A Review of 2003!

By Peter A.CM 3475 12/03

(Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the news and stats in this GN are from the time period beginning November 2002 and going through October 2003.)

Dear Family,

1. It's a miracle that we've made it through another year!—And I don't mean that we've just made it by barely scraping through with a few tales to tell. In the last 12 months you've accomplished significant things for the Lord, broken new barriers, reached for new heights‚ and have continued to drink in His living Word for today‚ which has given you the power for all that He has done through you and the witness He has anointed the Family to be for Him. 2003 has been a year of miracles of all shapes and sizes—big and small‚ seen and unseen—which you, dear Family, have been an essential part of through your faith, determination, stick-to-it-iveness, obedience‚ and love for our Husband, the One Who gets the credit for it all!

2. Every day this year was a miracle in itself, and every 24 hours was comprised of many more little miracles—that means thousands upon thousands of miracles happened this year. You may not consider that you've accomplished much. You may not think that you've seen any huge miracles. Maybe you're in a Home somewhere out in the boonies, and you wonder if anyone even knows you're around. Or maybe you're a CC worker in a large Home, and you're unsure if anyone even notices you. Or perhaps you've been out in the harvest field every day‚ sowing seeds of truth and witnessing your heart out, but don't see a whole lot of fruit to show for it. But whether you see it all or not, many important miracles have occurred this year because of your faithfulness.

3. Throughout this GN you will read inspiring news and hear about the areas in which the Family is progressing. You will see that over the past year the Lord has accomplished a tremendous amount through you, our wonderful Family! You may then wonder how the news of all the victories and strides of progress fits in with the major Family problems, the Lord's repeated admonitions throughout the year in Letter after Letter about the need to pull up our discipleship socks, and His call to cleanse the Family of compromise and embrace increased dedication and commitment. On the spiritual side, there are some serious problems within the Family, which, as mentioned in "New Year's Challenge for 2004" (ML #3468, GN 1054), were the core issues discussed and prayed about at Summit 2003.

4. You can picture the Family as being like a Home in relation to the board vision. A Home may be doing great on the CGO front‚ focusing on the FED and CP pillars, tuning in to the JT needs within their Home, and making an effort to invest time into PR. But they may fall sadly short when it comes to the VS pillar—the spiritual shepherding and standard of their Home. The worldwide Family is somewhat like that Home. We're strong on many points and have made tremendous progress in a number of the board pillars‚ but when it comes to spiritual weaknesses, we need to pull up our socks. That fact doesn't take away from what we have accomplished in the other areas, but we will need to focus on our weak area.

5. There will be changes coming soon that will address these compromises and weak areas in detail and help get the Family back to full discipleship. However, these important spiritual matters do not take away from the fact that as a Family we have still made tremendous progress preaching the Gospel, nor does it diminish the many monumental victories won throughout this last year, which is the main topic of this GN. We as a Family have a long way to go in order to be what He needs us to be for the days to come, but that doesn't mean we can't praise and thank Him for all that He has accomplished through us to date. And we can be assured that as we continue to make the needed changes that our Commander in Chief is requiring, we can anticipate even more thrilling forward advancement in the future.

6. In fact, if you're wondering how our Husband has viewed the progress of 2003, He gave the following message of appreciation for you, a little glimpse of how He has seen the victories of the year we've just traveled, which Mama and I want to share with you for your encouragement.

Commendation from Jesus

7. (Jesus: ) I commend each of you, My darling brides, for the part you played in helping Me to work My miracles this year—more miracles than you even realize you played a part in. You may not see how I've used you each day to bring little and big miracles to pass, so you'll have to take My Word for it, because it's the truth.

8. Sometimes you think of miracles as only those great‚ obvious, monumental, earthshaking, history–making occurrences, such as miracles I performed while I was on Earth, like turning water into wine‚ walking through solid walls, and raising the dead. There will come a time for you to experience these types of miracles in abundance, and much more. But today I wish to expand the horizons of your minds and remind you of some of the things I consider miracles, but which you often take for granted, which are no less important than the grand, showy kinds.

9. My loves‚ when you wake up in the morning and the last thing you feel like doing is getting out of bed and cooking for your Home, teaching the children‚ hitting the streets witnessing, going out on follow-up, or whatever your particular ministry is, but you do it anyway—that's a miracle! When the Enemy's fighting you because he doesn't want you to take time in the Word, and he's making you feel like you don't want to or can't afford to or don't have time to, but you obey anyway and partake of the life-giving strength of My Spirit—that's a miracle!

10. When you are faced with a decision as a Home or in your personal life, and one decision is easier than the other, but the hard one is My will and you choose it no matter how hard the Enemy tries to convince you not to, and thus you're strengthened and blessed for your obedience—that's a miracle! When I ask you to yield something in your life to Me, or forsake something very dear to you, or push aside a worldly pursuit, and you do it just because I asked it of you—that's a miracle! Every single choice you make every day to say yes to Me—they're all miracles!

11. When you go out witnessing and you meet a hungry sheep, and you take your precious time to witness to him and show him My love and he gets saved—that's a miracle! Every single tool you get out, every Activated mag you distribute, and every subscription you sell—they're all miracles! When you put Me on the spot and claim My supply‚ and boldly proceed with faith to ask someone to help you with the things you need, and they see My Spirit in you and are moved to donate what you request—that's a miracle!

12. Every prayer you pray, every time you call on the keys of the Kingdom, every prophecy you receive, every choice for Me you make, every heart you touch, every life you assist Me in changing‚ every soul you help Me to save, and every single second of your life that you live for Me—it's all a miracle! Your faith is a miracle! Your service to Me is a miracle! Your communal living is a miracle! Your "being in the world but not of the world" is a miracle! The Family is a miracle! The fact that you—each of you—are living your life as My disciple is a miracle, and every day I give you to serve Me is a miracle!

13. I am the greatest Miracle Worker there ever was, and performing miracles of all kinds is My specialty. No one does the miracle thing better than Me! And, of course, I need channels to work through. That's where you come in, My darling brides. We teamwork together. You are making the good decisions that keep you on the right track, so that I can continue using you as vital players in the miracles of today that I'm enacting, and continue preparing you for the different types of miracles I'm planning for the future.

14. This year portends to be one of great excitement and positive change. Miracles of change are some of My favorite miracles. I love to change hearts through salvation, change mindsets‚ and make improvements of all kinds—especially those that I know will make My brides happier, more fruitful, and better disciples. So you can be sure that as you keep changing and moving with Me in 2004, there'll never be a dull moment, you'll never get stuck in the quicksand of normality, and miracles will abound like never before! (End of message.)

15. (Peter:) Mama and I are thankful for each one of you, and we're moving into this new year with you, feeling privileged to continue serving Jesus by your side. We're willing to follow wherever He leads—to places of excitement in the spirit, and the greater heights He has promised as we obey Him—and we're committed to helping you do the same. As we proceed in obedience to Him, with our spiritual weaponry active, moving and changing as He directs us, we will see miracles and victories abound in the coming year, just as Jesus has promised. It sounds like we've got lots to look forward to!

16. But before we get too deep into talking about the future, let's dive into highlighting some of the happenings that made 2003 the terrific year that it was. This is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more miracles that each of you could recount, awesome testimonies that every Home around the world could contribute, and if I had time and space, I'd love to include it all. But in order to keep this GN from growing longer than it already is, and get it to you in time, I'll have to stick to just a few of the highlights that Mama and I are aware of.

Answers to Your Prayers

17. Mama and I have been in pretty good health this past year, thanks to your key-powered prayers. Mama's eyes‚ though still sore from time to time, are much better than they have been in years past, and she has fewer headaches. Due to the miracle of better overall health and feeling stronger physically, she has been strong enough to make various trips throughout the past year and be away from home for extended periods of time. She's very thankful for this miracle of increased strength.

18. From time to time I still have heart pains, but for the most part, I've been in good health too. I'd like to thank you for praying for my shoulder; while it is not completely healed‚ it is much better than it was. I can use my arm much more than when the problem first occurred‚ and I'm trusting the Lord and your continued prayers for complete healing.

19. We both very much appreciate your faithful prayers for us, and we credit our good health, strength, and safekeeping to your fervent and effectual prayers. Please keep praying, as we depend on your prayers and couldn't do without them.

Key Promise

20. It's crucial that you call on the keys for your king and queen. As you do, I ward off the Enemy's attacks, strengthen their reserves, and link their physical bodies to Me‚ the source of all health.

Focuses: Brazil and Summit 2003

21. Our main focal points this past year have been the Brazil work, along with preparations for and hosting Summit 2003, which was held in October 2003. These two major happenings have taken much of our time this past year, requiring countless hours of discussion, prayer, seeking the Lord, and hearing from Him in prophecy again and again in order to get His instructions and to carry them out step by step.

22. We began counseling, praying, and seeking the Lord about the Brazil work in late 2002. By February 2003, the Lord had revealed to us the seriousness of the situation and began to unfold His plan for setting the Brazil Family back on track. In the first week of April, Mama filmed her "Woe!" video to the Family in Brazil, which you received in GN format. This was a significant message from the Lord containing strong warning, correction, and judgment.

23. With Mama's video in hand, I traveled to Brazil (during April and May), accompanied by Misty and Joy‚ to counsel with the Brazil COs and spearhead this revolution. During our visit, I filmed 11 hours of video to the Brazil Family, and held a 10-day meeting with 30 attendees who became designated representatives to show the video package throughout Brazil. Once the video showings were completed and the Homes had received the related pubs, the six-month punishment period went into effect.

24. In mid–July, our team returned to Brazil to meet with the COs to discuss the upcoming reinstatement process, and to create the basis for CM and FM evaluation documents, as well as various report forms to be filled out by those wishing to be reinstated to either CM or FM status. I filmed another five hours of videos outlining the basis of evaluation for reinstatement, in which I further explained the standard of true discipleship, as well as the concept of "Home accountability," which the Lord showed us was His plan for the reinstatement and judgment of the Brazil Family.

25. Our team spent another three weeks in Brazil during December to assist the evaluating body in beginning the reinstatement process. The reinstatement process will continue on through the end of February. This process includes reading and analyzing the Home and personal reports, stats and other information, discussing each Home's performance‚ praying about, discussing and deciding each Home's new status, and hearing from the Lord about each Home‚ and in some cases visiting the Homes. The Homes will be notified about their reinstatement between January 15 and March 1.

26. It's been sobering for Mama and me to receive the Lord's clear warnings and to see that He means business, and we've been very desperate to fulfill His instructions to us about the spiritual cleansing of the Family in Brazil. It wasn't easy to announce the punishment period, to set strict guidelines in place, and to set up the reinstatement system. We did these things in obedience to the Lord's instruction, and while it's been difficult for us and for those in Brazil going through this period, we are thankful for the Lord's mercy in salvaging the Brazil work‚ and we're looking forward to the wonderful fruit that will be borne from a cleansed and obedient Brazil Family.

27. We have been very happy to see that the Brazil GNs have had an impact on the Family worldwide. We've received many reactions and letters of confession and commitment from Family members who are recognizing the compromises in their own lives and who are applying the counsel given in the Brazil GNs to themselves and are beginning to make desperately needed changes to raise their discipleship standard.

28. All the counsel, discussion, prayer‚ messages from the Lord, and firsthand experience that we gained through the situation in Brazil formed the basis of our discussion at Summit 2003 concerning the Family's problems. Hundreds of prophecies have been received about the Brazil situation‚ along with many, many hours of counsel and prayer invested by Mama and me, along with folks in WS, and the COs. The spotlight that the Lord shone on Brazil paved the way for us to look at the spiritual state of the worldwide Family and to evaluate the level of compromise that has crept in throughout the world.

