the grapevine, issue #8
December 1, 1996
DO/TS
Copyright The Family, December 1996, Zurich, Switzerland
(The Grapevine consists of news from Family members around the world, and is not intended to be an official organ to reflect WS policy or views. Family policy and spiritual guidance will continue to be published in the GNs and FSMs.)
christmas message from mama
Dear Family,
Peter and I, along with Gary and all of our helpers and pubs workers in WS, wish you a happy and fruitful Christmas and a blessed New Year! We are so proud of you for having the true spirit of Christmas -- the spirit of giving yourselves to others through your witnessing during this Christmas season and all year long. You shower the Lord, our precious Husband, with the gifts of new souls won for Him, and He showers you, His Bride, with the gifts of His Love, His Word and His abundant care!
As a special Christmas gift from Him this year we are happy to announce that the HomeARC, our electronic lit library, is being made available to you. This is the most powerful Word weapon that has ever been available to us! On one computer CD there is an incredible amount of Word: MO Letters, Daily Breads, and numerous other pubs. (See WS News in this issue for more exciting details.)
The HomeARC allows you to carry many of our Family pubs on just one CD. It also makes it possible to search, in a matter of seconds, all those pubs for any word or words you want to find, which makes Word studies easier than ever! It's a tremendous tool for shepherds, teachers, and anyone who wants to find nearly every- thing Dad or I or Peter have said on any given subject. It's all at your fingertips, available in seconds! It will revolutionize your Word time.
The HomeARC will be an outstanding tool for your personal feeding, for teaching, for research and for spending time getting the wonderful Word seeds of our Loving Husband. May God bless you with the most wonderful gift He could give us -- His Word!
Love,
Mama
PIONEERING War-torn Bosnia
Hungary
(From Daniela, 24:) Picture yourself walking through a town where most of the houses, if not all, are full of bullet holes, missing roofs, scraps of mortar shells and bullets scattered everywhere, buildings leveled to the ground and soldiers practically at every corner. Our team -- Servant (of Ana), Jasmine (17, Canadian), Ginny (18, Australian), Daniela (24, Chilean), and Maria (19, Norwegian) -- had a big challenge ahead of us!
What makes Mostar different from the other areas of Bosnia is that this is the only city where, after the Muslims and Croats managed to fight off the Serbs, the Croats then attacked the Muslims, in an attempt to wipe them out. Mostar is now divided (Muslim and Croatian), and they operate as two separate nations. Nobody crosses to the other side unless they want trouble.
We stayed on the Muslim side of Mostar with Stefano and Marco, two Italian brothers who got saved with a TS family. These two forsook all and have been living by faith for the past three years. During the war they had an "open house," and people came to them for counseling and help at all hours. They've translated many Family songs into Bosnian, and use our material for witnessing.
For some background: 95% of Croatians are Catholics, and when they attacked the Muslims who were virtually defenseless, they fought the war "In Jesus' Name!" So, sad to say, many here think that Jesus is their enemy. Because of this, we had to be extra cautious and prayerful when witnessing.
Communist turned "Jesus Freak"
(Ginny:) A month ago, when we first visited Mostar, we met a group of young Italians who were helping out in Bosnia during their free time. When we first met them, they were on the offensive, as they heard we were missionaries and "Jesus freaks," so some of their opening lines were quite rude. A few hard-heads told us that they believed in communism, that there was nothing wrong with drugs, etc., just saying whatever they could to shock us, and to rebel against us "preaching" at them.
Stefano and Marco, along with the Italian group, had planned a five-day camping trip for Muslim teenagers and kids from troubled families. They had all the needed equipment, but no experience in organizing such a trip, so they asked us to help. We weren't too excited about going, as some of them seemed to be quite out of it; additionally, they were asking us not to openly witness because the kids were Muslim and their parents might not approve. Despite our personal feelings, when we prayed, the Lord showed us that it was His will for us to go!
Our time there turned out to be the most fruitful part of our last trip. Almost all of the kids who attended the camp got saved, and amazingly, all of the Italians did too! On our last morning, Omar, one of our dear communist friends who had given us such a hard time at first, asked us if he could come to our devotions. He sacrificed his sleep and came at 6:30 a.m., with one of his friends. Omar commented, "This was such a spiritual time. Thank you for letting me come to your devotions, and giving me so much love!"
Our story doesn't quite end there. When we met Omar again during our latest visit, he was a changed man! He was shouting "Hallelujah" along with Stefano, and singing songs to Jesus. For the five days that we were together, we spent a lot of time reading the Word. He said, "Before, I had become disillusioned with religion and churchianity, but when I saw you guys at the camp, I became interested. I was so curious to know why you were happy and what you were reading every morning, that I had to ask!" His life has totally changed since meeting the Lord.
Our Pied Piper experience!
(Jasmine:) On our way to a friend's house, Daniela, Stefano and I met a little girl who knew Stefano from before. We spent some time talking to her and sang her a song. Afterwards, we noticed that we had a crowd of about 20 children around us, so we sang some action songs. After a while, we said goodbye to our new friends and went on our way. But they kept following us, begging us to sing, and as we walked, the group grew larger and larger. We felt like Pied Piper, as kids kept coming from everywhere.
The children led us to a raised area and there we sang just about all the children's songs we knew in English, Italian, Spanish and Bosnian. When we came to the end of our songs, we talked with them. It was very special for me, as I saw how a little love went such a long way. They kept hugging and kissing us, and one little boy wouldn't let go of my hand. He had tears in his eyes when we left.
War Orphanage/Mural for Muslims
(Daniela:) We visited an orphanage for teenagers, most of whom had lost their parents and other family members during the war. We sang and performed a modern-day skit version of "The Good Samaritan." At first, the boys at the orphanage weren't entering in at all. -- In fact, they were intent on making fun of us, but the Spirit started taking over. Pretty soon even the toughest looking characters rocked to the "Shake," and danced a few gypsy numbers. They all eagerly asked us to come back.
The next day, Servant, Ginny and Stefano had the idea of painting a large mural of the "What Everybody Needs is Love" poster on a wall on the Muslim side of the city. This would be a great testimony, as we couldn't witness very openly there. The Lord provided the paint and off they went!
When it was time to paint the picture, the boys from the orphanage showed up to help us. It was really something! We got interviewed, cars stopped to watch and drivers complimented us, and several people commented, "This is the message for my country. This is what we all need!" The picture is well-located, so many will get the witness!
Sheep/Comfort from Heaven
Our stay in Mostar caused quite a stir. We had an average of 20-25 people coming over every night, and several during the day -- young and old. Sometimes we were so tired we didn't feel like singing another song, but they looked at us with such expectation that we couldn't let them down. The boys from the orphanage came over regularly for Bible reading and fellowship, and all asked God to send Issa Rooh Ullah (Jesus, the Spirit of Love) into their hearts.
Just when we were thinking about how smoothly things were going, our friends warned us that the police were watching us, as rumors were going around that we were a "drug hangout," had AIDS, and other ridiculous stuff. We realized the Enemy wasn't playing games and that he was furious about what was happening.
A few of us got disheartened, thinking that maybe our ministry would end then and there. We got together in desperate prayer and cried out to the Lord, and received encouraging words from Him telling us not to fear, but to rejoice, "for so persecuted they the prophets before us." Grandpa also punched through in the spirit, giving us a thrilling message, admonishing us to pour out and to not worry. It was a mega-boost in the spirit, and gave us such peace. From then on, we kept right on witnessing and the Lord kept blessing it.
Surprise interview/Guitar classes
(Jasmine:) The next day we woke to the sound of a crew of loud Italian reporters knocking on our door. We were shocked, as we weren't expecting to get interviewed first thing in the morning. We scrambled out of bed, prayed as we went and "croaked" our hearts out to "This Little Light of Mine." As bad as we sounded, they loved the singing and kept complimenting us. The main reporter had been on the unfriendly side initially, but after the song he changed drastically. This program aired twice on cable TV.
We met a sweet couple who begged us to help them get their guitar classes going. They worked with a group of children ages 9-12. We gladly agreed to help. The kids held their activities in the basement of an old dilapidated, dark and dirty building; the sight was quite sad. Before we knew it, we were faced with a group of 15 active, enthusiastic -- actually, just plain wild -- children. We taught them a Bosnian version of "Jesus' Love is Very Wonderful," and most caught on right away. It's hard to describe how elated the kids were. It was rewarding to see how much they appreciated it.
