The Family / Children of God

the grapevine

(Issue #96; September 15, 2000.)

Our FIRST Teachers’ Training Seminar in UGANDA

--By Oli and Amber, Uganda

          Since being in Uganda, we’ve had a fruitful CTP ministry with the schools. The EURCRO FED team has been working on developing a one-year Character Building and Foundations of Faith curriculum to be used in such projects, so part of our job has been testing these materials out in the schools here. In doing this, we discovered a real need to help teach and train the teachers in the schools we were working in. So many came to us for counsel and the Lord’s perspective on various situations they face. So, the idea came … “A Teacher’s Seminar!”

          The Lord did many miracles in helping this dream become a reality. We had plenty of people in our Home who wanted to help teach at the seminar, put the classes together, etc., but we needed a place to have it. Even though we didn’t have everything in place, we went ahead by faith and passed out the invitations for the teachers to come, all for free. Sure enough, the calls came in and the proposed limit of 50 attendees was soon at maximum capacity!

          We knocked on various doors for the use of facilities and a hotel contact offered a large discount on the use of a conference room. Still, we had no sponsors for the seminar even though it was to begin soon. But the Lord had a plan! A friend of ours asked Marie if we would be willing to help teach reading to her two dyslexic boys. We prayed about it and agreed that we’d be happy to help her in this way. Later when explaining to her about the seminar, guess what? She offered to help sponsor it! So, now we had the money needed to get the room and take care of all the details.

          The Lord never fails!-He kept us on our toes and desperate as right to the last minute we weren’t 100% sure of the arrangements with the hotel. For example, we would confirm something with them, like the use of a certain room or a PA system, etc., only to find out later that something had come up on their end to change that. On the appointed day, as we looked around at all the Lord had done to arrange the whole thing-from the drinks to the seating, the PA system, podium, white board, etc.-we marveled at the many miracles He had done to get us here.

          Now let’s jump over a few days, because yes, we finished the seminar yesterday and it was a great learning experience for us and the teachers.

          The seminar lasted for two days. We prepared six classes, each taught by different people from our Home and the Radio Home. Our teachers were: Lisa, Oli, Marie, Ruth, Peter, Esther, Natacha and Amber. GB Gregg (of Ruth) for filming parts of the seminar (maybe you’ll even get a glimpse of it on one of the Grapevine videos!)

          Here’s a list of the class subjects we taught:

          Our influence on our children’s lives. (This was a challenging compilation from the letters, Good Thots, Raise’m Right and Mop about the positive influence of Godly and inspired teachers.)

          Building character. (Another compilation with plenty of Word on building children’s character through the Word, memorization, personal shepherding and challenge.-With lots of stories and real-life examples!)

          Let the Light In. (An open discussion on issues the teachers were concerned about, for example, how to address things like witchcraft, sex, drugs, etc, especially when their parents aren’t very educated in some of these areas or are actually into them. Word from “Let the Light In,” “Teaching Children to Make the Right Decisions,” etc.)

          Counseling Children. (A lot of Word and discussion on communicating with children-basically a class on personal shepherding.)

          Discipline Is Training. (A hot and much-looked-forward-to topic by all attending! “Caning” has just been banned; many see this as an AC move and are hungry for a Bible-based perspective and alternative solutions for discipline.)

          Motivating Children. (A blast of a class on various aspects of being an inspired teacher and bringing out the best in kids.)

          During the classes we were able to get enthusiastic participation from the teachers attending, which was a blessing to us, as we have so much to learn about what the teachers in Africa experience and what their needs are. What we discovered with every hour of the seminar that went by was that we’ve just barely scratched the surface. There’s so much more we can offer these dear teachers. Needless to say, we returned from the seminar inspired, and at the same time challenged with the great opportunity and need we found amongst these needy teachers who really give their lives for the children they care for. They’re not in it for the pay, because the pay is not much to live on. If you saw most of the classrooms and the amount of students they have to teach day in and day out with almost no materials, it would break your heart for them and make you want to do all you could to help make their job easier.

          At the end of the seminar we presented each attendee with a certificate and a folder with the class notes. Here are a few of the reactions to the seminar that we received from these precious teachers:

          From Doreen: Thank you very much for this wonderful seminar. I have really learnt a lot, which I think will help me to teach my children more effectively. I request you to organize again another seminar of this kind and involve more participants. We have a lot to learn from your experiences. How can we get in touch with you in case of any consultation? Would you please send my school more pamphlets about training our children to become future leaders? I realize that you love God and He has a special place in whatever you are doing. Keep it up. May God bless you all.

          From Sarah: I thank the almighty God Who has enabled us to come together. We really need a workshop on the topics that have been discussed. We are very happy to report that this seminar has put us forward in our education and endeavors.

          From Margaret: Thank you very much for the seminar. It has taught us so many good things. Let me hope that such seminars are held to train us more. Let us pray to our Father God that we practice what we have learnt here for the good of our future leaders. You are lovely people; greet your people in your families. I love you very much. God bless you.

Updates from our brethren in bonds

Dear Mama and Peter,

          I love you both so much! Thank you for the precious Words you sent us. They are so inspiring.

          The Lord has promised that our time here will be short. We also know that we have to do our part. One way is to use the new weapons. We constantly hear from the Lord-not just daily but about everything! We are zealously praising the Lord at the 10-12-5 hours. As often as possible we bathe our actions in prayers, both for what we can do and what the legal team can accomplish.

          We have also taken this time to reach out to those who are incarcerated with us. So far, we have prayed directly with 30 men. We have also distributed literature to more than 60 men and personally witnessed to over 100 inmates. It has been so inspiring.

          Jesus has said that when people see Simon and I they will see not two, but three. The miracles the Lord has performed on our behalf are innumerable. Even though Mexican prison can be brutal, as someone even remarked to Simon at the time of our arrest, not a hair of our head has been touched. The inmates know us as the religious ones. Most are respectful towards us and not one has risen to harm us gringos (foreigners). We know the Lord is protecting us.

          Also, our lawyer had only two days to prepare, yet of the most serious charges we were found innocent. Now some of our sheep and contacts are stepping forward to help us be cleared of the “begging” charges. It’s only Jesus because I know “in me there is no good thing,” so the Lord must have been there as I witnessed to those dear sheep.

          I know you both have so much to do-rolling out in full scale the Activated program and administering to all the Family needs. I thank you for your love and support through this testing. We know the Lord will be victorious and prove how futile the Enemy’s efforts are.

          Jesus has said we will be free soon! I hope that my next letter will not have to be sent from Cereso Prison!

I love you,

Joseph

          PS: I want you to know how strong the children have been through this. They suffered painful and degrading examinations and were accused of lying by the prosecutors. Yet, they stood firm and defended the witness and our beliefs and us as parents. God bless them!

          (Editor’s note: Please continue to pray desperately every day for the quick release of Simon and Joseph from prison, and for complete and total vindication and closure of this case.)

Update from Simon and Joseph:

          We have taken our witnessing to the next level. There are two super on-fire sheep here, Mauricio and Juan. We have been holding Bible classes. We have given these dear sheep the first three issues of the Conectate mags. Wow, are they great! The Home is asking among our contacts for someone to sponsor the remainder of a subscription for them.

          Thank you all for your love and prayers. We are so blessed to have such a loving and caring Family. Believe us, we know there are thousands with us in this battle, and, as our loving Savior has promised, we will be victorious! We are truly moved by the outpouring of love and prayers we have received from Mama, Peter, and all the Family.

          The Lord hears those prayers for protection and keeps that promise in varied ways. We were moved from one section of the prison to another. This section has a few more of the “hard core” inmates. It’s part of the process; they move you in stages until you are permanently assigned with the sentenced inmates. When they moved us, some of the inmates we knew took it upon themselves to watch out for our safety. Originally, Simon and I were to be in separate cells. When I asked if we could be in a cell together, the guard in charge of assigning us our beds seemed to ignore this. However, another sweet guard came in and said he was taking over. He put us together in a cell near the guard station where we would be safer.

          We had also hoped to take school classes. The Lord used this guard to protect us once again. He told us there would be no safety at school. He said, “Stay here where I can watch out for you.” We have given him some posters and Daily Foods. Likewise, there are two other guards whom we have witnessed to.

