July 19, 2003
FSM 226 (FN 335) DO
© Nov.1992 By Family Services, Zurich, Switzerland
Please share as many of these testimonies as possible
with your children, too!
Nov. 1992, by Family Services, Zurich, Switzerland
From Victory, David, & Mercy, North America:
One evening when we were Christmas carolling, we stopped at an inn & the children sang to the lady desk clerk. She was moved to the point of tears & stuck her hand through the small opening in the window where you put the cash, asking the children to please hold her hand. She took a Video for her children who are in another state & gave us half the money, asking us to come back for the other half after she got paid later that day. She said she was all alone, that her relatives had moved away, & that she had begun to think that for her, there wasn't going to be any Christmas. But she said, Now maybe there might just be some Christmas after all!"
She also mentioned that she hadn't bought a Christmas tree, as she wasn't getting paid very much. On the way back to see her, one of the girls said, Oh look, there are some Christmas trees. Why don't we get her a tree?" We sang for the gentleman selling them, he took a Tape & gave us a tree. When we arrived, she was overwhelmed to see us all. We hid the tree just outside of her door, & after singing a few songs for her, we said, Hey, look out your window! What's that?" Her face just lit up like a light bulb & she broke into tears & ran around & hugged us all.
We were just telling her how much Jesus loved her when the owner, an Indian gentleman, came by. He could see that she was really moved, GBH, & he also took a Video. We also got a chance to talk with him, & he now plans to sponsor more Videos for an orphanage or daycare centre or wherever we choose. TYJ!
From a Studio Home, South America:
We have been having one beautiful experience after another in our Christmas witnessing in this city! One lady, for example, who we called to from across the street & asked if she wanted to hear a Christmas song said, Yes, of course!" As we started to sing below her second-story window she immediately began to cry! By the time we had finished our song everyone in the building was standing at the entrance to the building listening!
They invited us into the ground floor apartment, & we sang our other Christmas songs. The lady from the window came slowly down the stairs & told us in tears that she had been ill for some time & the second we started to sing, all the pain in her body left her immediately!
We finished our songs & got a check to sing Vinde a Mim" (Come unto Me, all ye that labour & are heavy laden"), & as we sang it several people were weeping uncontrollably & the whole building received Jesus joyfully as we finished, standing & holding hands in a big circle in the apartment & pleading with us to return whenever we could!
From Teen Greta, North America:
We went carolling almost every night during Christmas & it went really well with lots & lots of souls won & tools out. One night a man was driving around the neighbourhood going house to house to find us, & when he did he asked a lot of forceful questions like, Are these Tapes yours? Were you doing this last year?", etc., etc. At first we didn't know what his intentions were. Then he told us, I am so glad I found you because last year my family was breaking up & I almost lost my job, & some of you prayed for me that things would go better for me. Right after that, my family life greatly improved & my salary was tripled & I know it was that prayer you prayed for me!" TYJ!
From Miguel & Maria, South America:
During the Christmas push, something really touching happened to me one day: We met a very precious person who received us very kindly & bought our materials. However, we were in a bit of a hurry & quickly said good-bye & left. But as time went on that day, I couldn't get this sweet man's face off my mind. I tried to brush it aside to no avail. Finally I heard a voice inside me saying, Go back to see him!" I sort of resisted this check but in the end I yielded!
Upon seeing us, the man looked at us with teary eyes & asked who had told us to come back, to which I replied, Jesus did!" He was dumbfounded! He prayed to receive Jesus & as he asked us to pray for his daughter who had been diagnosed as having leukaemia, he burst into tears.
After praying for his daughter, we witnessed to him about healing & how there's nothing impossible for the Lord & that the fact that we'd returned was a token of Jesus' great love & concern for him. It was a wonderful testimony for him of the Lord's Love for him.
That same day, we had provisioned a taxi & the driver was very kind. The Lord showed me to give him a Christmas Poster but I ignored this check too!—LHM! At the end of the day, we had one Poster left & I said to the brother with me, Let's save it for the driver of whatever transportation we take back home!" To our amazement, in a city of 13,000,000 inhabitants, the same driver who gave us a lift in the morning, passed by & stopped to pick us up again! We gave him the Poster which the Lord had saved especially for him! The Lord surely does care for His own!
From Ira, Matt, & Joy, North America:
It was dark, & we were returning home after a trying day of offering our tools to a lot of indifferent people. A little discouraged & tired, we stopped & prayed & asked the Lord to do miracles. As soon as we finished praying, we looked up & saw a huge sign outside of a fancy house that said in big red letters, Happy Birthday Jesus". We took the plunge & knocked on the door, & although they were a little surprised, they invited us in. We shared with them about our Work, & witnessed to them & prayed with them. After hearing the song, Happy Birthday, Jesus", the man told his wife to write us a cheque for $50. We went on our way—encouraged & re-inspired by the Lord's quick answer to prayer!
From Nat, Africa:
During the Christmas holidays we were able to get in free to the Moscow State Circus where, besides enjoying the show, we distributed 700 Posters to underprivileged children. After the show we went backstage & gave Posters to all the troupe. One of the clowns, named Oleg, particularly liked us & the Posters. We found that he had been baptised a Christian, however he wasn't sure of his Salvation, so we prayed with him. After visiting him in his hotel we had him over to our Home & showed him The Clown" from the KV which he liked very much. We gave him the vision of trying to get some witness into his act, & he was keen on the idea. He translated the Salvation prayer into Russian & we are teaching him to pray with others.
From David D. (14), SEA:
Our little singing group was out on our first carolling trip to one of the many nice housing complexes in our area. At first I was a little uneasy as it had been quite a while since we had done something like that. Anyway the very first house the Lord led us to happened to be the home of a very sweet South American family, which, when we explained our purpose for coming, readily asked us in. They were very happy that we had come & we sang carols to them.
Later on as we conversed with this family we asked them what they did on their last birthday together. They said, The usual things."—They had a party, invited friends, got presents, etc. Then I asked them What if all your friends come & start giving presents to each other & not to you & didn't even acknowledge you? How would you feel?" They said they would feel real bad. So we explained how every year so many people in the World will do just the same on the birthday of Jesus. They were thrilled about this because it never dawned on them that it was Jesus' birthday.
We gave the same message to another lady we visited later, with the same results: Each of us JETTs went to the different ones in the room & prayed with them all to receive Jesus, after explaining to them about giving Jesus their hearts! Later, while the adults were witnessing to the couple, we were talking & trying to witness to their boys. The eldest was telling us how his room was a mess because the maid didn't come that day. So we encouraged them that the next day, Christmas day, he & his brother could clean up the room as a surprise for the maid. They were inspired as well as amused with the idea & said they would do it! Before we left the house we all sang together Happy Birthday, Jesus!" So inspiring! TTL!
From Ricardo (12), SEA:
While out carolling, we (the JETTs) were at first a little shy & we wanted to be in the back row of our singing team, but after a while we got used to doing it & wanted to keep going, & the Lord really blessed! There was one family who had heard us carolling & sent their servant to find us. After looking around for us in their car, he found us & led us to their house. We got to sing to the family & prayed with them to get saved & showed them our Videos & Tapes. When they watched the Video, they said, Wow! It's wonderful!" We actually ended up in their house for an hour & a half, just witnessing to them. They just loved the Video, especially their 10-year-old girl. So it was a very inspiring evening, TTL!
