Worldwide Activity Report -- February 1998
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Copyright 1998 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.

         [Picture caption] Keys to the Kingdom of God. Since the Family's founding 30 years ago, Family members around the world have prayed with an average of nearly 2,000 people each day to receive Jesus as their Savior--or about one every minute and a half. Here a Family member (left) shares the Gospel with a man in a park in Hungary.

After 22 unsuccessful operations, Jesus heals!
From Salomon and Belen, Costa Rica
         A woman who introduced herself as May was at her wits' end when she phoned us. She told Belen, who had answered the phone, that the situation with her eight-year-old daughter, Diana, had driven her to the brink of suicide.
         Diana had been born with a deformed intestinal tract, and had spent her first two years in the hospital, hooked to machines. May was required to take courses in nursing before Diana could be released from the hospital to be cared for at home. Over the next six years, Diana had undergone many more operations--22 in all. Still, Diana had never had an unassisted bowel movement.
         Belen prayed with May over the phone, and asked Jesus to manifest Himself in May's life in such a way that she would never again consider taking her own life. Belen later asked other Family members to pray for May, and at that time they received the following message from Jesus in prophecy:
         "This one, May, is precious in My sight. I have put her in your path so that you will visit her and tell her that I love her. She thinks that I don't love her because of all the difficulties she's had."
         Several days later, Belen phoned May to reassure her of Jesus' love. She also offered to visit May and her family in order to pray for Diana in person. May gratefully accepted.
         We traveled from San Jose to May's hometown in Cartago Province, and were warmly welcomed. It was then that May explained how she had come to phone us for help.
         "It was a small miracle," she said. "I almost never buy La Nacion (a national Costa Rican newspaper), but one day I did. Inside was an article by Tommy (a Family member and one of our co-workers), in which he told how the Lord had healed him of a serious illness and transformed his life. Tommy had included your phone number at the end of the article.
         "At first I thought that it was an advertisement," May continued, "and skipped over it. But the article had also caught Diana's eye, and she asked me to read it to her. That's when I decided to phone you to ask for help."
         We prayed together for Jesus to heal Diana, and spent some time encouraging May, Diana, and Diana's nine-year-old brother, Luisito. Before we left, all three prayed with us to receive Jesus into their hearts.
         A short while later, May phoned us with big news: Jesus had done a miracle! Diana had been able to eliminate without assistance--for the first time in her life. "She's so happy and excited," May went on, "and she wants you to visit again."
         When we arrived, Diana ran to give us hugs and kisses and tell us what Jesus had done for her. We spent a wonderful afternoon with May, her husband, Luis, and the two children, praising the Lord for His goodness and power, and strengthening their faith with His Word.
         "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27).

Twice saved
From Christina, Thailand
         I was on my way to witness to sailors from a ship that had just docked in a nearby port, when Peter, a Family missionary visiting from Vietnam, asked to come along. Little did either of us imagine what the Lord had up His sleeve!
         On board the ship, some of the sailors told us an amazing story of how they had rescued a Vietnamese fisherman on their way to Bangkok. There had been a typhoon in the Gulf of Thailand, and this fisherman's boat had been caught in the storm and capsized. His two companions drowned. After 23 hours in the water, holding onto a piece of his vessel's mast, the other ship passed close enough to see him, and the crew rescued him. Had it passed one hour later, the sun would have set and the sailors would never have seen him. Nearly dead from exposure, he wouldn't have survived another night in the sea.
         The ship was returning to Vietnam and would take the fisherman, so he was still on board. One of the sailors, a born-again Christian, had tried to witness to him, but the fisherman spoke only Vietnamese. Peter, who has learned Vietnamese, offered to talk to him, and by and by the fisherman received Jesus as his Savior. Surely the Lord must love this fisherman to first have him rescued from drowning, and then to engineer our meeting on the one day Peter was along--saved twice in only two days!
         So many "impossible" situations had come to pass, one after another, that everyone could easily see that it hadn't all happened by chance; the Lord had done it all! The sailors were so impressed that they took up a collection for Peter and the Family's work in Vietnam.

Prodigal son
From Sunny, India
         I and other members of my Family community in New Delhi are privileged to work with the deaf. There seems to be no end to the special things the Lord does for them!
         One day, Andrew and I were travelling across the city when we met a deaf boy, Sameer, on the bus. Sameer was especially happy to meet Andrew, who is also deaf, and the two conversed in sign language until we came to the stop where we needed to change buses.
         "Wherever you're going, I'll come with you," Sameer signed. "I just want to talk with you!"
         After that first meeting, Sameer began attending our weekly classes, where we teach over 150 deaf youth. At one of those meetings we learned that he worked extremely long hours in a restaurant for low wages, lived alone, and had no friends. He attended our classes for several months, and was always very thankful for the care and attention he received.
         After a few months, Sameer called Andrew aside and asked to talk with him privately. He explained that he was actually from a distant city, and that he had run away from home seven years earlier, after stealing a valuable gold chain from his stepmother. All those years he had never contacted his parents for fear that they would beat him or have him put in prison. Although his parents were wealthy landowners, he'd been living in poverty ever since he left home.
         "I've been coming to your classes all this time," Sameer said, "and now I want to find out if your Jesus is real. I will go back to my home. If my father and stepmother accept me and don't throw me out, then I'll believe in Jesus!"
         Andrew asked if he and a couple more of our deaf members could pray for him and his parents. Sameer agreed, had prayer, and returned home.
         When Sameer visited us some weeks later, he was glowing! His parents had received him very lovingly, and he had decided to move back home. Now he wants to start a work for the Lord in his hometown.

Free indeed
From Juan, Italy
         Other Family members and I have begun ministering to the many addicts that deal drugs and hang out around the train station in Bergamo. We take them food, listen to their problems, and try to help them turn their lives around. We also pray for them by name daily, that the Lord will work in their hearts and prepare them to receive His love and salvation.
         On a recent visit, after explaining to a group of them how Jesus had helped us in our lives, one of the addicts spoke up. He never would have listened to the Gospel before, he said, but after 20 years of heroin addiction he was desperate enough to admit he needed help. When he bowed his head and prayed with us to receive Jesus, a beautiful change came over him!
         Please pray for him and the others to be set free from their addictions. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

God knows
From Michael and Lydia, Mauritius
         We offer a free Bible study course by mail, and now correspond with nearly 100 people. Here is an excerpt from a letter we received not long ago:
         "I'm really grateful to you, for your letters always come at the right moment. Every time I feel bad inside, I receive a letter from you with the answer I need. At first I thought it was just coincidence, but now I know it's not. God knows what I need and how good I feel each time I receive His message from you."
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         The Family is a nonprofit, 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