the grapevine
(Issue #42; May 15, 1998.)
kidbits
miniature members
Sara, 1st child, born to Fay (Croatian) and Stefan (Bosnian).Bosnia
Chenaiah Brook, 2nd child, born to Celine and Andre on February 2nd.USA
Lianna Nadine, 2nd child, born to Christina on February 27th.USA
Mario New, 1st child, born to Sara (Croatian) on March 2nd.Croatia
Trevor, 11th child, born to Faithy and Amos O'Test on March 4th.USA
Carmen, born to Dove and Timothy on March 4th.USA
Robin Noemi Forest, 8th child, born to Celeste and Chris on March 9th.Mexico
Philip David, 1st child, born to Letizia and Juan on March 10th.Italy
Nikolas, born to Christiana and Micha, on March 12th.Germany
Breanna Rose, 1st child, born to Rebecca on March 12th.USA
Melina, 7th child, born to Meekness and Gideon on March 13th.Mexico
Christian Michael, 1st child, born to Esther on March 14th.Mexico
Cheryl Lianne, 2nd child, born to Mandy and Allan on March 14th.USA
Selina Belle, 2nd child, born to Tirzah and Ben on March 15th.South Africa
Alin Oliver, 1st child, born to Romanian Rachel and Andrei on March 16th.Romania
Nicolas Arthur, 1st child, born to Joy (Polish) and Abner (Russian) on March 16th.Russia
tidbits
getting together
Tim (19, of John and Sara) and Tabitha (22, Czech) tied the knot on March 21st.Czech Republic
new laborers March 1998
Emilie (17, American, of Eman Icelandic and Marie) joined in Spain.
Enrico (19, Italian) joined in Croatia.
Julia (16, Slovenian) joined in Croatia.
Stefano (32, Italian) joined in Croatia.
Phillip (23, Nigerian) joined in Nigeria.
Belgin (19, Romanian) joined in Romania.
Emmi Daylight (26, Albanian) joined in Albania.
Andres (19, Costa Rican), joined in Costa Rica.
Raquel (Costa Rican), joined in Mexico, with two children.
on the net
Spanish Family Web site stats March, 1998
www.lafamilia.org
1. March Web stats report
a) 220 Mb downloaded; about 7 MB per day.
b) 1,496 people visited the site; about 48 people per day.
2. New sections added in March
a) "Meaty" section with pictures of Dad (www.lafamilia.org/lafamilia)
b) Dossier included in "meaty" section
3. Work in progress
a) Adding new FARs
b) Adding MO Letter condos to "Our Founder" section
c) Adding several Statements to "Dossier" section
d) Adding the Charter to "Dossier" section
e) Adding more sound clips to CD section
March On Strong (FTT #13)
singer/music/lyrics/producer
side a:
1. March On Strong DCS 5:14
Byron/Vas/Vas, Byron, Daniel A./Vas, Byron
2. Give a Little JAS 3:54
Chris/Pethuel/Pethuel/Andrew V.
3. You Fight for Me JAS 3:07
Angelique, Crystal Lily/Francesco/Francesco/Francesco
4. My Heart Belongs to You EAS 4:32
Nat
5. U Know RAD 4:18
Steve M./J. Ellis/Steve M., Danny P./Eman
6. Love Constraineth JAS 3:28
Sylvia/John L./Mary YA/John Listen
7. Take Me Now JAS 4:35
Chris/Martin/Martin/Martin
side b:
8. So What JAS 5:42
John L./John L./John L./John Listen
9. Anticipation EAS 5:13
Ben G., Nat/Ben G./Ben G., Nat
10. Torch of Prayer JAS 4:14
Cryssy/Philip/Philip, Francesco/Francesco
11. Do or Die Life JAS 2:35
Peter D., Haley/Peter D./Francesco
12. On Line EAS 4:03
Ben G.
13. Love That Is Real JAS 3:26
Hopie/Jace, Francesco/Jace, Francesco/Francesco
14. I Believe In You JAS 3:13
Chris/Jerry/Jerry/Jerry, Jeff
pioneering
Crimea
(From Joan, Tim A., Elisabeth and John:) Last summer four of us heeded the Lord's call, and went on the road to a resort area in the Ukraine called Crimea. It sure fits its name, since that's the place where the Ukranian and Russian Mafia have great influence. We took our posters, claimed the Lord's promises for supply and protection, and off we went. Little did we know what a battle it would be! Usually our road trips are sort of easy; we burn free, provision, witness, and everything flows fairly smoothly.But this time things were different!
It all started after we had left a small town where we stayed in a Family Home, and went hitchhiking over the gorgeous Crimean mountain range. The next city we arrived in wasn't just tough, it was plain antichrist. It had previously been a closed city due to its military importance, and had only recently opened to outsiders and foreigners, so it was still heavily bombarded with anti-cult, communist propaganda.
After a full day of trying to provision a place to stay and somewhere to eat, we were totally frustrated with our failed efforts and what seemed to be a lack of the Lord's supply. Almost in tears, hungry and with no place to stay, we cried unto the Lord. Then the Lord spoke. All four of us got prophecies and it was like a shower of refreshing rain. Our sweet Jesus told us that He wanted us to be in unity (which we badly lacked) and that He also wanted us to experience the spirit of the Endtime, when we will be hated by all men. He then encouraged us by saying that He would supply and get a victory out of this seeming defeat. He told us that there was a place prepared for us, and that we would be all right.
It was still all by faith, but as we praised Him for His goodness and went on, things started to click! We provisioned a meal, and a person that had formerly helped with a discount on rooms said that we could stay in her house for free! That was a miracle, because we couldn't even afford a discounted room!
After spending a night in her two-room apartment and not wishing to overburden her any further, we launched out by faith. This time we were sure that our friends would put us up, but to our dismay it didn't work out. It was getting dark, and again we had no place to go. The Lord spoke again, promising to take care of us, and He did. An old lady took us into the hostel where she was a doorkeeper. By doing this she risked losing her job, but nevertheless she gave us her room and slept outside in her chair. Before departing, we had a chance to pray with her.
Then the Lord told us to go to another city. We had no money, no food, 10,000 posters and three other bags to carry around. As we told our story to a man who picked us up in his car, he couldn't believe his ears! He said we must be crazy to come to the most expensive part of the Ukraine in the middle of the peak season. This man, Vladimir, went on to say various discouraging things, but then offered us his house to stay in, since he was sure that nothing else would work out for us. We thanked him, but wanted to give Jesus a chance to show Vladimir His mighty power. So we asked the sanatorium boss to put us up, and to the astonishment of Vladimir, the man said yes! As a minor detail, people have to pay up to $1,000 to stay at the sanatorium, and we stayed free for four days, with three meals a day! We were able to witness to people from all over the CIS, and had a wonderful and fruitful time, PTL!
There is more to the story, but Jesus taught us that no matter what the circumstances are, He will pull us through. It increased our faith in prophecy also. It really works! Put Jesus to the test!He will never let you down!
Zambia
(From Steven, Christina and Michaela:) As we write this account, we've been in Zambia for one week. Looking back on the last seven days, we can only marvel and be thankful for all that our wonderful Husband and King has done to take care of all our needs and lead us to His sheep! The Lord showed us to take our family of eight along on this pioneering trip, and He definitely hasn't been limited by the size of our family. To the contrary, we found that our sample as a family has in many cases been a great witness and door-opener.
We arrived in Lusaka not knowing a soul in town and without a place to stay, but He faithfully went ahead of us and led us to a gas station where we met Jane, a young woman who worked there. She offered to be our guide around town, and helped us find reasonably-priced accommodations. We finally found a hotel for the night and made arrangements with her cousin, Fusia (who is a medical student at the university), to look for something more economical together the next day.
The next morning, we asked the Lord to miraculously supply a cheaper accommodation, and He told us to "go to the churches" and ask there. We tried the Baptist church on the phone, but the Lord didn't open the door there. We decided to look around town by faith, following Fusia. The Lord led us to the headquarters of one of the local mainstream Protestant churches. The lady in charge of their guest house was very sweet. After hearing of our volunteer work, she agreed to take us in for a few days, although their guest house is normally reserved for their visiting pastors and staff. She also mentioned that their church happens to have a vacant three-bedroom house on their compound and that, if we were interested, she would inquire about the possibility of us renting it. We were quite amazed at the way the Lord was leading and confirming what He had told us when we prayed that very morning. It was definitely not our idea to find housing in a church compound, but we had peace, knowing that He was the One leading in this direction and opening the door!
