Worldwide Activity Report -- November 1997
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Copyright 1997 by The Family

         "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone, everywhere," Jesus told His followers. Every day, in nearly 80 countries, Family missionaries share Jesus' message of hope and love with many thousands. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences.

         [Picture caption] Family member Michael (17) assisting medical missionaries in Nigeria.

Practical Christianity
From Oliver and Aaron, Nigeria
         To date we've taken part in six medical projects in different parts of the country. We work with a group of Nigerian doctors who do one volunteer project every month or month and a half. The head doctor is a close friend of ours, and a dedicated Christian. Inspired by the Family's example, he has given up his private practice to become a full-time medical missionary.
         The most recent medical project we helped with was in a small town near Abuja, Nigeria's capital. Besides their general practice, the 20 doctors performed 74 free surgeries; two ophthalmologists did another 13 eye operations; the lone dentist extracted over 70 teeth and did countless routine cleaning and filling procedures. We distributed over $120,000 worth of free medicine and supplies, and attended to a total of 3,000 patients.
         We Family volunteers usually run the pharmacy and visit patients before and after their surgery, to pray for their operations and recoveries, and to pray with them to receive the Lord. Also, the doctors refer many patients to us for counsel and prayer.
         One time there were four girls from very poor backgrounds who had become prostitutes at young ages in order to provide for their parents and brothers and sisters. All four had gotten pregnant time and again, and each time they induced abortions. The gynecologist said that some of the methods they had used were pretty rough. After doing all he could for them medically, the doctor sent these girls to us.
         They had prayed to receive Jesus when they were younger, but in their minds--and no one had ever told them differently--they were now beyond the reach of God's love and mercy; they were sure there was no hope of them going to Heaven.
         We assured them that God still really loved them, and that He was ready, willing and able to forgive them for their mistakes. Each of them changed dramatically before our very eyes, just from our showing them love, praying for them, and comforting them with the knowledge that they were forgiven and had everlasting salvation.
         Sometimes we do informal shows for as many as 500 people who are waiting to see the doctors. One night, for example, we asked a Nigerian woman to open our little program by singing some Nigerian tribal Christian songs, which are very sweet. Then, assisted by a translator, we read the Family tract "The Prince and the Magical Power" out loud to the waiting crowd and prayed with them. Hundreds got saved.
         While praying before embarking on one medical project, the Lord told us in prophecy that He wanted us to not only take care of the people that would come for treatment, but also to help the doctors learn to convey His love to their patients. They were experts in their profession, but didn't have much experience in connecting heart-to-heart. That was our job--to teach them.
         Each morning we led the doctors in a Bible study on a different aspect of love, discussed practical applications, and prayed together for His blessing on the day. And every evening the doctors would tell us what a big difference applying the Word they read that morning had made in their day. Holding a patient's hand, communicating love and reassurance with their eyes, and showing genuine concern went even further than the medicine they administered, they told us.
         We have had many beautiful experiences with people who have received medical help from the doctors. They sometimes come to us, get on their knees, and ask us to pray with them to receive Jesus. They are so thankful! Each has seen a practical side of Christianity, in that we are giving them this help for free, and that moves them to want to receive the Lord.
         Jesus is the Great Physician and His love is the best medicine! We're so thankful to be His instruments to point others to Him and dispense His healing balm.

"Destruction at noonday"
From Ben, USA
         There have been so many airplane crashes and near crashes in recent months that if you heard about the cargo plane that ran off the end of a Miami airport runway and exploded, chances are you didn't think much more about it. Neither did I, until my daughter phoned to say the crash was immediately in front of the computer store owned and operated by good friends of ours, and that our friends were in the store at the time!
         We phoned them immediately, and visited them several days later. Earth movers were still scooping up fuel-tainted soil when we arrived. Before telling us their amazing story, our friends read us the following excerpts from Psalm 91:
         "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver (me) from the destruction that wasteth at noonday."
         The plane crashed just after noon, they explained, and slid for hundreds of feet before stopping just a few feet from their building. The plane pushed several cars up against the building, and a piece of one of the plane's engines flew through the glass door of their shop, making an escape route. The three of them and their only customer at the time were able to squeeze through to safely. Seconds later, another large blast filled in the space along the building through which they had just made their escape.
         When the fire was extinguished and they were allowed to return to the scene, they expected to find their shop gutted. They were in for a surprise.
         The neighboring store was a burnt-out shell, but the only damage to our friends' place was a melted storefront sign and the broken glass door that had allowed them to get out. Just inside the door was an outgoing shipment of computer monitors, undamaged and still stacked neatly. A few feet away, next to the couch where my six-year-old had rested when we had visited our friends the evening before the crash, was a box of pants labels which had been part of the plane's cargo.
         Before we left, we helped one of our friends as he painted in large letters on his boarded-up shop door "Thank God we survived! Psalm 91." That same friend was later interviewed on several nationwide talk shows, and each time he took the opportunity to thank the Lord publicly for His protection. What a miracle!

Rock festival witness
From Jonathan and Andy, Hungary
         At the end of every summer, Budapest hosts a week-long rock festival on a small island in the Danube River. Young people from all over Hungary and travelers from around the world attend. They come with backpacks and tents, and many camp out for the entire week. Each day at four o'clock the music starts and goes on into the early morning, blaring from the six stages scattered around the island.
         For the last several years the Family has set up campsites on the island to reach the thousands of young people who attend. This year our team of young volunteers spent the entire week at the rock fest, ready and available to witness at any time, day or night. Our large campsite was clearly marked, so interested young people could easily find us. We gave out thousands of gospel tracts to the spiritually hungry youth, and sang our Spirit-filled songs nightly (for up to six hours a night) at our campfire. One young person commented that our camp was the only place on the island where he found peace.
         By the end of the week, nearly 1,000 people had accepted Jesus as their Savior as a result of our meeting and talking with them one-on-one.

Driven to his knees
From Magdalena, Mexico
         A friend and I were walking down the street one day when we came upon an old man pushing a young paralytic in a wheelchair. I was so overtaken with compassion for the boy that almost without realizing what I was doing, I took his disfigured hand in mine, looked into his eyes, and said, "Jesus loves you and wants to live in your heart. Would you like to pray with me?" He readily agreed and started to repeat a salvation prayer after me.
         Just then I felt someone else's presence and looked to see a young man kneeling beside me, also repeating the prayer.
         "Jesus was the only One who could have made me kneel like that," the young man told me afterwards. "Nobody has ever been able to convince me to accept Jesus, and nobody or nothing could make me stop like that--not the wind, not the darkness of the night, not even my wife if she was having my baby! I was on my way to see my lover and take drugs, but as I tried to hurry past you, my feet became as heavy as lead. Jesus drove me to my knees!"
         From the moment he prayed, he was a new creature. The young paralytic and the old man were dumbfounded at the power of Jesus. Though he was a stranger to me, it turned out that this young man was a well-known neighborhood hoodlum and drug addict.
         Instead of going to see his lover, the young man wanted to return to his home to tell his wife what had happened, and he asked us to accompany him. His wife also prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior. The couple then offered us the use of their house for meetings to tell their whole neighborhood about the Lord. The wife exclaimed, "Now the Lord is going to pour His blessings upon our home as we begin anew, safe in the arms of Jesus!"
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         The Family is a nonprofit, volunteer organization. Each of the activities you have just read about was made possible through donations from businesses, associations and concerned individuals. If you would like more information about The Family, or if you would like to help sponsor Family volunteers or projects, please contact us at one of the addresses below:



Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family