authority to donate. I prayed about what to do next and got that I should fight in the spirit and prayer. So I stood there praying and standing my ground while the manager was still looking through our album. Suddenly I felt the Spirit move, and the manager looking up to me said, “If my boss gave you petrol last time, who I am to deny it from you?” So he filled up my tank and I was on my way, praising the Lord for the victory won by prayer and asking Jesus what to do instead of taking man’s word!

[Dentist possibilities]

          Chris, Ginny and Solomon, USA: This is an answer to prayer, and a possible tip for others: Some of us urgently needed dental work, so we were praying for a contact. We followed up on an ad we found in a classified newspaper for possible free dental work done by dentists who need patients for their California board exams in San Francisco. It required a little investment of time on our part, as we had to meet different dentists, go for x-rays, etc., but it was worth it, as in the end three of us were chosen. The dentists who were going to work on us were not students, but were already practicing in other states or countries, so they knew what they were doing and did quality dental work on us for free. The dentists paid for our flights, nice hotels, food, expenses, plus gave us quite a bit of extra for our “trouble!” We came home with $500 left over and a total of about $800 of dental work done, not to mention a nice break in San Francisco! Although we weren’t able to get all of our dental work done, it was definitely a help, and supplied us with some money that could go toward more treatment.

          We were also able to witness to the dentists and their assistants, and are following up on a few of them. One dentist promised that if he passed the exam he would do all of Ginny’s still-needed dental work for free.

          Every state has dental boards or exams (in California they have different ones every three months), so if you are looking for some free treatment, try contacting the nearest school of dentistry and ask if you could get screened as a possible patient for the next boards.

The Ripple Effect

By Andreas, Chrys and family, Blue Forest Home, Japan

   This article is not for the purpose of extolling the advantages of sending our children to public school, but to glorify the Lord for His pre-vision and leading in our particular situation. In other words, in answer to our prayers the Lord showed us a particular course of action that addressed our personal needs and the local situation of our field.

          Three years ago we felt led by the Lord to enroll our children in the local elementary school. The main reason was the fact that the language of the country where we live is a very difficult one; after many pushes and different approaches we had gone as far as we could. Little did we know of the vast ramifications that such a decision would lead to.

          Four of our children joined the elementary school which was three minutes away from our house. Before their first day at school we had several meetings with the principal to discuss the kids’ needs, our opinions and other details. The school board hired an English-speaking teacher to tutor the kids. From the beginning we have been very involved with the teachers and have attended various PTA meetings.

   We are very thankful for the support and help of the national couple from the other Home, Francis (Nehemiah) and Crystal. Since their kids also have been attending the same school we have a lot in common and together we have rejoiced at the many victories and also worked together on the problems that have come up.

   Francis has taken a very active role in the PTA. He is in charge of the school newsletter, and the families of the 600 kids that attend the school are now regularly reading quotes from the Raise ‘em Right and other Family pubs.

Besides the newsletter, our witness has permeated the many activities that we have attended at the school, such as:

          Cooking classes for the mothers

          Puppet shows, thanks to Michael Jolly

          Singing performances

          Francis and Chrys were asked to lead a tour of five buses full of mothers and some fathers on a visit to observe the schools at a nearby American military base. During that time Francis and Chrys had a chance to explain in depth our beliefs and goals to our children’s school principal. He received our witness and has given us permission to freely share our faith during our interactions at the school. He actually said, “Yes, we really need to teach these kind of morals to the children.”

   Since our kids joined the school, the school has been chosen as a pilot center to lead the way in helping to bring new ideas to the education program of the prefecture we live in.

   A month or so ago, Francis and I were the guest speakers at a special seminar. Ninety-six students from the three 5^th grade classes plus their teachers attended the event. As part of their social studies, we gave a talk on the cultural differences between their country and other parts of the world, the role of commerce in today’s economy, and import and export details. After praying about it, the Lord gave us a neat plan: On the white board we pasted a world map, and the cover of the “What Everybody Needs Is Love” poster. We brought different items from different countries: a Mexican hat, maracas, British-made porcelain, an Egyptian plate, etc. We started by asking questions about all the things that we eat or use on an everyday basis, such as where do bananas come from? What about cars? This led to the realization that no country really has everything it needs and so it must share with others, and by the same token people are all different. We all have different talents and can do different things. Throughout the talk we asked the kids many questions, invited them to come up and put on the Mexican hat or play the maracas. They shared their likes or things that they are good at; all in the context of how we are all really different but part of the same creation as on the cover of the “What Everybody Needs Is Love” poster. We then showed everybody the story of the five blind men from the Treasure Attic. The video explained better than any words how important it is to see the whole picture instead of just your little point of view. This of course is easier said than done. Difficult for us but not impossible for God. To close, we told them that we had a special present to them, a simple prayer to ask God for His help to overcome the barriers between all of us. The teachers and kids all readily agreed and we ended with a salvation prayer, all 100 or so of them got saved!

