FAR073 -- GP     Worldwide Activity Report -- July 1998

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 85 countries, Family missionaries share Jesus' message of hope and love with many thousands. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences.

Former delinquents now Heaven-bound
From Abe and Mercy,
Taiwan
         As the 300 boys with military-style haircuts began to crowd into the auditorium, we couldn't help but be a little nervous. We and our nine children were there at one of the biggest youth correctional facilities in the country to put on a one-hour program. How would these tough-looking teenagers receive us and what we had to say?
         From the first song, it was clear. They started clapping along, and really enjoyed the show. Between songs, Mercy read anecdotes and wise sayings from The Family's Good Thots collection, each with an underlying message of encouragement and hope. For some of the boys it seemed as though it were the first time anyone had expressed faith in them--at least for a long, long time. Many of them, we learned, had been disowned by their parents; others' parents were in jail themselves. Some of the boys were as young as 10 or 11 years old.
         We had our twin babies with us, so when we suddenly found our hands full with the show and our other children, we asked a couple of boys in the front to hold the babies. Soon everybody wanted a turn holding the twins. It was touching to see those former ruffians, some of whom were quite big and muscular, touched by the twins' sweet smiles and sparkling little eyes.
         Toward the end of the show, 10-year-old Elisabeth explained the lyrics of the song "You Can Become God's Child" in Chinese, and sang it. Then Esther, 14, explained how simple salvation is, and led them in prayer. The boys all joined in, and many of them were obviously moved. We ended the show with a popular song in the local Taiwanese dialect about overcoming and not giving up. All the boys sang along.
         Some of the boys have asked to make friends with our children, so please pray for our continued ministry to these boys.

[Photo caption: Quick change. Young inmates join our children--on stage and off--in an action song during our performance at a youth correctional center in Taiwan.]

Drug addict finds Jesus--the way out
From James, Anna and Michelle, Brazil
         When we met 24-year-old Victor, he was addicted to drugs and desperate to stop. We prayed with him and his parents to receive Jesus, and that was the beginning of a turnabout in Victor's life.
         In spite of there normally being a long waiting list, we were able to get him admitted to the rehabilitation center where we give weekly Bible classes to the recovering addicts. After Victor had been there for a few days, he told us that ever since we had prayed with him, he had felt Jesus' presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. He also said that when he has completely recovered, he would like to be part of our missionary work, and asked us to help a group of his friends to also get off of drugs.

Praise power
From Emanuel, Joy and Clara, Venezuela
         Adalgisa, a long-time friend, was diagnosed with cancer. Her husband, the pastor of a church in another city, phoned with the heartbreaking news. It had already spread to her bones, spine, mammary glands, and uterus, he said. Then he explained that they would need to come to Caracas for more tests, so we invited them to stay with us.
         Members of our home gathered to pray for Adalgisa, and the Lord told us in prophecy that He would heal her, and that He would be glorified through this seeming tragedy. He also told us to show her an extra measure of love.
         When she arrived, it was a shock to see how fragile and weak she looked. She had already undergone chemotherapy, and was only a shadow of the same person we had known before. But all that changed over the couple of weeks that she stayed with us.
         The atmosphere of our busy Family home could hardly be more unlike that of a hospital, but it turned out to be just what she needed. As we all spent time with Adalgisa, talking about the Lord and praising Him for His goodness, she started to look better day by day. Soon she was able to spend more time out of bed. Sometimes she was even able to join us for our morning devotions, or to watch our teens and kids rehearse their musical show. Her appetite came back, and the depression brought on by the chemotherapy lifted.
         By the end of her stay, she looked like a different person and testified of the Lord's healing power to the many other visitors to our home. The day before she was to return home, her husband came with the results of her latest exams: She was healed!
         When she went for her next checkup, her doctor was amazed at her progress and said that she should be able to return to her normal daily routine in about two months. Praise the Lord! What a miracle!

"The shining Man is calling me home."
From Paul, Prem, Ruth and Praise, India
         Three years ago we started working at a hospice for terminally ill cancer patients, which is run by very dedicated and caring Catholic nuns. We visit the patients regularly to talk to them, pray with them, and witness to them--sometimes on their deathbeds. We also help the hospice by arranging donations of large quantities of food, medical equipment, linens, etc., from businesses.
         A few months ago we gave a tract in Hindi to Ram Bahadur, a very sweet boy from Nepal who had leukemia. He prayed with us at that time to receive Jesus as his Savior, and on later visits, we read him true-life stories about God's loving care, which he really enjoyed.
         Then one time when we went to see him, we were told that he had gone home to Heaven. One of the nuns recounted it like this:
         "Ram Bahadur was in a lot of pain for a few days, and we were quite concerned. He was obviously suffering a lot. But when he woke up one morning, all he could say was, 'Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord!' This was a surprise to us, as he is not from a Christian background. When I went over to his bed and asked him what was the matter, he looked intently in another direction and said, 'I can see Him. I can see the shining Man. He is giving me so much love. He is asking me to go with Him. I feel so much love. I'm going home.' He kept saying, 'Thank You, Jesus! Praise You Lord' all day, and that night he peacefully passed on to be with Jesus."
         How sweet of the Lord to come personally to escort one of His children home!

The payoff
From Ruthie, Romania
         During a three-day trip to the city of Timisoara, where we had lived for two years previously, my husband and I hoped to visit as many of our old friends as possible. One meeting, however, only the Lord could have engineered.
         While eating breakfast with one of our friends at the restaurant in the hotel where we were staying, we ran into four boys from the orphanage where we had done volunteer work years earlier. But these boys--now teenagers--were no longer orphans! They had all just been adopted by an American couple who are devoted Christians, and they happened to be staying in the same hotel. We had a wonderful time getting reacquainted with the boys and meeting their new parents. The couple was very interested to learn about our work.
         After we returned home and before they left for the States, they all came to our house for dinner and an evening of fellowship, which included a sing-along of Family songs and gospel favorites. The couple was amazed at how well the boys remembered all the songs that my husband, Baruc, had taught them years ago, but even more impressed to see the close bond we still had with each of them. And we were thrilled to see the payoff of our labors in these four fine young men!

Pass it on
From Francesko and Sarah, Albania
         When we offered a "To You-With Love" tract to a businessman, his eyes lit up and he smiled broadly. Then he reached for his wallet and produced a copy of the same tract. He was Italian, he explained, and had received the tract from a Family member while on another business trip to Albania over a year ago. But the most surprising thing wasn't that he still had the tract, but what he had done with it.
         When he had returned to Italy, he had prayed the salvation prayer, translated it from Albanian to Italian, and gave it to some of his friends. Then he had made photocopies of the Albanian tract, and gave them to Albanian refugees that he met in Italy.
         May we all be as faithful to share God's Word and love with those we meet!

         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, including any of those mentioned in this issue, please contact us at one of the addresses below:

Web: http://www.thefamily.org/thefamily
E-mail: family@thefamily.org



Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family