July 17, 2003
FSM 337 CM/FM
4/99
Copyright © 1999 by The Family
(Editor's note:) This FSM is the first in a series of witnessing tips and ideas, compiled from comments and suggestions on your TRFs and other articles that you've sent in for publication. We've tried to include as many "how to" type testimonies as possible. We hope these will give you new ideas for outreach methods that you may not have tried before—as well as some fresh approaches to those you're already familiar with. If you have found a new method for getting out the message, please write it up and send it in so we can publish it for all! God bless you!
(From the Bombay DF Home, India:) We never used to get out many sets of videos and tapes, but it's an avenue we've pursued more over the past six months, and we've found that it does work if you really follow up. Two girls in the Home do the bulk of our outreach and follow-up, and one thing they've learned is to never take a "See me tomorrow," or "Come back next week," or even a "Come back in six months," as a "No." They always write down in their little diary (which they keep in their handbag) the date that the person said to come back, and then they faithfully return on the given date. (Of course, it's one of our priorities to get out the Word and the videos, but for these businessmen it's not on the top of their list to take our tools, so we need to be very sweet and tactful when following up on these busy men and women.)
On the practical side, when we meet someone for the first time, we'll often let them look through the photo album of our Home's activities and then we'll present the set of videos. One set contains all 15 videos, 20 audios and one CD, and we ask around $750 for this complete set. We've found that big companies have the means to take whole sets, and sometimes will even take more than one set, as they have big budgets that allow them to do such things.
They will always ask for a request letter, which we prepare on our local letterhead, and try to get to them the very next day. Then we phone them back at the time they requested us to do so. They usually have to consult with someone else in the company before being able to approve the release of the funds.
These companies will often give us a date to get back to them, but more often than not when we phone back they'll tell us to phone next week or in a couple of days, and sometimes this goes on for a few weeks. We've found that these delays are not denials, and we just need to keep plugging away. Sometimes it takes months for the sale of some of these sets to come through, but we usually have 10-20 people we're following up on, so every month at least 5-10 sets come through, and every day we're meeting new companies and businessmen.—And it goes on and on!
We've met many sweet and precious folks this way and have had many beautiful witnessing experiences also, because many of these company executives are very lonely and searching.—This way we're not just being salespeople. It's been beautiful to take time with these people and be able to feed them and minister to them. We also immediately start sending these new friends follow-up letters.
Getting out sets of videos is only a small part of our outreach, but we've found that it really helps us to make our monthly budget, and frees us to be involved in other types of outreach, such as CTPs and a fruitful youth ministry.
We never had the faith for these big companies in the past, as we thought there was too much red tape involved and that it wouldn't work. But the Lord has showed us differently, and it's been a very inspiring ministry to pioneer!
(From Grace, David and Ruth, Poland:) When approaching a new kindergarten with tools, we've found some people hesitant about them, having never seen them before. So we started to ask some of our friends who already have some of our tools if they wouldn't mind giving an extra donation to cover one or more videos, which we can give to kindergartens or orphanages that we visit.
This way, when we go to an orphanage or a kindergarten that we have never been to before, we give them a video and a blank request form for more videos or tools. Afterwards, we call and check if they and kids liked them. They almost always do, so we go and pick up the request form, which we then present to different donors. That way we have a lot of requests, with more possibilities to get out the tools.
(From Abigail Florence and Michael Fischer, USA:) Through giving out our clown cards advertising parties, we received an invitation to attend a birthday party for a six-year-old. We presented the birthday girl with a gift of the KV "Wear a Great Big Smile," and also included a "Time to Be Happy" cassette tape as a prize in the "pass the parcel" game, which she also won (with our help!).
A few days after the party we called back to see how they liked the tapes, and the mother just raved about them! She said, "Oh, I'm so glad you called. In fact I was going to call you.—You beat me to it! I just love the tapes you left us, and I wanted to ask if I can buy more or how I can get them." She said it's all her girls listen to in the car or watch as soon as they get home!
We took over some KV and TA catalogues, and called her back at a later date to get her order. She asked if she could get all of them, and if she could also pass on the catalogue to the school her girls attend. She went on and on about how good these videos and tapes are, and she wants to give some out as gifts as well as get more for her girls.
We find the clown parties can be a perfect opportunity to present the tapes and videos, because you have a captive audience of children and parents alike!—And you're right in their living room! PTL for the wonderful, priceless materials that we have!
(From a young person in Peter, Crystal, Joanna and Isaac's Home, South Africa:) When I go videoing, if I just pull out the videos and give a sales pitch, I find that often people don't want to buy them. But "if you witness, you always win," and I started taking time to witness to people and tell them about our lifestyle and our growing up as kids doing missionary work. People admire that, because they don't see young people nowadays who do what we're doing. Usually, even if they didn't want the video in the beginning, after witnessing to them they completely change, often taking the video or at least helping in some way.
(From Kristina, Russia:) The Lord led us to a small fair where people were exhibiting different products for children, like school supplies, toys, artwork etc. They invited us to set up a stand to sell our videos, and said we could pay for the stand by giving them a few videos.
At first we were not sure if it would be worth it to attend, but when we prayed about it, the Lord encouraged us to go and He said it would bring forth much fruit. So we went by faith!
We set up our TV, video machine, and video display in a small room, together with few other companies. Right away a few people came and bought some tapes. Contrary to what we had expected, the fair was full of people—parents with children, teachers, managers of children's show groups, etc. They really liked our tools, and some bought sets of them.
At the end of the fair we got a diploma for participating, and were invited to the next fair. It really pays to follow where the Lord leads!
(From Joy, of John Beloved, USA:) This month I started doing video parties. I do it kind of like a Tupperware party: The hostess (whose house we go to) invites a few of her friends, and then I go over and present the tapes and videos. I use the loops at the ends of the videos and information from the Home Educator on TV watching. I present the videos as educational and inspirational tools designed to instill good morals and behavior in children.
The guests make their orders and give a deposit to cover the seed cost. I then tell them to allow two to four weeks for delivery. Once we receive the tool order, I make up the ladies' packages and deliver them to the hostess, who collects the outstanding balances and delivers the tapes, etc.
The parties have a snowball effect, as the aim is for each party to generate enough interest that a guest will book a party for themselves. As an incentive, once the hostess gets $100 worth of orders, they get a free video of their choice.
(From Charity Knight, Lydia Child, Rosita Gypsy, Jesse and Rose, USA:) These are some tips on video salesmanship that we learned from other vendors at various conferences we attended recently.
(From Miguel, Esther and Dulcinea, Spain:) For distributing videos at schools and kindergartens, we take along a guitar! We tell the person in charge that if they take the set of videos and tapes, we can do a 15- to 20-minute show for the kids. We usually make a few figures from balloons, and sing some action songs with the children, who participate and have lots of fun. The teachers also end up enjoying it—and the school takes the tools. Thank You Lord!
(From Philip, Gentleness and Faith, Italy:) We found STS distribution goes better when we initially "conceal our witness," so to speak.—In other words, when we don't walk in the door with a big PR album in our hands (which often puts people on the defensive). Rather, we bring along our photos in small photo albums, like the ones you can often get for free when developing film. These we easily keep in our bags and then pull out when we're already into our conversation. In our case, this helped us reach the people when they are relaxed and therefore more open to the witness.
(From Lily, Andre and Crystal, Lebanon:) We have a cellular phone number that we give out to people who take the videos, and have been receiving many calls from mothers who want more videos for their children. The number is not tied to our Home, and it allows us to be reached easily. (Editor's note: Or, if you're a more open Home, you could give them your Home phone number rather than having to invest in a mobile phone.)
