FSM
FSM 176 (FN285) DFO (See LNF below.)
Copyright: Sept. 1990
by Family Services, Zurich, Switzerland.
SPECIAL ISSUE
THE EASTERN EUROPEAN WITNESSING EXPLOSION!
In Only Three Months:
9,600,000 Posters Printed In 10 Languages!
4,000,000 Posters Distributed!
14,000 Souls Won!
5,052 Mail Responses Received!
"This is the biggest news the World has had in 40 years!--The crumbling of Communism in Eastern Europe! Now let's get in there! The crack's in the wall, in fact the wall is down!--It's time to really get in there & give'm the Gospel! Now is the hour! Now is our chance! Now is when we need to prepare & when we need to get recruits to go! Tomorrow may be too late!" (2602:91,92)
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LNF NOTICE ABOUT THE EASTERN EUROPEAN WITNESSING EXPLOSION FSM:
(Please post for all to read!)
Dear Family,
We love you & pray for you! Isn't it WONDERFUL to see all that the Lord is doing to reach the precious people of Eastern Europe! Hallelujah!
The Lord has been miraculously supplying the finances needed for this witnessing explosion! PTL! One of the avenues of supply has been the generous donations of the faithful friends & supporters of our Family in many different countries. God bless them!--And thanks so much to those of you who have encouraged your friends to give to the Eastern European Work! It has been a tremendous answer to prayer!--And each gift has gone a long, long way! PTL!
We wanted to explain that if any of you have friends or supporters whom you feel would be interested in SUPPORTING this EE missionary push, you can SHARE some of the testimonies included in this special DFO FSM with them, if it would help give them the VISION of the miracles the Lord is doing in Eastern Europe & encourage them to GIVE to this very worthy cause! You might want to read the testimonies of your choice with these friends & supporters. Or, if need be, you can LEND this FSM to such potential supporters, providing you receive permission to do so from your local leadership. However, in order to protect the security of our precious labourers in Eastern Europe, in the event that you lend this FSM out, you would definitely need to have it RETURNED TO YOU as soon as they have read it.
The opportunity to read this FSM is a special privilege which is intended only for those friends of the Family who are CLOSE & TRUSTED friends. The purpose of sharing this FSM with such friends & supporters would not be merely to inspire them with the thrilling news & testimonies, but also to GENERATE SUPPORT for the Eastern European Witnessing Push. Also, please understand that this FSM is not to be used in any way as a "PR tool" when witnessing or to lend credence to your LOCAL Work.
Once again, thanks so much for your prayers, gifts & support which make this Eastern European Witnessing Push possible! Our dear pioneers in Eastern Europe can't do it without your help! God bless you! We love & need you!
Love, Your FSM Editors
P.S. Although this FSM is DFO, it was NOT sent to TRF Supporters in order to protect the security of our dear Family & Work in Eastern Europe. However, if you have a KING or SUPPORTEr whom you feel would possibly want to support the Work in Eastern Europe, it would be permissable to share this special EE FSM with him even if he happens to be a TRF Supporter. Thanks!
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THRILLING NEWS FROM THE BULGARIAN SCOUT TEAM!
By Victor & Philip
MIRACLES AT THE BORDER!
(VICTOR:) The route to Bulgaria that goes through Yugoslavia is the main road from Europe to Turkey. Hence, lots of people from the Middle East come via this road to visit their relatives in Western Europe, & they bring with them lots of goods such as equipment, etc. for their families. So at the border the officials check diligently for smugglers.
They asked us if we had anything to declare, & we wrote down what we had--tape recorder, camera, guitar, radio. Then they pulled us over & started searching the van. One official started banging on the outside of the van & said, "One time we caught someone smuggling stuff inside the walls of their van!" While one customs official went inside the van with Philip, another one stayed outside talking with the head man. Inside the van the official had asked Philip, "What is that in that box?" & Philip answered, "It's paper!" Then the official demanded, "Take it outside!" And Philip responded, "Well, let me show you a sample of it!" The customs official popped his head out of the van & exclaimed, "I found something!"
At this point we all piled into the van where we found the official & Philip with the Posters! Before leaving, when the brethren had prayed with us for this journey, one of the verses that the Lord had given was, "Be not afraid of their faces" (Jer.1:8). That verse came to me as I entered the van, & so I said, "That's for JESUS! We're Christians! We're here because Jesus loves your people, & we came to give you a message of hope, that Jesus loves you & wants to help you during this time of crisis!"
The spirit changed & their attitude was like, "Wow! REALLY?!" They took the Poster & started reading it, & asked us to step outside. They asked us if we had anything else, & we said, "Well, actually we have ANOTHER box of literature." They asked, "How much is in the box?" & we explained, "Only 5,000!" Then the official said, "Anything else?--If you tell me everything that you have then I won't search your van any more!" So we explained, "Actually, we have 10 Bibles with us too!" The man exclaimed, "Bibles?!--Let me see them!" We showed them to the head man, & he walked over to the official who originally discovered the Posters & said, "Now, you're not going to stop them for THIS, are you?"
Usually in situations like this when they find you have something of value that you're trying to bring into the country but they decide to let you go through anyway, they'll ask for some kind of a bribe like a bottle of wine or whiskey. The official who first found the Posters came up to us & said, "If you give the head man a Bible, I'll let you go through!" So we gave him a Bible, & he was elated! He thanked us over & over again!
When the customs official who had found the Posters started to leave, he turned around & said, "Go in the strength of Jesus!" Praise the Lord! It was really inspiring! We knew the Lord was going to do mighty things after that!
REACHING THE BLACK SEA COAST!
At the time we entered the country the elections were starting, so we decided to go to the Black Sea coast & avoid the capital, which is usually the main centre of demonstrations. So we headed up towards a city which is on the Northern end of the Black Sea near Romania.
When we first started witnessing we didn't know exactly how to say, "This is about Jesus" in Bulgarian so we had to try different phrases until we finally got it. In the beginning while experimenting with speaking Bulgarian, I went up to a man & said, "It's for Jesus!" He didn't understand & said, "What?!"--sort of like, "What do you want anyway?" So I simply said, "Jesus Christ!" He said, "Jesus Christ?!--OH!" and he grabbed the Poster & started reading. At first he thought it was some kind of a POLITICAL thing & he didn't want it, but when he found out it was about JESUS, he was EAGER to receive it!
BUSKING & PERSONAL WITNESSING!--THEY'RE SO HUNGRY!
In the evening we got the inspiration to do some busking! We got our guitars & started singing on the street!--Songs like "We Are Gypsies Led by Abraham!" A crowd of several hundred people gathered around us & were clapping & giving donations! Philip continued singing while he started getting the Posters out. Then all of a sudden I felt this hand grab my shoulder! I instinctively thought, "Oh no! It's the police!" I turned around & there stood a beautiful girl with a big smile. She said, "You need help!"--And she grabbed some Posters & started helping me distribute them! She was a big strong girl, like how some people typify the Russians to be, very sweet but firm--"You need help!" I was so amazed! While she helped me get out the Posters, a smaller crowd gathered around Philip.
(PHILIP:) I had stopped singing, & there were about 20 people still around me, wondering what I was going to say next. So it was a perfect opportunity to witness! The Lord raised up a student who "happened" to be passing by who spoke fluent English, & he translated for me while I briefly witnessed to them about Jesus & Salvation. We all held hands in a circle & started to pray to receive Jesus!
(VICTOR:) About this time a crowd gathered around me, & I sent up a prayer to the Lord for help, because I couldn't communicate at all with these people, because I don't know one word of Bulgarian! Then my eyes met with a student girl who happened to turn towards me right then, & she also said, "You need help!" I said, "Yes! Please come here!" So she translated for me while I witnessed to the group that had gathered around me, & we led all 15 of them to the Lord on the spot! It was so beautiful! They were so receptive & hungry!
We were there for about two hours at this one spot in the middle of the busy street--singing, witnessing, praying with people, etc., & during this whole time no one stopped us or did anything to hinder our witness in any way! It was so OPEN!--Truly a confirmation of "Now Is the Hour!" (See ML#2602.)
We spent some more time witnessing to some of these sheep we met, & they were so hungry for the message! They were so eager to see us again, & were begging us to come back to follow up on them, making sure we had their addresses & phone numbers! When we gave some a Bible they were so touched, & one girl said, "It's for me? You're giving it to me?" We said, "Yes! We want you to read it & live it!" And they said, "Yes, we will!" PTL!
SCOUTING OUT THE LAND!--MANY POSSIBILITIES!
The next morning we continued on our journey, with the vision to scout out the coast & the camping possibilities, & also to check out where all the Eastern European people go for their vacations. We found out that farther north there is a resort area where most of the Western tourists go. It's more expensive so most Eastern European people don't go there. But south of this city, there is a tourist area with three campgrounds that together accommodate about 7,000 tourists, all from Eastern Europe!--Bulgarians, Russians (a LOT of Russians go there), Czechs, Poles, East Germans, etc. It's packed!