29. Summit 2003 was initially planned to cover other topics and issues. However, as it neared, the Lord showed us that we needed to change the summit agenda in order to deal with the problems of the worldwide Family in light of the Brazil situation and all the counsel and instruction He has poured out as a result. Thus, the focus of the summit changed to seeking the Lord for His answers and solutions to the major problems of the overall Family, along with changes in Family structure and policies needed as a result. You've received some news about upcoming changes that will be implemented in the near future, and you'll be hearing more about this over the next months.

Key Promise

30. As you put on My mind and call on the keys of My reality, which help you to see the future through My eyes, you will eagerly anticipate the challenges I have in store for you. There's nothing to fear as I move you forward‚ My brides—only deeper joy, all-encompassing peace, and previously unknown fulfillment and usefulness in My service.

A Closer Look at Summit 2003

31. Summit 2003 was held in Mexico during the month of October—a combination of summit leadership meetings and the first international board meetings. The Lord showed Mama and me that aside from important Family business that would be covered at the summit, one thrust of this year's summit should be leadership training. So we asked each CO area to bring additional people to the summit as leadership trainees.

32. All told, there were 88 people who attended the summit—33 COs, 10 non-CO IB members‚ 22 additional invitees, 5 staff members, and 18 attendees from WS. The WS attendees included Mama and me, the IB chairpersons and IB members from WS, the administration department, and some of Mama's and my personal helpers.

33. As you read in "New Year's Challenge for 2004," the Lord has led us to further explore and seek Him about the changes He wants to make in the Family in the wake of the Brazil shakeup, and the renewed level of dedication and discipleship that He is requiring of the Family. Much of the summit was focused on this topic.

34. The summit began with a week of united meetings in which Mama and I presented and discussed‚ as a body, proposals for changes in the Family and raising our level of discipleship. After that we broke into smaller groups, with each of the boards meeting to propose the discipleship criteria for their specific pillars. Aside from the IB members, other RB chairs (within the respective pillars), as well as some of the additional summit attendees, were also included in the board meetings according to their area of expertise, though of course without a vote in final conclusions and decisions.

35. I headed up a committee comprised of the VS board, with a few other additional members‚ to pray about and draft the spiritual criteria for our Family's discipleship standard and all that that entails. After working on these discipleship topics for a full week, each committee and board presented their conclusions and proposals to the full body of COs and summit attendees. Then the boards proceeded to have their IB meetings to discuss the topics on their pre-planned agendas. Meanwhile, the VS board members and I continued meeting on various procedural and practical matters pertaining to Family restructuring. There was one day of administration business meetings, where those not involved in the VS board meetings met in subcommittees to discuss, pray about‚ and present proposals for various procedural, Charter, and board matters.

36. Mama led a number of meetings, both inspirational and instructional. She gave classes on teamworking‚ sensitivity, and shepherding‚ and placed a huge emphasis on praise, helping people in their practical application of praise in preparation for Feast 2004. Mama also spent time throughout the summit talking with many of the summit attendees and giving them personal shepherding and counsel, along with a team who assisted her in this.

37. Our wonderful musicians led us in a couple of Loving Jesus inspirations‚ along with daily inspirations and praise times at our morning meeting. We enjoyed cookouts or simple outdoor meals on Saturday evenings, along with an extended time of fellowship, including two united dances.

38. With all the victories the Lord was winning through the summit, we knew the Enemy would try to fight in whatever way he could—and fight he did. He used sickness and stomach bugs, intense thunderstorms, and a government worker strike (we stayed in a government-run facility) to try to get to us. But thanks to the Lord's wonderful protection and the desperate prayers of our loved ones, despite a few inconveniences, not one thing happened to seriously disrupt the meetings—a total miracle! There were a couple of nights where we experienced some of the biggest thunderstorms many of us have ever been through, which woke almost every single summit attendee during the night.

39. Here's an excerpt of what the Lord said about that:

40. (Jesus: ) The Enemy is absolutely furious about you being here. He is trying all kinds of tactics to stop the fruitfulness of these meetings. He is trying through sending sickness and afflictions both here and at your Homes in order to try to distract you and your loved ones and prayer warriors. And he is trying his hardest through these storms.

41. If you could only see what the Enemy is really trying to do! He wanted to send terrible lightning and thunder and rainfalls that would harm you immensely. He wanted to cut off your electricity, your water; he wanted to damage your houses, make you sick through the water, through terrible weather, stop your communications and make it difficult for you to get to your meeting places and meals. (Note: As the houses, meeting rooms, and dining areas were spread around a large property, everyone had to walk at least 10-20 minutes to get to meetings and meals, usually totaling about 40-60 minutes of walking daily.) He wanted big floods to come and harm you. But I only allowed him to go so far as to send this attack on the weather at night. I stopped him from his evil wishes and made sure that the rain had stopped by the morning. Praise Me, yes! Praise Me that no harm was done to you or the property!

42. I allowed the storm last night to show you how real the Enemy is. He wants to cause chaos and make a racket through the lightning and thunder and heavy rains, but his power is so puny. My power through the power of the keys is so much greater, and I overcame him. I wanted you to realize that there is a daily battle in the spirit and that these physical manifestations of sickness, illness, and bad weather are manifestations of it.

43. The battle goes on, but as you fight with all your might you will see many victories—victories that will change the course of history and also victory with miracles of healing and good health and wonderful, beautiful weather. (End of excerpts of message.)

44. Here's the story of what happened with the government worker's strike mentioned earlier.

45. We had heard in the morning that the government of Mexico was meeting with the Mexican Social Security union, as the workers were trying to negotiate a raise in salary and agree on their retirement benefits. If things weren't resolved, then the government workers would go on strike. We were staying in a government facility‚ so we knew a strike of this type would affect us greatly. From the moment we heard this news, we desperately prayed and claimed the keys for the Lord's intervention, and that He would resolve the situation without the workers going on strike.

46. Later that afternoon, as we were peacefully having our meetings, we were informed that if the strike was not resolved by that evening, our facility (a very large property) would be locked down—meaning we would not be able to leave the property. Since such strikes or government conflicts can go on for months, that could have been very bad for us! In a worst-case scenario, there was the possibility that the property could have been entered or taken over‚ and that its occupants could be taken hostage. The management suggested we evacuate, and they made arrangements to shuttle us (in buses and trucks, plus our own vans) to a nearby hotel.

47. We immediately had desperate prayer, and then walked or ran back to our houses and began packing—fast and furiously! We all heard the news around 6:30 or 6:45 PM, depending on what part of the property people were on, and we all had to be off the property by 9:00 PM. So our team of nearly 90 people immediately mobilized, and by close to 9:00 everyone was ready to pull out—luggage and all, packed tightly into vehicles of every kind. Just seconds before we were about to drive off, one of the security guards rode up on a motorcycle, notifying us that the strike was over. The government had accepted the workers' proposals, and we didn't have to leave after all!

48. When we spoke to the management to get a confirmation on this, they confirmed that it was the case, and they were amazed at how quickly the situation had been resolved and that the government had complied with the workers' request‚ acknowledging that it was a direct result of our prayers. It was a tremendous testimony! In the following days we spoke with many of the site workers, who all acknowledged that the speedy resolution of the situation was because we had been praying.

49. Aside from the big miracle of the strike not taking place, there were so many other "little miracles" as well, such as that our evacuation buses were held up at the last minute, which seemed like a big problem, but then turned out to be the Lord's doing. Had we left at the time we had intended to leave, we would have had to load and unload four times, rather than just twice, ha! The management was dumbfounded that 90 people could be mobilized so quickly. We were completely moved out, and then back in, in the space of just three hours.

50. Here are some excerpts of what the Lord had to say after we heard of the need to evacuate immediately:

51. (Jesus:) The Devil is angry! He knows that these meetings are changing the world in the spirit. He knows that he will lose all or most of the ground that he has gained in the war against My Family. He has sent Disruptor and his demon helpers to delay and hinder this summit.

52. But fear not, for it is only a delay, not a defeat. The Enemy will not be able to stop what I have begun here. This seeming defeat will only result in greater victory and determination on the part of the Family's leadership to make these needed changes in the Family. It will encourage all that you are on the right track and on the attack and that the gates of Hell will never prevail against the Family. (End of message.)

Text box.

On Disruptor and Vigilance

53. (Jesus: ) In his fury, Satan has called forth his demon, Disruptor, from the highways and byways of this world. He is the chief demon assigned to disrupt and interrupt, to hinder, to delay order and progress—and to destroy, if possible. His specific domain and field of power is over the roads, highways, connections‚ and transportations of the world. Even the mail delivery systems and services are under his influence. His power is fed and fueled by the fury, impatience, and carelessness that drives the majority of worldlings in their modes of operation and commuting to and fro. Speed demons are his underlings and apprentices, who swarm around the unyielded and wayward worldlings like flies. He works with the purpose of disrupting‚ destroying, causing havoc and mayhem.

54. I now open your spiritual eyes and awareness to Vigilance. Greater power is now at your command through specifically rebuking and binding Disruptor and his power, and calling upon Vigilance in combating the Enemy's devices and power. He is a powerful one, who is assigned as a guardian spirit over all the comings and goings of My children‚ if you will call upon him by name. He is one who works in partnership with your prayerfulness and faithfulness to call upon the power of the keys of protection and safekeeping. Call upon Vigilance by name in the power of the keys to foil this wicked one's plans, and Disruptor's power to delay, influence, disrupt, destroy, or cause accidents will be effectively curtailed! (End of message.)

End of text box.

55. (Jesus:) My darlings, don't worry. You are in the hollow of My hand. You are My brides, My lovers, and I will not allow any harm to come nigh you. This is not a bad thing, it's a good thing. It's a chance to prove Me‚ to test Me, to call on the power of the keys. I will resolve this conflict and I will restore you to this place of beauty and plenty. I will not suffer your progress, plans, and the revolution to come to naught. This little revolution of man [the strike] is nothing compared to the revolution I am planning and the disruption to the Evil One's power that will come to pass in the very near future.

56. I will cause this to have the least effect possible on your work‚ and it will not be a source of serious loss of time or momentum. You will see miracles of supply and I will resolve this quickly. I will use this to bring more desperation, more prayer, more of a realization that the things of this world are temporary. There is nothing that you can count on firmly and steadfastly in this world but My promises. (End of message.)

57. True to His Word, the Lord fulfilled His promises to resolve the situation speedily, without a serious loss of time or momentum. He restored us to the "place of beauty and plenty" that He'd provided in the summit site without us even having to leave the grounds! It was a tremendous miracle and answer to prayer!

More Highlights

Far–out Feasting

58. The Feast this year was exactly what our Husband knew we needed, as usual. The weapon of praise is something that's going to help us make more progress than ever, as we welcome it as a part of our daily lives. It was thrilling to hear Him reveal more clues to the mystery of the keys. Learning to use the keys proficiently and effectively is not going to be an overnight process, but as we keep learning from the clues our Keeper of the Keys gives us, and practicing at every opportunity, we'll make steady progress and grow in faith. Then we'll be ready when the Lord knows it's time to take the next step or move into the next level in our use of this tremendous spiritual power.

Spirit Helpers to the Fore

59. This year our spirit helpers have been eager to reveal themselves and get to know us better and work with us more closely. Thanks to the Lord's prodding and Mama's faith and insatiable desire to learn more about those within the spiritual realm and how they help us, we've had an influx of information regarding a host of new helpers—some we'd never heard of before, and others that we've heard of in the past but didn't realize were helping us so intimately today.

60. For some‚ it can be a little overwhelming to keep track of all the spirit helpers' names, as well as those of the "dark entities" who fight us. But that just goes to show that we've been incredibly blessed this year with so much new information regarding the spiritual warfare. Even if it's hard for us to keep up, we'll get the hang of it in time‚ and it will become easier to remember the specific names and which of our powerful comrades to call on in different situations and to defeat which of the Devil's imps. Mama is also planning to, Lord willing, put out a listing of who's who in the spirit world, which I'm sure will be a blessing to any of you who, like me, may have a hard time remembering all the details.