(From Marcos, Faith, Rebeca and Angela, Ecuador:) We have been doing most of our videoing by phone. When someone buys the videos, we ask them for references and they usually give us from one to ten names. Then we call these people up and make appointments, and many of them also buy a video. We then ask them for references, and we end up with an endless list of people to call. This is how we got out almost all of our 135 videos this month.
(From Praise, David and Mary, India:) We've found it fruitful when presenting the videos in offices and businesses, even if we didn't know the head of a company previously, to call him on the phone (if possible) or go through the secretary to get an appointment. We have found that if handled in a proper manner, many top company heads will give you an appointment (eventually) just because you ask to see them and want to introduce your work. Then we reach them on their level in a manner acceptable to them—coming on time, dressed nicely, with a good presentation.
We present as much documented material as possible (i.e. color brochure of our work, Kiddie Viddie brochures, letters of sponsorship, etc.), and show them our photo album and some newspaper articles about our CTP. This can all be done quite quickly, as they are very busy people. They don't read it all, but they like to see how much we have printed. Also putting several videos and audio tapes on the desk helps them catch the vision.
The main battle is getting the appointment. We have found it definitely worth our while to take time to make appointments, as usually it weeds out the people who aren't interested or aren't sheep. We have found that the ones who do give an appointment usually end up getting something, even if they don't get a whole set. It is also good to do some research and make sure that the person you are investing time getting an appointment with is the top person who has the authority to make the decision to give a substantial donation. There are some very helpful tips in the FSM "Finances and Fundraising, Part 3," (FSM #264) about making appointments.
One other thing we found helpful is when delivering the set, we have been giving them the 11 videos, 12 audios and the curriculum book in an inexpensive but smart-looking nylon bag.—As after giving a large donation like that, we feel that it wouldn't be nice to just leave the material all sitting on his desk. For institutions, we also give the set to them in a bag.
To help the institutions to which we donate sponsored videos be more appreciative of and value the videos, we have requested that they fill out a questionnaire and send it to us once every two months. This questionnaire asks how often they watch the videos, what are the teachers' reactions, the children's reactions, and if they have any suggestions, etc. This report not only helps the institution to take the sponsorship program more seriously, but also provides us with valuable proof to our donors of the benefit of the videos.
Keeping the right motivation of not just getting out videos but getting people to watch them over and over is what will make our sponsors and the Lord happy.
(From Steven, Claire, Gerson and Keiko, Russia:) We came up with a new way of meeting people and distributing videos this month. There is a newspaper which consists of ads of all kinds—people selling things, buying things, renting houses, giving classes, offering different services, etc. We tried calling people who offer English classes and asking if they are interested in English videos for children. We found this to be a good way to meet new people since we aren't able to witness openly anymore. Now we also want to try contacting people who offer preschool classes (they call it "school preparation" here), and offering them Russian videos.
(From Abner, Esther, Andrew and Lena, South Africa:) While on a road trip to a nearby town we decided to approach all the places where the Family regularly eats. To our amazement, none of them had ever bought CDs from the Family before! We ended up distributing CDs to all of them, while also enjoying some delicious meals they happily donated. The same happened to two of our hotel contacts. We offered them our CDs and they loved them. Before we departed, they ended up bringing more buyers for us, who purchased tools beyond our expectations. What a miracle!
(From Abner, Esther, Andrew and Katie, South Africa:) Leaving bank deposit slips with people who cannot pay for tapes and videos on the spot has helped us receive income which we would otherwise miss out on.Giving a discount for a pack of 4-5 videos or tapes generates extra income and more tools out.
(From Michael and Charity, Philippines:) Michael has been taking an order book out with him, and people order from him and then give the money on their payday. He arranges a date to pick up the payment, and has found this a great way to get out tapes in high-rise office buildings. These sweet people love our tapes and want to get them, and this avoids embarrassing them when they have no money to buy the tapes on our initial visit.
We also ask if they have any prayer requests, before we leave the office. People here really respect prayer, and while most people's requests are fairly simple, occasionally you meet someone in a really desperate situation, and they so appreciate having someone care enough to pray for them in their time of need.
(From Peace, USA:) I put an ad in the newspaper for children's tapes, and started getting calls! I'm putting up signs, posters, and pull-tab signs * with a new letterhead to offer the videos and tapes.
(* Some shopping centers have bulletin boards with signs offering services. These include strips at the bottom with the person's phone number. Interested customers can then rip these strips off and call up.)
(From Victor and Maria, Middle East:) As we're quite limited time- and personnel-wise, it was difficult for us to go out tooling on a regular basis. Then the Lord showed us to use a method that had proven very effective in our provisioning: the phone and fax route. So now we're making our first contact of introducing the tools by phone, then following it up with a fax. We've gotten very good responses, and the follow-up potential is great!
We also came across a phone directory that had the names of many of the chairmen/managing directors of main companies. We started calling them one by one, offering the videos either for themselves or as sponsored gifts. It would have been difficult for us walking into their offices and trying to meet them at the first contact. But in this way, we've been very encouraged how favorably some have responded.
By Pedro Pescador, Brazil
I have met many brethren who told me they weren't good at tool distribution, that sales wasn't for them, they just didn't have that gift. Since I used to feel the same way, I decided to write about what made the difference for me and what helped me in this area. It's true that much has been written about this subject, but maybe it would be interesting to have the point of view of a simple little nobody who was once considered a terrible salesman.
I joined the Family in Buenos Aires with a deep desire to serve the Lord. I had no problems to speak of as far as personal witnessing and getting people saved, but when it came to getting out tools, I was a real zero. (I was happy if I could sell 5 or 10 posters in a day!) My only previous experience in sales was when, at age 18, I was given an area to cover as a salesman of alfajores (a typical Argentine sweet, a cross between a cake and a cookie). I made a fool of myself, was a resounding failure, didn't make a single sale and wound up drinking coffee with my samples. But in the Family I was able to comprehend certain principles that helped me break the chains that were keeping me from being a good salesman:
Once I came to realize these truths I began to observe the more successful witnessers, and tried to copy their techniques. Little by little I got better at it until I came out on the shiner list for posters several times, although it was still hard for me to sell tapes. I used to say: "I don't have the same talent others have for selling tapes. I just get out posters and personal witness; others can get out the tapes—that's not for me." I remember one time I was so afraid of going out with the tapes that I hid in the closet so I wouldn't have to go out! This made me stop and think, and I realized that fear of failure had become a prison for me, and that the solution was to face my fears. I couldn't run away from them all my life.
That was when I took the plunge and started trying to get tapes out. I wasn't tremendously successful, but I was no longer terrified of the idea, as the worst thing that could happen wasn't as bad as it had seemed. Furthermore, since I didn't have a great reputation to maintain I was free from pressure.
I looked up all the Letters I could find that talked about offering our tools, and I did an in-depth study. I took the ideas and tips that stood out to me and tried to put them into practice. I also observed each witnesser, and would copy the phrases that worked best, word for word—I even copied their gestures and attitudes! I did the same thing in getting out the videos when they came along. My faith also had to grow from believing I could get out one tape or video in a day to ten, twenty or even forty.
To sum things up, there are certain things that helped me over the obstacles that kept me from witnessing freely. The Lord can turn anyone into a full-of-faith, fearless salesman!
1. For starters, you have to be convinced that the product you are offering is the very best. You've got to believe that the Family productions are witnessing tools, and that through them we are changing the world.
I fill myself up on whatever I'm going to sell: I listen to the tapes and watch the videos so I'll know what to say. I jot down phrases that come to me, and if a particular scene moves me in a special way I make a point of mentioning it in the course of my conversation with a prospective client. I memorize key headings and titles, and with the videos I memorize parts of the comments on the jackets. I also jot down positive comments from satisfied customers, with names, dates and places, which gives me concrete references for other possible clients. (On the subject of comments from your clients, it's good to remember that 90% of the people you meet are simply fascinated with our tools, but many times just a few negative comments from some goats—usually just 10% or less of those who see the tools—have a greater impact. So don't let that have undue influence on your convictions, and use those positive comments!)