Then we went to another little town which is part of a resort area which is the Eastern European version of the above- mentioned resort that is popular with Westerners. It's like a whole city in itself of hotels, campgrounds, beaches, etc., a very potential place to reach Eastern European tourists! We only stayed there for one hour as we were short on time & we wanted to hit the main cities. But during that hour we got out over 500 Posters! People were very receptive!
Next we headed to another city. We had heard on the news that they were having big demonstrations in this city. We didn't know the exact location of the demonstrations, but the Lord led us to park right behind that very spot. There were barricades set up by the students & punks, with all these "heavies" (hard-rock fans) standing around or lying on the barricades, drinking beer, etc. There were lots of police around & the area was full of people chanting "CDC"--the name of the opposition party.
The students had taken over the university & they were demanding information from the Socialist government about the elections, as apparently some information was being withheld from the public. They were giving a speech & saying how they were peaceful & didn't want any violence. I asked one of the students what was going on & he said, "It's the anti-Christs who are causing trouble!" I was surprised that he used that term & said, "Anti-Christs? Who are the anti-Christs?" He said, "It's all these punkers & hard-rock fans who don't like Jesus & are just causing trouble & want to fight!" It seems that the punkers there are like the "zealots" who want to cause trouble & do it violently, whereas most of the students are peaceful & want to do things peacefully. Finally the punkers moved on & everything was peaceful in the end.
We found out the whole city was into this rally & demonstration. We figured that no matter where we went in the city this would be going on, so we might as well go ahead & try witnessing. We had about 5,000 Posters left & so we each took one side of the street & started getting them out!--The police were watching us, but no one stopped us!
I don't know if it would be best for teams going in to litness at political rallies or demonstrations like this one, but because of our limited time, we at least wanted to try it. After all that the Lord had done so far & the miracles that happened at the border, we had the faith that the Lord would protect us!--And He DID, & we got out 5,000 POSTERS IN JUST TWO HOURS!
THE SHEEP ARE DESPERATE FOR OUR MESSAGE!
(PHILIP:) Everywhere, no matter what we were doing, we would meet sheep who would receive the literature & get saved! After we'd passed out nearly all our Posters & we were walking towards the van, we asked a boy for directions. As he led us to where we needed to go, we gave him a Poster & he prayed to receive Jesus!
It turned out that he was going to a religious academy to become a priest for the Orthodox Church. He asked us questions about what church we belonged to, & Victor got the inspiration to show him straight from the Bible what the Truth really is & what Jesus taught--to go into all the World & witness! He was really astounded & said, "Wow! I really agree & see that it's true!" We also presented him with a Bible & he was really touched--he really treasured it. As we walked away & were about two blocks down the street, he was still waving at us--so happy to have met us! PTL!
People were so eager to read the Bible! A few of the sheep we met said, "We never had a Bible. We can't get anything like that here! We don't know anything--please tell us!" A precious artist we met was in tears as he told us about the oppression they had experienced & the lack of freedom they had to follow Jesus. We shared with him about how this World is not our home & Jesus will be coming back soon. He was so comforted. He really loved God & had gone through a lot in his life. So the message that we gave him about Jesus' Love & how now is the time for his people & nation to receive this message really moved him, & he was in tears as he received Jesus. These people have been so isolated from the Bible & the Word that they have a tremendous vacuum for it!
MIRACLE OF SUPPLY IN YUGOSLAVIA!
(VICTOR:) At the border as we were leaving, the only question the officials asked us was whether we had come from Turkey. When we said no, they didn't check us or the van! PTL!
As we were driving through Yugoslavia, part of the road was very bad, & all of a sudden a rock or something flew into the windshield & completely shattered it! We could hardly see through it at all, & it was raining! Thank the Lord we were near a rest stop, so we pulled in there. We started seeking the Lord to find out what was wrong, & the verses we got were, "When the Enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him" & "I am with you to deliver you!" We realised the Devil was so angry, because we had had such a victory in Bulgaria with no problems or incidents, & so many souls had gotten saved & so many Posters had been distributed! We prayed for the Lord to do a miracle, because we couldn't drive any further with the windshield in such bad condition!
This little rest stop, out in the middle of nowhere, happened to have a hotel. We asked the reception clerk if there was any Mercedes place in town where we could get the glass windshield we needed. (We were driving a van, which has a much larger windshield than a car.) She told us there was nothing, but we knew the Lord had something for us, so we kept on asking around. We started talking with this man in the lobby who was staying there & who happened to have a tow truck.--He was like an Angel, right there to help us! He right away took us to a place 30 kilometers away where he had a friend who was a mechanic.
We arrived at this little tiny place & they hardly had anything there, much less something for a Mercedes van. The mechanic was quite unfriendly at first, & wanted to do a real cheap job on the window, just covering it with plastic, but we decided that wasn't safe enough, & we knew that the Lord was going to supply something GOOD. At the same time we were trying to provision the job & glass for free, but the mechanic was really worldly & wouldn't listen at all. He was really in it for the money & he knew that since we were in a tight spot & he had the only place around, he could charge us practically any price he wanted.
We got desperate & asked the Lord for help. Just then the man who had towed us there, our angelic friend, took the mechanic out of the shop to talk with him. They both came back after 15 minutes, & the mechanic was COMPLETELY changed & so helpful & positive! He started looking around for some glass. He only had a couple of pieces, but by a MIRACLE he found a huge piece tucked away that almost fit our van! He started getting inspired & got out some plywood & fixed it up to where it was a very nice job, with the glass in the middle & wood around the outside edges--very well done!
It was a total miracle & it was so obviously the Lord as we were really out in the middle of nowhere! TTL for His supply! Then when we got back to home base, we asked the Lord to give us a brand new glass windshield, & the day after we arrived we were able to provision one from a shop! PTL!
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"We preach Jesus!--We preach His Word, we preach His Gospel, the Good News of Salvation, we preach faith in Him, we preach Him as the answer to all of our needs--physical, spiritual, mental & with hope for the future & Heaven at last!" (Basic MOP 110:282)
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EXPLOITS OF THE ROMANIAN SCOUT TEAM!
By Ready, Magda, Jacinth & Michael
The whole country of Romania is like a SPONGE spiritually. While we were there we distributed 16,000 Poster Tracts & TKs & there was not one left on the ground, not one!
MIRACULOUS BORDER CROSSING!
(READY:) We heard stories of what had happened to OTHER people who had crossed the border, & it sounded pretty scary! The Enemy was really trying to scare us, & we had to rebuke any fears! The Lord led us to not cross the border at night, because there are all kinds of things that happen there on the roads at night, so we crossed in the morning. We had no place to hide our literature, because our camper van is very small. So we had big packages of literature just sitting in the cupboard of the van. We pled the Lord's protection over it & laid hands on it before we left.
When we arrived at the border, the guard came out and said, "Has anyone got any pistols, machine guns or tear gas?" We said, "No!" Then he did a real superficial check. He opened the cupboard that contained all the lit, but he didn't check it thoroughly, & then waved us through! PTL!
As we were driving IN, there was a line three kilometers long of Romanian cars trying to get OUT. The situation in the country is very unstable. They were going to have elections soon, & so a lot of people were leaving because they didn't know what was going to happen.
We felt a definite atmosphere of insecurity & instability, chaos & even anarchy! But at the same time, there was such a vacuum in the Spirit that drew on each of us so much that for about the first 100 kilometers driving into the country, we were so overwhelmed with emotion we could hardly talk to each other & it seemed that the only thing we could do was pray & speak in tongues!--Pleading His protection & help to know what to do next.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS & DISTRIBUTING LITERATURE!
(JACINTH:) Our first impression of the country was quite overwhelming. Some of us had been to countries in the East or South America, India, etc., where we'd seen poverty, but this was like stepping back in time into a movie that was shot back in the 40's. We saw wagons, carts with grass, Gypsies, people cultivating immense fields of crops with just a hoe. It was quite breathtaking! We had made a tentative plan of where to go, but when we entered the country we didn't know what to do any more, so we started praying desperately, asking the Lord to lead us.
MIRACLES OF SUPPLY & PROTECTION!
As we were travelling towards our first destination we were wondering what we were going to do when we got there & where we were going to spend the night, etc. A couple of Red Cross trucks passed us on the road, & we decided to follow them & try to find out where they were going to stay & how they were going to provide protection for their vehicles--as we didn't know what to expect. We were following them down the highway but we eventually lost them. So we stopped & prayed that if it was the Lord that He would lead them to us again. Just at that moment, one of the trucks passed us again! PTL! We caught up with them & they asked us to follow them, which we did completely by faith, as we didn't know WHERE they were taking us!
Finally, they pulled up in front of a hotel in the main square of the city. We talked to the driver, who turned out to be an American Christian who was helping to bring Red Cross supplies into the country, & he had 1,000 Bibles with him in his truck! He explained that he was staying in that hotel, & then asked us what we were doing. We said that we were also bringing supplies & different things into Romania, & he said that we could just go into the hotel & tell the reception that we're from the Red Cross Transport, & that they would give us free food & lodging!--This was a five-star hotel! He also said that we could park our vehicle in front of the hotel, & that because of an all-night police patrol, we need not fear it getting broken into. This whole set-up was a miracle of the Lord because we hadn't known WHAT we were going to do, & the Lord just dropped this precious man right into our laps!