From a SEA Field Home:
A highlight was getting out our first JETT road team just a couple of weeks before Christmas! Going to a popular beach resort with a team of ten (three adults, one teen & six on-fire JETTs), we found every kind of person, rich & poor, hippies, young & old—a witnessing paradise! Having witnessed to the sweet locals most of their lives, just the hard looks" of the Westerners were intimidating to the JETTs & this helped them to understood more clearly why we need Holy Ghost power" to be witnesses! As they took the plunge, the Lord did empower them & they discovered that many of these people are just hard on the surface & actually very sheepy & receptive. Here are some of the JETTs' own testimonies:
(From Benjamin, 13): We met two hippies from Switzerland who were both quite young, only in their twenties. When we first started talking to them, the guy sort of put on a front & said that he liked the crazy life". Then Uncle Dan told him we really like the crazy life" because we're crazy about Jesus! He was sort of taken aback by our answer!
Then he told us that he had been on drugs for six years & that he had been arrested & put in prison for two years. He said that he has tried to give up drugs but that it was very hard for him. We then told him a story about someone who was also on drugs & was told he only had a short time to live, but when he gave his life to Jesus & forsook his drugs, the Lord healed him, & that even now after many years he is still serving the Lord.
We told the Swiss boy about Jesus & asking Him into his heart & that Jesus would help him & always be his Friend. This really encouraged him. He said, Yes, please pray with me against my drugs & for Jesus to help me." He was a real sheep! When he got saved it really made me happy because I saw how sad & empty his life was, but I could see that receiving Jesus would really do a lot for him.
After we prayed he said, Thank you for praying with me", like he knew he wasn't good enough to go to Heaven by himself & he was really thankful that Jesus made the way for him to go to Heaven.
(From Jonathan, 13): It was our first day out witnessing & basically everyone on the beach was a foreigner. I hadn't witnessed to foreigners for quite awhile & I was quite uneasy about it. Then Uncle Dan suggested that we (two JETTs) start talking to a man sitting in the shade with his girlfriend. The man's outward appearance was quite cool" with sunglasses, long hair, etc., so I didn't want to. So Uncle Dan began a conversation with him. He was Swiss & was quite friendly. We then asked if he was a Christian & he answered that he was atheistic & that really was quite a setback for me.
We talked more with him about his background & then Uncle Dan asked if he was happy & he answered, Yes." Then Uncle Dan said, Well, imagine your happiness multiplied 1000 times!—And it will be if you ask Jesus into your heart!" And he said, Wow, that's great!" Uncle Dan went on to share how his life had changed when he got saved.
Then I said, Well, I don't have some super strong testimony like Uncle Dan's, but I can see that my life is a lot more joyful & happy than other children my age who don't have Jesus!" Then we showed him some verses & I quoted some to him & he was really amazed that we could quote verses like that. We then told him how the Word is like our sword, & how if we are not quick with our sword then our sword is rusty, & he thought that was a neat way to put it.
Then we asked if he wanted to get saved & I was really praying for him in my heart. He said, Yes!" & got saved right on the spot! What a miracle!—An atheist turned Christian on the spot before our eyes! It was also a good lesson for me not to look at someone's outward appearance, because in spite of his cool" front he was a real sheep & drank in every word we said. We have his address & are beginning to follow-up on him. What an experience! TTL!
From Jesse (12) & Auntie Sparrow, SEA:
Hey, JETTs! We're making plans for Christmas Eve! Would you like to go on a carolling team that night & find some people we can witness to? Any volunteers?" Eagerly, my hand shot up. Who wouldn't like to go out on Christmas Eve?" I thought. It's always exciting to go out, anyway.—And at Christmas time there're lots of decorations & lights to see! Who knows, maybe there'll even be some special snacks!"
Later, when we went out on our Christmas Eve carolling excursion, the Lord led our team of three JETTs & two Shepherds to a fancy apartment building downtown. It was a little harder work than I'd thought as we went over quite a few floors of the building, knocking on doors in order to sing Christmas carols & witness to the people we could find at home. Some asked us in & received Jesus into their hearts while others had mixed reactions.
At one door we knocked on, a 12-year-old girl came to the door. I'm sorry I can't ask you in, but my parents aren't here & I'm home alone," she said. Catching a glimpse of the loneliness in her eyes as she said this, we assured her, That's all right! We just wanted to sing you a song for Christmas & we can do it here on the doorstep!"
We sang a song to cheer up this sad-eyed girl, & as we did, we noticed a transformation slowly taking place! As she listened to the words of the song, the sad look of loneliness we'd first noticed slowly changed to a glowing look of happiness! At the end, we asked her if she wanted to receive Jesus into her heart & she nodded her head to say, Yes." After the prayer, we even noticed some little tears forming in her eyes, which were now shining & radiant. GBH!
Then I knew the real reason why we went out on Christmas Eve. I thought back to my original motives & realised how selfish they had been when all along the Lord had been preparing the way for us to meet this special person who so needed the miracle of God's Love at Christmas. TYJ!
From Jay & Rose Small, Stefan Simple, & Lydia Handmaiden, Latin America:
The JETTs & children have done the majority of our Christmas shows, mostly for our major provisioning contacts. It has really touched many hearts! An owner of a milk company commented, after we sang for him & his employees, We give to lots of people but you are the only ones who have thanked us like this!" We've received this type of response from other contacts as well. The next day this same man sent over 80 gallons of milk! PTL!
In general, singing for our contacts has helped them to see a beautiful sample from our JETTs & children. This has shown them that we have the answer & it's encouraged them to give even more! One elderly lady, the mother of one of our supporters, when seeing the children sing, said in tears, This is what our country needs!"
Another one of our DFers & close friends is a hospital administrator & invited the JETTs to sing for his hospital staff. Before they sang he was commenting that this Christmas he noticed how sad his employees seemed & that it was different from other years. While the JETTs sang to his employees, it completely changed the spirit of the hospital! As they sang he said Look! They're changing, they're smiling! This is the kind of thing we need!" He was very moved seeing his employees happy.
From Lily & Bright's Home, SEA:
When we arrived to Christmas carol for one of our provisioning contacts (a man who keeps all the Homes in our area well-supplied with molasses), he called his whole staff together to hear the children sing. Then he asked us to please explain the true meaning of Christmas to everyone too, as most people here have never heard the story of Jesus' birth. One of our JETT girls was able to lead them all to the Lord in the local language. Everyone was very touched & our friend was deeply impressed by the sample of the children.
We also took the MCs to sing for Mr. C., one of our monthly supporters. This friend also brought in all his staff, but this time, he explained our Work to everyone. During previous visits to our Home he had been very impressed by the children & the way we teach them. Since he has children the same ages as our children, he can really see the difference in the training ours get! GBH!
By Teen Anne (18), SEA:
I was on a Christmas carolling team with one other teen & two OCs, & we had an appointment to sing for the general manager of a high class 5-star hotel. Our shepherds told us that he is a very precious man who always generously helps us whenever we ask, so we wanted to bring him some special inspiration & music at Christmas time.
When we arrived at the hotel, he met us saying, You've arrived at just the right time! Please could you help us? I had a group scheduled to do Christmas carolling in the hotel restaurants, but they haven't showed up!" We were quite surprised as we'd only planned to sing for him & his private staff.
We followed the manager as he led the way to the plush penthouse restaurant on the top floor, with mostly European diners who were quite surprised to see Christmas carollers in this Eastern country. Almost everyone stopped eating & put down their forks & spoons to listen.
At one table sat an elderly British couple with their grandchildren. The lady was just radiant in her reactions to the songs! She clapped enthusiastically after every number & even sang along wholeheartedly on Silent Night!" After we finished singing we had a chance to talk to her & she exclaimed, You've brightened my whole Christmas! I'm so glad to meet people like you who still think of others at Christmas time!"