2. Putting a reasonable price on your product makes it even more desirable. Everyone knows that any production costs something to produce.
In addition to production costs, you have to live, which means you need money. Your potential customer understands this. What we ask for in return for our tools is directly related to the physical value of the product. If we were to charge for the spiritual benefits they bring, we should ask for millions!
3. Don't fear failure. Failure is not our enemy but rather our ally, so every time you come across it, be thankful for having found out what doesn't work. Every time I fail, once I get over the humiliation and feeling of uneasiness, I am overcome with a sense of freedom; I can start again, and experience has shown me what not to do.
4. Examine your attitude before starting. If you have very high expectations or expect too much from a day, from a faith trip or from a new distribution initiative, you run the risk of being let down, which can affect your faith.
The correct attitude is being prepared for the worst but praying and hoping that God will do an "exceptional" miracle—and He can do that every day. While it is necessary to fight to reach your goal, at the same time you should set yourself reasonable goals that can be reached. Your faith must be unfeigned.
My expectations from a good day of distributing tools has varied from hoping to get out one tape to wanting to get out 300. At first I thought it was quite a miracle to get out four tapes, since I was hoping to just get out one. Then my aspirations started climbing as I saw the Lord do miracles. Every day when I get up I say to myself: "This could be my best day!" And oftentimes it is! But I have also had to learn that the value of a day cannot always be measured in terms of achievements alone.
5. Appearance is very important. People see what you show them; they can't see inside of you. Without a doubt a nice big smile helps you look your best, but your apparel, aroma and hair are also key elements in the impression you make. Folks generally think that if you are not well-dressed it's because you don't have enough money to buy yourself something decent to wear, which suggests that sales aren't going very well and therefore what you have to offer isn't all that great. We should distinguish our product by dressing well and looking neat. One must also take the area he will visit into account when choosing what to wear.
6. Enthusiasm when speaking. The zeal you transmit is proof that your product is top notch. People usually buy something for two reasons: (A) they need it, or (B) they want it. If you can't convince them that they need what you have, get them so enthused that they will want it.
7. How to present yourself. Whatever technique I use, I always try to be both sure of myself and humble right from the start. In the business world, few salespersons are sure of themselves because they don't have a good philosophical basis for doing what they're doing, and even in the best of cases they're just stuck on themselves, mistaking pride for self-confidence. We on the other hand know where we come from, where we're going, who we are, and above all, Who God is!
It's very helpful to have an opening phrase that is both pleasant and intriguing. I never apologize for taking up someone's time, as I trust they will enjoy their little chat with me. I start off by greeting my potential customer warmly and begin offering him my product soon after that. Sometimes I'll make a little joke, circumstances permitting, which helps break the ice. Remember that people have two questions on their mind while listening to you: "What is he selling me?" and "How much does it cost?" This does not necessarily mean the person is interested in buying your product; maybe it's just curiosity, but nevertheless this is something the salesman can take advantage of.
8. The offer and the sale. Once I get someone's attention I just take it for granted that he or she is a future customer. My technique is generally as follows: I show them the tapes or videos, one by one, explaining their content in detail and bringing out points of interest.
While doing this I sprinkle comments here and there about people who have already bought them, well-known people who value our productions, or schools that use them. I never pass up a chance to comment on the positive effects our tools have had on myself and on my children.
At some point during my presentation I will turn my attention to pictures of the prospective client's children, to a diploma on the wall or a decoration—anything that will give me occasion to talk about him or her and leave the sale alone for a while. I ask, for example, how old his children are, what do they do, where he was born, etc. There's never a lack of something to converse about when it comes to themselves, their family or some other point of interest. This helps relieve the tension and gives me an opportunity to give the sale a personal touch. It also gives me a chance to talk about the missionary work we do, and then generally when we get back to the point, it's just a matter of working out the price and the terms of payment. I have discovered that if I am sincerely interested in the person, this creates an atmosphere of friendship which always has a positive influence.
I avoid thinking about money while talking with people. There is nothing worse than this, and people notice it right away if you don't enjoy distributing the tools but you're just in it for the money. This is annoying. If people ask me about the price right away I'll say something like "That's just a detail." It's not good to be overly evasive, but it's better to wait until people are truly interested before talking about the price.
I always try to inject some humor into the conversation, especially when it comes to how much it's going to cost. When things get to that point I just take it for granted that the person is going to buy the tools. Maybe what he or she had in mind was one or two, but I want to sell them ten or twelve, so I need to be on my toes! One approach that works pretty well is to tell them, "If you buy these two, I'll give them to you for this much, but if you get the whole set, I'll give you a discount and throw in this other one here for free."
Once the deal is clinched, before I leave I ask for three references of friends or acquaintances who might be interested in the tools. If possible, I try to go see the referrals that very day. There's nothing like striking while the iron is hot and telling them, "I just talked with your friend, Mr. John Doe, who bought the collection, and he suggested I come see you " The sooner I can do this, the better the effect.
* There is nothing more tempting to someone than a good deal. People love to bargain, and many times the sale crystallizes at this moment. It's an art you have to enjoy yourself too.
* In some big sales where a lot of people are involved (like in a company, for example), when things are slowing down, I use a reviving technique I call induced contagion. It consists of taking advantage of the interest of two or three people to multiply it in others. I'll say in a loud voice so everyone can hear me: "We're going to do something special here in this company. If this many people buy the tapes, we'll bring the price down to such and such for everyone." Generally the effect is that those who were interested to begin with try to get everyone else interested too, so they can get a better price. This creates a very catchy enthusiasm, and even the woman who never spends her money anywhere else but in the beauty shop winds up buying a few!
* Nothing succeeds like success. If it's going good, say so! Do a little advertising for yourself. People like to buy in successful stores and from successful people. I have seen that if you come across with a defeatist attitude, you will be defeated indeed before very long, and if you transmit a victorious spirit to people, this attitude brings results too.
* I have learned to vary my techniques in accordance with the situation. Not every fish likes the same kind of bait, and what works with one might not necessarily turn another's key. Sometimes I tell people right away that I'm a missionary and other times I leave it for last. Sometimes I let our tools sell themselves.
* "No" does not always mean "no." Many people say, "I'm not interested," just out of habit. I used to accept the rebuff and leave it at that, but later I discovered that most of the time it wasn't that they were genuinely uninterested—they were just trying not to be. Now when people tell me something like that I just hand them the earphones and say, "Here, listen to a little bit, so you can stop wondering what it is." I'd say that about 50% of the people who start off saying they're not interested wind up buying tapes.
* I handle the tapes or videos with great care, thus showing that they are valuable. I arrange them on the desk or table in an orderly fashion and try to get the prospective customer to take them, one by one, into their hands, as this produces a desire to acquire them.
* If I get someone to listen to the tapes I try to slowly bring the volume up, in order to keep their attention. I never speak to them while they are listening, or if I must, I make very short comments only. I pick out songs that I like. With the videos, besides selecting the best parts, I prepare comments that are related to those segments.
9. How to make clients. Anyone who buys a tool can become a client of mine and buy more on a regular basis as new ones come out.
I used to visit a city one time, figuring that people would only buy from me once. Then I discovered that people like to have regular suppliers that they know well and in whom they can trust. In my determination to make clients, I would get the addresses of those who bought tools from me and send them a thank you letter in which I would mention our Christian work. In the letter I would also let them know that I would be back again sometime with new productions. The next time I visited they would receive me warmly, and without my even needing to bring the matter up they would ask me if I had something new for them. Eighty percent of the letters I sent out resulted in another sale.