On to Sarajevo
(Daniela:) After two weeks in Mostar, we went on to Sarajevo, where we stayed with a kind older lady and her daughter, who treated us royally. In Sarajevo, though the people are more united, so to speak, the depression sets in heavy and almost knocks you for a loop when you first arrive.
We visited another orphanage for little kids and their favorite song was "We've Got a Lot to be Thankful For." I almost started crying watching the kids so eagerly awaiting their turn to say what they were the most thankful for, when they hardly had anything.
Another day we hit the main walking street, doing a mini-Holy Ghost sample, which the Lord had confirmed in prayer we should do. The minute we pulled out our guitars we drew a huge crowd. The more we sang, the more it grew -- even people who were working inside shops left their jobs to come and see us. At the end we passed out "To You with Love" tracts and the people grabbed them out of our hands.
One day we went to the market to provision, and started singing there. Azer (an evangelical teen who offered to serve as our translator while in Sarajevo) accompanied us, and he was shocked as people brought all sorts of vegetables, fruit and even chicken and eggs and gave them to us. The Lord supplied our every need.
Unexpected source of supply
We were having a ball witnessing when we realized that we were running out of funds. As you can imagine, Sarajevo is not exactly the place to fundraise! We prayed for the Lord to do the impossible and supply the amount of funds we needed. There are many IFOR* bases here, so we talked to the colonel in charge of one base, asking if we could sing there. We weren't allowed to go inside the base, but the soldiers came out to see us. We sang and then passed the hat. It was fruitful and quite a few of them got saved. (*IFOR is the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.)
The next day, as we were passing by another IFOR base (which we had initially requested to sing at, but were quite unprepared in our presentation), a soldier came running behind us asking us to please go to the main office inside the base. It turned out that they wanted to contract us for the next three nights! We got more than enough funds to cover all our expenses, and even some extra! -- Not to mention the fun personal witnessing opportunities we had there.
Afterthoughts
While in Bosnia, it was sometimes hard to stay positive and to not notice the horrors of war which were practically staring at us from every side. Even though these people have gone through some incredible horror stories, most praise God for being alive. The suffering has brought forth sweetness in the lives of many. It was touching to see even the poorest families treat us like kings, serving us their best meals and wanting to do everything for us, to the point where we felt a little uncomfortable. One family even presented us with gifts.
We learned a lot about teamworking, praying constantly, checking with each other, and hearing from the Lord at every step. Letters like "Morning Prayer" became so real to us, as you can't bear the burden of having to pour out constantly without taking time to get refilled. As we prayed and heard from the Lord, we found that we didn't have to "try" so much. -- The opportunities just fell in our laps!
World news
European highlights ...
* A successful scouting team recently returned from Uzbekistan with wonderful testimonies and inspiring possibilities! They are planning on opening the first Family Home ever in Uzbekistan (a former Soviet republic, located south of Russia, and north of Iran and Afghanistan; capital: Tashkent)!
* There have been nine teams of traveling VSs and DRs* throughout Europe. So far, many of the Homes in the following countries have been able to see the Summit videos: Russia, England, Hungary, France, Italy, Greece, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, and Switzerland. (*DR = Designated Representatives -- brethren who have been assigned the job of showing the Summit videos to the Homes in their city/area, since with such a large area it would have taken too long for the CROs and VSs to visit and show the videos to each Home themselves.)
* The Russian Homes are still at it, faithfully witnessing and doing all they can before the harsh Russian winter makes it nearly impossible to reach certain parts of the country. Some exotic locations and far-flung regions recently visited by road trips include:
Murom, Kostroma and Vladimir -- by the Nest Home.
Tiksi (on Siberia's Northern Coast!), Voldai Tambov -- by the Kidz Biz Home.
Ljzevsk -- by the Pearls Home.
Izmail (Ukrainian/Romanian border), Kilia and Artsiz -- by the Ocean Home.
Yakutia, Bratsk, Ustkut, Yakutsk -- by the Ivory Home.
Disciples of all nations ...
(From EURCRO:) We thought it would be an inspiration for all to know how many new disciples have joined the DO Family just in the EURCRO area over the last year -- October '95 through September '96 -- 48 in total! This does not include the 164 brethren (children, teens and adults) previously on TS status, who are now part of the DO Family, or the 69 "knew disciples" (babies) born into the DO Family here, in the same one-year time period -- a grand total of 281. Wow!
Bulgaria: E.; D. (25); M. (20). (Names of these disciples omitted for security reasons.)
Hungary: Angela Clay (21), Ukrainian; Ruth Victory (19), Ukrainian; Sara Smile (20), Ukrainian; Michael Whisper (17), Yugoslavian; David and Eden, young Hungarian couple with a baby.
Latvia: Francisco (23), Lithuanian; Patience (19), Russian; Luke (19), Russian.
Poland: Matthew (21), Maria (25), Sara (49), David (22). (All Polish.)
Romania: Clara Patience (20), Naomi Mountain (19), Peter (22), Davida Smile (22), Samuel (24), Sara Angel (21), Ruby Happy (22), Andrei Nicolas (21), Victor and Julia, young couple with a baby. (All Romanians.)
Russia: Sniezhana Gloria (20), Elisha (20), Jan Resurrection (22), Nadia (23), Svieta (22), Praise Fighter (20), Mila Morningstar (19), Philip (19), Paul (22), David (20), Ivan and Dove, couple with one child. Christian-Andronnicus (21), American; (All Russians, with one exception.)
Ukraine: Esther Claire Flame (21), Ruthie (19), Timothy (21), Josh Warrior (22), James (24). (All Ukrainians.)
Spain: Alex (27), German.
We are so thankful for each of these precious, on-fire new disciples who are helping us win the world for Jesus and who bring so much life, joy and spark into our Homes. There are many other labor leaders -- Catacombers and Outside Witnessers -- who are also a vital part of the work and ministries in their countries. God bless them!
VIPs at Buddhist celebration
Japan
(From Lydia, of Johanne:) As we all know, the Lord is going to use the Family to lead other people. Dad has told us that in the Endtime, different religions will unite together to fight against the Antichrist, and that the Family is going to work actively with these other religious leaders.
Recently a Buddhist denomination celebrated its 40th anniversary in northern Japan. They invited one representative from various religious denominations to this ceremony, and Ezra Milestone was invited to represent the Family. After prayer that I also would be able to attend, at the last minute, I too received an invitation card, along with a round-trip plane ticket (worth $550) and $100 cash for any expenses. They also paid for our hotel rooms.
There were 12,000 attendants; 300 of them were guests, and 30 of them, including ourselves, were in the VIP group! There were representatives from many NRMs, but we were the only representatives from a Christian denomination! It was originally planned as an Asian Religious Meeting to unite the religious groups in Asia, but they opted to change the name to "The 21st Century World Religious Council." The theme was to help unite the religions of the world. It was like a "religious summit."
During the evening reception party, Ezra gave a speech. Because this was their 40th anniversary, he brought up some stories from the Bible that contain the number 40 -- Moses' patience in tending sheep for 40 years before leading the Exodus, the 40 days of Noah's flood, the 40 days that Jesus fasted, etc. This speech moved the audience. Then he sang "Change the World" in Japanese, a cappella. That was the biggest hit of the whole ceremony (which lasted several days). One Buddhist monk gave us his name card and told us he wanted to come visit us to hear the song again!
A council has just formed, and the arrangement committee will start functioning officially in March of '97. One of the ten committee members will be a Family representative!
QUARTERLY NATIONALITY STATS! (Graphic insert of nationalities)
wedding bells are ringing ...
* David and Heidi. -- Poland
* Matthew and Gloria. -- Poland
* A double wedding was held for Shawn and Beth (both 23) and John and Jessica (both 20) on September 1st, in Moscow. (For the juicy details, see "Double Wedding Fun" under the What's Up? section.)
worldwide treasures ...
