Worldwide Family Activity Report - May 1995
FAR015 - GP
May 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 Family missionaries themselves.
Teens help at Oklahoma bomb site
From Robert, Oklahoma City:
On the morning of April 19th, a powerful bomb exploded outside the federal building in Oklahoma City. Office workers had just arrived, and parents were delivering their children to a day-care center on the second floor. For the next two weeks, rescue squads worked around the clock, inching their way through the ruined building in search of survivors and bodies. The death toll of the bombing--the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history--reached 167.
Nine of our young members living in Oklahoma City and two from Kansas responded immediately to a Red Cross appeal: Volunteers were needed to help run the makeshift command center where much of the disaster relief work was being coordinated, and where most of the National Guardsmen, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and other government relief workers were living.
Although only two of the teens met the Red Cross's 18-and-over minimum-age requirement for volunteers, officials reluctantly agreed to try them for one day. By the end of the day, the Red Cross officials were so impressed with the teens' positive attitude, eagerness to work, and organizational and leadership abilities that they waived the age requirement.
Within two days, seventeen-year-old Heidi was put in charge of the front desk. She signed up new volunteers, monitored all the volunteer workers at the center, and scheduled future work and donations.
Their first day on the job, Claire (17) and Natalie (15) were the center's only secretaries. Natalie later ran the dispensary. Stacy (19) taught the other Red Cross volunteers how to organize a dish-washing operation for several hundred people.
Phil (18) was soon responsible for the distribution of relief supplies, including the entire food storage operation. Besides the chef, Phil and Nathan (16) were the only volunteers who had been trained to cook for large numbers of people, and since hundreds were being fed around the clock, this was an enormous job. Nathan offers these examples: "The first day I fried chicken for six hours. On another shift I cooked chicken again, baked bread and fried ninety dozen eggs."
Thirteen-year-old Ginger often had several National Guardsmen under her "command," and she didn't hesitate to press them into action when she found them slacking off! John (17), Ruth (14), Christopher (13) and Martin (11) rounded out the Family team. They served thousands of meals, and helped in the dispensary, kitchen, or wherever there was a need.
Claire reports: "A lot of people complimented us on our smiles and how cheerful we always were. I even overheard our immediate overseer, Mark, tell his Red Cross superiors that we were the most responsible teenagers that he had ever met."
Ruth adds: "We helped at both the Red Cross center and the nearby First Church of Christ, where relatives awaited news of loved ones still unaccounted for in the explosion. Even though there were a lot of other volunteers, organizers at both facilities kept asking for our help. I think it was because they could tell we really cared about the people we were serving and we were inspired about what we were doing."
One day Stacy and Natalie were present when Dave, the official responsible for informing relatives when the body of a loved one was identified, announced that he was resigning. After 13 days, the emotional stress was getting to be too much. As he was leaving, the girls gave him a "Somebody Loves You" tract, some compiled Bible verses and quotes on the theme of comfort in sorrow, and a personal note from each of them.
The next morning Dave phoned the Family Home, asking for help. The girls' notes had touched him deeply. Stacy and Lydia, an adult Family member, spent the entire day with Dave. They listened and sympathized; they read comforting and strengthening passages from the Bible and Family publications; they hugged and prayed for him. Then they helped him finish his day's work. Stacy took his phone calls, and accompanied him on his rounds. Stacy reports: "All day Dave kept saying how thankful he was for the Family. This was my first experience counseling someone who was coping with such enormous pressure, and it made me more thankful than ever that I have the Lord and the constant loving support of the Family."
On May 6th, a memorial service for the bomb victims was held at the site of the federal building, and the Red Cross chose 350 of the 5,000 volunteers who had worked at the site to help with the service. That number included two adults and nine teens from the Family. They were given the special assignment of greeting and encouraging the bereaved relatives.
When our services were no longer needed, all the soldiers and staff thanked us again and again for our help. One Red Cross official told us, "Other volunteers came and went, but you were among the very few volunteers who worked tirelessly and unselfishly."
