July 21, 2003
FSM 160
(FN 269) DO
Copyright: March 1990
By Family Services, Zurich, Switzerland
Articles Written & Contributed Directly by Missionaries on the Field!
—A Thrilling Reunion with Our Russian Brethren!
From P. & E., Polish Nationals
We want to share with you some inspiring news & testimonies of what is happening right now in Russia! Just recently we've had the blessing of going on a 10-day excursion in that country. Our main goal was to try to contact our brethren there, as due to the persecution that took place a few years ago, they couldn't be visited for some time. Another reason for the trip was to see if it could be an open door to try to reach this country again.
We are Polish nationals & going to Russia was the first time we had ever left the borders of our home country to be missionaries to other people. So it was a big challenge & new experience for us in many ways.
PREPARATIONS: WORD, COUNSEL & PRAYER!
Before we went, we read the Word the Lord has given Dad about Russia. It was really encouraging to read the many beautiful promises & prophecies that the Lord has given about Russia—including the recent Words that "the Lord will still have mercy on these people because of their repentance & willingness to confess their mistakes." (ML#2505:28)
Before leaving, we also had the opportunity to counsel with our Shepherds & they told us what it had been like in Russia some years ago when the last trips had been made there. So with these preparations of the heart & lots of prayers & realising that only Jesus could make this trip a victory, we finally departed.
MIRACLES, MIRACLES, MIRACLES!
The Lord was so faithful from the start to keep & protect & encourage us through every little thing that was happening. It was thrilling as we observed His miracles. It was like watching a movie in which we were acting, & we marvelled continually at God's set-ups!
The border crossing was a miracle! Everybody in our tour group, except for us, was smuggling in things to sell. We just had one Bible in our luggage. At the border, the Russians were checking everybody thoroughly, but they didn't even look in our bags!—And this same situation was repeated on our way back. PTL!
OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Before we started to actually witness, we tried to approach people about some simple things like asking them for directions or other innocent information, just to see what they are like.
We had learned Russian in school, so it was easy for us to communicate with the people, but we didn't know how to go about WITNESSING to them. Usually after a few sentences, people would ask us where we were from, as they could easily recognise by the way we spoke that we weren't from Russia. Invariably, every time we said we came from Poland the person would get very interested & want to talk with us. Perhaps the similar changes that are going on now in these two countries is something the Lord used to make people want to communicate with us, & the people we met were very happy to listen to what we had to say. We also took time to listen to them & it was very interesting for us to find out how many things are different now since the last Russian road teams visited two years ago.
THE ONCE FORBIDDEN BIBLE NOW VERY POPULAR WITH THE YOUTH!
For example, it is no longer illegal to read the Bible, & a lot of people are reading it now. Actually, ALL the people we met said that they just recently read the Bible, or had started to read it. Many people read it just because it was once forbidden, they want to see what it's all about. The Bible has especially become a VERY POPULAR BOOK WITH THE YOUTH!
The Russian youth can see that the System around them needs to change. It's like they are now waking up & opening their eyes & are searching for the Way, the Truth & the Life. So it really looks like the people's hearts are ready for the Gospel, & they are like ripe fruit ready for the harvest! PTL!
THE CHURCHES ARE DEAD!—PEOPLE NEED A SAMPLE!
We experienced how witnessing in Russia is different than witnessing in Poland. The people in Russia don't have a background of faith, so although there is an overall great interest in the Bible & its teachings, people tend to read it as a HISTORY BOOK. There just isn't anything to demonstrate to the people that the Bible & Jesus are the same yesterday, today & forever. The church in Russia is getting recognised after many years of suppression, but it is not able to fulfil this task, because the church is itself just dead TRADITION & only a SYMBOL of freedom.
Not long ago there was the Millennial Anniversary of Russia receiving Christianity. On this occasion the authorities allowed many churches to be opened again, but still most of the people going there are old folks. The people we met were like "spiritual babies". It is hard for them to instantly believe & it takes some time to bring them to faith.—Nevertheless, we could feel the great vacuum in their hearts & their hunger for love, friendship & understanding.
OPEN WITNESSING ON THE STREETS!—NOW IS THE HOUR!
The two people we spent the most time with during this first day of witnessing were very happy to share with us their addresses, asking us to please keep in touch with them. One girl got so close to us that she gave us her address & said if we ever have some time for her, she will be glad to send us an invitation so we can spend a few weeks being together with her & her friends.
Upon returning from our first exciting day of witnessing, we met a sweet couple in the elevator. They happened to be from the U.S.A., so we asked them about their impressions of being in Russia. They said they had just come from another city & that it was very hard there for them to deal with the hard spirit & get through to people. Then the elevator stopped, & as they were to go out they smiled at us again & said, "God bless you!" We saw these people again later on. They were with a few more friends & had with them some Russian Bibles & video equipment. They looked like some missionary group spying out the land.
