July 15, 2003
FSM 364 CM/FM
Special ACTION FSM #4
11/00
Copyright © 2000 by The Family
As the Family receives the Action GNs, Homes all over the world are beginning to put the Activated program into practice. The Lord is fulfilling His promises as we're taking
First Steps in Getting Activated!2
Ready, Set, Go!9
Awakened!18
From Seek, Mexico, June 2000
Dear Mama and Peter,
God bless you! Each time there is a new GN, I feel like it's the best ever, but I don't think anything has so hit the nail on the head, is such an answer, encouragement, and so precisely what is needed as much as this new GN, part one of the Action series, Our Activated Future! This is a testimony of what has happened recently with our Home, praise the Lord!
Our Home opened about three years ago and has been built brick by brick on a follow-up program brought about largely through provisioning. We felt like we were really doing the job, but the Lord spoke to us and told us that we were only scratching the surface. He said that we only knew people in a very shallow way, and those we met have even been disappointed because we haven't gotten more into their personal lives.
How the Lord has stressed follow-up to us
Our main source of support is provisioning, and this leads us to meet and minister to many new people. In many ways we have been faithful to get out mailings, faxes, and visit some of them occasionally. But each time we've gone to the Lord for the vision or needs of our Home, the Lord always brings out in prophecy the importance of our follow-up ministry—how we need to concentrate more on it, and how we've actually been failing to do what we really need to do to meet the needs of our contacts.
We continue to take baby steps of progress like more visitation, phone calls, letters, and faxes, but it hasn't been easy for everyone to get wholeheartedly behind it. It takes lots of faith for us to put the Lord on the spot by taking time away from our other work and projects to do follow-up. We've continued to do monthly fundraisers to raise the cash donations we needed for the things that can't be provisioned, rather than working on raising funds through follow-up.
Also, it's one thing to hear from the Lord, but then an entirely different thing to put into practice and demonstrate our faith in what the Lord is saying He wants us to do. This has been a weakness for all of us.
More nudges from friends, the Lord, and circumstances
One thing that has prompted us to do more follow-up is that we've received such beautiful comments about our letters and faxes. People even take time to call and tell us how much they mean to them. At the time it touches our hearts so much that we agree to try to be faithful to feed them more on a weekly basis, but each time other more pressing needs seem to usurp our convictions. The follow-up gets put on the back burner and we continue doing the minimum.
Monthly our young people go on a short road trip to do a fundraiser which involves passing out literature at lights and asking for donations. This is a quick way to get funds, and generally just doing this once a month will supply the additional funds we need to pay our bills. The two months prior to our receiving this Activated GN, this program failed as they went to one city, their vehicle broke down, and had to come back without even beginning to fundraise. The next week they went to another city and made funds, but on the way home they had a breakdown in another vehicle! We had to send a tow truck half the distance to pick them up, which cost us about half of the funds that were made.
So after these two disappointments, Morningstar (SGA and my VSing partner) and I got together and had desperate prayer, asking the Lord what He wanted us to do. We got down on our knees and really poured out our hearts to the Lord in tears, and the Lord poured down a spiritual blessing with spiritual helpers and prophecy. We did this consecutively for several days in a row and the Lord spoke about the same thing each time—follow-up! He also brought out in prophecy that we needed to obey and push the Activated program and incorporate it in all of our outreach.
The Lord calmed our fears
We poured out our hearts to the Lord about some of our fears. Morningstar shared how most of her life she hasn't done follow-up but generally fundraisers to get the funds needed for the moment, so it was all really new for her. But each time we took our questions to the Lord He confirmed that more follow-up was His will, what He expected of us, and said how much He would bless us.
We shared this with the Home and with Manantial, who is the other FGA in the Home and does the provisioning and office work. She is a wonderful missionary and really got behind the project with us. We all started praying more together.
Organizing to support our Home through follow-up
The Lord told us some first steps to take. One was to figure out what our Home needed in funds to pay bills each month without doing the fundraiser at the lights. He told us to pray for that figure, claim verses, and then set out to raise it through follow-up. The Lord provided us with a specific plan for the three summer months, which we set out to obey.
We all got down on our knees and had desperate prayer together, and also shared the prophecies with the Home. We had united prayer, and then made some plans.
At the same time as all this, we were extremely busy planning a reunion, as Servant, all 11 of our children and me were to be together for the first time here for a two-week period, as well as my mother, and brother and his family! This reunion took all of our energy once it got underway, but before everyone arrived we had time to put the Lord's plan to the test with one contact.
Step-by-step guidance—and solid fruit!
The Lord told us to compose a letter explaining how this summer three of our members would be away, but that we would have the same expenses and also to host a number of camps for national missionary volunteers. He said to ask these people to up their donations for a three-month period and also to ask other provisioning contacts to give a monetary donation for this period of time.
The Lord told us to first go to the person who gives the most, take a personal letter for him, and explain our need. We did that, and without hesitation he agreed to give double what we asked! Praise the Lord!