Afterwards, our manager friend thanked us profusely for helping him. We were able to show him Romans 8:28 in the Bible & explain how the Lord truly works all things together for good to them that love Him." TYL!
We then went to the kitchen of the hotel to find the executive chef. Previously, we had approached him to ask if he could help us with roasting the chickens for our Home's Christmas dinner. At that time, he was very apologetic, but said that his staff was already working three shifts in order to keep up with all the Christmas cooking for the hotel! Even though he couldn't help us, since we were already in the hotel we thought we could stop by & sing for him, anyway. The chef was so happy & surprised to see us that he immediately stopped all the work in the kitchen so all the staff could hear us sing. Everyone was so appreciative of the songs & the inspiration. GBT! They work so hard with very little thanks or gratitude.
The Lord really touched his heart because afterwards he told us, Although it may be difficult, I want to roast your chickens for you! Don't worry about it because you'll have the best chickens anyone could prepare!" Sure enough, not only did he return the chickens to us beautifully roasted, but he even added a delicious stuffing & gravy! GBH!
From Happy Holy Hole, Asia:
Our deaf sheep really took up the challenge this Christmas & gave out about five times their monthly average of Posters! The Lord mightily anointed them & they were able to give out about 4,500 Posters during the Christmas push!
From Lance, Davida, Etienne & Praise, Europe:
Although we had hoped for our two singing teams (one of OCs & MCs mixed, & one of JETTs & teens) to sing at more old folks' homes, we didn't find very many open doors. So we called some cafs, & to our surprise, the Lord began a big explosion!—We got so many invitations to sing that we had to make a calendar out of a teacher's log form to write it all down & keep it organised so we could tell who was going to sing where & when!
The cafs let us set up Video stands with our TV playing the Videos, & we had singing teams performing & going from table to table offering the tools! It was very fruitful & most of the places want us to continue throughout the year! Many of the directors have passed on the many good comments they've received from our being there. Managers approached us to say how much they liked what we were doing & invited us to come back whenever we like.
From Peace (Jael), SEA:
At one top hotel the children sang for the executive manager, who enjoyed it very much. Afterwards he asked them, What do you plan to do with your life?" One by one the children all responded, We want to do this work! We want to go & meet people & tell them about Jesus!" He told us, I agree! Although I make a lot of money & have a very important job in this hotel, I agree that the work you do is much more important & valuable."
The children also witnessed to the wife of a top executive of a car company in this country. We were able to ask her if she wanted to receive Jesus into her heart. Although she is of the Buddhist religion, she said, Oh, yes! I've actually been having dreams about Jesus. He often comes to me in my dreams!" She was very thrilled to be able to pray & receive Jesus. She also told us that although she'd been married for quite a number of years, she had no children. So the children said they would pray for her to have a baby, & she was very touched by their concern. This was such a special witnessing experience for the children, that when they got home they all wanted to write notes to encourage this kind lady. GBT!
From Tommy, SEA:
As we were expecting many visitors to our Home over the Christmas season, we decided to put a bit more work into our manger scene this year so that it could be a witness, & the Lord anointed our efforts. TYJ!
We decided to make it fairly large, but also, because we were putting more into it, wanted a design that would be easy to store for future Christmases. We made the stable & figures of light balsa wood (available at stationery & hobby shops) & constructed them in such a way that they can be easily disassembled & put together again. We finished the stable with a dark wood stain & several coats of lacquer. For the manger scene figures, we copied our Christmas flannelgraph pieces, enlarging them about one & a half times, & used different colour inks to paint" them. (Ink works well & is quite attractive as the colours actually stain the wood.) We then cut the figures out with a hand-held jig-saw & finished them with spray lacquer. We also put a little brace on the back of each piece to make them stand.
Here, people have spirit houses" (see ML#1409) & we noticed so many of our visitors were very respectful of our manger scene. Some got down on their knees to respectively study it & others even prayed! Having a manger scene sparked many people's curiosity & we were thereby able to easily share a beautiful witness on the real meaning of Christmas. PTL! It was also a real blessing to our children, who also got lots of enjoyment out of it. PTL!
(For more how-to's on manger scenes, see Hope #12, pg.12; KIDZ #75 DFO, pgs.6-8; Activity Book I, pgs.C7-C10 [for patterns of manger figures]; & Activity Book II, pgs.F4-F6.)
From Willing, Mercy, Hope & Andrew, North America:
This Christmas we had a soul-winning explosion, winning over a thousand souls! One day we went to a toy give-away project in a poor section of town, where there were about 2,000 children waiting in line for their toys. We sang to them, then split up our witnessing teams launching an attack, so that by the time we had to go, 111 souls were saved.
From Michael, SEA:
One very fruitful follow-up ministry this year was inviting some of our closest friends & top contacts to our Home for a special Christmas dinner & programme, plus we had guests nearly every day leading up to Christmas. One visitor, after an inspiring evening of fellowship which included songs by our children & teen singing groups, exclaimed, The way you live here is an example of the way everyone should live!—All different nationalities living together in God's Love. This type of living is going to spread all around the World!"
From SEA:
Some of the guests at our Christmas/New Year's party were from Latin America & they were completely fascinated by our children. The wife commented over & over about how brightly the children's faces were shining & that she could see that they really enjoyed doing this programme. Her husband has known us for almost three years & they have all the Videos, but this one meeting where they could see a sample—our kids, the proof of the pudding—has done more than anything to bring them closer to us, & it has really touched their hearts.
From Lance, Davida, Etienne & Praise, Europe:
We had been praying for kings & queens for some time & we met several during our witnessing push. One precious lady is the owner of a restaurant right in the centre of town where we were visiting, & we just happened" to stop there to freshen up before beginning our day of witnessing. She agreed right away to help & kept asking us to return every time we visited her during our stay.
When we returned a week later to visit her one evening, she was so happy to see us! She told us about herself then & how she believes in prayer & had literally prayed her son out of a drug problem, & how she had a strong faith even though raised in an atheistic family. Her son works at the restaurant with her & they were so hungry. We spent one & a half hours with them, explaining several Posters, DFs, etc.
She took another KV & said, You are the answer to my prayers for my grandchildren at Christmas! Now I have beautiful Videos & Posters to give them!" She is really precious & the Lord told us she is a real potential queen! She asked, How is it that I feel I have known you all my life? I just got goose bumps when I read the message on your Christmas Poster."
By Andy, SEA:
He seemed like any other smart, together-looking" Chinese from Hong Kong when we first met him while out witnessing one Saturday night. However, after he got saved & we started following up on him, it turned out that this young man, Konan, was sincerely searching, had some deep questions for us, & was quite receptive to the Word. As we continued to follow-up on him, we found out that he had come to this country to help his father in their family's rather large manufacturing business.
Konan was very concerned that his father also get saved, so we put together a small team with my wife Joy (who is also Chinese from Hong Kong) & some OCs, to make a Christmas visit to his father & other relatives. On the way to the factory, we were wondering what Konan's father would be like, as we had no idea whatsoever! However, our fears were soon allayed as an elderly Chinese gentleman with a gentle face & warm smile walked out to greet us.—Konan's father!
The children were able to sing & witness to him & Konan was very inspired at how well everything went. His father turned out to be a very sweet, very receptive man, putting off another appointment for one & a half hours especially to stay & talk with us. GBH! While we were talking, the father picked up the Bible that we'd brought & said, I remember this! I used to read this when I was a student in China. But I haven't read it since." He told us how he had escaped from China in his youth before finishing his studies as an engineer. When we asked him what his favourite Chapter was, he opened the Bible to 1 Corinthians 13 & started reading that to us!