          Jesus has kept us safe. It has been Jesus that the others have seen in us. We are so thankful for our wonderful Lover.-And for you, too!

Introducing the Christmas CD Cards ... ... a tried and proven Success!

From Aurora

          We’re happy to announce that we have a tried-and-proven fantastic new tool available for this Christmas witnessing season-an original and novel Christmas card and gift idea for all ages-Christmas CD cards!!!

What are they?

          They’re terrific! The Christmas CD cards are both Christmas cards as well as quite unique gift items. They are, as the name implies, Christmas cards with a CD packaged right into the card, that is, mounted on one of the inside pages of the card; it’s a six-page foldout. The cover and inside illustrations were done for the most part by Eman Artist and Zeb. The artwork you’ve seen before but the concept is totally new and unique. They’re packaged with an envelope, and are enclosed in a sealed transparent package. At the end of this note, you’ll see a sample of what the CD card looks like when it’s unfolded.

How do I “Get ‘em Out”?

          Start today! Go to stores, companies, businesses, hotels, factories, and even your friends! Now is the time to get their orders. Just about everybody and every business sends Christmas cards to their family, friends and/or clients. They’ve never seen anything like this before; it’s a totally new concept. Last year many companies in South America purchased them as cards/gifts for their employees and clients. What could be a more perfect gift? - A CD and Christmas card in one! There are six different CD cards available, three with the Christmas Treasures CD, and three with the Little Drummer Boy CD.

Offer discounts for quantity orders!

          You could offer your customers “special discount” prices for larger purchases. For example, if they buy 10 CD cards from you, they get two CD cards free. The cards will be pre-packaged in lots of 12 to facilitate quantity orders. If they buy, say 10 lots or 120 CD cards, you could offer them a 20% discount, and for orders over 250 a 30% discount, etc. There are a variety of possibilities you could offer to the GP, depending on how the Lord leads in your particular situation. Last year in South America many of the Family’s friends and contacts purchased them in quantities of 50s, 100s, 200s, etc. There were even a few cases of sales as large as 3-5,000 CDs, to larger businesses and companies. The sky’s the limit!!!

How do I get them?

          Order them from your SC/PPC Today! Aurora is printing a limited quantity to begin with but if the response is as good as expected, they will print more. These CD cards have been tried and proven to be a number one best seller, so don’t miss your chance to get out the Christmas message as never before! Stretch your faith and order a large quantity NOW!

          These CD cards were produced by the Family in South America last Christmas, and were, to say the least, a tremendous hit! The homes there distributed 120,000 of these CD cards last Christmas season, and are shooting to at least double that this Christmas!

          Anyone can sell them! We’ve heard testimonies of teens who were not necessarily experienced outreachers getting out one thousand CD cards each. They’re easy to sell as the price is low, the quality is good, and it’s a great idea!

How did they do it?

          Quantity was the key! Sacro produced a large quantity of these CD cards, which enabled the PPCs to make them available to the homes at a price much lower than the cost of their other CDs. The homes in turn, bought large quantities of these CD cards from the SCs, and were then able to offer them to the public for a very reasonable price (between US$3 to US$5 depending on the quantity), and as a result, distributed lots and lots of them and had tremendous financial returns as well as the satisfaction of knowing that thousands of folks benefitted from the beautiful music and message contained in the CD cards.

Here are a couple of testimonies from the Homes in South America, and their comments on the CD cards:

          “The Christmas CD cards have caused an explosion! God bless you for your anointing in producing this excellent material. It’s been a total success!! Everyone loves them, and we’ve been able to distribute them in large quantities.”

          “We’d like to make special mention of the Christmas CD card. People’s reactions to this tool have really been wonderful, and to be honest we’ve run out of them! Lord willing next Christmas we’re going to order a much larger stock of these than we did this year (1,100) since it’s only November and already we’ve run out. One of our close friends has even helped us distribute nearly 100 CD cards. GBH! TTL we were able to sell 500 CD cards to a company without any complications-a real miracle.”

          “Thank God for the wonderful new format of the Christmas CD cards. It has increased our material distribution greatly, since the cost is minimal. It’s a bomb! PTL!”

          “I gave some samples of the Christmas CD Card to some of our live-outs and one of them has already sold 200 to his boss.”

ACTIVATED shiner prizes!

By WS

          It’s that time again! As announced in the last Grapevine, as a further promotion of Activated we’d like to begin offering prizes to the top 10 quarterly distributors of Activated subscriptions! Yahoo!

          Rather than giving equipment or tools as has been done in the past, we’ll now give cash prizes-to use as your Home decides, for whatever it is that you need, PTL!

The scoop!

          -The first prizes will be distributed according to the subscriptions that are sent in beginning in October, until and including December, ending with the subscriptions sent in with the end-of-December TRF.

          -As with the last Activated prize, prizes will be distributed according to the total amount of subscriptions per Home, not per adult.

          -There will be a minimum amount of subscriptions that a Home has to get in order to qualify for a shiner prize. This is a new feature that we didn’t have last time. We have to set a minimum, otherwise we’d be giving out such large prizes for so few subscriptions that we’d go broke before we’ve even begun!

          So, to qualify for the top 3 prizes ($500 each), you have to get at least 150 subscriptions in the quarter (average of 50 a month).

          To qualify for the other prizes from 4^th to 10^th place, the minimum would be 100 subscriptions in the quarter (average of 33 a month).

          These minimum amounts may look challenging as it’s a lot more than most Homes have been getting so far. But it is attainable! Some Homes in India have been getting this many subscriptions, so you can too!

The size of the prizes would be as follows:

          1.          $500 (150 subscriptions minimum)

          2.          $500 (150 subscriptions minimum)

          3.          $500 (150 subscriptions minimum)

          4.          $300 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          5.          $200 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          6.          $100 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          7.          $100 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          8.          $100 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          9.          $100 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          10.          $100 (100 subscriptions minimum)

          We will keep a running total of current shiners on the Members Only Web site. This information will be updated directly by the Activated desks every time they receive paid subscriptions. So you can log on to the MO site at any time and see what the score is and whether you’re in the top ten, or how far you’ve got to go to get there! (Some desks receive most of their subscriptions once a month at TRF time, so the stats might not change that much from day to day or week to week, but towards the beginning of each month, keep your eye on them!)

          Important note: Only once the funds for the subscriptions have been received by the Desk will the subscriptions be counted. Some Homes have been sending in subscriptions, but don’t send in the funds until months later. That makes it very difficult for the desks to keep track of who owes what, not to mention pay for the postage for the mailings going out to those subscribers without having received payment for them! So in order to help everyone remember to send in the payment with the subscriptions, they won’t be counted in the shiner stats until payment is received. “No tickie, no laundie!”

February-September prizes:

          Since we didn’t institute another worldwide Activated shiner program in February, when the first one expired, we’ll backtrack and give a prize to the Homes who received the most subscriptions during the months of February through September. So at the beginning of October, when all of the subscriptions sent in with the September TRF have come in, we’ll announce the winners and what they’ll be getting!

Questions and answers:

          Q: What if a Home gets over 150 subscriptions but is 7^th place? Do they get the $500 reward or the $100 reward?

          A: They’ll get $100. The $500 will just be for the top 3 who send in 150 or more subscriptions.

          Q: What if the Home in 1^st place only has 125 subscriptions? What do they get?

          A: They’ll get $300-which is the highest prize available to those who get 100 subscriptions minimum.

          Q: What about Homes who sponsor Activated subscriptions for Africa? Do those subscriptions count towards their total?

          A: Yes, they do!

          Q: Am I going to get any shiner prizes from my local Activated desk too?

          A: In some cases, the Activated desks might set up their own local shiner prizes on a smaller case. If that’s the case, you’ll be notified by your Activated desk.

          Q: How long will WS be offering these quarterly shiner prizes?

          A: We don’t know! We’re starting off by faith, but we hope to continue with the shiner prizes if funds are available. If the Activated program takes off and the Homes really press in sending those subscriptions, then hopefully we’ll have the resources to continue. But it’s possible we’ll have to make some modifications to the shiner prize program in the future, in which case we’ll post a notice in the Grapevine about it.

