the grapevine
(Issue #73; September 15, 1999.)
features:
focus: Law of Love
Impressions of Burma
newsy highlights
2 ... 115 teens/YAs/SGAs
2 ... In My arms
2 ... special offerings
5 ... crooked tract syndrome
9 ... Y2K tidbits
12 ... stats--historically speaking
ponder
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Getting Activated!
--August update
This month has certainly been an exciting one for the Activated ministry! The Activated GN reached most Homes during the month of August, and the Activated desks began to receive their first subscriptions, orders and reactions from both the field (you!) and the public. The initial response is very encouraging!
The Activated desk in England (covering Europe and Africa) reported that within a day of receiving the Activated GN they began
receiving request upon request for magazines and subscription cards, and the numbers have been increasing by the day.
The North American Activated desk sent out their first Activated mailing of the first three magazines to 124 addresses. Of these, 44 were subscriptions sent in by the Homes or mailed in by subscribers during the first week or two after the GN reached the Homes. They are already anticipating a mailing list of 200 for the coming month.
The Activated desk in Brazil reported rec
eiving 40 addresses during the first week after the GN reached the Homes there. By the end of August they had received 100 addresses, including 20 paid subscriptions!
In our next update we'll DV have some stats and news from the Mexico desk (covering Latin America and Spain), as the Spanish version of the GN reached the Homes a bit later than the English version. Stay tuned!
The Lord has done many miracles for the Activated desk in India, helping them finalize their set up despite much red t
ape and delays, TTL! They received 10 subscriptions right after the GN reached the Homes, as well as some inspiring feedback from the Homes. Following are just a couple of these reactions.
“I am absolutely thrilled with Activated. I knew something was coming out for follow up and witnessing and had a general idea about this program. However, when reading the GN I thought it was absolutely wonderful and was thrilled the more I read and studied it. Not only did it excite me about the potential a
nd possibilities of what we are going to be doing in regards to a greater witness, more long term fruit, but also a greater harvest.
“Honestly, it took a weight and burden off my shoulders as I have done a lot of outreach recently and over the past few years, and I do get discouraged when I look at the lack of fruit--the long term fruit--disciples, catacombers, live outs. This program has set me free and made me so happy and thankful to the Lord and to this wonderful Family, dear Peter and Mam
a and those in WS who heard from the Lord and came up with such a wonderful plan. I've got goals to shoot for this month and really feel the urgency of the Endtime and that this is definitely our final and last harvest. !”--Mark (of Carina)
“Our Home feels the Activated program is a big answer to prayer and just what we needed in our follow up of the precious sheep the Lord has been leading us to. We have been burdened for some time by how our approach with people has mainly been that we are d
oing good CTP and are dedicated to our cause. We felt we needed to take these people deeper into our faith in Jesus who motivates us to do our work and help them in their spiritual lives more. These magazines are perfect to help people understand what motivates us and makes us the special people they know we are.
“We meet a lot of working middle class people while we are videoing to the executives and business class. These middle class are often very sincere and sheepy and we do spend a little
time with them and give them a poster or some material but then due to the constant push to raise funds it is difficult to get back to this class of people who can't really help us financially. Actually some of these have a lot of potential to grow and even become catacombers, so we feel Activated is the answer to help us reach India in a much more thorough way.
“The other area of people we are not able to feed and that Activated could have a big impact on is the many hundreds of people we me
et on the road. We send two or three road teams a month and have a mailing list of over 400 people we mail a milky feeding material to each month. Some of these people we have met several times over the last four years but have never had the opportunity to feed regularly so we hope to sign up many of these people through the mail and when we revisit these cities.”--Rose Garden Home
We can see that the miracles are already starting to happen as the Lord's sheep are beginning to be fed more abun
dantly. We're convinced that prayer power has a lot to do with it, and we thank you for continuing to uphold the Activated ministry in your prayers. We love you!
Mishap with PO Box
CLE Home: This month we had a little mix-up concerning our CLE post box. As it was accidentally closed on us for about a week & a half, during this time all CLE orders were returned to sender. We were able to contact those involved with the PO box & get it re-opened! This was a big victory. We are continuing to
pray that any orders that were returned will make it to their destinations safely & that no orders will have gotten lost in the
process.
Note: If you sent an order to CLE during this time that was returned to you, please resend it, as their box is open once again and in operation. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Postal address for EURCRO
Dear Family,
We love you! If you have mail to send to the EURCRO Office, please use the following postal address:
A.K. Grafik
Postfach 815
C
H-8401 Winterthur
SWITZERLAND
The WS GP address in Switzerland (formerly the 241 box, now 3624) should not be used for mail to EURCRO. Thank you so much.
special offerings
Dear Family,
We love you so very much! Below is a list of those of you who sent in a special offering to WS above your tithe with your July TRF. We want to express our sincere thanks and gratefulness to you. We are overwhelmed by your love and sacrifices, and are so, so grateful for your extra giving. It makes a
world of difference to WS and has enabled us to keep our services rolling at full speed for another month. We couldn't do it without these extra gifts. We pray that the Lord will bless you as well as the whole Family for every penny that you send in, and for all that you do in your service of living your lives for Him.
With much love,
Your WS Office
Philippines Home # 01
David M., India Area # 17
Lampang, Thailand # 31
Francesco, EU
Davide, Joan, Kristen, EU
Gabe, Flower, EU
Micha, Christiana, Lis, EU
Albania Home #2
Emmanuel Fearless, EU
Stephen, Joy, EU
Matthew Saved, Gina, EU
John, Mary, EU
Santiago, Sherry, EU
Michael, Praise, EU
Gabriel, Joan, EU
Susanne, Eman, Calvin, EU
Josue, Mary, Philip, EU
Barz, Sara, Nina, EU
Peter, Praise, EU
Josiah, David, Joanna, EU
Darren Colton, Canada
John Beloved, USA
Samuel, Rosita, Mexico
Rich, Sue, US
Silas, Lily, Heidi, USA
Solomon, Mercy, USA
Sharon, Abe, USA
Byron, Meekness, USA
Mexico Home # 8016
US Home # 5003
Ai of Paul, Lovelight, Japan
Emanuel, Olivia, Japan
Dorcus, Isamu, Japan
Kylie YA, Australia
Angela Teen, Australia
Andy and Joy, China
Matthew, Claire, China
Jonathan, Amor, Jon W., China
Clay, Victory, China
John, Joanie, China
Alf, Clare, Japan
Tim, Phoenix, Japan
David, Pandita, Japan
Tim, Comfort, S. Korea
Steven, Anna, Taiwan
Steven, Mercy, Japan
Nahum, SA
Tiago, Priscila, Jer, SA
115 young adults “making a choice”
!
By Jason CRO, Mexico
On August 26-29 we hosted the largest teen/YA/SGA camp here in Morelia that has ever been held in the Mexico/Central American area.
The Morelia Teen Camp `99 theme was “Get Radical!--Make a Choice!”, and all the Word classes centered around the point that whether we were born in the Family or not, to be a full time, 100% missionary for the Lord in the Family still requires our making a personal choice. It requires us dropping out of “the world” in our own hearts and
making just as radical a decision to give the Family our all as our parents did when they decided to “drop out” of the System and join 25 or 30 years ago. We explored the fact that there is no special “discount offer” on being one of the Lord's disciples in the 21st century, and that it costs just as much today as it has for all of God's children throughout history--and that is OUR ALL!
The keynote class consisted of reading excerpts of the “To Whom Shall We Go” compilation from Growing In Fa
ith where Dad gives his personal testimony about his “dropping out” of the system to start the Family. Ado gave the second class called “Be A Missionary”, and for the second part of this class Seek VS and Robin VS acted out the “Only What's Done for Christ will last!” story from the Cry of the Harvest book).