Meanwhile some of us were witnessing to Konan's younger brother & his uncle & aunt who had sat down to watch the children sing. After singing for everyone, the children prayed with Konan's father, his brother & an uncle & aunt who all received the Lord & the Holy Spirit, too. We then had a class with Konan's uncle, who had been a Christian in China but had been unable to profess it openly because of the Communist regime there. When we read from Treasures" with him, he was just enthralled. He said, What you read to me is fantastic! I've never read anything like this before."
It was hard to leave this precious family, so receptive & hungry for the Word! They walked us out to our car to see us off & kept waving & waving all the way down the road until we were out of sight. GBT! What a memorable Christmas visit!
From Lily & Bright's Home, SEA:
While taking the children on follow-up visits this Christmas, we were able to reach our friends in a way that we had not been able to before, especially those who had never been able to visit our Home. The follow-up teams shared the Christmas message with each one, but the children's presence brought a little of the Family sample into their homes & spoke louder & clearer than anything we could have said. Our younger children, especially, stand out because our friends' children, at the same age, are so unruly & misbehaved. These visits have opened the door for us to be able to minister to our friends in a way that we hadn't been able to before. TYJ!
From Alf, Peter & Sara, Pacific:
Our friend Karen, a 23-year-old American English teacher here, helped us by working with a few of the JETTs to make a beautiful huge mural of Joseph, Mary & Baby Jesus, copying the cover of the first Christmas colouring book. She taught the JETTs how to use graphs to enlarge a picture proportionally correctly. The mural turned out beautifully & has been a witness to all who pass by our house, as well as to all our Christmas party guests, as it can be clearly seen from far away.
Although we never said anything directly to Karen about giving or tithing, from the Word that she has read & all that she has learned, the Lord has laid it on her heart to tithe, which she has been doing faithfully for three months now. Also, she & her American husband have taken the initiative to collect clothing for us & to buy other things that they see we need & bring them to us. She brings us questions that have come up during her personal study of the Word for us to answer for her. She is very hungry for the Word & to learn about the ways of the Lord, & is growing & coming closer day by day. TYJ!
From Abel, South America:
One of the most amazing & heartrending things we saw during our push was the bleak & meaningless Christmas that many were having: lonely people sitting in bars by themselves; Christmas" parties, but without Christ; only samba or rock music & drinking, with hardly a thought given to Him Whose birthday it was, or about the special gift He brought to the World. Like a light shining in the darkness came our carolling teams of teens & JETTs, & here are some comments from some of the thankful listeners:
A building administrator was a little suspicious of us at first, but after he'd heard our singing & seen the loving sample, he was so impressed that he took us around personally to the entire condominium, introducing us to all his friends & acquaintances. He later said, At first it was hard to believe that you weren't coming in here without selfish motives, but only to bring the joy of Christmas to us." He was so touched that later he gave a generous donation to the Work and bought a six-pack of Videos!
One sweet young dentist who was having a very quiet Christmas Eve with her husband & a friend said, We don't deserve this visit from you", after we came in & filled the house with Christmas joy. This opened the door to tell them how undeserving we all are to have Jesus visit us as He did on Christmas so long ago! Then she, her husband & friend all prayed with us to receive the best gift of all: Jesus!
One older man said, You radiate such purity, joy, & peace...it's beautiful!" A sweet older woman who invited us into her house to sing said, It's wonderful what you're doing, because the World is so bad & you are the only ones I've seen doing anything about it!" One lady was overheard describing the carolling teams to her daughter: It's so beautiful! Their eyes were shining & they look like Angels singing all together!" A shop owner & poet said, You are so sincere & carry the true Spirit of Christmas!"
In one upper-class condominium where we spent about three hours carolling with a group of 25 teens & adults, we were at first lightly heckled & then eagerly followed by a group of teen boys. We prayed with various groups of people to receive Jesus & these teen boys would join in the prayer every time! Finally, one who had spent nearly the whole evening with us said, Christmases are usually super-boring, but being here with you & your music has made it the best Christmas I've ever had!"
From Solomon, Europe:
The reactions of people who saw & heard the children's carolling were very inspiring. Several people came up & confessed that they believed in Jesus. Others said such things as: You're all so happy!" It's nice that someone is still bringing the real meaning of Christmas." I don't know anyone who dares to sing openly about Jesus any more." God is with you!" Another man, when offered a Poster on the street, said, Oh, that's the same Poster that my daughter has over her bed!" (She had received it a few days before from the busking team!) Many people were moved to tears. We also met people who had seen us at the restaurants while we were busking & vice versa.
While busking in the main indoor shopping mall, a man with a video camera filmed several of our songs. We talked to him afterwards & found that he & his two friends were from Russia, & were making Videos to show how Christmas is celebrated in our country! They were so eager to hear about Jesus! All three prayed to receive Him & took a Christmas Video & Tape for their children, leaving their addresses for further contact.
From Peace (EA), South America:
On the first night of carolling, Uncle Clay, three JETTs & I worked as a team. As we were walking down a street, a man called to us from the balcony of a very nice house. He asked us what we were doing, so we explained to him that we were visiting people & that we wanted to be able to sing for his family too! He immediately invited us in & we sang for his whole family. The JETTs prayed with them to receive Jesus & when we explained the true meaning of Christmas, the wife cried & said that she was very happy to meet people who were unselfishly thinking of others during Christmas. They also bought the Christmas KV to put on at their Christmas party.
From a SEA Field Home:
Getting the children more involved in our witnessing, particularly with their carolling, made such an impression that most of them commented during the Candlelight service that this was the highlight of their year!
From Timoteo & Cristal, South America:
For Christmas we had a Mail Ministry push, sending Christmas cards with photocopies of GP Daily Mights (each according to the need of the individual sheep we were sending the card to). We have already started to receive many reactions to these & see the open door for new contacts, etc., through this! We sent out a total of 500 cards!
From Jonathan & Mercy, South America:
This year we set up a Tape stand in the downtown area where the vendors sell Christmas decorations & figures for the manger scenes. We had a tape recorder playing our music all day long & even the other vendors really liked us, as we brought the real Christmas spirit to the whole street! With each Tape bought we gave away a Christmas Poster as a bonus, so the people could see right away that we aren't normal salesmen, & that would open the door to further witness to them.
When people were passing by down the street we would also pass out Poster tracts to the ones we got a witness on, & they were very appreciative. There was such a constant flow of people gathering around the stand that we could hardly take a break! In two days we got out almost 200 Tapes & were able to reach a whole group of people that we don't usually get to the rest of the year, PTL!
From Miracle, Europe:
A couple of days before Christmas we took the OC girls carolling at a gigantic shopping mall. When asked, a shopowner gave permission for us to sing, & even promised to pay for the show. We had a BMT which lasted for half an hour, mostly slow songs about Jesus, but these were the real key to bring the real meaning of Christmas into the shopping centre, as people were in tears listening to the kids. Even some Muslims received Jesus!
A man who had adopted two Indian girls wanted them to come & sing & fellowship with us. He also took a Video. We were asked to come back & we got out hundreds of Posters, lots of Tapes & Videos, & left an unforgettable impression in the hearts of the people.
From David L., India:
Before Christmas we had a fruitful & exciting road trip! When we arrived at our destination, we went to see the general manager of a very good hotel whom we had met the trip before. However, we found a different general manager had since replaced him, so we made an appointment to see the new general manager. We explained our Work to him & showed him our Videos. He really liked the KVs & said he would take a set for his hotel & his children.