God bless and keep you Activated!

kidbits

          Vinay Thomas, 10^th child born to MaryAnn and Hosanna on November 12.- India

          Robin Candice, born to Sofia and Rick on May 28.-PACRO

          Justin Sahassawat, 13^th child, born to Joanna and Thai John on July 23.-Thailand

          Alanis Trinity, 1^st child, born to Victoria Free on July 12.-India

ponder

          The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don’t know what to do.-John Holt

help wanted

          From PPC Home in Ghana: Seeking out anyone who would have the burden to help with the financing of French tool production. Or if you’d like to help with the English production, we also need help. Perhaps the French countries could help a little? If you can help, please contact us via email: ces@africaonline.com.gh. Love you and thank you, Mark, Maria, Patrick

          We are part of a CM Home in Thailand and are in need of help towards our children’s schooling. Eight of our nine kids are taking full CLE courses. We need about $300 year. Donations can be sent via your TRF or contact us at garden@ksc.th.com. Much love, Gideon and Claire (Thai nationals).

        Hi everyone! We are Peter and Kris, both EE nationals with four little darlings. We’ve been serving our precious Husband for almost 10 years in our country, doing everything that was needed in order to reach the sweet sheep in this country.

        Recently our dear Jesus has put it on our hearts to heed the call to China. For a few months now we’ve made sure of our “call and election” and more and more we feel the burden of reaching the Chinese. We’ve been trying to raise the necessary funds for us to get over there but our country is quite poor. Although there are rich people here, we haven’t found someone interested to help yet. We also tried to get visas for other countries so we can fundraise (we do clowning and ballooning) but the West is not very kind to people of our nationality and all our attempts fell through. It’s a little discouraging but we know that the Lord will make a way for us, and that He has all the funds we need. He indicated we should write an ad asking for help from you, dear Family!

        If you have the possibility of helping us we’d be very grateful. Any help would be greatly appreciated and needed! Our e-mail is: midea@rdsor.ro or you can send donations through the TRF to RO007 for Peter and Kris. Thank you very much! We love you!

letters to the editor

Re: No more visiting hours (Grapevine #93)

        I just wanted to say how inspiring the testimony was from the Cuernavaca Home in the last edition. It sounded exactly like a Home I lived in in 1971, in Gainsville, Fla.-a university town during the height of the discipleship revolution in the USA at the beginning of the Family. It is so refreshing and is really the Activated vision for the Family to get prepared for that kind of situation, only now we have the new weapons to help us to cope and see ahead to be able to do a better job. GB you guys there, and any other Home starting to “Get back on the Family Track!”

--Love, Catherine, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Re: Thots on status (Grapevine #87)

Dear Anonymous,

        Your thoughts on status left me a bit muddled. The early days of TS were tough, and the trauma of reclassification is not to be minimized. I can only speak for myself, but I underwent some “trauma,” as you put it, in order to remain CM. To this day the only sense it all makes to me is to just take it by faith, that this is what it took for the Lord to make me what I am today.

        Much later I went FM myself, and considered it a precious time of floating my faith. Standing on my own, taking responsibility for my life and the lives of my children, and fully facing the consequences of my decisions, I learned that Family training is more than sufficient to meet the need. In the end we saw that our faith was floating near CM level, so we returned CM.

        From my experience, our main commitment is to do the will of God. CMers are not more in the will of God than FMers, or vice versa-that is, if we are all striving to serve the Lord to the best of our abilities. You will find people striving more or less, both in the CM and the FM Family, and each will give account to God one day. “What is that to thee? Follow thou Me” (Jn.21:22b).

--Lily Fields, FGA, Europe

happenings

[Jeans and a T-shirt]

             Lydia Lightman, India: Just before we left Brazil, Pablo and Nina told me, relating to the Loving Jesus revelation. I had just related to them my excitement that Jesus could become so real to us, so modern, and that we could praise Him with any super duper word we wanted. They then recalled this true story which I recorded on to tape and shortened here for you:

        A close friend of theirs had at age 20 (five or six 6 years earlier) been sick with leukemia. She was an intellectual girl and resented church and religion. Her family sent her to the States for emergency treatment. They held a worldwide prayer chain for her, until the news came that she had recovered.

        During the time that she was in the hospital, in excruciating pain, feeling she could not make it, she actually went to the “other side.” A hand pulled her out from her bed, and it was as if she passed through a ceiling of rocks and sat down above.

        There was a young man there, in blue jeans, white T-shirt and long blonde hair. She thought he was very handsome. He stood leaning over to the side with His leg up against the wall, in a sort of a young person way. He comforted her and explained why she had to go through this sickness and pain. For the first time she really understood why Jesus had to suffer and die for us.

        Believing it was Jesus or her guardian angel, she asked: “But why are you wearing jeans and a T-shirt?” He answered, “I am the way you want to see Me. This is the way you want to see Me, so this is the way I am for you.”

          At that point she had no pain, and in the process she was healed. She told Pablo and Nina she couldn’t tell anybody about this, only them, because she knew they were the only ones who would understand. They led her to the Lord, and continued to minister to her until she later married.

[Rediscovering the DF course]

             Michael, Taiwan: We do not have Activated in Chinese…yet! However, in order to get on board with the vision and to follow-up on folks and get them on a reading course, after Dad told us we were sitting on Chinese material we could use, I rediscovered the “DF course.”

        All the Daily Foods are translated into Chinese and have been around for a little while. I used to use them, but sadly the idea got neglected until this recent wake up call. I think Chinese people really like the consistency, “first go through number one then I’ll give you number two,” and it has become a tremendous tool again. Right now I have 45 Chinese people on the DF course. Of these, twenty five of them are doctors, 7 are dentists, 3 are eye doctors and one, a County Public Notary. They are all at varying stages in the course-some up to #16, some at #7, others in the 2’s and 3’s. (Most all of them help in some way with support).

        The DF format is old and the type is small but it’s been a very exciting time seeing all these Chinese folks getting a regular feeding, plus bringing in that needed Word into follow up visits. Most probably all these folks will be able to switch over to the Chinese Activated course when it’s ready.

        If your language area doesn’t have a local language Activated course and you feel that your friends’ English ability is limited, if you do have DF’s in the local language, you may want to pray about whether this is a good substitute for feeding your friends the Word, easily and with consistency.

[Remarkable transformation at 19]

             Joseph O’WOW, Alaska, USA: I want to share a inspiring e-mail from my son, Jonathan, who is 19 years old and attending a 10-month Culinary Course in Seward, Alaska. He asked Jesus into his heart when he was three, and although he was not raised in the Family, my wife and I have tried our best to share the Lord’s love and Word with him over the years.

        Still, Jonathan always seemed to hover in the wings, until two weeks ago when he prayed and asked Jesus to fill him with His Holy Spirit. Since then he has stopped smoking, and won five of his fellow dorm mates to the Lord! You would have to see it to realize what a metanoia has occurred here! This change happened just a few days after the Feast 2000 prayers for all our young people, and I am absolutely convinced that this is direct answer to everyone’s prayers.

        I believe it will encourage the parents of teens and YAs to not give up on their children, and that even when we are faithless, yet He abideth faithful.

        Dear Dad,

        I would like to thank you for continuously praying for me. The time for me to learn about the Lord has come! I am so excited; I can feel the Lord working and constantly tapping into my brain showing me His Word so I may spread it to others.

        After I got off the phone with you, God’s seed which had been planted many years ago started to sprout. I guess it was my time to fully understand Him and His Word. My God, how could I have been so lost in all of the Devil’s temptations that I couldn’t see or feel the Lord to His fullest? Wow, I’m so excited.

        I had the Holy Spirit come to me last night. I was reading the Treasures book and it shared with me a story about the Holy Spirit overfilling my cup. And that She did! Oh my God, it was great. It felt like my blood had no direction and my body was so high! I can’t even explain it but I knew it was the work of the Lord.

        So today with nothing but the Lord on my mind I listened and He told me many things. It seems that I have learned a lot but still I know my mind is so premature to the truth and to His Word. I have to study it real closely so I too may minister and give my total undivided attention to the Lord. I’m so glad I got the call and such a change of heart. God bless and I know the Heavens are really rejoicing with that.

        Thank you so much Dad and please if the Lord tells you to send me something I would really appreciate the material. It’s such food for the soul! I love it and I know I don’t wanna be left around when all is said and done so I’m making my move now!

        My eyes are opened up so much wider now it’s such an exciting time. Well, I have to go. There’s so much to share, praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!

