the grapevine
Issue #1
August, 15, 1996
DO/TS
During the Summit meetings, the CROs agreed to make a concerted effort to show the Summit videos to as many people as possible. In most areas such meetings to do this have begun. Some are holding large teen meetings to show the videos, while others are showing them to individual Homes during visitation, or hosting small two-day fellowships attended by all the Homes in the proximity.
Summit Video Meetings In Europe
From Gallio (CRO):
We've just completed our delegates' meetings here, where we showed the entire set of the Summit videos. There were over 60 attendees (approximately 45 delegates, 15 staff & CRO Teamwork members) from all around Europe & from all levels of the Family, ranging from Service Home shepherds, potential VSs, to outreachers & other Family Home members with varying ministries. We believe from the reactions & testimonies that the overall fruit of the meetings was tremendous, bringing many people through to victories in their lives, giving a greater understanding of the Loving Jesus series, having their questions answered about the Law of Love, & much more.
One "old timer" who had attended many other European delegates' meetings in the past commented, "This time, I'm going home feeling so free & unburdened. After meetings in the past, I had so many 'to do's' to take with me, but now I feel I can just go Home & be a sample of the Lord & His Love. I'll just tell them I've been with Jesus!" That sums up the meetings in a nutshell.
Loving Jesus: The Loving Jesus talk that Peter gave at the end of one of the Summit videos turned out to be a real milestone for many. They commented afterwards how much clearer & simpler the whole Loving Jesus revelation was to them now, after hearing Peter's very honest, open & down-to-earth explanation. It also helped many to hear the testimonies given by some of the YA boys who were at the Summit, & their positive outlook on & implementation of the Loving Jesus revelation. It helped dispel the lies of the Enemy that "Everyone is freaking out about this!" Having some positive, resounding testimonies helped bring things back into much clearer perspective.
Prophecy Class & Miracle Birth: The Lord did an interesting thing during the showing of the videos on prophecy. About mid-way through the morning showing of tape one, we received a phone call from the Ministry Home that Russian Eva, who was in labor at the hospital, was having difficulties with the birth. We stopped & had prayer for Eva. We then continued on and about half-an-hour later, we received another call from the hospital with more specifics of what the complications were. We again stopped the video so that we could pray very specifically for the difficulties that both mother & baby were experiencing.
The Lord gave some beautiful prophecies about the situation, & one of the prophecies said that Eva would have a natural delivery & that the baby would be a girl. (Because of the complications, at the time it looked like the doctor was going to perform a C-section.)
Around 2:30 in the afternoon we received a call that the Lord had done the miracle & Eva had a natural delivery, & it was indeed a girl! PTL! Everyone was thoroughly elated and we marveled at how the Lord interjected this "unplanned" prophecy session right in the middle of the video on prophecy. It couldn't have been more perfectly engineered to be a living sample & illustration of the power of prophecy & its veracity.
Commission Video: Originally we had intended to only show the beginning of the ceremony, the reading of the commission & prophecies, then just a few clips of the young people's commission & a few of the CROs commission, to give the delegates a little picture of what transpired. (Editor's note: The commission ceremony was held the last day of the Summit meetings. The Lord directed Peter, Gary & Heather to put on the attire of royalty as the king, the queen [Heather standing in as proxy for Mama], & the prime minister. They anointed each young person with oil & knighted them with a sword. They also anointed each CRO.) However, once we began the video, the Spirit fell, & we truly felt as if we were right there. You could have heard a pin drop in the room throughout the whole showing, & I dare say there was not a dry eye in the crowd.
(Reaction from Willing, one of the attendees): "I don't think I've cried so much in a long time. Just watching not only the YAs, but especially the CROs made me realize what a big job they have. It's not just their job, but how much they've given & sacrificed. They've forsaken loved ones & families & kids. I don't know if I would be able to do that, but they were doing it just for me. It also helped me not to be so nervous around them."
Closing Prayers of Dedication: The commission video was shown in the morning, so in the afternoon we decided to have a time where each person could say their own personal prayer of dedication. It was obvious that each one had accepted the challenge & commission. We were so happy to see this, as we were concerned that people might feel left out because they didn't get to kneel before Peter & be knighted or anointed with oil, & that they would not feel the same moving in their heart & challenge from the Lord. This was not the case, as evidenced by their beautiful & moving prayers.
At the end of the prayers, we opened the floor for the Lord to speak. Maria (19) commented later, "When Dad & Libby came (and spoke through prophecy), just feeling their presence was so neat. Feeling the Lord's presence so close gave me a lot more faith for all the prophecies that have been coming out."
One of the delegates who doesn't normally prophesy, & who was one of those who had come to the meetings "hanging by a thread," received a beautiful prophecy from his mother, who had gone to be with the Lord some months back. This delegate, although having faith in prophecy, had been very skeptical about having specific people who had lived before speak. When he received this prophecy, he said the Lord had him eat his own words, & he was now convinced on this point.
Further Reactions:
From Joan (SGA, of Stephen): I was so moved to be able to see Peter & Gary on the videos & see their love for the Family. Sometimes when people leave the Family, you start wondering. You feel that the Family is a bit shaky. You start to wonder in your heart if everything is OK. But seeing them was reassuring for me. It increased my confidence that this is the Lord's Family. It doesn't matter if so-and-so left. It's hard to see people who were close to you leave, but the Lord's Family goes on. It's a work of the Lord & it's not made by man. The Lord is the One who is in control, regardless of whether people or friends leave. He is the One who is doing it, & He is the One who is going to keep it.
