LATEST NEWS FLASHES!No.255      DO/TS    2/97
By WS Pubs Team

1. Announcing: Two Monthly FARs!

Copyright 1997 by The Family, Zurich, Switzerland

         We have received suggestions from a number of Homes about how we could make the monthly "Family Activity Report" (FAR) more usable on their fields, particularly in non-Christian countries. So beginning this month of February 1997, we are attempting something new: We hope to put out two FARs each month. One will contain testimonies written and/or edited with our friends, contacts and supporters of all faiths (or no faith) in mind. The other will be geared toward those who are already saved or devout Christians.
         The first type, which for the sake of simplicity we'll call "service" FARs, will major on our social and community projects, disaster relief, etc. the social Gospel, or what we generally refer to as our "consider the poor" projects. In these issues, we will refer to Family members as "volunteers" or "relief workers," rather than "missionaries" (a term which has a negative connotation in some countries). We will also make any references to the Lord and matters of faith more general, so these FARs can be used with the broadest possible readership.
         In the second type, which we'll refer to as the "Christian" issues, we'll focus on lives changed through the personal Gospel in the course of our "consider the poor" and other outreach ministries. We'll also include testimonies which teach, reinforce, or give examples of the basics of Christian faith, such as Salvation, Mk.16:15, the power of prayer, divine healing, and deliverance from crime and vice, etc.
         In order to make the two types easily distinguishable at a glance, we have changed the introduction on the Christian issues to be more well, Christian! You are, of course, welcome to give both types to some or all of your contacts if you feel they would appreciate and benefit from both. The testimonies will not be duplicated, so if you feel your friends would like to read four pages instead of two, great!
         As you may recall, this dual approach was actually our vision for the FAR from the beginning, and we did "service" and "Christian" issues about our work in Croatia/Bosnia and Kobe. Until recently, however, we only received enough publishable testimonies to do one FAR per month. Now, thanks to your faithful reporting, we're going to try to do two! Whether or not we will be able to do so consistently will depend largely on the material we receive, so keep those good reports coming!
         Please refer to FSM 299, "Urgent! Help Wanted: Family Journalists!", for tips on writing for the GP. One additional point: When writing testimonies for the "Christian" FARs, if you can include a Bible verse or present a basic spiritual principle or lesson in a non-preachy way, that would be a great help!
         We're sorry that we're not able to publish every testimony we receive. Sometimes this is because we try to include as wide a variety of articles as possible in each issue both in terms of the types of ministries reported, and the countries or continental areas represented. This also explains why some articles are published several months after they are sent in: We place similar articles in different FARs, in order to make each issue as fresh and distinct as possible. Now that we'll be publishing two FARs each month, we should be able to stay more current.

2. Urgently Needed: Photos to Accompany 1996 Annual Activity Report (YEAR)

         If you haven't yet received the Family's 1996 Annual Activity Report (which we sometimes refer to as the YEAR, our Year-end Activity Report), you will soon. It's part of this year's Feast package! Once you read it, we're sure you'll say with Dad: "Every year for about the last ten years I've said, 'Well, this is probably the last and greatest year we will ever have, we could certainly never have another one this good,' and every single year we beat the last one! Every year's been better than ever!" (ML #2073:2,3). And that is definitely the case this year! You all did a phenomenal job, with more pioneering, greater accomplishments and more gains in nearly every area than ever before!
         For those of you who haven't visited the Family WEB site lately, the WEB version of the 1995 YEAR contains a number of photos of the ministries and projects covered. We would like to do the same with the 1996 YEAR, but we need photos!
         So if you have any photos of your 1996 projects which you would like to contribute to the pictorial WEB version of the YEAR or possible upcoming Family brochures, please send them in immediately, via your ABM or CRO, or send scanned photos directly to our e-mail address (wspubs@ibm.net). We also need photos of current projects, of course, so please try to take some and send them! (For details, please see "A picture is worth a thousand words!", FSM 299, pg. 7; and LNF 252, "Scanning and Sending in Photos by E-mail.") Thanks so much!

3. Wanted: More In-Depth Activity Reports

         If your Home is or has been involved in recent special projects (the 1996 YEAR lists about 300 such projects, many of which involve more than one Home!), we and the world would love to hear more! Well-rounded testimonies of several pages (about 2,500 words) are ideal, but shorter or longer testimonies are also fine. Again, please see FSM 299 for tips.
         Special thanks to those of you who sent in-depth reports on your outstanding projects of 1996. The first of these will be published for the Family and friends soon, Lord willing, with GP versions of some to follow. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your taking the time to write those testimonies! Not only do they chronicle some truly remarkable projects and achievements, but they were some of the best-written articles we've ever received. Thanks a million!

4. FAR Material by E-mail

         Reminder: Articles for possible publication in the FAR and scanned photos for possible inclusion in the WEB version of the 1996 Annual Activity Report (YEAR) can be sent by e-mail to the following address: wspubs@ibm.net
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         We're so proud of you, dear Family, for the wonderful way the Lord is using you to touch and change so many lives with His love, and we who work on the FAR, the YEAR and the WEB site take great joy in showing you off to the world! Thanks again for sharing your news with us, so we can "sing it from the housetops!"
         God bless and keep you, and continue to make you a blessing!
         Much love and prayers,

         Your WS Pubs Team


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family