* Suzanne Marie, born to Rejoice and John Morning (SGAs). -- Thailand
* Nicole Cherise, born in October to Mary and Paul (SGAs). -- Thailand
* Bobby David arrived on July 18th, bringing joy to Trusty and Clay. -- Thailand
* Fiona, 2nd girl and 3rd child born to Vicky and John Berry. -- Taiwan
* Jennifer, born to Zippy and Sam. -- Taiwan
* Tiana Rose, born to Abi and Aaron, their 10th child. -- Taiwan
* Maria Angelica, born to Lily and David, their 7th child. -- Brazil
* Oliver Helper, born to Dawn and Gabe. -- Austria
* Christian Junior, born to Smile and Christian (EE nationals). -- Hungary
* Felicia Clair, born to Claudia and Joel. -- Hungary
* Kevin Andrew, born to Silvia and Eman (SGAs). -- Hungary
* Nadja, born to Luba and Ilia (Russian nationals). -- Russia
* Amanda Marina, born to Christiana and Micah. -- Germany
* Chantalle, born to Glo and Nathanael (SGAs) on November 13th. -- USA
* Esther (of Tom, SGAs) is expecting #3. -- Ukraine
MAMA'S MAILBOX
(Editor's note: In deference to those who have written in confidence to Mama, she has omitted the full names from the letters she submits to this section of the Grapevine. Consequently we will only use these folks' initials. If you don't mind your letter being published with your name included, please make a note of this in your letter to Mama. Names will only be left in if she receives prior permission from the author of the letter.)
Dearest Mama and Peter,
Our son was born on the 7th of September! He is healthy and happy, and so are we! We want to thank you for the "Go For the Gold" prophecies, as without them we wouldn't have our little treasure!
To tell you the truth, when we finished our "Make It Work," we didn't want to go all the way, but rather planned to have our first child after C. would turn 21. When we read your Letter, we wanted so much the Lord's blessing in our marriage and service that we decided to "go for it!" We are so happy we did! Our son is so sweet and special to us, we don't know what we would do without him! -- Thank you for showing us and telling us about it!
-- C. (20, male) and S. (24, female)
Dear Mama,
I was having quiet time the other day and was thinking that I couldn't really remember a time when I had sincerely asked Dad to speak to me. So I asked him to speak to me, and what I got was very convicting.
He said, "Well, you know what I'm gonna tell you? I'm gonna tell you to pray for Mama. You think you've got problems? You think you've got burdens? You think you've got responsibilities? You think you have worries about finances? Think about Mama and the weight she has to carry on those small frail shoulders of hers. She carries the weight of the entire Family and the world on her shoulders. So you know what I'll tell you? It's very simple, 'Pray for Mama.'"
So now whenever I think of you I say a prayer, and whenever I think of Dad and what he said to me, I say a prayer for you. I thought, "How like Dad to still be so concerned about you." I love you lots and I'm praying more for you.
-- From P. (an adult male), India
Dear Mama,
After hearing that Gabe [from Mama's Home] met a young woman named Rachel (daughter of Nathan and Sarai, TSers in Miami) at the recent delegates meetings in the US, and that he was so touched by the love, admiration and concern that Rachel and other of our young people have for their parents (DO and TS), I cried for quite a while and had prayer for our dear Family. This reminded me of a personal experience I had with Nathan and Sarai.
When I landed in Miami, after having fled from Argentina, Nathan and Sarai lived there. They were TSers, and at that time (prior to the revamping of the TRF Supporter program), they were not allowed to even know where the local DO Home was located. Despite this, in the wake of persecution and the media storm that hit the Miami area -- and all the confusion it generated with refugees landing, protests and vigils going on, interviews with the press, etc., Nathan and Sarai were a big help and support to the DO Home.
They helped transport the brethren to various vigils and protests, stood up for the Family in media interviews, and helped to picket the Argentine consulate, etc. When we appeared on a Spanish TV talk show, they sat in the audience and stuck up for the Family with such fire and enthusiasm. I will never forget how, when right there on international TV, Dr. Navarro (one of our Argentine enemies) was ranting, raving and waving the Davidito book and some Letters on FFing in my face, Sarai was willing to stand up for the Family and speak out on our behalf.
I was touched by her love and enthusiasm for the Words of David; and here we were being persecuted and attacked on one of our most controversial beliefs --FFing. She was such an angel, so sweet and willing. I felt support in the spirit from her, and she seemed to have a real fighting spirit.
When I realized these folks were willing to do so much for the Family, yet because of the TS rules at the time they were not even allowed to know where the Home was, it was heartbreaking and made me admire them all the more. They were a good sample of precious brethren, willing to lay down their lives for the Family despite their difficult personal circumstances. They certainly were a wonderful blessing to me and the Family in Miami, at a very trying time. God bless them.
-- A. (an adult woman)
OPEN FORUM
(From Jenna: Hope you enjoyed the premiere of our Open Forum section in our last issue! Here is our wrap-up on the "music" topic, and we'll be moving on to our next question in an upcoming issue. Thankfully, we were able to include most people's responses, though we had to edit some to make it all fit! Thanks for writing in, all of you! -- You're about to hear the last of it!)
This is an ex-System musicholic on line. You know what?! I never thought this System stuff would affect me! I thought it was great for dance nights, cooking, listening to while falling asleep, sex -- not only that -- you can also pick up some singing skills from it.
I think I've sat through at least a hundred talks on "how not to touch that dirty System music." Honestly, I tried to get rid of it a few times, but within a few months time I was right back into it, and usually more than before. Finally, through reading the Word, the support of my shepherds and my own desperation, I was able to make a break with it. I couldn't believe that it made such a big difference in my life. I went from being under the storm cloud of System music, to a beautiful and sunny new life!
I don't want to sound like a self-righteous pig, but one thing that really motivated me was the thought that I don't want to be in the Family with half a heart. Making this commitment was a step I felt that the Lord was requiring of me.
I still like certain beats and System songs, but it doesn't have the effect on me that it used to because I guard myself against it. I really like reggae music, and since we don't have much of that in the Family yet, when I hear it while out I have to fight against it. After abstaining from System music and listening to the FTTs more, when I did listen to System music again, it didn't have the same pull or appeal, and in fact, seems pretty inferior compared to our Family music.
-- B. (16, female) Czech Republic
I don't know how this will go over, but this is in no way to take away from the special place the FTTs have. When reading about the JETT camps and the problems they faced in issue #1 of the Grapevine, I felt burdened to share this, as I had been going through many of the same things -- not really inspired about witnessing, not wanting to listen to Family or even Christian music, being a real deadhead in the spirit, trying to keep up my trip, etc., and the list goes on. These things were a manifestation of something bigger, which, when you really get down to it, was just being ashamed of Christ and being a Christian.
I decided to go to Russia, as there had just been the call and I knew I had to do something. Well, the Lord knew my heart and heard my cry deep down. Coming to Russia helped me so much, but the Lord knew it would take more than that for me to make the needed changes on the inside.
One of those things was Jesus Freak, DC Talk's latest album. I saw it at a music store where they let you sample albums before you buy them. One of the first things I heard was a break between songs with this quote, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." That quote hit me! It was what I was going through.
The music was a little heavy for me at first, but after I got used to it, I started to catch the words and they hit me right down in my soul. It was so convicting -- ouch! More than just the words, it was the fact that it was coming from "Systemites."
"...What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak?... Well, I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak, 'cuz there ain't no disguising the truth ..." I mean, that was not how I was living. It was all basic, simple things that I have heard many times, but I guess I had become dull of hearing. This kind of gave me a bang and started me back on the right track. It shows how loving the Lord is, and how He will use anything, whatever He knows will help us.
I just reread the "Three Wells" prophecy, as it is taking a lot of faith to write this, and I don't want to be off. But this is what happened to me. When reading about the problems different young people were facing, I felt a burden to carpe diem (seize the day) and share this testimony. Keep the faith!! -- And keep going for God!
-- Pepper (SGA), Russia
Russia is still a field full of sheep that need to be won, drawn to Jesus and inspired with the Word. In order to do that, those who go out and do the job have to have the desire and some sort of conviction about what they preach, right? But quite a number of young people that we have encountered don't seem to have that burning desire. We often wonder what it is that makes some of our YAs and teens develop attitudes that are not in line with the Word, concerning relationships, children, "One Wife," being selfish and self-centered, not having a sacrificial spirit, etc.
Our hearts are broken by the fact that so many of our Family young people are bound and affected by System music to the point that they don't see it anymore. These things stick out like a sore thumb here, especially when we think of giving classes to the new disciples. "How are we going to address the music issue? Do we have the conviction to read any of the Letters that Dad wrote concerning music? If we do, what is the point? Once the poor fellow moves in, he will see that our young people have the same exact music that he just forsook and read in the Letters is so bad, harmful and literally of the Devil!"
What about our own Family-born children? Can they see what the music does to them, how much it stifles their usefulness? Can they see that by listening to it, they don't just "enjoy their freedoms," but literally add to their own burdens -- habits which will be so difficult to kick later when they decide to have a family of their own and run their own Home? We have so many battles that we can't avoid, so why add to it by allowing ourselves to be under the influence of something that is so obviously evil?