61. As a tribute to our teamworkers in the heavenly realm, here are the names of some of those who rallied by the children of David this year: Alexander the Great, Altos, Anaya, Aphrodite, Archer, Arcothon, Armina, Asmet, Boheme‚ Companion‚ Cromwell, Daniel, Ebed-melech‚ Edgar Allan Poe, Elijah, Ethernal‚ the F.A.F., Illuminus, Joan of Arc, Lochnel, Lubna, Lucerne, Merlin, Pandita Ramabai, Queen Esther, Queen Victoria, Raphael, Salvador, the Salvay, Styrian, Tola, Tor, and William Wallace.

Key Craft

62. It would be a glaring omission if I didn't also mention the heavenly multipurpose vehicles of protection revealed this year: the key craft. Mama and I pray you've been calling on these powerful shields and weapons for your protection‚ guidance, supply, strength, rejuvenation, regeneration, and defense against attacks of the Enemy—all of which the Lord said the key craft provide.

Protection from War and SARS

63. Despite the war in Iraq and the plague of SARS, our Defender and Protector kept our Family around the world from any harm as a result. Our Family in Asia did experience some financial difficulties due to SARS, but our generous Husband didn't fail to supply, and many of our Homes around the world rose to the occasion by supporting them through prayer and sharing financially. The Lord fulfilled His wonderful promise given in the "World Currents" regarding this: "You are My most beloved children, and I will keep you as you put your trust in Me. As you call on the power of the keys in obedience‚ yieldedness and faith, I will send My angels to surround you, to guard you, and to keep you in all your ways" (ML #3447:63, GN 1031).

An Increase in Camps, Meetings and Seminars

64. Over the last year, the various national and regional boards organized over 70 get-togethers, meetings, seminars, fellowships, and camps—ranging from YC/MC get-togethers to NAFMs; regional young people seminars to Activated seminars. These board-organized efforts have been held in every continent and in just about every regional area. Of those reported, there were 18 in Europe and the EE‚ 17 in Latin America, 17 in SEA and India, 14 in Japan/Taiwan/China/Australia, 6 in Africa, and 2 in the U.S. A big thanks to all our hard-working board members around the globe, and everyone else who played a part in making these gatherings possible!

65. Stay tuned for the full accounting of board-related news, victories, and progress in the second GN of this year's victory review, which features reports from each international board, detailing the focuses and accomplishments of the past year.

Key Promise

66. Claim the keys of faith and yieldedness as you navigate through the new year with your hand in Mine. No matter what twists and turns our journey takes, it will be an exhilarating ride filled with fresh gifts from My hand that will make your heart glad, your spirit soar, and satisfy you like never before.

Family Stats Analysis for 2003

(Note: All stats are for the combined CM/FM Family unless otherwise noted,
covering the November 2002 through October 2003 period.)

WITNESSING AND OUTREACH

Souls Won

67. After 35 years of witnessing, since Dad's call for revolution in September 1968, the Family has won an astounding 27.7 million souls to the Lord! That comes to an average of 792‚000 per year, 66,000 per month, over 15,000 per week, or 2,170 per day—every day for 35 years! Breaking it down further, that comes to an average of 90 souls per hour‚ or 1.5 souls every minute! That is fruitful witnessing!

68. For the last 35 years, for every nine people the Family personally witnessed to‚ one soul was saved, which is about 11% of the time. But in 2003‚ for every five people the Family personally witnessed to, we "got one in" to the Heavenly Kingdom, which is about 20% of the time—or nearly doubling our average! That's pretty good aiming, and shows that our witnessers are shooting straight!

69. This year the Family won a grand total of 1,099,740 souls, and 470,757 were filled with the Holy Spirit. This means 2003 is the seventh year in a row of winning over a million souls—something we've only done 13 times in our 35-year history! Our 2003 soul stats for the year are our tenth highest ever, and the fourth highest in the last 15 years. This is well above our 35-year average of 792‚000 souls per year. Our souls average per adult for 2003 was 178—which is an average of 15 souls per adult per month, worldwide.

Personal Witness

70. To date we have records of personally witnessing 263.6 million times. That's an average of 7.5 million times a year, 627‚000 times a month, or over 20,000 times a day. In 2003 we personally witnessed 5,878,234 times—just about the same as last year. Though our souls stats are on an upward trend due to better aim, our personal witnessing stats show an overall downward trend. Five million is a lot of witness, but it looks like we could be doing more.

71. The Family had an average of 6,171 Family members 16 years and over during the year, which means an average personal witness of 953 per adult (personally witnessing around 79 times a month, and winning 15 of them to the Lord) for the year 2003.

72. As you can see in the graph above, in the period of 1979 through 1981, or right after the RNR (Reorganization Nationalization Revolution) of 1978 and the NRS (Nationalize and Reorganize Security-wise Revolution) of 1979, personal witness drastically fell to just above three million per year. In 1982, at the time of the Fellowship Revolution, it had a drastic turnaround and shot up to nearly 10 million‚ where it hovered more or less until 1990. It then fell to about six million, but with the Charter in 1995 and the expansion of the Family into scores of new countries, it rose again to the eight million level. However, for the last two years it has dipped and could certainly stand an increase.

Total Witness

73. Total witness by all means possible for the year 2003 was 957 million! And to date, in 35 years‚ it's an astounding 78.2 billion! We've averaged a total witness of 2.2 billion a year!

Distribution

74. This year we distributed 13,346,700 pieces of lit in all forms, such as Activated mags‚ videos, posters, CDs, tapes, books, "Mottos for Success," tracts, etc. That edges out last year's 13,321,033 by just a bit, by 25,000 pieces more this year. Dividing the year's distribution by 12 comes to 1.1 million pieces of lit a month, or around 37,000 a day. On a per-adult basis, that comes to 2,163 pieces of lit a year or 180 a month per adult. So to recap, on a monthly basis our CM and FM adults combined are personally witnessing 79 times, winning 15 of those 79 to the Lord, and getting out 180 pieces of lit.

75. The 13.3 million pieces of lit consisted of 2,032,866 posters, 604‚786 CDs and tapes, 104,189 videos, and 10,604,859 other types of lit such as Activated mags, tracts, books‚ calendars, etc.

POPULATION AND HOMES

Population

76. According to our latest tabulations, we have 7,491 Charter members, 3,162 Fellow members, and 2,969 Active members, or a total membership of 13,622. This compares with 8,048 CMers, 3‚249 FMers, and 2,697 AMers‚ or a total membership of 13,994 in 2002. The trend has been that CM population has been going down since 1998, the FM population has remained fairly steady (though it did go down this year), but the number of Active members has been going up‚ resulting in a fairly high overall Family population. As our Family expansion begins to get in gear, we have every reason to believe our total Family population will skyrocket in the coming years.

77. In addition, we have 77,926 members of our "fold," such as Mail members (of which there are 46,925, and this stat includes Activated subscribers)‚ active supporters, outside witnessers, etc. This compares with 76,000 members of our fold in 2002, 63,000 in 2001, 54,000 in 2000, and 33,000 in 1999. So our flock is growing and will get even larger as we continue to push Activated and work to build our local churches.

Births

78. This year we had 150 babies born into the Family—about 13 a month. This is a bit more than last year's 141 babies. To date we have record of 13,794 babies being born into the Family. Our birth records go back to the end of 1971, so that means we've averaged 431 a year during that time. This is the first year since 1996 that we've had an increase in births.

Betrothals

79. We've had 2,707 betrothals to date‚ with this latest year bringing us 82! That's a little more than 2002's 75, 2001's 58‚ 2000's 55, 1999's 55, and 1998's 50.

Homes

80. We currently have 672 CM Homes and 703 FM Homes—a total of 1,375 Family Homes. This compares with last year's 718 CM Homes and 687 FM Homes‚ or 30 Homes less than 2002's total of 1,405. Current CM Home size is 11.4 members, while FM Home size is 4.7. This is almost the same average size in both categories as last year at this time.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Where We Are

81. Our Family is spread across six continents and throughout 101 countries. The following table shows what percentage of the CM Family, FM Family‚ and combined CM/FM Family is in each region. 71% of our combined CM/FM Family is in either the third world or eastern regions, while 29% are in the first world/western regions. We're certainly fulfilling the Lord's commission to "Go ye into all the world."

Nationalities

82. "…And make disciples of all nations" is another thing the Lord is helping us to accomplish. Currently we have CM and FM Family members consisting of 95 passport nationalities. When you stop to consider that we have 95 distinct nationalities in the Family living in 101 distinct countries‚ those are phenomenal numbers! And we have an additional 24 nationalities represented in our non-CM/FM membership.

83. Our largest nationality groups are basically the same as last year, with U.S. Americans at 25%, Brazilians at 10%, Japanese at 6%, Canadians and British at 5% each‚ Australians and Mexicans at about 4% each, French and Argentines at 3% each‚ and a tie for 10th place between the Spanish and Italians at 2.7% each.

84. It's also interesting to look at our nationalities by region, which you can see in the table below. This shows the regions our nationality groups come from.

85. As you can deduce from this table, about 30% are U.S./Canadians, 23% are Western Europeans, and about 26% are Latin (from Mexico, Central America‚ and South America). That accounts for 79% of the CM/FM Family, leaving about 21% from the East (either East Eurasia or Asia), as well as some from Africa. We're diversified!

OUR MEMBERS

Adults/Children

86. We currently have 5,945 adults (16+) and 4,708 children in the CM/FM Family. Because our birth rate these last several years has not kept up with the age increase of the overall Family membership, adults (16+) make up 56% of the Family as compared to 54% last year at this time, and about 40% ten years ago. In other words, as our JETTs are becoming teens, our teens are becoming adults, our 20s move into their 30s, etc., so the average age of a Family member is growing older. Taking all of the ages of all of our CM and FM members, the "statistical mean" or average age of all our Family members is … 23! The average age of all our males is 23, and the average age of all our females is 23!

Ages, Males/Females, and Generations

87. To sum things up: Our total CM/FM population is 10‚653. That breaks down to 5,945 adults 16+‚ and 4,708 children (15 and under), or 5,234 males and 5,419 females. Of our 5,945 adults 16+, 2,337 are second generation and 3,608 are first generation. Thus our 4‚708 second/third generation children plus our 2,337 second generation adults 16+ comes to a total of 7,045, or 66% second/third generationers out of our total CM/FM population of 10,653. So the Family as a whole is basically two-thirds second/third generation, and one-third first generation.

88. All told, we have 49% males and 51% females in the Family. Our first generationers are 48.0% males and 52.0% females. Our 7,045 second/third generationers are 49.7% males and 50.3% females.

89. We have 27 members in their 60s and nine in their 70s—the oldest of which are: Mary Kay Trusting (CMer in the U.S., 78) and Johane (CMer in Japan, 78), followed by Sara Abigail (CMer in the U.S., 75‚ who passed on in December 2003)!

Marrieds and Singles

90. Of our 5,945 adults 16+, 2,910 are mated and 3,035 are single. That means that 48.9%, or nearly half of our adults, are mated. Of those mated, 86% are FGAs and 14% are SGAs. Put another way, 69% of all FGAs are mated and 18% of our SGAs are mated. Of course‚ 58% of our second generationers are between the ages of 16 and 21, the majority of which are still single (704 men and 711 women).

Time in the Family

91. We have 3,608 Family members who joined as adult disciples, and 7,045 who were born or raised in the Family. Of those who joined as FGAs‚ 56% have been serving the Lord for over 20 years. On the previous page is a table showing what decade current FGAs and SGAs became part of the Family.