Then we explained to him how we live by faith & asked him if he could put us up in his hotel or help by supplying our meals for a week. Without any hesitation he agreed to put us up free for a week in an air-conditioned room & also supply our daily meals—breakfast, lunch & dinner! TYJ! It was the Lord's set-up!
During the discussion we also explained to him how we do seminars for schools & teachers. He came up with the idea of us doing a children's Christmas party in his hotel for the children in his town. So we prayed together & decided that we would do the party as a gesture of appreciation to him. It was a real big hit! We organised different games for the children, etc. We also gave a short Christmas message & prayed with all of them to receive Jesus. TYJ! It was a real witness! Thank God for all the training we receive in the Family!
Before we left, the general manager said he really liked our children's party & invited us to come again & give seminars to his staff. TYJ! We were so inspired to see the Lord opening such a big door, TYJ!
From Cephas, Prem, Andrew & Joan, India:
During our Christmas push, the JETTs in our Home got to go out witnessing regularly. One day we took them to one of the big hospitals here, where they visited each patient at his bed, bringing Christmas joy to them, praying with them & for them. That day 87 people got saved & we gave out 587 Posters. Seeing the pain, loneliness & suffering of the people made the JETTs realise much more how happy & healthy the Lord keeps us & how little trouble & pain we go through!
(Editor's note: While it is very fruitful & a good testimony to take the children to hospitals, we'd like to repeat our caution from last year to guard the children against any ill effects of these visits by refraining from taking them to visit the mentally ill, or those with contagious diseases. Above all, pray desperately for the Lord's protection, as you should do whenever you go witnessing!)
We also visited an institution where children & even one- or two-day-old babies are taken in & are cared for till they are 20 or 21 years old. These children are mainly orphans or have lost one parent & the other is in prison, or they have some such problem in their background. We delivered a set of sponsored Videos & almost 2,000 Posters for these children, & about 81 of them got saved that day. Seeing those children so thankful for everything they get & being so appreciative of our visit made our JETTs really appreciate the Family & how good they have it here. They also had good opportunities to witness & win people to the Lord.
From Gabe, Pacific:
After singing at an old age nursing home, I was helping an elderly lady take the ribbon off the Poster she had received (we had rolled them up & distributed them to all the residents). I showed her the beautiful picture about the Man of Love" & explained about the wonderful Message written on the back. Both the lady I was helping & the one next to her admired the picture & then the friend of the lady I had helped clutched her Poster to her bosom & said, We haven't been forgotten this year!"
From Abel & Mary Dear, Asia:
Mary Dear & I had gone to drop off a sponsored set of KVs at a school & we weren't quite sure if the principal would be receptive to our Message or not, as some principals are not. But right away Mrs. I. started telling us about her faith & belief in God, & out of the blue asked us if we had anything for Christmas for her kids. We also found out she had already received a kids' Tape about a year before & played it often. This golden opportunity paved the way for her to receive the Lord & leave her with a few Posters in addition to the KVs.
The next week we thought of her when deciding to distribute the sponsored Christmas Posters! She was so pleased to see us & welcomed us with a heartfelt Christmas greeting. It so happened that she had a custom of praying with all the kids daily over the PA system with speakers attached to each class room. So out of the blue, she handed the mike to me, as we were in her office at that time, & asked me to say the prayer! I was amazed at this golden opportunity & God's perfect set-up, & promptly prayed with 300 students to receive Jesus! I could hear them repeating the prayer in each class room! What a miracle!
From Matt, Joy & Tiago, South America:
We did a Kiddie Show" for the children at an institution run by the police here in our city. This really won the kids there, as well as the hearts of all the police & staff! The head of the institution, who was actually one of the chief investigators during the persecution we went through right before this time, has really changed since then! We have visited him on a few occasions & he is becoming a friend now! He was super thankful that we came to sing for the children, GBH!
From Jay & Rose Small, Stefan Simple, & Lydia Handmaiden, Latin America:
One of the most outstanding witnessing experiences that the children had was when they sang for an annual Christmas programme that is held in the home of one of our neighbours near the teen Home. Although our children were only a part of the programme, the Nino de Amor" (Child of Love") Tape was used as the basis for the entire programme!
After the programme, on their own initiative, about six of our OC & MC girls started personal witnessing to a 25-year-old boy. The kids really started socking it to him about everything! They touched on all kinds of topics, from Heaven, Hell & the Millennium, to why so much on TV today isn't good! They were quoting him whole Chapters out of the Bible. He ended up getting saved!
Everyone at the event could easily overhear the children & they, as well as the boy, were in awe at the wisdom & authority of the Spirit with which our children spoke!
The children also sang for an old folks' home situated down the street from our school, & 13 prayed to receive Jesus. As well as being wonderful fruit in souls, it was very good for relations with our neighbourhood!
From James, Bart, & Mercy Oh, North America:
The children in the Home were so on-fire this Christmas season, & were real soul winners—leading over 600 souls to the Lord through personal witnessing. It was really exciting for them to see how filled up our Soul Tree" got by Christmas day.—Even our little ones got out & a few of them won their first soul ever!
We took our YC group Christmas carolling to our neighbours, & brought the neighbours some home-made cookies & shared a little about our missionary Work. All were truly touched, & a number of them prayed to receive the Lord. The neighbours on one side said, You must come over some time & read the Word of God to us!" The neighbours on the other side sent over some gifts for the children a few days later. PTL!
From the Enterprise, South America:
From two experiences over Christmas, we learned a very important lesson about the importance of the little things & our living sample, & how the Lord is pleased with our faithfulness in such things. Our king gave a Christmas party which we were going to sing at, & one sample that really spoke loud & clear was that of our dear teen boys, who went over early to help prepare the house & yard where the party was to be held. Their willingness to help out really touched our king's father, who had known the Family for years & had been quite sceptical in the past. He was really touched that even after the party was all over, our boys were already helping to put the furniture back in place without having to be told—so different from his own grandsons! PTL!
Also our neighbours (a military centre) had a problem with their electricity going out, & had gone to the neighbours on the other side of their property to ask if they could connect one line in order for them to have one light bulb & a way for them to recharge their hand radios. Their other neighbours, who happen to be the Hare Krishna, would not give them the electricity, yet they were preaching to them about their god. They then came to us & we did give them the electricity. Our boys went over & hooked it all up for them.
As we took a cake over to them on Christmas Eve, one of their head officers came out & gave us a little speech, as he was so touched! They said they would never forget how we helped them, & that not only did we give them their request but our boys were so willing to hook it all up for them, going over there with their tools & making sure it worked properly. They said that on the other side, the Hare Krishna just preached, but we had shown them a sample, not just a sermon, PTL! It was a really good reminder for us all to be doers of the Word!
From a SEA Home:
This testimony begins in November, when our Home was living hand-to-mouth financially. We had been praying for the Lord to supply & He had been, but we wanted to be able to get ahead in order to be able to budget our finances. We calculated the amount we needed & had united desperate prayer, laying hands on the envelope containing a note stating the amount we needed—$3,000! For several weeks, the Lord continued to meet our needs, but pretty much as before—just at the moment when we needed it. We received the passage about the importunate woman, & with more desperate prayer on a regular basis, we had the assurance that the answer was on the way!
In the meantime, we received a letter from a former Family Member that had been away from the Family for several years. A sister in the Home had kept in contact with him & received a letter saying he was in our city & wanted to see us. He had been living in Europe & we were surprised that he was in SEA.
We met with him even though it was very difficult, as this was now just a few days before Christmas & our Home was busier than ever, pouring out to our friends & contacts.