(READY:) While making the plans & preparations for our trip we felt that we should stay away from churchy people & other Christians, because that can be dangerous ground. But, as much as we tried to, other Christians seemed to be in our path, & they turned out to really be a blessing. We came to realise that they aren't "polluted", since most of the Romanian Christian population has really had to prove that they are Christians in the situation that they were living in, & to be a Christian meant a considerable amount of sacrifice, sticking up for your convictions & having some guts & backbone.
(MAGDA:) We had beautiful reactions from the public--people came up to us & said things like, "Thank you for coming to Romania & telling us about Jesus." People would come up to us & KISS us, & it was very touching, very beautiful. They were so hungry. None of us had ever experienced anything like this in our lives!
MEETING THE TOP!
(READY:) After the Lord opened the doors so miraculously, we felt that we should spend a few more days in the country. We were wondering about renewing our visas & as we were talking about it over lunch, we noticed a "decorated" man (in the military sense) at a nearby table who seemed to be eyeing us. He was a short fellow, but he looked really important, like a "big wig". You could tell he was the "boss" around town.
Magda suggested that we ask him how we could renew our visas here. After praying about it we felt we had nothing to lose, since we're pioneering. We went up to his table & explained our situation very briefly. He was so helpful & right away got up & said, "Come with me." We walked out of the restaurant with him & he secured a police car & ushered us in, & then stopped a kid on the street who happened to speak English & asked him to come along as a translator, since the military man didn't speak much English. So the seven of us packed into this little car as we drove towards the police station.
As we drove down these war-torn streets, we wondered where we were going, but he seemed really sweet. We arrived at the police station, & there was a line of about 100 people standing outside, since the station hadn't opened on time. He got us right in & got our visas renewed on the spot! PTL!
He invited us out for dinner, so we met him that evening & sang him some songs. At this point, we still didn't know who this man was. Since we didn't speak much Romanian & he didn't speak much English, we needed a translator, & as we were sitting there at the table with him, we were praying that the Lord would supply one. At that time a man came in & started talking English with a friend of his. I walked up to him & asked him to translate for us. He agreed, & we brought him to our table to help us witness to this man.
In the end the translator turned out to be really sheepy too, & he got saved! At one point he told us, "If you keep talking to this man like this for one more day, he's going to believe like you!"
(JACINTH:) Our friend also invited us to sing that evening in the restaurant, & we got up & sang for the whole restaurant, about 150 people, which was a real witness!
(READY:) In the course of the evening we were able to find out who this man is. This city was where they'd had the most fighting during the recent Revolution, & the highest amount of casualties, & this man who we were witnessing to was the man who had led the revolt by the Romanian Armed Forces in the region against Ceausescu's son, who was ruling over that city. So he was the greatest hero in the town & practically worshipped by the people there. He is the second most important person in that whole province of Romania, which is the largest province & includes the largest cities besides the capital.--And here the Lord had dropped him right into our laps!
He didn't get saved right then, but we have a really close friendship with him. He told us that if there is anything we need, any protection, etc., we can just call him & we'll be taken care of. We don't know exactly what the Lord wants to do with this man, but before we left on our trip, we got the verse that a "great & effectual door" would be opened unto us, & this man seems to be a real key, as he really committed himself to help us in whatever way he could. He's invited us back, & we're hoping to see him again!
ON TO OUR NEXT DESTINATION!
The next city we moved on to was where they had also had big uprisings five months ago during the Revolution, which it seems the Lord used to break people. We would get comments from the people like, "Only God's hand could have done what happened in December, defeating the forces of Evil." In this city we followed up on a contact that we had gotten from the Red Cross people of a safe place to park the vehicle so that we could be free to do outreach & get out the Word.
(JACINTH:) This contact was a pastor, & when we introduced ourselves, the first thing he asked us was, "Did you bring any BIBLES? Did you bring any Christian LITERATURE for us?" We said, "We came to evangelise, that's why we're here, to preach the Gospel & evangelise." Upon hearing this he welcomed us as if we were part of his family, took us to his home & gave us food to eat. His family was really sweet, always praising the Lord.
PEOPLE STARVING FOR THE TRUTH!
(READY:) Then we went out on the streets to distribute literature. There would be a crowd all around you trying to get the lit, & people in the back would be asking, "What is this? What's going on?" & those closer to us would say, "It's for Jesus!" & they'd immediately want one! People were grabbing the Posters & passing them to other people who couldn't reach us.
There were times when we got to the last piece of literature & there would be two or more people who would actually fight over it! More often than not, when you were down to your last piece of lit, the last two or three people would take it & read it together! It's amazing to be there & have 100 hands reaching out for the lit!
SERMON & BIBLE STUDY FOR CHURCH MEMBERS!
We were considering moving on to another city so we got together to pray for specific guidance, whether we should stay or go. The Lord gave us this verse: "The Lord still hath much people in this city." We didn't know exactly what He meant by that, but we took it by faith & decided to stay.
The pastor who we were staying with was trying to get us to go to his church. It turned out that he wanted us to give the main sermon. We walked into this church & there were about 1,000 people there! It was packed to where there wasn't even any standing room! We sang some songs & choruses, & some of the people knew them & would sing them along with us! We sang songs like "Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise Ye the Lord!", where you sit down & stand up!
After singing we gave our "sermon". We actually just shared some basic lessons. When the pastor had asked us to come to his church, we shared with him how we needed to get filled up with the Word first, because you can only pour out so much before you need to get refilled again. He loved this concept & said, "My people need this message! Come to my church & tell everyone what you're telling me!"
So at his church we simply shared our lessons with the people. The Lord even raised up a very fluent translator to help us! We also encouraged the people that their service for the Lord didn't begin when they walked IN the doors of the church, but when they walked OUT, & we challenged them to all get out witnessing & tell people about Jesus!
(JACINTH:) This was really radical because they hadn't ever done that. They hadn't ever gone out on the streets, because up until the Revolution there had been security forces patrolling the streets, & people were being put into prison for even standing & preaching in a church building! So to take it out on the STREET was really risking your life & something they hadn't heard about!
(READY:) After this sermon, I took my shoe off & held it up & said, "If the shoe fits--wear it! " It was like a little skit or illustration to get the point across. Right afterwards this boy named Luchi came up to me & said, "I liked it so much when you took your shoe off! I'd like to tell people about Jesus too! We are a youth group, can you come to talk to us?" So we made an appointment that afternoon to meet with him.
Right after the sermon in the church we went for dinner at the pastor's house, & it turned out that he was against this little youth group. When we were eating, the pastor was telling us not to go to that youth group because they were the "black sheep". We were thinking, "Wow, these young people sound great!--Just what WE are looking for!" The pastor was trying to persuade us not to go & he talked a bit negatively about these young people, so we opened up our Bibles & read him the story of when Jesus ate at Simon the Pharisee's house & Mary Magdalene came in & washed his feet with her tears. After we read this story to the pastor he really changed & really got convicted by the Spirit & he yielded on the spot & said, "If you feel that it's God's Will for you to go & meet with these people, then go! My blessing is with you!"
So we went to meet these young people, & it turned out to be a real "bomb". Luchi also spoke English, & he became the first Romanian to go out with us on the street distributing Posters. Hallelujah! We were making history, as it was the very first time in 45 years that Christian literature was being distributed on the streets!
MINISTERING TO GOD'S SHEEP!
We stayed for some time with this family who were friends of Luchi, ministering to them, & it turned out that they were really drop-outs from the church who just wanted to serve God. Both the mother & father want to serve the Lord, & want their children (ages 19 & 23) to serve Jesus too! The last night we were there we gave a Daniel 2 class to this whole little group of young people & this family, about 20 of them. They really liked it, although they were shocked as they'd never heard these things before!
Then we stayed up almost the whole night with Luchi, his friend & her two children, feeding them the Word. They're really starving for the Word! They're STARVING for counsel on how to serve the Lord. When you talk to people like this, you see how MUCH we have & how greatly the Lord has blessed us.
(JACINTH:) Regarding this pastor who put us up, he turned out to be such a sweet old man--a real saint. We were sitting with him one evening telling testimonies, & he said, "I used to preach & sing, & I would sing with all my heart to Jesus! But then one day my heart went `poof' & I passed out, & now it's not so good.--But I still sing with all my heart to Jesus."
He told us that before he used to distribute Bibles. He would receive Bibles from the West & he would go to the villages & distribute the Bibles to the people. The secret police didn't like him & tried to stop him & would always ask him where he was keeping the Bibles, but he wouldn't tell them. We also met another man who had been in jail for two-&-a-half years for preaching the Gospel & witnessing! So these people have really SUFFERED for their faith!
ON TO BUCHAREST!