A few days later we found out that there are a lot of different missionaries & Christians from different groups coming to Russia. They are allowed to BRING BIBLES, WITNESS & EVEN HOLD MEETINGS! There were even Christian FESTIVALS being held in Moscow, where Christians were allowed to play their music, preach about Salvation, witness to crowds on the streets & lead them in prayer to accept Jesus as their Saviour. So it looks like now is the hour for this country to have its chance. It's amazing how the Lord is opening the doors! PTL!
MEETING OUR BRETHREN IN RUSSIA AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS!
In the next city we visited we were reunited with our precious brethren in Russia! We didn't really know WHAT to expect because it had been MORE THAN TWO YEARS SINCE THEY HAD BEEN VISITED, during which time they had been on their own. Some of them were not even in touch by mail.
We didn't know who we would meet & how it would go, but meeting them turned out to be more than anything we could have dreamed of. THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER WAITING FOR US!
After coming with them to the place where they were staying, we spent about half-an-hour praising the Lord together & hugging & rejoicing. Then they started to share with us what had been going on in their lives for the past two years, & how things are changing in their country & how it is becoming more open for witnessing.
They were so happy to hear what you, Dad, had said recently in the Letters—how you believe the Lord is going to still have mercy on Russia, & how you prayed for Gorbachev & how you asked the whole Family to pray for them when P.'s letter (written while in the army) was pubbed in the FSM. (See FSM 115.)
They were especially thankful for all the prayers, as they felt that's what kept them together, along with the Love & the Word that the Family had planted in their hearts. TYJ! There was just so much to talk about! From that day until the day our visit ended, we were able to spend most of the time every day together. All this fellowship was such a blessing, just being together, listening, talking & sharing our hearts.
BEAUTY FOR ASHES DURING THOSE DIFFICULT YEARS!
During these past years they've really been through a lot, but the Lord helped them all this time. We were so impressed with how they've kept the vision & stayed true to the Family, & how the Lord has brought them through many hardships. We appreciated like never before the many blessings we have in our home country where we can live in a Family Home with brothers & sisters all around, & there's never a time when we are left without the Word & we constantly have the help of our older brothers & Shepherds. Oh, how much we have!—And we fail so often to appreciate it. LHUs! TYL!
Life wasn't easy for these brethren these past two years. The most difficult thing for them was that most of the time they were all scattered, living about 1,000 km. away from one another. They didn't have any fellowship with each other all this time. P. was in the army, S. (P.'s wife) & their little daughter were living with S.'s parents, & most of the time A. was on the run, moving from city to city, as he had a lot of trouble with the Romans. Being scattered like that & not having communications with each other, each of them started to think, "What would it be like if I was the ONLY ONE left?"
Most of this time they had just a little Word or no Word at all. They often were left without their Bibles. All the Word they had was just what they had MEMORISED or what they remembered reading before. They said they drew comfort & encouragement from the memories of all the Love that had been shared with them before & all the good times they had had with other Family Members.
They shared that it really had all worked together for their good, & that though it was hard, the Lord was faithful to not test them more than they could endure. He just put them through enough to teach them the good lessons they needed to learn & to help them to really appreciate the Family!—And it also helped each of them to make their individual STAND to serve the Lord NO MATTER WHAT!
THE LORD CARES FOR HIS OWN!
When P. was in the army, his wife, S., & their baby stayed with her folks who were trying to be extra sweet to her during those years, taking her to theatres, movies & doing all they could to make the System appeal to her & to persuade her to forsake her faith. Yet all this time she was praying that the Lord would keep her & somehow miraculously protect her little daughter from System influences & help her to grow up loving Jesus & having a sweet Family spirit. She tried to pour into her as much as she could, & one day little M. (her daughter's name, which in Russian means "little Maria") prayed with S. to receive Jesus into her heart. On that very day, M. ran up to S.'s parents & said, "Guess what? I have JESUS in my heart!" After that, her parents gave up trying to change S.'s faith & convictions. PTL!
It was also really touching when S. shared that one thing she felt she could continue to do while in the System was to KEEP PRAYING. She made a list of everything important to keep in her prayers, & she divided it up into the days of the week. So all this time she kept praying for Dad & Mama & the Family in different countries, & that the Lord would open the doors for her to be able to serve Him full-time again. She also shared that since Gorbachev came to power, she felt led to pray for him & that the Lord would use him to bring changes that would open up this country for the Gospel & the Family.
After coming out of the army, P. felt that the first thing he needed to do was somehow gather together the Word that was scattered or hidden in different places. The next thing he did was to go see S. & ask her if she would like to be together with him again. At this time she was so desperate to get out of her parents' place that she agreed, thinking that even if the Lord would just use P. to get her out, that it would be worth it. She hadn't seen P. all this time & she had lost faith in him, but TTL, just completely by faith they moved together to their friends, who had offered them one room in their apartment until they found something better. The first night P. & S. were together, S. got pregnant again! It was such a miracle & such encouragement from Jesus. M. also very quickly accepted her daddy, & has grown to love him very much. PTL!