From Mary Mom, CRO: Through these videos, at least 5 disciples were won! Five people that I knew of were ready to leave the Family right before coming to this meeting. In fact, several told me that they had told their friends, "I am only going for my mother's sake, or for the sake of a 'get together', but I am not going to change, nothing can change my mind!" Yet they were completely changed! It was quite a battle, too! Sometimes we would need to follow them to the bathroom during meetings, as they cried & fought big battles & had to make their decisions, but they all came through. Each person was so precious!
The young people & adults commented over & over, "The love is so strong, the love is so real. I feel the love is for me." Every adult I talked to said this was the first meeting they had attended where they didn't have a 'to-do' list as long as their arm of things to accomplish when they got Home.--The first meeting where they felt at peace about the work, & not worried or feeling the progress of their area depended so much on them; the first meeting where they felt the Lord was so in control & everything was progressing just as He would want it. It was beautiful!
In Conclusion: These meetings were unique for us in that we CROs spoke very little, mainly just praying, introducing the videos & letting them do the work & teach the classes. We did spend personal talk time with people individually, which seemed to bear good fruit in their lives.
It was certainly not one of those "rah-rah" meetings where we tried to get everyone enthused, turned on, pumped up & raring to go back out & change the world. Nor was it one where we delved into & harped on people's personal problems & NWOs, giving them reading lists, assignments & a commission to change for the better. All that happened here was such a work of the Spirit. Of course this was the first time that we've had Peter & Gary speaking at the meetings via video, so we're sure that had a lot to do with it, PTL!
Australia Teen Meetings Meet The Need & Expose The Problems
From Sweetie (CRO):
(Editor's note: 52 teens & 18 Adults from Homes all over Australia gathered in Brisbane to attend a teen meeting, where, among other things, the Summit videos were shown. The meetings were hosted by Jeff & Sweetie, members of the PACRO Teamwork, along with the Australian VSs. While challenging & inspiring the young people to do more for Jesus with their lives, these meetings brought to light a number of important teen issues which needed to be addressed.)
It has been a very different experience for me. At one point Jeff & I felt like the teachers that you see in some of those movies like "Lean on Me"--new teachers faced with the huge challenge of how to win the teens. The Lord showed us that the key would be love & the Word, which we tried to pour into them, & this seemed to be what helped them turn around as much as they did. They are very sweet & I fell in love with them!
The Problems: Quite a few of the teens had fallen into a state similar to the condition that Europe was in when Mama wrote the Letter, "Getting Back On Track for Jesus". Some had gotten into smoking, listening to system music quite a lot, reading unedifying novels, watching some very bad movies, shoplifting, being disrespectful & rebellious towards their parents and doubting the Word. There were even incidences of sex with outsiders. In a few cases some of the teens were even sneaking out & smoking in between meetings.
We had a few hard-hitting classes on these subjects at the beginning to "clear away the rubble". Throughout the meeting, there was a struggle between the teens who were serious-minded & trying to get something out of the classes, & those who didn't really have their hearts in it & were goofing off. We had to send one teen back home for a few days & we took another out of class.
Survey: The second time some of the teens were caught smoking, after we had already had a talk about it, we explained that we thought the teens had gotten the point from our talk the other day. They seemed to be behind us & saying "amen" to the classes, but the fact that they were still doing some of the very things we had just been discussing, & also the fact that others knew about it but didn't report it, made it seem like they were covering it up & being hypocritical. We told them that we can understand if they don't want to stay in the Family & want to leave, but to please be honest with us as we need to know how they are truly feeling. We asked if everyone could please let us know if they want to stay in the Family or not.
The results were very interesting. Out of 52 teens, 42 teens gave a solid yes; they wanted to stay in the Family. Eight teens said they weren't sure or they thought they were too young to make up their minds. Two said that they didn't think the Family was for them & they thought they would probably leave.
The Teens' Perspective on the Problems of the Field: Several mentioned that there was a lack of unity among the Homes, & they were hoping to have more united fellowships & united witnessing projects. They felt that since the Charter, there had been a lot less shepherding & they had been pretty much left to themselves. Others mentioned the problem of boredom, & being unfulfilled & unchallenged. Another problem brought up was that they didn't feel they were getting enough education.
Young Adults Lead the Way: Jonathan (19, VS) shared some personal lessons. All the teens in Australia know him well, since he has lived here most of his life. The teens look up to him & even the adults were very pleasantly surprised to see how Jonathan has matured & changed. He has a shepherd's heart, is sacrificial & he loves the teens very much. He is also serious about his service for the Lord, so that's a wonderful sample for teens to see.
Breakthroughs: Several teens who had come in with a lot of problems, doubts or bitternesses, had some breakthroughs, which was very encouraging. There are a number of teens who are sweet & yielded & want to do the right thing, so I hope I'm not painting the picture too black by my reports on the "rascals". Although we did have a problem with a few that didn't want to toe the line, by the same token, there were also many who did have their heart in the right place & just needed re-strengthening.
My prayer is that the adults will tune in more to the teens & their needs, including their need for more shepherding & more Word. Our young people have what it takes and they want to do the job, but they need to see a sample of our adults living in the Word & in the Spirit, witnessing & fighting to reach the world with the Gospel.
San Antonio JETT Camp -- Problems & Victories
From Abi (CRO), Ezekiel (CRO), Jonathan Waters (22, VS), Elise (28, VS), Frank (19, VS Trainee), Sara (20 VS Trainee), Amos O'Test.