The next day Steven had a chance meeting with the bishop and the general secretary of the church where we were staying. Those men were very friendly and hospitable, and the Lord used this friendly encounter to prepare their hearts concerning the three-bedroom house, which happens to belong to the general secretary. Within days they had made their decision and the house was ours for 400,000 Kwacha ($250 per month), utilities included!
As we get more acquainted with this rather busy and chaotic city with so much poverty and petty crime, we are more and more convinced of the Lord's wisdom in leading us to this house; it is located in a high-walled compound, with very good security all arounda nice retreat from all the confusion that goes on outside those walls.
Already the Lord has opened wonderful doors to feed His sheep! We invited Jane, Fusia and two of their cousins over for dinner and fellowship, and had a wonderful time singing songs and praising the Lord together. At the end of our evening, they asked if we gave Bible classes, and we scheduled one with them! They also invited us to their church. It was quite an experience for us to visit their Pentecostal church with lots of "rah, rah," one of their preachers being "slain in the Spirit" and weeping on the floor while being prayed over, the main pastor shouting and jumping up and down while preaching for two hours, etc. When we talked to him after the service, he could hardly speak anymore as his throat was so sore! He also invited "Reverend" Steven to come and preach at his church one Sunday! This experience made us all so thankful for our Familythe love, the simplicity, the freedom of the Spirit, and the Words of David we have in such great abundance! There is great potential for personal witnessing at the university, and we had one student come over this evening to inquire about our work.
Regarding the country itself, we were quite surprised to find out that besides a few main roads, the roads and streets even within Lusaka are just dirt roads or old tarred roads with potholes everywhere! We've had to adjust our driving to the conditions of the local roadsdriving very slow and pretty much sticking to the tarred roads. A good diesel four-wheel drive vehicle is still the best option, even in Lusaka itself!
There is one main commercial area with shops, but most of the daily shopping is done right on the street with rows of stands and street vendors selling most basic needs, and you can bargain a bit. We haven't done any serious tool distribution yet, but there should be some potential among the better-off Indian and white community. On the other hand, the potential for personal witnessing, feeding the sheep, and CTP programs is tremendous, and we feel that this is where we need to concentrate our time and efforts at the moment.
There is much more we have yet to discover in Lusaka, especially in the residential and industrial areas and local institutions, where we can pioneer some CTP ministries. Besides Lusaka, another potential area with major cities is the Copperbelt, the main industrial and income-generating province of Zambia, located about 400 kms north of Lusaka.
We're so thankful to be here among such sweet, meek, friendly and receptive people! As we think about the great vacuum and receptivity to our message in this field in contrast with our small team and our limited efforts, we claim Mt.9:37,38: "Then saith He unto His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.'"
think deep
Two things are hard on the heartrunning up stairs and running down people.
babymania
Words from the Wise
Nursing
* When I had my first baby, a doctor prescribed a lotion for my sore nipples. At first I thought it wouldn't work, but I have applied it since with seven nursing babies, and have always found it very helpful. If I got blisters on my nipples, this lotion always helped them dry quickly before they had a chance to crack.
Ask a pharmacy for a 50% mixture of alcohol and lanolin. You put it straight on your nipples after each time you nurse, and let it dry. It is not necessary to wipe or wash it off before nursing again. PTL!Dulce, SPALIM
* A tip for all the nursing mothers who are fighting to keep their milk, which I learned from Russians: Drink stinging nettle tea. I tried it and it sure helped me!Mercy (24), Russia
Entertainment and Input
* We were wondering what pictures to put up for our two-month-old son to look at. The Lord showed us to put the poster books next to him. Now he looks at a new poster daily, and is beaming with big smiles! He must remember Heaven, as he won't take his eyes off them. It also helps us to have nappy changes without any fuss.Maria Fighter, India
* We've enlarged various stories from the LWGs and Kidz TKs, MOP sections and favorite "Praisin' U" poems to A4 size and put them into plastic pages which we put in a nice binder. This has been a real key to get our two-year-old in the Word. We started off with "Snowflake," which we colored all the way through, but with the other stories we just colored the main characters, e.g., "Johnny" in "Johnny and the Worm," etc.
Another thing we tried is recording the stories from Family Fun onto audio tapes, and using them for bedtime stories whilst the kids fall asleep. We have the old FC ones which the kids have listened to over and over, but they've been really hungering for new Word tapes.Abe and Libby, Czech Republic
* I'm getting more and more inspiration to teach my nine-month-old daughter, Esther. She is the first Czech baby disciple, so I realized that I'm the first Family pioneer to teach her this language! Even though it takes some time finding different material and good books, it's worth it. At first I didn't have the faith to teach her all three languages (English, Czech and Polish), but now I believe that little kids have a big capacity to learn.It just depends on our consistency.Sophie (of Janek), Slovakia
Prizing progress
* This month I learned a very good lesson with my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She started to draw with colored pencils on pieces of paper. As she had done a lot, I started to throw the used ones in the garbage. Once she saw me do that, she started wadding up her papers also, because she didn't see any more value in it.
It was a good lesson for me, as whatever she draws is progress and learning for her, but because of my lack of vision she started destroying her little creations. So I started to post her drawings on the board, and keep some of them in an album so she can see her progress. Now she's really into drawing.And I'm happy I learned this lesson while she's still young.Consuelo, Russia
(Jaz:) Got any words of wisdom? Write in and share them for the benefit of all! Everything is important to somebody, and your little key might open a great big door to another frazzled mom!
find-a-friend
Tara (of Cephas and Sapphire, Holland) would like to hear from Malika, Lisa and Topaz in India. Tara, Kerkeboeren 20, 9873PH Gerkesklooster, Holland.
Tim (of Jo and Rosemarie), please contact Jennie (of Steven and Angela). E-mail: michael.brown(a)ri.tel.hr.
David Newheart (formerly John, Germany) would like to contact American Leah Red who was at the school in Essen in 1971, and Italian Andrew and Mercy (worked with you in Delhi). E-mail: Manna14136@aol.com.
Abraham (formerly) from Germany, please contact Sara Flower (German). I last saw you in Germany in '75. E-mail: rodina@netbrno.cz.
Heidi would like to contact Kelly (A. Prepy). I lived with you in Townhouse before you went to Japan. E-mail: eternity@mail.giga.com.
Sunny James is looking for Tim May; last heard of in Russia. E-mail: tyofam@crisscross.com.
Maria Italiana (Belo Horizonte), where are you? Please contact Paul and Lilas. Add: Mr. Chakor, Le Moulin, Route de Dole, France. E-mail: paulilas@aol.com. Tel: 03.84.31.21.51.
Chad (of Jason and Christy) needs to contact Andrew (of Paul and Rachel), Sam (of Thai John and Joanna) and Jeremy (of Shem and Joy). E-mail: Chad10182@aol.com. Add: 16523 96th Street, Live Oak, Florida 32060.
Michael (from Mangalore, India, now in Russia) wants to contact Stefan and Pheobe, Joseph and Comfort, and Paul and Shulie (formerly Gordon and Mandie). Add: Box 165, 191123, St. Petersburg, Russia. E-mail: family@thefamily.spb.su.
If anyone knows the whereabouts of Rainbow River, who knew Simon Peter (Edmonton, 1976), please send information to: Joseph Peter Tremblay, 854 Village Road Box 572, Morin Heights, JOR 1HO PQ Canada.
British Nick would like Gabriella to contact him! We met in Czech Rep. last year. E-mail: nick@ces.aau.org. Add: P.O. Box C1146, Cantonments, Accra, Ghana, W. Africa.
grapes of thankfulness
Do you know anyone else beside God whom you can't outgive? Well, here they are: Clara Romanian and Matthew C.R.! Our appreciation and thanks to you for giving so sacrificially and abundantly.
Much love, your "landlords"
A big thank-you to Nick and Sue who were such a big help with communications when I was trying to get to India. Thanks, I won't forget it.
Kylie Rain, Australia
what's up?