We interjected a skit during this class where David Livingstone saves the life of a “worldly” Family teen who time travels to the jungles of Africa in David Livingstone's day, but finds hi
mself about to be eaten by a African native who thinks he is from an “evil tribe” because he looks just like another native tribe because of his “worldly” ways. Through the course of this skit this young “misguided” Family young person has to convince David Livingstone and this native that he is indeed “a missionary”!
We also watched Millennium Dawn (new sequel to Countdown to Armageddon video) which really packed a punch when it came to reinforcing the point that we are living in the Endtime
with the Y2K just around the corner. We also had a class called “Why the Charter” where we read and talked about the good changes and progress that the Family has made since the instatement of the Charter. We ended this class with a “sword draw” contest where we had volunteers from the audience compete at finding specific answers to “tough questions” from the Charter that we had prepared beforehand.
Our closing meeting was a commitment talk which Ado, Dust and Ahlai gave. We laid hands of all
of the young people present, asking the Lord to help us all to lay aside any weights that would keep us from being His revolutionary disciples.
It was evident that the Lord was really working on everyone that came, and He really made it clear that what they do with what He has invested in each of them was up to them. Many of those who came had never been to a “teen camp” before and expressed their appreciation to the Lord and the Family for reaching out to them in this way. TYJ! We closed the
Camp by giving the attendees souvenir T-shirts which had been donated. These shirts had the Morelia Teen Camp `99 logo on the front of them, and on the back said “I SURVIVED THE MORELIA TEEN CAMP `99”! Ha!
In My arms
Sharon (of Gary), USA: John SGA called this morning to let me know that Trina went to be with the Lord on August 25. She was a SGA who was living with my parents, Art and Becky, in India. She came back to Canada to bring her sister to the field. While out on a bike she was hi
t by a car. She was unconscious for 12 hours, and this morning the doctors confirmed that she was dead.
I knew her well and she was always a real sweet girl, free from worldly ways in her dress and appearance--a real Family girl. She was a good sample when witnessing, and you could count on her being there when you needed her. GBH! She is now getting her reward.
Please pray for her loved ones during this time.
(Jesus speaking:) This one is a precious jewel in My hand. Though it is often
hard for you to understand My ways, know that this one, Trina, is safe in My arms, and that My great plan for her life and the lives of her loved ones is covered in love and tenderness. Even the difficulty of this young woman passing into My world beyond, in time you will see bring forth the beautiful fruits of perfection. Truly, I do all things well. Even those things which happen that seem to be beyond your control or not directly moved by My hand, you must trust Me for. Even now, Trina and I
smile together. She is Home at last. (End of message from Jesus.)
The mudslide
By BRALIM
In the first week of January this year, due to an unusually high amount of rainfall, we suffered a mudslide on our property. Part of a hill, including a full grown tree behind our house, just slid down during a heavy storm one night at around 9 p.m. Thank the Lord no one was hurt, although there was some damage done to our house. Our guardian angels and helpers must have been working double time to p
rotect us. Our sweet PG mommy was about to go into our laundry room, which is connected to the kitchen, but something made her stop at the entrance to the laundry room and she changed her mind, and just then the roof caved in with the weight of the mud. At the very same moment her mate was about to walk up the cement path, when a flash of lightning lit up the skies and he saw the river of red mud plunging down the very same walkway heading rapidly towards him, and he was able to get out of the w
ay in time.
Our monthly shopping had all just been carried in and temporarily put in the laundry room, minutes before the mudslide happened. So you can imagine how we all felt when we saw red mud everywhere, covering everything! Our washing machine was hurled into the middle of the room and stood at an angle, covered in red mud; the wash basin and tap were ripped out from the wall and in pieces; broken roof tiles were scattered everywhere and our monthly shopping buried in red mud. Oh my!--And
lots of muddy water seeping through the kitchen and into the dining area and the rest of our house. And it continued to rain. It resembled something you see on the news, and we could hardly believe that it was happening to us.
After desperate prayer to ask the Lord to hold back the rest of the water-logged hills on our property and receiving strength and guidance from Him, we set out to clean the mess. We have a great team here, meaning our precious Hubby, Jesus, His helpers of the spirit, an
d all of our wildly willing LIM-ites. Everyone pitched in to help (all the kiddos were in bed by this time). All of the young people took to the mud and did all they could to clear it up while the mommies helped the kitchen staff clean off all the monthly shopping. (Yes, we had to wash everything, from tin cans to toothpaste tubes as everything was buried in red mud.) One of the most surprising things was the two big boxes of eggs were hardly touched. There was some mud on the box and on some of
the eggs and just two eggs were broken. What a miracle!
After some hours of cleaning up and scooping out the mud, our team was unrecognizable and resembled war-painted Amazon Indians--Ha! We took pics of our precious team together all covered in mud for our photo albums to “remember when…?” It was one of those situations where you couldn't stop the mud from being traipsed through the house no matter how much cleaning up was done. Mud was everywhere! We resorted to lining our floors with newsp
apers, which had to be changed every few hours.
We were fervently praying as we realized that with the amount of rainfall that was continuing, we would only suffer more damage from the saturated earth on hills on our property--including one right behind our office, where we have all our computer equipment setup. The Lord said if we would be faithful to call upon Him, He would hold back the rain and keep the hills in place, and keep our office safe. The Lord was true to His word and we have sin
ce suffered no further damage. The skies were gray for days, almost weeks on end, and it became our daily prayer for the rain to be held back, and the Lord kept His word.
For a few days it seemed that we would never get back to normal and that the clean-up work was just too great for us all to do. At the same time all our pub workers were most of the clean-up crew, but we had the Feast pubs to complete and print, the Portuguese Charter to finalize and the finalizing of three DBs in Portuguese
too, as well as some other projects in the works. Being selah, we had to be prayerful about who we could ask for help--that is, in the System--without them asking too many questions and wanting to check our property too closely, etc. The Lord showed us to ask someone in the neighborhood who had a bulldozer and truck to help clear out the mud. This worked fine and after three days and many truck loads containing mud taken away, we were at last back to normal. We have a huge dent in one of the hil
ls, which serves as a reminder to us to pray and to stay close to Him.
The landlord, who was away at the time, graciously agreed to reimburse us for all that we spent to get his property back to normal; in fact it looks even better now, except for the cavity in the hill. He was very thankful for how we took it upon ourselves to get the place all back in shape. This again was a step of faith on our part, as he is not a very giving man and we had to make some decisions not knowing whether he wou
ld agree with the way we did things, but the Lord was faithful to lead us each step of the way and it all worked out well in the end.
This sure is the Lord's work and He is very concerned about protecting His Word and making sure it gets out. He will keep us safe and protected as long as we stay close to Him, look to Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways, and stay faithful to practice using our new weapons, which really helped us in this situation.
Dearest Mama,
When I last wrote you, I
was a Fellow member, on welfare, with my kids in system school. So I want to tell you about where I am right now! I am in the beautiful and exciting African continent! It is such a miracle.
I had some precious CM members stay with me for quite a while in my home field, and especially one of them was a real encouragement to me and gave me the burden and courage to ask for my CM membership again. The CRO office sent me the needed instructions and to make a long story short, on Valentine's Day I
became a full CM member again. It felt so good!
I had a burden to go to Africa and the Lord had through the years supplied a lot of funds, which we had carefully set aside for our future move (all by faith) to the mission field. This dear brother who had encouraged me to rejoin the CM Family had quite a few offers from Homes in Africa, in response to an ad he had put in the bulletin, but he had no funds at all. I, on the other hand, had all these funds, but nowhere to go yet. So by faith I wr
ote a few Homes in Africa and the second one I wrote sent me right away an invitation and when they found out this brother was staying with me they sent him one too. The Home wrote the sweetest message; they had asked the Lord about me coming and the Lord had told them that it was an honor to have me in their Home, which was super encouraging.