(From Abi:) We just finished having a 10-day JETT camp at the Casa Blanca Home in San Antonio, Texas. 28 JETTs from the Central US attended. Our four VSs & VS trainees Jonathan, Elise, Frank & Sara carried the main responsibility of shepherding & being with the JETTs full-time, while coordinating their activities. Most of this article has been compiled from their reports and from those of the main teachers of the JETT Camp, Amos O'Test & Eli of Renee.
God bless the Casa Blanca Home which had the vision & faith to begin this pioneer effort. After this Home underwent a number of personnel changes, their Home team consisted of David & Cherish (faithful pioneers of the San Antonio work for several years), & two single mothers, Joanna & Mercy Ledbetter, along with a few teens & YAs, some of whom were getting ready to move on to other Homes or fields. Their vision was to use their Home & property to hold JETT & junior teen Camps. They got in touch with Amos & Faith, & Eli & Renee who were living in California at the time, who drove out to Texas to team up with them for this purpose. Once Amos & Faith, Eli & Renee & kids arrived, dear David & Cherish moved on to begin their new ministry of reaching the Indian reservations.
It is very encouraging to see this Home of very few adults & many children receive a vision from the Lord, & see it through "Charter-style", hearing from the Lord, & acting according to their own faith, initiative & burden, even though it took many months of preparation, hard work & planning to get their team together, & to produce "that banana there". It is now paying off, God bless them!
Where God Guides, He Provides:
(From Jonathan Waters, while the camps were still on:) I'm thankful that the Home here had the faith to just do it. I admire that, as there is such a need to pour into these JETTs & give them the Word. If we wait around until everything is perfect & totally organized, it could be too late to get a hold of some of these kids.
With the camps going on, it's been all by faith, as our outreach has virtually stopped but the Lord is providing wonderfully . The first day of the camp, a man across the street who owns an auto parts store came by & gave a donation of $1,000. His twin brother had also given another $1,000 donation a couple of weeks before. Just the other day, one of their supporters came in during one of Amos' on-fire Word classes & talked with Joanna, Mercy & Eli. They told him testimonies of what has been happening during the camps. He asked them what they needed, & then he gave them $700 to pay their electric, gas & water bills. Today, the same supporter dropped by & asked what we needed. We needed to do some shopping for the next camp, so he left us $400. Does God do miracles or what? We're all just flipped!
Strengthening the Adults too!
(From Ezekiel:) Abi & I also spent a few days at the JETT camp, & it was a blessing to get to know the kids. It was also encouraging to talk with some of the adults that came from other cities to bring their JETTs, & who ended up getting equally refilled by the Word classes, etc. Here is a reaction from Rebecca (of Jared), who came down from Minnesota:
This camp has been super in every way! The Word classes have been astounding. The things that Amos shares in his classes are heavy meat.--Wow! And Eli makes them so interesting with all his funny personal stories.
Mercy & Joanna work non-stop to keep the Home running smoothly. They don't hesitate to mop the kitchen floor late at night or jump in to serve the food if there is a need. They have even been cooking so we cooks could watch the Summit videos. GBT!
The VSs who are helping exude the love & encouragement revolution. I don't know how to explain this or even put it into words. Jonathan, for example, has been so sweet & loving to me personally. It encouraged me so much that he could show love & encouragement to an older mom like me. It helped me to see how much the Lord really loves me. Another good example is that he was faithful to show love equally--not just to the beautiful YA girls, but to all the other girls too. Those little signs of affection, kisses & hugs are so important, as Mama has said in her GNs.
Well, I just want to encourage you that you have a wonderful team of YAs. It's so inspiring to see the mantle fall on them--they've got it!"
General Behavior & Attitude:
(From Jonathan Waters:) Getting these guys' attention, getting them inspired, turned on & on fire is a pretty hard thing to do. When it comes to spiritual things & getting a hold of the Lord, they can be deadheads. You really have to pull in the spirit to get them going.
It's been a surprise to me how some of these JETTs are so un-Family oriented. I think we take for granted that they all know the basic verses, our Family songs, how to pray, etc. But many of these guys have missed that. When Amos did a memory test using verses out of the Memory Book, about 3/5ths of them passed, but the others didn't even know the basic verses in the Memory Book, & these are all 12 & 13-year-olds.
I was about to sing one of Jonas' songs & I said, "This is a Jonas song." Half of them looked at me like, "Who's Jonas?" They'd never even heard of him. So they're definitely different than the way that we YAs were at that age.
It's even different from the JETT groups of a few years ago. Many of them were five & six years old when things like the DTR came out, so they even missed revolutions which are not that far back. Some show obvious signs of more system "pollution", you might say, than others. Some are sweet & dedicated, while others are very into system music, attitudes and language. I was pretty shocked by their language. Some of it is downright disgusting, gutter talk & we have to correct them a lot on this.
Nowadays we're encountering a new set of "heavier" problems. In the past, JETT problems were foolishness, fidgeting, daydreaming and things like that. In this group it is system music, a lot of TV, sports influence & a strong spirit of disrespect. Some of them are questioning or wondering if they even want to be in the Family. So you have varying degrees of discipleship among the JETTs.
(From Elise:) In comparison with now, it seems that it used to be much easier to encourage & challenge JETTs, but now, it takes quite a bit of work to get them inspired about inspiration, working, or classes. It's more than just being a little discouraged or unchallenged.