Missing the blasts
India
(From Paul. F [of Greek Joy]:) The day before the Feast, teen Peter (of Matthew and Marie) and I were out doing business in preparation for the Feast. We arrived in an area where a prominent leader of a Hindu Nationalist party was going to be campaigning for the upcoming elections. We began getting strong checks about the area not being safe. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, we calmly walked away. Two hours later we got together with the rest of our Home and drove off to meet up with some other Family members to have our Birthday Feast in another part of the state.
The story doesn't end here. On our way out of the city we stopped at a swimming pool to let the kids have a dip, and left at 3:30 p.m. sharp. We arrived at the other Home and had a wonderful time of fellowship and feasting. The next day we read in the papers that the exact road we were on the day before had a few bomb blasts at precisely 3:50 p.m., and the entire city was in chaos. Over 50 people died in a dozen blasts in the city's bus station, rail station and shopping centers. One other team had left only hours before from the local bus stand. Thank the Lord for His angelic protection! To us it looked like the angels worked overtime to stem the tide of these blasts until we were safely out of reach. PTL!
English camps
Thailand
(From the Phuket Home:) During school holidays we held a series of English camps, each of which lasted nine days. The camps were held on a beautiful resort island owned by a friend. We agreed to help him with the first camp as a favor, but it was such a success that when the next school holiday came around, we were at it again!
English camps are very popular here in Thailand, but they are new to the small "upcountry" province where we live. We had students attending from five provinces. During each camp we also had one or two Supervisors of Education for various provinces attend to give an opening speech and observe our activities. During one camp four teachers also attended. We had the opportunity to talk with these board members and teachers, who were quite impressed with the camps and were curious about where we received our training, etc.
Music was a key to win over the kidsand the adults too! We only had one person playing an acoustic guitar, but it was enough to get the whole room full of children singing (in English) at the top of their voices, and jumping around doing the actions. Even one of the teachers jumped in and did the actions for one of the songs. This was very commendable, as Thai teachers are usually very conservative and rather straight-laced. They could see the good fruits of our methods, as we had a very high rate of enthusiastic student participation!
Our two teens helped at the camps, which was good leadership training for them. They made friends with the other teens that attended, several of whom got saved and are potential leaders! We used some of the older Thai teens to help us at the camp, and they were quite open to our input and training. Our two OCs attended one session and had a great time helping the Thai children speak English, also learning more Thai themselves at the same time.
Since we live in a Buddhist country, we are not permitted to preach Jesus or God at these camps. However, we have been able to use Family songs, pubs and videos in our witness. On the last day, we set up a table with tapes and CDs, and we sold out in just a few minutes!
Cashless bank
USA
(From Ben Fisher:) Boy, did I get a taste of how important it will be not to have all our funds in the bank when it crashes. A couple of weeks ago, we had to deposit about $9,000 in our account for a short while. But when it was time to withdraw these funds, our bank said they did not have the cash on hand. The teller, who was a sweet yet nave lady, said, "Isn't it weird when a bank doesn't have cash?" I chuckled and tried my best to look relaxed, but was pretty concerned. Later that same day we got the funds, but the Lord sure did use the experience! Whew!
Underground church
China
(From Matthew and Claire:) We have now been having classes with one group for a year and a half. Initially we were involved with a larger group, and often had new people attending. This was the Lord's plan, as through witnessing to the newcomers we were able to teach the first ones by the "clinical method" how to do it themselves. After some time they asked if they could have advanced classes without the newcomers, so that they in turn could hold fellowships to teach the younger membersbecoming, as they called themselves, the "staff members." This way we could cover deeper subjects (such as witnessing and prophecy) with our advanced group, and they in turn were able to teach the newcomers more freely. Our sheep now have four different study groups of their own that they lead, as well as three others that they attend and take turns contributing to. The most encouraging thing is to see the fruit of teaching them to draw the net and win souls on their own, which they are doing.
Besides this group, we had two other study groups going that we were able to merge into one, which makes our sheep easier to care for. We have begun to have whole families attend, which is really sweet and they get so turned on as their relatives receive the Lord. One girl, who has had extensive classes with us during her vacations over the past 11 months, now leads a Bible study group at her campusputting on skits, singing and leading souls to Jesus. It is thrilling! We have shown different movies to these groups such as the Bible series on Abraham, Joseph, etc. Recently we showed the movie "Jesus" to one group and so many people attended that we ran out of chairs and had people sitting on the floor!
Recently a network of other "house churches" in our city was raided and some members were jailed, but our dear sheep were all protected and none of our groups have been disturbed. We can only marvel at His protection and are so thankful to have the chance to be here doing this work! There is much that can be done for and by these dear ones the Lord has raised up to help spread His message.Please pray for them.
Everyone loves 'em!
Mexico
(From Isaac and Spring:) Reading the Heaven's Library spirit stories and the posters to my kids on buses turns everyone onfour to six people listen in. One guy even gave each kid a dollar as he got off. They all flip over the storieshypnotized and magnetized!
Catacombers rock
Russia
(From Francis, for the Vladivostok team:) We now have 30 people coming for classes on a weekly basis. I (Francis) teach the older catacombers and the singing group; Alina, our only national disciple, teaches the younger catacomb group; the boys, along with an older catacomber, Tusi, Dulci (YA), and catacomber Marina teach another class for new potential catacombers; Christina (YA) and catacomber Jenia teach another group of potential catacombers.
We also care for two orphanages on a weekly basis. Two older catacombers and one of our YA girls are responsible for each orphanage, with the supervision of our national, Alina. Our English clubs in universities and schools are taken care of by myself and the foreign girls. Our English camps are run by a staff of all Family members, where our YAs and older catacombers work side by side as teachers, with myself as director. This summer we'll hold another two camps, each lasting three weeks, with about 160 kids attending each one.
We also have an all-national singing and dancing group. They're now working on an anti-drug show, similar to the Thai show. The Lord has blessed us with very talented young people that are eager to work with us. Three of our catacombers are talented guitar players and singers, and are becoming inspirationalists.
Now that the older catacombers are taking more responsibility (Jenia takes care of business, bill paying etc.; Marina is our PR girl; Vicky is starting to provision; Igor and Misha are singers), we are more free to reach the local business and foreign community. Recently a friend from Cyprus gave 800 cotton shirts for the orphanages we work with.
support-a-missionary
We are the Beacon Home in Bucharest, Romania. Having had some major and unexpected personnel changes recently, we have found ourselves quite a small team. The Lord has led us to open our Home this summer to shove off teams (particularly teens and YAs), giving our Family members from the States an opportunity to experience the exciting witnessing opportunities here in Romania. We are trusting the Lord for His supply and felt led to ask if any of you, dear Family, would like to help us financially. If you would like to have a part in this summer's witnessing explosion, please send donations through the EE ABM to the Beacon Home (RO001). Big or smallall are welcome!
We, Daniel and Sara and our 16-year-old son (an all-national team), are off to pioneer a Home in the Indian Northeasta vast and fairly untouched part of India. We have no Home support and desperately need your prayers and support. You can send your gift through ASCRO.
Highlights from ASCRO
Summit 1998 feature article
(The following excerpts were taken from one of the Summit meetings, in which each of the CRO teamworks gave a 30-minute presentation. Please bear in mind that these aren't comprehensive outlines of all that's been going on in each areajust the highlights of what's happened since the last Summit meeting, which was held in 1996.)
The ASCRO area includes
Southeast Asia and IndochinaThailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos; the Indian SubcontinentIndia, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc.; and the Middle East.
The ASCRO teamwork is
Stephen (Silas), Joan (Endureth), Cephas (Thai), Dawn (formerly Lamb) and Anne (SGA)
How many CM/FM Homes in ASCRO?
Charter Member Homes: 75
Fellow Member Homes: 21
Pioneer works and expansion
Anne: ASCRO is a smaller area with fewer Homes than most, but since the last Summit, quite a few new Homes have opened. In India close to 100 new missionaries have joined the field, a number of other applicants have been cleared, and more clearance applications are in the pipelines. We now have a total of 30 Homes in India.
A lot of little pioneer works in many small countries are also expanding. The number of Homes in Turkey and Burma triplednow we have three Homes in each country! Vietnam doubled its number of Homes to two, as did Lebanon. We still have only one Home in Nepal.