From there we moved on to the capital. There had been month-long demonstrations in the streets. There were tents pitched in the city's centre, where people were demonstrating. There was real anarchy & chaos. It was really dark, but people were really hungry in the spirit!
We had gotten out about 4,000 or 5,000 Posters in these other cities, & we only had about 3,000 left with us, so we thought, "Let's go out for a little while & see how it goes here." So the four of us went out, & we had only been out for 15 or 20 minutes when all our Posters were gone! It was almost madness! It got to the point where you couldn't hand them out fast enough.--Sometimes we almost had to bodyguard each other in order to be able to get out the lit! We finally had to tell people to get in line if they wanted to get a Poster! There were literally HUNDREDS of people around us desperate for the Word!
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"The greater the darkness, the brighter the light! Don't ever think because there's so much darkness that it's no use to have such a small light, because even one candle can be seen a mile away when it's dark! This is our last chance to give an awful lot of people their last chance, who may not have another chance if we don't reach'm now!" (Basic MOP 110:115,169,205)
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THERE'S A FAMINE IN THE LAND IN RUSSIA!
From Elisabeth & Mark
We went to Leningrad for five days. Leningrad is the second biggest city, after Moscow, with a population of five million. It was once the capital of Russia & is commonly called the "Venice of the North" as it is built on 42 islands & is crossed by 85 rivers, channels & streams. It is also called "The City of Three Revolutions" as all of the Russian revolutions started there. The interesting thing we found out later from the young people in the city is that the new movements are still starting here & from here new ideas are carried into Moscow & the rest of Russia!
On the walls near the biggest street were many posters of different Christian groups or Oriental religions inviting people to come to church or some meeting. Also we saw a few boys on the biggest street selling various political posters. Then we saw buskers singing in the park, undergrounds & streets getting crowds & police were not doing anything about it, even though some of the songs were directed against THEM. It was very different from our trip last year! The people told us that it was just over the last months that it started to be so free! Hallelujah!
The conditions under which the people live are just miserable. Though quite beautiful from the outside, the buildings are ruined & incredibly dirty inside. In food shops, the main product available is one kind of canned goods. A big part of people's lives consists of just going from one queue to the next to get some basic products if & when they are available. It's really miserable--a mere fight for survival!
It's also very hard to find a place to have lunch or dinner. The majority of the places where you can stop for a drink or snack are very dirty with no chairs & they only serve coffee & cookies--yet the local people are used to such conditions. The restaurants are so rare that when you find one, usually there is a line to get a table. Food is very cheap, but to find it takes much of your time & patience.
SHEEP WITH NO SHEPHERD!
Russian students are very sweet & friendly, but at the same time pretty sober, not so shallow, proud or "cool" as even Polish students seem to be, especially in the big cities. It looked to us like the Russian young people are very idealistic & sincere, searching for the answers in their lives, & despite their studying they stay very sweet & simple.
Generally we found the people in Leningrad sweet, hospitable, sincere, open & searching for something new. We didn't meet a single person who stood up for Communism. Yet we could feel that living under this system for so many years has had a subtle influence on the people. Their minds are set in a pattern.
THERE'S A FAMINE IN THE LAND!
It was heartbreaking for us when people would sometimes come back to us with the Posters they read & ask, "What should I do NOW? Where can I go to find out MORE? I have so many questions, where is your branch in Leningrad? Who can I talk to who can explain things to me?" Thank the Lord for the address on the literature that we can leave with them for follow up!
Sometimes we were taken by surprise as we were used to witnessing in Poland where people are so much more used to the Bible. But in Russia, when we would just pull out our New Testament to show them a verse, the people were just astonished to see the Bible! They asked, "What is THAT? Can I HOLD it? Can I SEE it?" It was so touching! We found out that, though it is more open here now, it is still very difficult to get a Bible. It is very expensive & therefore not many people can afford one. So when people ask, "How can I get more faith?" it is a little difficult to just say, "Well, start reading the Word!" We felt the need in witnessing to just start from SCRATCH & not take for granted that there's anything that they know. So many people asked us such simple questions that we felt the publications like "In Search of Truth" or "Who Is Jesus?" would be a real help here too!
So that's a little glimpse into the reality of living in Russia. Thank the Lord we have the real answer to those multitudes of people! We felt so blessed to be able to give them the Posters with the precious message of Love, comfort & Salvation! We felt so challenged with what a big job there is still ahead of us & we were happy to leave behind the 2,000 faithful paper witnesses!--God's answers to reach the millions--and for the open doors we can carry them through! Surely now is the hour! And this is the way!
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"The printed page never flinches, never shows cowardice; it is never tempted to compromise; it never tires, never grows disheartened; it travels cheaply, & requires no hired hall; it works while we sleep; it never loses its temper; & it works long after we are dead. The printed page is a visitor which gets inside the home & stays there; it always catches a man in the right mood, for it speaks to him only when he is reading it; it always sticks to what it has said, & never answers back; & it is bait left permanently in the pool." (Basic MOP 76:62)
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MISSLE TEAMS!
(MISSLE = Mobile Inspired Sacrificial Summer Launch into Eastern Europe)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA, POPULATION 15.6 MILLION
Six months ago Czechoslovakia was a closed country! Visitors were searched at its borders. The regime was so closed, a Czech citizen could face six months in jail just for possessing a U.S. flag!--A people oppressed, without hope for the future!
Now that has all changed, as our missionary teams found out! They report: This was our first trip into Czechoslovakia since the changes that took place last November, & the whole spirit was different! We didn't know what to expect when we entered the country with so much literature. Crossing the border previously meant undergoing a thorough search carried out in a forceful manner, & entering the country one was struck by the oppression of the people, the rough conditions, the scarcity of food & the hard life!
This time things were totally different. The atmosphere had completely changed, things were loose & thousands of people thronged the streets, shopping & strolling, observing things unheard of & unseen until recently, such as sidewalk vendors peddling their wares, puppet shows & street theatre ridiculing Communism. Musicians & poets previously imprisoned for their writings were on stage performing publicly to audiences of thousands. Even the new president (himself a poet who had been imprisoned & persecuted at the time of the 1968 rebellion) gave a speech in the Main Square, which was the first public announcement made by a Czechoslovakian president for 40 years!
The people are so desperate! The Posters went like hot cakes! While out busking one day in a large city, we had a huge crowd gather around us, who were very enthused with the music & the message! We happened to have a Tape in the open guitar case on the ground in front of us, & as soon as we were finished singing, many of the people who had heard us singing came rushing up to us asking, "Is that Tape your music? Can we buy it?" We had three more Tapes in our bag, & we told them that they could have the Tapes for about the same price as tapes sell for in the shops here. Almost instantly the four Tapes were sold!
People were still standing around asking for more, so we looked in our bag & found one more, so we pulled it out. One person asked for it, & then ANOTHER person said, "I'll give you MORE if you sell it to ME!" ANOTHER person shouted, "I'll give you TWICE that much for it!" They started bidding back & forth for the Tape! We finally sold it to the person who hadn't gotten a Tape yet, & he was so happy! It was just amazing to see the response of the people to the Tapes & how starved they are for our happy music with a message! PTL!
We passed the 275,000 mark of Posters distributed! TYJ! There are two very sweet sheep on the line who are coming close & we've had six Bible studies. The translations of "Magic of Music" and "Who Is Jesus?" are almost finished. God bless the precious sheep who are helping with this!
One of the biggest victories came out of seeming defeat when we discovered that a three-&-a-half-day holiday was beginning and most people were going out of town. We had desperate prayer and while we were counselling about what to do, two young people approached our van. We started talking to them and found out that there was an area nearby that wasn't having the holiday, so we went there and distributed 17,000 POSTERS IN JUST FIVE HOURS--one of our best days yet!
We met a very sweet 17-year-old girl who got saved and started translating "Your Best Friend" for us right away. We also met a sweet girl in the metro who took a Poster and started talking to us. She straight away wanted to help with translations! She's really turned on by our message, got saved & filled with the Holy Spirit, & we are giving her regular Bible classes! She's almost finished translating Daily Food #1, which she did very quickly, & will be doing more. She even took the initiative to have friends of hers proofread it & type it up for us, without our even asking!
One added blessing is that this girl is a former Jehovah's Witness, which means she has an understanding of the spiritual and Biblical terms in our pubs, which would be quite difficult for somebody with no background of belief. TYJ! PTL! Please pray for her, as getting the Words into Czech is one of our main needs for reaching this country!
(Note from the Eastern European Office: These testimonies of meeting sheep who are helping us translate are real answers to prayer, because we have no native Czechoslovakian speakers and there is a desperate need for lit in that language. TYJ!)
EAST GERMANY, POPULATION 16.7 MILLION
We arrived in Potsdam from West Berlin on a very rainy night. We had to cross the Glinicker Bridge. This place is famous as it was used for exchanging spies during the time of the Cold War. As we handed our passports to the officer, he inquired about our citizenship. Then he just nodded his head & told us to go through with a free visa for everyone! They just waved us through with a smile of sincerity on their faces.