The sad thing is that is filters down to our younger ones. We had to explain to our 8- and 9-year-olds that Michael Jackson is not a good singer to listen to, even though he is popular and his music is very catchy, simply because he is weird and the messages of his songs don't come from God. That was enough for their satisfaction, but to our surprise, one of the teens gave them a completely opposite message, as this teen likes and listens to Michael Jackson.
At different times in our Home we do listen to System music (like on dance nights), so we don't want to give the impression that in our Home we don't allow anything but Family music, but we try to stick to the Word and shepherd people along these lines.
-- Adam (32, Polish), Christine (25, Hungarian)
It's difficult to lay down hard and fast rules concerning System music: who can listen to it, when, what kind, etc. There needs to be a proper balance. I've seen many people (including myself), who have said that they could take just about anything. But System music is very sly, and the effect is sometimes subliminal. Pretty soon, without us even noticing, we become disrespectful, rebellious, defiant and pretty much go off the deep end -- some more than others.
Modern music today has a "do what feels good" message. This leaves you feeling that if it inspires you and gives you a "high" or a "kick," then it must be good. But watch out, that's when problems come in. Sooner or later you begin to feel numb, indifferent, passive and nonchalant to what happens around you, and you become a lukewarm, namby-pamby deadhead.
In our Home we appointed a music committee to listen to and approve non-Family music. The committee consists of both young people and adults.
-- Daniel (17), Media Home, Brazil
I used to (past tense) watch MTV. I liked it because it gave a better portrayal of the song than just listening to it. As far as music goes, I think we're coming around and are putting out some pretty up-to-date music. I think the Family should put out some music videos, because this is, after all, the age of the music video and it definitely has an appeal.
-- N. (16, male) USA
I super like music! -- All styles: Latin, Black, Indian, Middle Eastern, African, Jazz, folk, hard rock, and all the various mixtures. The attraction of System music for me is talent. Those System recording professionals really know how to play their instruments and they've perfected their voices. They have whiz kids running their equipment in million dollar studios -- the most advanced musical sounds that mankind has captured on tapes in the 6000 years since Jubal first invented the drum set. So it's interesting to sometimes listen to it, just as it is to see a horseless carriage or Edison's light bulb. Man's curious inventions are amazing!
"How does it hit you?" Usually System music discourages me. That's why I avoid it as much as possible. Even though it sounds so nice, it has a negative effect on me. But I do respect the talent within System music, because I play a musical instrument and I know how hard it is to make it sound good! Unfortunately, I think most System musicians are puppets being used by the AC, the most subtle and crafty of all creatures.
I hate System music videos, such as MTV. The materialism and atheism and deviltry in the footage turns my stomach, not to mention the sodomy and violence. I'd much rather watch Bunny Bigword and Peepers than System mind-rot music videos.
-- P. (young Family musician), Japan
Around two years ago I was listening to System music a lot, and I couldn't understand why we weren't allowed to. Now when I look back, I can see that it had quite an effect on my life. It caused me to be disrespectful, disobedient, unloving, and to use a lot of bad four-letter words, which are very common in rap and other funk styles of music. I feel now that we don't need any of that kind of music, as we have all that we need in the Family.
-- D. (17, male), France
In some of the comments that have been published in the Grapevine, I felt some people coming down a bit "heavy" on our young people for listening to System music. I think many adults feel insecure about this topic and tend to over-react. Perhaps they need to learn to look at things from a broader perspective.
First of all, our young people haven't had much "young" music to listen to in recent years. Their desire hadn't been fulfilled, which is not their fault. Secondly, most young people I know have not been listening to "heavy metal" weirdness. I've seen them more turned on by romantic love songs with nice harmonies and instrumental parts, as well as up-beat music, most of which didn't necessarily carry a bad message. I believe many of our young people have been behaving quite maturely in this respect, let's hand it to them!
I've found some adults in the Family to be rather misinformed or oblivious and sometimes practically "ignorant" of what our young people listen to, therefore they tend to think it's all "weird" and make pre-judging comments about it. This can make our young people feel "labeled" and that the adults are "out of touch" with them. This lack of understanding can turn out to be counterproductive, because when it comes time to broach more important issues, the adults don't have that loving and understanding link with them.
I much prefer my son coming to me with his headphones saying, "Dad, listen to this song, do you like it?" Many times I do, and I'm thankful I have that link with him so that if he were to listen to stuff that is weird, I could then tell him. Being understanding and tolerant in this particular aspect of System music has actually helped me have a good link with my son, to where I'm able to help and counsel him in areas of much greater importance, such as his walk with the Lord, his interactions with others and his decision to serve the Lord.
I'm not saying we need to advocate System music, but I'd like to advocate more tolerance and understanding for our young people. It's evident that with our own music getting better now, they're getting more and more turned on about listening to our own music.
-- R. (an adult male), Europe
For some of you that weren't in the System, you might be wanting to take a look at System music, like I also did in my younger years. But I tell you from the bottom of my heart there is no satisfaction in it! I listened to that junk from when I was 12 to 18 years old, until I got saved, thank the Lord! I was tired of that music and could not stand it anymore, so I stopped listening to music altogether. It seemed so meaningless and was not giving me the peace of mind that I so longed for.
One day I got a Family DTD tape, With Love Forever, which was a completely different kind of music than I was used to listening to. Normally I wouldn't stand such music for a moment, but there was something in the Family music that made me fall in love with it. I know now it is the spirit that our music has which has such an effect on people.
"What is the attraction of System music?" The System was singing songs with words that sounded like my own thoughts, my own views. But one day I met an old friend who had a very famous band in Poland -- "Gedeon Jerubal" was their name -- interesting, isn't it? You would assume that they must have been believers with such a name. I asked him (a vocalist of the band), "You must believe in God, since you sing so much about Him." He said, "Well, you know, it's only singing." So some of them don't even mean what they say.
Of course, not all music is as strong as punk rock. Nevertheless, if it is not God's music played by God's men, I personally wouldn't listen to it, and wouldn't approve of my kids listening to it either. My mother allowed me to listen to it, and she had to pay for it. I became rebellious, disobedient and not willing to do any work at home, etc.
-- S. (28, married with 3 kids), Poland
The main reason I listen to some System music is because of the voice of the artist; for example, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion or Boyz II Men. I suppose the music could have something to do with it, although Family-produced music is getting better and better, and there isn't that much difference any more unless you're a heavy metal fan! But for inspiration, soul food or loving the Lord, there's nothing like the FTTs.
-- Vicky (20, of Gabe), Denmark
I'm 22 and the mother of twin girls, with one on the way. When I was a young teen living on the field, I wasn't exposed to much System music. After coming to the States, we started having more variety in our music on dance nights, and I believe that is where my weakness started developing. The appeal wasn't so much the System music itself, but in the understandable desire for variety.
An opinion I've encountered frequently among young people when discussing System music is, "I only listen to mild stuff and it's very infrequent. I think I'm strong enough spiritually to not let it affect me." For a while, I too was partial to this theory, without realizing the stronger grip on my heart and spirit the Enemy was gaining each time I listened to it. All the while my small collection of selected "mild" songs was growing steadily, and consequently, the time I spent listening to them grew as well.
I began listening to System music regularly, and became very vocal around the other teens and YAs regarding my views and opinions on Home and Family policies, etc. Not only was I blind to the effect System music was having on my life, but my conscience was becoming numb to the conviction of the Spirit and the Word. Regular doses of System music not only blurred my senses, but weakened me spiritually.
During the Feast, through the Loving Jesus series and other Letters, such as "Go for the Gold" and "New Music for a New Day," I began to see the bad effect System music had on my life, and I decided to cut down on my intake of poisonous and brackish waters. I did want to forsake it, but I couldn't break the habit by myself. So the Lord in His mercy allowed me to go through a particularly difficult situation to experience firsthand the serious dangers of allowing System music to have full rein.
After the Feast, I was invited to a YA Home. Though I was aware of some of the problems this Home had, the Lord indicated that it was His will for me to go. I was coming from a strong Home and was tanked up with the Feast Letters, so I was feeling pretty strong and was convinced that I could turn the Home around. Boy, was I in for a shock! Among other things, the Home listened to System music all day and half the night; watched violent, unrated, unrecommended movies several nights a week. No one read the Letters. Selfishness and unloving attitudes prevailed, and an "anything goes" spirit ruled the Home.