Lit-Pic boom
Cephas: Due to our great expansion and in order to reach these countries which do not speak English, and to fulfill Dad's vision of getting his words into the local language, with the help of WS and most recently FCF, we now have full-fledged Lit-Pics in Vietnamese, Tamil, Burmese, Hindi, Turkish and Arabic, along with the already long-established Lit-Pics of Indonesia and Thailand.
VS visitation
Anne: The VS teams have also gotten rolling since the last Summit, with a three-man VS team for Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, and a six-man VS team for India and Nepal. There are also three VSs for Thailand, and three for the Middle East. They've done several rounds of visitation these past two years, visiting each Home two or three times per year. Between the CROs and VSs, we've shown all the Summit and bellwether videos. With our next visitation round we'll be taking around the videos of the European meetings Peter held. Members of our CRO teamwork have visited every country in our area, with the exception of Burma, in the last two years.
Camps and meetings
Cephas: With the help of our VSs, in the past two years we've been able to hold five national meetings in Thailand, as well as JETT and teen camps and YA meetings in each of the following countries: Thailand, Pakistan, the Middle East, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.
SGA office workers/Web sites
Anne: Since the last Summit, seven new young people have come to work at our CRO office, to help with office work, childcare, FED, NPC, etc. We've also made four GP Web sites: one in Thai; one in Arabic; Countdown (which is from the Countdown video and also includes The Future Foretold text); and a Heart to Heart/Jeremy Spencer site. We also have Indian and Turkish Web sites in progress, and a Pharsi Web site is on the planning board.
WS book printing/Peter's visit
Cephas: We have had the privilege of our NPC team helping to print the WS booksover 30 books printed last year! We also had the privilege of hosting Peter and his team this past year, and it resulted in Peter speaking to the entire ASCRO area via video, which was very encouraging for everyone; the prophecies for our area helped everyone very much.
One-take translations
Stephen: One other result of Peter's visit to Thailand was that he shared with the Lit-Pic team the concept of one-take translations. Prior to that, it had taken quite a bit of time to get the Thai pubs to the Family, but since then they've begun implementing Peter's idea, which has vastly sped up the process and enabled them to keep up with the English pubs. Now every single mailing that goes out in English has a Thai translation sent out with it. It's revolutionized getting the Word to the Thai Family!
FED
Dawn: During Peter's trip here, he encouraged the FED team about their childcare work and the beautiful material that they've been putting out. The FED team is comprised of five people, working full- and part-time, and they've done a wonderful job.
We send out a FED mailing every six weeks, or about eight per year. We send one master set per Home, and then they xerox as many extra copies as they need. We also have six FED resource centers throughout the area, which stock among other things educational videos such as the HSVs, GAP videos and vocational videos. They take care of supplying their countries with materials, as requested by the Homes.
To implement the goals of 1998, we asked the Lord if He had any new direction for us. He indicated that we should try to have more CC seminars in 1998. He also said to give our VSs more CC input. So as a FED team, we're taking on the preparation of a childcare kit (videos, etc.) to send with our VSs, so that when they travel they can use this kit to promote more childcare awareness.
This year we've started a new pub called Kiddie Care, which consists of tips from the Homes.
Heart to Heart
Stephen: As you read in Grapevine #37, the Heart to Heart concerts in India couldn't have gone better! I would estimate that it was at least 1,000 times more fruitful than the first set of concerts we did three years ago. Our host and main sponsor said it was a million times a million times moreyou can get a calculator and figure that out!
Every show was sold out, and the media coverage was overwhelmingly positive. Jeremy was on the front page of some of the most important newspapers; he was on MTV and Channel 5, which is MTV's main competitor Asia-wide. There were tons of interviews with him on MTV, half an hour in length, plus clips of the shows, etc. He also gave interviews on some of the most important radio stations in Bombay and Delhi.
A unique fieldthe Middle East
Joan: The biggest lesson we're learning in pioneering the Middle East is on becoming one. Though we've been trying to work on it in our other fields, in the Middle East it seems that every time we think we've learned something, we find out how little we know about it and how much more we need to grow in that area. That is, of becoming one with the Muslims and the Arabslearning to speak their language and understand their culture, which is what it takes to be able to win them! They are a deep and precious people. It's almost like they know we have a job to do for the Endtime too.
Same ol' keymusic: Music has been a real key in the Middle East, and the Lord has allowed us to use music, through the festivals we've been involved in there, to reach them with a message of love. They are so responsive and appreciative!
For example, we have performed in Bethlehem for Christmas several years running now, which you may have read about in previous Grapevine articles (see Grapevines #11, #35). This particular program is filmed and broadcast worldwide every year, so there's no telling how many people are reached through that, beyond the few thousands who are actually there at the performance. Because we sing in Arabic, it really touches their hearts that we're attempting to relate to them. The festival organizers told us that we're the only group in history that has been requested to come back year after year. They say, "You have to come back because you're a part of our family. You're a part of us."
We also attend the Jerash festival in Jordan, which is also broadcast to the whole Arab world. We've met people from places like Saudi Arabia who have seen our team on TV. They know the names of the singers and dancers, as well as all the songs they sing. There just isn't anyone in the Arab world like the Family, where we become one and reach out to the local people in their language, with their songs and their music.
Tools in Arabic: Michael Piano and TAS are going to be helping us get a lot of the tools into Arabic. We recently received a grant from the FCF to help us get the Treasure Attics into Arabic! Another miracle is that when Michael was visiting the Middle East during the Jerash festival, in one month, he and one of our Arabic disciples made our first full-Arabic tape from scratch! Many of the songs were received in prophecy, either in Arabic or in English, which was then translated into Arabic, also through prophecy. In one month they wrote, translated and recorded the songs for an entire tape!Our first complete Arabic tape.
Iraq festival: Iraq was the most recent place we did a festival, and in our opinion, Iraq is probably the most receptive field in our part of the world. They are the sheepiest, most broken and humble people we've ever met, the testimonies of which you've already read in a previous Grapevine (see Grapevine #34). We performed at a very large festival there and they filmed our performance for TV and aired it many, many times over. We're still receiving letters from people in Iraq who we've never met, who live in the middle of nowhererequesting our tapes, or just writing to us because they saw our show on television, TTL!
Hot lead!
Q: Where is the hot spot in your area?
A: India! There's a great need! It's English-speaking, and easy to witness there!And the country needs more laborers!
Examples of using specific prophecy in studio work
by John Listen, Japan
During the Music Seminars (April '97), Peter challenged us to receive Loving Jesus songs directly in prophecy. I went straight home from that meeting, grabbed my dictaphone and received most of the melody and lyrics of "Let's Get Together Again." The R&B/jazzy style and wording (at that time) was a bit of a bottle-breaker for me for a Loving Jesus song, but I just kept giving it by faith.
I didn't get all the verses and choruses in order, neatly laid out; the Lord left me some work to do. Before submitting the song, it turned out I needed a couple more key lines; they needed to be a certain meter and a certain rhyme. That's the type of thing you normally "work out," sometimes with a rhyming dictionary in hand. But I wanted the whole thing to be "from the Lord." At first I tried to "prophesy" something that rhymedha! But I could see I was still thinking hard. So I decided to just let go and start prophesying whatever came, and sure enough, in about one minute, the missing rhyming word came by in an "unrelated" phrase of prophecy. That word spawned the idea for the whole line.
I got to work on Michael Piano's song, "Now unto the King," for the "Wild Wind" praise tape. I needed a little more melody for the verse of this new version. I wouldn't consider melody my strongest point, so I prayed and just started singing ideas into the dictaphone. Studying those melodies, I finally came up with a fairly unique tune, including that little run into and out of falsetto at the end of the verse. It was a little different than everything I'd sung into the micro, so I felt a little bad to have not gotten it verbatim from the Lord. But the Lord reminded me that if He hadn't given me the raw bits and pieces to work with and started me in that direction, I most likely wouldn't have come up with anything original at all.