They've been exposed quite a bit to either system influences, or bad influences from others around them, & it comes out in what they say, the way they act & how they treat each other. It also comes out in the way they see things, as their perspectives are quite surprising & sad.
(From Amos O'Test:) For the last eight years I've worked with JETTs in India, Australia, Japan, & now in the US for the last two years. Since the Charter, & having this first DO JETT camp here, one thing I've noticed is that they seem to be more worldly.
Before when we had JETT camps, usually the peer pressure was positive, & you only had a few "back benchers." But in this situation it seems that there are more people you have to pull along. There is that nucleus that wants to do something, but there is quite a good sized group who are just goofing off.
Another thing we noticed from some of their writing is that quite a number of them couldn't spell well, & their penmanship was poor.
God bless them, they're young, & I think they're taking the Word good, & by the grace of God they are changing.
The JETT Crisis:
(From Sara:) I feel like we really have a JETT crisis happening & we really need to win them. In talking with some of them, they were happy to have YAs for teachers here, as they felt we were easier to relate to. I know even the little bit of personal time that we have been able to have with them has made an impression.
Being here has made me desperate for our Family kids. They are our upcoming generation of teens, & it is a bit overwhelming when you realize all that needs to be poured into them. I was wondering if some of our folks have lost the vision for inspiring & envisioning our JETTs. Perhaps with all that our dear parents & people in the Homes have to do, they have not been taking the time to pour into the JETTs like they should.
How The JETTs Changed!
(From Frank:) Basically when we got here, the majority seemed like deadheads! It was very hard for the JETTs to get out of themselves, & there was a heavy downward gravitational pull. If you got them at all inspired, if you just stopped talking or singing for a moment, they'd go right back down again. In the beginning when we'd have them shout "Revolution for Jesus," you could barely hear them.
But by the end of the camp, there was a clear difference during inspiration times. They were getting out of themselves & singing, raising their hands & praising the Lord afterwards & just screaming at the top of their lungs, "Revolution for Jesus!" That's not what everything is about, but it was an encouraging sign for us that some of the inspiration & Word had punched through & gotten them more on fire.
We got a few reactions like, "Before I came to these camps I wanted to run away from my parents & leave the Family, but now I want to hold on to my place in the Family & do my best for the Lord." Most of their reactions were brief. They didn't elaborate much & didn't like to write much, but the things we did get from them were really precious.
(From Abi & Ezekiel:) As you see from the reports & reactions above from our VSs & SGAs, they were quite taken aback by the state that some of our North American JETTs are in. Nevertheless, it was a tremendous victory to be able to pour into the kids for the time they were there, & we hope that we can do more follow up to keep the ground we gained. It is encouraging that the new GN, "Help from Heaven" addresses a lot of these things & will help bring about the needed changes in the Family, as well as in the attitude of our Homes, adults & young people. It is very inspiring to see how the Lord is giving the answers to some of the problems & situations that we are encountering in our Homes which are affecting our younger generation so much.n
The Latest in the Studios
The JAS has finalized FTT #6 titled, "Stir it Up!" which should be reaching the Homes in early September. They are also working fast & furiously to finish a new Christmas CD to hit the Homes in time for this year's Christmas outreach.
The D.C. studio is putting the final touches on two new FTT songs, "Days of Preparation" & "Want Every Bit of Your Love". They are looking forward to a soon -coming visit from Simon Black who will record some of his new songs as well as some of his all-time hits.
WS has just approved the words for a dozen new FTT songs which will be recorded in our seven studios around the world.
The International Video Ministry Home (IVM) is working on finalizing "My Forever Friend", a new Treasure Attic based on the life of Jesus, with songs taken from the "Great Adventures" Tape. The filming, which has now been finished, remained on schedule despite bad weather, and the video is now being edited. DV, this will be out in time for Christmas outreach! They're presently completing filming on "The Fantastic Journey," another Treasure Attic based on famous Bible stories, featuring songs depicting the famous Old Testament stories from "Great Adventures." Please keep them in your prayers as they work overtime to finish these projects.
New Latin Tape!
By Pedro Studio (CRO):
(Editor's note:) In early July, musicians from North and South America gathered together at the Peru Audio Studio (PAS) to record a new GP Spanish tape/CD for distribution. After three weeks of working together, Pedro Studio reported:
The news is that the Latin tape project is really progressing. Not only are we making progress on the musical front, but also on the spiritual front, which is something that I'm thankful for. We've taken advantage of this opportunity & have shown some of the Summit videos to the team here. We also picked appropriate Word to go with the different topics the videos covered & we discussed ways to apply these good lessons to our situation, not only in the production of our music, but even in our overall attitude.
Besides the resident musicians that are part of the PAS team which are Mark T., Clara, Mexican Pedro & teen Heidi, we also have Byron (of Suzy) who came from the D.C. studio, Brazilian Paulo, Josias from Venezuela & Jose Manuel, who is rejoining the Family. He's a very precious brother & it's been a real blessing to have him with us. We already have 13 songs, at varying stages. We're hoping to produce up to 19 or 20, DV, from which we will select the best line-up for this tape/CD. The "leftover" songs could be the beginning of another CD that we may decide to produce in the future if this first one proves to be a good tool.
It was beautiful to hear from the Lord at the beginning of the project. When we found out that some of the musicians we were counting on would not be coming, we decided to pray & ask the Lord if He wanted us to carry on with this project. Here are some key excerpts of what He said:
"Every good & perfect gift cometh from above. This project is of Me; inspiring happy music for My Latin children.