These attitudes were a result of the System music that was blatantly blaring daily. Many of these teens and YAs had been relatively strong and considered "good teens" in their previous Homes. The Lord rescued me from that situation, but, sadly, one of them recently called me to say that the majority of them had decided to leave the Family.
All that to say, a lot of young people may not understand the attraction System music holds, but the Devil will use any tool he can to destroy the Lord's Endtime Army. He tries to get in subtly with something we like -- MUSIC. If we give him place and allow him to use this in our lives, without realizing, or if we simply ignore the serious repercussions, before we know it, our hearts and minds will be polluted with System attitudes and influences, and we will be immune to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and useless to the Lord.
I'm so thankful the Lord spared and rescued me before it was too late, but I still have to fight many System attitudes that I acquired through listening to the world's music. So please "guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov.4:23).
-- Lisa (22), USA
Movie rating
(Editor's note: The movie previewing team sent in the following update: "We're sorry, but due to an oversight on our part, the movie "Ghost and the Darkness" was printed in the last Grapevine as being suitable for junior teens. However, this rating has now been changed to senior teens. We love you!")
Movies Rated for Senior Teens and Up
BEFORE AND AFTER (1996)
Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong
The lives of a small-town couple are thrown into turmoil when their teenage son is charged with murdering his girlfriend. Tense, realistic and traumatic in parts. Good lessons on honesty, conviction, facing fears, and the negative results of deceit and covering up. Sensitive viewers should be mindful of the graphic scene showing the girl's death.
CHAMBER, THE (1996)
Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway
Drama/character study about a young attorney trying to save his white supremacist grandfather from the gas chamber. From the novel by John Grisham, with lessons on not judging people by outward appearances. Contains quite a bit of foul language.
Movies Rated for Junior Teens and Up
RUBY RIDGE: AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY (1996)
Randy Quaid, Laura Dern
Intense, three-hour drama about the FBI's August 1992 siege of Randy Weaver, his family and a friend at the Weaver property on Ruby Ridge. Fairly objective and factual portrayal of events, which some may find a bit traumatic in places.
Movies Rated for JETTs and Up
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (1996)
Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Fox
Three-hour adaptation of Jonathan Swift's classic political satire novel, in which Gulliver visits the tiny Lilliputians, a land of giants, the savage Yahoos, and others, on his fantastic travels. Good expos of System values.
Movies Rated for MCs and Up
FLIPPER (1996)
Elijah Wood, Paul Hogan
Rebellious city kid goes to Florida to spend the summer with his bachelor uncle, and becomes friends with a dolphin. Fun dolphin scenes may be shown to younger audiences, but beware of some smart-alecky, foul language and bad behavior, as well as the boy's close encounter with a hammerhead shark, which could be frightening for some children.
Non-recommended Movies
CRASH (James Spader, Holly Hunter; 1996)
What's up? - testimonies from you -
Double Wedding Fun
Moscow
(From Shawn and Beth, both 23:) On September 1st, more than 70 people showed up for our double wedding (John Titus and Jessica [both 20] and Shawn Harvest and Beth Francis), which doubled as a city fellowship.
The Lord supplied all we needed in just one week of preparation, including a hall for the ceremony, a limousine to transport the sweethearts, a banquet room at a nice restaurant (complete with food and champagne) for the reception and dance, dresses for the brides, suits for the grooms, flowers, snacks and drinks, and a five-star hotel for a wonderful mini-honeymoon.
Elaine (of Ricky) made beautiful outfits for Cheryl (two-year-old of Shawn and Beth) and Russell (1 -year-old of John and Jessica), who were among the youngest at the wedding and stole the show. Ricky and family gave a fun, power-packed performance for the occasion. The couples exchanged vows of love and dedication to the Lord and each other, and the Lord led the rest of the ceremony through beautiful prophecies that He had given for each of the couples.
Windows of Heaven
Sweden
(From the Stockholm provisioning Home:) The Lord opened the doors at different trucking companies for us to send 16 large pallets* of needs to the Family in the EE -- for free! Last week we sent 4 pallets to Riga, today we sent 4 pallets to Moscow, and next week we're sending 8 pallets to the Ukraine and Hungary. It's all His doing, but we have lots of fun in the process. (*Pallet: A portable platform used for storing or moving cargo or freight. These often hold 4 cubic meters or more!)
"When will you be back?"
Taiwan
(From Johnny, Chinese Lit-Pic Home:) A young inmate at the Juvenile Center asked me this question as I passed by his seat during our performance.
We have been visiting this same center each month for the last year-and-a-half. However, this time, instead of us knocking on their door to arrange an appointment, the school administrators called us, asking us to do a show for 400 of their students.
This particular program was exciting as it was a "rock band" performance consisting of brethren from different parts of the island: Tim coordinated the band and played lead guitar/vocals, Eric (YA from Taipei) also helped with guitar/vocals, English John (of Claire YA) was on drums, and T.J. (of YA Ruby from Taipei) helped on keyboard/vocals. Our local club band members were teen Danny on bass, Michael on rhythm guitar and vocals, and teen Joseph on vocals.
We did a "Heaven's Gate" skit, and afterwards, Jesus (played by Johnny) led some 250-300 of them to the Lord! We later passed out information cards along with tracts, and about 300 students signed up to be on our mailing list!
As we were leaving, the school administrators expressed their appreciation, and asked if Sunny (our national who coordinates this CTP ministry) would like to be an "honorary teacher," and offered payment as a token of their appreciation for our faithful work with the young people there.
Yes, it's a love story ...
Hungary
(From Ray and Praise:) We would like to share with you how we met, as it might encourage other singles to try it! Praise had been wanting to get mated for years, and finally mustered up the courage to send in a "mate wanted" ad, in order to find a mate and daddy for David. When I read her want ad, something touched me. I wrote back that I would also like to find a mate and mommy for Manuel (my son). That's how we started communicating.
I was able to provision tickets for Praise and David to come for a one-week visit. We really liked each other, and decided that we wanted to live together. I had wanted to go to other fields previously, but the Lord just wasn't putting any wind to my sails. But as soon as we decided to live together, the Lord started pouring down His blessings. He supplied a car and caravan, and Praise was able to come again to help us tie things up and to move to the field she was in.
I would like to add that after some very difficult times of loneliness in my life, I ended up throwing myself on Jesus after reading the Loving Jesus series. I claimed the promises -- that if I'd love Him the way He wanted me to love Him, then He would take care of all my needs, including a mate. This was shortly before Praise's want ad appeared. The Lord certainly kept His promise and gave me all that I needed, including a very sweet mate.
Our "Chiqui Show"
Peru
(From Joan [23, of Isaias Chileno, 25]:) Our "Chiqui Show" (show for kids) consists of two clowns that do funny skits, one sweet dolly (jack-in-the-box style) that does a song-and-dance act to "Put on a Happy Smile," and large foam puppets with which we perform "Beauty and the Beast," "Wolf, Wolf" and "Man, Boy and a Donkey." We have a master of ceremonies that leads fun games with the kids, and we pass out prizes (i.e., our cassettes and videos). Our five-or six-man team is made up of young people ages 16-24.
The doors opened for us to perform every Sunday (during the winter months) in an exclusive out-of-town restaurant. We made a contract with them, where they pay us US $250 a week, and we rotate our programs so as not to bore their regular customers. We pass out our fliers and receive calls asking us to do birthday parties on the weekends. We follow up on the people we meet, and they are impressed by the message our show has, in contrast to the foolish, pointless shows that are normally available.
We have been looking to the Lord in prophecy for direction and guidance, and it has been unifying and re-envisioning. Getting out your flyers and collecting phone numbers for later follow-up is a key to making this kind of ministry successful. This requires effort, but has been a fun and fruitful fundraising ministry, with lots of payoff in every way!
Victory from defeat
USA
(Editor's note: After receiving a report regarding Jesse [see article below from Lydia], we forwarded it on to Jesse, who sent back the article following Lydia's for publication in the Grapevine. We love you, dear Jesse! Thanks for sharing your lessons with us all!)
(From Lydia [of Fisher]:) Jesse (who was in the Austin accident) is doing wonderfully! (Previously we were having difficulties shepherding him, due to problems with his driving and independence). After we received some wonderful counsel concerning him, and he received a message from Jesus and Dad which resulted in him being taken off driving, Jesse has become so yielded and a totally different person. Now he is so precious that we wouldn't want to be without him.