Prophecies usually come in words, of course. You don't usually just "prophesy" a musical arrangement. But the Lord's guiding instructions can help shape the ideas. On the hip-hop song "So What" (on March on Strongcoming soon!), the Lord told me I "needed to be base in my own sight." That little phrase kept helping me to break through my own preconceived mental barriers of how the music should be, since if the music track wouldn't relate to the younger generation, the song would be a flop and a waste of time. Not that I consider hip-hop to be "base"ha! It just helped me to go for crazier grooves and sounds, etc.
When adding sax to the song, "That's How He Feels" (on Dancing with Jesus), I felt that my first sax entry was kind of weak. My normal approach would have been to immediately reach for the button and just play it again. But since we've been trying to learn how to work faster, I had a little more fear of the Lord. I was able to hear His voice clearly, "I don't give you permission to do that."Ha! So with that kind of guidance, I was able to create and execute this whole sax part in about five hours. As I recall, the sax on "I'm Goin' Walking," which was not much more involved, took about 15 hours of recording timeouch!
Many times, we end up working on songs individually for substantial periods of time. If you're not under the Lord's control, your own weaknesses can come to the fore. Prophecy can give the Lord a chance to remind you of your weaknesses, or help steer you away from them. On a recent song, because of circumstances beyond my control, I ended up in a situation where I had vocalists coming from far away the next day, and on the evening before, I still didn't even have my BMT (basic music track) recorded. When I started to record the track that evening, I asked the Lord if I should get sounds from a certain machine. The Lord reminded me that if I even turned that thing on, I would want to start experimenting and keeping track of the results, etc., and it could add hours of work time (and subtract hours of sleep!). That gave me the faith to go with a simpler setup, at least for the time being. Lord knows, I probably wouldn't have finished the track at all, nor slept at all, if I'd followed my own impulses.
notices
Old-fashioned readers
USA
(From Phil and Marie:) At a recent book fair that we attended, we discovered an organization called L.A.M.B. (Lunsford Academic Materials and Books) a company in Texas, from whom you can purchase readers that were published 30-40 years ago and used in American public schools. These readers are the "Dick and Jane" or "See Spot Run" type that are great for kids who are learning to read. They have large type, teach the beginning 100 words listed in the CCHB, and have brightly colored pictures on each page. Because these were produced so long ago, they also teach "values."That's a plus! These books are veritable "collectors' items," and the kids love them!
The people we talked to said that they found them in a school book depository in Austin. The administration of the depository said that public schools don't have any use for them today because they teach values! They are in excellent condition (like brand new)! However, there are only a limited number of these available, so if you are interested, you should order yours as soon as you can, especially the first two readers, which are going more quickly than the third and fourth ones. We hope the Family will take advantage of this offer, as these types of books are not being reprinted anymore.
You can get these for $9.95 each. Although they say they are a "series" of books from kindergarten to fourth grade, after seeing them, we saw they aren't actually a series or from the same series. We bought the first two books, which seem more like the old grade one and two readers. "Fun with Dusty" is the kindergarten reader; the first grade reader is called "Ted and Dottie"; and there are readers for second and third grade also.
If you're interested in purchasing these readers, contact the LAMB company directly to place your order. Here is the company's e-mail address and Web page:
E-mail: lambco@mymail.net
Web page: http://www.myhomepage.net/~lambco
Or you can call 1-800-646-6485; ask for Steve or Kathie Lunsford.
letters to the editor
Re: Spiritual encounters
When reading a comment from someone on "Mama's Memos #6" about imitating homosexuals, in Grapevine #38, I was reminded of something that happened right before my very eyes.
When I was growing up, there was a boy in my neighborhood that I thought was cute, so I used to ride my skateboard by his house so I could see him. Later on, when I was a teenager, he was good friends with my best friend's brother. These boys and their friends would hang out together.
One evening Liz (my best friend) and I were at her house and her brother and about five of his friends were sitting around talking. They were all quite cute and popular guys in school. They were making jokes about homosexuals and imitating them in their actions and speech. I remember laughing and thinking it was funny at the time. But it was just a few months later that Liz and I found out that these same boys were all gays. I remember it repulsed us, but also saddened us because that was six less potential cute guys in the running for boyfriendswhat a sad loss!
Through the years I've shared this testimony with others of how we saw these guys turn into homosexuals after playing around and making jokes and imitating gays. Before I got saved I didn't understand about spirits and all, but after I got saved I realized it was the wrong spirit that they yielded to. Beware!
Promise, USA
Re: Telephone quirks
We are in a small, relatively distant situation here, but it never ceases to amaze us how topical and common points shared in the Grapevines and Zines are, even down to the funny article about telephone use shared by an FGA in Grapevine #34. Those examples are almost word-for-word what we have experienced ourselves! Ha!
Sarah, Joy, Mark and Emmanuelle, Taiwan
Mama jewels on getting it in prophecy and concentration
to staff members
Getting it in prophecy: (Referring to a difficult letter to write, a note of encouragement, a script, speech for an event, etc.) Like the Lord has said a few times, if you can get it in prophecy, why not? That's what He's trying to teach us in every area of our livesto come to Him for His guidance and instruction, and to get it in prophecy as much as possibleand this is yet another area in which we can do that. It's not that everything needs to be done in prophecy now, but it's part of our practice; it's part of getting prepared for the time when we'll need to be using prophecy for practically everything. That's why the Lord is putting a push on our trying to do as much now in prophecy as we can, even if sometimes it isn't absolutely necessary.
Concentration: (During an inspiration where someone was about to read a poem dedicated to the Lord:) Why don't we try doing what I do when I listen to my tapes of To Jesus With Love? I repeat what it's saying, and it really helps me get a lot more out of it. It not only helps my concentration and keeps my attention, but it's more of a commitment, and I've found it's much more meaningful and feeding for me. With this poem, you can read one line, and then we all can repeat it after you.
ask-a-midwife
by Rose Midwife
Q: On the last page of "Nutrition in Pregnancy" (FSM 313) it mentions that it's best to avoid hot tubs when pregnant. I was wondering what the reason for this is.Jonathan and Sarah, Japan
A: Yes, when a woman is pregnant she should avoid hot tubs (Jacuzzi) and saunas. The reason for this is that the water in a hot tub and the temperature in a sauna are abnormally high. They heat up a person's body, and this is why they can cause a false fever and help heal a cold. They also cleanse your pores well. However, because they do heat up the body and cause a false fever, this is not good in pregnancy.
When a pregnant woman has a fever, the temperature of her water bag also rises, causing the baby to be in rather hot water! When the mother is sick and has a fever, this is usually only a slight rise; however, in saunas and hot tubs it is a much quicker rise and normally higher than a fever. That's why you can go from a hot tub or sauna into an icy stream of water or into snow and you don't feel cold for a while.
If a pregnant mother's temperature is raised too high too fast, thereby raising the temperature of the water in the womb, you can literally cook your baby in the womb. Most saunas have a warning on them against pregnant mothers using them; most public hot tubs carry the same warning.
Q: Once the water bag is broken, how many hours are safe to elapse before the birth of the baby?Since the water bag protects both mother and child from infection?Mercy, Romania
A: In the States, midwives are allowed to wait 24 hours before taking the mother into a hospital to be delivered by a doctor; doctors are allowed to wait for 36 hours before performing a cesarean section to deliver the baby.
The water bag does act as protection against infection or a foreign substance reaching the baby. Once the bag breaks, no one really knows how long is "safe" for the baby. I generally go according to the mother's faith. Some mothers have been delivered who had broken waters for several days prior to delivery with no signs of infection; in another case a mother who had broken waters for 17 hours was delivered by a doctor, and the baby had an infection from the broken waters, as did the mother. It's much like you being in a room full of people with colds. If you don't have one, how long will it be before you catch one?
Name-Your-Price Airline Tickets
Wired
For business travelers crammed into crowded rush-hour cabins, it may come as a surprise that the eight major US carriers fly jets at an average of only 65 to 70 percent capacity. When marketeer Jay Walker realized this, he began devising a system using the Internet to offer consumers a potential deal on the millions of seats that fly empty.
The result, Priceline.Com, debuted this month, and, according to Walker, will enable consumers to name the price they'd be willing to pay for airline tickets. At the company's Web site, you simply provide your itinerary, the price you're willing to pay, and your credit card number. If an airline accepts, Priceline.Com will get back to you within an hour with a nonrefundable ticket.