When they decided to live together with their friends, who are Christians as well, they decided on a witnessing schedule so that every day they send one team out witnessing while the others take care of the children. P. was also able to go out busking. Every day someone gets saved & now they have some sheep on the line.
As we mentioned before, for quite some time A. always had Romans on his case, but he prayed & the Lord miraculously protected him as he followed His leading. A. finally settled in one city where the Lord gave him the vision to work on printing literature. At the time he didn't have anything on hand except his Bible, a few single Letters & some MOP sections, but where God guides, He provides. Soon A. found some people who were willing to pay for the printing of 100,000 Gospels of John & 5,000 "God is Love" tracts. After explaining to them about his motives & goals, they said they were happy to help him by financing his project if he would just take care of the spiritual side (meaning choosing what should be printed) & the actual printing.
After A. finished this job, he thought it could be a help to find some address which he could put on his lit when distributing it. Again the Lord was faithful to lead & guide him, & He did another miracle. A. saw an advertisement asking if anyone had any idea about how to change the situation as far as protecting the environment, to please come & share it with them. So A. decided to go to them. He shared that he believes that there is only one way to change the situation & that is to start with people's HEARTS by helping them to realise God's plan etc.
They really liked his idea & decided to help him both with printing & by letting him use their P.O. box address. They only asked him to find some key word he could add so that the letters can go directly to him. Again he prayed & he got the word which when translated to English means "Meditation Moments". And he didn't even know at the time that the name he got was the name of Grandmother's radio program!
So these are the three stories of how the Lord kept our dear brothers & sisters. They asked us to thank you, Dad, & everyone in our Family who has been praying for them all these years. Please continue to pray for them & the situation in that country, that the Lord will keep the doors open & make a way for this big, ripe field to be harvested. TYJ! WLY! Much love from P., A., S. & M.—our precious Russian Family!
Yours in Him, P. & E. (Polish Nationals)
FROM BR., A POLISH DISCIPLE WHO VISITED A HOME IN WESTERN EUROPE FOR SIX WEEKS.
GBY! I really love you & am so happy & thankful to be here. TYL! I can see the Lord really using this time in my life & I just wanted to take time now to write down some of the lessons I have been learning here, & I pray that it can somehow be a blessing to others.
Someone asked me the other day what had been the biggest change for me when I came from the Home in Poland to a Home in the West, but actually, as I think about it, in a way THERE WASN'T ANY CHANGE! I'd like to explain that.
I was a little bit nervous before the trip, because it was going to be my first visit to a Family Home outside of Poland. We didn't even know who was coming to pick us up at the airport. A beautiful thing happened when we got off the plane!—Two brothers, Steven & Franz, approached us with big smiles & all of my nervousness & fears were gone! Although I'd never met Steven or Franz before, right away I felt so peaceful & secure because I could feel it was the same Family, the same Spirit, the same Love—it was Jesus! So in that way there haven't been any changes, & it was the most beautiful feeling to know: "Wow! This is my Family!" TYJ! Later on we arrived at the Home where everyone was so kind & loving & concerned, & I thought, "How silly it was of me to feel nervous!"
I didn't know what to expect when coming here, but actually it's much, much better than I could have ever imagined! It really is a special time for me because it is helping me to more fully understand what the Family is all about. After being here for more than a month now, it's made me appreciate & love my Family so much more! This is really the most beautiful Family & the most wonderful life, serving the Lord!
I appreciate very much being around older brothers & sisters. When I listen to their testimonies & realise that they have gone through a lot in the Family & in their lives, & I see them still here, serving the Lord & fighting for Jesus, it gives me a lot of respect for them. It also helps me personally too—to keep on fighting & keep on going & not give up, because it's worth it all! PTL!
Sometimes when I read FSM testimonies about different breakings or experiences people go through, I would think, "Oh boy, there is not even time for me to go through all that so the Lord can use me!"—And I was fearing a big breaking in my life. But actually, I realised that most of the things that I've learned in the Family, things that have really helped me in my walk with the Lord & in my service for Him, were things that OTHERS shared with me & I could learn from THEIR experience. Sometimes I was getting a little bit jealous that I didn't experience this or that, but it shows me how much I need others in my life.
So I'm very thankful for everyone who shared lessons & testimonies with me, because it has gone a long way. PTL! I also need to remember the importance of sharing lessons with others, & I pray that when I go back to Poland that I will be an encouragement & a help to others by sharing & giving more of myself & of my life. LHM!
I would also like to share another of my personal lessons because it's something that helped me feel a lot happier & more fulfilled, & this is to be happy to be a nobody & to find again this closeness with Jesus. I didn't even realise until coming here that, because of different shepherding responsibilities that I was trusted with, I had gotten into thinking too highly of myself. LFM, I wasn't aware of that.