Immediately you can notice a big difference between the crowded cities in the West, which are full of people SELLING all kinds of cheap electronic equipment etc. But in the cities of East Germany, everybody is out in the streets BUYING something!
Since the establishment of the money union with West Germany there has been quite a change in this country. There are Western commercial gimmicks everywhere, which has caused our Light to shine even more. Many people expressed their thanks to us for distributing something WORTHWHILE & MEANINGFUL! It seems that through the greater availability of Western goods & glitter, people are seeking even more desperately for something REAL.
We had different teams in strategic points such as train stations, subway connections, market places, walking streets & we would just smile & say a few words like, "Please read this," or "This is a love letter," or "This is about Jesus!" The people would just line up to receive the lit. Sometimes it felt like the crowd was just sucking the Posters out of our hands, & within just ONE HOUR each of us could get out 1,000 POSTERS!
Afterwards we saw people reading Posters everywhere! There were a FEW Posters that ended up in the trash cans, but one day Rose saw an elderly woman picking Posters out of the trash. She said: "After reading `The Incredible Journey' I was moved to tears, so I want to salvage the ones that other people threw away in order to give them to my neighbours & friends. It hurts me to see these Posters in the trash!"
Twenty minutes after receiving a Poster, one lady came back & handed Rose a handful of coins. It seems she didn't have much money & she said: "For THIS Jesus I'll be glad to smoke less cigarettes!"
One day we were trying to meet a friend in a student dormitory. He wasn't in so we left a message with a girl who knew him, explaining about our Work. Suddenly this girl grabbed a diary off her shelf dating five years ago when she was 14 years old, living with her parents in Budapest. At that time she had met a brother & a teen on the streets & she received, "The City in the Sky!" The Poster was still glued in her diary! She was flipped that we would come back to meet her at that time as she had been educated in a Russian school & now she was really desperate!
Going Door-to-door (DTD) we met a Communist philosopher who had written a well-known book about East Germany. His 21-year-old son bought the Tape, "Daybreak," & listened to a couple of songs that really turned him on! We told them our testimony & they were very thankful to receive the Posters.
Even though he was a staunch Communist, this philosopher said: "I really like your idea of changing people through Love. I want to stay in contact with you & support you." They also liked it very much when we told them that Jesus was LIVING His message, & He broke with the traditional institutions of His day. They liked very much that in "Daybreak" Jesus' Own Words were put to music.
One day, as we were heading to the next city, we noticed a man on a bicycle with his son. We offered him a Tape, which he bought instantly. He was so impressed that he mentioned: "We need you to come to teach us about Jesus." Many others told us the same thing & it made us think of the time after the war ended in Japan, when they were begging for missionaries to come & help the people.
We went to four different cities during our short stay in East Germany. Though our team gave out about 80,000 Posters in two weeks, we feel like it was only a drop in the bucket! The vast unlimited possibility of going DTD, Shop-to-shop (STS), busking, reaching the universities & schools are waiting for us! Please pray for the seeds to grow!
HUNGARY, POPULATION 10.5 MILLION
Our first MISSLE team in Hungary distributed 11,000 Posters their first day! The second MISSLE team was passing through on their way to another country and they were able to distribute 14,800 Posters. PTL!
This is their first reaction to Postering there: "The metros turned out to be our favourite spots (plenty of people and out of the heat and rain), but we also went to the walking street. The people were receptive and, DV, there will be many to follow up on. It's so exciting! It really is like a `fever'!"
One MISSLE team was stopped by the Police, who questioned them about why their car was sitting so close to the ground! The team honestly told them that it was due to the large number of Posters they were carrying. They explained to the Police what they were going to do with them! The Police curiously looked at the Posters & then encouraged the team, saying, "Okay, but hurry & distribute them so that the car won't sit so close to the ground!" TYJ!
Other MISSLE teams report: In D. one evening we went into a disco. We were able to meet the owner, a precious man in his 30's. He bought four Tapes and poured out his heart to us. He told about his time in the army and how he'd been persecuted for reading the Bible. He eagerly permitted us to pass out the Posters in the disco, telling us how the young people need them! We gave the DJ a Tape to play after we'd distributed Posters to all the young people in the disco. It was quite a precious sight to see them all reading the Posters with our music playing in the background!
We also had an opportunity to personal witness there and in the adjoining restaurant, and 15 souls got saved, including all the band. The beautiful lead singer of the band was crying as she prayed with us and told us how just the day before she had considered committing suicide! The owner was very appreciative of our visit to his disco and restaurant and welcomed us to come back any time to witness more there. TYJ!
In M. we Postered & personally witnessed in an open air caf where a lot of young people were gathered. They looked like youth in the West 15 years ago--really ripe and hungry, not just "curious". We witnessed to one boy who got saved and then asked all his friends to come to listen to us, and they got saved too! We copied some verses for them from the Bible so they could start memorising. The next day was our last in the city and we bumped into this young man again--he had been out looking for us with his friends, hoping to meet us again. He told us how all his friends whom we had witnessed to had gotten together already to read the Bible!
That town is like dry parched ground, so thirsty, they just drink in the Word. In ONE DAY we gave out 23,000 POSTERS! Everyone wanted one! And then we gave out 16,000 MORE POSTERS THE NEXT MORNING! By the time we left that city, we had distributed one Poster for every three residents who lived there.
In total, we passed out 120,000 Posters during the month that we were in Hungary!
Also the Homes in Hungary have gone on the attack, sending four-man road teams of national disciples to the cities further away, plus one-day trips to towns within a one hundred kilometer radius of the capital. The catacombers and younger live-out disciples are able to help with these one-day trips & are super inspired about it. In one week the Home teams distributed 58,674 Posters! TYJ!
This was a real first for the Nationals as they provisioned meals, hotel rooms and rolled the gold! The responses have been terrific! It's been a tremendously thrilling & exciting experience for the national disciples themselves to be able to totally burn free for the first time, giving out the Word to their people freely!
They are finding the people very thankful for the Word & treasure the Posters! One of the Nationals wrote afterwards, "It changed my life and I feel closer to the Lord because we really had to depend on Him! The Postering was almost incredible, the hunger of the people for the Word!"
POLAND, POPULATION 38.4 MILLION
Some of us on the MISSLE teams had been to Poland before, & it was quite surprising to see how the pace of things has changed there. There are now private shops on sidewalks, creating a type of a flea-market atmosphere, making the products so much more available. Also the conditions are much better than we thought.
Seeing the genuine desire of the people in receiving the Posters showed us how important it is for us to reach them now, as they seem to really want to sort out what are the REAL VALUES of all that the West has to offer. We were impressed with the importance of reaching the people with the TRUTH while they are still so open to all the new things that are now flooding into their country.
Teams have been able to burn free distributing Posters and we gave out 130,278 in just one week, which averages 7,237 distributed by each team member, including JETTs and Teens!
Many Russians are coming here in their red buses to go shopping in a nearby shopping center. We entered the bus right before their departure & presented our Posters as a gift from Jesus! All the Russians we've met readily receive EVERYTHING we pour into them! They are like vessels with no bottom--they take everything we share with them with no reservations or doubts! What all of them want, young or old, is MORE, MORE & MORE! After so many years of starvation they almost devour the Word & answers we give!
We visited a town where there was a cultural festival going on. Lots of people were in town and in the evening there was a rock concert, so the town was packed with young people. As we got out Posters, people were coming to us with many sincere questions. They were all so hungry and receptive. They were standing around just waiting for their turn to get witnessed to!
We witnessed to a group of people where only one spoke English. This person would then translate our witness and prayer into Polish, so that the others could also receive Jesus.
We saw a teenage boy & asked if he believed in God. He stood still & was silent for a few minutes. Then, with tears in his eyes he said, "Thank you, you helped me a lot!" Can you imagine? We just asked him if he believed in God & he said it was such a help to him! Right away he wanted to run away, because he was embarrassed & ashamed of his tears. But instead we sat down on the bench & started to talk with him.
He said, "I was just walking & kind of praying to God, & you are the ANSWER!" He could hardly talk because he was crying. At last he said, "You saved my life!" That was a good opportunity to explain about Jesus & how it was HE Who had saved his life & Who wanted to come into his heart. Slowly, with a few tears, he prayed to receive Jesus! TTL, one more immortal soul for the Kingdom of God!
We met a boy who had many sincere questions, like why are there wars & disasters if there is a God. He was disillusioned with the churches after he tried in vain to find some answers to his questions there. We tried to help him with God's answers & shared with him about Salvation.
When we showed him Rev. 3:20, the expression on his face changed & he began to behave strangely! We didn't know what had happened to him. Finally, he took a gun out of his pocket & gave it to us & said, "Of course I want to receive Jesus, but it's not right for me to pray with a GUN in my pocket!" He prayed with us & it reminded us of "Raul's Knife". He is a student & told us that he had bought this gun to protect himself. He explained that it's now easy to buy firearms in this country, which shows how much everything has changed here over the last few months.