"This is not for the businessperson," says Walker, whose Stamford, Connecticut-based Walker Digital Corporation lined up 12 investors, built a US $25 million budget, installed 80 Web servers, and reached "solid" agreements with all the major carriers prior to launch. "We're going to reach what we call the VFR crowdthe visiting-friends-and-relatives crowd. They're the kind of people willing to say, 'For the savings, I'll take a connection in Minneapolis.'"
By the end of 1998, Walker expects Priceline.Com to ring up a million hits a day for the 1,000 to 3,000 tickets available daily. To get those hits, he's spending $10 million to advertise this spring. Says Walker, "The airlines like this system because it gives them an opportunity to add incremental revenue without disrupting their retail-fare system."
Website: www.priceline.com
your views on issues
The story of sweets
Unknown
(From an adult man:) When Jose and Helena came to visit us, they brought a chocolate cake. We thought it was so nice of them. Since we usually have good eating habits, we don't mind a little something on the side from time to time.
The next day, I went witnessing with Etienne. We stopped in a bar to get a coffee. The Charter says we can drink two a day. Of course, in the bar, they don't have brown sugar, so we have to use white sugar. That's okay, because in our Home, we do follow the health rules to the best of our ability. A little bit is not going to hurt, after all.
Ah, Sunday night! Video time! To make it more fun, we bought some ice cream and cookies. We know it's not the best, but, for a Home like ours which has a good standard, an occasional deviance doesn't count! We shouldn't be so self-righteous, right?
This week we went to visit my mother. The kids were so happy to see her. She likes to buy them sweets. We have been faithful to teach our kids to reject these things, but also, not to hurt people's feelings. So, they gobble them up fast! Well, for this time, we will let it pass .
Yesterday, the provisioning came in. Fantastic! Strawberry yogurts, chocolate donuts, white ricewhat a blessing! It saves us a lot of money! Before, we used to only buy natural yogurts, but now, the Lord supplies the "nice colored ones," as the kids say! If you are part of a Home like ours, you know that it is bad to buy sweetened things, but somehow they are sanctified through the process of receiving them for free!
One of our drivers likes to buy "sugar-free" Chiclets (chewing gum). It gives him fresh breath. Of course, aspartame, poliols, xyliols, and malitol didn't exist when Grandpa wrote "Food or Poison," so they must be goodor at least not so bad, as long as you don't eat too much of them or give them to pregnant mommies. The other driver, to avoid drinking coffee, decided to start drinking Coca-Cola. He says it does have a bit of caffeine in it to keep him awake, and that coffee is bad, too. Well, it's up to him, no?
My kids never drink Coca-Cola! They always choose Fanta instead. I know it's made by the same company, but hey, it does have another color. Well, you know, we are on their case for so many other things that I guess they can have what they like from time to timeeven when sometimes every morning is one time, and every evening is another time.
Today, I sent a prayer request off for my wife who is suffering from kidney trouble. Thank God for our faithful Family who will pray for us. I'm sure she will be healed in no time! The kids came back from their annual dentist check-uponly a few cavities. Maybe it's a hereditary weakness. And you know what? I provisioned new pants! The ones I had were getting too tight around the waist! . I don't know why!
Revolution roll eternal
Europe
(From S. [16]:) I recently visited a Home and was very disappointed to see their obvious lack of faith in hearing from Heaven. They felt the Family was off track, they doubted others' ability to hear from the Lord, and felt that this "prophecy mania," as they called it, was a farce. Their trip was that Grandpa could receive things from the Lord, but now that he has died, the Family should just stick to what he wrote and anything new is wrong, including prophecy. Not only did they not believe in it, but they came down heavy on those who did.
Hey, we've got to keep moving! Look at Grandpa's sample. Every time the Family would settle down, he would come up with a new revolution to break everyone's bottles and get them moving. Why shouldn't we continue like this now that he's gone? Now with all the far-out prophecies from him, it's incredible that anyone would choose not to believe them. I say, let the revolution roll eternal, and any who are too brittle to take it, may they roll out of the way, for those who want it!
Somebody and His Sister, Someone
by Someone, Brazil
There seems to be Somebody,
Who joined our Home one day;
No one knows exactly when.
(Maybe we were all away!)
We scarcely ever see him,
But we talk of him a lot!
"Somebody left the bikes out!"
"Somebody burned this pot!"
"Somebody ate the brownie
I'd saved in the fridge for me."
"Somebody really blew it,
It's very plain to see!"
The funny thing about him
Is wherever I happen to be
Somebody seems to be there, too!
I think he is following me!
Somebody's always doing
Things that no one ought to do.
But he always does'm when no one's around!
(You don't suppose I do'm, too?!?)
Somebody has a sister;
"Someone" is her name.
She does the same things he does;
That's how she got her fame.
Besides the things she shouldn't do,
That Someone's always doing;
There're tons of things she ought to do,
That we spend our time boo-hooing.
"Someone needs to wash those cups,
And wipe the water off the sink!
If only she'd be more considerate,
And of others stop to think!"
But one day it occurred to me
To stop and consider this:
When all these errors Someone makes;
When I think things are amiss
Do I just complain and mutter and moan?
What should my reaction be
When Somebody goes and does something
That inconveniences me?
I think I'll try to learn now,
Part of the solution to become.
To make our Home more Heavenly,
Happier, and a lot more fun!
mama's mailbox
Dear Mama and Peter,
God bless you! I'm Marie, who was on the critical prayer list for breast cancer. By many miracles of God I'm now on the recovery list, TYJ!A wonderful victory.
I am 43 years old, French, and have been in the Family for 17 years and in India for 16 years. I've always been a little person, behind the scenes in outreach and kitchen in the early days, and childcare since 1988. I have never been in the limelight, and people hardly ever notice me, that's why I was so surprised when I started receiving prophecies and letters of encouragement from everyonepeople I knew and some I've never met. My heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness to all the brethren who have prayed and written to me, and the many others that I don't know about. We have a wonderful Family. I am proud of everyone's conviction and love for Jesus.
I also wanted to write a wonderful testimony. After I received the news that I had cancer about three months ago, I was really down, so I picked up the prayer list and prayed for different people. One in particular I poured out my heart to the Lord for, and received a "baby" prophecy. It was for Glory, who is on the prayer list and also has breast cancer with complications. I could really identify with her and felt so sorry that she was in an even worse condition than me. I thought about sending her the prophecy, but after a few days my fervor fainted and I chickened out, thinking, "My prophecy is too small, and she is living all the way in South America and I'm here in India. She'll never know I got something from the Lord, etc." So I didn't send it.
However, three months later after taking treatments, I was feeling down again. I asked the Lord, "Please, Lord, help me, encourage me. Are You real?" The same day on my bed I got a message from Glory in South America telling me that she woke up in the middle of the night and prayed for me. She wanted me to know that she loved me and that the Lord loved me. My heart leaped and I was ecstatic; it was an electric moment. The Lord had engineered one of those one-in-a-million contacts in the spirit. I wrote to her straight away, and we are still closely communicating. It's wonderful to know the Lord's love and my brethren's love.
All this to tell you that I'm proud to be in your Family and to have you as my spiritual Mum and Dad, and to encourage you that my brethren are loving, dedicated brothers and sisters. I love them all.
Marie, India
movie ratings
Movies Rated for Junior Teens and Up
LOST IN SPACE (1998)
William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers
Sci-fi space adventure about a family that encounters problems en route to begin a new life on another planet. Based on the old TV series by the same name. Entertainment only. (Some frightening parts, as well as the bad attitude of one of the young characters at the beginning of the movie.)
PRIMARY COLORS (1998)
John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton
Character study chronicling the campaign of a presidential candidate, the moral issues that arise, and how they are dealt with. Loosely based on Clinton's 1992 campaign, this movie provides insight into the U.S. political machine and how it operates. Parts may need to be explained to those not familiar with the U.S. political process.
Movies Rated for MCs and Up
FREE WILLY 3: THE RESCUE (1997)
Jason James Richter, August Schellenberg
This third installment reunites young Jesse with orca whale friend Willy, as he attempts to save Willy and his family from illegal whalers. The pro-environment message should be put into context when discussing the movie with children, that animals are not more important than people and their livelihood.