He is a good sample, spends a lot of time in the Word (which many have commented on) and shines when out witnessing. He has become close friends with a teen boy that he really butted heads with before, and they have become a tight witnessing team and our shiner witnessers this month. It's such an answer to prayer.
(From Jesse, 20:) After the accident I felt like I had to have my independence back -- like I had to stop being dependent on other people, especially in the area of being able to drive and do things I wanted to get done. This attitude didn't help me much when I got to Atlanta, where the teamwork wanted to make prayerful decisions in counsel concerning me driving teens out witnessing, leading teams, etc. In short, my relations with the teamwork left something to be desired!
After a month, the Lord engineered something whereby the Home suspended my license for two months. I felt bad, but hey, it was only for 60 days and I could just mark off the days. I was glad it wasn't longer, and figured it would have been, had Grandpa been around! I survived my suspension, but before I started driving again, I felt that I hadn't really grabbed hold of the Lord's highest will for me. I prayed that the Lord would make me the man He wanted me to be.
The very next day I got a message from Mama with prophecies from Grandpa. Grandpa said that I haven't been as yielded to the Lord as He wants me to be -- and to help me be more yielded, I was going to need to have my license suspended! This certainly did the trick in getting me desperate and more in the Word than ever.
I haven't totally learned my lessons in these areas yet. Just today I needed a talking to, as I was pushing my own program, which was causing division. Obviously I am no sample of perfection; I've got a long way to go, but I am thankful for the shepherding, love and prayer I have received in this last year-and-a-half. It's been a lifesaver when it seemed I had lost it all. If anyone can learn anything from all I have been through, I'll be happy because it'll show that beauty really does come from ashes, and victory is often found in what seems like defeat.
RUMOR MILL
Question: We heard from the US that the North American CROs arrived at the recent [delegates] meetings in the latest BMW, which they supposedly owned! Is this true?
-- Josias, Sara and Elizabeth, Venezuela
Answer from NACRO: Our NA Office and CROs have vehicles which we use for our Home business and visitation, but we can assure you that none of them is a BMW, nor any other type of luxury vehicle. All the vehicles used by our teamwork and office are at least four years old, and most have logged over 100,000 miles.
Our office team had only one vehicle for quite some time, and it was over 10 years old and had 200,000 miles on it. There were times when our "old faithful" vehicle was gone on long trips, and the home team had to operate without a vehicle. That meant putting the laptop computer into a backpack and riding by bicycle to do the daily business. The Lord continues to faithfully supply all of our needs, but none of us owns a BMW! Unless you mean a vehicle that runs By a Miracle and With prayer, ha!
(Editor's note: During the recent delegates meetings held in the US, Peter and Gabe were asked the following questions. These answers were given by Peter and Gabe.)
Question: I heard that when Dad graduated, he was alone in a bare and dark room. Is that true?
Answer: No, Dad was not alone, nor in a bare and dark room when he went to be with the Lord. Mama, as well as others in the Home, were with him. It was always Dad's personal desire to have his Family around his bed when he graduated, like many of the prophets of old, and the Lord granted him the desires of his heart.
Some of us (Mama, David, Techi, Gabe, Amy and Rose, Dad's caretaker/cook) were there when Dad took his last breath. It was only a minute or two later that the rest of the Family was gathered around his bed to commemorate his passing with tears mixed with rejoicing at his deliverance.
Dad's bedroom was always an inspiring place for him to live and work, as he had pictures of Jesus, our precious Family, and oftentimes verses and quotes on the walls. We can't think of how his graduation could have been more positive. There was no pain involved, and Dad passed away in a happy and loving atmosphere.
Question: I heard that at the Folks' Home they don't have a washing machine, and that they do all their laundry by hand. How come?
Answer: Of course we have a washing machine, though we do some hand wash, like everyone else.
YOUR VIEWS ON ISSUES
The US "pull"
USA
(From an adult couple:) It seems the spirit of pride and indifference is stronger here in the US with our teens. We have heard over and over again that "the pull of System is so much stronger here," almost as though that makes it more justifiable for them to give in, and to cultivate a lack of love and dedication.
We've noticed a marked difference and a lifting up of the standard since the recent teen and JETT camps. It seems the adults feel more secure, and realize that what is expected of our young people has not changed, and that we should not accept what we know is wrong. From what we can tell, it's not so much the styles, or attraction to music and movies, although that does have an effect. The main problem seems to be the lack of depth in the Lord, as if the kids here don't have the feeling that they are really missionaries with a vision to change this country.
Our son went to the JETT camp and was apparently one of the worst-behaved of all the kids. As you can imagine, this was a shock and breaking for us. We believe the Lord permitted that in order to wake us up to how desperately we need to fight for him. He had only recently arrived in the US, and had sucked up all of the worst in such a short time. This is giving us a great deal of love for all of our young people; not to let them go, but to hold on to them and stand up for them so they aren't fighting alone.
Stewardship abuse
Russia
(From Mercy:) Not long ago we visited a couple that has been out of the Family for a few years. When supporting the Family came up, they mentioned how things in the Family are ruined quickly, due to not being cared for properly. As a result they decided not to support us. Their attitude was not right, but I was a bit ashamed, as I realized how true what they said is.
Many Family members just don't appreciate things, I guess because everything comes so easy -- and most of the time for free -- without having to work for it like most people in the world do. Generally things don't last long, due to rough hand- ling and misuse, including vehicles and furniture, because it's "not ours." I'm quite disappointed by it, and pray the Lord will help us all to follow Grandpa's sample of being better stewards.
Just stop and rest
USA
(From Frank [20, VS, of Sara:]) (Editor's note: The following was written after Frank helped to hold a couple of JETT and teen camps in the US.) When operating in a situation where you are in one location for just ten days or less, you give it all you've got and then you're done. The tendency is to give it your best shot, but there are so many demands on your time, and you feel you have to be on top of things every second of the day or something is going to go wrong, and, there are always people wanting to talk to you, so it seems like you don't get any Word time or rest. Then as soon as you're done, you have to rest, sleep and get in the Word, because you're totally burnt out.
There has to be a way that you can pull away for an hour or two, to rest and get Word time. I am learning that it's during times like that when I need Word time the most. Toward the end of the camps, I would easily get frustrated or a little upset, which was a result of my not getting Word and prayer time. Nothing serious happened, but it was a good warning and lesson that the Lord was teaching me.
(From Mama and Peter: We can't stress enough to you the importance of taking time to read the Word, as well as to pray and get your direction from Jesus daily. You leaders have to pace yourselves and take rest as you go, as do all of our Family members who have multitudes of pressing daily duties before them. You just can't go on and on, from one meeting to another to another. Even one meeting itself is such a strain and so much stress, pouring out your hearts and having to deal with many difficult situations. It is a strain emotionally, physically and spiritually. Please do all you can to get the rest and time with the Lord you need.)
CHARTER CHAT
City Councils
USA
(From Ezekiel, CRO:) It's been wonderful to see the change that has taken place since the San Antonio area began having City Council meetings -- discussing, praying, hearing from the Lord, and organizing more activities together. I believe the beginning of this was when we got all the Homes together to watch the Summit '96 videos, which brought tremendous unity and created a strong bond throughout the area.
The City Council has come up with ideas of how to have more fellowship. For instance, all the Homes in the city get together every Wednesday for get-out at the park. They also have united dances. The Homes now work together in unity in their provisioning and CTP ministries. As the Word states, the Lord blesses it when an area works together. Even the witnessing is going better, and the Homes have potential disciples they are ministering to.
(From Mercy, Joy, Meekness Greek and Fay Fish:) Our area includes 4 Service Homes and 2 TS Homes. This month we had our second City Council meeting where we discussed the upcoming Christmas season, and other issues that affect our Homes. Our provisioning efforts have been overlapping and as a whole have been somewhat disorganized. We followed our City Council meeting with an area provisioning meeting, attended by the main provisioner of each Home and a teamworker from each Home. This helped tremendously. We've established more frequent communication between provisioners, circulate between the Homes a prayer list for our main contacts, and use a united monthly newsletter for all.
Slack on security
Hungary
(From F.:) Since the Charter came out, it seems we are not as mindful of our security as we used to be. Many times we get phone calls from Family members asking for phone numbers of other Homes in the city or country. Before, we would never do that. Maybe we went to the extreme before and were too selah in some ways, but I think it wouldn't hurt to mind our, and other Homes', security more.
letters to the editor
"Angel" of single moms
Cheers to the "angel" of the single moms! (See Grapevine issue #6, "Fathers, where are you?") Thank you for your very good article/testimony!