We met a man who really appreciated the Posters as precious gifts. He saw some people who refused the Posters and said, "They don't realise what they're giving back. If they only knew, then they wouldn't give it back." He then broke into tears.
RUSSIA, POPULATION 287 MILLION
One Soviet scout team returned with tremendous reports of the receptivity of the Georgian people. They described what it was like to Poster on the streets like this: "As I was distributing the Posters, the people pushed me up against this big wall & all I saw was a lot of hands stretched out reaching for the Posters. I felt like I was amidst starving people giving out loaves of bread. When I looked into their eyes it was like they were crying, `Please give me one!' I didn't know what to do as the people started to reach into my bag to get Posters. I called Adam for help & when he came & pulled out his Posters, within a few seconds the same thing happened around him. As a result, in about 10 MINUTES we got out around 1,000 POSTERS!
"At the same time, people were searching and returning with donations of their appreciation, trinkets, ashtrays, whatever was at hand! We were taken into houses and sumptuously fed in appreciation and amazement that someone was concerned to come to them with such wonderful messages of Love! It's really amazing how hungry & receptive the people are!
"One afternoon while we were Postering we met a 39-year-old actress. Right away she invited us to her home. She told us about her life & we were impressed with how important it is for these people to be able to pour out. When we started to witness to her she explained that she really believed in Jesus. Then she told us about a story her seven-year-old daughter told her. She said: `Mommy, there is a world in the middle of the Earth & from there are coming messengers. But also there is a God in Heaven who sends His messengers to this Earth. And soon will come a man who will be dressed in white, but only on the outside because on the inside he will be filthy. But don't be afraid, Mommy, because we'll be praying to God & He'll take us up to Heaven.' The actress went on to tell us that when her daughter told her this she started to cry & asked the child, `Who told you this?!' The child replied, `No one told me. Sometimes before I go to sleep I hear messages or see pictures & that is how I know.'
"
Then we showed her Bible verses such as Acts 2:17, & also verses about the coming of the Antichrist. She was so surprised to read those verses! She received Jesus. The next day we visited her again & met a friend of hers who is also an actress. They invited us back any time. TYJ!"
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WHAT THE PEOPLE OF EASTERN EUROPE SAY!
--EXCERPTS OF LETTERS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO THE POSTERS!
"We found one of your Posters & it is just beautiful! It radiates such love & warmth! We are also Christians & thrilled about the genuine way of expression & picture of this Poster. Please send us more of these Posters. Our country needs Jesus & His Love, because everything else has broken apart!" (East Germany)
From a lawyer: "Thank you for these Words that turn us on and wake us up from a deep long sleep. We have to find the way to Salvation, and the key to success that is offered in your flyer: Love!" (Romania)
A 17-year-old girl who received "Signs of the Times" and asked for more lit wrote: "It's very touching that you don't know me yet you love me. Once I went with my girlfriend to a religious group. I liked it but I couldn't understand everything. I told my mother and she forbad me to ever go again. My girlfriend advised me to read the Bible, but it's very hard for me. I would rather read your literature, it is more direct." (Hungary)
"I received your Poster. Please send me more material to lead me on the right way and out of the darkness in which I live!" (Yugoslavia)
A young man who wrote immediately after he received a Poster: "I never went to church, but I believe in God. Recently I feel more and more that I need some kind of spiritual help. I've started to fall, and am getting tired, I'm not so strong spiritually. Please send me more literature!" (Hungary)
A teen girl writes: "I received your Posters, which I like very much, because they give me & my brother new strength. Please, can I know more about our new Life of Love?" (East Germany)
From a single mother with two teenagers: "You have brought me happiness, so I would like to do something for you: I would like to offer a room for two of your people, free of charge in my house!" (East Germany)
"We are a group of about 100 young people aged 16 to 26 who formed a church four years ago. We met two of your members and they gave us brochures where your address was written. If you have an opportunity, please send us information, brochures, & colour pictures because they don't print such materials here in Bulgaria. We know that sending such materials is not an easy thing. That's why we beg you in the Name of the Lord to write us about the possibilities of your activity. We hope that God will bring many people to Salvation through you.
"Here's a little information about us: We gather in different houses as we don't have a building for a church. Our church is the first evangelical church in our town. We need spiritual and material renewal in order to fulfil God's plan for us--to proclaim the Gospel to more people! God bless you! Please send us your answer!" (Bulgaria)
From a 29-year-old man: "Actually not me but my sister met one of your colleagues on the train. She's interested in religion, but with me it's more than merely being interested. I'm looking for the Truth! I can imagine the existence of a `Superior Being'. I'd rather think of Him as a Helper, if He exists, Somebody you can lean on, as your Best Friend. I'm afraid people twist the original Truth. I have a Bible and some scientific books dealing with the subject. Both have a place on my shelf next to each other, because the duty of science is to prove God, that He exists. Please, if you feel like it, and have energy to give me a little time, write to me!" (Hungary)
"Walking through the city I received your Poster & was pleasantly surprised! I was not offered goods, but words which spoke to my heart! Please send me more information!" (East Germany)
In reference to the Salvation prayer: "Thank you for thinking of our pain, which you released with this beautiful prayer!" (Romania)
"I'm happy that I can correspond with these wonderful people. Although I am only 14 years old, I love Jesus very much. I have four sisters and we all love Jesus. Please don't forget us!" (Romania)
From a university student: "I'm so happy that there are such incredible people like you that want to lead us through the narrow path, so that at the Last Judgement we can be on the right side of God!" (Romania)
From a 28-year-old man: "I am a young man thirsty for the Truth, the pure Truth of the Bible and not that of temporary knowledge and confusion. I found a flyer called `Signs of the Times'. I long ago stopped believing in the dogmas of the church, where my parents and grandparents went, and everybody around me was angry at me for this. This didn't scare me but motivated me to search more for the Truth.
"Please send me a Bible in Romanian with which I can witness. And last but not least, I would like to come closer through your brochures. In your writings I found logical explanations without a `curtain' & I'm very happy to be able to correspond with someone that knows the Truth. Thank you for all and may our Lord Jesus bless you." (Romania)
From a woman with three sons: "I got frightened at the question which asked if I was ready for those great Signs of the End that are coming. I am not. What do I have to do to get ready? I want to get close to God, but it seems I can't. I search for Him with my mouth, but I don't do His Will. I would like to be a true believer." (Romania)
From a 13-year-old: "I got a new vision for religion. I read `Signs of the Times', & I got scared when I found out that 30 people die of hunger every minute. Now, more than ever, the Romanian people need spiritual food." (Romania)
From a family with two children: "We realised that what you wrote in `Signs of the Times' is completely true. During the dictatorship, we didn't even have time to pray to God! With the help of those who have faith (you), my family and I are ready for these Endtime events, and we want to convince our people that only through prayer can we change something on our planet!" (Romania)
From a 27-year-old woman: "After I read `What Everybody Needs Is Love,' I now believe that we know each other. Despite the tough regime we had here, the thirst for Truth prevailed. I read that the Truth shall set us free and I learned many needful things, like John 3:36.
"Although I'm very young, I was very sick and after an operation I had complications. Because of faith and God's help I conquered the sickness. I never felt alone in my suffering. I learned that nobody and nothing can divide us from the Love of Jesus. I also learned that the greatest miracle is God's Love for the World.
"I still have lots to learn; I am at the beginning of a road and don't know how much time I have. I really need a Bible, right now I can only borrow one, and I need any other materials if it's possible. I wish very much to have my own Bible. Thank you very much. God bless you!" (Romania)
From a 25-year-old man: "I am a young Christian and I would like very much to be a missionary in my country. Especially I want to learn to meet young non-Christians so I can win them to the Lord. That's why I am making contact with you, to ask for help with certain materials and even with suggestions, understanding that you have experience in preaching Jesus Christ, from person to person. Please send me your answer!" (Romania)
From a 16-year-old girl: "Dear brethren and sisters, I am 16. At the beginning of the year I started having changes and I started thinking about the reason for human life, the place of Man in the Universe and the existence of evil. I couldn't find answers to these questions. I was disappointed and mixed up. I came to the horrible conclusion that everything is senseless. This was torturing me every minute. I felt empty and lonesome and was constantly sad and unhappy.
"But then I heard about Jesus and His Truth and Love, and I received Him with my whole mind and heart. I started to look for religious classes, read the Bible and books about it and to learn new things. From then on my life changed radically. I started filling my emptiness with Love for God and the people. I started finding answers to questions that before I couldn't cope with. I feel that every day I grow in faith and become a better creature.