"Say not we are but few, for is that not the way that I work through the years, with but a few? Though many may not come, the few that there are will do mighty works for Me, for each one is chosen, & each one is called as a special jewel in My hand.
"There are a host of Latin saints who have gone on, who are rejoicing at this chance to help with this tape, & are the ones who are going to compensate for the lack of people there."
As you can imagine, we were encouraged by these words, so we decided to carry on by faith.--And now we marvel at what He & His saints have done to help us. We've felt their inspiration & help. None of us know that much about Latin music, but we've been getting some fun & danceable songs done. We played some of the roughs for our friends who've listened to this type of music all their lives, & overall their reactions have been very positive.
Thank you for your prayers for this project. They are surely working. We have less than a couple more weeks with the whole group & then people will start leaving. So these next couple weeks will be key weeks to get as much done as possible.
In a week or so Jonathan Nubes will come from Chile to record the new Treasure Attics seven & eight (he does Bunny's voice), as well as some other video narrations like "Countdown to Armageddon". Since I do the voice of "Uncle Jim", I'll be staying a little longer to do that with him. We have also received the final line-up of the Christmas CD that JAS is working on, so we'll be working on that too, as well as the other two Treasure Attics that the IVM is working on.
Our Home's SWIFT--Prophecy Saves The Day!
(From the Hilltop Home, Atlanta:) Just after the first of this year, we were approached by our landlord about the possibility of renting out our house during the Olympics. We were all quite excited about this possibility, as it seemed as though we stood to make approximately eight to ten thousand dollars. This would have been 50% of the total amount that our very favorable landlord would have made renting the house out.
Our home gathered together to see if the Lord would speak about what we should do about this. Our Home usually plans a large summer SWIFT for the entire Home, so that everyone can enjoy witnessing on the road, camping, & just plain fun & fellowship together. After asking the Lord which direction we should take, the Lord spoke specifically & said, "Prepare as if you will not rent your house during the Olympics...!"
After much prayer & discussion during our Home council meeting, our Home decided that as a back-up plan, we would begin setting aside an extra $500 a month, or more if the funds came in, so that we would have enough money to pay for our rent & utilities for one month, enabling us to enjoy a fruitful SWIFT without worrying about the burden of finances. The Olympics is now here, & the prophecy was very beneficial, because we were not able to rent the house out during the Olympic season after all. But because we obeyed the Lord's guidance and were faithful to set aside the funds necessary for our rent & utilities, our home now has a month in which to enjoy personal witnessing, etc., as well as have lots of time with our precious TRF Supporter brethren.
"Heart To Heart" on Television in India & Thailand
(From a Home in India): We have some exciting news! Recently we met the managing director of Star TV in India (an Australian man). He took 12 videos, & when we mentioned to him about our concerts in India & that we had given Zee TV two capsules of our show almost nine months ago, he was perplexed that they hadn't broadcast the show as of yet. He promised to look into the matter & asked for any correspondence that we had had with Zee TV, which we sent to him. It seems like he put in a very good word for us, with the result being that our concert was aired during prime time. There was also an address given at the end where people could contact the Family, which was on the screen for quite a while--so we anticipate that the follow-up will be substantial! They broadcasted our two 24-minute capsules on July 22rd & July 29th at 6 pm.
Zee TV has a very large footprint extending from Hong Kong & South East Asia, all the way across India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Gulf & Middle East, Eastern & Northern Europe including the UK, as well as parts of Canada.
From Stephen (CRO), August 9th: Thai Sky TV, which is a very big cable network in Thailand, has also recently agreed to air a full one-hour version of the "Heart to Heart" concerts performed in India last year. They are already subtitled in Thai, & will be aired on its entertainment channel which targets young people (the local Thai equivalent of MTV), some time in the next week or two. It will be on either Friday or Saturday night, prime time, which is another miracle & a fulfillment of Kanti's vision in doing these concerts in the first place. It's amazing to see how far-reaching the message is going. n
JETT's Faithful Follow-Up Pays Off
From Phoenix (CRO):
American Suzy, 19, visited the Kagoshima Home in Japan from Russia this month. Suzy used to live in Kagoshima area with her parents when she was a JETT. When she was 11, she & her family had to leave Japan, but Suzy kept a link through letters & phone calls with a Japanese couple her family had been ministering to. Due to her faithfulness to communicate, a bond was forged between them, to where this Japanese couple considers Suzy their own daughter.
Eight years later, this couple, who are influential in this city, invited Suzy to make a visa trip to Kagoshima from Russia. She came & explained to them what she's doing in Russia, which really impressed them. They approached the local Lion's Club to help Suzy's project of gathering humanitarian aid materials. Two newspaper articles followed and the donations began to pour in, so that when Suzy returned to Russia, she did so with 400 boxes of clothing and food, as well as extra funds to help the Russian work.
What she's doing became quite a testimony to the whole city. One letter, published in the local newspaper, was written by an elderly person who received a call from Suzy after she sent Suzy some boxes & money. This woman explained how she was touched by Suzy's sweet interaction with her, & Suzy's kindness in taking the time to call her to say "thank you," & how this made her feel really good, useful, & worthwhile by giving & sharing.
It was amazing for me to meet a young Family member who has kept in contact with these sheep for eight years. When Suzy came to Kagoshima, even though she had forgotten most of her Japanese, she virtually became one with this couple, the people, & the community. n
Visiting The Japanese Homes
From Phoenix (CRO):
Our team of three VSs & myself have been visiting a number of Homes in Japan over the last month & wanted to share some news.
