Worldwide Family Activity Report - Christmas 1995
FAR020 - GP
November 1995 by The Family, Zurich, Switzerland

The Family
Making a Difference!

Miracles of Christmas Love
         Christmas is unique. Christmas transcends borders and boundaries to touch the hearts of people of all nationalities, colors, creeds and social standings. Even those who have never heard the Name of Jesus have heard of Christmas. People of many religions and people of no religion associate this season with that which is dearest to the human spirit -- love, loved ones and the giving of oneself. At Christmas time, guns of war fall silent and even enemies share a brief but blessed moment of "peace on Earth, good will toward men." Almost the whole world recognizes Christmas!
         This Christmas, in over 60 countries on six continents, members of the Family will bring hope, happiness and the original meaning of Christmas -- God's gift of Love in Jesus -- to many thousands of people in orphanages, senior citizens' homes, hospitals, homeless shelters, prisons and juvenile correction centers. They will also stage hundreds of performances for civic Christmas projects and at corporate and private parties. If other years are any indicator, some of the Family's Christmas performances will be featured in televised newscasts or reported in the print media, inspiring millions more with a message of God's Love and hope for a better tomorrow.
         The following highlights from reports of projects and experiences of last year, Christmas 1994, give a glimpse into the type of activities Family volunteers are involved in this Christmas season.
         May God bless you with a meaningful, love-filled Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

The poor are fed
From Cacho, Mexico:
         Several Family Homes worked together to provide a hot Christmas dinner and stage a musical performance for thousands of Mexico City's poor in the Zocalo, the city's main square. We spent one week collecting food and raising the needed sponsorship from friends and local companies. Then we printed and distributed invitation flyers to beggars, vendors, shoeshine boys, street sweepers, the homeless and anyone else who might have been alone or forgotten at Christmas. One blind man asked his boy to read the invitation and then commented, "You see, son, God didn't forget us. We are going to have Christmas after all!"
         Many restaurants promised to donate cooked food on the appointed day. One restaurant owner, a friend of the Family, decided to close for the day in order to dedicate his whole operation to cooking for our Christmas dinner for the poor. Other friends offered to cook pots of food in their homes. One bakery donated over half a ton of bread, and another sponsor gave over 3,000 disposable plates and cups.
         The big day arrived and we went to the square, still planning to go through with the musical show we had prepared, even though a last minute hitch had left us without sound equipment and a generator for electricity. We needed a miracle or two!
         A few minutes later, a total stranger approached us. We gave him an invitation to a free meal and answered his questions about our work. "What compelled you to do such a thing as this?" he asked. When we answered that it was the Love of Jesus, he pointed to several large tents on the opposite side of the square. "Those tents are mine," he explained. "I had also planned a big Christmas program, but my performers are very late and now I'm stuck with no show!"
         When we introduced him to our teen performers he excitedly exclaimed, "Look, I've got a stage and no show and you've got performers and no stage. Why don't we join forces? You can use one of the tents to set up your food line and you can use the big tent with the stage for your Christmas program!" When we explained that our sound equipment hadn't arrived, he pointed to an array of sophisticated equipment being unloaded from his trucks and said, "It's all yours to use!" We had prayed for help from Heaven, and this was it!
         We quickly organized our teams and started setting up in both tents, but before we were finished, dozens of people had already arrived and were asking for free food. We hastily passed out donuts and coffee, trying to buy a little time. Within a few minutes so many people had gathered that we began to think we might get mobbed before we could get our serving lines organized! As we worked, we prayed that the situation wouldn't get out of control. Soon some of the children and women who had come to be fed pitched in to help us set up, and everything proceeded smoothly.
         For the next seven hours, twelve of our staff worked non-stop serving food to what seemed a never-ending line of hungry people. One elderly lady cried openly as she stood in line. "I've never seen anyone do something like this for others on Christmas!" she said. A few times we looked in the pots, thinking they must surely be empty. Somehow the food seemed to stretch and stretch. By the time our last guests had eaten their fill, our servers had dished up more than 3,000 meals.
         Other Family members distributed donated toys and clothes to people as they passed through the food line. The parents seemed to appreciate this even more than the children. To our amazement, strangers kept bringing us more bags of clothes to give away!
         Meanwhile, in and around the large show tent, a crowd of several thousand gathered for the musical program which included our teen singing group, our younger children's show and a puppet show.
         Several times when the crowd swelled, we again wondered if we were going to be able to keep everything under control. We shouldn't have worried. -- The Lord had everything under His perfect control! In the food tent the long queues moved quietly along and the meals were served in an orderly fashion. The show tent was filled with hundreds of poor enjoying their own Christmas musical on stage. On the fringes of the crowd, our teens talked with individuals who approached them for prayer and counsel about their problems. Hundreds prayed with us that day to receive Jesus.
         Finally the last were fed and our kids had sung their hearts out. As we packed up and said good-bye to our newfound friends, our hearts echoed what they had been telling us all day -- this was the best Christmas we had ever had.

