Worldwide Activity Report -- July 1997
FAR048 -- GP     chr

Copyright 1997 by The Family

         "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone, everywhere," Jesus told His followers. Every day, in nearly 80 countries, Family missionaries share Jesus' message of hope and love with many thousands. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences.

Cancer patients meet the Great Physician
From Faith, India
         At one of the two hospitals we visit regularly, the head doctor is especially thankful for the time we take to encourage and show a personal interest in the patients. Although not a Christian himself, he recognizes what an important part a positive frame of mind plays in the recovery process, and he sees our counseling have such an effect on his patients.
         One woman I talked with recently was to be operated on the next day. Her condition was delicate, and her doctor had told her that she could have heart failure or slip into a coma during the operation. I prayed with her on the spot, and my co-workers and I prayed for her just before the operation. Her surgery was a success, and she was discharged from the hospital just five days later. Her remarkable recovery in answer to prayer has had quite an impact on the Muslim community where she lives.
         Another woman, who is herself a doctor, had already been operated on for breast cancer. As the cancer was detected at an advanced stage, she was also undergoing radiation treatment. She was experiencing lots of pain and was in a desperate state emotionally when she asked me to pray for her. After praying, I gave her a copy of the Family poster "Peace in the Midst of Storm." She read the comforting message on the back of the poster immediately. She then held it to her heart and called on Jesus to help her. -- Quite an unusual initial response for someone from a Hindu background.
         The next time we saw her, she told us that she felt like hugging Jesus all the time. "I hold Him close to my heart! He is all I have, and I want nothing else!" she told us.
         When she left the hospital to return to her hometown, she was radiant! Now she wants to work as a doctor in a cancer hospital so she can give Jesus' message of hope to other cancer patients.

Vietnam veteran freed from remorse
From Dove, USA
         My thirteen-year-old son Steve and I were in the parking lot of a mall when we met Robert. We had noticed him sitting in his car earlier, but had thought nothing of it. This time we felt the Lord wanted us to talk to him, so we walked over, greeted him, and gave him a poster. At that, he held up a little booklet of Bible verses on salvation and comfort.
         "I just finished praying for God to help me," he said. "This is amazing!"
         Robert went on to explain that he was a disabled Vietnam veteran. He had recently been robbed of all his cash, and his next disability check wouldn't arrive for several weeks. With nowhere to stay, he was living out of his car. We referred him to a homeless shelter where we do volunteer work, and then asked him more about himself.
         It was soon apparent that he was still very troubled by his experiences in Vietnam. Before he was drafted into the army, he had enjoyed hunting. "Then I went to war," he explained, "and I began to feel the same way about the people I had to shoot. -- I enjoyed it." Then he started to cry. "I feel so guilty that I have thought about committing suicide many times. Can God ever forgive me?" he asked.
         We assured him of God's unconditional love and forgiveness, and prayed with him for peace of heart and mind -- "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). Right before our eyes, God lifted over twenty years of remorse and condemnation! By this time, Steve and I were both in tears too. Robert was living proof that Jesus and His love can heal any wound and mend any aching heart!

Prisoners find the key to freedom -- Jesus!
From Esther, South Africa
         At the prison where we do volunteer counseling, I recently gave a salvation class in English and Zulu to 86 prisoners who had already shown an interest in Christian teaching.
         I don't speak Zulu, so I typed out salvation verses from a Zulu Bible, as well as the salvation prayer from one of our Family posters in Zulu. Then I photocopied enough for everyone. With a little help from a translator, the prisoners could easily follow along.
         At the end about 50 prisoners prayed with me to receive Jesus. The others were already saved, so this turned out to be a class on witnessing for them. Afterwards several prisoners asked for prayer for healing, and others asked that we visit and give them Bible studies more often.
         "If you abide in My Word," Jesus promises, "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32). The faith these men have found will go a long way toward helping them lead happy, productive lives when they are released.