I offered to share my money with the brother who was staying with me and he ended up coming with me to the same Home. I am super thankful for this, sinc
e even just traveling alone with my children would have been quite difficult. We have been here now for a few months and it has been one of the most exciting and fruitful times in my life. Witnessing is such a thrill! The people are so sweet, humble and open.
Looking back at all these years in the Family (almost 28 years now) I can only praise and thank Jesus for all He has done for us, and for how He is still doing so many miracles.
--adult woman, Africa
focus: Law of Love
I had the opp
ortunity to talk with one of our CROs not so long ago and in the course of our conversation I asked him about his first wife. He was telling me what a wonderful, beautiful and talented woman she is, and how they still love each other very much and are dear friends. I can't tell you how pleased this made me and how much more I love him and admire him for honoring his ex-wife in this way. Peter also has said many sweet things about Abi.
I don't know what it is and why it makes me feel this way,
but when a man honors and speaks well of his wife, it makes me respect and love him. The men that always have a gripe, murmur or negative something to say about their former wife (or wives), for some reason my respect for them drops to zero; I have a hard time even thinking about loving them in any way.
I wondered if I was alone in this sentiment so I asked a few other young women and they shared the same thing--that it made them feel unsure and insecure of such a man, thinking that this man c
ould, in the future, turn around and say the same about them.
--SGA female
I've had a hesitancy when reading about FGAs sharing with SGAs. Even when reading the beautiful Feast mailings where Mama explains about Peter sharing with SGA Rebecca--Lord help me--I really sympathized with Mama's jealousy battles, feeling a little bit uncomfortable at the thought of Peter sharing with such a young girl. My attitude stems from the System, where this kind of thing is looked down upon, even though ma
ny people do it, maybe because people's motives in the System are not pure; for example, young girls will go after older men for their money, etc.
Also, from working with teens in the past, and sometimes facing attraction while working with YAs or young SGAs, in order to make it impossible to cross the line, I trained myself to look at our young men as “my sons,” which definitely worked in closing the door on sexual attraction.
Here again, the Lord gave me a very sweet victory in the most un
expected way. We recently had a visit from our VSs, one of them being a SGA. As we were traveling between two locations, he and I were sitting in the back of the vehicle talking. He was helping me draw positive lessons from deep trials I was having at the time. Then the strangest thing happened--I suddenly felt my heart fill with immeasurable love towards him. Listening to this young man and witnessing his fire, dedication, maturity, and wisdom filled me with such hope that our Family and our yo
ung people are going to be alright as long as we have shepherds like him going around visiting the Homes.
Then I felt a very strong attraction towards him. I immediately and instinctively rebuked it, but I heard the Lord's voice telling me, “Why don't you just close your eyes and enjoy it?” I was ever so surprised, but as I yielded and started loving Jesus in the spirit, He gave me a beautiful victory over that resistance I had and made me realize what a beautiful experience it could be to eve
n have a date with a SGA. Nothing more transpired and these feelings did not end up in a date, but I wish they had, ha! The Lord allowed it to give me this sweet victory and help me not only understand and accept it, but see it as a precious gift from His hand, if it would've happened.
Soon afterwards, as I moved to a different location, I stayed in a Home for a few days where a young SGA actually asked me for a date. Because of the previous experience and victory in the spirit the Lord had re
cently given me, I was able to be honest with my husband about it and after praying, we decided to go ahead with it and meet this young man's need.
Those are just small personal and intimate victories, but I wanted to share them as a confirmation of how the Lord has been working in our lives in a very personal way to help us better grasp what the Law of Love is about and live it to the full.
--married FGA woman
This is a testimony about how we put the Law of Love into our lives and about
how it has borne great fruit! At first I felt weird about living the Law of Love. I didn't want to share my girlfriend with everybody; I wanted to keep her to myself. I was proud, selfish, unwilling and unyielded to letting the Lord have His way in my life.
On the other hand, I wanted to share with other members in the Home, but I hadn't learned that the Law of Love is a two-way street (involving both parties). All of this was history after I read the super, super special counsel from the Lord
brought to us in the Law of Love series--thank you so much Queen Maria and King Peter for this heavenly counsel! It was then that I got the victory over this problem of selfishness. I felt free from the bondage of the Devil and his lies.
I am happy to say that I am now actually happy to share my lover with those in need. My counsel to you, fellow young people, is to try this special weapon. It might be hard at first but it will bear much fruit!
--a YA and senior teen, Europe
The Law of L
ove series has certainly been a blessing to us and helped us in our unity. It also has helped clear up a misconception I had from years before about living “One Wife”--my concept was a little extreme, believing I had to sacrifice my personal family for my greater Family. I thought that if I wasn't giving more attention, care, concern, etc., to the greater Family than my smaller family, then I wasn't living “One Wife.” My poor little family was in some ways neglected and it caused a lot of strain
on my marriage. TYJ for the veil being lifted so we can see the truth more clearly.
--FGA, Mexico
I really hope we can help other Family members that are lonely, as I was lonely and felt misunderstood for a long time until I met my sweet mate. I know what it's like to feel like an outsider, or not included, and that nobody really cares if you are dead or alive. Lord help us to follow His leading and counsel.
--FGA man, USA
In Grapevine #61 there were some comments from people concerni
ng the Law of Love series. What stood out to us the most were two testimonies in which people said they were not really in love with each other initially, but after sticking together and obeying the Lord, He gave them love for each other. We can only confirm this!
I was not in love with my mate when we first got together. I never really had a “heartthrob” but after praying and hearing from the Lord, He confirmed that it was His will for us to be mated and He immediately blessed us with a child
.
I must admit, I had my doubts from time to time and it wasn't always easy (to be honest, there were big fights!), but looking back we can really see the Lord's hand in it. He had to teach us many precious lessons and now we really do love each other in a deep way. It was very encouraging to read about others who went through the same things as we always thought we were the only ones who the Lord put together without being in love with each other in the first place.
--couple, Europe
With
the emphasis on sharing, it's stirring us up to put some sharing into our personal schedules, as we haven't been doing it as much as we should, just because of not pushing to make the time for it. But from reading these GNs it's clear how important it is. It's all so loving and comforted my heart personally about the place the Lord expects us to keep in our marriage relationship while still sharing with others.
--woman, ASCRO
I really thought that it was just not possible to live the One W
ife vision. It's really true that the One Wife vision has been misunderstood and it was very encouraging that someone understood this and had the guts to say so. I believe all of what the Lord has said, however, in times past we have hurt and been hurt, so to me it seemed that to actually live the One Wife vision was just a dream and not a reality. I asked the Lord to help me to live it and He said that I just have to take the first step--even just a tiny step--and He will bless it and help me t
o make the other steps as I go along.
--FGA man, Indonesia
I think in regards to sexual sharing, as well as in many other areas, I've been a “Mrs. Stoneheart.” The Lord showed me to pray for a new heart, and I really believe He's done it for me. I've long desired to have more genuine, heartfelt love and concern for others, not just from a sense of duty, but the kind of love that can really help people and make a difference.
I'm really thankful for all the counsel and promised victories in
regards to jealousy. I think fear and wondering how the series will affect your mate and relationship is a major hurdle to get over. I can testify that the Lord has been making it a lot easier for me to share my mate. The main battle for me has been to determine to resist the Devil in the area of jealousy, not to feel that I'm justified and slide into it. Copying out key quotes and claiming them for myself has been a real key.
--woman, Mideast
mama jewels on … getting the West out of you
I'm so thankful to hear about Family members who have enough faith to obey the Lord and step out totally by faith in moving their family to the mission field--and sometimes that can total up to a dozen people!
Making the move to a fertile mission field is not only for the sake of the lost who need to be reached, but in some cases it's more for your own sake, to refresh and renew you in the spirit and to help your kids stay free from the pollutants of the Enemy.