   As a follow up to our previous talk we were asked to give our opinion at the end of a special class presentation. This time small groups of kids in the class had prepared reports to present for everyone. Attending their presentation were also teachers from all the elementary schools in the city who came to observe and take notes. The kids reported with pictures and facts on a variety of subjects and their causes and effects on the city, problems such as, ocean pollution, cutting down rain forests, impact of their country’s exports on foreign communities. We had only a little time and we shared the special message that Dad has given for this country in the Letters: Share the wealth!

          In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the Lord deserves all the credit for the way He has been reaching the community here. Besides Him, there are many precious brethren who either helped build the educational pilot center or have worked here even for a short time.

Dear Mama

Dearest Mama and Peter,

   I want to share the wonderful miracle and victory the Lord has done for my three kiddos and I, in bringing us to a new field after more than three years in the US. After fighting for about a year to get to the field, it helps us to value and appreciate it all the more.

          The Lord brought me to the place where I was so desperate and it looked like things were not working out to go anywhere, that I was willing to do anything to obey His “Go ye.” Once I made that commitment that I was willing to give it my all no matter what, that is when He was really able to start working the final miracles in getting us off!

          There has been-and still is-so much for us to learn and get adapted to in coming here. It’s been such a blessing to hear and read little bits and pieces about others who have made the “leap of faith” in going to new and very different fields. To read their lessons and testimonies is such an encouragement that if the Lord did it for them, He can also do it for us. It is certainly a test at times, wondering if we are going to make it here as so many of those here around us have been faithfully laboring it out here for many years-not only on the same field, but in the same Home. But the verse I claim is “faithful is He Who promised, Who also will do it.”

          In the past few years the Lord has done a wonderful miracle in my life, giving me victories from the grip of discouragement and condemnation which I have fought in my life for so many years. In looking back over the past few years, I saw that these victories in my life started happening around the time of “Mama’s Love Story,” and then on through the time of the “Loving Jesus Revelation.” These were key Letters for me, as although I had grown up “hearing” of the Lord’s love, like the story of the girl who met the author, I hadn’t fully experienced it personally. The Lord engineered a series of events in my life to bring to life some of these principles to where I saw and felt and knew it was true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

          Around the time of “Mama’s Love Story” for the first time in my life, I was very close to someone who loved me as well. At first this was very hard for me to accept, as I didn’t understand how or why someone could or would love me, and had certain questions in my heart. Each time it was incredible how the answer to each question would come in the next chapter of “Mama’s Love Story,” as it talked so much about the Lord’s great love for each one of us. This was also a confirmation to me that prophecy is real. When it was time to move on and leave the one I loved, the “Loving Jesus” series came out. And then once again through how I felt for this person, the Lord helped me to understand how He feels about each of us and drew me so close to Him.

-female, Asia

Activated mags are the way!

From Daniel, USA

          I found that I can ask for and receive larger donations for Activated mags than for posters. Since I get just as many pieces out when distributing Activated mags as posters, I therefore make about 33% more in total donations. Even though the Activated mags cost twice as much as posters, I still come out making 25% more in donations above my total seed corn expense. So it’s a win-win situation! The people get more Word and a meaty message, and I get more funds for the same amount of time spent witnessing. If any business found out that they could make 25% more profit daily just by selling a more expensive product, and knew that they could sell just as many of the more expensive products daily as they could the cheaper products, they would immediately want to sell the more expensive product first at all times and at every opportunity.

   I ask a donation of one to two dollars for an Activated mag. If someone can’t give that much I give them a poster instead, and if someone can’t give anything, I offer them a tract. Also, when asking for one-to-two dollar donations people seem more apt to give 5- and 10-dollar donations, maybe because they see that you have the faith to ask for larger donations, so they’re more willing to give. Activated mags also help start more conversations which lead to soul winning than other lit, since there is so much in them to talk about. That’s another plus. Additionally, I can sell subscriptions, which means not only more monetary profit for my Home, but potential Bible study members and supporters too!

   (Editor’s note: Getting out the Activated mags on the street is a great way to get more Word out and make the Activated magazine more well known. Don’t forget to include subscription cards in the magazines that you distribute, so people can sign up later if they like it. And while you’re selling the Activated mags, don’t forget to try to sign up people as subscribers so they can get a regular feeding. This isn’t always possible if you’re getting them out on the street or at stop lights, as people don’t have much time to talk, but if you can start up a conversation with them, tell them that instead of buying one magazine, they’ll get three magazines free if they sign up for the subscription! What a deal!)

Mama jewels … on wonderful things ahead

-given at a meeting to staff members

          A lot of people are having battles and tests, and the Lord said to remind you that when the battles get really heavy and things are happening both in the spirit and the flesh, that He has something really good up ahead! He didn’t say what, and He doesn’t usually tell us. It’s like a treasure hunt. But He said to remind you that He has some very special things up ahead-good things-and that’s why the battles that everybody’s experiencing are so heavy right now.