Non-Recommended Movies
MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART, THE (Jason Scott Lee, Anne Parillaud; 1993)
ideas and tips
Keyless troubles
On a recent trip, we brought some luggage across the border for someone else. The customs official wanted us to open the suitcase, but we didn't have the key with us. We had to break open the lock to satisfy his curiosity. So, if you send your luggage along with someone else over difficult borders, be sure to give them the key or leave your suitcase unlocked.
Mark, Marianne and Maria, Slovakia
Health tips
If you live in the tropics or plan to come to the tropics: Since we have been here (over a year), we have not had any major sickness (malaria or fever) or stomach problems. TTL for His protection. We found it helpful to eat yogurt daily, as well as garlic and vitamin C regularly, and lots of fruits and vegetables. Good rest and get-out is also needed!
Paul, Maria, Simon and Joan, Nigeria
a peek into Mama's home
fun and fellowship with Mama and Peter!
(Jenna:) At the end of the Feast, in celebration of Dad's and our Family's birthday, Mama and Peter joined us for dinner and fellowship time. As we all sat around our long table together, Mama and Peter took turns recounting funny stories from years past, and also some more current ones. Here's a very recent "Mama and Peter" story we thought you might have fun reading.
Peter: I should tell you about the big plan I had. You know, I'm going to the Summit soon, which means that Mama and I will be apart again for almost two months. So I've been trying to think of what sweet things I could do with Mama before I go. I thought about taking her out, but we're so busy and there's so much to do in preparation for the Summit and the workshop meetings, that we didn't think that there was enough time; plus it's very hard on her eyes.
So I worked something out with Gabe, Amy, Rose and Rebecca. They set up a cozy little room for us to have dinner in together, and I was planning to take Mama there and surprise her. I tell you, it's really hard to keep a secret from Mama! She either has her little birdies tell her, or she has someone get it in prophecy. (everybody laughing)
Staff member: She'll say, "Ask the Lord what Peter is planning to do this evening."
Mama: We could get it! Well, no, I think the Lord would say, "No, sorry. I'm not going to tell you! You'll have to wait and see!"
Peter: It's true, I wanted to keep a secret from Mama! I wanted to surprise her. I tried to be as truthful as possible and not tell any lies, and yet not give her any hint about what I was planning. The problem was that she was going to eat something in the late afternoon
Mama: Rebecca had made a very delicious bean dish and I really wanted some of that.
Peter: It was pretty late, nearly 4:00 in the afternoon, and when Mama eats something big that late, then she doesn't eat dinner until about 10:00 or 11:00 at night. I didn't want her to eat anything, but I couldn't tell her why. So I said, "Well, Honey, maybe don't eat the whole thing because ."
Mama: What he said was, "I want you to be able to eat with me at dinner time." I said, "Oh, you do?" (everybody laughing) I said, "This entire week I've been just drinking my cold defense [a drink made with garlic/honey/ginger tea/cayenne pepper, depending on what's available, that Mama often drinks to keep her resistance against colds up] while we're eating, and you mean that's been bothering you?! So I've been failing you all of this time?!" (everybody laughing) And Peter said, "Oh no, it's alright. It's okay."
Peter: This is like a live "he said, she said." So then I had to go to tactic number two; my first plan wasn't going to work. So then I said, "Actually, I was thinking that maybe I could take you somewhere for dinner or something, but I wouldn't want to eat by myself if we have a special dinner; it's not worth it."
Mama: So then I said, "Well, I could always have some ice cream while you eat your dinner!" On the very rare occasion that we do go out to eat, I never have room for ice cream afterwards, and I really like that ice cream. So I said, "Would that be alright?" He said, "No." I said, "Why not?" And what reason did you give me, Peter?
Peter: I said, "Well, Honey, if we do go to a restaurant, I don't want you to be sitting there not eating while I am. We can get an ice cream later if you want one." So I tried to persuade her, "Mama, why don't you just eat half of this?" And she finally said, "Okay."
Mama: But then I decided to eat it all, because I prayed about it! (everybody laughing) I thought, "Well, if I have till 8:00 o'clock (which was when we were going to eat), I have four hours to go. Am I going to make it on that one little portion of beans until 8:00 o'clock? If I only eat part of it then I'll need to eat again at 7:00 o'clock and then I'll spoil my dinner for sure." So I decided that I'd better eat the last few bites, and then I would be able to eat a little dinner, even if I couldn't eat a big dinner. So that was my reasoning.
Peter: So, she ended up eating all of her food, in case you were wondering. (everybody laughing)
Mama: No, actually, I finally decided to leave a little bit on my plate! I figured, "I won't eat it all." (everybody laughing)
Peter: She was gonna keep the letter of the law.Ha!
Mama: It was two whole bites that I left.
Peter: Yes, two bites for Mama makes a big differenceit makes the difference as to whether she's going to eat eight hours or nine hours later! Then I said, "I don't know for sure if we're gonna go out. I'll let you know. I've got to see how my work is going and stuff like that."
Mama: So I said, "But when are you going to tell me?" He says, "Well, how much time do you need to get ready?" I said, "Half an hour at least." (everybody laughing) So Peter said, "Okay."
Anyway, it kept getting closer and closer to the time we should have been going, and he still didn't say anything. It was very uncharacteristic of Peter because he usually makes up his mind about things quickly, but this time he was exceptionally noncommittal. So I kept thinking, "When's he going to make up his mind?" I finally said, "Do you know yet?" And what did you say, Honey?
Peter: I said, "Well, I'm going to go downstairs first." It was about 7:00 in the evening.
Mama: Yes, and by then I was starting to get hungry. So I told him that I'd be ready to eat dinner by 8:00 for sure. So then Peter went downstairs.
Peter: Gabe and Amy were already out, and on their way home they were going to bring back a pizza with them. For some reason I thought they were coming back at 7:00, so I came downstairs around 7:15, but they weren't back yet. The situation was beginning to get "desperate" because Mama was getting hungry and I didn't know what to do. I was kind of waiting around, so finally I beeped Mama and I said, "Honey, maybe we shouldn't go out." I knew that if I said it was time to go, she was going to put on all of her clothes and get dressed and everything, and I didn't want her to have to do all that just for our dinner.
So I said, "Well, let's not go out for dinner, but let's go for a short walk before dinner." So she said okay. Mama was yielded. But I still had to wait until Gabe and Amy came home, so I told her I'd come back to the room in 15 minutes or so.
Mama: Of course he knew I was hungry, and I kept thinking, "I wonder why he's taking so long when he knows that I'm hungry. It's really odd." But I thought, "Well, I guess this is just what you have to endure when you're married. (everybody laughing) You just have to yield and get used to doing without some thingslike food!"
I thought about drinking or eating something, but I thought, "Well, I really don't want to spoil my meal. I'll just go hungry and I'll wait for him." So I went and I started exercising, and it was at least half an hour before he came back.
Peter: In the meantime, Gabe and company came back with the pizza. Then they were running around, putting a tablecloth on the table, lighting candles, etc. Amy was arranging the room and making it all nice and clean. They made the room all comfortable.
So finally I beeped Mama from the kitchen and said, "Okay, let's go for our little walk now."
Mama: I thought he was just suggesting a short walk for my sake, 'cause he knew I was hungry. Then I suggested going for a real long walk!
Peter: Yes, can you believe it?! I said, "Really, I don't want to walk for very long, just for five or 10 minutesjust to get some fresh air."
Mama: So I said, "Fine."
Peter: Mama's so yielded. So we walked around outside for 10 minutes or so, and then came back to the house. As we walked inside, I saw Amy coming out of the little room that she had been fixing up for us to eat dinner in, but I didn't say anything to her.
Mama: Meanwhile, I was thinking, "That's kind of funny that Peter didn't say anything to Amy."
Peter: Then I stopped at the room, and said to Mama, "Hey, why don't we just look in here."
Staff member: At this point, Mama, did you suspect anything?
Mama: No, not at all! I was just following along like a little dumb sheep!
Peter: So we go over to the room, and I open the door. It's cozy, and the light is dim, and there's music playing. I said, "Looks like a party!" Here the table was all set with candles, and there was a salad set out on the table. It was very beautifulthanks to those of you who worked on it. And what did you say, Mama?