Hearing From the Lord Before Visiting Each Home: One thing we tried on this trip was to hear from the Lord to get His direction for each Home before we got there, such as the team from Mama's house did when they visited Russia. It was a good experience for me, as well as for the rest of my VS team to hear from the Lord each step of the way, & even when we get something we don't understand, to not minimize it, but to take time to hear from the Lord again, asking Him for more explanation. Depending on the Lord for each situation you go into creates a feeling of peace & faith & trust, which is very strengthening.
Hearing From the Lord with Busy Homes: Another thing we did with these Homes was to pray & hear from the Lord in prophecy with them. It was quite strengthening, unifying & uplifting for them. Some Homes do more hearing from the Lord about their Home life, because of the emphasis put on this in the recent Word. Yet other Homes are so busy taking care of kids, sheep, the house, & fund raising etc., they get so caught up in this cycle of busyness that they can't break out of it when they need to stop & hear from the Lord about things. Our coming & hearing from the Lord with them helped them to break out of their mold.
Sample of Saying Love Words to the Lord: Another need I saw when visiting the Homes was that even though most of the folks have received the "Loving Jesus" revelation well, when it comes to saying loving words to the Lord in their public meetings or prayer meetings, they didn't quite know how to. In one Home when we had a showing of one of the Summit videos, we had a short inspiration & went around the room saying loving words & praises to Jesus. Just seeing somebody else do it showed them that it is simple & not a complicated thing and that we all can do it. Even though the Homes want to implement the New Wine, there is so much Word to implement & they are so busy, it's easy to forget exactly what & how to implement it.
Visiting a TS Couple: We also visited with a TRF Supporter couple, who are active in witnessing. Since becoming TRF Supporters eight years ago, none of us shepherds had met with them except the former area shepherds. They are some of the people who were moved out as TRF Supporters in a way that was not so fair. They weren't given much explanation, & were given the "cold shoulder" suddenly by the other Homes around them, Lord help us! They had a lot of grievances on their hearts, which they expressed to the CRO Office. Even though our Office had been answering them, I feel they needed this face-to-face meeting, where we held their hands, showed our acceptance, expressed our apologies, & they felt our love. We listened to all that they went through, & I apologized for the hurt that it caused them. It seemed that it was a help to them & I felt we connected with each other.
News from WS
TRF Supporter Fellowship, USA: Peter & Gary attended a TRF Supporter meeting, held in Maryland from July 5th through the 7th. Nearly 300 TRF Supporter members as well as a number of former members from all over the States & Canada participated. The meetings were hosted by TRF Supporters, Barney & Joanna & their Home. Peter & Gary spent most of their time talking one on one with individuals, & on the last day held a united meeting which included the reading of a letter from Mama to our TRF Supporter & former members, and a foot-washing & communion. Mother Eve & Faithy were also present & participated in the foot-washing & communion. A film crew interviewed participants & filmed a number of the activities for an upcoming documentary on the Family. The same film crew had recently interviewed Peter for this documentary. This unprecedented step was only taken after much serious prayer & resultant confirmations in prophecy. More details of this TRF Supporter fellowship will be published in an upcoming GN.
GP Unit: After attending the TRF Supporter fellowship, Peter & Gary paid a visit to the GP Unit (which is being set up) and had fruitful discussions on preparing the way for the publishing of our GP books. Gary remained at the GP Unit to help during these initial stages, which included a series of meetings with a number of experts in publishing, marketing & advertising. The team of Gary, Ike, Josiah & Tim Ferguson reported that these meetings were a good step forward in gathering the information needed to set up our own publishing apparatus.
Mama's Birthday: On her birthday, Mama called the Home together for an inspiring talk, followed by some beautiful prophecies. Afterwards she enjoyed a birthday snack of home-made cheesecake with the Home. During the snack people in the Home shared testimonies of the miracles of financial & material supply that they had personally experienced over the years.
Mama sends her love & thanks to every one of you, as you helped make her birthday special, through your continued love & dedication to the Lord, & your faithfulness to uphold her in prayer. She thanks you for your letters, cards, prophecies & pledges of love & devotion, & sends much love & many hugs & kisses in the Spirit to each one of you!
Electronic Lit Library on CD: The WS Computer team is working double-time to meet their October 1st deadline for completion of the first edition of the Electronic Lit Library on CD. Plans are to begin duping the computer CDs in early October so they can reach you before Christmas. Besides preparing the pubs for inclusion on the CD, the programmers are fine-tuning the program to make it as efficient & user friendly as possible, as well as writing comprehensive instructions on how to use it. Please pray for them.
Pioneer News From China
From Hosea:
The key highlight recently was the meetings with Jeff (CRO), Abner (VS) & the China teams. During my time with Jeff at the China meetings he told me about seeing my sons David & Aaron at the Summit meetings. He also showed us the video of Peter & Gary talking about life with Mama. That was super inspiring & made me feel so happy & closer. All the new things that the Lord is doing & giving are terrific! It makes me so happy & is certainly a continuation of all the Lord has started & foretold through Dad. I feel that he's as close & as involved in our lives as ever, & even more so. We need all the help from the spirit world that the Lord & His saints are giving us. I'm so happy & proud to hear that my older children are staying faithful to the Lord, the Family, Mama & Peter.