          Love your son, Jonathan

personals

        Daniel would like to get in touch with Polish Mathew and other friends from Rostov. Write me at smileyrupert@surfeu.de.

             Ike (of Francis), where are you? Please write me at fcindo@jakarta.wasantara.net.id. Waiting to hear from you!--Carm

             John and Sara Conqueror, and Carlos C. (in Mexico), please get in contact with Samuel and Clara from Venezuela. Our e-mail: josediaz@col1.telecom.com.co.

        Caty would really like to get in touch with Phil and Shiloh. I lost contact with you a while back and would love to hear from you again! Also with Daniel (their son). E-mail: dropaline@intercall.com.br. Add: CEP 66345, Sao Paulo SP Brazil. 05311-970. Attn: Caty.

             Steven Andrew, Daniel H., and Phebe White, please write Chad. I need to talk to you. Catch me at: da_prezadentt@hotmail.com.

        David (in Moscow) is looking for Jody in Brazil.

        Our friend, Manny Guerra, and his wife, Rosalinda, have asked us if we can help them get in touch with Mary, who was in San Antonio, Texas, for several years (late ‘90s). She ministered to him at his studio, Amen, Inc., where his e-mail now is: www.amenmusic.com. Mary, will you write him? He was very touched by your time with him and would very much like to hear from you again.

        I am looking for two friends of mine that I worked with many years ago in Italy. They were called Tobjon (Swedish brother) and Maria (Italian). They were married. I would like to get in touch with them. Could they write me through the Eastern Canadian ABM? Love Marie Fe. (CA 6931)

        Pandita (Chilean) is looking for Colombian Christie (of Daniel) and Spanish Miriam. Please write me at e-mail: dropaline@intercall.com.br or at CP 66345 Sao Paulo SP Brazil 05311-970.

             David Courier from Germany, would you please contact David Newheart through e-mail: davidnewheart@web.de.

             Renae, Suzie and Anaik, we (Michael and Mary and kids) would love to hear from you. Please contact us at:mmkeat@aol.com.

entertainment

Movies Rated for YAs and Up

ANYWHERE BUT HERE (1999)

Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman

          A mother and daughter set out from their small town to start a new life in Los Angeles. Interesting insight into parent/teenager relationships and communication.

Movies Rated for Senior Teens and Up

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? (2000)

Gary Shandling, Annette Benning

        Comedy about an alien from an all-male planet, on a mission to impregnate an earthling.

Movies Rated for Junior Teens and Up

THE PERFECT STORM (2000)

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

          Dramatic movie based on the true story of the Andrea Gail, a fishing boat caught in a maelstrom in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland in October, 1991.

TEA WITH MUSSOLINI (1999)

Cher, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin

          Story of a young Italian boy growing up in Florence in the 1930s, and the influence of a group of English and American women in his life. Gives an interesting perspective on life in Italy at the time of the World War II. Directed by Franco Zefferelli and based on a chapter of his memoirs.

Movies Rated for JETTs and Up

GREY OWL (1999)

Pierce Brosnan, Annie Galipeau

        Historical drama about a trapper who becomes dedicated to preserving the northern Canadian wilderness in the 1930s.

Movies Rated for OCs and Up

DOG OF FLANDERS (1999)

Jack Warden, Jeremy James Kissner, Jon Voight

        Based on the classic tale of love, loyalty and faith. An orphaned boy with a gift for art strives to overcome the anguish of his poverty with the aid of his loving canine. (There are a couple of possibly disturbing scenes, a chase scene and one of the dog being beaten. Parents should view the movie beforehand and possibly skip these.)

CHICKEN RUN (2000)

Voices of Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha

        British claymation film (by the makers of Wallace and Gromit) about chickens living in a 1950s egg farm, run like a concentration camp. The chickens are trying to make their “great escape” before they become the ingredients of chicken pies. The film follows their leaders as they lead their fellow chickens to freedom. Entertaining for adults as well as older children.

Movies Rated for MCs and Up

LOVE BUG, THE (1969)

Dean Jones, Michele Lee, David Tomlinson

          Comedy classic about a down-and-out race car driver whose life takes an unexpected turn when he joins up with an unusual little Volkswagen car that appears to have a mind all its own. Light entertainment, with sweet lessons on love and perseverance.

Non-Recommended Movies

REINDEER GAMES (Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise; 1999)

             (Jesus:) This movie is full of violence, crime and evil. It would be not only a waste of time, but would also have a general negative effect on anyone who would see it.

IDLE HANDS (Davon Sawa, Seth Green, Vivica A. Fox; 1999)

        (Jesus:) I don’t wish for My children to partake of viewing horror films such as this. It can only pollute your spirit.

CRUEL INTENTIONS (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon; 1999)

        (Jesus:) This dark comedy has nothing worthwhile in it. It only has examples of the bad, and worse yet, presents them in a way that could appear cool and appealing, when if you look at it from My perspective, it is pure evil-revenge, selfishness and unloving attitudes regarding sex.

reviews

Anywhere but Here

        (Jesus:) This movie is by and large a sad look into a couple of confused hearts. It is touching, moving, and addresses some of the typical problems between parents and children and across generations-lack of communication, lack of understanding, lack of being willing to make concessions, and on the mother’s part, lack of being willing to let go. There comes a time in every child’s life when they need to launch out and be loosed from the apron strings. My way for this to happen is gently, slowly, with preparation for what the young person will face-”independence through dependency.”

        The mother and daughter in this movie were very stubborn, very set in their ways, and had a lot to learn about understanding and accepting one another, as well as communicating. They put on a hard, cold front to hide the deep sadness and bitterness that was within their hearts. There are good lessons in this movie for parents and shepherds-mostly along the lines of what not to do, showing the need that exists between the generations for communication and understanding. It’s not an example of how to parent, and the mother is not a role model by any means.

        This is a movie that sways your emotions back and forth, first feeling for the young girl, then the mother, then back to the poor girl, then the poor mother. It gives you a broader scope of understanding of character by bringing out both sides of the picture. It’s also got its sweet moments, and its laughs, and is a movie some will enjoy, though others could find it a bit of a downer.

What Planet Are You From?

        (Jesus:) It’s a cute illustration of some of the differences between men and women. It shows the natural tendencies of each sex and the differences between them, and also shows that with genuine love you can get past all that, and live in close unity. It was a simple movie, showing the quirks of human nature. The difference that you find in your life with Me, and learning to live as a team in the Family, is that genuine love and giving is much more a part of your life. You don’t have to try and work up a fake display of love towards the opposite sex in order to get what you may need or want, for you truly do have, or can avail yourselves of, My love. This makes your life a Heaven-filled one, where there is no need for cover-ups, hidden intentions and the like.

The Perfect Storm

        (Jesus:) This movie portrays the puniness of man against the raging sea and the power of God. Man is helpless without Me, as is so clearly brought out in this movie. This is a story based on factual events, the tale of fishermen who went through this amazing storm, and there are many good lessons that can be gleaned from watching this film. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others, so be wise and learn to be dependent on Me in all things. I am able to calm the raging storm, and say “Peace, be still,” if you will only call out to Me. Stay tuned to Me and My voice, for I am able to warn you of impending doom.

Tea With Mussolini

        (Dad:) This is a great history-based movie, just the kind I used to like. It puts character onto the screen. Some of those women were fiery sorts, just the type that our folks like to see-folks who are willing to fight for a cause.

Grey Owl

        (Jesus:) This is a movie that will be entrancing and enjoyable for those who love nature, the great outdoors, tales of Indians as they really were, the struggle between the white man and the Indian. It appeals to the fascination people have for the untouched, the unspoiled, the natural. People see Me in creation, and so the efforts to preserve the huge forests and beautiful lakes of Canada were of Me. The methods used by modern environmentalists are not always of Me, but the love of nature is like a love for Me, because I am depicted in My creation. This man was, you might say, one of the very first environmentalists. This dear man is now at My side in Heaven, having been forgiven for his shortcomings, and he is glad to see that the natural wonders he once fought to protect are now preserved and enjoyed by many, largely due to his perseverance, fight, and sacrifice.