Some who have been fighting
for their children's service for the Lord have made the move to a mission field, but have then gotten discouraged because their kids didn't turn into the overnight wonders they were expecting. They were counting on the mission field to be so good for their kids, but they didn't see much progress right off the bat. Nothing seemed to change.
Remember, these things take time. You can't stop with simply getting out of the West and the lowlands and strongholds of the Enemy yourself--you have to get
those things out of you, and out of your kids! And that takes time and work and prayer and faithfulness. It takes seeking the Lord daily as to how to help them progress.
Getting your kids to the mission field won't turn them into instant missionaries, although it sure does help. It's a definite step in the right direction, but you've got to keep making daily progress from there. Seek the Lord for your kids and don't give up!
the crooked tract syndrome
By Mama
Recently I've gotten copi
es of some Family tracts in various languages, and I've been saddened to see how poorly they've been folded. More often than not, they're not folded straight, and in some cases, are very obviously crooked.
When you give someone on the street a tract that hasn't been folded carefully, what kind of signal do you think it sends? It tells them that the message you're handing out isn't important enough to be presented nicely, in an orderly and neat manner. That's certainly not the case with our tra
cts, which contain the Lord's precious Words, and a message which can save souls and give a lost sheep an eternal home in Heaven!
Please, folks! More of an effort needs to be made when folding tracts, to get them looking nice. I know that you're all busy, and that folding perfect tracts is not high on your priority list, but you can't just slap them together. Think of that soul that may or may not read the message, all because of how you folded it. Utter perfection isn't required, but it is im
portant that the fold is straight and that one side of the tract isn't overlapping the other or sticking way out. It's just not a good sample; in fact, it's a bad sample.
Please ask the Lord to help you to portray all the love and care that He has for each lost soul in each tract you fold! And remind each other to do a good job as well. If you see your brother or sister getting sloppy in their tract-folding, gently remind them of how important even the packaging of the Lord's message is. We're
His face! Likewise, the tracts portray the Lord and His message--so let's do a good job of portraying Him and straighten out those crooked tracts! Amen?
entertainment
Movies Rated for Senior Teens and Up
SIXTH SENSE, THE (1999)
Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment
Tense supernatural thriller about a child psychologist trying to help a young boy who has the ability to see and talk with ghosts. Sensitive viewers should beware of some unexpected appearances of scary-looking spirits.
Movi
es Rated for JETTs and Up
SHE'S ALL THAT (1999)
Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook
Romantic comedy about a high school senior who takes a bet that he can transform a mousy, unpopular girl into the prom queen by the end of the school year.
INSPECTORS, THE (1998)
Louis Gossett Jr., Jonathan Silverman
Suspenseful drama based on true events, following the case of a mysterious mail bomber in a quiet town. Beware of a graphic autopsy scene.
reviews
The Sixth Sense
(Dad speaking
:) Wow! There's quite a message in there. You're going to have to be a little careful with this one, folks. Don't get me wrong; it's a good movie, and it's got a great message, especially for the world, because it opens the door for a lot of things that we've got to teach them. Movies like this are terrific for priming the pump, getting people to open their eyes to the reality of the spirit world, placing these things in a medium that they can understand and relate to.
Even for the Family, the
re's a lot of good in there. It's got a positive spirit. It doesn't have the Lord in there, and that's a downright pity, because that could have turned it from a good movie to a great movie--imagine if he could have given that boy the true message, the best way of all to help him--Jesus! But in their own way, the System can't help but get out God's message, to the glory of the Lord. You'll see a lot of parallels that go right along with the Letters and all the things I've been teaching you over
the years.
This would be a perfect movie to go along with a study of the spirit world. There's so much in the Letters about this subject, and I won't get into that all here, because you can just go look it up yourself and read it over. Do it! You'll thrill to it!
My one caution is this: Please really pray before going into this movie. Ask the Lord if it's good for you to watch personally. As I said, it's a good movie, but there are some parts in there that could be scary for some of our folk
s. Some of our pregnant moms or our sensitive women or others should really pray first before watching it. Make sure it's the Lord's time for you to see this and most of all be prayerful and on guard. They use some “shock effects” in presenting some of these ghosts. Be on guard and then you'll go away from this terrific movie seeing the good, and not the bad. Okay? (End of message from Dad.)
She's All That
(Dad speaking:) You might find this surprising, but I thought this was a very good mov
ie. I want to state up front that I don't by any means agree with everything in the movie. There were people in there who were a downright bad sample. But in this case it was pretty clear who the people were who were walking in love and trying to live a godly life--even though it wasn't acknowledged as such--and those who were just motivated by selfishness and greed.
I think this is a good movie for teens because it hits on a lot of the points that they are tempted with--peer pressure, wanting
to be accepted, wanting the glory of man, trying to make yourself something you're not to try and fit in. I think most of you will be mature enough to discern which are the negative influences. Keep your eyes open, kids! Be wise! You'll find a good message in this movie about the true values in life and the fickleness of fleeting fame and popularity. Praise the Lord! He's the only one worth living and fighting and dying for. He's the one you want to be popular with, and He's the only one you've
got to follow. Okay? I love you! (End of message from Dad.)
The Inspectors
(Dad speaking:) This is a pretty interesting movie. There's not a lot to it in the way of message or lessons, but it's got an interesting, intriguing plot without all the gratuitous violence that you so often get in action movies these days. Overall it's a fine movie to watch if you're in the mood for a little suspense. There are some good examples of what not to do in there, and I'm sure you can find little jewels h
ere and there, but mostly it's an “entertainment only” type movie. Make sure you're prayed up, and then you can go ahead. (End of message from Dad.)
MINISTERING TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE ANTIPOLO LANDSLIDE!
From a Manila Home - Tender (FGA), Francesco (20), Christina (19), Chris (18), Anna (15), Benjamin (13) and Anne (live-out member)
(August 4, 1999) At least 19 people were buried alive and 47 missing after a large section of a hillside subdivision in Antipolo City collapsed Tuesday nigh
t, apparently after the soil eroded by days of incessant rains, rescue officials and police said at 12 MN Wednesday.
Our team of 8 (1 adult, 3 YAs, 1 Jr. teen, 1 JETT, a live-out member and a friend) visited this subdivision, called Cherry Hill. We brought sacks of rice, dried noodles, canned fish and posters and Reflections to give to those who were suffering.
One of the residents of the subdivision, Lorna, was sitting by the altar of a local chapel when two members of our team started ta
lking with her. She said she and her husband had been the first ones to leave their house, but her husband had decided to go back in to help others, and had ended up being caught by the crumbling houses. That was three days ago, and she continues to wait for the rescuers to find her husband.
After we prayed with her and her cousin, they were both teary-eyed. We gave them a quote poster and some of the food that we'd brought. She was in tears, especially when we hugged her. There were many othe
rs in the chapel who were also waiting for the rescue team to find their missing loved ones. It was a heartbreaking sight for us all.
The army colonel who was overseeing the rescue teams thanked us not just for the goods that we'd brought, but especially for the spiritual counseling that we offered.
From Cherry Hill, we went to a seminary turned evacuation center where 87 families are being housed temporarily. We distributed the goods and posters that we brought and took time with the childr
en and played with them. Everyone in the evacuation center was so happy to have us, and thanked us profusely for having taken the time to visit them.
Please pray for all the victims who not only suffered loss of properties, but also loved ones. Also pray for the rescue teams who are still looking for those who are still missing.
Happenings
[PTA spokesman]
Nehemiah, Japan: In the past we had large Homes with plenty of personnel to be able to send out large follow-up teams to do voluntee
r work. Now that we are in smaller Homes, it's difficult to send out such large teams. So as was written in the African FSM and other recent testimonies, where Family members are leading the way and teaching others in the System from our good training, there is no limit for a small Home that is short on personnel. This is a way to accomplish a lot in CTP ministries.