Imagine our surprise when he related to us the dream that he'd had some months earlier: He was living in the Tribulation & somehow he knew that the family he had been closest to while on this field were in serious financial need. Believing the dream was from the Lord, he began saving the money he earned as a taxi driver. As he told his story, we were touched that he had not only saved up the money, but that he had travelled halfway around the World to deliver it personally!
We spent the evening fellowshipping with him, & it wasn't until we were home that we opened the envelope he had given us. To our amazement it was double the amount that we had prayed for!—$6,000! GBH! This was such an encouragement & faith-increaser for us all! How loving & good the Lord was to us, to go to such lengths to give us such a special Christmas gift!
Compiled by WS
Dear Family,
God bless you! We love you so much & have you in our prayers as you reach out to the World with His Love during the Christmas season!
We have received lots of Christmas outreach ideas, suggestions, tips & projects from various Areas around the World, which we'd like to share with you! As you are probably in the midst of preparing your Christmas outreach now, many of these ideas may already be planned in your Area. Others might need to be modified or may not even apply to your situation, but we pray they will be a help & boost, as you pray & counsel together about how to take advantage of this period of greater receptivity to bear the most fruit possible for Him!
It is very important that you consult your local Area leadership about any of these new ideas which you would like to implement before doing so, & whatever you do, pray desperately for the Lord's guidance as to what He wants you to do. Have united prayer with your Home, asking the Lord to speak & confirm His Will.
About our Christmas witness, Mama said, Don't forget that first & foremost, your job is to be a witness of Jesus' Love & Salvation & warning of the End. You are not a mere Video salesman, you are an Ambassador of the Kingdom of God, whose main job is to distribute the Word & win souls. Don't get your mind so much on the support that you get it off Salvation! If you put souls first, the Lord will send the support. After you lead someone to Heaven, he will probably be even happier to take a heavenly Video!"
We are sure that God will mightily bless as you pour forth His Love—whether it be via Videos, Posters or Tapes; in song or puppet shows; at parties or programmes; or whichever way you choose! We pray God will anoint as you do your best to spread His Message at Christmas, & that this will be your most wonderful, fruitful, & love-filled Christmas ever!
* Video stands (or booths) are very fruitful, giving us credibility & making the Videos available for people to see. Videos are displayed in a public place & two or more Family members stand by for sales & to give more information as requested. We record in a book the names, addresses & phone numbers of those interested, & follow-up on them to sell them Video sets. Often when people don't buy Videos on the spot, they buy them later when followed-up.
When we began to follow up & phone these people, one comment we heard time & again was, Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" Some people went all over the city to stores & video clubs searching for our Videos!—South America
(Editor's note: It's extremely important that we let people know we are exclusive distributors of Kiddie Viddies, otherwise we may miss many chances to get our Videos out! Whenever we present the Videos, we should explain that they are available only from our representatives, & not in any shops or stores. We should tell people this when we go DTD, put up signs at our Video stands, announce it at our Seminars, or at our KV parties. [Signs are better than announcements, though, because people might miss an announcement!] It should always be part of our normal presentation, explanation & advertising of our product.
(Let's do all we can to make it very plain that we are the exclusive distributors of Kiddie Viddies, & they are available only from our representatives, because many people plan to buy later. Some may not have the money when they first see the Videos. Or they may decide later to get them, after thinking it over. Others may like them but procrastinate, thinking that they can always pick up the Videos somewhere else. People usually assume they can find them anywhere, so you have to make it very plain that we are the only distributors, which hopefully will encourage many to purchase them on the spot.
(Then we need to also make it very easy for them to contact us by giving out contact cards or brochures with a GP phone number or address designated for that purpose, where they can reach us. In the following tips are more ideas on the use of cards, brochures & the phone, which you can adapt as the Lord leads in your situation.
(But by whatever means you choose, let's be sure to plainly advertise that we are exclusive distributors, & make ourselves available & easy to contact! Our distribution will increase, as lots more people who want our Videos will be able to find them!)
* At a fancy restaurant where a lot of people go with their children, we got permission to set up a table with a TV & the Videos playing & on display. Children came over & were captivated by the Videos! Our display was right near the door where we were able to catch people coming & going, & get the names & phone numbers of those who were interested. We phoned them the next week & were able to make a number of appointments & sell Video collections!—South America
* In a large shopping mall, we got permission to set up a mall booth, complete with small tables & chairs so that parents & their children could watch the KVs. It serves as a great eye-catcher, as the kids flock around to see the Video & then sell" their parents on it. The brethren would sell 15-30 Videos per day this way and also get interested people to fill in slips, which opened the door for further follow-up.—North America (Editor's note: At an attention-getting booth like this, it would be good to distribute Video brochures or fliers to explain why our Videos are the best Christmas gifts parents could give their kids! When the parents see how much their children like the Videos, in the flier they also get an explanation of how our videos are a gift that their kids will not get tired of, that will have good results in their behaviour, & will not have the bad effects of all the violence & crime so prevalent on TV.)
* Video fliers with our special KV phone number are very important to pass out to those who view the Videos at our stands. At one stand, every five minutes an average of 250 people passed. Of those 250 people, 14 stopped to view the Video that was playing. Of those 14 people who stopped to see the Video, five gave their name, address & phone number.—So that's five contact names every five minutes! We gave out 8,500 fliers in two weeks.—South America
* We began to pass out KV fliers only to adults or people who looked like they are parents, otherwise too many end up on the floor or street.—South America.
* The Sony Corporation offered to lend us two 28-inch TVs to use at our stand over Christmas!—South America
* We have a stand on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, & then Monday through Thursday we follow up on those we meet at the stand.—South America
* Ask private kindergartens or other schools to write up their testimony & reaction to the KVs as it could be a helpful tool in getting into other places. Have a testimony sheet with the names of all the private kindergartens which have had a favourable reaction.—Pacific (Editor's note: A collection of letters of recommendation from friends & KV users is very fruitful!)
* Put on a Kiddie Show!—A teen troupe of three or four teens, accompanied by a couple of witnessers, can give shows at Christmas parties, birthday parties, or shopping malls, etc., for a fixed price, with the condition that they can pass out fliers for their exclusive product"—KVs! The show is modelled after GAP Teach Me Time" shows, for young kids who are supervised by parents or System adults (not by Family) & lasts 35-45 minutes.
The clown" MC is a spunky teen childcare teacher (or Don Quixote" adult) who invites the kids to join in on games & GP DTD songs. There's a puppet show, plus a brief KV song or two for all.
Afterwards, witnessers pass out cards to get the names, addresses & phone numbers of all adults & parents attending the show. Witnessers call up these adults afterwards to make an appointment to sell them the Videos & personally witness!—South America
* A KV party can be organised similar to a Tupperware"* party where ladies in the neighbourhood are invited. (*Tupperware" is an American product—plastic containers—sold by independent distributors who invite all the women in a certain neighbourhood over to the house of one of their friends, where they all have refreshments & chat while they look at the products, & then hopefully buy some.)
In some neighbourhoods they have a centre that is used for such community activities. Mommies of small children usually have time, & people at such a party often feel they should buy at least one thing. Ask your friends to help you get a gathering together. You can offer a free Video to anyone who refers you to five or ten people who might want to host a party, which could lead you to other neighbourhoods.
One lady organised a KV party for us & all we had to do was come & promote the Videos. She invited friends, made the phone calls & convinced people to come—some even from a great distance. She had a great deal of influence with these people, & many bought Videos!