Of course, I THOUGHT that I was willing & open to do anything that would be asked of me, but then the test came. I spent my first week in the nursery, & sometimes I felt so helpless or discouraged when the baby didn't want to eat or was fussy, & it was humbling in a way. But it also taught me that it doesn't matter at all that I've been a Shepherdess, because here I had this little baby in my arms that needed love & attention & needed to be kept dry & fed & happy, & that was the most important thing at that time. It taught me how it's only Jesus, & how the Lord doesn't look at my ability, but my AVAILABILITY & my YIELDEDNESS to do His Will.
So that was a test, but I needed that to remind me & let me feel that I'm nothing & a nobody. It was so good to actually feel that there is no good in me & that I am as bad as everybody else & that it is only Jesus. TYJ!
It also taught me so much about prayer & fighting & not giving up & initiative & patience & dependency on the Lord. But most of all, the Lord let me experience how others feel & what the mothers go through. Because I don't have children of my own sometimes I didn't have enough love & understanding for them. I was just a week in the nursery, but it was a very precious time. I don't know how well I would do taking care of babies for a LONGER time, but I really pray that I won't forget these lessons, but really keep them in my heart. LHM!
I'm especially thankful for the opportunity of being involved in outreach. Each day is so exciting, & it teaches me a lot about putting faith into action & having more of a pressing-in attitude & to live each day as if it were my last. I've been really impressed by how the brethren here work as if everything depended on working, & pray as if everything depended on praying! It makes me want to be more that way too.
For the first days when I was out, things were rolling pretty fast & I didn't know if I was just SLOW or what was happening. I thought, "How can I EVER keep up with it?"—We were even walking fast! But soon I understood better what it means to really work hard for the Lord. I understood the difference between being in a hurry or pressing in & redeeming the time. A few times when we were out Tapenessing, we had just ten minutes left before we needed to go, & the brother I was with said, "Wow! Ten more minutes! That's great! Let's go & talk to that person!," & that last person took some Tapes or a Video!
I realised how much more I can do for the Lord & also how much more we can do back in Poland. This is not to blame anyone that we are not doing enough, but it inspired me how much more can be done, because now I've seen it happening, I've seen it done, I see it's possible!—And most of all I've seen the LORD doing it! PTL!
Actually, it impresses me how it all is a united effort, how much planning & organising goes into real Teamwork, everybody praying for the outreach teams daily & really supporting them in prayer. I knew things were happening because they were praying for us back Home.
I also never had any provisioning experience & it super inspired me to learn. It taught me a lot about how to approach people, how to ask & how to boldly go ahead by faith as the Ambassadors of His Kingdom that we are! PTL! It also increased my faith & trust in the Lord that where there is a NEED there must be an ANSWER, & that they that ask & believe shall receive! I got inspired about how we could do some provisioning in Poland too, & just get on the attack & accomplish a lot more!
It is so beautiful to see how everybody gives the glory to God & acknowledges Him in everything. It's been a big sample to me how everything is soaked in prayer. It's been such a blessing to experience some of these things myself & see it happening with my own eyes!
When I went to town, I noticed how even the society here is a lot more organised than in Poland & how the Systemites work hard & press in. In Poland there is a lot of that "maana" spirit & things roll a lot slower. Actually, once we had to pray against this lazy, relaxed Polish spirit. But to see how much these worldly people here work for the Devil really inspired me of how much harder I could work for the Lord!—Especially since time is so short!
It inspired my faith so much to see the Lord supplying so abundantly while provisioning in the market, but also I was very impressed by how it takes time & patience & faithfulness to minister to all these people, to gain their confidence & friendship & how it's not just a one day thing. A lot of it is just plain work & going & asking & not giving up. It's also been a sample for me how we've really been praying for these contacts as a Home & supporting the provisioning team in prayer. PTL!
Another experience that touched my heart was to meet Dr. B., who is the director of a company here. Although we spent only 10 or 15 minutes with him, he turned out to be a very precious man with a hungry heart & a will to help. All of a sudden all that I've read about ministering to kings & supporters became a reality, & although we only spent a short time with him, it has been an encouragement too, because we've been praying in Poland for friends or kings, but we've actually never had any.
This is the first time I've been in a self-supporting Home, & I think it opened my eyes. I couldn't fully appreciate the blessing of being fully supported in Poland because I've never been in a different situation. I think it opened my eyes to what it means to be a diligent steward over the Lord's money & everything He is blessing us with. Even when I saw that toilet paper was on the provisioning needs list & that it was a big expense, it really helped me to be more mindful when I use it.—While in Poland I never really think of it much because things are so cheap there. Maybe that's a funny example, but somehow it's all helping me to see that even though the Family in Poland is so much younger & less experienced, we should be able to stand on our own more in some ways.
It's a real encouragement to see how the Family works in another country. Before I'd only heard about it, but now after seeing it, I realise how many things are just the same.—But it also gave me a goal to shoot for, something to look up to! In every area I've been involved with in the Home—whether it was babies, kitchen, outreach, watching the OCs—I was impressed by how everybody had a goal to shoot for & how things were scheduled. I am not a very organised person, but seeing the sample of others makes me want to set my goals higher & really go for them!