   Prayer and staying close to the Word are the keys that will keep us all going, keep the victories coming, and help us to accomplish the things the Lord wants in our lives and for the Family. (Mama’s chair squeaks.) Yes, the little squeaks that come up in our lives shouldn’t derail us, they should just make us want to keep going and continue fighting the Enemy because he’s just a punk and a little squirt. You get through these things! You always do, and you always have, right? Think back to all the times that seemed to be such impossible situations. You felt you couldn’t make it, but the Lord did it time after time. So of course He’s going to keep doing it! Why would He not? He’s promised to keep us and give us the victory!

Your thoughts on the latest GNs

Re: GN 902 - “Stay on the Wall”

   We’re sorry to hear of the problems encountered regarding disaffected ex-members and the propagation of doubts concerning the Family and especially our dear Queen and King Peter. We want to tell you, Mama and Peter, how much we love and admire you. There can never be any doubt as far as we are concerned of your humility, devotion, dedication and selfless yieldedness to the Lord, and we’re so thankful for you. We love you!

-John and Carol, England

   I’m sorry that you had to write such a letter, but I suppose it is sometimes necessary to have to address these issues for the sake of setting the record straight. I think you addressed the questions beautifully, with real wisdom and love.

          I am so proud of you for all that you do. I know you often say how proud you are of the Family and everyone in it, but I wonder if you realize just how proud we are to have shepherds like you?

          Words are not enough to say how I feel. Even though I mean them sincerely I feel like the expression, “talk is cheap,” meaning that deeds are what counts. Well, I want my deeds to back up what I mean to say: I love you. I believe in you as God’s anointed shepherds and the ones who have inherited David’s mantle. I am here, by the grace of God, as one who will stand by you side proudly, come what may.

-Gideon Newheart, Norway

Re: GN 906 - “None of These Things Move Me”

   Thank you for all the thought and prayer you put into the “None of These Things Move Me” GN. It was very thorough and good. It’s sad that you had to take so much time to reiterate things that have already been stated in past Word, or remind people of court victories and so on, but I think it will go a long way in reminding people that detractors who try to revive the accusations of the past are really beating a dead horse. The most ludicrous thing to me was the accusation that through S2K you are merely trying to purge out those who would contradict you. It’s laughable how our enemies contradict themselves-first you’re trying to keep everyone in the group, then you’re trying to get rid of everyone! Wow.

          I’m really thankful for the Word, our unmovable foundation. I think the most powerful parts of the GN were the references to Bible verses, and to the examples of other men, including Jesus, who did unconventional things in their time, out of obedience to God. Otherwise you can’t really explain our movement with the carnal mind-it just doesn’t fit into the box society would like to stuff it into, of conforming to this or that accepted system.

          I think that it boils down to the simple personal conviction that we’re in God’s will, that we’re helping others, and that our religious beliefs work for and benefit us, and don’t harm others. Simplicity seems to be the order of the day, and having simple faith, in order to survive the latest brain-strain arguments and accusations the Enemy must really want us to mull over.

          I’m really praying for my young teen brothers and sisters these days, that the Lord will protect their spirits. That’s the only point at which I get really angry at the Devil for this-when I think of the impressionable minds of our kids who are constantly struggling with the question of whether to live for themselves or to live for others-that’s what it boils down to, I think. No detractor is going to make better Christians-and certainly not better missionaries-out of our young people by confusing them and causing them to drift away from their missionary lives in the Family.

          Thank you for including the MO Letter links at the end of the GN too. I’ve already compiled and printed out half of them to read through.

-female, 25

QnAs

Simon Black CD

          Q: I remember that quite some time ago there was talk of a Simon Black CD. I’ve been looking forward to that one. Any news concerning this?-Mark, Slovakia

     A: Yes, you should be receiving it within the next month or two! Pray for its finalization.

Inspirational stories

          Q: I was wondering about the idea of sharing inspirational stories that are not “spirit stories” per se. Over time we have collected some very inspiring stories, many of which are true and historical. It seems a shame that at the present there seems to be no outlet for these in Family pubs. This is not to detract from the spirit stories, but it does seem a pity to neglect occasional inspiring testimonies and stories from other sources.-John/Carol, England

     A: Besides the Power and Protection mags, we’ve recently printed a few mags of sweet and touching stories, and have more on the way. Please send in any good or inspirational stories, as we may be able to print the best of them, or at least post them on the MO site for all to enjoy.

Just for fun

Phenomenal Women

   An English professor wrote the words, “a woman without her man is nothing” on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly.

   The men wrote: “A woman, without her man, is nothing.”

          The women wrote: “A woman: without her, man is nothing.”

   Punctuation is everything!

On the Net

Web Highlights:

The “chapter a week” section uploaded.

          Q: What’s the “chapter of the week” section? Is that GP or MO? I can’t log on the MO site to check. Is it HL books?

     A: It’s a section on the GP site that features three Heaven’s Library books, a chapter at a time per week.           (The Perfect Ones on Monday, The Mountain Calls on Wednesday, and Two Tests and a Wish on Friday.)