Sun Signs and Birthdays

92. It's quite amazing that the 12 sun signs are divided almost equally with only a 1.1% difference between the highest and lowest amounts. Here's how they score:

93. As someone mentioned when looking at these stats, maybe the Lord allowed Leo to be first place in honor of Mama! But the nearly equal amount of sun signs in the Family again shows that "a just weight is His delight."

94. The most common birthdays are listed in the table below. As you see, there were ties for several places. And, to top it off, we have seven members born on February 29!

Activated Action

95. The Lord said in "What the Future Holds—Part 1": "Activated … is the Gospel that will be preached unto all nations before the End comes" (ML #3349:91, GN 942). We're seeing this promise come to pass more and more every year as subscriptions rise.

96. Between November 2002 and October 2003, 17,132 new subscribers signed up for Activated. At present, we have a total of 19,391 Activated subscribers worldwide. Besides that‚ over 700,000 Activated magazines were ordered and distributed by the Homes. This is close to double the amount of magazines distributed last year!

Activated Available in More Languages

97. This year the Activated magazine subscription program was made available in Italian. Issues 1-8 have been printed, and Italian subscriptions are being mailed out within Italy. Dutch Actief issues 1-3 were printed this year, and two issues were also printed in German to give the Homes an opportunity to use them for witnessing, and to gauge the demand from the Homes. The Christmas magazine will be printed in German this year.

98. The new revised versions of Activated magazines 1-9 were completed in both Spanish and Portuguese.

99. The Activated program continues to flourish in Eastern Europe, and issues are available in 13 EE languages. While Activated was originally launched in these languages during the last two years, this year much progress has been made in more magazines translated and programs launched in several languages. There is an ongoing monthly magazine program in Russian, Romanian, Hungarian and Croatian. There is a one-year program (15 mags) in Ukrainian; a six-month program in Albanian‚ Bulgarian, Polish, and Slovakian; three mags in Serbian, and the first six mags in Czech will be ready by the end of the year.

New Desk in the Philippines

100. In February 2003, thanks to Byron and Marie and team, the Philippine Activated desk was up and running, and Activated subscriptions in the PI have been growing steadily. By October 2003 the Homes had sold 1,074 subscriptions (over 100 a month)!

Activation in Brazil

101. The videos Mama and I made for Brazil, and the shakeup in that field‚ have had a direct effect on the Activated ministry there. It's been growing significantly! June, the first month of the Brazil Family's punishment period, saw the highest stats in a while for Brazil, with 219 subscriptions. August closed with 309 new subscribers, which was more than double the monthly average for the first half of the year. In September, following the showing of the second series of videos I made for the Homes‚ the Brazil Family sent in a total of 856 subscriptions. Then in October, they reached 1,167—by far the highest month ever! As of the end of October 2003, the Brazil Homes have gotten 2,742 subscriptions since the June 1 punishment period began, which is more than double the amount they got out in the same period of June to October last year (1,201). The purging of the tree has already started bringing forth much fruit. God bless you, dear Brazilian Family!

Fellowships‚ Seminars, and Book Fairs

102. Our Activated desk personnel around the world attended roughly 20 fellowships‚ retreats, and other area meetings, as well as three book fairs:

 •Guadalajara International Book Fair (December 2002), together with Aurora

 •Taipei International Book Fair (February 2003)

 •Rio Book Fair (June 2003)

Tool Distribution

103. During 2003, among other distribution, the following publications were ordered and distributed by the Homes worldwide from their PCs.

 •over 94,000 "Mottos for Success"

 •over 258,000 CD cards

 •over 83‚000 Get Activated/Mountain Streams booklets

 •over 3,000 Feed My Lambs

 •over 6,000 Discovering Truth books

 •over 2,000 God on God

Key Promise

104. By utilizing the power of the keys you will help unleash an unprecedented deluge of My Words onto the parched and dry world, causing life to spring up everywhere and grateful souls to be washed, refreshed, and saved.

GP Pubs and Tools Abound

Publications and Tools in 2003

• Feed My Lambs audio CD: All 90 verses in the Feed My Lambs series put to music; fun‚ lively tunes for kids, sung by kids! Besides being a great GP tool‚ this is also a wonderful Family "memo book tape for kids."

• Evolution—Fact or Fable?

• Future Foretold, 2003 edition: Completely re-edited and updated

• 21 new CD cards

—7 Christmas cards

—4 cards for the "baby shower collection"

—4 cards for the "romantic collection"

—4 cards for the "children's collection"

—2 cards for the "sympathy collection"

• Treasure Attic in DVD format: Christmas special episode, together with a bonus regular episode, available with 3-4 multiple languages on the same DVD, with optional English subtitles (to use as an English-learning aid). Three versions of the DVD were done: English/Spanish/Portuguese; English/Italian/German/Hungarian (French will be added to future versions); English/Chinese/Japanese (Thai to be added to future versions).

• Grandpa Jake's Storybook: Two more series of six stories each—"Ocean Treasures" and "Crew and Co." (These were originally Heaven's Library mags, which we produced in color, with modifications to the text and some additional artwork.)

• The Adventures of Trudge and Zippy: First in a series of new children's storybooks geared toward non-Christian audiences.

• Revamped GP Daily Might

• From Jesus with Love—For Troubled Times: A new addition to the gift book series. Great feeding!

• My King and I in gift book format

• 12 new Activated monthly mags: November 2002 through October 2003 issues

• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: New meaty Endtime poster‚ based on the Activated article of the same title.

• 12 Foundation Stones: The classes and other accompanying material have been available on the MO site for some time, and many Family members have been using them already. Now the 12 Foundation Stones Class Book, as well as its accompanying Study Notes Book and Teacher's Supplement, have been finalized in book form and are going to press at the time of writing this GN.

• Early Bird Readers: This all-new reader series, beautifully illustrated by Agnes, was originally developed for Family kids, to teach our little ones reading. However, the WS CM/FM and GP pubs teams collaborated on finalizing it, so that it is now appropriate for both the Family and the GP. Going to press at the time of this GN.

• Aurora 2004 catalog: In the same mailing as this GN, your Home should be receiving a copy of the Aurora 2004 catalog with a complete listing of all current GP Aurora products. Please note that although these items are print-ready, they may not be available in your local language or from your local PC (Service Center or PPC) yet. It may take a while for some to be available in your area; your PCs will keep you informed as new products become available for distribution where you are.

GP Goods in the Pipeline for 2004

• Two new booklets on the Endtime: The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist, and The Rise and Reign of the Kingdom of God‚ covering the entire spectrum of Endtime and future events from the rise of the AC until the New Heaven and New Earth.

• Countdown to Armageddon and Beyond Armageddon in DVD format (English, Spanish, and Portuguese)

• A second interactive CD: Treasure Attic: Bible Explorers

• A new CD with songs of comfort

• An instrumental Christmas CD (for Christmas 2004's CD cards)

• A new Word/song CD with motivational messages and songs (similar to the How to Win and How to Be Happy Anyhow type of tapes)‚ based on the Obstacles Are for Overcoming Get Activated book

• A new "nighttime" CD along the lines of Sweet Dreams Tonight

• More From Jesus with Love books: on relations with people, on afflictions/healing, and, if there is time, "For Parents," "For Couples," or others.

• New children's posters

• Another Endtime teen poster

• Two GP CDs with Loving Jesus songs suitable for the GP

• Get Activated booklet on marriage

• Upgraded Jesus and Me, in a new format

• Activity booklets for the Feed My Lambs series (and possibly other children's series)

• More Treasure Attic episodes in DVD format

• Two new Mountain Streams books

• Read-along dramas for some of our children's storybooks

• A new series of "thinking of you" CD cards

• Glimpses of Heaven in gift book format (like the new FJWL books)

• 12 Bridges discipleship course (the second stage of the Activated Training Course, for those who have completed 12 Foundation Stones)

105. And there are lots more ideas for future products—time, personnel, and resources permitting. Thanks for your prayers for our WS GP team and the many others who play a part in getting the GP tools to you. It's only the Lord if any of this gets done, so your prayers are appreciated and needed.

Key Promise

106. Through your prayers and claiming the keys, you become a part of the production process for the many beautiful new pubs and tools I will provide for this coming year. Pray for these new tools to hit the mark in very specific ways, and your prayers will be answered.

2003 Aurora/Marketing Update

By the Aurora team

107. In 2003 we continued to move forward with our two main goals of servicing the Family PCs and Activated desks, producing/shipping them new tools, and pioneering the commercial marketing of Aurora's products.

108. "Mottos for Success" is now available in 4 new languages (Croatian, Khmer, Hungarian and Norwegian)—totaling 18 languages altogether! They definitely have the Lord's special anointing on them; we can barely keep up with the demand. In fact, we've run out of stock a few times due to sudden, unexpected surges in demand.

109. Thanks to you, dear Family, and your renewed push to distribute the Lord's message like never before, an amazing amount of Activated mags‚ books, kids' books‚ CD cards, and "Mottos for Success" were shipped off to the PCs and desks this year—a total of 181 shipments to 38 countries, including approximately 1,155,000 products (pieces‚ not pages).

110. We've also been happy to see that the number of e-mail requests for Aurora products (sent to our Aurora e-mail address) has grown significantly in the last year, resulting in a number of sales by the PCs, desks‚ and Homes. We get an average of 3 or 4 requests a day, with about 30% of them sent in from people in India interested in getting more "Mottos for Success"—often from businesses asking about purchasing them for corporate gifts.

111. This year, our sales team attended 6 international book fairs: London (England), Bologna (Italy)‚ Frankfurt (Germany), Guadalajara (Mexico), Miami, and Los Angeles (USA). The Miami fair was a first for us, and gave us the opportunity to meet many potential customers in the North American Spanish Christian book market. A team also attended Paperworld in Frankfurt (a stationery and gift items fair) to present our CD cards.

112. From the commercial companies we met at the fairs this year, the products listed below were sold and distributed in the following countries: Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Estonia‚ Norway, the U.K., Latvia, Nigeria‚ India, and the U.S. These include:

 •14,000 CD cards

 •3,000 "Mottos for Success"

 •5,000 Feed My Lambs sets

 •10,000 Stories to Grow By books

 •3,000 From Jesus with Love gift books

 •1‚000 My King and I gift books

 •2,000 Grandpa Jake's Storybook, "Insects Galore" sets (six booklets per set)

 •4,000 God on God published by Penguin, India

113. We're very grateful to the Family members, PCs, and desks that joined forces with us at the various book fairs we attended this last year. Thanks so much, dear Family at the EAD, Conéctate desk in Mexico, the Homes in Guadalajara, Samuele and the Italian PC Home, Misha and Christiana's Home in Frankfurt, Jonathan and Ruth's Home in Bologna, and Jason and Cathy's Home in London. We certainly couldn't have done it without your help.

114. We had a breakthrough this year in TV broadcasting as well, and recently signed a contract with a Christian TV station in Taiwan for Countdown to Armageddon and Beyond Armageddon.

115. We've got quite a number of very potential printing projects and TV broadcasting agreements currently in negotiations. But if there's anything we've learned in this business, it's to have plenty of patience and perseverance, as it takes quite a bit of time, effort, and follow–up from the time we meet a potential customer till the time they "sign on the dotted line." Believe it or not‚ the process can often take a year or two! So it's always a fight in the spirit, and we'd like to ask for your prayers to bring all of these to completion.

Key Promise

116. The keys of patience, faith, perseverance, enthusiasm, determination‚ and pioneering will transform you into successful salesmen in My employ, equipping you with the skills to sell any person or company on the priceless products I have blessed you with.

2003 Web Works

By the WS Web department

117. Aside from maintaining and expanding our existing Web sites, the majority of our efforts this year were devoted to working on a massive archive database, which we've dubbed the UDB (Unified DataBase).

