FAMILY UPDATE NEWS #7 -- SEPTEMBER, 1993 DO

         "As the enemies arise in ever-increasing numbers to be finally led by the enemy of all enemies--the Antichrist--the Lord promises that `the people that do know their God shall be strong & do exploits, & they that understand among the people shall instruct many'! (Dan.11:32,33) Our major job will be to stand up as God's strongest witnesses before the whole World & to explain to them what's happening, & to lead, encourage & feed God's children to the very End!--We'll be witnessing to the last day, even in the very capital of the Antichrist, who will be trying to exterminate us!" (DM1:194)

         FRANCE (FNN--Family News Network) -- The following are points on the progress of the court case against the Family in Lyon & Aix, as well as our Family's worldwide response to the situation. Although we've won major victories there, the battle is still on, as the case is still not closed. Please keep praying!
         --The prosecution, in an appeal to the judge presiding over the case, attempted to have the children taken from the parents & returned to social services in Lyon. On July 23 this appeal was overturned! PTL! However, the Homes are still receiving visits from social services, who are checking on the children & observing the adults. From what we've heard, these visits are going well & they seem impressed with the Home & the children.
         --Our lawyers in France have gone on the attack, fighting for our cause, with one of them even cancelling her vacation to be able to spend as much time as she could to get the charges against us dropped. The judge, who is over the cases in both Aix & Lyon, was procrastinating, saying that he was too busy to get into our case & that "sometime before the end of the year" he'd make a decision to either waive the charges or meet with the brethren again.
         --As it stands now, there will be a hearing sometime towards the end of September, at which time the judge will decide whether to bring the brethren to court to face charges or to drop the charges altogether.
         --During the heat of the battle, while the children were still being held & also shortly after their release, the Family staged worldwide protests against the French abuse of power against us & our children.
         In France, the Family picketed every day in Aix for three weeks & there was also a demonstration in front of the President's palace in Paris.
         The Home in Washington, D.C., filed official complaints with the U.S. State Department.
         In Switzerland, twenty-two JETTs, teens & adults demonstrated at the U.N. in Geneva on July 14th, Bastille Day, carrying signs with slogans such as, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity in France?--Not for Religious Minorities!" Other slogans read, "Persecution in France: 1293 the Cathars, 1993 the Family!" Altogether about 5,000 press releases were passed out, many to diplomats in their limousines. After picketing at the U.N., the team continued marching through the streets of Geneva, doing a Holy Ghost sample & giving out press releases to everyone in their path.
         Also on Bastille Day, 50 Family Members in Copenhagen marched through the city passing out press releases & giving speeches with a megaphone, one of these being outside the French Consulate.
         A team in Los Angeles had three consecutive days of picketing in front of the French Consulate with signs & banners, one of which read, "France Uses Gestapo-like Tactics Against U.S. Citizens!"
         Other cities in which the Family held demonstrations include: Rome, Tokyo, Bern, Budapest, New York (at the U.N.), Vienna, Washington D.C. & more!
         --On August 3, the Family held a press conference in Paris which was a great success. We were able to refute our enemies' lies & expose ADFI & CAN as the true perpetrators of the persecution against us. Dr. Gordon Melton, an American sociologist & the foremost expert on New Religious Movements, attended the conference & spoke on our behalf. He was quite fired up about the persecution & false accusations against the Family. He has done a study on the Family, visiting many Homes in the U.S. & Eastern Europe.
         --As a result of the press conference & also due to the many protests worldwide, the Family has generated a large amount of very favourable press coverage. The AP reporter that was at the Paris conference put the story on the AP international wire service, which was picked up around the world. Amongst other favourable press coverage in France after the Press Conference, the main Catholic paper in France, "La Croix", did a good article with headlines "The Children of God Fight Back!" We were also on TV Monte Carlo, & one of the main newspapers in Belgium did a one-page article on us that was 90% favourable! Other favourable articles came out in Switzerland, England, Scandinavia & Japan.
         (LNF! Recent victory in Lyon!: The minors judge ruled that the Family children in Lyon are in good emotional, mental and physical health, and closed the investigation into their care! However, this does not mean that the battle in France is over, as the case involving the children in Aix as well as the investigation of the adults in both Aix & Lyon is still pending. So, please continue to keep these other ongoing investigations in your prayers!)

         VIENNA, Austria (FNN) -- A team from the Family was able to attend the World Conference of Human Rights which took place in June. This is the first time that this U.N.-sponsored conference invited NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) not only as spectators, but to actually take part in the conference as members of the delegation, which made it possible for the Family to participate. Following are excerpts from a report from the team:
         "Upon our arrival we set up our stand with Posters, photos and a TV set with our GP Videos constantly playing, and a slogan banner saying, `There are no Human Rights, unless humans are right! (The Family)'. The first day we put up our slogan the CNN cameraman came to film it and said it was the best slogan so far.
         "By the 2nd or 3rd day most of the other NGOs knew us and had received our material, as well as many other VIPs such as the former Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, Bosnian President Mr. Izetbegovic, the Syrian Foreign Minister, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Dalai Lama, ambassadors of almost every country present, and innumerable representatives of NGOs and governments.
         "Also attending the conference was Project Tandem. This is a group of sociologists who are compiling, at the request of the U.N., a report exposing any form of religious intolerance that governments may have against any religious groups in violation of Article 1 of the U.N. declaration. We had a chance to speak at their forum, asking them to remember to put a section in their report regarding the religious persecution that the anti-cult movements, such as CAN etc., are perpetrating all around the world against NRMs. We told them that unless Governments seriously investigate these anti-cult organizations, other disasters similar to Waco will happen again.
         "Our teen singing team was able to sing two songs for about 1,000 people attending a meeting discussing children's rights. Many people came to talk to us after the singing, including the U.N. chief security man, who got saved with us.
         "All the security people were very friendly and were coming to tell us when some VIP was scheduled to come down to the NGO level so that we could meet them. They called our stand `The inspiration corner!'"