   “Email to a friend” feature added to GP site

          “Send Daily Pic as e-card” feature added to GP site.

          “Send to a friend” feature added to “Reader’s Corner” on the GP site.

          Almost finished with the code for the weekly and daily subscriptions to receive the contents in the “Reader’s Corner” by e-mail.

   Preparatory work on gathering materials for the new Aurora network of sites done.

   The computer, photo gallery, pubs and news wire sections on MO site greatly expanded.

   407 validated Homes now on the MO site.

          Over 400 (conservatively) messages to users sent this past month.

   Sites updated about 20 times.

     Blake: Webshots.com spotlights three people’s picture “albums” each day. On August 22^nd, webshots.com featured mine, which has links to all the other “pic of the days,” as well as a link to the Family Web site. We’ve received almost 13,000 downloads (for “pic of the day”) in the past 5 months, but since they made it the featured album, it got 16,000 downloads in just one day!

          If you would like to get next month’s pics all at once, you can download them from the Webshots, instead of getting them day by day from the GP site. This also helps the exposure and witness on the Webshots to go up (see www.webshots.com).

Web stats

JULY - www.thefamily.org

Distinct Visits: 18,299

Daily Average: 590

Total Downloaded: 3.5 gigs

Page Views: 44,483

Total MP3’s Downloaded: 475

Top 10 MP3 Downloads

  37 Eagle Bleeds

       24 State I’m In

       19 Pet Shop

  16 In the Day

  15 Battle for the Earth

       14 My Life

  14 The Candle

  14 Footprints

       14 Heaven Is

       13 One Day at a Time

Lit Downloads

  2800 MO Letters

  14 Poster screensavers

Other Downloads

  140 Daily pic zip downloads*

Other Stats

  57 Salvation page hits

       263 eCards sent page hits

       251 subscribers to “PowerLinks” (the GP sites newsletter that Trust and Co. put together), which brings the total number of subscriptions obtained to well over 1,000.

*Out of these, the March-June archives were downloaded @ 52 times, a total of 1,560 pics.

JULY - www.familymembers.com

Distinct Visits: 10,103

Daily Average: 325

Total Downloaded: 8.2 gigs

Page Views: 49,668

Top 20 Pubs Downloaded

  322 GN 902 “Stay on the Wall!”

       321 Grapevine

       139 Free Zine

       127 FSMs

       93 END

       89 Reflections

       85 Heaven’s Library

       70 MLKs

       67 HTK

       67 LinkUP

       56 FARs

       55 FED pubs

       51 Eve

       44 Heaven’s Library books

       39 Kidz Biz

       39 Blade

       37 Kidland

       26 International Prayer List

       23 FC Pub

       21 Mountain Streams

Other Downloads

  800 MP3s

  176 Book Summaries

       161 News Articles

       54 Newsletters

       38 Movie lists (RTF)

       30 Screen Savers (The CS and Poster collection)

JULY - www.activated.org

Distinct Visits: 1,492

Daily Average: 48

Total Downloaded: 74 MB

Page Views: 3,104

Lit Downloads

  13 Activated Mag 1 (free mag)

JULY - www.auroraproduction.com

Distinct Visits: 733

Daily Average: 23

Total Downloaded: 69 MB

Page Views: 3,148

Lit Downloads

  4 Trudge & Zippy

       4 Future Foretold

       3 Dare to Be Different

       3 Hearing from Heaven

       3 Overcoming Obstacles

       3 Prayer Power

       3 Feed My Lambs

       3 From Jesus with Love

       3 Key Bible Verses

       2 Two Tests and a Wish

       2 Glimpses of Heaven

       2 Keys to Happier Living

       1 A Christmas to Remember

MO site feedback

   We were so EXCITED to see a GN on the MO site!!!!!

   Everything works just fine! I can’t quite describe the Web site you guys have put together for all, it’s fantastic and we visit it just about daily. Keep up the good work

   Thank you so much for setting up the new Web site! We were able to take a peek into it and just loved it! It looks much more professional than the one we had before (the Family just keeps getting better at it!), and as far as the contents go, it is like an ocean to swim in!

          We not only love to get the pubs a little before the mailings, but we love getting them in COLOR! All those great photos!!! And having all the Reflections on line is like having a lit library at my fingertips! Thanks so much! And we can barely live without you-it has been two whole weeks since we’ve been able to get on the Members Only lifeline!! It’s as bad as lack-a-nooky! We so look forward to getting the latest!

          Dear hard-working Members Only Web-site people, We all just read Abner’s letter to Joy and we very much appreciate your posting it! What a great blessing this Newswire section is! And you wouldn’t believe (but then again, maybe you would) what a great blessing it is to have access to the ENDs in this way! We’re sending selected articles to friends all over the world and getting REACTIONS!

New Feature #4

Dream Journey

1. Little Bit of Love

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Ben, Linda, Andrew V.

          Guitar by David; Bass by Ben

          Arranged and engineered by Ben, Andrew V.