Find out who the community head is in an area, or the person who has a lot of influence. If you can get them turned on to the Videos they may want organise or sponsor a KV party for us.—Pacific
* Arrange to have a Christmas party for all the parents of children at various private kindergartens.—Pacific
* Get invited to Christmas parties (for teens, companies, institutions, etc.) & give a simple presentation in song, after which you can distribute Tapes, Videos, Posters, etc.—Pacific
* Last year one Home went to Christmas parties of parents with kids who have Down's Syndrome & other handicaps. These children's parents are usually very hungry for anything that will help their children.—Pacific
* You can check out apartment buildings which have community rooms for activities or events, & plan a Christmas show & Video sale there!—Pacific
* Our having a business card & phone number gives people confidence in us & contributes to our credibility! When people buy a set of Videos for $180 to $200 they want to know how to get ahold of you if the Video is faulty, or even to buy more! (We've had very few faulty Videos, TTL!)—South America
* You can print up a name card for your singers which will open the door for talking about KVs, something like Kiddie Viddie Entertainment".—Pacific
* Print up special contact cards that people can fill out if they are interested in making an appointment to have Videos demonstrated by a Chiquivideo" (KV) representative. Such cards would be good for passing out at schools, kindergartens, our Video stands, parties, to parents, etc.!—South America
* The Video brochure is powerful! When a general manager couldn't see us, his secretary showed him a Video brochure. Later she had a cheque ready for us! He had read the brochure & bought a collection!—South America
* A number of shiners in our Area emphasised that it has been fruitful to go for sets!—To try to sell the entire collection! Start off by showing not just one or two Videos, but the whole set, like a set of encyclopedias. If people don't buy the whole set at first, then offer to sell a partial set or get them to sign up to buy the whole set one at a time. Offer a single video only when you're sure they won't get more.—South America
* It helps to give people an incentive. For example, offer discounts on sets.—Or offer them a Christmas bonus, such as a free audio Tape if they buy a set. Follow-up is the key! Selling a Video set for $180 is rarely a quick sale, although it does happen!—South America
* It was a step of faith for us to increase the price of our Videos to $30, but after trying it, we were really encouraged that the Lord can do it. The same with sets—you just have to step out by faith! You get one set out & that gives you the faith to get another set out!—South America
* Getting in the Word helps to build our faith to get out sets. The Word says we have the best product in the World & after we are reminded of that, we present them with conviction that they are the best! The Word gives the faith & we transmit that to the people!—South America
* A Kiddie Viddie re-supply van can meet teams at a central point at an appointed time to re-supply the teams with Videos.—South America
* For packaging the sets, you can always use clear plastic shipping tape, or clear plastic bags. We package the sets with different coloured cellophane (that we iron on) & add ribbons for Christmas!—South America
* It's important to have a phone number for people to be able to call you. We receive calls from people ordering whole sets! The best way to reach top executives is by making appointments by phone. Letters are effective too! We also use the phone to make appointments to show the Videos to entire families.—South America
* Having a phone answering service is a real key for us, because people will rarely write to a P.O. box, but will more readily make a phone call. In the afternoon we phone our answering service to get our messages. That evening we phone whoever left messages for us & make appointments to see them within the next few days. Our answering service has a secretary who answers on our behalf & gives the prices of the Videos & other information to those who call in. The answering service also provides us with a fax number so that we can send & receive faxes. In some ways it's like having a fulltime secretary working for us for only $30 per month!—South America
* A number of shiners commented how important it is to have good quality Video duping & production. Most Areas seem to have good quality Videos & receive very few complaints. However, when complaints do come in, they should be followed up on immediately! People are usually impressed by a quick response to their complaint. It's a good testimony, & also a follow-up opportunity to give immediate service. A seeming defeat usually turns into a victory & often the person who complained ends up buying another Video! This is also why it's important to have a GP phone number or answering service where people can reach you.—South America
* Use referrals of kings & contacts to open doors to get Videos out to other companies they're associated with. Ask company presidents to gather their workers together to buy Videos.—Pacific
* From a Video Shiner: I emphasise that our Videos are very fast-moving & captivating so that they hold children's attention. I use the Video brochures to give our Videos credibility & to help people believe that they are the exceptional offer that we know they are."—South America
* When people like the audio Tapes, they usually like the Videos too, so we offer Videos to those who have already received the audio Tapes.—South America
* Generally it seems best not to lend the Videos for people to preview. It's better to make an appointment to show them the Videos. Some people copy the Videos when they are lent to them. There are always exceptions, so be Spirit-led!—South America
* We've had good success with sponsorship, whereby companies sponsor the donation of our materials to orphanages, those less fortunate, etc.—North America
* We encouraged all countries in our Area to use the sponsorship program idea, which is working very well where it has been tried! One Home whose distribution has normally been low got out over 150 extra Videos this way!—SEA
* We are beginning to pioneer an Institution Ministry" where we find institutions that would like to receive a set of Videos & then we call different contacts & ask if they would like to be a donor of a set of Videos to one of these institutions. Our first donor was a sweet man who had previously bought one set of Videos for his family. When we got in touch with him again recently, he said that he would be happy to be the donor of Videos to an institution & right away gave us a cheque for another set!
We then got in touch with a school for autistic children & visited them, showing them the Video & sharing with them this plan & that they would be receiving a gift donated by this man. They were deeply touched & could hardly believe that we would take the trouble to arrange for them to get this blessing for their school.
We have since set a date for the donor & ourselves to visit the school, at which time we can take a photo of him making the donation. He can have this photo, along with a certificate to put on the wall of his office, commending him for helping the school. At the same time, we'll give a certificate to the school, saying that he donated a collection of Videos to them. (We provisioned a quantity of certificates & plaques to use for this purpose.)
The people from the school told us that right after our visit, they received a visit from the Ministry of Education & when they told them about what we were doing they were very favourably impressed! PTL!—South America
* Associations for handicapped people, for orphanages, etc., can give you lists which can lead you to all the institutions in the area. You can then make bookings for shows.—The same for old folks' homes, where you can get out Tapes & Posters which are perfect for these older people to give them comfort at Christmas.—Pacific
* We collect letters of recommendation from the different schools, institutions, company presidents & other executives who buy our Videos. We then use these letters of recommendation in presenting the Videos to others!—South America
* Christmas is a wonderful time to send follow-up letters with a Christmas Salvation Message to all your friends, contacts, & people who've taken Videos.—Europe
* You can't ignore special friends at Christmas!—It's important to follow-up on them during this time. One way is to have the children sing for contacts & friends. One Area provisioned 250 colour pictures of Jesus praying, to give to friends & contacts!—South America
* We're printing items to use as simple, inexpensive gifts for our friends that will be a witness all year long—such as desk calendars with quotes, mural Posters, wallet-size calendar cards with a quote Poster on the back. We're also producing two Christmas cards, a local language one for the GP & one with no text to use for anyone.—South America
(Editor's note: Cards do not have to be fancy or on stiff card stock, they can just be produced on coloured paper, which saves lots of money & postage. It's the Message, your personal words & your loving thoughts of them, which count the most!)