Love doesn't give up!
From Tabitha, Taiwan
         Some time ago I met a doctor who said he was on the verge of committing suicide. He prayed with me then to receive Jesus, and started phoning me almost every night.
         The first few calls were very long, and each time he would pour out all of his troubles nonstop. After a while, I would let him tell me his latest problems for a few minutes, and then ask him if he would like to pray with me. Each time he would say yes, and I would ask the Lord to help him overcome the problems he had just told me about. This went on for several weeks. I was often tempted to give up on him, as he didn't seem to be making any progress, but he continued to pray with me at the end of each call and the Lord encouraged me to keep trying to help him.
         Now, six months later, he is a different person! He still phones from time to time, but now it's mostly to thank me and tell about all the Lord has done for him. He was a loner before, but now he has lots of friends. He has also begun helping our work.
         To paraphrase 1 Corinthians 13:4, "Love doesn't give up!" And I'm so glad I didn't give up on this dear man!

Transformed!
From Joanna, Belgium
         Yuu-Yin was sitting alone in a corner in her Chinese restaurant, sad and depressed, when I met her. She has the saddest eyes I have ever seen, I remember thinking. She explained that she had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and her doctors didn't know how long she would still be able to walk.
         As we talked, the Lord gave me so much love for her. I prayed for her healing, and comforted her in her sorrow. Then I showed her John 3:16 in Chinese, from the back of my Bible, and she eagerly prayed with me to receive Jesus as her Savior.
         By the time I left her, she was completely changed. A beautiful smile had transformed her face. She begged me to send her more Christian literature in Chinese and, even though she was still in pain, she insisted on walking me to the door. Please pray with me that having transformed Yuu-Yin's heart and countenance, the Lord will now transform her body. "With God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

Prophetic dream fulfilled
From Peter, Clare and Francis, Japan
         Some months ago a close friend of ours, Mrs. Endo, asked us to pray that she and her husband would be able to adopt a baby. Considering all the red tape involved and the fact that the waiting list of couples wanting to adopt a baby was very long, the Endos really needed divine intervention!
         At one point when Mrs. Endo began to doubt that she would ever be given a baby, Clare had a dream. In the dream, Mrs. Endo phoned us early one morning to tell us a baby had been found for her. The mother of the baby was going to have an abortion, but instead decided to allow the baby to go full term and then give it up for adoption. Now that baby was to be given to the Endos! The dream was so touching and vivid that Clare was crying when she woke up. Clare told her dream to Mrs. Endo, and reconfirmed that she believed God would answer her prayers and work out the adoption in His time.
         Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Endo met a woman who does volunteer work at an adoption agency in another city. In Japan, adoptive parents are required to live in the same city where the baby was born, but Mrs. Endo filed an application with her new friend anyway.
         Weeks passed.
         Then early one morning we received a phone call from Mrs. Endo, who couldn't wait to tell us the good news! A baby girl had just been born in the other city, and the adoption agency had decided to give her to the Endos. The birth mother had planned to have an abortion, but then reconsidered -- just as in Clare's dream!

One touch of love
From Hepsi, Brazil
         When my husband and I were finished visiting one of our friends at his workplace, Joo, a young man who works for our friend, walked us to our car.
         "The first time I saw you two, I thought to myself, Those people have Jesus," Joo said. We talked for a few minutes, said goodbye, and I gave him a "Somebody Loves You" tract.
         A week later I visited that same friend, and Joo came over to talk.
         "Last week when you gave me that tract, it was my 18th birthday," he said. "Nobody had wished me a happy birthday or done anything special for me -- not even my mother. It made me very sad that nobody paid any attention to me, or remembered my birthday. Then before I went to bed, I read the tract you had given me, and it made me cry. I could feel the Lord's love for me. It flowed from those words."
         Joo is just a simple laborer and the sort of person who can be overlooked or taken for granted, but the Lord remembered him and gave him the most beautiful birthday present that any of us could ever wish for -- a touch of His divine love!
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         The Family is a non-profit, volunteer organization. Each of the activities you have just read about was made possible through donations from businesses, associations and concerned individuals. If you would like more information about The Family, or if you would like to help sponsor Family volunteers or projects, please contact us at one of the addresses below:



Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family