While I've been writing this down, the Enemy has been fighting me, & so I'd like to share a lesson that I thought might encourage others who make similar trips to the West. I had a fear of whether I was learning what I'm SUPPOSED to be learning, & it was making me self-conscious & worried, & on top of that, the Enemy was trying to discourage me & tell me that these lessons aren't any good. But the lesson the Lord brought out to me is how the most important thing is just to love Jesus & others & try to do the best I can every day, just letting His Love touch my heart. Realising this was such freedom & the end of my worries! I'm here in this Family totally by grace, & I felt so loved by the Lord & by my brothers & sisters, that I thought I can't afford to not do my best for Him!
I treasure very much all of these lessons of faith & trust, & I want to hold on to them. I've experienced how the Lord's power does not come from the CONDITIONS I'm in, nor the PEOPLE I'm with, but it comes from faith that stands firmly on His Word! PTL! He truly never fails!
—From our Polish nationals after their training visits to Family homes in the West.
(Taken from an East European Newsletter)
Note from Eastern European Shepherds: Due to circumstances, very few non-National Family Members have been involved in the Polish Work. Up until now, the National disciples had never been in or seen Homes outside their own country. The recent trips out have been very beautiful & lesson-filled experiences for our precious Nationals. TYJ! Almost everyone remarked at how seeing the sample has helped the Word come alive in their lives. Here are some of their comments:
Older Brothers Good Sample of Maturity
One of the inspiring things about this experience for me was to see the sample of the older Family members. In our country most of the "foreigners" we see are in leadership. But in the Home I visited, I saw many brethren who had been in the Family for 10 or 15 years in the kitchen doing dishes & different little things around the house. This helped me to see that I've been like an old bottle in some of my attitudes. Many times in our country after being in the Family three or four years, we've taken this attitude of "we're now older brothers". Yet in the Home I visited, the older brothers were still faithfully caring for the "little things", & even after knowing each other for many years, they still had so much respect for each other. I felt I was seeing what maturity really looks like. It isn't someone sitting there & you can see that he "knows it all now", but MATURITY IS SOMEBODY REALLY WORKING HARD & DEDICATED TO JESUS.
Home Life—Unity, Prayer & Appreciation
I was impressed by the united spirit in the Home. Everybody had their ministry, but you could feel like everybody had appreciation for each other & they were working together, loving each other. The person who was taking care of the kitchen was all the time in the kitchen, from morning to night, always giving her life to serve the people. There was a united vision & everybody was working for one goal.
I saw how people would keep in close contact with the Lord & get guidelines from Him for their specific area. It was very inspiring for me to see how everything was covered with prayer & in each area they were truly looking unto Jesus.
It made a big impression on me how they always point the children to Jesus, even little babies. Even when the babies had trials or were tired or missed mommy or daddy, they always were pointing them to Jesus, & it was so wonderful to see the fruits of this. I could see that all the children, JETTs & teens were doing everything for Jesus, because they're always being pointed to Jesus & reminded that it's all the Lord.
Witnessing & Follow-Up
In our country it's easy to find people who are ready to pray with us because there are so many Christians & Catholics. But in the West I saw it wasn't so easy & we had to really give our whole hearts to witness & give the message. We really had to be desperate! This got us on fire. All the Family was really ON FIRE with everything, & that is really wonderful to see & to catch.
The way they are doing follow-up & taking care of the people they're meeting was a big lesson for me. It's not so easy to get to meet so many sheepy people (compared to our country), so they are more desperate to really take good care of & follow up those they do meet. It was a needed lesson for me because we lose so many people by not doing this.
Video Viewing
I was very stirred by the videos we watched together, because although they were System movies they were previewed & pow-wowed & the lessons were brought out. It made a big impression on me! One of the videos we watched I'd seen before in the System, but I got a completely different message out of it this time. It's amazing how much we can get out of videos when they are pow-wowed with the right spirit in the right direction of what the Lord wants to show us.
While watching a video, there wasn't much talking until the end, at which time EVERYBODY was encouraged to share lessons. They brought out how to apply things in our hearts & lives, & everybody would try to get as much as possible out of it. It was a revelation for me because I used to think, "Oh, we can't interpret," but I learned we don't have to INTERPRET, but we can APPLY a lot. TYJ!
Seeing a Sample
Visiting the Home gave me a big vision for tight schedules! It wasn't so easy for me to apply the Letters before on schedules. But seeing the sample there, even after only one day, I felt ready to do it! It was so much easier to SEE something than to only read about it.
What really impressed me was that everywhere I was, whether in the nursery or with the older children or anywhere in the Home, there was a constant challenge for the brethren & the children. There was always the attitude that "we haven't arrived, we still can do more"—the spirit of giving more, doing more. I learned that even if we don't know how we can do more, Jesus can help us. It was so inspiring!