* The DF Home has worked on a special plaque with a quote, as well as a Christmas ECCC (Executive Counselling Correspondence Course) letter for all their friends. They are also using Christmas as a door-opener for hard-to-get appointments.—SEA
* Provision printing so that you can distribute Posters for free in poor areas of town.—Europe
* We've rented a beach resort house for a Christmas (Summer) outreach base, manned with 10-12 adults of rotating personnel from the Area, to witness, busk, tapeness, video & help raise support for their Home. Teens & EAs also go there to personal witness. This is an all-adult Member Home with no children.—South America
* When giving performances at shopping malls, we gave out cards that people filled out to win a free Video—like a raffle!—A good way to get names & addresses for follow-up!—South America
* One country held a two- or three-day outreach meeting with one Teamworker & one main pillar outreacher from each Home. They had desperate prayer for their Christmas outreach & discussed ideas & plans, etc.—SEA
We pray these ideas are an inspiration to you & that they will help you bear lots of fruit for Him this Christmas! If ye abide in Me, & My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will & it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be My disciples!" (Jn.15:7,8).
Please be sure to send in the testimonies of all that the Lord does through you & your Home this Christmas! We are looking forward to your exciting reports! God bless & keep you! We love you & are praying for you!
Much love, WS
P.S. Now that you've read all this, please go back & re-read the introduction so you can be sure to remember what the main point of your Christmas witnessing is!—Sharing Jesus & His Love! GBY! WLY!
(Editor's note: As an inspiration for your Christmas witnessing & distribution, here's a beautiful testimony from a brother who is a soul shiner as well as a Video shiner!)
From Davide (Israele), Europe:
Something that personally helps & inspires me is to watch the KVs, if possible, before giving them out, so that I have an idea of their content. That gives me the conviction that I need to distribute them. As Dad says: It's the sincerity, the honesty, the reality, the spirit of you kids that comes through when you're really sold out & sold on your product that really helps you to sell it!" (ML#241) It therefore takes:
1. Vision! To know that our Videos are the best on the market!
2. Faith! Be full of faith, full of expectation. You must expect that God will do miracles & that He never fails.
3. Initiative! To be the first one to try new things & not to be discouraged.
4. Courage! To speak to people with conviction & honesty.
That's the preparation which has to do with us personally. The second part has to do with our contact with the public. It involves:
1. Prayer! Every time, before entering an office, factory or house, I pray that the Lord will touch people's hearts & make them receptive.
2. Unity! If your children are accompanying you, work with them & teach them how to be good witnesses for Jesus! Kids are almost always enthusiastic about going out witnessing, but often need a little help on what exactly their role is to be. Show them how they can make people happy by smiling, by being interested, by participating & expressing what they think about the Videos. They can be encouraged to give their personal opinion on various songs, or say how the songs have helped them, or even tell the person you are visiting how the Videos could help them or their children. Our children are living proof that our Videos bear good fruit!
3. Presentation! I introduce myself & ask the person, How do you do?" & How are things going?" If I'm talking with a manager or owner, I ask about his business. I try to keep my eyes constantly on theirs, to see how they react to the questions I have asked them. Then if I am with a child or children, I introduce them, explaining that he or she is my helper. Often they start complimenting the child, which starts a dialogue. TYJ!
4. Love! I start by telling the person that we are missionaries, & because we love children very much, we have created these beautiful educational materials. Since we have seen that TV most of the time has programmes with a lot of violence & foolishness, we want to give an alternative. In fact, I tell them we ourselves are very selective in what we watch on TV. Usually they nod their heads & say what I'm saying is true.
Up to this point, I haven't shown any Videos, & almost every person is really curious to see them by now. So I take them out of my bag & put them on the table while I start presenting them by titles, showing them the colour brochure & giving them testimonies of other people in the area who have already taken the Videos & how much they like them!
5. The Witness! Then, usually while they are looking at the Videos, I ask them if they believe in Jesus. If they say yes, I tell them, So you have a passport to Heaven?" At this point most people say, Maybe so", & with a few words I explain John 3:16, that God loves them & wants to save & help them, & I ask if they want to receive Him into their hearts. Then if they pray, many times people who didn't want the Videos change their minds! After praying, people are usually more receptive & willing to get a Video, even if they don't have children or grandchildren, but just to help us. When I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me!" (Jn.12:32). So it's worth it to always put the Lord first, then He blesses all the rest!
6. Inspiring Faith! I always try to inspire the person first to take the whole set, showing him that he is making a good investment, as what they'll spend on the Videos will bear good fruit in the lives of those who watch them. Then I have them read portions of letters from people who have written to us & who are really sold on the KVs. Nothing succeeds like success! TYJ!
7. God's Blessing! Sometimes it happens that the person to whom I present the Videos has no children, nephews, nor grandchildren, but I don't let that discourage me. Instead I tell them of the different people who have bought the Videos for others—like, for example, a salesman who bought five Videos to give as a present to his friends who had children; or a young man who worked in an insurance company, & bought the whole set to give as a present to an institution for the handicapped & was himself very sold on the KVs. Or I tell them the testimony of a very simple girl, who has a cleaning job in a hospital, & since she didn't have a video machine nor did her nephews, she bought the whole set to give as a present to a little boy she knew. People like to hear that others got the Videos even if they were not for their own use. And above all, I tell them that the Lord will repay them for their sacrifice & will bless them for their giving. I have seen that quite a few people are willing to cooperate & help. PTL!
8. Aim for the Top! Another important aspect is to try to reach the top" by meeting industrialists, lawyers, doctors, businessmen, bankers, mayors, etc., the kind of people who have a lot of influence on others.
9. The Spirit! Most of all, it's very important to have a good dose of joy & sympathy, which only Jesus can give us, & that's what mainly wins people: His Spirit. They see that we have it, & they also want it! The reason why I want people to have the Videos is simple: I like them & I know all the work that is behind producing them & I appreciate it. I am really enthusiastic about the Videos myself & I believe they are the best Videos I have ever seen!
10. Shtick! Another thing is not to get discouraged if sometimes it's hard & you're not getting out any Videos. Stop & pray with your partner for the Lord to change the situation; this shows that it is only the Lord Who can do it, not yourself, so that the Lord gets all the glory when things start going better & He answers prayer! Keep on going & don't give up. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" PTL!
11. A Donation for Our Work! When they ask me how much the Videos cost, I say that what they give is mainly a gift for our missionary Work. Sometimes I let them say a price. But most of the time I say that they cost 35,000 Lira ($30) each Video, or 140,000 ($110) for the set of four, & almost always they give more for our Work. GBT!
12. Jesus First! The most important thing in witnessing is to lift up Jesus. After introducing myself to the person & when I have their attention, often while they are looking over the Videos, I witness to them & maybe give my personal testimony, sharing briefly how the Lord has changed my life, what I used to do before, etc., in just a few sentences. A lot depends on the situation: If the spirit is more relaxed I usually take the time to present Salvation, but if the situation is fast-paced, I've got to move with the situation & just present the Videos.
But if time permits & they are receptive, I take time to talk with them about the Lord & explain how our Videos were produced with children's spiritual care in mind. People often want to know what you stand for. I have often found that people who are very busy will stop their work entirely to listen & talk about Jesus. This in turn opens their hearts to our tools & often to help with a generous donation to our Work. I have found that I work much less when I put Jesus first, as He does all the work!
I tell them that God loves them & that He wants to forgive their sins & give them the free gift of Eternal Life. Sometimes I have them read the verse, 1Jn.5:13, These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life, & that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God." I explain to them what it means, & then I ask them questions to see if they have understood & know that they have Eternal Life if they believe & receive Jesus.
Many of them receive Jesus & then they know that we are not just salesmen, trying to sell them our products, but that we are giving them the most precious thing: Jesus & His Gift of Eternal Salvation! When I put Jesus & the Salvation of their souls first, the Lord always blesses the distribution of the Videos afterwards, financially, & also with new friends & contacts, etc., TYJ! So it always pays to put Jesus first in our personal lives & in those of others!
Copyright 1996 The Family