2. Right to Be Free

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Lara, Nat

          Guitar by David

          Arranged and engineered by Nat

3. Don’t Give Up

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Lara, Nat, Ben

   Arranged and engineered by Nat

4. Vive para Amar

(Live In a Loving Way)

          Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Nat

          Guitars by David, Jason

   Arranged and engineered by Nat

5. Dreamer

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Linda, Andrew V.

          Guitars by: Jason, David, Andrew V.; Bass by Ben

   Arranged and engineered by Andrew V.

6. The Search for Love

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Lara, Nat, Ben, Linda, Andrew V.

          Guitar by David

   Arranged and engineered by Nat

7. There Is an Answer

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Lara, Nat, Ben

          Bass: Andy; Sax: Victor

          Arranged and engineered by Ben

8. I’ve Got a Feeling

   Lead vocal: Jason

   Backup vocals: Lara, Nat

   Guitar by David

   Arranged and engineered by Nat

9. Your Time to Go

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Lara, Nat

          Guitar by David

          Arranged and engineered by Andrew V.

10. Friends

   Lead vocal: Jason

   Backup vocals: Ben, Linda, Andrew

   Arranged and engineered by Ben

11. Words from the Mountain

   Lead vocal: Jason

          Backup vocals: Lara, Nat, Ben, Linda, Andrew V.

          Keyboards by Andrew V.

          Arrangements and technical engineering by Ben

12. In the Darkest Hour

   Lead vocal: Jason

   Backup vocals: Lara, Nat, Ben, Andrew V., Linda

          Guitars by Jason, Andrew V.

          Arranged and engineered by Andrew V.

“OCEAN OF LOVE”

by Jeremy Spencer

   Limited release: A solo instrumental CD of soothing original melodies. Available only on the MO site. Download and check it out! (length: 45 minutes/cover on MO site)

backtracking

   In Grapevine 92, page 8, under “kidbits,” we discovered a little error. It says: Romina Micaela, born to Bendy and Esteban on April 23.-Brazil. However, Bendy, Esteban and family live in Argentina. Our apologies!

travel tip

   There’s an online travel company (www.tiss.com) where we’ve found some exceptional deals on flights. You might want to check it out and see if it helps with your travel plans.

Tip of the Day

Norton Utilities and Security, computer tips

By Matthew Greek, Greece

   Recently we noticed something important concerning messages and announcements we have been receiving from Family members in different places around the world. Some of the files we have been receiving come sometimes with the MS-DOS replacement for long filenames ~1, at the end of the name of a file. We had this problem before too and every time we xpyed our files, the files with a long name over 8 characters, would change to their MS-DOS substitute with the ~1, or ~2 ending. (E.G. if we had a file over 8 letters named mat07gideon.03, it would change to mat07g~1.03.)

   This is a problem that happens when you use the old version of the CPYwin as it is mentioned at the Members Only Website at the Homearc Help and Tips, etc, at the Computer section, but it’s quite unlikely that people still use this old version. (From Eurcro: It also happens if you disable the “Store long file names in CPY files” option in CPY 96 in order to be compatible with CPYwin users.) The CPYwin is a 16-bit program that does not support long filenames.

          In our case, we found out that since we were already using CPY96 instead of CPYwin, this was caused because we were also using the Norton Utilities program with the Norton File Protection option enabled at the Recycle Bin.

   I don’t know if anything on the subject has been published in the past, so I wanted to caution everybody about it. The reason is that Norton File Protection is bad security, as it prevents the xpy program from wiping clean the originals of the files that it encrypts. One sign that it prevents the wiping of the original files is also that the filenames change to the ones with ~1 at their ends. And we also found out that with Norton Protection enabled, even if you use the wiper program with DOS after you xpy your files, the original files still remain hidden in your hard drive!

          Since we have been receiving quite a number of these files in messages, I had a burden to suggest that people should deactivate the Norton Protection option if they are using Norton Utilities, otherwise their xpy program doesn’t wipe the original files from their hard drives, and they could be retrieved through the unerase or undelete utility programs. The “Nuts and Bolts” program also has a similar function that is called “Trash Guard” that also prevents the original file to be wiped by the xpy program even if you use DOS programs, to delete files.

For someone to deactivate Norton Protection they just need to follow the steps below:

   1. Right-click the Recycle Bin.

          2. Click Properties.

          3. Click the Norton Protection tab.

          4. Click Remove Norton Protection or deselect the enable check boxes for each of your drives. Norton Protection will no longer be automatically enabled at Windows startup.

In order to disable Trash Guard:

   1. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon in My Computer or Windows Explorer or Desktop.