10. Hang in there a little longer. Sometimes things don't go quite as well as we would hope, and that's when we need to cling to the Lord, keep on plugging away at it and not give up. So often we throw in the towel just before the victory. Like that MOP quote says: "Anything wonderful can happen in that little margin of time when you don't give up, but keep on fighting" (MOP "Fight the Good Fight," par.55). That truth has been tried and proven for me, and many times the outcome of a struggle is defined at the very last minute.
11. The importance of a good team. When you're setting up your outreach teams, it's very important that those who will be going out together are in agreement ahead of time. It really helps if they know who is going to speak first, who's going to say one thing or another, who will set the prices, etc. When a team works well together, try to take full advantage of it and keep it together at all costs.
12. When everything is going great guns and you have one success after another, that's when your worst enemy will present itself: self-glorification! This infirmity has destroyed many an excellent witnesser. Those who have survived this virus generally acquire a very healthy fear of God, the only known antidote. Once after I distributed over 1,000 tapes, I yielded to the temptation of taking credit for the achievement. What a mess I got myself into! The glory lasted two or three days, but when I went back out witnessing again I just didn't feel the same fire and anointing. I went for three weeks without getting out a single tape! I felt like I didn't have any faith at all, and people noticed. Finally I realized where I had gone wrong and asked the Home for prayer. After that, as if by magic, my faith returned and I got out 15 tapes that very day. I learned to always give the credit to God.
Sometimes I have felt useless, thinking I'd never be like certain brothers who got out a lot of tapes and videos, who had a way with words and knew just where to go and what to say, who always seemed to succeed. I was quite discouraged and this made my service for the Lord suffer. I was convinced that only special people could do that, exceptionally gifted ones who were born with a special aura about them. With time I learned that God can use anyone if they will just yield their will to Him. There is no limit to what God can do with someone who is yielded to Him. It's sort of like entering university: you learn a little bit every day, step by step, and you pass one course at a time. Anyone can become an excellent salesman of the Gospel. Just two things are needed: a sense of calling and patience.
(From Micah, Taiwan:) We had been doing a lot of "tooling" during the past year here and especially during the holidays, so I had been feeling a bit burned out. To fight this problem I told myself, "Just go out for the souls; forget the stats!" The first person just gave a small donation, but then she prayed with us. The next person didn't want to give any donation, but we prayed with her, too.
Soon, down the line, a manager got saved and got a video. Then a little later somebody got four more videos. The more we put the soul-winning first, the more the Lord poured it on! In about three hours on a more-or-less obscure street, the Lord helped us get out ten videos, ten tapes, and we won ten souls! It was a good lesson for me to keep soul-winning as the main motive for going out, and the Lord will even give you the stats too!
(From Peter, Vietnam:) I was walking home one evening and I saw a man who looked really down and out. As I walked by him, I prayed "Lord, help that man to get saved and his life to change." The Lord spoke to my heart and said, "If you don't witness to him, who else is going to do it?" So I turned around and started speaking to him in Vietnamese. He said that he was from the countryside and was in poor health. I told him about Jesus and he prayed and received Jesus into his heart. Then I prayed for his healing and gave him enough money to buy dinner.
This happened one other time with a poor Catholic woman on the street, whom I happened to notice was writing a letter to her family in America. I also witnessed to her in Vietnamese, and she got saved and I gave her enough money to buy dinner. She said that she had come to the city because she had 10 children and no husband to support her. Each of these precious sheep were very thankful to receive Jesus, and I learned a lesson about not being in a hurry and listening to the Lord's voice when He spoke clearly to my heart as I passed by and He had said, "Go back and talk to her."
(From Sharon, of Jonathan, Russia:) One time we really needed to be on time for a certain meeting, so we prayed that the Lord would get us there in good time, and also specifically for someone who needed Him desperately to be the one to pick us up. Right away a fancy taxi with a young driver pulled up. I asked him if he could take us for free, because we're a charity organization. He said he didn't do charity and was about to take off when I handed him a tract, saying, "Jesus loves you!"
I guess those words touched him (or maybe it was the baby that was hanging on me), but he agreed to take us. He looked quite sad, though, and as we started witnessing to him it turned out that he was sick and needed money for medicine. So I told him, "God can do a miracle and heal you." He confessed he didn't have such great faith, but agreed that we could pray for him. So we laid hands on him and prayed, and after that he also asked Jesus into his heart. After he received Jesus we finally could see a beautiful smile on his face. I've been praying for him ever since, and I believe the Lord kept His promise.
(From Will, Bruni and Eleonora, Poland:) Bruni was listening to a local English radio program that's hosted by an English man who gives a sweet positive message and mild witness on each of his shows. One evening he started saying how he was searching for real love and answers in his life. Bruni phoned and witnessed to him, and he put her on the radio. She talked to him personally after the show, and we later went by and brought him a Christmas CD, which he put on the air. He was very touched, and said he is at quite a desperate time in his life. He was brought to tears by Bruni's love and concern, and was very thankful for the witness.
(From Steven Ascribe, Japan:) For the past 12 years I have been reluctant to tell people that my disability was a result of my attempted suicide. It had resulted in me being paralyzed from the neck down, and the doctors had told me that I would not be able to walk again. In answer to my desperate prayers, the Lord raised me up and I have been faithful whenever possible to testify of the Lord's healing and give Him the glory, but I would generally say it was due to an accident and try to avoid getting into details about it.
Recently, through the high rate of suicide here in Japan, the Lord started to show me that by not sharing my whole testimony I was in effect holding back and not letting the truth set others free. I was allowing my pride and reputation to stand in the way of His mercy, and He wanted my testimony to comfort and encourage others with the same comfort wherewith I had been comforted by Him (2Co.1:4).
At first I found it quite hard to just tell people what had happened to me and why, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the reaction was very favorable. It immediately opened people's hearts to me and gave them hope. It changed their whole perception of me from being one who just preached Jesus and the Word, to one who was living proof of the Lord and His mercy, forgiveness, truth and healing power. In other words, "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that their faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1Co.2:4,5).
I have now typed up a brief outline of my testimony in English and Japanese that I give to friends and contacts, and the response has been so encouraging. It has been somewhat like what the Lord said about the "Who Said They're Dead?" testimonies: It has been like a bait that makes them want to know more about Jesus, the Word, Dad and the Family. TYJ! And the fruit in my personal life has been so liberating, encouraging and fulfilling and absolutely proving to me the truth of Dad's dream: "The Magic Green Shirt!" PG!
"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2Co.12:9).
(From Daniel, Claire and Gerson, Russia:) At the beginning of this month, the few of us left in the Home decided to win 1,000 souls over the next three weeks we'd still be here, as after that some of us would be either leaving the Home or going on visa trips. But how could we do it? We had just finished building our puppet show, so we decided to visit the remainder of the orphanages in this city's metropolitan area.
Our dear national booked shows for us every day for 21 consecutive days. Our program included a puppet story, balloons, action songs, posters and the salvation message. Several of the institutions we performed at were for handicapped children, which made it somewhat more difficult but at the same time no less satisfying.
We tried to get our audience to participate as much as possible, having them come up on stage and sing the songs we taught them. The teachers of these orphan children appreciate this a lot, as it helps to make these otherwise introverted children come out of themselves and reach out to others.
From every place we went to, we got a recommendation letter which will help in our fundraising. One of the last shows we did was during the national children's day at the world-famous Hermitage, one of the world's biggest art museums. Besides reaching our goal, we also distributed many posters, brought happiness and fun to hundreds of children, and finished reaching all of the orphanages in this city. PTL!