We don't have any teams living in East Germany, but the occasional faith trips that have gone in have found lots of hungry sheep. This look at witnessing in East Germany was compiled from the testimonies of the most recent trip, which was made by T. & R.:
Being in East Germany, we get the feeling the people are in a big prison. It's all so grey & dark & controlled, so the people appreciate spiritual treasures there much more than other places we've witnessed.
The young people there are searching & hungry spiritually, but at the same time it's a fight to feed them, because they have been so thoroughly indoctrinated, especially during childhood, & it has taken a toll on them. It's almost like they apologise that they can't receive the Word more simply, as one shared with us: "We learned all our lives that if we believe in something we can't touch or see or feel or prove, & if we believe in God, we're completely stupid. So we feel what you're saying is right, but..."
We met a girl whose comments are typical of the way many of the young people there feel. She shared: "When we were small, we were happy. We believed everything we learned in school & we were convinced that the DDR (East Germany) is the best country in the whole World & we've got the answer & we're going to teach the whole World. But when we became students & we realised the reality & saw how it really is, it was so terrible, because all our ideals were broken & crushed, & all the things we'd put our hope in were gone & we had nothing. I also know that Capitalism isn't the answer either, I could never become a Capitalist. But there must be something else, something that is above all this, there must be something...."
Thank You Lord that we were able to tell her that there IS something more, Jesus & His Kingdom!—And she happily received the Lord & eagerly listened to the Word & what we had to share.
There's such a big vacuum that it makes it hard for us to leave. Please pray for the Lord's sheep there!
PRAYER REQUESTS FOR OUR FAMILY IN EASTERN EUROPE
* FOR HOUSING: Still urgently needed.
* SUPPORT: Inflation is sky-rocketing & exchange rates are declining unfavourably. Prices are rapidly rising! This increases our desperate need for support.
* FOR PEACE: The wave of political changes sweeping Eastern Europe is exciting, but also sobering, as each country totters on the brink of economic collapse & chaos as the people lose faith. Please pray for the Lord's hand on each situation.
* FOR THE TRAINING OF OUR EB NATIONALS: Please pray we can continue to send teams for training to Homes in the West, & also for the training of those who are in their own countries.
With much love & thanks for all your help over the past year, & prayer for the coming year!
Your Family in Eastern Europe
—Reaction to WND Article, "Carrying the Blues in a Mobile Home"
From Jesse & Deborah, Pacific Combo School
Dear Dad & Maria,
GBY! I can't truly express how really thankful I am for you both & how much you've changed my life. Your continued love & mercy to us all is so beautiful & I'm sure without your Spirit-led guidance we'd all go astray. Recently when I taped my "Traumatic Testimony" to send in to the HOPE department I was reminded how much you have truly done for us in leading us in righteous paths. Thank you so much! (TTL!)
Recently there was a WND article pubbed about a couple that travels around in a caravan with their children, playing music. (See WND 298, cover article, "Carrying the Blues in a Mobile Home".) We were so inspired when we read this article because WE KNOW THIS FAMILY PERSONALLY & THEY ARE ON OUR MAILING LIST! But what we wanted to share with you is that the lifestyle that this family has chosen for themselves is a direct fruit of YOUR inspiration & vision & the lifestyle that you've shared with us. (PTL!)
The story goes like this: After the RNR our little family of four children went mobile & stayed on the road for about five years. During this time our next two children, numbers 5 & 6, were born on the road. While on the road in Louisiana in 1980, Deb was PG with our number 6, Erik, & we were searching for a midwife & we met the lady in the article, Marilyn. She was very sweet & helpful & agreed to deliver the baby when it was time.
Since we had a few months to go before the delivery date we decided to hang around the vicinity. Deb would go in for checkups periodically & a real friendship & witness ensued with Marilyn, finally resulting in her Salvation. She was extremely interested in our lifestyle & found it amazing that we could live the way we did with six children & teach the children our-selves & stay free from the System etc. Finally the baby was delivered, but Marilyn continued to visit our little trailer, becoming more & more interested in our lifestyle. She was hoping that she could live the way we did & teach her children & be with her husband, instead of him being gone so much on concert tours.
Eventually we hit the road again as always happens when you are mobile, but we agreed to stay in touch. We had a real burden for her as she is so sweet. The husband was quite sweet too, although we didn't see him too much as he was mostly gone. We faithfully sent them our newsletters, always with a personal note & a witness. They would write back sending gifts & would always talk about the influence our life was on them.
Then about eight years ago we got a letter from them saying that they had decided to follow our sample of mobile life & that we had given them the faith to launch out. It was so beautiful to see them get somewhat free from the System & get their kids out of the System by just seeing the sample. But the real influence was the vision that you have given us, Dad, or we would never have been able to share it with them. Anyway, I thought that you might be inspired to hear that this family was directly inspired by the Family's sample & by you. (TTL!)