We're planning to be on the road for the next three or four weeks using buses, trains & boats to see China. We hope to cover the major cities of China's Eastern Coastal provinces. It's the kind of travel in China that we always dreamed of all those years in Macau. I just re-read the prophecies for China which were published in a GN last year, & it is truly amazing all that the Lord has fulfilled already. We received some lit from the CLP in Chinese that we've photocopied & we'll be experimenting with getting it out along the way.
(July 29:) I'm now writing you while on the road. Our two boys, Jondy & Andy, have been doing well & enjoying the trip. We boarded the train in the morning of the first day & spent that day, the night & the next day on the train. We traveled what is called "hard bed" class, which is second class or economy, but with the additional blessing of air conditioning. The compartments consist of two sets of single bunk beds three high along side each other with a aisle in between. There are no curtains on the bunks nor on the compartment, so there is no privacy and everyone can see all that goes on, but no one is bothered by this & everyone takes all activities normally.
To say the least, we stuck out as the only foreigners on the train, especially as we have two blond-haired boys. Some young people came & invited the boys to their compartment to talk & play with them. A little crowd of onlookers gathered around where the boys were & watched them talk & play or whatever they were doing with their new Chinese friends. One way we started to witness was to have their new Chinese friends read to them a little Christian comic witnessing story & translate it to them in English. This way we could introduce the story of Jesus & begin to witness to them & give them the comic to keep. "A little child shall lead them." So the children were our best attraction & witness.
We've had a wonderful first day here & I'll continue the story in our next letter.
(August 3rd:) We have been thrilled to see the Lord opening doors & preparing the way for us at each city on our journey. I just had dinner at a Chinese family's home where I was invited after meeting a precious Chinese man on the bus. He is a high school English teacher. We met him on a crowded bus & began talking together after he came up to me to introduce himself & offer his help. The people here are so sweet & precious & hungry. This trip is so inspiring for me, & I'm super thankful that the Lord is giving me the privilege & blessing to do all this with my two sons, Jondy & Andy, along with YA Chris.
We have seen the sweet people here receive us & feed & take care of us out of the little that they have. Though they don't know Jesus as a person, yet they are receiving us, & in receiving us they are receiving Him, as we are His ambassadors. There is just such a need for the love of Jesus everywhere we go.
Breaking Down the DO/TS Walls
From Simon (CRO, Atlanta, USA):
Since our Home, during our SWIFT, was invited to base out of the Georgia TRF Supporter Farm for fun & fellowship, we thought that it would be the perfect opportunity for us to be able to organize our very first video meeting with both the DO & TRF Supporter Family from this area. These particular TRF Supporters were not able to make it to the large TRF Supporter meeting in Washington, DC in July, so the foot-washing ceremony video was a blessing & inspiration to them. The Summit video which we chose to watch on our first day was "Getting To Know Dad." Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the warm & memorable testimonies shared by Peter & Gary.
Cambodia: A Country in Need
For one month a scouting team stayed in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Cambodia suffered terribly for many years when the genocidal dictator Pol Pot forcibly moved everyone from the cities to the countryside for "rehabilitation", killing over two million people in the process. The small scouting team gives an overview of the country & shares about the precious friends they met while there.
The Country:
Having been devastated by war & the population forcibly moved out of the cities in 1975, the country is quite poor & behind in their overall development. The buildings in Phnom Penh look intact & are slowly being renovated, repainted & fixed. The population has only returned over the last 10 years, & financial investments began in only the last two years. Electricity is beginning to be supplied, but many areas still don't have any, or for only a few hours a day, so every business & most homes have generators. Water supplies are also being improved. The main boulevards running through the city are very good, but side roads are generally in poor condition & there are a lot of dirt roads within the city & residential areas. There is a lot of flooding in the rainy season. There are a lot of beggars, street kids, handicapped men, orphans & widows around, & it was rare to meet a family with both mother & father. Nearly everyone has lost one, two or all family members due to the war.
In the last year or so, a lot of new cars & motor bikes have been introduced & many overseas Cambodians have returned. Phnom Penh is a busy city. The markets are busy & practically everything is available from basic needs, food, household items etc., to electronics, VCRs and computers.
Attitudes:
One of our first impressions was that there was a desperation for financial improvement & that people were quite money minded. The beggars are aggressive & persistent, & in the market people are quite aggressive in their sales. You can bargain & they'll come down pretty quick & offer big discounts just to make a sale.
It's very conservative. The girls generally wear ankle-length skirts & modest long sleeved high necked blouses. If you wear short clothes or shorts they think you are a "taxi girl" (prostitute). As foreigners you can dress less conservatively, although when mixing with the locals it is better to be modest in your dress. Most of their cultures & traditions are the same as in Thailand, although they didn't seem as rigid as they've had a lot of French influence.
Although people were quite friendly & open, there is at the same time a feeling of mistrust & it takes a while to build up a friendship as during the war people couldn't trust anyone as you never knew who was an informer. People are enjoying the new freedoms & "prosperity" (as poor as it looks, it's better than before), so there's a feeling of freedom around.
Political/Security Situation:
The political situation isn't completely stable & there is often talk of coups. During the day there aren't any problems, but it's safer to be inside at night unless you're traveling by car as a lot of robberies happen at night.
Our friends would advise us about where to go & whether it was safe for us or not. Within the city is no problem & within the local area about 20 kilometers out, but they didn't recommend places further out. There are a lot of tourists & many people do travel to other places & towns without problems, but you have to be careful, & travel in a convoy rather than alone. Most foreigner's houses have guards & all of the houses have high fences & gates, often protected with barbed wire. There isn't a feeling of fear in the city, but people are careful & foreigners are a bit nervous about their safety. You do sometimes hear gun shots at night.