(From Samuel David, 19, Ecuador:) When going out witnessing, I usually just sell, sell, sell, but then I went out with a certain brother, and I noticed that he does pretty good, because he gets most anyone he meets saved—regardless of whether he makes a sale or not! Consequently I began doing the same, and my sales shot way up!—And they're still climbing. It really pays off. PTL!
(From Andrew, 16, Philippines:) We've learned to have a more personal approach when we talk to people, especially to secretaries, rather than just acting like any worldly salesperson trying to make a sale. In the past we'd ask the secretaries if we could speak with the boss, and if he was out, we'd just leave. The Lord also showed us that as a Home we weren't concentrating on souls like we should have been, and were just trying to sell tapes. One morning at devotions we all took the time to pray for more love for the lost, and not to just do outreach to raise money. That day when we went out, we won 35 souls, and besides that we met real precious people who really needed the Lord! One guy who was very broken said, "I think God sent you folks here today just to talk to me!" TTL! Let's win more souls for His Heavenly Kingdom!
(From Steven, Maria and Robin, Ghana:) Each of our teens has a photo album that they organize themselves. When they go out witnessing they use it in their approach to people, and it is helping in their outreach. This also compels them to take good pictures or get good picture taken of them, so they can use them on a personal basis.
(From Joy, Emmanuelle and Sarah, Taiwan:) If you can't write the characters of the local language, have a bunch of sticky labels on hand when you go out, and have sheep write their address on the labels for you. This can be less bulky than carrying envelopes around. (When you get home, you can also lay these labels out on a sheet and photocopy them for future use, if you wish!)
(From Michael Christian and Maria, Japan:) Michael made cards for witnessing with phrases written in different languages, to show to people we meet from different countries. The card also had John 3:16 in about 12 different languages.
(From Debbie, England:) Every time I'm out and about town, I witness—just personal witness, on the buses mainly.—And God's peace, excitement, joy and love for that soul comes over me and I feel fulfilled right there. Why? `Cause witnessing is where it's at!
If you are tired and uninspired from always postering and fundraising, leave your tools at home for a day and only take your free tracts, your mouth and your smile, and say, "Jesus, use me! Flow through me to reach these hearts and souls and cause them to walk with You! Help me to make a difference to that person today!" What a thrill!
(From Paul, Ruthie, Timothy and Praise, Russia:) Learning songs in the local language was something we hadn't given enough attention and effort to, but we're seeing that it's really helpful for feeding the sheep, and even helps us learn the language faster.
(From Gentleness, Italy:) Since Pietro joined our Home, Faithy and I have been taking turns partnering up with him to go postering in downtown Rome. Pietro has always been a real shiner in this area, while Faithy and I have found it to be quite a battlefield. After working hard postering three to four hours nonstop, we would usually have little or nothing to show for it. For me it became a real source of discouragement, as I also could not understand why the Lord would so bless Pietro's efforts while seemingly not honoring mine nor Faithy's very much.
Lord forgive me, I was sort of complaining in my heart about this and was ready to throw in the towel, saying that it was just too difficult postering downtown, and that I didn't want to go there anymore, as I just didn't seem to be able to do it. But, while working on Mama's suggested reading list in "Problems and Solutions, Part 1," I came upon the following quote from "How to Overcome Discouragement": "`They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy' (Jonah 2:8). If we look at the mountains of obstacles or problems that seem to be in our way, and we allow ourselves to believe that something is just too much, too big, we're allowing ourselves to get pressured through looking at these problems instead of looking at the Lord and His power. If we allow ourselves to get pressured like that, if we allow ourselves to get discouraged, we are observing lying vanities! And if we do that, it says we then `forsake our own mercies.' In other words, we're forsaking the offer of the Lord's mercy and the Lord's help, the Lord's faith, the Lord's grace—which is all sufficient, and the Lord's miraculous power that can free us from the Enemy's discouragement!" (ML #2750:40; Vol.20).
I also looked up the word "observe" in the dictionary and found that one of the definitions given was "to draw the conclusion of"! This all really hit me, as I had definitely drawn the conclusion by now that postering in Rome was too hard for me. I had observed lying vanities, and had thereby forsaken my own mercies! After this I prayed and asked the Lord to please forgive me and help me have the right attitude and to have faith.
Well, the Lord was faithful and one day while coming home on the bus, Pietro and I had a good talk. Pietro was sharing about giving the posters more freely and not being too concerned about getting donations, and that the Lord would more than repay! He said the most important was to go out and show love and concern for the people and to try to give them love, even if they do not receive the lit or give any donations. He also shared that every morning before he goes out he "writes out a check," asking the Lord to provide an exact amount, and that the Lord never fails to meet him.
The next time we went to Rome, I had desperate prayer with the Lord the night before, and when we arrived at our spot, Pietro asked me if I'd written out my check. I hadn't, but quickly did so. So when postering I tried to keep all these points in mind. I also made an effort to not forsake my own mercy through observing lying vanities. I watched Pietro for awhile when we first started, and noticed how he seemed to be really enjoying himself and was so sweet with everyone, and that their reaction (if negative) didn't seem to affect him. He had also told me that he feels that it's his ministry to comfort people, to make them feel loved.
With all this in mind, I started going on the attack! On this morning I had only carried 50 posters with me, and halfway through the morning I ran out of posters and had to go and get more! Previously the most I'd given out in about four hours was 30 or 40 posters! Furthermore, the Lord honored my check and gave me the exact amount I'd asked Him for! By the way, this turned out to be one third of what Pietro asked—and got—but for me it was such a wonderful breakthrough!
Now I don't want to pray to just get more funds when witnessing, but I want to pray for a truly broken heart for these people and that the Lord will help me to love and care for them the way He would have it. TTL for the life-giving Words!
(From Esther, India:) Our black-and-white lit is fantastic! It captures people's attention, and makes them pause and look at it and smile back. I'm mainly a fund-raiser and am constantly going office to office. But whenever I have the opportunity to give a tract, I love to utilize it.—And the results are great!
Just the other day we were walking out of a big company and saw a pretty girl walking in. I smiled at her and she smiled back, so I stopped and gave her a tract. She told us that she was a marketing manager for a hotel and had had a rough day, and we had just made her day! She invited us to her hotel, treated us to a nice meal and opened up her heart to us. It was just beautiful talking together. This was a good reminder to me to give out the Word, and especially to obey the little checks that the Lord gives us, so as not to miss any of His precious sheep.
(From Philip Follower, Italy:) I believe our tracts win many souls to the Lord! Even though I give the tracts for free to people I meet, I know the Lord repays. In Italy the PPC also has old posters like "When the Towers Fall" that are available for free, and I give out these posters for free to young people. "What's it about?" they say. I reply, "It's to read when you have a free moment!"
The childcare booklet "Growing Together" (local pub) with advice for parents on how to raise their children is very popular. I give out two or three of these booklets daily, usually to young mommies who get tapes for their children. The article "The Stranger," about TV, is so powerful.
It also helps me not to have a set price for the cassette tapes and videos. I say, "For those who have little money, or feel they have little, we ask this much. But if people can give a little extra, it is a big help to our work." And very often people are quite generous in giving larger donations.
The Family booklets "Who Is Jesus" and "In Search of Truth" come in very handy. When I meet young people who I feel are interested in knowing a little more, I often give "Who Is Jesus" to those who believe to a certain extent, or "In Search of Truth" to those who believe very little. The fact that these books are illustrated helps a lot. It really helps to try to get teens or YAs in the System saved, and many are sheepy.
(From Priscila Fisher, 21, Moldova:) Many times when somebody takes a tract while commenting something like, "I have plenty of these at home," or "What's this silly thing?" if I answer with, "I'll only leave it with you if you really want it, because they are very precious," and I reach out to take it back, then even if that person misses the chance of maybe reading the tract, a whole crowd of people who overheard me gathers around, because they realize that this is something important and soon there might not be any left for them.