         THAILAND (FNN) -- After a hotel in Korat, Northeastern Thailand, collapsed, killing over 100 & injuring about 350, the Family was able to minister to many of those hospitalized, as well as the bereaved relatives of those who perished. The Lord used the Family's ministry there as a witness to millions, as the media was touched by their sample, resulting in a number of articles & broadcasts.

         RUSSIA (FNN) -- The Family was able to have a chance encounter with Boris Yeltsin & German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Two Family Members had been at Lake Baikal with some Catacombers when all of a sudden Yeltsin & Kohl arrived in a boat, along with their bodyguards. Despite other people waiting there to greet Yeltsin, he walked straight up to one Family Member, smiled, & then both Yeltsin & Kohl shook her hand. She then proceeded to give Yeltsin a Russian copy of "In Search of Truth" & a New Testament, explaining, "This is a gift from our missionary group, The Family." Yeltsin smiled, took it & said, "Good, good. I'll read it," & then proceeded on his way.

         LOS ANGELES, USA (FNN) -- A few months ago our enemies in California tried to bring a case against one of our Los Angeles Homes by spouting their usual lies & slanderous accusations to the authorities. After a visit from both the social services & the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department in which they were, of course, unable to find any justification for the charges against us, the Family received an official letter from the Sheriff stating that their investigation is now closed. The Home also received a letter from the head of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, explaining, "I'm very sorry your community has fallen victim to such strenuous & continual evaluations...by various government agencies.... It appears that there's an overwhelming effort to defame your group & its existence, & I cannot explain why this continues."

         MIDWEST, USA (FNN) -- Family members went to the flooded areas of the midwestern U.S. to help minister to those affected by the disaster caused by the flooding of the Mississippi & Missouri rivers. They helped out in several shelters, transferring supplies & helping with the cooking, but mostly singing & ministering to those whose lives had been so ravaged by the flood.

         AUSTRALIA (FNN) -- We attended the annual meeting for the Association for the Study of Religion, a three-day conference attended by 80 academics & religionists from Australia, the U.S., Canada, New Zealand & the UK. There was quite an interest in our material, & we passed out Statement packages.
         --In Sydney it has been reported that the manager of the very institution where our Homes' younger children were taken & kept in the raids last year has been referred to the police on possible charges of fraud and abuse, after an Ombudsman's investigation. This lady is the very one who wouldn't let the children read their Bibles, told us that the children would be kept there for a year, and lied to us about her involvement in placing the protection order.

         ROSARIO, Argentina (FNN) -- The Comisario (top police officer) of the Rosario delegation, which was responsible for the raid on our Rosario Home, just recently got demoted and stripped of his rank, due to a pending accusation against him (& six other officers who were also involved in our case) for trafficking drugs and protecting some drug lords of the area. This man was quite mean and rude during the raids on our Homes, as well as very vocal in his accusations against us. He is now totally humiliated and is facing up to 30 years in prison.

         CORDOBA, Argentina (FNN) -- The judge in Cordoba pronounced her verdict, closing the investigation on the Family on August 17th, thus clearing Family Members of all charges.

         CARACAS, Venezuela (FNN) -- The Lord miraculously protected our Family from a car bomb explosion. A team was on their way to distribute Statements to different government officials when a bomb exploded just a few hundred metres away from them. They were planning to park in what they had thought was a secure parking place, but due to a traffic jam they were delayed in entering this parking lot, where just minutes later a car bomb exploded, destroying 30 vehicles.

         WASHINGTON, D.C., USA (FNN) -- A crimson line of Prophets marched up Pennsylvania Avenue to stand in front of the White House as a testimony & warning to the nation.
         The Family, ashes on their foreheads, yokes around their necks, carrying rods & girded with sackcloth, shouted out their "woes" of warnings to America of the soon-coming judgements of God for her sins & wickedness.
         After their powerful shouts of "Woe!" they solemnly stood for one hour as a silent witness, holding scrolls for all who passed by to see & read God's Words of warning to a wicked nation.
         Six litnessers with red sackcloth lit pouches gave the new "Woe to America!" pub to all interested passersby. Cars literally stopped in the middle of the road at the spectacle, some taxis even making u-turns midblock for a closer look.
         Stormy, cloudy skies cleared at the last hour before the vigil to give a beautiful sunny day so that there were many people around in the White House grounds on tours, on the sidewalks, and passing by in cars, taxis & buses.

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         "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."--Proverbs 25:25. God bless you all as you continue to stand up for the faith & uphold our worldwide Family in your prayers! We love you!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family