Our children attend the local elementary school and we are involved with the PTA because we have to get involved with our childre
n's education and have good communication with their teachers.
Last year I was elected PTA spokesman and got involved with helping to publish the school newsletter. I've been introducing some Family materials in the newsletter, such as the Christmas message, etc. The school was publishing one newsletter a year at the cost of 100,000 yen; at the same cost we're now publishing seven newsletters at better quality than before. It takes a while for the local people to build up trust in us, but thro
ugh this the people in our area trust us as a part of the community.
I just put together the newsletter using Family methods, and it wasn't a big deal, but to the System it's a new thing and they see that it works and they like it. Sometimes we adults in the Family can get a bit discouraged about getting old and thinking we're of no use anymore, but we can still put to use all the training we've received in the Family. We shouldn't underestimate ourselves and the power of the training we've re
ceived.
Now the school is asking us to lead meetings, which opened up a door for Hiromi to come here in June and give a childcare seminar to the PTA of the school. They're asking for ideas to help their children, how to help them understand foreigners, and how to make a better world. Lord willing, we'll be able to do our puppet shows for the school, and include our message about changing the world, understanding people of other countries, and also getting in a good witness.
[Out of the blue
supply]
David and Lauren, Africa: We used to have a nifty compact camera that we carried with us everywhere in order to catch those “once in a lifetime” shots--particularly in regards to our CTP ministries, and also for life's anomalies while living in Africa. It was a nice camera and we knew we were taking a risk in carrying it around all the time, but it was the only way we were able to get the good shots. We tried to be as prayerful as possible but after putting in years of good service an
d producing wonderful quality pictures, it eventually got stolen. We committed it to the Lord and asked Him, if it was His will, to give us another one. In the meantime we used a little plastic wind-up camera, that, well … it sort of worked sometimes.
Recently a man whom we have never met but whom we have been corresponding with for the past three months asked us to write up a list of things we wanted, and he said to make the list “big.” We weren't sure if he was pulling our leg (as we've had
this happen before with “never met in real life” acquaintances), but in case the offer was sincere we took him up on it and gave him a list. We included a camera, and gave the specifications of what we wanted--small and powerful.
Amazingly enough, the package arrived safely. When we opened it, we discovered that not only had he gotten us a camera that was above and beyond our wildest dreams, but he had also bought us an incredibly high-end short-wave radio unit, complete with an active antenna
(up until now, we have had no way to get world news, and never knew what was happening until it showed up in the END or World Currents GNs). In total he spent about $600 on the equipment, and also sent us several hundred dollars worth of smaller things that we can't get here.
This came to us out of the clear blue and was very unexpected, as not only is this man not a Christian, he's not even sympathetic to missionary activity. It showed us that when the Lord is ready to bless us and trust us
with our desires, He can do it regardless of circumstances or conditions.
[Our Home's fundraising]
Mary Mom: Last February, after the Feast, the Lord showed the members of our Home that He wanted us all to go to the field--somewhere other than Italy. We had disunity in our Home and not much money. After the Lord gave each individual a burden for different places, like Russia, Africa and South Africa, we became quite united in our push to raise the needed finances for these changes for over
20 people. I personally didn't do much street work, partly because of caring for younger children at Home, and partly because of my other responsibilities. But I sat back and looked on in awe at what the Lord did for a group of real hard workers.
I always prayed for the big windfall type of miracles for our crew, and thought the testimonies were fantastic where people were faithful to minister to contacts they would meet, and then those people would pay their way to their desired country, buy
them all their needed supplies, put them up in a house and all that sort of thing. I know that requires a certain type of faith and diligence that the Lord surely does bless.
But all the witnessers in our Home were just plain hard workers, and like Dad taught us, if you work for the Lord, He will pay you--and that is what He did! Our folks hit the streets clowning everyday, sometimes getting up at 6:00 a.m. and not returning until 9-10:00 p.m.. We set a goal that by May 6 we would send everyon
e off but our African team. Then the African team would begin raising funds for their trip alone.
From the end of February to May, the Lord supplied $30,000 above all Home expenses, which was more than what we needed to give everyone their tickets and some landing funds, while at the same time buying some of their needs before leaving. Since May the Lord has supplied well over another $30,000 above our living expenses for the African team, and now we too are able to make our move.
I believe
the Lord blessed these witnessers because they got out so much Word during those months. Since the end of February, during our fundraising push, we have gotten out around 5,000 booklets (a compilation of children's stories in Italian), nearly 10,000 tracts, and a multitude of tapes and posters. The Lord told us when we began this push that if we were faithful to witness, He would be faithful to supply our needs. Well, most of us aren't at all fluent in Italian, in fact only two witnessers could
speak Italian at first, so our conclusion was that the Word would be our witness, and that the more lit we put into people's hands, the more funds the Lord would give us.
The Lord told us to meet together every morning and hear from Him for special instructions for the day. This united our Home more than anything else, and the Lord always gave guidance, encouragement and instruction for each day. The days we failed to get together just didn't go as well as the other days and we could all feel
it--we weren't as inspired or united when we didn't.
I would like to name the witnessers, by age, from the oldest to the youngest: Paul, Gabe, Jan, Jamie, Sharon, Andy, David, Gabrielle, Melissa, Joyanna, Jeremy, Martin, Calvin and Brian!
[The break-in]
Valour, Dan and Christina, Ukraine: Our caravan was broken into while only two people were left home (Christina and Dan), as the rest of the teams were on the road, visiting relatives and doing follow up. The robbers got away with our PPC
printing funds (about $1,000) and $300 which we had set aside for a deposit on a new house.
When Christina and Dan prayed about the situation, the Lord said that Ukraine is a dangerous field, and that we haven't been fighting in prayer for our safety and security as we should have. People here are very poor, so they're always looking out for a way of making some money. He said that as a Home we haven't taken the “Lifesavers for Missionaries to Africa” GNs seriously enough. He allowed this robb
ery as a warning to us to be on guard, and to not take His protection for granted.
(Christina:) Since coming to Ukraine, I haven't been in any serious incidents when we've had things stolen, or where someone harmed us, so I have felt pretty safe. On the night of the robbery, I wasn't as desperate for our security as I should've been, and in general I don't always pray for our safety and security when going out. TTL that He's kept us in spite of that, and that He answers our prayers before we e
ven utter them. But I feel that now especially He's teaching all of us to be desperate and realize the battle that's before us. The Enemy is fighting harder now in the last days, and we need to arm ourselves more, and be more militant against him.
Impressions of Burma
By Anne, SGA
It was the first time I'd been to Burma (Myanmar). I'd heard it was about 100 years behind the times, so I was really expecting the worst. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised, at least with Yangon (Rangoon)--p
robably because I was expecting something so backward, ha! It's quite a pretty city, lots of greenery and that side of it is well kept up. The people are very sweet, and starting from my flight, I had people coming up to converse with me, from the air stewards (I flew Myanmar Air) to Burmese fellow travelers--even the officials at the airport were warm and friendly; although, of course, they thoroughly searched my luggage!
Burmese people from the middle to upper middle class generally speak En
glish quite well, and anyone in the over-50 bracket speaks very proper “British” English, since the country was a British colony before.
The English definitely left their mark on at least Yangon (that's all I saw), with wide roads, large English-style buildings, lots of greenery, and trees and grass everywhere (and I heard some of the cities in the provinces are even more beautiful). Of course, nothing's been upgraded for the last 50 years, and you still see WW2 Jeeps on the road (in great wor
king condition), so all of that makes it pretty neat! What I saw could be likened to some cities in India, but less crowded.
People seem to really like music. At different times I saw people sitting in their shops singing along to some music that was playing (and beautifully, they weren't off key or anything), or playing the guitar and singing, etc. I heard from the Family there that about 50% of Burmese households have a guitar. That's very different from Thailand where most people are not mu
sical in the least!