We really love you all so much. Many times in the past two years I've wanted to write you both, & even have written letters that I never mailed. Because of the things that I've been through (which I'm sure you are aware of) I just haven't felt that I had much to communicate with you that was worthy of taking up your time. Anyway, I decided to try to break away from that feeling & write you anyway. I hope you don't mind. I want to thank you for the love & concern that you allowed me at the time that I was in retraining at sweet Marianne's. I love you! (GBY!)
Love always in Jesus, Jesse & Deborah Youngblood
(—THANKS!—LOVE, D.)
From Dawn, Rain & Rejoice, India Area
We met "by chance" a young Lebanese Christian in one of the offices who got really turned on by our cassettes & immediately took two which were about Jesus. He said that he could tell from our approach that we were true believers. He was happy to receive Jesus into his heart. PTL!
Then he told us of how Jesus had protected him in Lebanon when he was living in a hostel & attending Beirut University. He & his roommate read the Bible & prayed for the night & went to sleep unusually early. The next morning they found that the walls on both sides of the hostel had been bombed, & the other students had been dragged out & beaten—some with serious injuries—but he & his roommate hadn't even heard a sound & had slept safely through the night, to everybody's amazement! He said it was a testimony of the Lord's protection, even to their relatives & friends abroad who had read the news in the paper.
From Jonathan & Cheerful Promised, Latin America
David & Hepzibah took a visa trip to a country to the South. While there they visited their relatives & the brethren. They found out that one of the brothers would soon be visiting our country, so they made arrangements to travel together on their return trip. When the day arrived that they were going to travel, some urgent matters arose which prevented this brother from leaving, so David & Hepzibah decided to stay an extra day so they could travel together.
Later they found out that three buses en route to the border had been attacked & burned by bandits.—They would have undoubtedly been on one of those buses if they had not postponed their travel plans! The next day after prayer, they made their journey safely without incident! TYJ! The Lord never fails to protect us!
—Reaction to the "Truth Revolution" Series
From Andrew (formerly Don), Latin America
GBY! ILYSVM! I just wanted to take the time to write you this long overdue letter. So many things have been happening & I have been learning so many lessons, which I've wanted to write you about. Just today I received the Daily Bread 7 (in Spanish), & I had the opportunity to read over all of the Letters on "The Truth Revolution". TYJ!
Some months ago, Juan mentioned to me that the "Truth Revolution" was going to be coming out, & he hoped that I wouldn't go through too many trials, & he reassured me that it was going to be a big blessing to the entire Family. As the Lord so clearly showed you & as was pointed out in this series of Letters, one of my biggest fears has always been to be exposed for the kind of person I really am, a rotten sinner just like everybody else, & no better than anyone else. I really believe that my fear of being exposed is one of the reasons why it took me so long to get the victories I needed.
It also shows how selfish I really was by not being willing to let my problems come out in the open in order to help others not make the same mistakes that I did.—Or if they had, to show them how much mercy God can have if you are willing to be honest, ask for help, let the Lord forgive you, forsake them &, as you said, "rise above them & not wallow in them" so you can go on with the work the Lord has for you to do. I just wasn't willing to comfort others with the comfort wherewith the Lord was trying to comfort me. LHM! It's such a blessing not to have to put on a phoney front any more & try to be something or someone I'm not. Hallelujah!
Reading the story over now, I can see so much more clearly how the Lord gave me every opportunity then to make the right decisions, but I just wasn't willing. I wasn't yielded at all. I wasn't submitted.
Reading through "The Truth Revolution" also made me so thankful for the Lord & His mercy & goodness, & that I have the priceless privilege of being in this Family. I know it is only a miracle of God that I am here today, & in spite of the terrible mess that I made in the past, He has even given me such a satisfying & fulfilling job, helping to train our teens at one of the Latin American Teen Combos where I have been working for the past year & a half. TYJ!
It's just the mercy of God, & I'm so thankful that the Lord can now use my past mistakes to help others know that if the Lord can use ME & help someone like ME get some major victories in my life, then He can do it for THEM as well. Hallelujah!
I also wanted to comment on the part in the "Truth Revolution" entitled "Ill-Starred". (DB7, pg. 516) I wanted to confirm how much insight Dad had on my whole situation, which may be an encouragement to others as to how much Dad hears from the Lord, even without knowing the situation first hand.
Two years before I went to the Folks' Home the first time, I went to a palm reader who apparently really knew his business—or better said, had his "connections" with the Spirit World. Well, he told me everything about myself & the work I was doing. He told me that I would be travelling abroad, but that I would return to the U.S.A. in time. Everything that he said was very interesting.
I guess you could say that I was captivated by his spirit, until he began to look into the numerology part of my name. That's when I became a little frightened, because he told me that the numbers of my name showed that I was born under the sign of the Devil & that I was subject to devilish temptations. It shocked me, but I tried to just brush it off. I didn't share this with anyone!—Nobody knew except Mary, who was with me when he gave me this reading.