"Three or four months have passed since I received Jesus, and yesterday a young man gave me `What Everybody Needs Is Love!' There I found your address and I decided to share with you, dear friends, what happened to me. When I walk now through the streets I feel sorry for people that don't know about Jesus and the Bible. I wish that everybody could learn about Jesus. This can turn into reality if all believers bring forth the Words of Love to the lost! Long Live Love! Amen!" (Bulgaria)
From a young man: "I ask you to please ask the other sisters and brothers if it is possible for me to come to join your community, for God and His Son's Work, to live in peace and love with you." (Romania)
From a member of a group of young Christians: "Three days ago we met your missionaries. They gave us some tracts with your address and we heard about your service for the Lord here & in Europe and in India. Seeing your desire to reach our people with the message of Salvation, we will be pleased to help you correct your materials you want to distribute in our language. We will be glad if you can send us more information and Posters." (Yugoslavia)
"I prayed to God to solve my problem, and soon afterwards I was given an inspiration to write to you. I prayed asking God to answer me about whether should I go with missionaries. Then I opened the Bible quickly, and my eyes fell at Mark 1:14-20 (Jesus calls four fishermen). I was so happy, smiling all the time. I'm expecting your answer! I shall come with my friend who also wants to be a missionary!" (Yugoslavia)
"Hello, my dear friends! I have had a feeling this very minute to write to you. In 1988 I let Jesus into my heart and that was the best day in my life! You were the ones who taught me to read the best Book ever written, the Word! You and God were the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank you!
"We met in Belgrade (where I come from) for six months, then I moved to another country. Do you know that you are my best friends? You always will be! Your eyes show the purest kind of love, the Love of God Himself!
"I'm in a strange world now, all alone and I need and want so much to be fed with the Word of God! I have read the New Testament a lot of times, but there are things I cannot understand and many other things I would love to know. Could you help me? Could you send me literature about the Word?
"I'm 20 years old and my whole life is ahead of me. I just can't imagine going FURTHER from God, I want to be much NEARER to Him. So please help me! I love you! God Bless You!" (Yugoslavia)
From a 25-year-old woman, married & with two children: "I received one of your Posters, `Why Worry?--You Are in His Hands'. A lot of faith & optimism was in it. It gave me joy, & helped me & drew me near to God. The most outstanding thing it says is that God created a vacuum in the heart of every man which only He can fill!
"I feel that I have such a vacuum, an empty place with no one inside. I would like to change this. I know that only God can give me happiness & peace within. Although I have a good husband, family & two lovely daughters, still it is not enough, still I'm lacking something. Maybe it is God & living for Him that I'm missing. It is Him that I need!
"Maybe you can help me & my family. I ask you for more information & Posters for my children to teach them from childhood to know the Good Father & His Love. May God keep you in His care & send His blessings on your job & on our friendship." (Poland)
"I like very much what you are writing about God. I especially liked the prayer I read on the Poster. I prayed this prayer sincerely & immediately I felt different. My heart began to beat faster & something started to grow inside, & I feel it is Love. I want to ask you for more of these Posters." (Poland)
"`Why Worry?--You Are in His Hands' is a most optimistic text. In these Words I can find only joy, hope, & faith, all of the best! I'm surprised that I could get convinced so easily, because before I was such an unbeliever, always doubting. Now in the light of these Words, everything is wonderful, beautiful & simple. All we need to do is believe, trust & do good. Then everything will be wonderful.
"I started believing that it's real. Faith can do miracles & faith can remove mountains. In this sense rational understanding is unnecessary. I don't know to whom I'm sending these words, but I don't need to be ashamed of my confession. I just want that someone can see my feelings, which I can't even express. Please give me more of these joyful & hopeful Posters about faith. I'm waiting for more wisdom from these beautiful Words & pictures!" (Poland)
"I found this address on the Posters on the street in the old part of town. I found the Poster at a difficult time in my life. I'm very glad that people like you exist. I've come to realise that God really exists, & I'm really happy that someone is taking care of helping & comforting other people.
"Since I received this Poster, I have a new mission in my life: To bring God's Love to the others. I'm really seriously convicted to do it! You are my best friends! If it is possible, please send me more information & further contact!" (Poland)
From an 18-year-old teen: "What you are doing is very needed because here the youth are losing their values & they're starting to make a `cult of money'. To bring back spiritual peace to them we need to find the key, & this Key is the Word of God. Through you many hearts will open & people will feel the presence of God in their lives daily!" (Poland)
"I was very surprised to receive your Poster on the street & even more amazed by the Words on the Poster. It is you who convinced me that God exists, & it is more wonderful than anything that I can think of! It is YOU who convinced me, not the priest, who for the last eight years has tried to teach me that God is all powerful & He will severely punish any sins. Through you I lost the feeling of fear & it's so much easier to live & not worry when I make mistakes that I will be condemned to Hell for Eternity!
"Thank you so much for what you did for me, & I ask you if it's possible to keep contact with you so I can meet you, or at least communicate with you through the mail." (Poland)
From a 17-year-old teen: "I got a Poster by accident, but I'm very glad that it happened! The story on the Poster, `Incredible Journey', made me want to go on such a trip & not return to the Earth. If I can help you in any way, I offer to help distribute Posters or anything else. Please write me. It will bring me much joy!" (Poland)
"Thank you for the Poster & information which I got because of the activities of these unknown people! You helped me a lot! I was lost & this message of Jesus' Love has given me hope once again!" (Poland)
"I was hating everybody until the time, two days ago, when I got your Poster. I prayed, I believed & now I think that I should love people & let them love me. I'm really thankful for you. I wrote you because I trust that you will believe me. Before I couldn't love anybody, but now Love has come back again! I love you as you have loved me." (Poland)
"God bless you! With great joy I found your Poster, `The Incredible Journey'! I think it's something so beautiful & needful, that I can't even describe it! Recently I returned from South Africa, where I worked for six months. I saw things there that were like Hell, & then right after coming back to my city at a bus stop, on a bench, I got a Poster. I started reading it & now I have read it maybe 100 times, letter by letter, & it was still not enough for me. This can really convince people of the Love of God & remind all the people, both good & bad!
"I'm just fascinated with this Poster! I couldn't help but make photocopies of this Poster, but they are not as beautiful as the original, so if you can send me more information & Posters, I will gladly distribute them wherever I can!" (Poland)
"While going down the street I received a Poster, `What Everybody Needs Is Love'. After reading it, I started feeling that I should not feel so lonely & afraid of everything. This Poster changed my life! I feel so much better now & I'm trying to help my friends so that they can feel what I feel now too!
"Before, my whole life didn't make any sense, but now I realise that Man should believe in helping others, those that really need help. By showing Love we can help them & enlighten both them & us that Love really exists & God is True, & for anyone who will open their heart & try it, it really works! I love you & am thankful that you're trying to help people." (Poland)
"Dear ones, I'm writing this letter to you right after reading the Posters, `The Incredible Journey' & `What Everybody Needs Is Love', which are really wonderful, beautiful & true. They should really be distributed to as many people as possible, so that through these Posters many people can come back to God or at least think about their lives, like I'm doing right now! Please write me! I love you for what you are doing." (Poland)
"My dear ones, I love you. Through you I'm loving Jesus & I'm happy. Please send me more." (Poland)
"Dear Ones, The Poster that I got on the streets encouraged me & I prayed the prayer. I thought that nobody cared for me, but then I met you & you gave me hope. Please write to me. I want to know more." (Poland)
"I was very down & sad. And then while walking down the street I got a beautiful colour Poster. On it I found the answer for my sadness. Only one question, `Why Worry?' & one answer, `You're in His Hands!' It really helped me. A verse came to me that Jesus said, `Not Mine but Thy Will be done'. I know that God will never forsake me & that He has a plan for me & I want to fulfil it. That's why I'm really thankful for this Poster." (Poland)
From a Catholic Priest: "Yesterday by chance I got your Poster. I'm amazed by the beautiful picture, but especially by what is written on the back side about how God is Love. I know this Truth as I preach it as a Catholic priest, but in your Poster this Truth was given with such great Love, beautiful language & great conviction! Sometimes I feel ashamed that we don't have this conviction. This is happening on all levels of the Catholic hierarchy. Please send me more of this wonderful heavenly information & beautiful Posters. With gladness I will distribute them to my congregation. God bless you. With all my heart." (Poland)
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&
NEWS FROM OUR EUROPEAN BORDER BASES!
HOW TIMES ARE CHANGING!--FROM ITALY
The local newspapers reported that Venice is presently being swamped with Eastern European tourists, so much so that the local authorities don't know what to do! In one day alone about 1,500 buses came & about 100,000 Eastern European tourists arrived! These tourists are mainly from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary & East Germany. Besides this, there are also many Eastern European tourists at the Italian beaches.--NOW is the hour to reach them!--Get the lit in their languages & GO!
THE LORD RAISES UP HELPERS & SUPPORTERS!--FROM AUSTRIA
A very precious testimony of how the Lord is raising up translators to help us is that of a market contact here named Dr. C. He has been helping with vegetables for years and loves Jesus and us. He was very touched when we asked his help on proofreading some Bulgarian material, as that is his native language & he speaks very good English.
One thing about our Posters that he likes is that they have a simple message that everyone can understand. He has told us a lot about how when growing up in Bulgaria & studying at the different high schools & universities, he was forced to study Marx & Communism. He said he couldn't really understand it, but was rebuked by his teachers and told not to ask questions, as THEY didn't understand it either!