There are also some really unique and interesting things about Burma, and some humorous things about every day life as well. For example, gasoline is rationed and motorists are assigned certain gas stations where they are allowed to buy their petrol, and only the allotted amount. Of course, people have ways around that. While out one day, we were in a taxi and the driver pulled over to the sidewalk. Ruth told me, “He's just going to get some gas.” I looked around for the pe
trol pumps--and was I ever shocked when the “gas station” turned out to be a couple of jerry cans (hidden in the drains) and a funnel! Ha! This was one of the many “black market” gas stations, which are a whole lot more expensive than the government-controlled gasoline, but at least it's there!
The Family in Burma
The Family there are extremely precious and very dedicated. The field is even more isolated than some of the other similar fields such as Vietnam or Cambodia. Most snail mail is
opened, and e-mail is just starting in the country. Because of this we have to rely on personal couriers for any and all communications back and forth between Burma. The extreme isolation is probably the greatest source of frustration or difficulty for the Family there, as they have to rely on people going back and forth for their mailings, which can be anywhere between three to six months apart! God bless them; I sure admire them for their dedication despite these difficulties.
Regardless, t
hey are doing a wonderful job, and have a vision to see Burma reached while the doors are still open. I spent two nights in each of the two Yangon Homes, and was able to spend time talking with the brethren, as well as show some inspirational videos I had brought. For them, just getting New Wine made it like Christmas, GBT!
There are two Homes in Yangon. One Home is Isaac and Ruth, Angie (their 19-year-old daughter), three other of their children, ranging from 12-16 years old, and another seni
or teen girl, Becky (of Andre and Mary), who is on her way to India. They run a kindergarten in the morning, which is attended by children from influential families there. Their teaching tools are all Family material, including the Treasure Attics and KVs, which the children love. The parents also buy these for the kids as well, which is one of the main ways they are able to get out the tools there.
The other Home is Andre and Mary, a French couple who came from Zimbabwe a couple of years ago,
their 17-year-old son, Chris, and two singles, Marie Rose (English) and Paul (English-Burmese). This Home operates a French-language school, and gives private tutoring for children, which has been fruitful. Both of these schools offer a good reason to be in the country, and also supply their visas.
Since none of them can operate as the Family, all of their support comes from teaching or home support. However, a lot of their teaching situations are also witnessing opportunities. Although you c
an't witness openly in Burma, they say it's not at all difficult to witness if you take the opportunities that come to you. It's probably similar in many ways to how the Family has to operate in China.
When you talk to the brethren there, they're very enthusiastic as to the great potential that there is in Burma, and they wish there were more people to reach the field. However, it really takes the right people to reach it, because even though it's a beautiful country, and the people are so swe
et, there are a lot of sacrifices to staying there on a long-term basis. There's the isolation for one thing, and unless people want to spend a good deal of their time teaching for support, they have to have good home support. Most importantly, they have to come with an attitude of really wanting to get something done, because otherwise it could be easy to just “survive.”
One team shared that you actually really have to fight against System influences or attitudes, which I thought was an inter
esting point. They said that the situation they're in, they can't outwardly be the Family, and have to look pretty “normal,” so at times it can be easy to lose sight of what we're all about. They have visitors a lot, and a lot of people around, and then as foreigners they get invited to a lot of social gatherings with other foreigners. They try not to get involved in that as much as possible, as they're there for the local people. But I thought it was interesting how even in such a remote field
you do have System influences--not via materialism, but through attitudes, ways of thinking, or even comparing with how well-off the System foreigners are there compared to the Family--though the brethren there do live well, PTL!
The teens/YAs who are in Burma are very precious and dedicated, and are committed to staying there. They're good samples of young people who are committed to the Family and the field, learning the language and loving to witness. Despite the isolation and what could be
considered a difficult field for young people in not having a lot of fellowship, still they want to be there. They try to work out fellowships between the two cities for the young people, but by and large they pretty much just have to concentrate on what they do in their Homes, as the young people are counted on to pull a big load.
The field has a lot of potential for reaching the youth, which is a virtually untouched ministry. The potential for what young people could do there is tremendous!
In fact, the initial road trips to Burma were pretty much all young people. But again, anyone going there would also have to be prepared for the conservativeness of the country--probably of any country in Asia it's the most simple and conservative I've seen--so any sort of “different” styles of clothing or behavior don't fly there.
Since music is a real key for the country and the Family there doesn't have any real musicians among them, they're praying for someone(s) with those types of talen
ts to come. One Home said they'd even be willing to pull the financial load for a couple or small family (of say, young people), if they had a vision to start something in the musical realm and really go for it, or start a youth ministry and really follow through with it and have a vision for progress, and seeing people reached. This is because generally speaking anyone going there would need to be willing to pull most of their own financial weight, as otherwise it could result in one or two peo
ple needing to work almost full-time at the equivalent of a system job in order to support the Home, which can be quite draining and taxing.
There is also a large Christian population in Burma, among the hill-tribes.--That is, the Karen, as well as the Shan, who are almost 100% Christian. Apparently the missionaries to Burma in the past had the most success with these folks. The Family has had a lot of contact with these hill-tribes through road trips to the provinces, as well as those who liv
e in Yangon, and have been invited to give them Bible classes, seminars, teaching them how to witness, etc. They are very precious and sincere Christians, with a deep love for the Lord and desire to witness to their fellow Burmese. They also get out posters, tracts and other material to distribute, as they are able to do so, since officially there is religious freedom in Burma. Of course, foreigners can't be quite as open, but nevertheless the Gospel is preached, PTL!
Y2K tidbits
Phil, Mari
e and Mercy, USA: Here is a list of some Y2K survival items that our Home has acquired, and where you can find these and more! This is by no means a complete list of where to buy survival products. I would recommend logging onto some of these Web sites for more information, and at a site called: www.michaelhyatt.com you'll find a great book for survival prep which contains many great ideas for your food, water and fuel preparations as well as other links to go to!
You can get information about
the next “scheduled” Y2K EXPO and others by visiting their Web site, which is: www.preparedness.net. You'll not only see many items that are available, but you can purchase these right on the spot, which ensures that you readily get what you want. Try it!
Item
Description
Price
Where To Find It
6-Day Candles
These candles produce 6 days of continuous light and come in glass containers in a box of 12.
12 for $32.50
www.survivalcenter.com
Short Wave radio
The Short Wave radio
is powered by hand-crank generator, or solar power, or 4 “AA” batteries, or by an optional AC/DC power plug.
$89.95
www.survivalcenter.com
Drinking water tanks
The water tanks are collapsible plastic bags (not hard plastic tanks) which are drinking water safe for storage.
Contact this company at:
Best Prices
2611 N. Beltline #127
Sunnyvale (Dallas), TX. 75182.
Call: 972-226-9945 Fax: 972-226-9927
www.internet-grocer.com or web2.airmail.net/foodstr2
200 gals/$89
www.wate
rtanks.com
Water Siphon Pump
$22.80
www.watertanks.com
Forever Flashlights
These use no batteries and are hand-held and cranked for power.
The company offers them at 4 for $32.85
$10.95
www.watertanks.com
Oxy-Safe (water solution)
This is a solution which when added to drinking water for storage will keep out bacteria, fungus, etc. and keep it drinkable for up to 5 years.
$9.95
www.MajorSurplusNSurvival.com
Addresses for each of the companies listed above are:
Survival Center
P.O. Box 234
Mckenna, WA 98558
Toll Free: 800-321-2900
Water Tanks, Inc.
12 Main Street
Dexter, ME 04930
Toll Free: 877-426-8675
Major Surplus and Survival
435 W. Alondra Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90248
Toll Free: 800-441-8855
Forum
[Does CVC hold up?]