        (Dad:) This is a film that’s refreshingly free of the things that spoil most movies these days: violence and gore, foul language, and perverted, ungodly attitudes about sex and religion and so on. It’s certainly enjoyable and worthwhile. Besides, I really like this guy! I’ve met him Here, and we had a lot to talk about-we’ve got so much in common. If folks think about it afterwards, they’ll see what I mean.

Dog of Flanders

        (Jesus:) I like movies with sweetness, love, and good morals. Of course this is, as with all children’s movies, one for the children to watch with an overseer, someone who can explain why the people are acting a certain way and remind the kids that it’s just a movie. It could be shown to some MCs, but the parents or teachers should be aware of a couple of brief scary scenes, and especially if their children are sensitive, have them close their eyes for those parts, or fast forward. On the overall, though, it’s a beautiful movie with lots of good lessons.

Chicken Run

             (Jesus:) A lot of lessons can be pulled from this movie. There are some good points for discussion and the kids can get a lot out of it. There are some parts that may not have a good effect on some of the children, especially the sensitive ones. Make sure you’ve previewed it first and that it will be suitable for your little ones. Although there is a lot of good that can be pulled from this movie, there are also some bad attitudes and different scenes that can stick in their little minds. So, please do pray and ask Me for a confirmation on whether or not it should be shown to your kids.

The Love Bug

        (Dad:) This movie is sweet and entertaining. It’s got some humorous moments and it’s got a positive and sweet message in there too, lessons of love and of perseverance in the face of obstacles. In our lives for the Lord, the Enemy tries to throw all kinds of things in our way to try to get us down and keep us down-but as long as we keep putt-putting along, doing the best we can and just moving along the road of God’s will, we always get there in the end-and we win the victory. There are some bad attitudes and actions of the bad guys that probably won’t be understood by some of the kids, so you’ll need to be ready to explain any of these things to them, so that they don’t pick up on the negative. But good triumphs in the end, and I think that kids will find this to be enjoyable and entertaining.

forum

[Fated computer virus]

             No name given, Europe: There is a terrible computer virus that is going around our Home computers, beginning I think, in 1995. It first appeared in a humble Home in Belgium, where it erased four lines of an autoexec.bat program. Then it wiped out a whole flight simulator program. Did this virus go unnoticed? No! The problem is that this special virus does also “good” things, as a cover for its other destructive activities-like the time this virus fixed a modem, and a q-basic program.

        After that, the virus spread to France, and messed up the old 386 from a very prudent brother, who, thank God, had a computer technician at hand to nip the problem in the bud before it spread further. There in France, this special bug went to two different Homes. It then made its way to Portugal and Spain, where it is doing some disastrous work, due to the lack of information there about the danger of such uncontrolled software.

          It is the only known virus that physically opens computer frames and moves jumpers around! It fried two modems using the net during stormy weather, when this is highly un-recommended. It stopped-in less than half a minute-a fine 400 MGz top computer that was doing just fine before the attack! This virus has already formatted more than 10 hard disks, wiping out in a few moments hours of work, and losing valuable addresses of sheep and contacts! It acts fast. And before you know it, boom, your desktop has changed, there is a bunch of new carpets in the way, your favorite wall paper has disappeared, and the like!

          Thank God, a brother, who doesn’t know much about computers, but a lot about prayer found the way to react! He prays for the virus to learn its lessons and PRAY before entering any computer. You ask: “Can a virus pray?”

          Wait until I tell you the name of that fatal virus: The worst virus that ever affected our Homes is simply called “Me!”

[The arrows]

             From Suzie, Pakistan: The Lord showed me again this month the importance of accentuating the good in my speech and trying to look for the good in others, especially the kids. One day there were two announcements on the bulletin board from the kitchen department. One was a simple announcement, but the second-oh my! I thought that little paper had an aura of bright light around it! It was a “thank you” to the one helping faithfully with the kitchen laundry. Our kitchen overseer has recently moved to another Home and the already-overburdened brother who took her job expressed his heartfelt thanks to those that stood in the gap. I had helped with that laundry-not me alone, but I had-and did I ever feel good about that “thank you!”

        I realized that “if that announcement had such an effect on me, how important must it be to the children to hear approval!” The Lord had achieved His goal with step number one in His plan of attack. Then, going upstairs, I heard the children in my group arguing! Sigh! Again! I was getting frustrated! While scurrying around in the room I made an effort to tune in to their argument. They were actually correcting each other continually! Then I noticed the words they used and what they corrected each other for and it all sounded so familiar! I saw their sad and burdened faces. O, Lord, I felt like burying my head under a stack of pillows and not coming out for a long time. I realized they were copying me! Step two in His plan had been successful.

        I talked to the children right away, since it was devotions anyway. I confessed my sins. I asked them to forgive me for weighing them down with my yoke of negative nagging “corrections.” I asked them to pray for me and we all went on the attack. We made a chart and whenever anybody said anything uplifting we would put an arrow pointing up beside his or her name and whenever their words were discouraging we put an arrow pointing down beside their name.

        I felt ashamed. It was as if someone had opened the curtains in a dark stuffy room and had unlocked the doors to the garden, full of flowers. The kids’ steps were bouncier, their faces had lit up, and one of them came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I realized I hadn’t gotten one from her in months! We didn’t have to have that chart up for more than three days. There were a few tears when some had gotten quite a few arrows pointing down, but they were good tears. The Lord was getting through. And I put myself on that list too, of course. I was one of the top three that scored arrows down. TTL the air has cleared up quite a bit! We still slip, but we are aware now and catch ourselves easier.

Activated news and sponsoring fruit!

By Peter, for the EAD (European Activated Desk) Team

Dear wonderful Family,

        WLY and often pray for you as you go out into the highways and byways compelling the sheep to subscribe to the Activated program. We’ve had another fruitful month with 843 mailings sent out and many Homes getting on board with distributing the Activated books. One Home in Nairobi, Kenya bought their second $1,000 order of books within six weeks, saying that the books go out like hot cakes there.

        We’ve just received a new stock of the Mottos for Success calendar which seems to be a best seller, and Homes have already ordered several hundred. With Christmas coming soon we hope we have enough stock to meet the demand. We are down to our last 700 Activated #1 magazines, which means that nearly 7,000 of these have been distributed in Europe and Africa so far.

        Again, we want to say a huge thank you to all Homes who sent funds to the Europe/Africa Activated Desk to sponsor Activated subscriptions for poor African sheep this month. For your inspiration we wanted to share the following testimonies. You are wonderful!!

From Ben and Tirzah, Malawi

        “We are so excited about getting some sponsored subscriptions for some of our sheep who are too poor to afford the Activated program. We have about 5 that we can think of right now, and we will get their addresses tomorrow and Tuesday when we go to see them all.

        We have just begun a project where we will go into the local villages and do programs there, teaching the teachers of orphanages and little schools how to teach and care for their children. I know that the ones who attend these classes would be so appreciative of getting something like Activated as well. If you ever get something like this again, if you could let us know as we will most likely have about five new ones every month or so. These people are very, very poor and don’t even have money to feed the orphans in their care. They do not receive a salary and are mostly volunteers for their community, but they are so sweet and their hearts are very pure and they would love to have something like that. Even the few little classes that I have given have been so appreciated and they are so thankful for even the smallest bit of Word that they get.

        If you are able to save more sponsored subscriptions for us I would be so grateful. I could even make it part of my curriculum, like a follow-up program.”

From David and Peace, Guinea

        “I’m writing from Guinea in response to the recent message where you let us know that more free subscriptions are available. We are in a French speaking country, but there are thousands of refugees from Sierra Leone here and we have quite a ministry with them. When the recent peace efforts in Sierra Leone failed, again many new refugees started pouring into Guinea. We are working in a town near the Sierra Leone border, where there are about 40,000 refugees living in nine different camps. We have been working especially in one camp, where we do programs, personal witnessing and are in the process of helping them build a church-a mud house construction with a thatched roof. We have a few people that would definitely get the Activated, but cannot afford it. We could use up to 10 Activated subscriptions in these camps. We have a few people who would like to be responsible and organize the reading of the magazines in the different camps. Thank you for helping us in this. Africa is quite a mission field. Despite all the dangers and difficulties it’s a wonderful place to be.”