Of course, curiosity does create within me an overwhelming desire to hear the end of your happy story! But in any case, I mostly wanted to say "God bless you, Alfred!"
I enjoyed reading your article. It articulates the need well, and I think it's a wonderful and beautiful thing when we can share our lives with others and be an active ray of love and joy to someone in need. Terrific!
-- L. (20), ASCRO
On/off button
I appreciated the comments from the editor after a Home wrote in a critique of some movies that had been recently listed. It saddens me that folks get so worked up over a movie. Perhaps it would help to realize that every video machine and TV comes fully equipped with an "on/off" button. If they don't want to watch something, just switch it off; no one is forcing them.
Isn't it a waste of time on such a subjective issue, when we have so many other important things to attend to? To those who produce the video list, my heartfelt thanks.
-- Chris, Norway
Don't quote the Grapevine
Our Family is a bit like "The Man, the Boy and the Donkey." I am referring to the article to the editor about movies. In our recent Home Council it was pulled out and heavily quoted, perhaps to excuse some likes and dislikes that exist between teens and adults.
I am 43, and I have likes and dislikes that are not the same as those of a teen or a YA. Different strokes are for different folks, and we all like different things. I'd like to bring to everyone's attention the editor's note that says the Grapevine "is not intended to be an official organ to reflect WS policy or views." Thus, it shouldn't be quoted as if it were.
-- Gabriel, Italy
WS NEWS
WS continues to streamline its production in order to get more done, more efficiently. In November, two pubs workers transferred to the Family Care Home, and two more will go in December. God willing, this additional personnel will help the Family Care pubs flow more smoothly and quickly, as many hands make light work.
Other personnel moves this month included Apollos joining the GPU, where he will help write and produce new GP tools. Mama's Home also received a new member this month, Joseph Reader, from our faithful GN team, who will be helping on a number of new projects in the works.
Mama, Peter and their staff, as well as the other publications teams and translators, have been busy working on next year's Feast pubs. Praying about, planning for and preparing the pubs for the Feast is a major project. Please pray that all the pubs and other "goodies" will be completed in time.
Would you like a sneak preview of the Word treasures you will soon be receiving via the Family electronic library, called the HomeARC? The CDs have now been sent to the CRO areas, and will be available to the Homes soon!
The HomeARC contains the full text of: 1900 full-length MO Letters, Daily Breads 1-10, and 95 FSMs. Also, 9 books in text format: The Mop 1 and 2; Daily Might 1, the GP Daily Might; Grandma's Streams That Never Run Dry and The Hem of His Garment; Word Basics; The Memory Book; the King James Bible.
Then there's the Love Charter; Hope and Kidz Mags; FARs; Tracts; Statements; Reflections, and much more -- including 8,188 scanned pages of another 20 books: Life of Grandpa, Life with Grandpa 1-5; Kidz True Komix 1 and 3; Kidz Mop 1 and 2; 7000 Years of World History; Heavenly Helpers 2; Childcare Handbooks 1-3; Activity Books 1-4; and The Rhyme Book.
Here are a few HomeARC factoids:
Total words per HomeARC CD = 32 million words. (The Encyclopedia Britannica has about 44 million words.)
If all the material on one HomeARC CD were put into books, your library would weigh 21.3 kg (47 lb).
The 2,000 CDs duplicated for the Family, if put into books would weigh 47 net tons or 42.6 metric tons!
OUR CUTE KIDS
* Rosita (8) walked out to the front garden one day and found her youngest sister Carolina (3) eating dirt. She asked her, "What are you eating?" to which Carolina replied, "Anything!"
* Mariana (6) asked the kitchen overseer for a light bulb. The kitchen overseer asked her, "Do you need 50 or 100?" -- meaning watts. "No," Mariana said, "I just need one!"
* The kids were murmuring one day and Pedro started to tell them, "There's two times to praise the Lord kids, when ..." Carolina (3) quickly interrupted saying, "No! There's three!"
* Eddy (5) asked me one day if I wanted to hear a joke. I (Mark) asked, "Do you know how to tell jokes?" "Yes!" he said very seriously, "But you'll never get it!"
* One day Carolina (3) and Angela were playing. Carolina wanted Angela to do one thing, but Angela wanted to do something else. Carolina came over to me and said, "I'm Angela's mommy, right?" to which I (Mikol) replied "No!" Carolina thought for a moment, then said, "But in the spirit I am!"
* It was getting close to lunch time and Carolina (3) said to Auntie Clarie, "Auntie Clarie, you know why I'm so crappy? ... Because I'm very hungry!"
-- Courtesy of Mark and Mikol (SGAs), Peru
LEGAL AND MEDIA
(From the EURCRO Media Desk:) In the months following the Argentine persecution, the Family in Poland prayed about attempting to register as an NRM. The way the legal system here works is that you can't sue anyone for publicly insulting any group of people unless you are legally registered. If we wanted to be able to legally defend the Family, we thought it would be much easier to be registered, as people would think twice before publicly slandering us. There were other benefits as well.
After turning in the registration documents, we found out that the Polish ADFI (ACM group) had begun a campaign to dig up dirt on us, in an effort to influence the Registration Office and persuade them to block our registration. The Ministry of Education began an investigation to find out what we were doing, and the progress on our registration came to a standstill until early '96.
After prayer and receiving prophecies warning us of the drawbacks of registration, a referendum regarding whether we should proceed with the registration or not was sent to all DO Homes in Poland. When the votes were tallied, the consensus was that we would not go ahead with it. So we withdrew our application for registration. Little did we know how soon we would see God's infinite wisdom, and reap the rewards of following His voice of counsel!
In October, some months after our decision to withdraw the application, we learned that a coalition of Catholic-oriented parties had presented a bill to Parliament, proposing amendments to Poland's very liberal law of registration for NRMs. Now, instead of a minimum of 15 members required to legalize a movement, you would have to show at least 500 members. Instead of a minimum of a ten-year history as an active religious movement, you would have to show a report of 100 years of activity. Therefore, if the bill is passed, all the NRMs that used to operate as legalized movements will probably be de-legalized. This is a desperate attempt by the Catholic Church to regain a virtual monopoly on religion in Poland.
When hearing this, we were so thankful for the Lord's leading, pre-vision and the gift of prophecy. If we had kept pushing for registration, we'd be in the same boat with other NRMs, and would have to put manpower, time and extra expenses into fighting this amendment. This was a lesson on how much we can escape and be protected from if we take time to let the Lord lead.
European Conferences
Ukraine
(From Job:) The conference: "Problems of Spirituality at the End of the 20th Century" was organized by Sevastopol Technical State University, and was attended by 80 academics. Our Family representatives were Job (of Ruth), Esther (Ukrainian), Polish Tommy and Russian Nadia (Russian Media Team). Nadia and I gave a speech, and we spoke personally with the attendees. We also gave out lit packages, which were received with thankfulness.
We gave two lectures to 120-130 students at the Sevastopol State University. We were able to give them the Salvation message, and passed out Endtime posters and "In Search of Truth."
We attended another conference on the subject of "Religion and the Church in Post-Communist Countries." It was attended by 70 academics, government ministers and representatives of their countries on religious matters (mainly EE and CIS* countries); plus another 120 people representing various churches and religions. (*CIS = Commonwealth of Independent States, made up of most of the former Soviet republics.)
studio news
WS-ville
(From the WS Music Department:) It's now been a little over a year since the implementation of the FTT vision/revolution, and it's amazing to see how many audio tapes, FTTs and others, have been released since that time! Back On Track went out in September '95, Power Tower in October '95, then Hearts Aflame, Flying High, Hot or Cold, Plugged In, In It Together, Open for Love, Stir It Up and Christmas Treasures! -- Whew! 10 tapes! And what does the year ahead hold? Well, we'd like to share with you a little rundown of what's in the works for '97!
* "Dropped Out" -- A "Live" Inspiration Tape by the DC studio team: The birth of this tape started with the recording of some live inspirations that took place at a JETT camp which the DC studio team helped out at -- a mixture of old Family classics and some new hits!
* GP FTT: What about some new music to spice up our tapenessing to the GP? This is a request we receive very often, and Lord helping us, we're going to try to come up with some new GP audio tools. Lots of comments have come in from the Family, saying how they'd really like to get such-and-such FTT songs out to the GP -- just as they are! So it looks like we've got a new GP tape "hidden" amongst the FTT releases!