Anonymous Russian: Hi, people! The Lord did a big miracle with my paperwork recently and I have to share my joy with you! Did you ever wonder how impressive the CVC would actually be for your average pic
ky official? I did.
Although I've been a good student all my life and never had to struggle with learning, I did drop out of high school to join the Family, which left me with no valid proof of education besides my junior high school records.--Not very impressive for a 23-year-old girl!
When I arrived in Europe with the intention of getting a EU passport (try to get anywhere with a Russian one!) I was a bit worried. Here you are required to show your proof of education among other papers, an
d all I had was CVC certificates. I wasn't sure if those would do. If they wouldn't accept that, I would end up in the “second-class” group of foreigners, which would mean being put back into local high school and other courses “to catch up on missed education” before I could even dream of getting my papers done.
Well, guess what? I just prayed and tried my best to come across official and sure of myself, and the Lord did it! The people that were interviewing me were very impressed by my “two
high educations.” When they asked why the papers looked the same, I explained that I went for the “business pack” that included management, computer applications etc., and they were perfectly fine with that. They also wanted to know why I, being a Russian, went to American college, so I told them that since Russia only “went into business” from the Communist regime a few years ago, there are really no schools or colleges where you can learn much about business. Since I wanted to work with foreig
n companies and be a translator, I enrolled in the Christian Vocational College. That was also accepted and I passed as your average “brain child,” instead of a high school dropout! I was assigned to take a short language course, after which I can apply for my new passport and hopefully leave for hungrier fields!
Of course the System educational scene doesn't matter to the Lord, but when you want to get your legal papers in order so that you can travel to another field, it helps to “look smart
,” and CVC did it! God bless all you dear ones who put your time and effort into making the course! It's not just an interesting thing to do, but as I found for myself, it can even help us when we need to look presentable.--A great big thank-you to all you guys behind the scenes!
[Combating familiarity]
Samuel, Sherri, Daniel and Loana, USA: As we are all young people in our Home, most of whom have known each other for more than half our lives, we were having difficulties with familiarity a
nd a very laid-back attitude regarding the Home standard of cleanliness and just in general.
At our last Home council the Lord helped us to be honest and lay everything out on the table, and though it wasn't a “comfortable” experience, it was extremely helpful and uniting. We have not attained by any means, but so far the peer pressure has changed direction and the Lord has helped us to improve the overall standard. People are also not so afraid to bring up things any more, which is good. TTL!
We have a lot to learn but He has been really merciful and is helping us.
[Admiration for men]
Maria: The other day when I got together with a brother to pray and receive things from the Lord, it really touched my heart. There he was, a strong bearded man, kneeling down with a pen and a notebook, coming to the Lord for His guidance. It filled my heart with joy and love and delight. I thought if it affected me that way, how much joy and pleasure Jesus must feel.
Dear males, I congratulate
and admire you for your yieldedness. I understand that embracing the Loving Jesus revolution for you was more difficult than for us women, but also your reward is greater. That's why when you yield you look so precious and delightful and masculine and sexy. I love you dearly.
Unity brainstorm
(Mama:) Here's a list of activities that was generated at Summit `98 on the topic of unity. See how many you're applying in your Home already, and which new ones you can implement! I'm sure you can
come up with more as well!
Practical steps toward unity
Pray and hear from the Lord in each situation!
Start another “Fellowship Revolution” in the Family.
Have united birthday parties by sun signs--including children's birthday parties--organized by the Homes in a city. Then there are not only parties for the young people, but also for the children, which will foster greater unity between the generations since younger and older parents will be mixing and fellowshipping together.
Ho
mes sharing their provisioning amongst each other.
Have a united parent day between the Homes in a city with organized outings, BBQs, birthday parties, etc.
Organize united dance nights including both generations.
Have loving Jesus nights with songs, praising and intimate prayers to Jesus.
Have heart-sharing times.
Be faithful to hold City Councils. Even if there are not many business points to discuss, get together to share prayer requests and bring things before the Lord as an area.
Hear from the Lord together.
Have more inspiration nights.
Have more sexual sharing in accordance with the Law of Love
Receive personal prophecies for individuals (pick names out of a hat).
Read personal prophecies given for individuals in the Home at devotions, not necessarily using names.
Organize “appreciation nights.”
Pull out practical activity tips and ideas from older FSMs-- i.e.: The DTR FSMs, old Family Time FSMs, the FSM on the video fast which contains ideas for other unit
ed activities besides movies (see FSM #185, 207, 209).
Have more personal fellowship within the Home by organizing special dinners, BBQs, etc.
Have a “free store” using provisioning, forsake-all, etc.
Play “forsake-all Bible or Letter-based games.” (Everyone in the Home brings an item of value to them that they don't use or need and as people win the game, they get to choose a prize.)
Play the “guardian angel game.” (Pick names out of a hat and people in the Home do thoughtful, loving th
ings for that individual secretly, such as receiving prophecies for them, etc.)
Do united activities with the whole Home--including the children and adults--like playing quizorama, etc.
Encourage singles to care for others' children to give the parents time off.
Encourage the singles in your Home to help another Home with no singles for a day.
Combine fund-raising and witnessing between the Homes and split the profits 50/50.
Organize attack days between the Homes in a city to help a Ho
me that is doing poorly financially.
Try organizing area schools where feasible and workable.
Organize evening workshops--making flannelgraphs, childcare kits, coloring childcare materials, organizing your kitchen, making a newsletter, etc.
Do a “barn raising” as an area; helping other Homes with Home improvements, painting, etc.
Sports events, but not only the men and boys, but including the children, girls and women.
Organize “Family Olympics” events with families and children of the
area.
Play games on dance nights.
Share prayer requests as an area.
If Homes are struggling with sick children, someone in the Home has had an accident, a woman has just had a baby, etc., send people from your Home to help them (if the disease is not contagious).
Organize “Charity Balls” or “Fund-raising dinners” to help out struggling Homes, or for special area projects, single mothers with special needs, etc.
Share an extra bedroom with members or couples from other Homes for W&R, d
ates, etc.
Have “study hall” as a Home for devotions or vespers, reserving 10 minutes for sharing special quotes.
Read CC pubs together on W&R.
Have cultural dinners from different countries around the world with appropriate dress-up.
Learn the local language, national songs, native dances. Become one with the field.
Have circus and talent nights, including all ages.
Have united CTP projects.
Combine road trips with another Home.
Arrange excursions for young people to neat places
that also involve witnessing.
Foot-washing: Members of one Home can wash the feet of the other Home. (When they get through with the feet they can wash their cars, ha!)
Have older Family members share their life stories and testimonies. Young people too.
Have a night of fellowship where you share miracles and supernatural experiences.
Go on a spirit trip together.
Teens and YAs, prepare a special dinner for the adults--and vice versa.
Work on memory projects as a Home.
For parent
time, the fathers do a father/son activity and the mothers take the girls for an activity.
Hold united Bible studies with young people from other Homes in the area.
Follow the CVC together and read through some of the CVC reading lists.
Have the children organize performances for the Home--songs, skits, quoting memory work, etc.
ideas and tips
Way to win souls
Praying for our food has opened the door for us to witness to some friends we have known for quite a while now. We had fini
shed eating and were waiting for an opportunity to give the salvation message. When Vicky brought some dessert, one of the guests asked if we needed to pray again for the dessert. So sweet! We said, “Yes, we have a very special prayer that we would like to say with you.” And so our first souls in China were saved!
--Willing and Mary, China
Hospital witnessing
A fun thing we got to do this month was hospital witnessing, going from bed to bed praying for patients and witnessing to them about
Jesus and healing, giving them posters, personal little cards with healing verses made by the kids ahead of time, etc. We've made some good friends and won souls amongst the nurses too, and hope to be able to continue this ministry.