Home in Mombassa, Kenya

        “Since we are living in a city that’s facing deep financial recession we were so happy to profit from the sponsored Activated subscriptions. We got 10 people Activated through it who couldn’t afford to subscribe otherwise. Here in Mombassa we have so many people who would readily subscribe, but can’t afford it. Many people-even middle class folks-live on one to two meals per day and can’t pay their kids’ school fees. Even though the people here love the Word, it’s difficult for them to pay the small subscription fee. On average we have barely managed to “activate” one person a week, because of the desperate financial state people are in here, so we are grateful to those who sponsored these subscriptions through the Grapevine! WLY! Finding two new pledgers this month in spite of the difficulties people are facing is nothing short of a miracle!”

        This is letter from Matthew, a sheep in Sierra Leone, who receives a sponsored subscription. He sometimes phones us asking for prayer and encouragement.

          “I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I thank God and the rest of the Activated friends very much for making me to see this great light which is Jesus Christ.

          The day I received the publications you sent for me I experienced great joy and peace in my life. I really appreciate it very much. This has given me more conviction to go out and preach the Gospel as the living Word of God. My greatest concern as a Sierra Leonie is that I want everybody in my country to hear about this sweet and encouraging message of Jesus Christ. It is only Jesus that can save this world.

          For your information, through your correspondence with me, many people have come to know about Jesus and have received their salvation. I want to tell you that the message you are sharing with me through your publications is not going in vain but it has brought many souls into the Kingdom of God.

          I have read many other publications, from great men of God, like Kenneth Copeland and Reinhard Bronke, but the transformation I have got from your publications has really changed my life and in the lives of others. I have seen this manifestation in many others.

          The manifestation and love seen through your publications is really great. Even during my quiet time when I read these books I experience the power of God upon my life.”

          (He goes on to share that he now has faith in healing and has been healed whereas before he would go to the Doctor. He ends with a prayer request for his life and in all his undertakings.)

[in a box:] letter from a sheep

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

          I was given one of your booklets, Obstacles Are for Overcoming from someone who visited the International Book Fair held in Harare, Zimbabwe. I never asked for a copy and now I know that it was not a coincidence, as I felt that it had been written for me personally. I thought that hardships were for non-Christians only. It came to me at just the right time as I was nearly ready to give up. I now have a completely different outlook on life and now have Jesus as my guide.

          I was also given your first issue of Activated which I really enjoyed. The testimony by Eddie from Zimbabwe was great. It would be such a blessing if we could get your issues translated into Eddie’s own home language so we could share it with the people in the rural areas. The people are really hungry for God as times are really hard for them in this country at the moment.

          I look forward to your next issues and will also visit your website.

          God Bless,

          Gary

in My arms

             Daniel Mountain, Ethiopia: Baby Michael was born to Daniel Mountain and Lana on Aug. 30^th but was only 1.8 kilos. He had difficulty breathing properly amongst a couple other complications. He was kept on glucose feeding and oxygen for three days before going Home to be with our dear wonderful Jesus on the evening of Sept 2^nd. “The Lord giveth and taketh, blessed be the name of the Lord.”

             Jesus: Oh, how beautiful is this faith that you possess, this faith in the midst of uncertainty and loss. You know not why, you do not understand, but you are looking to Me and trusting that in time you will understand and you will see My hand in your son’s life. You will see the beautiful workings of My hand in your lives too. On Earth you will only see a glimpse of the beauty and purpose, but in Heaven all will be revealed.

        Your precious son is Here with Me, safe in My arms. He’s free from all sickness and trouble, free from the pains of the world. He’s also surrounded by loved ones and relatives already on this side, who are caring for him. He’s a little sad that he wasn’t able to stay with you on Earth, but he knew from the beginning that his mission would be to come back to Heaven, to be a help and strength to you from this side of the veil.-And what a help and strength he will be to you in the days to come.

The Lord on … Action Series, Part 3

By Mama

        I wanted to share with you the thrilling message the Lord gave when we prayed about GN 908, “The Action Series, Part 3” just before we were going to send it out to you.

        Please study this GN carefully, and let it change and affect every sphere of your life. It’s an Activated revolution, praise the Lord!

        (Jesus speaking:) This GN will cause a revolution in the lives of My Family in many ways. For one thing, it shows them how to analyze and apply My Words to their situation, and specifically how to put the Activated vision into effect in their lives, their Home and their area. Though they are used to receiving guidance through prophecy, this shows them how much they can draw from My Words and the treasures that I have within if they will but seek.

          It will also cause a widening of the eyes for some as they see how the Activated vision will affect them personally-that they are not just expected to push the program and to follow up on the sheep, but that they are also expected to grow spiritually, to overcome their problems, to be their brother’s keeper, to resolve the differences within their Home and between other Homes.

          They know they are to do these things, for they have been covered much in My Words in recent months. The difference and what will come as a revelation to some is the fact that these things are to happen now! They are to take the time they need in My Word now so that they can feed the sheep soon to come. They are to help their brothers and sisters overcome their problems now, and be willing to overcome their own problems now, so that they will be the sample they need to be. They are to overcome their differences with other people and other Homes now so that they will be the sample of love and unity that they need to be. And they are each to push and promote Activated now, so that the glorious future I have planned for the Family will come to pass sooner rather than later. Now is the time! The Family must begin all these tasks and projects now to make the future a reality.

          The future is glorious, but it will also require an adjustment on the part of the Family. Now that your priorities have been more defined and clearly set, those who have had other priorities, who have had a more independent mindset and manner of operating, will find it difficult. There will be battles with unyieldedness, battles with change, a reluctance to try the new, since the old is so comfortable and so familiar. So pray for My dear ones in the Family, that they can yield, change, grow and press forward, moving along with this new push and not lagging behind or looking backward.

        As I said at the beginning of this year, it is a year of change-change personified! Pray that the Family will thrive on these changes. Pray that these changes can take effect quickly. Pray that the Family can have patience for them to fully take effect. Pray for those who are even now reading the Activated mag and are destined to become your new believers and fellow Family members! Pray that My will shall be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. (End of message from Jesus.)

        Isn’t that challenging? Peter and I, and our WS team, are praying desperately for you. We know that the Lord can do it through you, as you yield to Him and heed the call. Our future is glorious if we obey! The Lord has wonderful things ahead, and the Activated ministry is already taking off-but there’s so much more that can be done, so many more souls to be reached, so many hungry hearts to be fed with the abundant Word the Lord has given us.

        Will you do your part?

post-its

The PGP switchover!

By the Web Team

Dear MO site users,

        We love you and hope you are enjoying the new features on the MO site and that it’s been a blessing to you. We are happy to announce that we now have over 500 users! PTL!

        We’d like to apologize to any of you who encountered troubles when trying to log onto the Members Only Website for the first time since our security switchover. As we’ve been making changes, there have at times been various disruptions in the username and password systems, but things are up and running now and should be flowing smoothly. Thanks for your patience.

        Now that we are all communicating electronically much more, we’d like to try to get everyone to standardize the encryption procedure to one program-PGP! So, from now on we (the Web Team) will ONLY be using PGP for all our communications (this means that we will only accept PGP keys, no CPY keys), and we strongly suggest that all you who are using the MO site make the switchover as well.

        Here’s some pertinent information on PGP-please take note:

        PGP is an encryption product produced by Network Associates. As with most programs, there are different program version numbers of PGP. PGP is packaged or licensed in a number of ways that are also often referred to as versions. There is the PGP Freeware version, which can be used free for non-commercial use, and then there are different commercial versions of PGP available. Since PGP is produced in the U.S. where there are many laws controlling encryption software, there are also what are referred to as U.S. and International versions of the program.

        Explaining the various legal issues, pros and cons, etc., of all of the various different versions of PGP could get quite complicated and confusing. In order to keep our suggestions as simple as possible, if you run Windows 95, Windows 98, or NT 4 on your computer we suggest that you use PGP Freeware Version 6.0.2i. If you run Windows 2000 on your computer we suggest that you use PGP Freeware Version 6.5.3. If you do not have a proper version of PGP, you can download it free from the Internet at: <http://www.pgpi.org/download/>. Follow the instructions for downloading PGP.

        In order to keep this announcement brief, we won’t get into all the particulars of PGP. If you have more questions please check out the PGP class posted in the computer section of the MO site. This is a comprehensive PGP “How To” put together by the TeleTRF team and it should answer all your PGP questions.

        We realize that there will be a bit of a learning curve, as there is with any change, but we pray that in the end this makes all of our communications easier and more secure. We love you!

