Worldwide Activity Report -- August 1997
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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.

Mobile ministry in southern Africa
From Peter, Botswana
         For the past 11 years, my wife Joy and I have had a mobile gospel ministry in southern Africa. During that time we have shared the message of God's love and salvation through Jesus with tens of thousands of people -- individually or in groups -- and reached hundreds of thousands more through Gospel tracts. On average, the two of us pray with about 250 people each month to receive Jesus as their Savior. Many others, no doubt, receive Him by praying the salvation prayer that is included in every piece of literature we distribute.
         One of our main activities is presenting slide shows in schools, orphanages, hospitals, homeless shelters and prisons. In First World countries, the lowly slide projector has given way to hi-tech videos and interactive computer programs, but not here. Most of our audiences have never seen slides before, so they're a big draw. "A picture is worth a thousand words," and beautiful color slides are an excellent way to communicate the Gospel in an easy-to-grasp, sure-to-remember way!
         We also freely distribute large quantities of "What Everybody Needs Is Love" poster tracts everywhere we go. Most people here are not able to afford the Family-produced videos, tapes and color posters which play a big part in The Family's outreach in other parts of the world, so we depend mostly on poster tracts and other black-and-white literature. We print and give out tracts in five languages. Each "What Everybody Needs Is Love" poster tract includes an order form for a free copy of the Gospel of John in whatever language they speak. This has resulted in our sending out many hundreds of Gospels all over southern Africa and beyond -- some as far away as India.
         For those who express a desire to grow in their newfound faith or share it with others, we offer a free correspondence course on Bible basics entitled "Living Waters." The response to this program has been terrific! We presently have about 150 people working their way through this course.
         In addition to a number of southern African countries where there are established Family missions, we "pastor by mail" people from Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Uganda.
         Through this ministry we not only get to watch the Lord work miracles in the lives of others, but we've experienced His blessing on our own lives like never before! "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that waters shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:25).We would welcome your help to reach many in Africa with the Gospel. Thank you and God bless you!

         [Picture caption] Far and wide! Peter with 750 reams of donated paper -- enough to print 350,000 tracts!

"A child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6).
From Grace, Philippines
         "Is this such-and-such a number?" a man's voice asked over the phone.
         "Yes,"I replied.
         "How old is Peter?" was his next question.
         The caller introduced himself as Vic, and went on to explain that he had once been a successful businessman. Recently he had lost everything, and was "worse than bankrupt."
         "One of my former employees received a 'To You--With Love' tract from a boy while riding a jeepney (a mini-bus; popular public transport in the Philippines). That man was down and out that very day, but he was touched by what he read on that piece of literature. He said he felt God's love through it! Later he thought of me, as he knew I also facing major difficulties, and visited me to pass on the tract.
         "Because I've been so depressed," Vic went on, "nobody wants to talk with me anymore -- not even my parish priest. But after reading the tract, I thought surely the young boy who passed it out would talk with me. So that's why I'm calling for Peter."
         I explained that Peter is my husband, and that Vic's friend must have received the tract from Gabriel, our 14-year-old "special child" who was born with a learning disability.
         "Despite his limitations, Gabriel really enjoys passing out tracts," I told Vic. "To make sure that anyone who has questions or wants to know more can call in, Gabriel writes his dad's name and our phone number on the bottom of each tract -- hence the child's handwriting."
         During the conversation that followed, a lonely, depressed man received the encouragement and reassurance of God's love that he so desperately needed. And Vic isn't the only one who's been helped through Gabriel's humble ministry. Others have also called, and some of those who hadn't yet received Jesus as their Savior have prayed with Peter or me over the phone to do so.

Muslims receive the Gospel gladly!
From Matthew, Marie and Yana, Kazakhstan
         Nahuriz, the Muslim New Year, is highly celebrated here. Every square in town is set up with yurts [circular tents used by nomadic Mongols of central Asia] that serve as tchai (tea) shops, and a stage where Russian and Central Asian dancers and singers perform. This year we took advantage of the occasion and the beautiful weather to share God's love with thousands.
         Between our local full-time and part-time members, we formed four witnessing teams and went to different parts of the city with the goal of sowing as many seeds as we could. In only two hours we distributed 22,000 Gospel posters. (We normally distribute about 20,000 per month, but this was all in one day!) We also prayed with over 50 people to receive Jesus.
         There is virtually no Christian literature printed in Kazakh, so people consider our posters in the local language a sign of the Lord's love for them and their culture, and receive them gladly!

Teen turnaround
From John and Dawn Davidson, USA
         Our next door neighbors' teenage daughter, Kay, was involved in drugs and "addicted" to heavy metal music. She had received Jesus years ago, but was in a very backslidden state.
         Recently we lent her parents a copy of The Family's "Countdown to Armageddon" video, about signs of the Endtime which are presently being fulfilled. Kay watched it, and the Lord got through to her. She stopped taking drugs, smashed all of her heavy metal CDs, took the rock idol posters off her walls, and put up a large poster of Jesus praying in the garden instead! She's so much happier now -- a changed girl!

A ray of encouragement at life's darkest hour
From Miriam, 18, Romania
         As I was punching my bus ticket for yet another tedious and jostling bus ride home, a man awkwardly tried to start a conversation with me. His name was Petre. He had just arrived in this city, he explained, and was very worried about his 20-month-old son, Vali, who was about to undergo heart surgery. I offered to pray for them both.
         Petre was so happy to hear that and remarked, "I knew you were a Christian; I noticed a light on your face when I first saw you. That's why I wanted to talk with you."
         He also wanted me to meet his wife and baby, so the next day another Family member and I went to visit them at the hospital. That's when we found out how desperate Vali's situation really was. He suffered from severe Down syndrome, and every day was a painful, desperate struggle.
         We prayed for Petre and his wife again, and encouraged them with promises from the Bible. We also related some of the life-enriching experiences of a Family couple who had a Down syndrome child who only lived three years, and who had written their story about how their "angel" brought them closer to God's heart of love. At the end Petre and his wife were both in tears, and thanked God for sending us to show them His love when they needed it most.
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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