--Kristy, Brazil
A lawyer's life
My name is Priscilla. I'm Brazilian and I've been in the Family for five wonderful years. For the 10 years that preceded my joining the Family I worked as a lawyer. When I was 28 years old (I'm now 36) I was what they call a
very successful young lawyer. All my life revolved around my work. I was single and had no children. I was living alone and my goal was to stay single, earn lots of money and travel around the world when I had some free time, since the office took up a lot of my time. Being a lawyer takes a lot out of you; it doesn't leave much time for a personal life.
To give you an idea of a lawyer's life, when I got married and had my first child, it was almost an automatic breakup with my practicing law.
The clients, the legal proceedings, the people who you serve in the job are not very concerned with any emotional or personal needs you might have. When I started arriving late and leaving early from work to nurse my baby, my partner suggested that I choose between the office or my family. That was the first right decision I made: keep my family and drop the office. But this happened sometime after I had gotten to know the Lord and the Family. I'll go back to where I left off.
In the little ti
me that I had free from work (evenings and Sundays) I would drink with my friends or relatives, or use drugs to “relax a bit” from the tensions of the day. My life went on at this pace until I started to grow weary of the life I was leading. The pleasures that professional success gave me (money, travels, etc.) didn't satisfy me anymore. My friends seemed more interested in what I could give them than in me as a person. My boyfriends didn't satisfy my need for affection. I started therapy with p
sychologists, treatment with sedatives, transcendental meditation, and even went to a spiritist center searching for peace for my spirit and mind. I had everything that money could buy--the latest car, a house, a place in the country, etc. I had many friends, but I wasn't happy. I needed to find the real reason for my life, something more than getting a lot of money together and having fun. I needed to find real love. I needed to find Jesus!
I had been raised a Catholic, but I had never really
known the Lord. I remember searching in the Bible during my teenage years to try to find a little comfort for my soul, reading some Psalms, but that was the closest I ever got to the Lord. After that I went to university where they destroyed the little faith I had in God. I didn't believe in anything anymore, but at this time I was searching for something bigger to hold on to.
One day, a big argument with my partner ended with my leaving the office, slamming every door behind me. I walked hom
e and asked the Lord in tears that if He really did exist, to manifest Himself to me in some way.
It didn't take Him more than a few days to manifest Himself. The next weekend I met a musician in a bar who touched my heart with the songs he was singing. He then started witnessing to me during his break. I returned to the same bar a few weeks later and there he was, the tool that the Lord used to reach my heart. He was an ex-Family member , and he gave me a tract called “In Search Of Truth” whi
ch changed my life. I said the prayer in my room by myself and at that very moment a drastic change started in my life that would continue throughout the next three years.
One month later, two brothers who had faith for witnessing to lawyers (there aren't very many who do--ha!) came to my office and found a very hungry little sheep who devoured everything they gave me to read! I would hide Daily Foods inside of the portfolios of the cases I needed to study, and would feast on them. At the end
of the day the Lord had to do a lot of miracles for me to be able to conclude my different assignments, ha!
I stayed in the System for two more years to be sure that the Lord wanted me in the ranks of His Endtime army. During this time I got pregnant and went to live with the father of my baby (the musician who witnessed to me in the bar). But my heart belonged to the Lord and that was not the place where He wanted me to be. It was very hard living with my companion, as he was jealous and didn
't allow me to have any contact with the Family or tithe, etc. By this time I already didn't believe that he was the Lord's will for my life. We separated two years later.
As soon as we broke up I wrote to a Family sister who had continued faithfully writing and staying in touch with me. I went to meet her in a neighboring state, bringing my son with me and everything I could fit in my car. I never went back.
Now I'm the mother of three beautiful boys, and the wife of a wonderful husband (Jo
shua) which the Lord blessed me with in the Family. He was faithful in His promises and gave me a hundredfold more than what I forsook. Thank You, Jesus! I love you.
personals
CL-LOVER, Wherefore art thou oh Chloe? {hint-hint; ris_tra@hotmail.com} Karishma is missing you. So write me!
Joshua (YA, British/Austrian, Legal name: Bj. B.), your dad has been trying to contact you and your mom unsuccessfully for over a year. Please contact him asap via the Japan ABM or write to: Family Sendai,
PO Box 24, Izumi-ku P.O., Sendai, Japan, 981-3199 Attn.: Jonathan A.
Christina (of Sheri) is looking for Hilary (of Megiddo and Dawn), Misty (of Rufus and Dulce) and Pearly (of Raul and Pearla). Contact me at E-mail: Robinspits@yahoo.com or at P.O box 193678, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00919-3678.
Victoria and Maggie (of Andrew and Mercy) and Jeremy and Esther (of Martin and Nina), Vicky Faith (a.k.a. Meekness) wants to hear from you or anyone who may know where to find them. They lived together
in Italy about `90-'93. New e-mail: Dunnj@adelphia.net.
Dear Aaron Arrow, we received your message, but our message to you was sent back. Please send us your correct e-mail or snail mail address. Our e-mail is rocfam@yahoo.com, snail mail: Box 1501, Taichung, Taiwan R.O.C. WLY!--Marcus and Christina.
Andreas and Chrys (Basan and Chrys) would like to get in touch with good friends of the past. We have lost contact with many of you but we sure miss you and are interested in knowing about your
lives and whereabouts. Becky and Sam, Bill and Dawn please write if you have a chance. Our e-mail is andreas_chrys99.yahoo.com.
Charlene (of Ben, a.k.a. Christina G.) wants to get back in touch with: Ready and Dulci (USA?), Joanna (a.k.a. Blessing, of David and Praise Canadian), Joy (Diamond, last saw you in Moscow), Kevin (lived together in Warsaw), Ligaya (of Philip and Sunshine), Nina Birdie. Contact me at: benchar@pcnet.ro.
I'm looking again for Mary (French, of Micah and Magdalene). Wr
ite Natacha at e-mail: VOLCANIA@wanadoo.fr. Add: Melle Gandemer Natacha 22 ch. Kerbel 97425 Les Avirons, La Reunion (France).
Tina would really like to get in contact with Faith (of Josh and Sia) and Natalie (of Martin M. and Lily)! Please contact her at e-mail: Fammis@zol.co.zw.
I have wanted for a long time to get a hold of Archie and Rachel whom I used to work with in El Paso, Texas. Please ask them to write me: 2300 Lee Trevino #7 El Paso, Texas 79936. My Bible name was Dulci, my birth n
ame Vicki Magness.
seeking contact …
--from former members and friends
Oney is looking for Roseanna (at least that's the name you went by 12 years ago). Met and ministered to him in Brazil for a while. You guys went out together, he gave you a gold wristband for your birthday (Pisces and Aquarius). You're in the photo of the introductory page of the “afamilia”... web site. He is desperate to get in touch with you. Please write him ASAP. Add: Onelio (Oney) Viera, 11916 Davis Road, Temple
Terrace, Florida 33637. E-mail: oviera9218@aol.com. Phone: 813-9148918.
Stephen and Teresa (former members) would like to get back in touch with Ruthie and Joey (last heard of in Scotland), Andrew and Hannah (last knew they were in Manchester) and John Caroline (was in London). If you know of the whereabouts of these folks please contact the European Family Information Department at: info@thefamilyeurope.org, or send a message to the EURCRO Media Desk.
Long-time friend of the Family in India
, Mohammed Rauf (Joseph) General Manager of India Railway, recently visited the U.S. and phoned the Family 1-800 number. We were able to put him in touch with a Home in N.Y. where he was staying, which he was very thankful for. He has now returned to India but would like to get in touch with Samuel and Crystal, Adam and Marianne, and Lily and Tim whom he knew in India in years past. Could you kindly contact him at: Mohammed Rauf, 8-2-316D Road No.14, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034, Andhraprades
h India.
(End of file.)
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family