The UDB

118. The idea for the UDB is for it to be one central electronic storage area which will contain all the information needed by our various Web sites and other electronic libraries, and act as a permanent storage archive for WS. The UDB will contain complete archives of the pubs, audio, songbooks/lyrics, testimonies, photos/art, and just about everything else.

119. The UDB has been our most ambitious project to date, and the planning stages alone took considerable time and deliberation, as we needed to consider every aspect of this project before starting—what database system would be the best to use for something like this, figuring out how it would store the variety of information it would contain, and then how it could all be retrieved in the various forms we needed, etc.

120. After figuring out the basics, some of us went on to collecting, preparing, and inputting each individual publication, the audio, the photos, and most of the other content on the Web sites and in the HomeARC, while others continued working on the database itself. It's been an enormous job to collect‚ process, and prepare all of these materials in a uniform fashion, and then to input each item into the database with detailed information on each entry.

121. While it's been a massive project and has taken time and a lot of work, the effects of the UDB will be far–reaching, making each of our Web sites more detailed and effective time-wise, by cutting down on the repetition of work, because we'll have all the information centralized rather than each site storing its own content individually.—Not to mention the benefits of an archive of this magnitude being available directly to the Family through the new Members Only Web site.

MO v.3

122. We've also been working on a new version of the MO Web site. The existing version has been running fairly well since spring 1999, but the Lord showed us that it's time for an upgrade to provide new features, expanded content, and more of what you need.

123. Some of the main additions will be in the pubs area, where you will now have access to the complete archives of all of our pubs via the UDB. These pubs will be fully searchable and readable online—creating an online and multilingual HomeARC.

124. The new MO site will also allow for many of the changes you've written us about over the years, as well as those we've wanted to make, such as increased user customization (font sizes and color schemes‚ etc.), better searching, heightened security, more user–friendliness and greatly expanded content, to name just a few things. There will also be a much greater "board presence," with each board getting its own section to post news and materials relevant to their board.

125. At the time of this writing we are nearing completion of this project, and we hope to have it launched within the next couple of months, Lord willing. Thanks for your prayers for this.

Maintenance and Expansion

126. Besides the new projects we've been working on, one of our main jobs is to keep our existing sites current and up to date with the latest Family news, Word, pubs‚ testimonies, articles, pictures, music, etc. A lot of new content was added to our four main sites this year, and we continue to see an increase in online audience and subscribers to the daily and/or weekly mailings we send via e-mail from the GP site, the Activated site, and the MO site.

127. Here is a brief site-by–site analysis of some of the progress that has been made this past year. (Note: The percentage increase in the stats below is the approximate increase over last year.)

GP FAMILY:
http://www.thefamily.org

128. Besides being the GP face of the Family and a source of information on our organization and worldwide work, our goal for the GP site—as we continually update the site with as much Word, news‚ music, etc., as possible—is for it to be a place that people will want to come back to again and again to get spiritually fed and grow in the Lord. This seems to be the case, as we've had a considerable increase in our online audience. TTL!

129. Because this is such a powerful witnessing tool and a wonderful source of feeding for those who frequent it, we'd like to encourage you to utilize this tool in your outreach and feeding of the sheep. This site, as well as the Activated site, is like a gift that keeps giving—it will continue to feed those you turn on to it, long after you've gone.

130. Below are a few of the hundreds of e-mails we've received just this month from people who have visited this site. God bless the U.S. Activated desk, who respond to and follow up on the sheep who write in.

131. "I was so encouraged by the 'Readers Corner.' I read one of the passages from 'Jesus' Words,' and it was so refreshing. My husband is in the military and has been deployed in Iraq for the last seven months. He is still not home yet, and I have been so distressed and worried for him. When I read this particular passage, I felt so wonderful. I felt like God was speaking directly to me and telling me that everything was going to be okay. This is awesome‚ and I have never felt more peace in my life."

132. "For some time now, I have been reading more and more about The Family. The more that I read about The Family, the more I wish to belong. You have such an interesting message—a message built on love, compassion, and commitment to the ideas of Jesus through loving the world.

133. "How can I learn more? Tell me how I may find the true happiness and love that you have found by doing the work of Jesus. The more that I read about you‚ the more I've realized what you have is what I am looking for in my own life. I need someone to help me and show me the way."

134. "I've read your Web site with enthusiastic interest, and wondered how someone might join such a wonderful group as yours (the Family)?"

STATS

Total visits: 583,331 (48.1% increase)

Daily average: 1,598.2

Total downloaded: 162.3GB

Total e-mails sent: 287,321 (24.9% increase)

MEMBERS ONLY:
http://www.familymembers.com

135. We've continued to update the MO site with new content at least once a day. This site now has 5,854 pubs on it, 7,512 MP3s, 1,885 newswire articles‚ 19,709 pictures, and 2,101 special interest articles—and so much more! The wealth of material on the MO site is immense, and grows daily. We pray each of you benefit from it.

136. As you can imagine, maintaining and expanding a site this size, with 1,104 unique users, is a big job‚ and this past year we've answered many thousands of e-mails concerning site access, tech support, PGP, and various other MO site-related questions.

137. We want to say a special thanks to each of you who've contributed to the site this year. We really appreciate it. We love you, and are happy to be able to serve you.

STATS

Total visits: 636,021 (38% increase)

Daily average: 1,742.5

Total downloaded: 943GB (124.4% increase)

Total pubs e–mails sent: 63,521 (15.5% increase)

ACTIVATED:
http://www.activated.org

138. Activated.org was launched in May 2002, and in just one year the site content has expanded considerably. We've received many positive comments on the site, and have already noticed many repeat visitors. Often it takes a while for a new site to "take off," but we've seen a huge increase in visits to the site, and much of that traffic is due to you who faithfully get out Activated. God bless you!

STATS

Total visits: 44,350 (45.6% increase)

Total downloaded: 11.2GB (148.9% increase)

AURORA PRODUCTION:
http://www.auroraproduction.com

139. The Aurora Web site continues to do its job‚ which is to supply information and previews for most of our GP products. We've kept this site current this past year, as new GP tools were released.

STATS

Total visits: 102,865 (116.5% increase)

Total downloaded: 9.2GB (73.6% increase)

(Note: Check out the "pubs overflow" section of the MO site for more good news from other Family Web sites, and additional stats for the preceding four sites, which we couldn't fit in this GN due to space constraints.)

Key Promise

140. The Internet is a unique avenue for getting out the message—and as you call on the key of witnessing, My truth will reach the lost in the far corners of the world, and cause those who are searching to discover the sites and be fed by the wonder working Words on each Web page.

Audio News

By the WS audio department

141. Songwriting, song auditioning, recording, mastering‚ lots of messages and communications‚ archiving, and producing graphics and songbooks continue to keep our Family musicians very busy. Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

142. This year we auditioned lyrics to 250 songs, 150 demos, and 145 final mixes. A big hand for the contributing songwriters, vocalists, musicians‚ and producers who helped make all the new CDs possible! (Check out the CD labels and the MO site for all the details and credits.)

GP Releases

143. At the onset of 2003, Emmanuel, Michael, John and Barry set out to record 41 children's scripture songs for the GP—most of them brand-new—for the new "Feed My Lambs" audio CD! (Windy wrote 28, and co-wrote 9; the other composers/co-composers were: Michael, Jeremy, Barry, Emmanuel, Paul T.‚ and Zeb.) It was both a challenge and an inspiration for all the kids involved in the recordings, some of whom had never recorded in a studio before. We pray the outcome is a blessing to all.

TCD and New Feature Releases

144. So far this year, three new TCDs have been mastered: Rhapsody, I'm Still Here, Souled Out‚ and one New Feature, The Reservoir.

Children's CDs

145. Most Homes have only recently received the children's lullaby CD Siesta Street. And coming to your Home soon are Positive Praise, a compilation of praise and other fun songs for children, and It's Fun to Learn, a compilation of young children's educational songs. Amongst many new captivating tunes on It's Fun to Learn are new recordings of the addition and multiplication songs from the GAP videos.

New CDs for 2004

146. New GP CDs in the works include a CD of piano-based Christmas instrumentals, a narrative/song CD derived from the Obstacles Are for Overcoming Get Activated book, and a CD of comfort songs.

147. Before the end of 2003, we hope to have mastered LJCD #7, which you'll receive in 2004; and work has already started on LJCD #8, to be released toward the end of 2004.

148. New CM/FM CDs on the horizon for 2004: Dance TCD, alternative/rock TCD‚ one or two witnessing songs CDs, new kids CDs (one of them a lullaby CD geared toward older children).

New Songs Continue to Flow

149. Thanks so much for the songs you've submitted in response to "The Lord's Calling You to Write Songs" (ML #3415, GN 1002). Some of those songs sent in were released this year on new CDs. And for future CDs, there are already over 100 songs whose lyrics have been approved and are ready for production. Thanks for your patience.—And a big thanks to all those who have been pulling down those jewels from the Master's outstretched hand.

Music Survey Stats

150. We don't have the space to include the full outcome of the music survey, but here are just a few stats—thanks to 452 responders, pretty evenly matched between males and females, with the 16– to 20-year-olds responding the most, followed by the 21- to 30-year-olds. Of the 10 top responding countries, the U.S. topped the list with 91 responses, then Japan with 66, and 40 from Brazil.

151. From ages 12 to 40‚ the top favorite musical style is alternative/rock. Then with those 41+, the top favorite style is folk/ballad. Regarding second, third, and fourth favorites: With 12- to 20-year-olds‚ it's hard rock‚ techno/trance, and upbeat pop; with ages 21 to 30, it's slow pop, upbeat pop‚ and R&B and folk/ballad tied for fourth; with the 31-40s, it's rap/hip–hop, folk/ballad, and slow pop; and with those 41+, it's country‚ alternative/rock, and upbeat pop. These statistics are taken from the selected most favorite songs, singers, and producers. Another interesting stat is that 75% of 12- to 20-year-olds said that they listened to the TCDs either every day or a couple of times a week.

152. We hope the CDs released in 2003 had something for everyone, as they contained all of the above-mentioned styles, and more! Thanks also for all your comments, which we'll definitely take into consideration. We're a musical Family, and the Lord's message in the music He gives helps keep us going for Him!

Key Promise

153. Create a clear link between Heaven and Earth, through which I send music from the spirit world‚ by claiming the keys of heavenly composition, and I will provide your spirit with the anointing you need—the ability to receive the lyrics or the melody, or to produce a song with unearthly skill.

WS News

154. (Peter:) There wasn't much change this past year in our WS personnel makeup: two new arrivals, and two folks heading from WS to mission fields. We were also blessed with two knew disciples this past year—a girl and a boy—both born to SGA couples.

WS Uncut

155. The @WS videos the young people in WS produced this year were a first! It was an unexpected endeavor that started as a wild idea‚ but which the Lord approved and saw through to completion. God bless the young people who heard from the Lord each step of the way and worked hard to get it to you—praying, planning‚ filming, editing, etc. (Originally 16 hours of footage, boiled down to 5!) It was difficult for many of the young people to get on camera for the entire CM Family, but the Lord said it would be worth the time and effort and that it would be a blessing. The abundance of reactions we've received as a result have certainly confirmed that.

156. Here are a few samples of some of the many notes we've received from you:

157. "Just seeing faces of other young adults in the Family in itself is wonderful! Seeing all the young people who are serving not just the Lord, but this Family—and loving it—was real encouraging. I don't feel so alone anymore."

158. "[The videos] were such an encouragement that I'm not alone in the fight for faith and the Family. I am now surer than ever that this is where my calling lies, and what I want to live and die for."