        PS: Please note that we do not have to have your PGP key in order for you to access the MO site. All we need is your Home#, the password of your choice (a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols is best, 8-15 characters in length), and your e-mail address. We ask for your PGP key so that we can communicate with you securely, but it is not a requirement-yet. WLY!

Greek Website launched

By Matthew and Maggie Greek, John and Joanna, for the Greek Family

        We would like to announce the creation of the Greek Family Website by the name www.thefamilyeurope.org/el. A special thanks to the EURCRO Office team for supplying the space for it. We have tried to make it with English-Greek titles so even non-Greek-speaking people can navigate it with no difficulty. One section you may find interesting would be the “download” section, where we store Greek pubs in PDF format that anyone can download, print out and distribute to Greek-speaking contacts. We include FARs, Reflections, Daily Mights, Mountain Streams and tracts. If you have special requests for a certain pub in Greek, you can write to us at the address: greekfamily@thefamilyeurope.org.

        Our site is also listed under the Web page of the affiliate links in the GP International Family Website, in case you forget our name.

Your reactions to New Wine

Our “Commitment to Excellence!”

        Although “Putting skin on the Era of Action” (GN 903) was originally written for those in WS, I couldn’t help but think how much it also applies to me, us and our Home. If the Letter only changed two words, to where every time the GN said “WS” it could read “this Home” and instead of reading “serve the Family” it would say “serve the sheep,” it fits like a glove! Since our Home totally revolves around follow-up and feeding the sheep, everything-from being on board spiritually and in our work, to being sacrificial, efficient, etc.-it all applies to us.

        We are a type of “WS” to the sheep that we care for, so we need to always see how we can serve them better and meet their needs. We made copies of the GN for each Home member to mark up and see how to apply it in their lives. At our next Home meeting everyone is going to share the kind of “commitment to excellence” that the Lord led them to do (depending on their ministries, the specifics of each one’s commitments will differ slightly). Also we got a few quotes and put them up in each person’s room so we can always remind ourselves if we are doing our best (we re-worded it to fit our situation).

        It’s real exciting! It’s so wonderful to have butterflies in my stomach about all the changes that we, the Family as a whole, are going to go through!

--Eden (SGA, of Juan Spanish), Brazil

Chiang Kai-shek’s dying words

        I don’t know who got the message from Chiang Kai-shek in the GN “China’s Hour,” but I can tell you, every word said about him was true. Just right on! (See ML# 3273:216-240.) I grew up in Taiwan and I remember as a student I would often read his speeches in the newspaper. He felt the darkness, the suffering, the emptiness and sadness of the people in China and he always hoped that he could go back there to help his people. He was different from today’s politicians in Taiwan who are mainly after power. He sincerely fought for the Chinese.

        After he died, we all had to memorize his dying words. I still remember the main message of it. He called on the people of Taiwan not to forget the people of China, their own fellow Chinese, and to do all they could to help them and bring them to a better life. I especially remember the first two sentences. He said, “Since I was 16 I followed the teachings of Sun Yat-sen and I later followed the teachings of Jesus Christ.” It was the first time I learned that our dear president was a Christian, and if he believed and followed Christ’s teachings, then this Jesus must be good!

        I believe the Lord planted a little seed in my heart at that time and I got saved a few years later. GB Chiang for openly proclaiming his belief and giving credit to Jesus Christ.

--Mercy (of Abe), Taiwan

feature: Miracle Concerts

By Marina, Japan

The Idea

        The little team of Side by Side International volunteers was running high on inspiration and low on funds. Since the new millennium started, they had continued to invest much work and effort into their Consider the Poor ministries. By July, the fourth shipment of humanitarian aid to Cambodia had been sent off; 2,000 homeless people had been fed each month, and several missionary families profited from their regular food supplies and support.

          “Let’s organize a fund-raising concert,” suggested JapaneseTim, their project director. The other team members thought it was a good idea. But who would do it? Everyone was so busy with their volunteer projects-no one seemed to have time to raise funds to support them! Meanwhile the never-ceasing expenses from their charity work, such as vehicle maintenance, repairs of a broken freezer, transportation costs, the rent for the warehouse, and more, swallowed up what little funds they had.

          They told their Boss Upstairs about the concert idea and asked Him to open up a door, if it was His will. Had He not promised in His Word to give all that’s necessary to those who put Him and His Kingdom first?

A door of opportunity

        The door opened suddenly, when their friend, Phoebe, visited from Mexico. During an appointment with Mr. Ken (alias), the assistant executive manager of one of the finest hotels in Tokyo, he asked her if she knew anybody who wanted to have a charity concert. She certainly did.

        Someone Up There was obviously pulling some strings, and He dropped the answer right into their lap: The “King David String Ensemble,” one of Israel’s foremost chamber music groups, was coming to Japan within a short time. The main organizer of the local Christian organization, who was sponsoring the ensemble, had been hospitalized and was unable to finalize sponsorships and ground arrangements, so they were going to stay and give concerts at Mr. Ken’s hotel instead.

          The year before, this group of first-class musicians had performed for orphaned children-victims of the great earthquake in Turkey-and they were eager to do another benefit concert.

Less than four weeks

        The time of preparation was exciting and challenging. Since two of Side by Side’s managers were away on a trip, Tim and his wife, Marina, were left to organize the event, with less than four weeks to go! The hotel generously offered the use of their ballroom, and the vision was to invite at least 150 guests.

        Desperate prayer was definitely on top of their To Do List! With so little humanpower available, Heaven’s power was summoned and didn’t fail to assist.

        It certainly was no accident that Sharon, an expert in layout and computer graphics, was just then temporarily staying at their Home-the perfect person to create an invitation poster, tickets and a Side by Side International newsletter for the concert! Yuka, a former radio announcer, volunteered to be the MC, and Lynn, an experienced interpreter, helped with the translating.

          A little miracle happened when Yuka was working on the script: Tim was busy and couldn’t explain to her in detail how to present their volunteer work, whereupon she asked the Lord to fill in the blanks. He answered in such a way, that both Tim and Mr. Ken were impressed with her elaborate speech!

          Funny things occurred too. Like when Yuka asked to borrow a little white bottle of mineral health supplements from Marina’s desk, saying, “Sharon told me this is really good white-out!”

Unusual request

        Then there was the miraculous supply of a huge string instrument: the musicians needed a double bass; the rental price was 60,000 yen ($600)! Marina was asked to possibly borrow one for free. Oh my! Never in her life did she provision a double bass! How to explain it in Japanese?

        Feeling totally helpless, she shot up a prayer and made her first phone call to one of the Japanese Symphony Orchestras. The person she was referred to was a young musician named Yasu, who spoke English fluently and was very kind and helpful. He had done volunteer work himself and understood her plea. Yes, the double bass was available for exactly during the five days it was needed, and could be lent out for free!

Finishing touches

        In the meantime six dear ladies-acquaintances of Tim-worked hard, helping to sell the tickets. Their efforts made a big difference in the final number of guests.

        Another friend, who owns a flower shop, donated two gorgeous bouquets of flowers, to be presented to the conductor and to the soloist, plus little flowers for each one of the visitors.

A packed house

        As the day of the concert arrived, only a Gideon’s Band of three Side by Side members, Tim, Marina and Japanese Stephen, was available to manage the event. With the help of faithful friends they welcomed over 160 guests, including three Ambassadors with their wives who had to be personally attended to. Among the visitors were the heads of nine other volunteer organizations. “If you’ve got God with you, you’re unbeatable, no matter how small you are!” They could feel the presence of God’s angels and spirit helpers all around them, causing everything to work out smoothly! Everyone was raving about what a beautiful concert it was and what an inspiring time they were having!

        The MC asked the musicians a few questions after the intermission. They shared a touching story about a little girl in Turkey who had lost everything during the earthquake. She was so thankful for their concert that she offered her only possession to the musicians: a small doll she had dug out from the rubble.

        There was a warm feeling of unity and solidarity among all present. Emil Israel Chudnovsky, the soloist, commented later: “I felt much more of a connection with the guests than during the concert the night before!”