When passing out lit for free, it doesn't help to try to convince somebody to take a piece of lit when they don't want to—not just because they might not accept it in the end while other people pass you by, but especially because people around hear the comments and they influence each other. Usually most people who heard your conversation will refuse the tract afterwards, and you have to wait a minute till the ones that overheard you are gone, so you can start afresh.
Also it's interesting that when two young people are together, like a boyfriend and girlfriend, if you give them a tract each they'll usually just say "Thanks" and stick it in their pockets. But if you give them only one for the two of them, usually they start reading it together!
(From John, Rose and Tim, Spain:) We have found that the Family posters printed on T-shirts go great—especially in the Summer. (Be sure to give them the corresponding poster or poster tract along with the T-shirt so they get the message!)
(From Gabriel, Ana, Faithy & Becky, Brazil:) This tip has been tried and proven many times! When I go on a faith trip, instead of pushing to pass out materials, I first flood the place with tracts, giving them to everybody in the streets, in the shops, everywhere my partner and I go. It's really easy to pass out a lot like this. (Each one with a smile and a little word.)
The result is that not only a lot of people get saved and are encouraged that way, but the Lord always blesses us afterwards with surprises!—Like someone suddenly buying a set of videos right out of the blue, or a provisioning a very special meal, or meeting a special soul that will be our friend forever. (Last year we printed 60,000 of those tracts locally!)
From a Sold-out Papergirl
When down and weary,
Your day seems dreary,
Why, just smile and give out a tract.
Too tired to talk?
Your feet ache from a long walk?
Then smile and give a tract!
Let the tract do the talking,
Then you'll feel more like walking.
To give out those tracts!
Do you speak the lingo?
Tempted to just stop and gaze at shop windows?
Smile—give'm those tracts!
No matter how blue your blues,
Or how long the bus-stop queues,
Just smile and give out those tracts.
When you're sitting in a plane,
Bus, taxi, or train,
Pass'm a tract!
In shop, market, park or bank,
Don't let your mind go blank.
Pass out those tracts!
For this love they seek,
And it reaches so deep,
In their hearts forever it'll ring—
These words from our King!
With their friends who need care
These words they can share.
These words spread far and wide;
Their power no one can hide.
So as you leave self behind,
Soon great joy you will find,
As you give out those tracts!
For freely loving and giving,
The Lord will soon send His blessing,
`Cause you've given out those tracts!
Your tired feet will have a spring,
And your heart will start to sing,
As you give out those tracts.
So no matter what the cost,
Invest in paper and print for the lost
Those precious life-giving tracts.
Time is short, so give `em out
And the angels will sing and shout!
When to Heaven at last you'll go,
Some soul there will thank you so,
And say, "Hey, remember me? You gave me a tract!"
—Rose Pioneer, Ecuador
(From Clara, Russia:) Puppet shows are such a neat way to tell children about Jesus! We already made friends with several key people who love the puppet and clown show, and who invite us to different happenings or institutions.
Before the summer holidays we had done a few shows in a school for physically handicapped children and teens. When we went back there with another puppet story for the smaller kids, most of them remembered us well and were so happy to see us again. Three of the older teens have become close friends since our first visit and are coming faithfully for GP meetings.
Puppet shows are also a great way to raise funds and teach children different lessons through stories. Most kindergartens that we've gone to are happy to have us come back with a different story. We went to three kindergartens—two of them for the second or third time. The children enjoy it a lot—and so do we!
(From Stephen, Russia:) When we started our preparations for the Christmas puppet show, we made a puppet stand out of light metal poles and used metal joints (the type that you need to tighten with a screwdriver). However, we soon found out that wasn't the best material to use, as it was kind of fragile and breakable. The CCHB explains how to build a stage out of plastic "PVC" pipes. That is almost ideal, but where can you find these materials in Russia?
After our Christmas push we decided to improve our stage. We started calling factories that produce all kinds of plastic stuff, and the man in charge of one of them gave us the name of the company that had those PVC pipes (25 mm diameter). It turned out that this company dealt with electric stuff—mainly cables, wires and lamps.
The Lord also opened the door for us to provision the pipes! Actually, the man in charge didn't have enough authority to give them to us for free, but after looking at the price list he just paid for them himself, saying that he couldn't say no to our request! TYJ!
The next step was to get the joints. The man from the first company we had talked to, which dealt with plumbing equipment, showed us some T-joints made out of polyethylene plastic (this material is pretty bendable and hard to break), which they produced. Our pipes fit inside the joints perfectly!—And before we had even asked, this man himself offered us as many of those joints as we wanted for free! TYJ!
We had only one day before our next show, when we built the stage. It came out strong, light and easy to assemble.—You can even shake the stage without being afraid that it will fall apart. PTL for His supply!
(From Patrick, Joanna and Christina, USA:) Almost a year ago, the Lord showed us to get a puppet show together to help our boys do something for the Lord that would inspire them. All the kids in our Home are boys, and we couldn't keep them inspired just singing and performing, though we tried. The Lord led us to use "The Prince and the Magical Power" tract as the basis of our story.
We had no idea how much work would go into this. As the preparations dragged on and on, it got discouraging, and we wondered if we would really ever get this show on the road. Once the puppets and theatre were made, and the script written, the next major obstacle was just getting our boys to work together. There was always a certain amount of struggle backstage, with four or five older boys squished in behind the three-by-five foot puppet stage!
They also had to give a lot of their time to practice, plus learn to follow counsel and not just do it the way they thought best. We recorded the voices on a tape recorder, and provisioned a studio to put on some simple music and sound effects. (Boy, we were surprised when we found out that it took five hours of studio time for our 20-minute tape!)
At last we met someone out clowning who asked if we could do a stage show at their church carnival, and we volunteered our puppet show. We were really nervous, but the boys did a fantastic job! We won about 20 souls, and people were very impressed!
This month we ended up doing about seven shows, and a friend wants to put us on local TV! It is really exciting and the Lord has blessed the boys with all kinds of outings and special treats as they give their all to witness. If we would have known the amount of work and time it was going to take us, we may never have attempted to do this, but the Lord knew better. We are now looking forward to our next production, and the Lord has already provided a studio to do the soundtrack.
(From Stephen of Clare, Russia:) Don't let lack of personnel stop you from doing your puppet show. You can try what we did .
Since some people from our Home went on a visa trip, we didn't have enough people to do our puppet show. But where there is a will there is a way!—Before the show we asked a girl from the audience to fill one part. She was too shy, so we asked another girl.—She was shy too! Then we asked her, "Tell us someone who is not shy!" So she called another girl, and that one agreed! After the show she and her shy friends saw us off to the tram stop.—They really liked the show and the fact that they participated in it!
(From Steven, Claire, Gerson and Keiko, Russia:) When praying about how we could give the Salvation prayer in our puppet show without making it seem like religious proselytizing, the Lord gave us the idea of writing a short poem that would be presented in the story as "an old poem passed on to me by my great-grandmother." The puppet character would then recite and ask the kids to repeat it. The puppet story was basically a rendition of the first Christmas and everyone is already thinking about Jesus. So when the poem comes along at the end and everyone repeats it, it basically is like a prayer. And it still seems like just a sweet little traditional poem to anyone who might be scrutinizing the show.
The poem said something like:
Little Child born in Bethlehem that night,
Please come today and give me Your light.
Fill me with Your love and peace,
This is all I ask for this Christmas, please.