Language:
Khmer, English, French & some Thai are the main languages there. A lot of people speak French, so having a French speaker is very beneficial. Between English, French & Thai, we didn't have any communication problems. Practically everyone takes language classes, & overall their French seemed a little better than their English. Khmer isn't too difficult. It's not tonal like Thai, & some words are the same as Thai. Khmer classes aren't so expensive.
Sheep:
We met a young teacher in a Phnom Penh University Language Center who speaks very good English. It was a miracle we met him, as we'd prayed for a translator & felt led to go to the University. When we got there we met him straight away. He just happened to be there as one of his students had to do a test, but normally he wouldn't have been there at that time. He translated some of our tracts & also the song "Peace." He invited us to his class twice, where we met his students & were able to talk with them & teach them some songs.
We also met a precious woman who was trained as a teacher. Her father was killed by Pol Pot & the rest of her family fled to France. Her grandmother is 80 & not in good health, & as no one else in her family wanted to stay to look after her, she chose to. We met with her several times & she got saved.
We met the director of an orphanage which is patronized by Princess Marie--the wife of the first Prime Minister. We did two CTP programs for these orphanages. We explained our whole lifestyle to her, including persecution and our openness about sex, & she loves us, and prayed to get saved.
We didn't feel that you could raise a lot of support from the tools here or that it would be particularly well received due to the country being so poor & needy. However, there is potential for raising sponsorships towards getting the videos into the various institutions, & for other CTP type needs that different institutions may have.
Tapes go out very well, especially with the young people. The ones we got out were sponsored, as again, the students don't have much money. Both the English & French lit & tapes went out well, & if eventually we get a tape in Khmer, it'll be a hit! The popular music here is all from the 60's--English 60's hits--& the music of a famous Khmer singer who died during the Pol Pot regime is also very popular at present.
CTPs:
We did 7 CTPs while there. The whole of Cambodia is a gigantic CTP situation & there are many orphanages & handicapped centers in Phnom Penh, & around the country. We took two suitcases of clothing & books with us, & divided it according to age, trying to give a little to each place we went to. They also appreciate any medical supplies such as aspirin, medication for coughs, stomach upsets, diarrhea etc., even if it's a bit outdated or in a different package.
They also appreciated the programs we did, as most of these kids in the orphanages have never played games or done much in the way of constructive fun. There is a big need for education, and instruction in manners, & basic moral values (right up our alley!), as these were all pretty much forgotten during Pol Pot's regime where guns, violence & force ruled!
The people of Cambodia seem so needy & ready for the Gospel. They need Jesus & His love to wipe away the pain of so many years of war & heartache. God help us to bring it to them.
MAMA'S MAILBOX
Dear Mama,
Thank you all so very much for having the vision & idea [for the young people] to get those Loving Jesus songs at the Summit. Us four YA girls at the Office here have been listening to the tape "Open for Love" (great name too), & we think it's really terrific! It makes loving Jesus so easy & natural & is more than I had ever hoped it would be. The songs have a refreshing originality, & are just lovely. It's such a cool, far out concept to have a whole tape of songs with the theme of loving the Lord in this new, more intimate way. Thank you again. Now I understand what the phrase "Cascades from Heaven" means. I love you very much.
Love, A.
Dear Mama,
I love you & keep you in my prayers! I really liked the Summit class, "Getting to Know Mama", & I'm showing the video to different Homes I visit. People like it very much & are so thankful that they were able to watch this special video.
The VS job is a very rewarding job. It's such a privilege serving our Family in this way. Our people are all so sweet & I admire their love for the Lord. Each Home is so different nowadays. There are many varieties in standards, ministries, Home size, etc., but I can see that each Home is a miracle of the Lord, & this Family is certainly a work of God, not of man. It's so wonderful to see how the Lord is working in people's lives & bestowing many blessings according to their faith & need.
I don't want to write a long letter as I just wanted to say, "Happy Birthday!" Thank you so much for being such a wonderful mother to us all!
Love, S. (a VS)
Dear Mama
I really love you. I haven't written before, but I think of you & pray for you every day. My brother & I just finished reading "Cautions on TV & Movie Watching" (GN 686, Help from Heaven). We've been talking & pow-wowing with my mum about "What is Cool & Peer Pressure" lately because it is a bit of a problem here. I'm not "cool" & sometimes I feel left out & have trials because people who have the most friends, or seem to, don't want to be with me or my friends because we're not "cool"! So I don't have a lot of friends.
Sometimes other kids say that our Home is really strict, & then I feel that their Home is more fun. When I think about it, it isn't really "fun" things, but they're just allowed too much freedom. The way I look at it, some of these kids my age are going to end up out of the Family the way they are going. I love the Family & want to stay. I am thankful for my mum & dad.
I just wanted to say I agree with everything you said, & the Lord said, & I am thankful for the Word & the Family.
Love, H. (age 10)
THE RUMOR MILL
Rumor has it that "a top leader has recently left the Family." Rumors like this one often start in one area, and then spread quickly by phone, letter, word of mouth, etc., all around the world. We first heard of this rumor in July, as it floated around Europe, and it was recently brought to our attention by the US Family as well. We want to officially state that this rumor is simply that--a rumor, as no top leader has left the Family recently.
(Editor's note: Heard a rumor lately? Wondering if it's true? Instead of passing it around, send your rumor in to the official Family "Grapevine" via your CRO, and we will let you know if it's true or not.)
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family