After that I carried that fear around with me, & instead of going on the attack & being honest about it & asking for prayer against it, I covered it up. I was always subject to pride even when I was younger, & I always managed to get what I wanted somehow, as you mentioned in the Letter; but I believe that this encounter with the wrong Spirit World actually hindered me. I don't want to use this as an excuse though, because I still had a CHOICE. I could have attacked it, but I DIDN'T.
I believe that "The Truth Revolution" series is going to encourage many of our brethren to not give up, but to launch a militant attack against their problems. I think it will help them know that NOTHING is impossible if we keep fighting. TYJ!
Some quotes from the Letter which really spoke to me are: "If you don't like the way you're made, give Him a chance & He'll REMAKE you!—I DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT EXTREME PREDESTINARIAN VIEW THAT YOU CAN'T HELP YOURSELF, that you're destined to be saved or unsaved, or lost or whatever & there's nothing you can do about it. I don't believe that's so! That would destroy free will entirely, & the whole plan of God is built on free will, within certain limitations, of course. He's not going to let Man go too far with his evil, & Man has a choice up to certain limitations of what he can do, but he DOES have a choice! He can IMPROVE & OVERCOME his sign & his weaknesses if he STRIVES hard enough with the LORD'S HELP!
"Each [sign] has got its purpose, I'm sure. The Lord's got purposes in each one & each one has certain strengths & each one has certain weaknesses, but it's what we do with the choice we make that matters...He HAS made us thus, but He can HELP us, & make the best of it!"
When commenting on the movie, "Tess," Dad says, "She (Tess) almost always did the wrong thing, almost like she was cursed from the beginning." (DB7, pgs. 517-519, paragraphs 10 & 15) I have thought that I was possibly CURSED by that palm reader that day he took my reading. I know that I have always been subject to pride, but I don't remember having so many problems until the time of that reading. MY FIRST WRONG DECISION WAS GOING TO THE PALM READER IN THE FIRST PLACE & SECONDLY NOT GETTING THOSE FEARS OUT IN THE OPEN & HAVING PRAYER AGAINST THEM. I certainly should have mentioned this to you much sooner!
The Lord really did a miracle in my life & I can honestly say that it is a miracle that I'm still here today! I know that I'm only here by the grace & mercy of both the Lord & you, as I don't deserve anything. Thank you for being my parents, & for your loving correction & instructions. I really need you so much!
Love always, Andrew
Dear Family,
GBY! WLY & want to thank you all for the very inspiring & uplifting articles which you have sent in for the FSM, POL, LIN, HOPE & TSM. Your contributions make these pubs possible. PTL! We appreciate your taking the time to share the good news of all that the Lord is doing in your lives & fields! TYJ!
As outlined in LNF #95, GN 297, those who have contributed a published article of one page or more are eligible for five free DTD Tapes, which will be forwarded to you by your local RO.
The following is a list of people who will receive these free Tapes for their articles:
FSM 137: EOH, Pacific.
FSM 141: Faith, Lat.America.
FSM 142: J.& R., N.America.
FSM 144: Sam Newman (Singin' Sam), Latin America; Philemon & Shiloh, Latin America; Andrew Newheart, India; Servant (Shaphan), Europe.
FSM 148: Marc, Latin America.
FSM 154: Peter Cook (Clay), SEA; Hannah & Combo Home, Europe; SEA School; John & Victoria, N.America; Stevie Smiles & EOH, Pacific.
FSM 156: Gallio & Teen Team, Lat.America; Sam Newman (Singin' Sam), Lat. America; SEA DF Home.
FSM 158: Seek, N.America; John & Rose Trust, SEA.
FSM 159: Josh, N.America; Tony (Zac Attack), Pacific.
POL #9: April, E. Bloc; Michael & Peace, N.America; Daniel & Sara, India Area; Jeremiah & Praise Singer, Europe; Augustine & Paloma, Lat.America; Andrew & Miracle, Europe.
POL #10: Ruth, Europe; Ebed, SEA.
POL #11: Paulo, Lat.America; Joy, Lat.America; John & Trust Soldier, Pacific; John Paul (Rain), India Area.
POL #12: Michael, Andrew & Crystal, N.America; Mercy Harvest, Lat.America; Praise, Europe; Celeste, Europe.
HOPE 11: Rachel (16), Latin America.
HOPE 13: Uncle Gideon & East Bloc Teen Team.
HOPE 14: "Teens in Action", N.America.
HOPE 15: Auntie Peace & Teens, Lat.America.
LIN 82: Paloma, SEA; Aaron, Eastern Europe; Isaac & Ruth, SEA.
LIN 83: Matthew & Claire, SEA; Phillip, SEA.
LIN 84: Jonathan & Joy, India Area.
TSM #2: Jeremy S.; Lat.America.
TSM #3: Josh, N.America.
Copyright 1996 The Family