(From Rufus, Dulce, Windy, & Christina, USA:) We've been witnessing with our six children (from 3 to 15) nearly every day since the Charter, and have been full-time on the road in our trailer for the last year, fully supported by our family's outreach. Each of the children have been growing in their witness and effectiveness.—It's usually a situation where the kids take the lead from start to finish, and Mom and Dad are simply onlookers. The kids make the presentation, explain in detail the tapes, the reason for the donation and then field the questions.
We usually have our devotions, schooling, lunch, nap or swim, and then each team gets in an hour of witnessing in the afternoon, with more hours in on weekends. The kids have fun each time out, with lots of shiner rewards and fun activities.
Last week, going shop-to-shop, Steven (8) and Jeremy (6) led 13 factory workers to the Lord. The owner of the next shop, a concerned Christian, was elated when we told him that all the factory workers nearby had gotten saved. He told us he had tried to witness to them but the factory owner wouldn't let him, so he'd prayed that someone else would get in and be able to.
Often, in going shop-to-shop, we run into signs on the door in big red letters: "No Soliciting." For the kids it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull, as they have come to learn that those are the shops that usually give, as they are so surprised and taken back by the kids' approach and presentation. Last week on at least three different occasions Dad was scared of some big intimidating company's "No Soliciting" signs and wanted to leave. The kids clamored to go on in, and got out two, three or four tapes at each place!
Every day that we go out, people ask in amazement how old they are, and exclaim how articulate they are. Shop and company owners tell them as soon as they get old enough they can have an automatic job with their company, ha!—They get at least two or three job offers a day. Usually the salespeople are the most impressed, as they know what it takes to do a walk-in sell. All of this praise really keeps the kids pumped up and encouraged!
The kids are so precious, as even when the rudest turn-down occurs, their answer is always energetically the same, "Well, God bless you! That's all right, we understand! Please take this poster and read it and have a good day!"
(From Timothy, Rejoice, and Dove, USA:) Here are a few things that have helped us get in many hours of witnessing, take proper care of our children, and do all the other things we need to do every day. Maybe they can be a help to you!
Cooking: In summer, we have a small team in the morning prepare: a "Home lunch" (lunch for the mommies and kids that are staying home), an "Outreach lunch" (picnic lunch for the people who are going out witnessing), and also dinner. Either they do all the cooking in the morning, or they prepare something simple to bake in the oven. If the dinner is made in the morning, we keep it warm in the oven, or wrap it up in thick blankets. It really works!—One-pot meals work great!
JJT: Everyone pitches in to do the laundry, JJT, yard work, etc., all before 11 a.m. Then we are free the rest of the day to go out witnessing all afternoon and early evening.
Childcare: Our Home team normally consists of two adults, and at least one or two helpers. Since we don't have to cook, this helps a lot. They then take care of our kiddo crew—three babies, four toddlers, five YCs, four MC/OCs.
Witnessing: We send out teams of one older person (senior teen or above) with one younger person after school-time. We have lots of kids, yet we are able to get out five to nine teams on most days. The kids really touch people's hearts, and win many souls. It's also great training for them.
Also, we go out witnessing rain or shine, snow or whatever, and always make it a priority to get out as many teams as possible.—And the Lord has really blessed! Many times it has rained until we get to our areas, then it stops while we're there.—And sometimes as soon as we leave, it starts again. Of course this doesn't always happen, and sometimes we have to "endure hardness!" We try to get on the field by early afternoon, and leave for Home by 6:30 or 7:00 (later on weekends). We still have weekly W&R, Family Days and everything.
(From Natalie, Nick, & James, USA:) We have put up advertisements in the community where we live saying that we do childcare at home, or babysitting. We've gotten quite a good response from parents. We put on the KVs and TAs for the children, and they just love them. Now we have parents asking to buy the videos, as the kids have told their parents about them! PTL!
(From Simon, SGA, Thailand:) Recently I took some of our children out DTD on a Sunday afternoon, and it was very fruitful in terms of tools out as well as meeting very sweet people. I felt that it was a good reminder not to neglect this avenue of witnessing.
We met one family who owned a chain of large shopping malls in our city. They were very sweet and we witnessed to them for quite some time. I realized that probably trying to see the father of this family when at work would have been near impossible, but just knocking on their door was so easy, and they were very sweet and hospitable. The children were able to participate in the witnessing as well, and helped to pray with people to receive Jesus.
(From Abner, Delight, Andrea and Elisabetta's Home, Italy:) Since there have been Homes in our area for years, it has seemed saturated. Yet the Lord specifically told us to come here, so we knew He had something for us to do. At that time He told us that music would be the key to this area.
It really has come to pass, as we are seeing that the tools go out so much more quickly when we sing the people a song! In one shop, for example, the owner was standing in the door and had the sourest facial expression I'd ever seen. Elena (8) piped up with her usual introduction, "We want to sing you a song of happiness!"
I was cringing inside, thinking he would tell us to go away, but instead he moved out of the way to let us enter the shop without saying a word. We proceeded to sing the song, and as we sang, his whole face started to change until by the end of the song, he was smiling from ear to ear, kissing the girls and offering them something to eat.
Our little singing team was so inspired by the change that came over this man that it was the topic of discussion for days after! They really saw how just a little love can go a long way and how needy the people really are. Going the extra mile to do something rather unusual to give love bears good fruit.
(From Esther, South Africa:) The children in the Home did a show at a Sunday school recently. While preparing for this we realized that we had so much material that we literally didn't know where to start! As the kids in the Sunday school were all saved, we decided to major our two-hour slot on the topic of witnessing. We started off with some Family-style inspirational songs, but also used ones that we thought they might know. Our boys led them all in the actions, performed a few additional songs, and played some meaningful games with them. We tried to show them that witnessing and our service for the Lord can be fun!
The message was loud and clear through two slide shows: "Tommy" and "Change the World." We found this super easy to organize, prepare for, and carry out, and we feel that this would be a great format to use for witnessing with our younger kids.
With the younger ones it is not always so easy to get into a dancing and singing routine, but they love to perform with actions, skits and quoting. They love to get out the lit on Family outings, and we need to find more ways to get them out witnessing on a more regular basis.
(From Lily YA, of Gideon and Heidi, Pakistan:) I come from a large family—16 brothers and sisters in all. When I was little, we always enjoyed busking together as a family. But in recent years, with Mom and Dad having so many children, it never really worked to all go out anywhere together.
This year we decided to include all the children in the Home in our Christmas singing team. When we did our shows, we had the chance to all go out together: Dad and Mom (eight months PG) and us teens (who sang and MC'd the show) and our singing team, consisting of 11 kids ranging from JETTs down to our little one-and-a-half-year-old. Often people would ask us "Who's children are all these?" It was so funny to watch their expressions when we told them that, except for two other children who were also in the program, we were all from just one family! Ha!
It was really inspiring seeing my little brothers and sisters get up and shine for Jesus, just like we did 10 years ago when we were little. It used to be four of us little kids singing while Dad played the guitar; now it's 11 children singing and dancing to BMTs!
(From Pat, Italy:) It's wonderful to see how hearing from the Lord is enhancing our outreach. When I'm out witnessing, I usually try to stop as many people as I can, regardless of their reactions. But while on the road the other day, I definitely felt that I was wasting my time, so I asked the Lord to guide me to the people He knew really needed the witness.
Right then I felt an invisible hand that would point me to a different street and to the people I was supposed to go to. In an amazingly short time, I met some very receptive and helpful people that just made my day. I also felt that the Lord was inspiring me to have a different presentation according to the need of the person, while before I was using more or less the same wording with everybody. It really made a big difference!
(From Jeho, Consuelo, Clair and Christina, Brazil:) We had no idea what to do for our Christmas push, but of course wanted to do something that was going to be fruitful and also a bit different from the normal day-to-day witnessing that we had been doing all year. We took it to the Lord, and He told us in prophecy that He was going to help us do something new and exciting. We just didn't seem to be getting anywhere and kept going to the Lord about it. He would reassure us that He had something fun and special prepared.