Mama: I said, "Oh, Amy must be preparing this for Gabe!" I thought she might be setting up something so they could have a little special time together, since they've been so busy lately. Amy leaving the room at that moment was a perfect decoy, because otherwise, I think I would have guessed it right then. I said, "Oh, they're gonna eat dinner together here; isn't that nice!" Peter said, "Oh, well, we can sit down and eat."
I thought of course he was joking. I laughed and said, "Oh, that's so funny! (everybody laughing) Wouldn't they be surprised if they came to eat and we were sitting here?!" (everybody laughing) Then Peter said, "No, no, it's for us! Let's sit down." And I laughed again. I said, "Oh, Peter!" because he's always joking with me. But Honey, you finally persuaded me. I felt like a little girl because I usually don't get surprised by things. It was so funny to be surprised!
Peter: Then we had a nice pizza and some wine, and we really enjoyed it. Then we went back to our room and made passionate love!
Staff member: And Mama's going to tell us about that!
Mama: Oh, Peter, I think you're better at describing things like that than I am! Plus, I'd had a glass of wine, so I don't know if I can remember everything just right...
Peter: Well, I had wine too, and I remember every bit of it! (everybody laughing)
Mama: Okay, you tell 'em!
Peter: If I did, it'd turn out to be a chapter in a how-to sex book! Anyway, it was really sweet, and that was my big surprise for Mama.
Mama: That was so sweet, wasn't it?
Peter: During our whole dinner, about every five minutes I was saying, "This is so good, 'cause you didn't even suspect!"
Mama: He was even saying it to me the next morning, "Oh, it was so much fun to surprise you." (everybody laughing)
Peter: That's just a human interest story, folks.
Mama: And you also got the "he said, she said" version.
Peter: See, I was just trying to work something out, and she was analyzing our whole marriage: "Now, why isn't he coming to dinner? Why isn't he telling me? I guess I should put up with this." I was just thinking, "I want to eat." She was trying to figure out the transmission, and I was just trying to drive! (everybody laughing)
Staff member: I liked the part where Peter said, "But I like it when you eat with me."
Mama: I know! Before, when I'd do that, he'd always say, "No, Honey, that's fine. I know you're on a different schedule, and you don't have to eat with me. It's okay."
Peter: Officially on the record, it really is okay if you just drink your juice while I'm eating, Mama. That garlic "aroma" is pretty strong, but hey, that's okayI love you. And when you're married you have to put up with some of these things.
Mama: That's why I don't mind the garlic that you eat in your food, Honey!
Peter: This is one last little confession of love. There are some things I've learned to accommodate because I love Mama so much, such as her cold defense, or some other things like waking up in the morning with a tape-recorder in my mouth because Mama wants me to get a prophecy! Not that I mind getting prophecies, it's just that I like to wake up first! (everybody laughing)
Mama: Or waking up with a bunch of prophecies to read in the morning that you hadn't planned on reading? (everybody laughing)
Peter: Seriously, those are very minor things, because I have so many foibles and everything else that Mama puts up with in me. I know Mama really must love me because in the course of trying to stay healthy and keep my heart in good shape, I have to eat a lot of beans, and Mama
Mama: Honey, I never notice.
Peter: I notice! Man, it almost kills me. (everybody laughing)
Mama: He sprays the hand cologne all around and says "Ooooh." I say, "Peter, what are you doing?" He says, "I'm just trying to get rid of the fumes."
Peter: But Mama never hassles me about that. To me, hey, I'll take the dimly lit room, I'll take the prophecies, I'll take the tape recorders in my mouth, I'll take the cold defensebecause Mama takes the toots! (everybody laughing)
Staff member: That's a "Think Deep." (everybody laughing)
Peter: Ha, yes, they're going to want this for the Grapevine! Well, praise the Lord! Don't you all love Mama? I sure do!
Staff: Yes!
Mama: And thank the Lord for Peter!
Staff: Amen!
Mama: And thank the Lord for humility, to be able to laugh at ourselves and with each other like this! It's so much fun! Praise the Lord!
ws news
Summit witnessing opportunity
(From Jenna:) During the last week of the Summit/workshops, something unexpected happened which unfolded into a tremendous witnessing opportunity. Over the course of the meetings, we had become good friends with the couple who managed the meeting site, as they also lived on site, and we saw a good deal of each other. They were aware that our large group was a missionary group, with folks from all over the world flying in for a series of meetings and workshops, and we had been able to lightly witness to them.
One day the manager, Carrie, came up to us in tears, explaining that her best friend, Pam, had just been killed in a car crash only 30 minutes from our meeting site. Both Carrie and her husband were very broken up over this incident, as of course were Pam's parents, her Mexican boyfriend, and her immediate family. We prayed for them and tried our best to encourage them.
It turned out that Pam's family was going to come down from the States to have a funeral service here at the meeting site, which overlooks the ocean, and Carrie asked us if we would help with it, as Pam's family was too emotional, trying to deal with their grief over the accident. The Lord encouraged us in prophecy to use this opportunity to be of help to them, and we began assisting them however we could. Pam's family came down, and we gave her mother a Glimpses of Heaven booklet which became her constant companion. She loved it!
One thing led to another, and before we knew it, their family had asked us to lead the funeral service and to arrange the whole ceremony. Of course, our meetings were still going on, but when we asked the Lord about it, He confirmed that we should give of ourselves to these people, help to comfort them, and give them all the message of His salvation. This all happened the day before the ceremony was to take place, and Pam's whole family was already scheduled to come down for the funeral servicewhich we were going to conduct! So a team immediately got down to business and assigned a couple of people some prayer and prophecy requests, asking the Lord for His leading and guidance, and for specific instruction on what we should do. After all, most of us had never led a funeral service before!
The Lord gave us the outline of what to do, as well as a eulogy for Pam in prophecy, which we printed out on colored cardstock as a memorial leaflet for all her relatives and loved ones to keep. A team of SGAs got together some songs, and Pam's mother gave us a list of the quotes, poems and thoughts from Glimpses of Heaven that she wanted everyone to hear.
Nearly 30 people attended the funeralher most immediate family and some of her boyfriend's friends. Pam's mother had invited everyone from our "group" to attend the funeral. When we explained that we were 70 people, she said, "We'll just eat less afterwards!" So sweet. About 12 of us attended the funeral. Ezekiel (of Sunny) led the service in both English and Spanish. Our singing team sang some beautiful songs in between Ezekiel reading from the Bible, Glimpses of Heaven, and the prophecy which was received for the occasion. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience when reading Pam's eulogy, and each person followed along with their own copy. At the end of the service, Ezekiel led everyone to the Lord unitedly.
Then Pam's two brothers, her boyfriend, and her son climbed down the cliff to the beach, and sprinkled Pam's ashes in the ocean, along with flowers. The majority of the group stayed up on the bank which overlooked the beach, while our team continued playing songs, ending with "The Prayer of Saint Francis."
After the ceremony was over, her mother thanked us over and over. She had been very emotional and in total shock over the loss of her daughter, but after the funeral she was much happier and at peace. She said, "You'll never know how much this meant to me. I couldn't have asked for anything better." She told one of the SGA women, "You know, having my three children was the best thing that ever happened to me. And this funeral service is the second best thing that has ever happened in my life!"
We were so thankful that we listened to the Lord and didn't miss out on this golden opportunity to be a witness to these dear ones who the Lord led onto our path. We wouldn't have imagined that the Lord would have wanted us to lead and organize an entire funeral service during this busy time of meetings, but it was certainly His plan. We're very thankful for the gift of prophecy, which led the way and gave us clear instruction on what to do, and all the words that we should say, PTL!
thanking
for your spirit story contributions!
Joanie (Middle East), Paul Volunteer (of Ruthie, Russia), Gabe, Maria and Lisa (Siberia), Philip (ASCRO), Peter Shepherd (Mideast), Marie (ASCRO), Timothy (17, Far East), John Servant (of Sarah, Paraguay), Benny (Thailand), Matthew and Claire (China), Christina (of Patrick, USA), Jason Free (USA), Matthew CR (Romania), Olivia (16, Thailand).
Included with this file:
cute kids (peanuts 'n' raisins)
Caption: "Mommy, this ball is rotten!"
comic strips (Included in article: "A Peek Into Mama's Home")
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Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family