   2. Choose Properties.

   3. Select the Nuts and Bolts tab.

          4. Deselect the Enable Trash Guard check box.

          I hope this may be a help to somebody and that it will bless you with better security in His Service.

forum

[Natalia helps out]

          Female in Ukraine: My life was changed after studying the “Praise Him” GN. I realized that I was sadly lacking in this area and that was one of the weapons I was using the least, therefore often being discontent and murmuring, GHM. I was trying to praise, but it was far from being a habit and was especially difficult when I didn’t feel like it. The message from Natalia touched my heart so much that I cried out to the Lord to help me, as I desperately needed it. The Lord said that He’s sending Natalia especially for this time period to help me gain the victories I needed. Soon after that I felt the presence of Natalia and she spoke to me a few times. Her messages really changed my life as she helped me to be more positive and to praise. Since then praising the Lord has become my favorite! Even the baby gets so excited when she sees us pick up the guitar that she lifts up her hands and shouts for joy. TTL for His wonderful spirit helpers.

[Letters did “a great job!”]

          Ruth, Romania: None of my three children-now all in their twenties-”officially” made it through high school, though they are bright, intelligent young people. Sad to say, because of so many changes, things happening, and I not being the best teacher, their schooling was sporadic. I did use a correspondence course which was very good. It was called ACE, which stands for Accelerated Christian Education. Although both my son and daughter are not in the Family right now, I wanted to testify to how good our schooling is, even when it’s not as consistent as it should be. I’m ashamed to say it, but my kids never “officially” went past junior high school, but when I lived in the States for a short time, they took a test and were immediately put in the 10^th grade.

          My daughter received a high school diploma through a friend who helps the Family. Of course, she had to get tested, but she passed and is now putting herself through college. My son, who wants to join the Navy, had to take a test to get in and he scored higher than most of the high school graduates. His recruiter wrote me and said that I “did a great job!” with his schooling. The thing is though, that neither one of them had much schooling at all! They got most of their education from the Letters! It just goes to show how good our material is.

[Sharing the wealth]

          Ruth, England: I think there should be more said and done to share provisioning contacts. While some people are very good about it, it seems that some very good provisoners tend to still keep and use the contacts for themselves. I myself really need a shipping contact and I know of several people who do have them, but tend to keep it for themselves. Some people have a real talent for provisioning but do not pass on their contacts for others to use.

   (Editor’s note: There are undoubtedly some legitimate reasons why individuals don’t freely share their provisioning contacts with others-to prevent them from becoming burned out, to ensure that they don’t see bad samples, etc.-however, the Lord will bless your giving. Ask the Lord how you can best share the blessings He’s given you without overburdening your contacts. If you don’t feel that a provisioning contact would do well being approached by a number of people, you could ask the Lord about approaching your contact on others’ behalf. You never lose by giving!)

[They’re different than us]

          Woman in Italy: I have a 15-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter. The Lord has recently put us in situations where most of the kids in the Home are young people and not young children, so the way we work and do things has changed a bit. I’ve learned that they are different from us, and the way they do things is different too. The most important thing is that they love Jesus, and that even in their rowdiness and sometimes their loud way of doing things, they want to serve the Lord and are trying to do their best for Him.

   Before it was a big fight for me trying to make them do things the way I do them, until the Lord showed me that the most important thing is their fruits. For example, when we FGA have devotions or Word time, we usually tend to be more serious or less expressive; our jokes are different and in general our attitude is more serious even if we are enjoying what is being read to the maximum!

          Before, I was expecting our young people to react in this same way, and when I would reinforce this concept to them, I would end up with a dissatisfied bunch of young people or a grumpy FGA! That is, until I came to the realization that no matter how they react or how lively their Word times or devotions are, the most important thing is that they respect the Word and that afterward they put it into practice.

          My 15-year-old told me, “Mom, you want me to react to the Word the same way you do-but remember, we are different!” And it’s true! Most of the time our teens’ Word time is full of comments or jokes and even some laughs, but at the end when we pray, most of the time the Lord speaks through one of them in prophecy and sometimes even through the one that has been noisiest! TYJ! “By their fruits ye shall know them!”

[Only when financially needy?]

          Couple in Spain: There are some brothers that never write us, and only when they’re financially needy do they remember us. Wouldn’t it be better to write to one another even though you may need nothing from the others, only their friendship? Then once you need help it will be easier to ask for it.

   (Editor’s note: Amen to that!)

entertainment

Movies Rated for Senior Teens

SHANGHAI NOON (2000)

Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson

          Western comedy/action movie about a Chinese Imperial guard sent to Old West-era Nevada to rescue China’s princess who has been kidnapped and taken there. Light entertainment.

TWIN FALLS IDAHO (1999)

Mark Polish, Michael Polish, Michelle Hicks

          Drama about a young call girl who is booked one night by Siamese twins, and the friendship she develops with them. The film has a melancholy tone and some may find the subject matter unappealing. Touching, and gives an interesting look at those who lead such unusual lives.

Movies Rated for Junior Teens

VOLCANO (1997)

Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche

   Action/thriller about a volcano that erupts in downtown L.A. and threatens to destroy the whole city.

Movies Rated for OCs

MY DOG SKIP (2000)

Frankie Muniz, Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane

   Touching story of a young, shy boy with no friends whose life changes when given a puppy for his birthday. Based on the memoirs of Willie Morris, who became editor of Harper’s Magazine.