Then the moment came, but quite disguised to us. We got a call from another brother saying that someone who had had carolers at her house last year for Christmas had asked him if he knew anyone who could sing in front of her store. This did not sound very feasible to us, and when she heard our tape she declined the offer, wanting something more like the Vienna Boy's Choir. We thought, "Great, we didn't think it would work out very well either!"
Later she called back and said that it had been announced in the paper that she was going to have singers and so she desperately needed us to come and sing no matter what we had. We reluctantly pieced things together, got a sound system, put it up in front of her store, and—using dead microphones—"sang" our hearts out lip-syncing to the "Christmas Treasures" CD. We got the routine down so well that you could not tell it was lip-syncing at all.
We used our Christmas costumes, and people would stop in their cars to see and hear our show on the sidewalk. This caught on very quickly, and soon we were booked to sing in four other places in the classiest area of town. This also led to invitations to private parties for caroling.
We received comments such as, "You have made an impression in this community." "You have changed the spirit of the place." "You are famous here, and we are privileged to have you in our home!" "Do you do this at other times during the year?" Of course we do, so we now have many contacts to follow up on and to sing for throughout the year! It was totally different, very fun, hard work, and fruitful—just what the Lord promised us!
(From Philip Follower, Italy:) Several times specific things I've received in prophecy (I try to get a little prophecy each day before starting my DTD outreach) have been very helpful. Once I received to go "close to the mountains," and upon doing so met a very precious man from a wealthy family who I would not have otherwise met.
(From David and Katya, Tahiti:) On one occasion, we asked the Lord for direction before going out witnessing, and we received two very specific places downtown. For the first place, the message was that the Lord had a very precious sheep there whom we didn't know yet. When we arrived in that street, all the shops were closed except for one. We entered and began witnessing to the man in the shop. Immediately, he told us that he had been receiving a lot of messages from the Lord, a lot of ideas and projects about his work. He told us he didn't know exactly where the Lord is leading him, but he was very excited about it!
After that, we went to the other place the Lord had told us about, and we won 26 souls in two hours (a team of three), and met a very sheepy woman whom we will follow up on by mail!
(From Maggie, 21, Croatia:) We were wondering why recently the Lord hadn't been blessing all the hard work we'd been putting into witnessing, tool distribution and CTP, and why we were barely managing to keep our heads above the water financially. After we had all arrived at the point of despair, we decided to stop and not only talk about listening to the Lord but put it into practice and hear His instruction. We should have done this much earlier. When He told us that we hadn't been listening to His plan and that we therefore couldn't accomplish anything worthwhile with all the natural strength and potential we had, we finally decided to make a habit of hearing from Him daily as a Home.
We have a long way to go, but even now I have noticed that the days we've stopped and asked Him for guidance, encouragement, instruction or whatever else He has to give us, have been the most fruitful and easily flowing; neither have we, on such days, had to literally kill ourselves to accomplish as much as we did. Actually, I am now finding out how true the Word of the Lord is, when He says that hearing from Him will be a timesaver, and even a lifesaver for those who will obey and make this "sacrifice."
(From Abe, of Love, Poland:) Outreach is quite difficult here in Poland, especially in a city like Warsaw, which has had teams hitting the streets with the tools for some time now. We have been taking a few minutes to hear from the Lord daily before we go out tooling, to find out what direction or area He wants us to go to. At one point the Lord told us how He actually works on people's hearts and prepares people in an area to receive the witness, and that by hearing from Him we are able to hit the mark.
One particular day we did just that; we heard from the Lord and then went to the area He had shown us. The day was going pretty well; by about 2:30 PM we had gotten out five tapes and CDs. (On an average good outreach day we usually distribute about 3-4 of these.) The sister I was with needed to provision a doctor check-up. We asked the Lord what to do next, and He showed us to go home to phone some doctors, since we were near our house.
The Lord supplied a doctor after about 10 minutes of phoning. We took a little break and had a snack, then asked the Lord again if it was His will for us to go back out on outreach. He made it clear that we should continue in the area we'd gone to in the morning. As we were leaving, around 3:30 or 4:00 PM, someone commented that it would probably be better to stay back since it was so late, as most businesses would be closing soon. There were also other things we could have taken care of at home, such as follow-up letters, etc. But in discussing it we decided that because we had gotten a green light from the Lord, so we went for it.
The Lord then did a miracle, as we returned to a place we had gone to that morning but the owner had not been in. This time she was there, and she was a very sweet lady who really needed the Lord and the comfort of His Word, as her husband had died some time back and she had been left to care for the business and children on her own. She purchased two videos and two CDs. TTL!
In all we distributed nine tools that day, and had the opportunity to spread the Lord's love through our lit and spending time talking with people. One thing is sure though: we wouldn't have done it without hearing from the Lord. TTL for His wonderful gift of prophecy!
(From Tim and Peter, India:) When we arrived in a city where the Lord had showed us to go on a road trip, it was raining cats and dogs. But the Lord right away supplied a nice place to stay and all the food for the whole week, through some of the friends that we had met last time and had faithfully followed up on.
Since it was raining non-stop we could not do much fresh outreach, but the Lord blessed our follow-up and we were able to give out 25 videos and 20 tapes in five days. We were able to minister to many of our friends and also gave out the Endtime message through the "Countdown to Armageddon" videos.—We ran out of copies of this video by the end of the trip!
We realized the importance of follow-up, and being faithful to keep in touch with our friends through the mail. Even though we meet these people only once a year, the mail does the witnessing and feeding for us and when we go to visit them they are prepared and happy to help us.
(From Lily, of Franz, Kenya:) Our yearly road trip to Switzerland was very fruitful. It was a big step to take our three-month-old baby along on a six-week road trip, especially since my health hasn't been so good after the pregnancy. But when coming to the Lord in prayer, each time we got that we should go. In one prophecy He told us that he was going to carry us on wings and make the trip easy.
This sure came to pass, as our friend picked us up from the airport with a car we could use for a low price for six weeks. Then a couple we know invited us to live in their apartment for most of our stay. They fed us each day, and even gave us packed lunches to take along throughout the day. The Lord really blew our minds in how He supplied every step of the way for our work in Africa, as most people received us with open arms. Thank You Jesus! In one prophecy the Lord told us that we would meet new friends on the trip, and we were able to add 32 new folks to our mailing list, which is a vital lifeline to our work here in Kenya.
Here is a little far-out fulfilled prophecy tidbit from our road trip: Two years ago a friend had donated a suitcase to us, for which we had forgotten the lock combination and therefore we had never used the lock. But while storing it, someone had locked it with the combination. What to do? We tried all kind of numbers and started to make a plan of how to go through all the possible combinations, when someone piped up, "Why don't we pray?" So I asked the Lord to give me the number in prophecy.—And lo and behold, He did!!! I got a picture of the lady who gave us the suitcase saying the number, and when I tried it, it worked. Thank You Jesus! It's so much easier to ask the Lord!
(From Mary Heart, Pakistan:) I was going to visit an old friend, so I spent a little time praying beforehand and asked the Lord for something special for her. I got, "A word fitly spoken is as apples of gold in pictures of silver." I had no idea why I got this verse, but wrote it down. I also got that I should find a poem about a mother, which I did.
When we gave this friend the verse, she was so pleased, saying, "This means so much to me! Someone gave me a book years ago with this title." She ran to bring the book, which had the verse on the front, with gold apples and all.—A beautiful book with quotations on love and forgiveness, etc. Then we gave her the poem and she was almost in tears. I was thrilled and certain that I had indeed heard from the Lord! I feel like I stepped into a new direction in ministering to our precious friends!