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"I was in prison, and you visited me" (Matthew 25:36).
From Kristina, Russia
Somehow a convicted murderer in a prison in the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk got my address and wrote to me. In his first letter, he told me about growing up in an orphanage, and the hostility and mistreatment he experienced as a child. Resentment and hatred festered, and he ended up behind bars. A number of religious groups had visited his prison, he explained, but after talking with them he still wasn't even sure that God existed. I wrote him a brief account of the events which led me to know God's love, and we've been corresponding ever since. Following is a translation of an excerpt from his last letter:
"Now I understand that the Bible is a marvelous book. It has all the answers I need and shows the way I was looking for. Jesus is changing me. I don't hate people or get upset with my guards or other prisoners like I used to. Instead, I try to talk to them about Jesus and find solutions to our differences in the Bible. Thank you so much for showing me the light and for giving me Jesus!"
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From Hannah, John, Rose and Daniel, Romania
Officials from our city hall asked us to contact a local detention home for delinquent youth about conducting a weekly program there, but when we spoke to the director, she was skeptical. "I know these kids," she said. "If they don't like you by the end of the second visit, don't bother coming a third time."
We took up the challenge and went to work. A theater donated costumes, and we put together a program of songs and skits. A local businessman sponsored a set of eleven Family-produced videos and six music cassettes for the detention center.
We arrived for the first program already dressed in our costumes, and kept them on as we met the kids individually after the show. They loved it, and so did the director. Although these kids have all been in trouble, they have sweet hearts and respond very well to the positive challenges we give them. Their instructors are thrilled with our methods and educational materials.--And everyone wants us to keep coming back!
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From Tommy and Lydia Cook, USA
For the past two years we have been corresponding with Arnold and Stan, who are serving time in a high security prison. When we visited Stan for the first time, he told us that ours was only the second visit he had received in 13 years. He has since said that he had received more love from the Family the past two years than he had in his whole life. Both Arnold and Stan have become Christians since we've known them, and both are changed men.
Lives changed and healed
From Maryanne, India
When I met Reena about a year ago, she was bound to a wheelchair, paralyzed and virtually blind. Lupus, an often fatal skin disease which in its most serious form also attacks internal organs, was taking its toll. Shortly thereafter, I lost touch with her, but one of our teenagers who also met Reena continued to pray for her daily.
Recently I was able to contact Reena again. "I'm almost healed," she told me excitedly. To help strengthen her faith, I took Reena a copy of Treasures, an 800-page inspirational book by the Family which contains a wealth of Bible stories and spiritual lessons on a wide range of subjects. When I visited her at her father's factory, I was simply amazed at what the Lord has done for her! Although still handicapped, she can walk, and was managing the whole business in her father's absence.
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From Family members in Uruguay
We met Hugo during one of our weekly visits to a government-sponsored home for the elderly. Although Hugo is only about 50 years old, his family had "dumped" him in the retirement home after a suicide attempt left him blind. When we first met him, Hugo was in the depths of despair. After each visit, however, his outlook on life brightened.
Hugo wanted desperately to move to an institute specifically for the blind, so he could learn to read Braille and learn to get around on his own. In answer to his prayers and ours, we were able to arrange for him to be admitted to a well-equipped institute for the blind. He has already begun spending his days there and will move in soon.
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Robber won by God's love
From Maria, Argentina
It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and I had just left home. Suddenly, a man assaulted me. He held me by the hair and demanded that I give him all my money. I explained that I had very little money with me--just enough to get around on public transport--and that I worked as a missionary. Silently, I prayed that I would be able to stay calm in this terrifying situation, and I immediately felt God's peace wash over me.
My assailant held me tightly and we talked as we walked three blocks. He asked me what church I was from, and said that at one time he had tried to be a Christian. Telling others about Jesus comes naturally for me after years of doing so, so I explained that the Lord loved him and wanted to help him. Then we stopped on a street corner, and he let me go, bowed his head and prayed with me to receive Jesus as his Savior. We parted as friends.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family