We had quite an urgent need to get a Poster translated into Bulgarian right away & get it printed, so we took it to him & he said we could come back the NEXT MORNING & he'd have it ready for us. When we arrived the next day, he looked very sad & discouraged. Just that day elections were held in Bulgaria, the first free elections for many many years, & the COMMUNIST PARTY had won again. We thought that was the reason why he was so down, as he hates Communism & has a real burden to free the people there & bring them the Gospel. So we asked him if that was the reason why he looked so dejected & depressed. He looked at us & said, "No, it's because my son died."
He told us how the same day that we'd given him the Poster to proofread, he found out that his son had died. Of course, he was very broken. It just so happened that two months ago, we had met his son (22 years old) for the first and only time in all the years we've known Dr. C., and he had gotten saved right there at the market! He was a real sweet & simple sheep! So we really encouraged Dr. C. that his son is in HEAVEN now! The Lord gave him a lot of faith & grace to believe that, & he kept saying, "Yes, he's with Jesus now! He's not with me here, but he is with Jesus!" It was really beautiful! He had a real spirit of faith that his son had gone on to a Better World and was with Jesus!
Also, when we had gone to see him the day before, we had four Posters that we needed to have translated & proofread. The day before, he said he could only do ONE that afternoon, & so we'd given him "Peace in the Midst of the Storm". It was so beautiful how the Lord had given him that particular Poster to work on at a time when he would need it the most himself! It also gave him a greater vision about how very much people need our Message, & he really wants to help with the proofreading for the thousands of people who are going to be reading it in Bulgarian in the future!
We pointed to the Posters & said, "Dr. C., we're going to print thousands of these & distribute them to your people in Bulgaria & Macedonia!" He grabbed my arm, as tears streamed down his face, & said, "Do it!--They really need it!" TYJ!
OPEN DOORS FOR PR VIDEO! --FROM MARK, TJ & JUDE IN AUSTRIA
We went to Hungary to video some footage for a PR Video we're compiling. We'd like to tell you of several of the miracles the Lord did while we were there. We went to our printing contact, who agreed to do an interview for us. He explained that he gives us a special price on Posters and has his men working on Saturday and Sunday for us. He went on to say that he thinks that our Work is good for the youth in Hungary and good for the Hungarians. We feel this is going to be a great tool to inspire other printers in the West to give, as they see that this sweet Hungarian is doing what he can.
Then we went downtown and filmed a MISSLE team getting out the Posters. We were filming at the end of a metro stop where thousands of people were coming back from work. Just as we were filming, two policemen came up and started to talk to us! We found out through a translator that they were complimenting us on our good work and said that they had the Posters pinned on the wall in the Police Station, which was situated at the end of this metro stop. One of the policemen was in charge of this metro station. He liked us so much and was so happy that we were doing something for the youth in Hungary. He was delighted that we could be at his station and could give out the Posters.
He asked for another Poster of a title that he didn't have, and he said we could just openly witness to him there and then. All this time our cameraman, dear Teen TJ, was filming, and this whole conversation came out on the Video!--It was a real testimony of how the powers-that-be at this time are really on our side!
Later we went with both these policemen back to their little police station, witnessed to them further, and the senior officer prayed to receive Jesus into his heart! PTL!
GOD MIRACULOUSLY SUPPLIES!
The Lord has done many miracles to raise up printing & paper contacts. Almost 2-AND-A-HALF MILLION colour Posters have been printed since the beginning of the push! This is approximately one Poster for every 54 Eastern European inhabitants (not including Russia.) Considering each Poster is passed around to about three or four people, once just these Posters printed so far have been distributed, one out of every 13 Eastern European inhabitants would have had an opportunity to read a Poster! Wow!
The Posters have been going out literally faster than we were printing them, and we have been having desperate prayer for new paper and printing contacts. The Lord has answered wonderfully and opened new doors plus supplied generous donations of paper and/or funds, and right now there are printing projects of 6,826,000 Posters in the works!! PTL! What a miracle!
The Lord also did a real miracle to open up contacts to print in Poland, which will be a tremendous blessing as we won't have to ship the lit in. TYL!
FROM SWITZERLAND: The paper we provisioned for half price was delivered on time! For the printer who promised to print 1.6 Million Posters for free, we received the verse Psalm 65:1: "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in SION; and unto Thee SHALL THE VOW BE PERFORMED! (The city he is located in is called SION!)
FROM AUSTRIA: The Lord has answered prayer and provided the video equipment that we've asked Him for! One company donated a very good camera free of charge and another one gave us equipment for about one sixth of the cost price. TYJ!
FROM ITALY: We witnessed to another printer, whom we showed the prayer on the back of the Poster, & he received the Lord & was really touched! This company is one of the biggest in Italy, & he had to go in front of the whole board of managers & explain the project to everybody, after which they all agreed to printing 320,000 Posters for us!
A paper distributor was not able to donate paper because of some legal problems, but he gave a large donation from his own pocket.
We went to see a printer who was interested & friendly, but had some doubts about helping us because some people had misused him in the past. We witnessed to him, also sharing about the work we had personally done in India. The Lord led us to talk about a leprosy center we had visited in Andra-Pradesh, & upon hearing that, the owner called his manager & told me, "HE has been in India too, why don't you talk to him?" It seemed like he was checking us out.
When I mentioned this leprosy center to the manager, he just flipped because he had just come back from visiting that same center! We were able to talk about the people we both knew etc., & this really convinced the owner of the print shop about our sincerity! They printed 152,000 Posters for free!
We called a large print shop to see if they could help. The man was very sweet, but he said they just didn't have the TIME to print. So I asked him for paper instead, & he gave us 1,500 kilos of paper! This is really encouraging, as it shows that everybody can help in some way!
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WHAT PART CAN YOU PLAY IN BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO EASTERN EUROPE?
[ ] Please PRAY we can do the job of bringing God's Love in Jesus to as many as possible & that the doors will stay open!
[ ] Please PRAY for the safety & well-being of our missionary teams as they enter these previously closed areas of Eastern Europe!
[ ] Please PRAY for the peace & stability of these countries, where worsening economic conditions are causing hardships for the people & tensions are rising.
[ ] Please SEND DONATIONS to help pay for the cost of printing Gospel literature! We hope to be printing & distributing several million pieces over the next months, & this will only be possible if we receive sufficient donations to cover the cost of production, as we will be distributing all of this free of charge! $8,000 U.S. Dollars pays for the printing of ONE MILLION POSTERS! Can you help in some way?
[ ] You can SPONSOR A MISSIONARY TEAM! Missionary teams will be visiting Poland, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany, Romania & Yugoslavia. $750 U.S. Dollars will cover a team's average living expenses for a two-week period, while $1,500 U.S. Dollars will sponsor them for a month!
[ ] In return, you will receive from the Eastern European Office monthly bulletins of their progress!--And you will share forever in the eternal rewards of the souls won as a result of your giving! You'll have eternal dividends from investment in the Lord's Work of reaching the lost souls of Eastern Europe. God will bless you for it & see that you get good results on it--the BEST results, SOULS for His Kingdom! We're all going to be thrilled when we see the results! Thank you & God bless you!
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MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE EASTERN EUROPEAN WITNESSING EXPLOSION!
"God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you!" (1Sam.12:23)
[ ] For MORE PAPER AND PRINTING CONTACTS AND/OR THE FUNDS TO PRINT MORE POSTERS! This is an urgent need, as the Posters are going out literally as fast as we can give them & our stocks have run very low. For printing projects in the works to be printed well & on time.
[ ] For good vehicles, safe driving & travel, good camping places, easy border crossings and sunny weather for all the road teams!
[ ] For MORE SUPPORT for the overall EE Push! Prices are increasing there all the time, so please pray the Lord will supply for the MISSLE teams going in and even raise up support within the EE itself!
[ ] For the PRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTERS & VIDEOS that can be used to follow-up and win friends and supporters!
[ ] For the visa laws to continue to change in our favour.
[ ] For the Lord's help in organising and protecting each aspect of the EE Push--all the MISSLE teams, EE Homes & Border Bases, and for good communications between them all. Also that the Lord will keep our phone lines working well.
[ ] For the production of further tools to use in our EE Push--Tapes and Videos! Please also pray for the translation and subtitling of the Videos into EE languages. Please pray specifically that the Lord will raise up sponsors and/or inexpensive contacts.
[ ] For the organisation of the Mail Ministry to answer the hundreds of responses we are receiving weekly. Please continue to pray for the Lord to raise up friends & disciples who speak the languages of Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria & Romania to help take care of the translations & Mail Ministry!
[ ] For the overall organisation of the EE Push, that the Lord will lead us and give us wisdom and have His Hand on every facet of this Work.
"WHAT THINGS SOEVER YE DESIRE, WHEN YE PRAY, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, & YE SHALL HAVE THEM." (MK.11:24)
"This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His Will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1John 5:14,15)
Copyright 1996 The Family