159. "I feel more like we are all teamworking and in it together. Thank you for giving your life in prayer for us; now I want to be more faithful to pray for you as well."

160. "Though I'd heard it said a million times that folks in WS are normal just like the rest of us, I always had a far different conception. The rumors of WS extravaganzas, special security measures, and mental brainwashing never quite clicked in, but I always regarded those in WS as special, above us, mature, highly spiritual, leadership types. Naturally, I thought, it's easy for them to get along, share sexually, read the Word, take off spiritually‚ use the keys, love Jesus intimately—plus they have so much fun. Well, I'm sure you do … don't we all? But amazingly enough, Family members in WS are just that: Family members, nothing special (though of course we know you're special, and we love each one of you). All the young people I saw were so very normal, with their own personality quirks and funny differences. I still love you all; don't get me wrong. I simply have a little more faith that if you can and are making it, then maybe I can too."

161. "I know sometimes I get weary and forget the privilege it is to be one of the Lord's frontline soldiers, getting out the Word and winning souls. Since you guys don't get to go out hardly ever, and to see that it's the main thing you've had to forsake in WS, makes me want to appreciate and work harder in my job of witnessing—not just for the sheep, but also on your behalf."

Key Promise

162. Whether you are called to the front lines or behind-the-scenes service, call on the keys for the year ahead‚ and I will sharpen your spiritual weapons, cause your armor to shine‚ and bequeath each of you with the anointing to make phenomenal progress for Me.

Fulfillment of Prophecy

By Marc and Claire, North America

163. One interesting fulfillment of the Lord's Words in prophecy is about how we in the Family will serve as leaders and guides for church Christians during the End. Over the past year, we have had several requests for assistance and to share our experiences to help small churches and new religious movements facing controversy.

164. In one situation‚ we were asked to counsel a small persecuted Christian movement about how to deal with the media and courts. They later wrote: "We are so grateful for your care and compassion, as well as your 'seasoned counsel.' We appreciate your prayers. We look forward to talking to you again in the future." The counsel the Lord led us to share on a practical level was all based on the tools He has led the Family to develop over the years, such as our Statement of Faith, Charter, relations with the media, press releases‚ etc., as well as testimonies of faith and how the Lord has pulled us through persecution by trusting in Him. Thank the Lord for the tools and spiritual gifts He has given us all to enable us to do the job—inestimable treasures!

165. A top Japanese PR firm, working in conjunction with a top American PR firm, contacted us for consultation on how to improve the image of one of their clients (a Buddhist group) and how to establish their presence in the U.S. They had also contacted some of the top academics in the religious field, so it was quite an interesting exchange, and helped us to appreciate how much training we have had in the Lord's school just by following the counsel in His Word and His leadings in prophecy over the years. Neither of the PR firms had the slightest idea how to assist their clients‚ and the Japanese firm was taking copious notes and asked to keep all the materials we had prepared. Forget the System's higher education! We have a living education through the powerful Word we are so blessed to receive and study!

Key Promise

166. The keys endow you with the faith to step out on the waters of uncharted territories, where you will be buoyed up by My Spirit and thrilled to experience the fulfillment of My promises.

Update on Former Member Web Sites

167. (Peter:) Thank the Lord for the power of intercessory prayer and the key of destiny that we can claim for our loved ones who have chosen another path in their lives. The Lord has said that this is vital to their transition‚ in conjunction with the decisions they personally make. In sharing the following update and overview of the former member Web sites, we pray it will give you a better understanding of why the Lord has asked us not to access these sites, as well as how His promises still hold true as we hold onto our loved ones in prayer.

By Marc and Claire, North America

168. The Internet has changed the face of ex-member activity for just about every religious group or church, by pulling former members together into a "cyber-community," which has recently developed into a new area of study in the field of sociology. This can be a very positive tool for support and goals. But sad to say‚ in some cases it has had the effect of creating negative peer pressure—not only toward the Family, but also toward Christianity. The anonymity of the Web also lends itself to people feeling free to exaggerate, say outrageous things, and more, that they normally wouldn't. However, when we have corresponded with individuals from the ex–member boards, the interaction has generally been quite cordial and of a very different tone. It becomes clear that a good percentage of the postings are not fully representative of most former members, as is the case in secular chat rooms.

169. There are currently three active ex-member Web sites (this is actually a very small number, TTL, as there are hundreds of anti–Scientology sites). One is mostly frequented by former FGAs, many of whom discuss theology, world events, etc.—some of whom see current events and Bible interpretation through Dad's teachings, and most through a Biblical‚ Christian perspective. Another site is also mostly FGAs, but is quite antagonistic and tends to be counter-cult—in other words, their arguments are mostly religion-based—but has only a small core of posters, and not a very wide presence or impact.

170. The third site is only for former SGAs, and though its stated goal was to assist young people to "move on," sad to say, any kind of faith–based comments or positive comments written by former members about the Family is anathema on this site. So there isn't room for dialogue or debate. Their basic "theology" is that they are all victims of abuse one way or another because of their upbringing, and every child should be brought up in the System, rigidly conforming to its standards and norms. It tends to consider the System the ultimate, and anything radical, dropped-out, or not in line with the System is a kind of evil. As you can imagine, this is an unhealthy environment for young people struggling to adapt and maintain their faith and the Christian principles of their upbringing. Believing themselves to be victims, undereducated and deprived, is not a very positive outlook on life and can inhibit them using the training and education they have received.

171. We have seen‚ however, in analyzing their membership roster, that by far the majority of their posters have done quite well in their work and job careers, and in most cases have not been handicapped at all in entering the workforce or higher education. Most have been able to build successful careers or enter into higher education with little difficulty beyond the norm‚ and many have achieved above and beyond the law of averages for the population at large.

172. We're sure this is in answer to the desperate prayers of their loved ones, so let's all keep the prayers flowing for them. At a recent academic conference, the Family was noted as a group that has been willing to make changes for the sake of its young people and has sought to reach out and be tolerant toward their former members.

173. Thank the Lord that despite the challenges, the Family can be this testimony of love and faith through His wonder-working keys! "Call on the keys of love, unity and reconciliation‚ and I will release My Spirit on you and your loved ones to bring about the fruits of the spirit."

Key Promise

174. The keys of destiny are yours to claim for your loved ones—younger and older—who are no longer a part of the Family, and in full faith you can know that I will care for them like no other could. I will take care of My Own.

Finances

WS Financial Summary

175. (Peter:) WS finances have been nip and tuck for many years now—with WS giving out virtually everything that has come in each year‚ and sometimes giving out more than its income, which has meant we've often had to institute major budget cuts and dip into the WS reserve buffer. So with the onset of the boards in 2002 and their need for financial support, something had to be done to keep us afloat financially.

176. WS supports many CO office bases and reporting offices, those that print the pubs, translation/production centers (LIMs and Lit-Pics), the production of GP and audio/visual products, and partially supports the regional board chairpersons, as well as gives to help cover regional board travel expenses and international board expenses. WS tithes 10% of its income to the FAF and sends out over 150 regular budgets monthly—gifts that support the Family services infrastructure and needy mission fields! (This doesn't include one-time special gifts or emergency needs, another substantial part of WS giving.)

177. The Lord has created and developed over the last 35 years a unique, large organization of nearly 100 nationalities operating in over 100 countries on six of the seven continents of the world, with around 11,000 members in nearly 1,400 Homes! And as this GN and previous year-end GNs make apparent, there is a lot that goes into making the Family happen. It is our Husband Who is responsible, but it costs money to get the job done.

178. As a result of struggling financially for a few years‚ and with the burgeoning costs of the boards‚ we were desperate for answers as to how to provide enough funds to cover all of the above-mentioned expenses. It looked as if we might have to start cutting a substantial amount of our missionary giving in order to continue servicing the overall Family—which we didn't want to do, as much of this giving goes to missionary Homes in poor fields which would have to discontinue their work if they didn't get financial aid. So we took our burdens to our Husband‚ and He suggested that the FAF give out some of the more needy missionary gifts.

179. In reviewing the original FAF LNF, which explained the mandate of the FAF, we found that the Lord had originally explained that, in time, the FAF could be used to support needy mission fields. Because helping missionary Homes was included in the original mandate, and the Lord showed us that this was one way to keep the financial ship afloat during this time of lower finances, we went ahead and transferred some of the missions expenses to the FAF. As of January 2003, 70 missions gifts began to come out of the FAF. Our prayer was that after a year WS would be in a financial position to again take on the responsibility of this missions giving.

180. With the "Conviction versus Compromise" Letters on tithing, giving‚ and financial success—which, by faith, will raise WS income--we expect that the missions gifts will once again be given directly from WS. In the meantime, though, we are very thankful‚ as we are sure these missions gift recipients are also, that the FAF was able to pick up the slack so that these very needy Homes could continue to reach their fields. Praise the Lord for His never-ending and never-failing foresight!

Missions Giving

181. In the pie graph this year, we combined the 24% of WS funds that went to missions with the 37% of FAF funds that went to missions, into one graph called "Combined WS and FAF Missions Grants 2003." This graph shows what percentage of our total giving (WS plus FAF) went to what fields as missions gifts. (This graph does not include other FAF giving‚ such as baby bonuses, pass-on gifts, pioneer gifts, HER gifts, etc.) Through this, you can begin to see how far your giving to WS and the FAF goes—it's spread across all six continents of the habitable world!

WS Major Investments

WS publications: WS publications costs were 40% of all WS giving. This is on par with 37% in 2002 and 42% in 2001. This 40% covers the support and productions of all WS, translation and printing units, and the cost of the creation, production, and shipping of all WS pubs to you.

Missions: Giving to missions was second again this year, at 24%. (This figure does not reflect the mission gifts given out by the FAF.) This includes gifts and budgets to the Pacific‚ the Mideast, Eastern Europe/Russia, Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, and aid to other needy situations.

Boards: Moving up one notch to our third highest expense (fourth last year) was the board program, at 15%. This includes gifts to regional boards for their operating expenses as well as travel‚ and some of the expenses for the 2003 international board meetings, which we had been saving toward for over a year. Over 85 of the attendees paid for their fares, with a little help from WS in some cases, but the facilities, food, office supplies, equipment, and accommodations were paid for by WS.

Administration: This expense moved from third in 2002 to fourth this year, at 13%. This covers the support and costs of the reporting offices around the world, some of the local CO offices, and WS administration expenses.

GP productions, Audio/Visual, and Legal/Educational/Other: These categories were 8% of all WS expenses, and represent the production of all the GP tools and Family CDs you receive, as well as WS travel, educational, and legal and media expenses.

Increase in Family Giving!

182. This year, the GNs "Are You Robbing God?" and "Show Me the Money‚ Parts 1-2" came out and have already had a phenomenal effect on the Family. The tithes received from the September 2003 TRFs equaled the tithes received from the December 2002 TRFs! The Christmas outreach period almost always generates our highest income for the year, but with the Lord's counsel about sending in a full tithe, and the insight as to why and how His financial system works, the tithes sharply increased!

183. We are so thankful for this‚ dear Family! This has had a substantial effect on WS finances, as for years now it has been a struggle to keep the Family infrastructure and missions giving going. With this financial boost, we are beginning to get our heads above water, and we know the Lord will do tremendous things as we get the "cycle of giving" into full motion! He will also bless you in tremendous ways for your obedience to His Word.

FAF Finance Summary

184. It was inspiring to recently reread Dad's Letter "The Family Aid Fund!"—written 24 years ago in October 1979! This Letter was the inspiration for our present–day FAF. Although it took us until May 1995 to get it going, through it the Lord has supplied so many needs for the Family. Every single person in the CM Family has benefited in some way from the FAF—whether from a baby bonus, a pioneer gift, HER funds, or even just tool fund gifts (seed corn). It's been a tremendous blessing, and the Lord has made it prosper.