* FTT#8: Please pray those FTT contributions keep coming in!
* GP teen tape: There have been many songs in the works which we'd like to get out on a GP teen-type tape -- songs which target issues such as suicide, abortion, war, runaways, the hidden hand of the AC, the environment, etc. Due to the FTT push, this project couldn't get as much attention as we would have liked. But now, with more studios sending in terrific songs for the FTTs, those working on the GP teen songs are able to pull 'em out again and get 'em completed!
* GP "Christian" FTT: Songs are also being selected from FTTs 1-6 (and possibly FTTs 7 and 8, too) to comprise another new GP audio tool, geared more towards Christians -- those already saved, or who desire to be saved. This would include songs like "Footprints," "Safe In Your Arms," "Fade Away," etc.
* GP children's tape: The IVM is working on Treasure Attic shows 9-12, and once the songs for those new shows are final recorded (by the JAS, BAS and TAS), we're going to have enough Treasure Attic song material to put out a new GP children's audio tape, along the same line as Coloring the World!
* Childbirth tape: Even as we speak, this tape is on its way for final approval! There's a song at the beginning and end of each side of the tape, and in between are scriptures and ML quotes read by Simon Peter, to help encourage our precious mommies!
Europe
(From EAST [European Audio Studio Team]:) Our current studio team consists of: Benjamin (of Joy), Tim H. (of Claire), French Jonathan (of Katrina), and David Hungarian. We have two departments in the studio: 1) producing FTT songs, and 2) producing local language tools in Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Croatian and occasionally Russian.
Production of FTT songs: French Jonathan is our computer technician and keyboard player. David Hungarian is our guitarist. Prior to joining the Family he was part of a well- known heavy metal/metallic band in Hungary, called Bedlam (confusion, disorder) in which he played lead guitar and was the band leader. Benjamin is our singer, arranger and pianist. Tim H. is one of our singers and recording/mix-down technician. Peace Livingstone (an SGA in the area) helps as our female vocalist.
So far, we have sent off 7 songs for the FTT tapes, 4 of which are on present FTT releases. We have 6 more songs in the works. Our studio receives songs all the way from England to Russia, from both DO and TS brethren.
Production of Local Language (LL) songs: Over the years we have produced local language versions of 23 videos, 12 audio tapes, 4 puppet shows and 4 radio shows in the 6 languages mentioned above.
In Europe we do not have children's groups who can sing in the local languages we record in, so we rely heavily on the help of secular singing groups. We just got a large van that we are turning into a "mobile studio." This speeds up the process of producing the LL songs, as we travel to the country of the language we're recording in (Romania, for example), record the vocals, then return to our main studio for final mixing and mastering.
Japan
(From Andrew V., SGA, for the JAS:) Some of the songs in the works for the month of November are, "Back to the Jungle," which is a "father and son" production written by Jerry and arranged by Francesco. "The World Ain't Got that Much Time" is now being produced by Andrew. Martin is currently working on two songs, "Hands Up" and "Something Is Hot." John Listen will be mixing and completing his song "Behind the Scenes." These songs are all for the upcoming GP teen tape, with most appearing on the FTTs as well.
In addition, Jerry is producing his song "Straighten Up and Fly Right" for the Fantastic Friends project, and Philly, amongst his other IVM projects, will turn up the FTT song "Lady Maria," which Simon Black is recording the vocals for at the DCS. So, that's some of what we have cookin' this month!
meetings and fellowships
Russia
(From Magda [VS] and Tim [SGA]:) Ever wonder what two can do? In one month, we traveled 18,000 km (11,250 miles) aboard four trains, three planes, two buses and one car, changing time zones nine times! We visited ten Homes, staying an average of three days per Home.
A grand total of 257 hours of videos were watched. This gives us an average of 25.7 video-hours per Home. We had individual talk time with more than 50 people, and last but not least, we rocked to the tune of 6 dance nights! So who said the Lord was limited by few?!
Italy
(From Genai, YA:) 73 people attended our JETT/Junior camp! (See Grapevine #6, "Meetings and Fellowships" section.) God bless Marianne (17), Linda (16), Brian (16), Claire (16), Cecilia (19), Michael B. (18), Chris (17), Silas (19), Mari (16) and Stella (16) who carried a big load in helping to coordinate and shepherd the camp. What Grandpa has taught us in the Letters works! The best results are obtained by the first and second generations working together side-by-side, seeking the Lord together to win the battle.
Mexico
(From Jason, SGA CRO:) We dubbed our JETT/teen Camp "Mexico TTC '96!" It's interesting that the "Mexico TTC" was held exactly 10 years ago in almost the same location! We (Jonathan, Elise, Robin, Frank, Christina and myself) arrived just four days before the whole team of over 80 people, including staff and room captains, descended upon us!
Our three main goals were: a) learning to use the new weapons the Lord has given us -- loving Jesus, the New Wine, and praising Him, b) saying "yes" to Jesus, and c) realizing that serving Jesus is fun! They are a sweet and receptive bunch, and are so thankful for the love, attention and work that we put into planning and preparing classes. They are sponges for the Word, and soak it all up! Many got their first prophecy during the camp, as we prayed for an in-filling of the Holy Spirit.
One notable difference between these young people and those in the US is that the pull of worldly attitudes is a lot less on these here. Life is a bit more simple, so to speak, without many worldly distractions, and this was encouraging to see. There is a direct relationship between the amount of System influences that the teens are exposed to and how much of the Lord's sweet loving Spirit they portray.
Middle East
(From Anne SGA, CRO:) We spent an exciting three weeks in the Middle East, where Endureth (CRO) and I held YA/senior teen meetings from October 21-26. (Editor's note: More details in the next issue of the Grapevine!)
Holland
(From Lisa Fighter and Amos Alpha:) For the fifth time, we organized a meeting for our TS Family and friends. This has united the brethren and has been a tremendous inspiration for the children and teens, who got back the feeling of belonging to a greater Family. In Holland the teens and children have to go to System school, and many have to cope daily with brothers, sisters and parents who are quite sucked into the System. The highlight of the meeting was watching the "Bridging the Gap" (DC TS fellowship) video. All of our TS families were so encouraged, and said that they left with the warm feeling of being loved and fully accepted by their fellow brethren.
Ecuador
(From Mikol, VS, SACRO:) A team of SGAs -- Mark, Sharon and myself -- went to Ecuador to show the Summit '96 videos. Many mentioned that most, if not all, of their big questions about the Family were answered through them.
We noticed that people are not as familiar with the Charter as they should be. They know a few of their basic rights, but when it comes down to it, people don't have a working knowledge of the Charter. Another area that some Homes are weak in is the care of their children. The answers are in the Word, in Letters like "Help from Heaven."
Thailand
(From Cephas, CRO:) We held our first former and associate member meeting, led by Ammi and Phillip (VSs), where we showed part of the DC TS Fellowship video. We were able to share that the message contained in the video was for everyone locally, and we too apologized for any wrongs they had experienced. We took a little time with people to talk and fellowship throughout the meeting, and people seemed to be very touched. Many had tears in their eyes.
Some former members commented that despite anything else, one thing they couldn't deny was the sample of our young people -- the proof of the pudding. It was a good step in the direction of bridging the gap. Lord willing, we hope to hold similar meetings on a regular basis, as this was the first contact we've had with some of these people in years and it does take time to renew fellowship.
India
(From Silas and Endureth, CROs:) We held Summit '96 video meetings in late November, which were attended by about 50 young people and/or young nationals from around India.n
IDEAS AND TIPS
The Bible on prophecy
When visiting my mother a few months back, I read through the Book of Acts, and was amazed at the role prophecy and visions played in the life of the Early Church. It would make a good Bible study for anyone who thinks being led by prophecy or visions is some "new thing" that Mama and Peter have cooked up.
-- Joseph, one of the GN staff
Prayer Vigil Idea
Something that works in our Home is to have Prayer Lists available at all times! (I mean easy access, not getting rusty at the bottom of the lit trunk). Just put a Prayer List, Prayer Vigil Promises book and Word Basics in the ... bathroom! You might think it's a crazy idea, but it really works!
-- Polish Meekness, 27, Namibia
It's Praise Time
We bought an old-fashioned wind-up alarm clock, that the kids set for Praise Times. At the sound of the bell, the whole Home can be heard to break out in praises and songs. We've had 100% improvement in Praise Time participation.
-- Paul, Santiago and Clara, U.S.A.
[End]
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family