Worldwide Family Activity Report -April 1995
FAR014 - GP
April 1995 by The Family, Zurich, Switzerland
The Family
Making a Difference!
Every day, in over 50 countries scattered across six continents, full-time Family volunteers work to bring hope, happiness and God's love to others. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences, as reported by the news media and Family missionaries themselves.
Concerts aid India's blind
In response to a special request from the chairman of India's National Association for the Blind (NAB), 22 of the Family's talented singers, musicians and dancers performed a series of benefit concerts in Bombay and New Delhi. The show troupe's efforts were a success, raising greatly needed financial support for the NAB, and drawing the public's attention to the needs of India's nine million blind.
The Family show troupe, "Heart to Heart," also did a show at Tihar Jail, India's largest high-security prison. For the past two years, the Family has been involved in weekly rehabilitation and counseling programs for the inmates at Tihar Jail. Video clips from this show were aired on two nationally televised programs, reaching an estimated 40 million viewers. India's largest wire service, PTI, released a two-page article about the concerts and prison program.
"Heart to Heart" was also the subject of over a dozen feature articles in Bombay and Delhi papers. Following are excerpts from one such article, which appeared in the March 7th edition of the Bombay Times:
The word is out, an unusual troupe is in town. Twenty-two artists from "The Family"--a voluntary organization which promotes social causes and with members all over the world--are giving performances in aid of the National Association for the Blind. The troupe is led by Jeremy Spencer, one of the world's leading slide guitarists and former Fleetwood Mac linesman, the star attraction of the group. He formed the band Fleetwood Mac with Mic Fleetwood in '67, but left it in '71 in order to work as a missionary.
There are nine lead singers, which means an entire cross section of music by singers of varying tastes, though it will mainly be rock and roll, and pop, "no heavy metal," says Jeremy. Most of the performers are young, between 18 and 21 years of age, but at this age, instead of grooving and rocking and experimenting with drugs, they are all very determined to bring a little happiness to the underprivileged. A selfless attitude indeed. One can only hope that more will follow their lead.
Relief work continues among victims of the Kobe earthquake
"A `circle of smiles' was found in the town of ruins!" So reads the subtitle of a lengthy article in a March issue of the Japanese magazine View, which reported on the Family's disaster relief work in Kobe. Following are translated excerpts from that article:
We are amazed at the dedication of the foreign volunteers. The earthquake destroyed the town, but it also destroyed the walls between religions and races, and the walls between people's hearts....
Around 50 [mostly] foreign members from a Christian missionary group, who reside in Japan, responded to this need.... They erected three large tents in front of Shin-Kobe train station. From this "Camp Kobe," only one week after the earthquake, they came out with a novel approach--delivering relief supplies in person, by bicycle.
Mr. Howard (42) is one of the missionaries. He is an American who ... came to Japan 23 years ago when he was 19, for missionary work.... Mr. Howard says, "We must not distribute the relief supplies with the attitude that we are giving or ... look down on those receiving. The victims are already hurt, and if we come across as though we are giving, people's self-esteem, which is the only thing the victims have left, will also be hurt." So he decides to keep himself simply as a delivery man. This attitude is taught thoroughly to all the volunteer workers at the camp. They all say `welcome' when visitors come, and treat them kindly. They hold fast to this principle: "We are privileged to serve these people."
The missionary group Mr. Howard belongs to is called The Family.... The media now comes to them to get information about the general state of volunteer work in Kobe, and other Christian groups.... Muslims and Hindus visit them too. They are one of the most trusted of all the non-government volunteer groups in Kobe.
The Family's relief work among the victims of the Kobe earthquake is now entering its fourth month. For more details, please see the Family activity special report, "Relief and Rays of Hope after the Kobe Earthquake."
Family children star at international forum
From Will, Denmark: Other Family members and I attended the UN World Conference for Social Development and the adjacent NGO (non-government organizations) forum, which were held in Copenhagen during the second week of March. Over 170 heads of state gathered for this event, making it the largest meeting of world leaders in history.
We had a booth in the NGO complex, and thousands of people passed by, stopping for literature and asking questions about the Family's local and international activities. In addition, we held seminars in several of the conference halls. The stars of our team, however, were the 12 young members of our children's singing group, each of whom dressed in a traditional costume representing a different culture. They drew a lot of attention, and became unofficial "mascots" of the NGO forum.
