Worldwide Activity Report -- December 1998
FAR083 -- GP CHR

Copyright 1998 by The Family

         "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone, everywhere," Jesus told His followers. Every day, in over 85 countries, Family missionaries share Jesus' message of hope and love with many thousands. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences.

[Caption for front-page photo:]
         Reaching their own generation with the Gospel. Like thousands of his fellow young Family members around the world, eight-year-old Danny in Morelia, Mexico, enjoys spreading the Good News to others of his generation by means of The Family's colorful posters--each of which bears a salvation message on the back.

Stranger in the night
From Jay and Maria, Japan
         One evening, while driving home on a road we don't normally take, we saw a woman standing in the middle of the opposite lane. She looked disoriented. We pulled over, turned around, and went back to see if she needed help.
         When we reached her, she was still standing in the road. Her face was turned down, and she seemed oblivious to the danger. She was about 20 years old, we guessed, and possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. For whatever reason, she was obviously not in her right mind. It was dark and a light rain was falling, but our two small boys were in our car, so we were hesitant to take her there in the state she was in. We tried to get her to move over to the side of the road and get out of the rain, but she refused and kept insisting that she just wanted to be left there to die. She was quite emotional.
         We finally convinced her to move to a safer, drier spot, and starting talking with her. She calmed down a little and started to tell us about her troubles. Her boyfriend was seeing his former wife again, and she felt betrayed. She was also receiving a lot of pressure and ridicule from her family because she had not gone to university. Her world had caved in on her.
         We assured her that even if she felt no one else cared, God loved her very much, and that even if she didn't know Him, her life was in His hands.
         After we had talked for a while and she had calmed down more, we offered to drive her somewhere, as it was obvious that she shouldn't stay where she was. We even invited her to come home with us, but she refused all of our offers of help. All we could do was keep talking.
         The stalemate was finally broken when her cell phone rang. It was the man she had been dating. We asked to talk to him, and explained the situation. He said he would come and get her right away. She was happy to hear that, and agreed to wait for him in our car.
         Our sons, Yuji and Kenji, are very friendly and outgoing, and they turned out to be just what the woman needed to get her mind off her troubles. They started playing and talking with her, and within minutes she had changed remarkably.
         "Your mommy and daddy saved my life," she told the boys.
         We explained more about Jesus and His great love, and she prayed with us to accept Him as her Savior.
         When her boyfriend arrived, he apologized to her and said he wanted to work things out. She also said that she no longer felt like giving up. She had found Jesus, and He had given her new strength to carry on. Before we parted, we prayed with them for His continued help in their lives and relationship. How glad we all were that we had stopped to help a stranger in the night!

Miracle cure!
From Dove and Marie, India
         About a year ago, a Christian friend of ours asked us to pray for his sister, who lives in a different city. She had just been diagnosed with cancer, and the doctors said she would only live a few more months. We prayed for her, and Dove began to write her regularly and send her faith-building Family publications through the mail.
         After a while, we lost touch with our friend and his sister never replied to Dove's letters, so we had no idea how she was doing, but Dove kept writing her anyway.
         Then one Sunday a few weeks ago, seven people came to our door--our friend and his wife, his sister for whom we had been praying, her husband and daughter, their mother, and another sister. They had made an all-day trip to our city to thank us for our prayers, and to tell us about the miracle the Lord had done. The woman had been completely healed! They were all very excited about how the Lord and His Word had become so much more alive and real to them because of this trying experience.

Well worth the wait
From Paul and Maria, Nigeria
         Witnessing in this country is just great, as nearly everyone, from top executives to their secretaries and lowly doormen and drivers, is very interested in Jesus and the Bible.
         Sometimes when we have an appointment to meet with someone at their office, we have to wait a few minutes. When we do, it seems we always get into conversations with the receptionist and others in the waiting room. One person asks a question, and before we know it everyone else in the room is also listening intently to the answers we give. Sometimes this turns into a full-scale Bible study or evangelical meeting. Lots of people here carry a Bible in their purse or bag to read during spare moments, so we get them to open their Bibles to the verse or passage that answers their own question, and they just love it. We spent nearly two hours with one waiting room crowd, and when we finished, several people commented that it felt like time had stopped. They were absolutely thrilled!

Breakthrough!
From Melody and Paul, USA
         For some time now, we've been helping a needy couple and their four children. The husband was assaulted five years ago and sustained serious head injuries that caused memory loss and left him with some serious physical disabilities. We bring them food, help them get around, care for their children part-time, and of course we point them to the Lord and continue to pray for His long-term solutions to their problems.
         Recently the husband had a major breakthrough when he prayed to receive the Lord and be delivered from the anger and bitterness he had held in his heart for the past five years. He was instantly and wonderfully changed. Every chance he gets, he tells others how the Lord changed his life. He's a different person!

Not lost after all
From Faith, Australia
         One cold, wet night my husband and I heard a knock on our door and opened it to see a well-dressed, middle-aged man who had been on his way to a nearby location when he got lost. For an instant we thought it odd that he should have picked our house to ask directions at, as it is rather secluded and awkward to get to from the road, but we quickly invited him in out of the rain. We explained how to get to his destination, then wrote our names and phone number on a "To You, With Love" tract and gave it to him as he was leaving.
         About two hours later, the phone rang. It was the same man. "Thank you for that beautiful piece of literature," he said. "It has already comforted me very much." His voice cracked with emotion as he went on. "You see, my mother, whom I was very close to, died two days ago. When I recover more, I'll be in touch with you again."
         So that dear man wasn't lost after all. He was right where the Lord wanted him to be in order to receive His special message of love and comfort!

God heals what medicine can't
From Lalo and Ruth, Mexico
         We've known Hector and his wife Conchita for some time, but don't see them often because they live in a different state. Three months ago when Lalo and David, another Family member, visited Hector and Conchita, they learned that Hector was dying of cancer. The treatments he had undergone hadn't worked. Before they returned home, Lalo and David prayed for the Lord to miraculously heal Hector.
         One month later, Hector's mother called to tell us that Hector had been completely healed, and that all of his doctors said it was a miracle!
         When we went to see him a few weeks later, he looked like another person. His hair had grown back, and he had regained the weight he had lost when undergoing the cancer treatments. He was so very happy and thankful! It was also a testimony to his whole town of the Lord's power to heal, since everyone knew that we had prayed for him after all hope for a medical cure was gone. Praise the Lord!
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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