A KID IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT (1995)

Thomas Ian Nicolas, Paloma Baeza, Kate Winslet

          A teenager from the year 1995 is pulled into King Arthur’s court by Merlin. His mission: to save Camelot. To do this he must overcome the villain, train to become a knight, and rescue the princess who has fallen in love with him. Ultimately, he must help Arthur regain his confidence before he can go home.

Movies Rated for All

WHO’S WHO AT THE ZOO (1994)

Animated

          Half-hour “Precious Moments” cartoon. Timmy the little angel is sent to Earth with the assignment of trying to save a zoo-and the experience provides some good lessons for all!

Non-recommended movies

DOGMA (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino; 1999)

   (Jesus:) This is an unusual movie, and was made, with good intent, for those who do not have or have lost their faith in the church or even in Me altogether. It is scandalous, it is even blasphemous at times, but the truths therein could only be accepted by some through that vehicle. But for those who already know My truth, this movie is not worth the time they would spend wading through the language and the violence. There are a few things that go overboard to being disgusting or ridiculous, and had they cut some of those things it would have been an interesting movie to watch, a different approach to witnessing.

          This movie can leave the viewer with the thought that perhaps I do not have all things in My control and that the Enemy can get his way. Though everything worked together for good in the end and there were good lessons in this film, all in all it isn’t worth going through the muck and the mire. It’s rather foolish to struggle through slime only to get a taste of something you have warehouses full of. Also, this movie is filled with foul language and takes My name in vain all too often.

          It contains some true waters of My truth, but they are soiled and polluted with so much worldly packaging, so much that is amiss, that it is not at all spiritually feeding or strengthening for My children. It is, however, a vehicle that, believe it or not, I have used to bring some people to allow a seed of faith to be born in their hearts. It was made for those who think religion is dead and dull and boring and have no faith. It is made to cause them to think that maybe there is something to religion and maybe it’s worth being interested in. It makes them think maybe God is kind of neat after all. But it doesn’t go beyond that and give answers. It doesn’t present salvation, or the true picture of the love and power of God.

NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS (Eddie Murphy; 2000)

   (Jesus:) While it is interesting to see how one actor can play so many roles, as in this movie, nevertheless, the film sports little other redeeming qualities to make it worth the Family’s time. It is unbalanced. The foolishness, crassness and crudeness in the film far outweigh any good qualities. This film is simply not worth the time, the expense, the effort of watching. I ask the Family to shun it, and invest their time in far more uplifting and satisfying free-time activities and movies.

MAGNOLIA (Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise; 1999)

   (Jesus:) This movie would be a waste of time for anyone. It didn’t have any real meaning, and had so much foul language in it. The people making this movie were trying to get across how messed up people lives can get when they don’t forgive each other, but you have to wade through so much bad for the couple of good points that it’s definitely not worth seeing.

reviews

Shanghai Noon

   (Dad:) For those who enjoy those ol’ cowboy/Indian movies, this movie will be enjoyable and funny. The whole story and the interaction between the different characters, with the kind of modern touch to it, is pretty amusing and at least some will find it a fun movie to watch. Though there is quite a bit of fighting in this movie, the lead character’s motives are good and his spirit for the most part is pretty wholesome. He’s trying to do the right things out of love and his sample helps to change his partner’s attitude and life for the better.

          One word of caution I have is to keep this movie in its proper place. Some will find it pretty entertaining and may be tempted to view it over and over again, but let your moderation be known unto all men. Don’t go overboard by getting too into it and watching it repeatedly.

Twin Falls Idaho

   (Jesus:) This is an interesting movie in its own right, albeit unusual. For those who are not especially sensitive, but are curious, and interested in all kinds of people, it provides some insight into an aspect of life that normally you’d never think of-the kind of lives that people like the boys in this movie live. It shows how everyone, no matter what you might think of him or her, is simply a human soul in need of love. It also provides a good example of “loving the unlovely” and being moved with compassion to see beyond outer appearances and look inside the hearts of those in need.

          Overall the movie is not very inspiring; it’s a bit of a downer, and it breaks your heart. On the other hand, while it’s sad, it’s sweet. There’s not much exceptional message in it, though it does have a simple example of loving kindness, as well as an interesting and moving peek into lives many have never even thought about, or at least not in the way that this movie makes you think. Pregnant women may find the subject matter unpleasant or even traumatic, since it deals with a life-threatening birth defect. Others may simply find it boring or uninteresting. Others will enjoy it. It’s not a movie for everyone, but for those who are interested it is worthwhile.

Volcano

     (Dad:) This movie has fun, action (which I know a lot of you like) and also has good lessons. The lessons in this movie are clear and so I’ll let you all glean them for yourselves-but make sure that you do! Like the saying goes, “A wise man learns from his own experiences, but a wiser man learns from the experiences of others.” There are many things that you can learn if you’re looking and are open to what the Lord wants to show you!

