Worldwide Activity Report -- September 1998
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Copyright 1998 by The Family

         Every day, in over 85 countries spanning the globe, full-time Family volunteers work to bring hope, happiness, and God's love to others. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences, as reported by the Family members involved.

         [Caption for photo accompanying first article: bol_quak.jpg:] Aiquile relief team: Family members (back row from left) Christina, David, Francesco and (right) Angelo with some of the survivors of the earthquake in Aiquile, Bolivia.

New friends found in rubble
From Francisco, Bolivia
         As you may have heard, earthquakes are happening around the world at an unprecedented rate. There was recently one in Bolivia, the first here in recorded history. The epicenter was in the little town of Aiquile, about 100 km from the city of Cochabamba. Nearly 300 people were killed, and all 11,000 of Aiquile's inhabitants were left homeless and lost practically all their possessions.
         The survivors now live in tents and lean-to's on what was once the outskirts of town. All they have is what international aid agencies have been able to ferry to them.
         Five of us from the Family--Maria Ester, teenagers David, Christina and Angelo, and I--traveled to Aiquile and joined the relief effort.
         The roads were so bad that the trip took three days. Once there, we concentrated on encouraging the people and bringing them a ray of hope. The children especially enjoyed our company. We performed puppet, clown and musical shows, supervised games, and made the rounds to the different camps to sing songs and counsel and encourage people one-on-one.
         The authorities appreciated our help and commended us for having thought about these people in their hour of need, and for having brought some happiness to the children. A little bit of love can brighten even the darkest of circumstances!

Better than drugs
From Daniel, 20, Albania
         Two teenage sisters had been coming to our youth meetings for a while. They often seemed almost indifferent to the things we talked about and the activities we organized, but they kept coming back. What could they be thinking?
         Then one day the younger sister told me all about herself. She was the black sheep of her family, and had a boyfriend who was a drug dealer. Like many people about our age, she had become discouraged about the life she was living. Meanwhile she had easy access to free drugs, and the temptation was too great. She had become a heavy user. Then she surprised me.
         "From day one, when I met you on the beach," she said, "all your meetings, all your words, all your songs have influenced me so much that you people have completely changed my life! I can see more clearly now. In you I found somebody who was willing to help, to love, to at least do something unselfish for me. You helped me find the strength I needed to get off of drugs."

Freed from a troubled past
From Patrick, Christina and Joanna, USA
         A few weeks ago a woman we had given a tract to earlier, introduced us to her grown daughter, Cindy, who had quite a traumatic up-bringing. As a child, Cindy had been abused by her stepfather, who is still in prison for crimes he committed against her. Cindy and her mother had become homeless, and lived on the streets for several years.
         When we learned later that Cindy had been having flashbacks of the abuse and was on medication and receiving psychiatric care, we prayed for her and showed her verses in the Bible that promise God's protection and deliverance from fear. We also encouraged her to commit those verses to memory, which she did.
         Two weeks later Cindy told us that she hadn't had a single flashback since we had prayed for her. She seemed so vibrant and alive that it was difficult to imagine that she had ever been depressive.
         A while later she went to see her counselor, who was also amazed. For the first time they were able to converse without an ominous cloud hanging over Cindy. "I don't know what has happened to you," her counselor told her, "but keep doing it! I have never seen you doing so well!"
         Now Cindy is telling all her friends, including many street kids, what happened to her. That's having a big impact, as the others all know what she's been through and what she's been like. The change is obvious, and they want what she's got!

         [Caption for photo of Family volunteers in Bosnian children's center: bos_kids.jpg:] Ready, set, new start! Chris (in clown costume) and Hati (right) play with children at a Sarajevo center for youth traumatized by the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Others first
From Josh, Nigeria
         About every two months some of us travel from Lagos to the eastern city of Enugu, to bring food and supplies to orphanages and children's homes there, and to try to help them get better set up. Lagos is Nigeria's commercial capital, so here we have been able to find sponsors for our various projects in other parts of the country. One organization gives us a monthly cash donation to buy food for the orphanages. Businesses and individuals donate other items as we present them with the need. A friend who owns a small airline that flies out of Enugu gets us there and back.
         Our most recent team to Enugu consisted of Sharif, Chad, Elaine, and Josh. In addition to taking food and other needs, we wanted to help renovate and repaint several of the children's homes, have beds built for the kids, etc.
         A hotel agreed to put us up for our one-week stay, but after buying all the paint and building materials we would need, we had nothing left for our own expenses such as food and transportation. We needed a few small miracles of our own!
         Elaine had only been in Nigeria for a month and a half at the time, so this was her first trip to Enugu. While we boys rounded up materials and made repairs, Elaine loved and cared for babies at a home for abandoned children and a shelter for unwed mothers. She also counseled and encouraged the young new mothers, most of whom had been disowned by their families.
         One center for handicapped children was quite dilapidated. The floor of one of the main areas was all but gone, so we decided to re-cement it and lay linoleum tiles. That left us flat broke, and that's when the miracles started happening.
         We were hitchhiking when a man stopped, gave us a lift, and asked why we foreigners were hitchhiking. We explained our work to him, and he gave us a generous donation to cover our transportation while in Enugu. As he let us off he said, "I'll contact you tomorrow to see what else I can do. What do you need help with?"
         We told him that we wanted to build beds for several children's homes, where the kids were sleeping on the floor. We also explained that companies in Lagos had donated mattresses, food, and other goods, but we needed a truck to transport it all to Enugu. He said he'd see what he could do.
         The next morning he arrived at our hotel and said that he had decided to pay for 10 beds and the transporting of all the goods we had amassed from Lagos to Enugu.
         And that's not all. When we went to thank the airline owner for flying us to Enugu, he asked how we were getting around and we told him. Actually, the topic had come up when we'd seen him on earlier visits, so he knew our situation. "Follow me," he said, as he led us out to his parking lot and pointed to a fully-equipped late-model passenger van. "I don't use this one much," he said, "so why don't you drive it home. It's yours." By the next day he had changed all the papers over and put on new tires and brakes.
         We had a wonderfully worthwhile trip, with lots of progress made in several of the children's homes and a great time spent with the kids. Not only that, but God touched people's hearts to get behind our work and take care of us above and beyond what we could have asked or expected. Who says it doesn't pay to put the needs of others first?
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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, including any of those mentioned in this issue, please contact us at one of the addresses below:


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family