        Emil, the very gifted young virtuoso violinist, had come from the States to meet up with the ensemble. He has won several international competitions. When Tim and Marina thanked him for his performance, he answered humbly: “I have to thank you, because you have given me more than I gave you. You gave me moral support and encouragement. You changed my life!” He was so turned on with the team’s volunteer work, that he suggested to do charity concerts for them in the States.

          “You managed to have a lot more visitors than our hotel did for their special concert evening last night!” Mr. Ken commented. He described the event as “A triumph and a great success!” Anita Kamien, the conductor, who is also the music director of the Hillel Hebrew University Orchestra in Jerusalem, was very happy with the outcome. She and her husband both believed that their collaboration with Side by Side had been destined by God. With a big hug, she told Marina: “I think I found in you a friend!”

          In sync with the prevailing spirit of love and openness, Mr. Ken shared about a special incident that happened to him recently. Two days before, while sitting in a coffee shop on his lonely day off, with his wife in Australia and his daughter, (a Shakespearean actress) in far-off Canada, on top of it not being able to find his favorite English magazine, he absentmindedly leafed through some other magazine, when suddenly from one of its pages a big photo of his daughter smiled right into his face! It was just the encouragement he needed.

Grateful attendees

        The Side by Side team received many heartfelt thanks from the concert guests. “Next time I want to spend more time advertising for you!” several people promised. One of the Ambassadors sent the following letter:

             “My wife and I would like to thank you for the most pleasant evening we had at the concert you hosted ... We greatly enjoyed the music played by the King David String Ensemble and the company of other guests. We congratulate you on so successfully organizing the concert and appreciate your efforts to raise funds for your philanthropic activities in the interest of the disadvantaged people in Asia.”

On to South Korea

        After finishing their tour in Japan, the “King David String Ensemble” planned to go to South Korea. They lost their contract there because of hotel strikes, however, Side by Side got them in touch with American Tim, another volunteer in Seoul, who arranged another charity concert with them!

        With such a significant name, it seems that our own Founder and King David has a special interest in promoting them and their beautiful music in connection with the Family!

Charity Concert in South Korea a Success!

Excerpts of an email from Tim in Korea, to Marina in Tokyo

        The Lord did a mighty miracle here on August 8^th in bringing people above and beyond our expectations, and in every way, making the evening an event never to be forgotten.

        The Hyatt had given us the Grand Ballroom, (the idea of which had given me the shudders, should we have a low turnout!) and they decorated it impeccably, with red roses on the stage and on every table. Altogether we had about 160 guests and almost every table (six per table) was taken. Debbie and Mercy did the MC honors in English and Korean and did very well. I was asked to give a short speech and thanked everyone and gave a brief story of how this whole amazing thing took place in just over two weeks, and gave the Lord the credit. We had two ambassadors and their wives there, the president of British Petroleum/Amoco (Korea) and his wife (who had trained me in casework at American Red Cross).

        People were so impressed with the evening and kept commenting how wonderful everything was. We also offered tapes and CDs in the lobby during intermission.

brotherhood

FM fellowship in Poland

By Magda, CRO

        The Lord led Love VS and me to organize a three-day Fellow Member fellowship in Poland-something never done before. Presently we have nine FM Homes in Poland. Not all of them were able to come, but eight adults and nine kids attended the campground. We had some good fellowship around the Word and prayer and also fun activities for the children. Only two of the FMers were previously in the CM Family, others were originally catacombers, then live-outs, and later on became FM.

        This fellowship also gave us a chance to address some of the comments people have heard from ex-members who are not very positive about the Family. Especially those who use the gift of prophecy were able to find peace in their hearts by praying and asking the Lord about it, which was inspiring to hear.

studio news

Update from Brazil studios, July/August 2000

        Here’s a bit of news about what the Lord is doing in our studio Home in Brazil. First we’d like to give credit where credit is due-to all the Home members who work day after day to ensure the smooth running of the Home. And a special thanks to our faithful CC workers who constantly give and pour into our dear kiddos. Also to Michael, Marie, Samantha and Virginia, who are such willing, cheerful disciples.

        Another big thanks goes to Sol, Miguel and Tommy, our skilled home “fix-it” men. From the most intense and complex jobs of making a new drain system, to the tiniest but most delicate and intricate jobs, they will be seen right there when there is a need. Where would we be without them?-Probably having to fix those things ourselves, instead of being able to spend time in the studios.

        We could go on and on about each person in the Home, who not only helps to keep us going in the way of preparing delicious meals (thanks to our cooks: Veronica, and plenty of others), those who do plenty of driving, pick up our provisioning, etc. (Miguel, Sol), do our shopping and business (Gloria), keep the house looking clean, go singing on the weekends (Eman, Kat, Meek and others) etc. Thank you all, dear loved ones at the Park for making our job possible!

        Okay, on with the news from the Music world! FTTs and more FTTs has been the name of the game. An average of 5 songs a month have been produced in the course of this year for FTT, including some Loving Jesus songs. We now have a third FTT studio, housing Andrew V., who came from Africa some months ago, making a total of four audio workstations on the grounds. (Eman, Emmanuel, Andrew V. and the BLAST local language studio).

        Andrew V. and Agnes joined our team after being in Uganda for several months, where Agnes was working on a Word based school curriculum project for Africa, and Andrew was helping with the setting up and producing of the first radio ministry shows. Agnes is now working on art projects for WS from here and Andrew is … well, you can probably guess.

        And this is to all those who may have a gift in writing songs or lyrics, “We need FTT songs!” Got any in your back pocket that you would like to see worked on? We so often run out of new songs to produce and have to frantically write more, so if you feel like you’d like to contribute to the music world, please send them in. We love you! Please write us at: Avstudio@mailandnews.com or Rads@abmc.net to find out more info on how to send your songs to us. We love you!

Shine on-July 2000

TEAMWORK                        Per Adult                                Total

SOUL SHINERS FOR JULY 2000

Bernabe/Luz, Mexico                   1,450                   2,900

Josue Fiel/Maria Fiel, Mexico                   1,006                   5,029

Madras Deaf Ministry Home, India                   713                   2,139

Elimelech/Esteban/Maria, Venezuela                   611                   3,055

Salomon/Belen, Mexico                   537                   3,222

Pablo E., Chile                   381                   763

Juan/Maggie, Mexico                   375                   1,500

David/Alma, Mexico                   363                   1,450

Jonathan/Jose/Marianne, Mexico                   286                   2,000

Juliet, Brazil                   285                   1,425

POSTER SHINERS FOR JULY 2000

David S./Pandita First Love, Japan                   1,425                   11,400

Tommy/Serena, Cambodia                   1,067                   4,268

Marianne/Shine/Timothy, USA                   867                   7,807

Michael Christian/Maria, Japan                   838                   3,350

Jeremias/Flor/Paula, Brazil                   675                   5,400

Sharif/Joanne/Rima, Nigeria                   666                   4,000

Michael/Maria/Nora, Kenya                   595                   3,573

Promise, Japan                   541                   541

Lucas/Paloma, Brazil                   505                   1,010

Abner, Japan                   425                   425

TAPE SHINERS FOR JULY 2000

Pablo E., Chile                   200                   400

Katrina/Obede/Sara/Levi/Clara, Brazil                   86                   776

Tim/Elisabeth/Aurora, Spain                   74                   223

Davi/Madalena/Dulcinea, Brazil                   73                   514

Juan/Rosa, Spain                   72                   217

James/Christina/Dan/Dawn, USA                   69                   277

Jeho/Consuelo/Lizzy, Brazil                   67                   742

Micah/Trust Sparrow, Taiwan                   59                   177

Raquel/Josue/Mateus/Lily, Brazil                   57                   288

Promise/David, Costa Rica                   55                   110

VIDEO SHINERS FOR JULY 2000

Pablo E., Chile                   69                   138

Steven/Christina, South Africa                   32                   65

Willian, Chile                        28                   56

Joao/Clara, Brazil                   25                   77

Jessica/David, Russia                   25                   50

Ben/Meekness/Sam/Crystal, Botswana                   25                   100

Michael/Maria/Nora, Kenya                   21                   128

Miguel/Paloma/Filipe/Victor, Brazil                   19                   77

Isaac/Ruth/Angie, Burma                   19                   74

Raquel/Josue/Mateus/Lily, Brazil                   16                   84

Also included:

        EB #8; Battle Readiness kit.

   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

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Copyright (c) 2000 by The Family