185. In that original Letter, Dad said he wasn't against insurance at all, and that insurance was originally a Christian idea to help the poor and those in need: "It's very scriptural and very Early Church, because in the Early Church the wealthy churches contributed to this mutual aid fund, out of which they took funds to help the widows, poor churches who were having problems or famine, or whatever. It's a Christian idea to begin with. What they call mutual funds originated in the church!" (ML #841:6, Vol.7).

186. Though there is room to expand the services of the FAF, it has worked very well these last 8½ years‚ and we expect it to continue to do so, by God's grace! This year some services were expanded or added on: The baby bonus was doubled from $100 to $200, and the FAF began giving out some missions gifts.

FAF Gifts in 2003

187. In 2003 the FAF gave out a total of 1,441 gifts, making a total of 11,479 gifts in its 8½ years of existence.

 HER gifts: 37 (In 8½ years: 1,099)

 Pioneer and missions gifts: 751 (In 8½ years: 2‚067)

 Tool fund gifts: 228 (In 8½ years: 3,854)

 HER reimbursements: 43 (In 8½ years: 525)

 Baby bonuses: 181 (In 8½ years: 1,925)

 Pass-on gifts: 6 (In 8½ years: 38)

 Gifts to needy: 67 (In 8½ years: 309)

 Home loans: 128 (In 8½ years: 1,662)

188. In addition to WS contributing 10% of all its income and the CM Homes contributing 1% to the FAF, there is a constant movement and recycling of Home loan repayments, HERs, and other returned gifts into the FAF. Every time a Home loan is given out, it is marked as an expense; when it is repaid, the repayment goes back into the FAF as income. Home loan repayments to date have accounted for 27% of the FAF income. These Home loan funds are returned to the FAF and then loaned out again‚ creating a continuous cycle of outgo and income.

189. Thank you very much, dear CM Homes, for your overall faithfulness to repay your loans quickly. The Lord has blessed it, and it has helped to make the Home loans and the FAF a great success.

Key Promise

190. Invoke the keys of obedience and faith to live My Word and do My will, and the streams of My supply will steadily flow into your lives, hearts‚ and Homes.

Family Administration Progress

191. It was once again a busy year for the Family administration department. At long last the "Charter Amendments 2003" GN, which included 39 amendments, was finalized and sent to you this year. The Love Charter is also currently in the process of being read over, updated, and revised to include the board structure and reflect other changes that have been made in the Family in the five years since its last printing. The Board Handbook is also being updated.

192. In addition to seeking the Lord‚ counseling, taking care of the many questions and policy matters that come up in the Family throughout the year, and overseeing the various administrational sides of the Family, the administration department has handled well over 4,000 incoming and outgoing messages from/to the COs, Family structure Homes, and the Family at large. They have worked with the PR board and pubs teams in revising and updating 21 Statements, which will be posted on the MO site soon, Lord willing. They have also worked on nine inter–leadership bulletins‚ which were circulated for the COs, VSs, and regional board members.

193. All members of the administration team sit on or chair international boards, and have been actively involved with their boards, as well as participating in Summit 2003. They have also continued to help in the furtherance of the board structure‚ handling communications and questions relating to the boards and their functions.

194. Members of the administration team accompanied me, Peter, on a trip to EURCRO, and were able to meet on Family Missions Foundation matters‚ and with the Aurora team. Members of the administration team also visited the NPCs, in an effort to better understand their needs and help WS and the NPCs be more closely linked in their work and services to the Family.

Key Promise

195. Praise Me as you claim the keys of revolution and change, which ensure that the Family will not become bogged down or chained to the old, but always desirous and hungry for the new, revolutionary, and up-to-date ways of My Spirit.

Good News Galore!

GN Q&A

196. Moving right along to what keeps us all growing, moving, changing, spiritually alive, and revoluting: God's Word for today. For something a little different and to add a bit of spice and variety‚ the stats for this year are in a Q&A format. We sure have been privileged with lots from above!

197. Q: Which age group did the Lord give special attention to in 2003?

198. A: The junior teens! There were three GNs this year, packed with helpful insight, counsel, and instruction on how to help our junior teens grow, progress, and be happy and fulfilled in their service to the Lord ("Jewels on Junior Teens, Parts 1-3"). Plus, those Letters held a wealth of terrific counsel for everyone—regardless of age or ministry—on hearing from the Lord, understanding others, the power of prayer, and the lengths to which our love should go to help a loved one in need.

199. Q: What was there four of at the beginning of 2002, three of at the beginning of 2003, and two of at the beginning of 2004?

200. A: Year-end GNs! At the beginning of 2003 there were three year-end GNs (a total of 112 pages)—"2003, Here We Come," and "Board Reports 2002, Parts 1 and 2!" These GNs gave us a terrific overview of the Family boards around the world, which had then been up and running for one year. They've now been in place almost two years, and are still going strong.

201. Q: What is something that starts with the letter "A" that the Lord considers very important, that He has been talking to us as a Family about since 1999, and that He has mentioned in over 65 GNs?

202. A: Activated! And this year His lips weren't silent on this topic, because He gave us two new GNs on the subject: "Activate the World, Parts 7 and 8!" They were short GNs (four pages each), but some of the most important things come in small packages.

203. Q: What do novels, Winston Churchill, and Timothy Concerned have in common?

204. A: They were all featured in Issues GNs this year. Within those 72 pages (distributed between three GNs) was a wealth of truth, instruction and warnings along the lines of staying true to our faith and convictions‚ guarding our spirits against the inroads of the world, and making the right choices for Jesus so that we can keep that revolutionary heart, soul, and spirit that He needs in us.

205. Q: Which GN series featured 25 spirit helpers and departed saints?

206. A: "Mama's Birthday 2002, Parts 1-3!" Those GNs were all about opening our eyes more fully to the realm of the spirit‚ giving us a little peek at the thousands upon thousands of spirit beings—kings, queens, missionaries, great men and women of God‚ departed Family members, angels, warriors, creatures, and powerful beings of all shapes and sizes—in the realm of the spirit world who are awaiting our call. (And for your interest, there were over 40 more of Mama's spirit helpers who weren't included in the birthday GNs, because of time and space constraints!)

207. Q: How did the Lord do His part this year in helping the Family to be wiser and more successful in their business for Him?

208. A: Through five GNs on finances and financial success (six, counting the "Offerings" GN that was published right after we closed this stats period): "Are You Robbing God?—Conviction vs. Compromise, Part 8" and "Show Me the Money, Parts 1-4—Conviction vs. Compromise, Part 9!"—96 pages of priceless, fully-guaranteed-to-work advice and counsel on how to have a successful business in God's Kingdom, by adhering to His spiritual and practical principles. The "Show Me the Money" GNs were complete with counsel from Mama, Bible verses, older quotes from the Letters, new messages from Heaven, to-do assignments and new key promises under each pillar. Our wonderful and generous Husband couldn't have made it any easier for us; now we've just got to do what He's asked and put all the counsel into action!

209. Q: Are we still a Revolution for Jesus, His called-out ones?

210. A: Yes, thanks to 140 pages worth of fiery and powerful GNs this year on the topic of discipleship, accountability, and obedience that have stirred us all up in spirit ("Introduction to "Woe!"; "Woe! Mama's Video to the Family in Brazil"; "Our Accountability!"; "Putting 'Skin' on Sin"; "Deliverance: Peter's Video to the Family in Brazil"; and "Brazil National Prayer Day 2003"). What began as a situation in Brazil has changed into a vehicle to propel the entire Family forward in dedication, commitment, and discipleship.

211. And along with all of the above‚ two other challenging GNs on the topic of discipleship and keeping the faith this year were "So You Want to Be a Disciple?" and "Keep the Faith!"

212. Q: Wow, that's a lot of milestone, faith-building‚ inspiring GNs for the year 2003. Was there anything else?

213. A: As if all those GNs weren't enough‚ you also received GNs on an assortment of different and important subjects. "Have Fun With Jesus" helped us learn spiritually and practically how to bring more of the spirit into our Homes and lives! "Charter Amendments 2003" brought cheers to many Family sectors because of the modifications to the Charter the Lord sanctioned. "Fight to Win" taught us what it really means to expect to win over the Enemy and be efficient fighters in the spiritual arena—and other jewels.

214. "World Currents!—No.101: America Attacks Iraq/SARS" gave us the inside scoop on some of the biggest world crises of the year. "Death to Depression, Parts 1 and 2," were a major blast at the Enemy, sending the Devil and his demons of depression and discouragement back to the pit where they belong. "Praise Your Way to Victory" motivated us to pick up our rusty praise weapons, as our Husband reminded us that it's one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.

215. And last, but by no means least, 1,000 new key promises were finalized and are well on their way to you in a handy booklet format‚ along with the other 700 previously published promises. (The text file is also posted in the pubs section of the MO site for your use in the meantime).

216. Q: So after all that, are the Lord and Mama planning on taking a vacation in 2004?

217. A: Absolutely not! Since we have a moving, living, generous Husband, and it's Mama's greatest desire and commission to get out the Word‚ we can expect to be inundated once again with precious jewels from Heaven to enrich and bless our lives, answer our questions, and reveal to us more of His mysteries.

218. In 2004 you can look forward to receiving (some of which you may already have in your hands when you are reading this GN) more on finances‚ a Letter on rewards and crowns, practical counsel on alcohol responsibilities, more on discipleship, insight into higher education, encouragement for the parents and teachers of our wonderful children, and a whole lot more!

Word Shorts

219. Here are some short sound bites to ponder‚ as we remember all that the Lord has given in the way of His heavenly counsel and instruction on so many topics this year. They're by no means the most important GN snippets from this year, but a few that I wanted to include for your edification and inspiration. There's no way to possibly pull the "best" or the most "important" quotes—because every word is so valuable and precious. I kept finding more and more that I wanted to include, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

220. To be truly united and strong as a Home, you must be strong through your obedience to My Word together. (ML #3437:41, GN 1020)

221. The more full you are of Me, the more of a new bottle you are—because I am the essence of newness and fun and balance and freedom! (ML #3439:113, GN 1025)

222. The truest love does not stop at concern; it drives the concern to Me through intercessory prayer and supplication for the ones you love. (ML #3441:37, GN 1028)

223. The Family is about giving for the benefit of others; it's about sacrificing your own personal desires or plans for the good of the whole. (ML #3437:104, GN 1020)

224. Let My Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. If it doesn't shine where you plan to walk, then don't walk there. (ML #3442:124, GN 1026)

225. The sacrifices we have to make are not forever—but the battles which are won or lost in these days will affect lives and souls forever. (ML #3442:145‚ GN 1026)

226. This is the most powerful teamwork combination in the universe—those of the spirit and flesh working together to defeat the Enemy. (ML #3443:12, GN 1024)

227. This is the year of the keys. (ML #3443:47, GN 1024)

228. You are the sum total of your decisions, your convictions, your character, your integrity‚ your love for God and your hatred of the world. (ML #3444:84, GN 1029)

229. The keys will become known and revered not only by the children of David‚ but also sought after by others who have faith to believe and receive and embrace My truths. (ML #3447:199, GN 1031)

230. Pride cannot grow or be nurtured in the heart of one who drinks in My Word‚ who lives My Word, and who is desirous of My truth. (ML #3448:164, GN 1036)

231. Praise, call on the keys, and then watch Me perform! It's a winning combination that never fails! (ML #3449, GN 1034)

232. Whether you're with one person or a thousand‚ when you pray, you should just think of Me. (ML #3450:147, GN 1040)

233. A life worth living is a life worth fighting for. (ML #3450:21‚ GN 1040)

234. You are building your future today. You are the one who makes things happen in your life—either good things or bad things—according to your decisions and choices. (ML #3461:139, GN 1046)

235. The stronger you are in the Word, the more powerful the keys of the Kingdom are for you. (ML #3450:52, GN 1040)

236. Simple childlike faith is not necessarily naïve, uninformed or immature. … It is simply choosing to believe Me in spite of all other knowledge or possibilities or conflicting opinions. (ML #3450:97, GN 1040)

237. You're not meant to be straying further from ultimate discipleship and radical living; you're meant to be coming closer, being more dropped out, more pure. (ML #3453:40, GN 1038)

238. Those who aren't receiving and living the Word will fall away, and those who are strong in the Word will remain. (ML #3458:78, GN 1043)

239. Give no place to the Devil! That should be the motto of our Family. (ML #3458:39‚ GN 1043)

240. Everything good in your life depends on having My blessing, and having My blessing depends on your obedience to Me and the Word. (ML #3461:125, GN 1046)

Key Promise

241. Cling to the keys to remain humble, obedient and yielded to Me; as long as you are in that position, I will never fail to pour forth My living Words for today, as invigorating streams that never run dry.