Expect Christmas miracles!
From Kay, USA:
         When our Christmas carolers sang in the intensive care unit and two other wards of a local children's hospital, the air was charged with emotion. The young leukemia and heart patients were elated, and many of their parents, knowing that this might be the last Christmas they would spend with their children, were moved to tears. So were we. "God still does miracles," we told them as we prayed for their children's recovery. "Christmas is when Love is king, and Love can do most anything!"

Helping desperate students
From a Family community in Shizuoka, Japan:
         During the last half of 1994, newspapers here drew the public's attention to the growing problem of bullying in and around public schools. The issue took on new proportions after the tragic deaths of several middle school students at the hands of classmates.
         We addressed this problem as part of our Christmas program for our community. Our free concert featured our own middle-school-age children and a Christmas message to inspire love, understanding and friendship. Local papers advertised the event, as well as our "friendship hotline," which offers a listening ear to those of any age who are in need of encouragement or a friend.

Christmas in Karachi
From Stephen, Pakistan:
         As the Christmas season approached, the ethnic turmoil which had torn this city for months intensified. Over 80 lives were lost in the violence during December alone. Despite the near-chaotic conditions, we performed two benefit shows and distributed over one ton of clothes, shoes and toys to the poor -- all donated to the Family by businesses abroad and shipped to Pakistan. The Prince of Peace, whose birth we were remembering, kept us safe and gave us peace in our hearts as we shared His Love with others.

"Now we know Jesus' Love!"
From Lily Ruth, India:
         During the ten days surrounding Christmas, our singers performed 21 shows in hospitals and other institutions. At the Central Jail in Madras, for example, they sang and distributed food packets -- donated by friends of the Family -- to over 1,500 prisoners. After another program in a home for the elderly, one dear woman struggled to her feet and choked back the tears. "Thank you so much for telling us that Jesus loves us," she said. "Now we can feel it and know it and believe it!"

Christmas is for everyone!
From a Family community in Washington, D.C.:
         Everyone needs Christmas! That simple realization came back to us time and again during the course of our Christmas performances. From federal officials and foreign diplomats to youngsters at the Elwyn Home for mentally handicapped children, hearts were warmed and filled to overflowing. For the third Christmas in a row, we were invited to sing Christmas carols at the White House. Instead of caroling during candlelight tours for the general public, as we did in the past, this year we were asked to do three special shows for presidential staff members and appointees. One of our neighbors for whom we also caroled said, "The world is getting pretty bad, but seeing young people like you reaching out to others rekindles my hope. This is Christmas!"

Christmas pageant retells the Story of Love!
From Marianne, Japan:
         Adults, teenagers and children from several Family Homes in Tokyo teamed up to create a Christmas pageant which portrayed the life and ministry of Jesus from birth to resurrection. Presented in rock opera format, this show made the story which is unfamiliar to many Japanese immediately understandable. Following a performance in a large theater, one viewer called it "powerful, dynamic, breathtaking!" Another said, "This spoke directly to my heart." Some were so touched by the message and presentation that they clapped and wept and clapped again. To be touched by God's Love is the greatest Christmas present of all!

For more information:

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