My Dog Skip

   (Jesus:) This is a sweet, true story and portrayed in such a way that is very true-to-life. It addresses many of the questions children have about life, and about the world around them-a world which is sadly not perfect, and full of harsh realities that are difficult for children to understand. This movie is a good example of what many children in the world go through, and could provide an excellent springboard for studies in the Word and discussions on the advantages of the Family, and the advantages of having Me always by their side. I am their best Friend, and they never have to feel alone or isolated from others, because they have Me.

          The dog was My gift of love to this little boy, to show him that love did exist, and to help him open up his heart. I use many things as tokens of My love to people, and these come in varying packages, depending on the person and what they would be most receptive to. I used Skip to show the boy love, and to teach him many valuable lessons.

          I encourage My dear parents and teachers to preview this movie before showing it to the children, because of the issues it addresses. It is a good movie, well made, and worth watching, but there is much to explain. Depending on the children in your Home, you and the children could bring questions about the movie to Me, to get My views on the deeper issues of life that some may have difficulty understanding. If you take the time to draw good lessons out of this movie, it will be well worth it and the children will learn many good principles and lessons that will help them later on in life.

A Kid in King Arthur’s Court

   (Dad:) A Kid in King Arthur’s Court is a cute, fairy-tale type movie. It’s not true to life and isn’t real lesson-filled, but it can be fun and enjoyable entertainment if not viewed repeatedly. It may be okay for some MCs to watch, but be sure to preview and check with the Lord first before doing so.

Who’s Who at the Zoo

   (Dad:) This is a cute, funny little show that the younger set will really enjoy. It’s got some good lessons, positive morals, and is pretty much a fun and relaxing show to watch. It’s not near as meaty or Word-filled as the terrific stuff that we’ve produced, or the Bible cartoons and other shows. But it’s not going to be harmful and it’s got some good message to boot.

* * *

   Have you been wondering when the next Activated shiner race ends, begins, or anything related to it? Check out the next Grapevine for the full scoop! There’s some great incentives, details, and cash prizes (yes, that did say CASH PRIZES!) that you won’t want to miss! Coming in the next Grapevine!

   Shine on Stats were delayed. Look for them in the next Grapevine!

Personals

     Dulce and Emanuel, this is Danny speaking. Where on Earth have you gone? I lived with you guys in Cadiz, Spain … want to drop a line? I’m still here in India. You can contact me through my ABM or e-mail: JustDoMe@terra.com.

     Sara (Mark-Faithy), PLEASE … get IN touch! You can contact me through my ABM or e-mail: JustDoMe@terra.com.- Danny.

          Andre Helper is looking for his daughter Lisa Helper and for Augustine in Venezuela. Please e-mail me at: matumaini@raha.com. Thank you so much.

     Tom (a.k.a. Tyler, Tommy Girl, Tomoko, etc.), where are you, baby? I know friends apart are close in heart, but I’d love to hear from you! I’m in Taiwan again. Please write to e-mail: stella07@china.com! Ur friend forever, Stella.

          This is Philip P.I. (Philippines) wanting to get in touch with Family members I used to live and work with. You can reach me at e-mail: PM@digitelone.com.

     Vick that was living in Italy, where are you? Contact Lucas Song from Brazil! My e-mail is: br777@terra.com.br or lucassong@ig.com.br. I really need to talk to you.

     Sara Sasha E., (where have you been?), and Heidi (of Josue and Abi) please contact Claire at e-mail: ourpool@juno.com or through the post at: 11 Flint Locke Rd., Randolph, MA 02368.

          Dear Rache, (last heard from in Denmark), whatever happened to you? Please write me at ourpool@juno.com.

          Esther M. is trying to get in touch with Alvi (Japan) and Sar (of Ben and Rebecca)! Any ol’ pals, please also feel to write me at my e-mail: estmmg@yahoo.com.

          I’m trying to get in touch with Teri and David (last heard of in Thailand). Could you write to Reuben at e-mail: RancourtFamily@hotmail.com.

          Kristina would really like to get back in touch with Frannieand Paula (of Josiah and Jewel). Lived with you in Nepal. You can contact me at e-mail: kkjordan@bangkok.com.

          Thai James and Thai Esther are looking for Philipino Josiah, Swiss Joy and Joel, Paul (French) and Lily (English), Gabriel, Phillipe, Tatiana and Julia. We would like to get in touch with you. Write to: PO Box 64, Promprab Post Office, BKK Thailand, 10101. E-mail: archome@a-net.net.th.

     Autumn and Robin, wanna know WHATSAP??!! with Windy (Jamacian, lived with you in Ghana). Write us at clowns@mail.telepac.pt.

   The news and views from Family members published in the Grapevine are not intended to reflect WS policy.

          Suggested reading age for this publication is 14 years and up. Selected portions may be read by or with those younger at parents’ or shepherd’s discretion.

          The Grapevine, PO Box 4938, Orange, CA 92863 USA e-mail: grape@ibm.net

(End of file.)

Copyright (c) 2000 by The Family