Other Pubs News and Yearly Rundown

By the WS pubs department

242. Over the last year the Family has received 3,684 pages of a variety of publications, not including the GNs. Just one copy of each pub came to an average of 307 pages per month. The pubs you received this year were: 2 CLTPs, 1 ComicTrax, 10 ENDs‚ 10 Eves, 24 FARs, 6 FCPs, 10 FSMs, 11 Gen-Ups, 7 Grapes of Thankfulness fliers, 21 Grapevines, 24 Heaven's Library mags, 1 Heaven's Library board game, 10 Kidz Biz, 10 Kidlands, 19 MLKs, 106 pages of Reflections‚ 2 other tracts, and 21 Xns.

243. All those pubs make up an approximate 10.2 pages of material to read per day, which makes for a lot of feeding and informative Word material for you!

CLTPs

244. In addition to the CLTPs of stories gleaned from outside sources, this year we published a CLTP entitled "My Journey"—the amazing account of Matthew, an Orthodox Jew who met the Family and Dad through the Family's Web site. This, as well as other outstanding personal testimonies, was published in a DFO CLTP, which you can share with your friends, as these beautiful and significant testimonies are sure to touch hearts.

FSMs

245. The Action series continued this year with FSMs containing stories of deeper witnessing, lives profoundly changed by Activated and follow–up, tips and how-tos on witnessing, selling subscriptions‚ effective tooling, and bringing people further along in their relationship with the Lord and the Family through the Activated program and faithful shepherding. An FSM on fundraising in a sensitive field opened our eyes to what can be done by a small team with lots of faith, diligence, prayer, and key power! God bless Gideon and his faithful team!

246. Two noteworthy FSMs this year were on the value of Family education. It was encouraging for us all to hear from Marc and Claire (NACRO media representatives), sharing input and evaluations from outside sources‚ and also from many Family members, young and old, about their former-member siblings or children who have received recognition and made advancements due to their Family training.

247. We loved the personal testimonies in two FSMs where new disciples shared what made you join the Family, as well as the thrilling and convicting stories of those who rejoined! God bless you! It made us so proud of you all, and so thankful for our Family! Stay tuned for FSMs in the coming year on Activated, joining and rejoining, fundraising, and more!

Gen-Ups, MLKs and FC Pubs

248. The Gen-Ups are now a monthly pub for feeding the OCs. Usually either two MLKs or one MLK and an FC Pub per month are sent to the Homes for feeding the MCs and YCs.

249. In the MLKs we finished the series on "I Can Hear from Jesus" and started a new series, "Know Your Spirit Helpers." There were also MLKs published on the keys, obedience, supply, the Word‚ good manners, etc.

250. In the Gen-Ups, we've finished the series "The Rebels," an Endtime adventure of kids witnessing, exercising the gift of prophecy, wielding the keys, and faithfully feeding the sheep. Coming in future Gen-Ups will be a couple of comic series that portray the spiritual warfare and discipleship convictions‚ with Word excerpts in "Vision" articles, and prophecies from Jesus and spirit helpers in "Prism" and "To You—From Us" articles to back up these principles. At the same time, the new series on the Bible, "Pilgrim's Guidebook," will continue, as well as the series "Why Scholastics," the "Key Power" page with new key promises for the OCs to memorize, "Science Facts," "Treasure Box," fun activity pages, and more.

251. Special thanks to Dad and his heavenly pubs team for all the input they give us! We appreciate your prayers for the artists and those who work on the texts, as they help us tune into our spirit helpers and pull down the best pictures and messages for feeding our children.

Heaven's Library Mags

252. A few highlights of last year's Heaven's Library mag output: You received the "Ocean Treasures" board game, which was a new game that went along with the six-part "Grandpa Jake: Ocean Treasures" series. There was also Five Squad's "Worlds of Adventure" 20-page story coloring book (HL #153). There was a continuation of the Grandpa Jake stories‚ though on a new topic, featuring "Crew and Co." Other mags that went out were "Shadow of the Wind‚ Parts 1-4"; "Gregory and the Monks, Parts 1 and 2"; "An Ark Tale, Parts 1 and 2," and more.

Heaven's Library Books

253. Because of shipping delays (which we apologize for) we were not able to send out any books last year. However, that has not kept us from getting more books ready. Lord willing, you should start receiving Heaven's Library books again this year.

254. Several new stories were posted on the MO site this year—four stories rated for ages nine and up ("Castra," "The Fax‚" "The Toymaker," and "Gypsina's Escape"), and one book for 12 and up (The Conspiracy). More will be coming, so keep an eye on the MO site this year.

255. Along with the printed books that were advertised last year (Alice and the Cards; Overcomers II: "The Eagle, the Mistletoe, and the Cross"; Secret Paths), look for the following titles to arrive at your mailbox within the next year: Her Day in Court, The Surfer, and Anja. (For a synopsis of these upcoming Heaven's Library books‚ check out the MO site at:

<http://www.familymembers.com/overflow/hl_books/index.php3>.)

Reflections

256. As we've continued sending out two universal and two Christian pages for Reflections each month, the Lord has provided thought-provoking material for feeding sheep of many different cultures—and much of it from you! We are receiving inspired contributions from Family members from all parts of the world, which make the pages more modern‚ lively, and interesting. The Family imprint, insight, and uniqueness comes through beautifully in your writings, and some have written that the articles by Family members are the best part of Reflections. Please keep sending your anecdotes, lessons‚ or stories; those that are too long for Reflections we are saving for CLTP mags written by Family members.

257. As Reflections is to be used as a bridge to deeper feeding, we've continued to print the Family copyright, Activated advertisement, and Family Web site address on the bottom of the Reflections pages, and recently added a large box for your Home address. All this is so that those who are touched by the pages can be fed further‚ either by meeting Jesus, the Source of the love and understanding they feel in reading Reflections, or by getting to know Him better through other Family materials.

Xn

258. Xn had a fantastic year in 2003, and we hope you enjoyed the magazine issues 12–30 that you received between November 2002 and October 2003.

259. This year you received a grand total of 572 Xn pages, as compared to just 384 pages in Xn's first year! This is due to jumping—as promised—from one to two Xns a month. Praise the Lord! That means that in your mailbox almost every month, you're now receiving 56 pages chock-full of feeding illustrated material via Xn.—Or a total of 312 articles, stories, prophecies, quotes, puzzles and Word ads in the last 19 issues!

260. We so appreciate the feedback that we've received from all ages, which inspires us to continue enthusiastically serving you an excellent, high quality, worth–your-time, can't-put-down bimonthly magazine.

261. A special big thank-you to all our field artists who selflessly contribute top quality artwork to Xn, often using their free time to do so.

262. You can look forward to an exciting year ahead in Xn-land, with new features and old favorites.

Key Promise

263. Want to help prepare pubs? Call on the keys for My anointing on those who are working on getting them to you, and through your prayers you will become a vital part of the pubs' creation.

Book Printing Underway!

By the WS book printing committee

264. You may be wondering what happened with the book-printing project that you raised funds for. We are happy to announce that this project hasn't been shelved or forgotten. To the contrary, the book printing has been infused with life‚ and we're rolling ahead at full steam. A stack of books will be making their way to you in the coming months!

265. Thanks to your attack days, we have been able to compile, compile, and recompile, and then compile some more, and when we thought we were done, we … yep, compiled some more‚ and sent no less than 10 books to the printers for the first print run. This print run tentatively includes the following books, primarily focusing on Word books for our children and young people: LinkUp, Blade, Xn Vol. 1, and a spiffed up and totally redesigned Heaven's Library book (containing HL mags for the 0-6 age group. Story time has never been this easy!), HOPE TK Vol. 2 and 3 (completing your collection of all the HOPE TKs)‚ MLK Vol. 3 and 4, Lifelines 25, and here's one not to be missed (drum roll‚ more drum roll…) Key Promises Vol. 1. This first edition of Key Promises contains over 1‚700 keys on over 60 different topics! Uh-huh, you know what we're thinking: Satan, you've had it!

266. Just one copy of each book done in this first print run comes to over 4,100 pages, which would stretch out in a straight line for more than 850 meters, and would cover an area exceeding 12,700 square meters! These books should be knocking at your door some time in the first half of 2004.

267. A second print run is also planned, finances permitting. Some delicious treats lined up in this print run are: Lifelines 26-28‚ Kidland and Eve books complete with indexes for easy referral, three redesigned Heaven's Library mag books (for the MC and OC age groups—hooray!), and possibly a Statement book (of all the updated Family Statements, for your easy reference).

268. As you can imagine, this is a monumental task, so please keep the production in your prayers—and claim the keys for additional finances needed to complete the second print run—till you have these books in your hands! And thank you so much for your contributions‚ which are making this possible.

Key Promise

269. The Enemy fights My Word being printed in all its forms, but you have the power in your hands to set him back and speed My precious Word books through the printing pipeline. Claim the deliverance of these treasures to your doorstep by calling on the key of miracles.

Special Thanks to Service Ministries

270. (Peter:) A big thank-you to all our terrific NPC, LIM‚ Lit-Pic, translating and production teams! Each of you is an essential part of helping to get the Word to the Family and the hungry world. We couldn't do it without you! Please do keep these dear ones in your prayers, as they carry a big load in order to get the job done, and to faithfully provide the Family with excellent service.

Key Promise

271. It's a sacrifice of time and energy to call on the keys for your loved ones. But as you do, you open the floodgates of My miracles for them‚ and you personally receive a measure of heavenly benefits as well, because you prayed.

Prayer for 2004

272. (Prayer:) Thank You, our dear Husband and Navigator, that You are right ahead in front of us, leading the way skillfully‚ knowledgeably, and with immeasurable care and foresight. Even if we can't see the way the path ahead turns and bends, You see, You know, and You always walk us in the paths that lead to our personal happiness and fulfillment, as well as our continued usefulness to You as Your disciples.

273. We praise and honor You for being our compass, our direction, our ever-present Guide. No matter what roads we travel, You're always heading in the right direction. And as You prod us to follow, we feel Your support, comfort, and Your constant presence. We never have to fear that You're going to lead us astray‚ because You know the road we're traveling better than we ever could. We depend on You‚ and because You have never failed us thus far, we will continue to trust You always.

274. Wonderful Husband, thank You for bringing us through another year in Your service. Thank You for helping us, despite our faults and failings and mistakes‚ to accomplish wonderful things for You. We praise and give You all the honor and the glory for anything good, for every successful thing that we as a Family have had a part in, and we commit 2004 to You! Keep us always by Your side—obedient, humble‚ yielded, and desperate before You—so that You can continue to use us and train us for the days ahead! We claim the keys for a love-saturated, miracle-laden, joy-filled, victory–packed year ahead! We love You!

Copyright © 2004 by The Family

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