Atlanta City Council honors the Family
From Kay, USA: When our teenagers were invited to sing for a meeting of the city council of Atlanta, Georgia, they never suspected what would happen. After their first song, the council president awarded the teens with a beautiful wooden plaque citing their various contributions to Atlanta and regional social projects and institutions over the past several years. The text on the plaque ends with this proclamation:
Now, therefore, the Atlanta City Council commends the Family Singers for their dedication and commitment to the needy of our city and society through music and song, and hereby proclaims Monday, February 20, 1995 in the City of Atlanta as
"THE FAMILY SINGERS DAY."
A handicap becomes a help to others
From Charity, USA: Our six-year-old son Josh, who is deaf and mildly retarded, has begun attending a special school for the deaf. The staff shows genuine concern for him in every way, which is a dream come true for us. Josh also gets lots of one-on-one care, as there is only one other child in his class. Josh made so much progress in the first week that all the teachers at his school were very excited.
Twenty-year-old Dawn, who lives with us and is the daughter of a Family couple, is accompanying Josh for the first two weeks to help him get adjusted. The school was so impressed with Dawn that they asked her to work there. Our whole family, as well as Dawn, also attend sign language classes. This gives us an opportunity to offer encouragement to the parents of the other students, many of whom are quite devastated about having deaf children.
The most special part for us, however, is watching Josh reaching out from his silent world to touch the lives of others. His classmate is profoundly autistic, and doesn't initiate contact with anyone. Josh, on the other hand, is very affectionate and sometimes kisses the little boy on the cheek. After a few days, the autistic boy kissed his teacher for the first time. She attributed the change to Josh's influence. The other teachers say he is "delightful," and they are right; he is quite a happy, fun little boy in spite of his handicap. According to the school psychologist's evaluation, Josh's social skills are quite advanced compared to his development in most other areas, which is very unusual. We can only attribute this to our Christ-centered home life and the parenting training we have received in the Family.
There are often benefits to some handicaps, thank the Lord, and the Lord never allows anything to happen to you except that which is for your ultimate good. I'm sure that God must have allowed some people to have handicaps so that they would have a heart and a mind and a soul and a love for others who have the same disability and the same handicap.
So turn your handicap into an advantage! Having dealt with it and conquered it and found the answer, God can turn around and use it for His glory! (David Brandt Berg, founder of the Family, 1919-1994).
Prayer changes things!
From Meekness, Norway: Maria and her husband have known the Family for over three years, and during that time she has shared the gospel of a living, miracle-working Savior with many others in her community. All the while, she needed a miracle herself.
She and her husband wanted very badly to have a baby, but she suffered seven miscarriages. About a year ago, she underwent a series of examinations to determine the cause. The doctors' findings were not good: She would never be able to have children, they told her, because of the general weak condition of her body, and ovaries that weren't functioning properly. In addition, her birth canal was deformed, so even if she were to become pregnant again and carry the baby to full term, she could not deliver the baby naturally, but would need a Cesarean section. Furthermore, they discovered an orange-size tumor in her womb and a number of bleeding polyps lining her uterus. The tumors and polyps could be removed surgically, but she would still not be able to have a baby.
Maria was reminded of a verse from the Bible: "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). She decided to put God to the test, and checked herself out of the hospital. Two weeks later she became pregnant again, and was immediately put under doctors' supervision. Her condition was precarious at best, they told her. Maria and her husband came to us for prayer and counsel about prenatal care. She began to follow a proper diet, get good exercise and rest, and she and her husband prayed every day with us that the Lord would keep the baby to full term. Then the miracles started happening.
First the orange-size growth started to shrink, and finally disappeared! Then the polyps stopped bleeding, and, one by one, dried up. As her preganancy continued normally, we began concentrating our prayers on her wish to have a safe, easy, natural delivery. We also helped her prepare by teaching her breathing techniques and other keys to natural childbirth. She went into labor right on schedule, and, to the doctors' amazement, gave birth to a healthy baby boy in a completely natural delivery. Maria and her husband were elated, of course, and credit the Lord with the miracle that He performed right before their eyes!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family