This really encouraged our faith. We also took Activated mags with us, which he is receiving, and made sure he knew it was from us—which he didn't! Then we introduced him to the other Activated materials available and said we could help him order them at our next visit.
One problem has been that we sent in names of some of our contacts, but when they received the mailings they didn't know they were from us, and so they didn't really pay attention to them. So now we have to go back to them and let them know that they are from us.
We felt sort of worried when we were praying and the Lord said to us that we needed to start out by faith, because you are always faced with fear of failure. We prayed and prayed that the Lord would increase our faith, and help us put our energy in the direction of follow-up. One thing the Lord kept bringing up in prophecy was that everyone needed to be united around this goal.
Often people don't know where to start in follow-up. The Lord showed us to start with desperate prayer and prophecy, asking the Lord for specifics for our particular Home or area, and having faith to incorporate the Activated program.
I can't thank you enough for your faith to follow and share with us what you receive from the Lord. I sure love you and wanted you to know you have our support and we pray that most of all we can put it into practice in our own Home.
Much love in our dear Husband,
Seek
P.S. Update August 28, 2000—More Activated support
Our family reunion was a wonderful experience. Shortly afterward three of the main fundraisers left from our Home and planned to be gone for different reasons for two to three months. When we got together to ask the Lord what to do and how we were going to support ourselves, He said that it was actually His plan to help us to be more dependent on Him. Little did we know what all He had in store for us!
The Lord continued to talk to us about follow-up, the Activated program, and our need to personally meet with our contacts more often to gain the needed support. He said that in the process this would help us to fulfill the vision of the Activated ministry.
The Lord reminded us of how He had originally told us to go to talk to a young man whom we have known very well for the full three years we have been here. Since the beginning of our work here, his family has been supporting us by giving us a large quantity of food supplies weekly from their wholesale grocery, and continues to do so. But recently J. started his own business and has been very successful. He has always been very interested in our young people and often has taken them out to do things, but because of his family's help we have been hesitant to ask him to help more.
We were away for a while helping the Home which received the persecution, but we called our Home to remind them of what the Lord had shown us about J. Members of our Home went to visit J., and without hesitation he gave them a very generous donation and agreed with their request to continue to do so for at least the next three months! This month he called to remind us to come get the donation!—And he said that he wanted to help in any way he could.
When we went back to see him, we took the Activated magazine and shared what a blessing it could be for him to have this spiritual feeding on a monthly basis. He told us that he's been reading everything that we leave for him now (although some months ago, he didn't really show much interest in the spiritual things we tried to give him or share with him). We said we'd be back in a week to see if he'd be interested in subscribing.
This situation has been a lesson for us, as in our pride we've been hesitant to ask J. to support us financially. But it seems like giving is really changing his life, and on our side, it causes us to take a greater interest in him spiritually.
The Lord has stressed obedience to the new vision
This summer one thing after another has caused our Home size to dwindle even more than we had expected, and each time the Lord tells us to trust Him. He said that we would have to follow through and obey the latest counsel in the pubs, as that would be the only way we would survive. When we got smaller and less able to do things in our own strength, the way of obedience seemed to be a good choice! Ha!
Since the Conéctate (Activated) meeting in our area, our team has been the smallest it has ever been, and we have also been helping the brethren in the city that received persecution by caring for some of their children. So it seemed that we wouldn't be able to get started right away with the Activated program here, but the Lord had other ideas!
As we went, we were inspired!
Shortly after the meeting, we needed to go to our supporters and collect the donations they give monthly. Some of these donations come from a very prosperous little town about an hour away. I wasn't scheduled to go, but as the driver was sick and I was the only other option, so I begrudgingly forsook all my plans for the day and started out with my partner, Jessica, a very faithful young national.
The minute I got out the door my attitude changed. The Lord started speaking to us about the Activated program, and how we could introduce some of the ideas from the meeting we had just attended as we did our follow-up that day. The more we talked about it and shared what the Lord was showing us, the more excited we got!
The Lord gave us the idea to ask our supporters there (about ten of them) if they would like to attend a luncheon and then have a short seminar together on the topic, What Things Are Really Important in Life? It was so funny how the Lord formulated the whole thing as we were driving, so that when we arrived it seemed like a well-thought-out plan! Ha!
When we presented this plan to each of them, they thought it was a good idea. We also have a hotel contact there, so we talked to one member of the family who owns the hotel, and he thought that the others would agree to host the event.
That day we visited a very potential family where the mother, brother, and sister all give a donation when we come to visit. The mother is elderly and whispered to Jessica that she wanted us to pray with her, as she had found she might have cancer. She led us upstairs to a living area and asked us to kneel down in front of a crucifix and pray for her healing. We explained about the verse, By His stripes we are healed, and how Jesus already paid the price for our healing, and we prayed with her.
All in all, it was a very eventful day. One thing the Lord has repeatedly shown us is that often we have to get out the door to really see the Lord's plan and opportunities. It is difficult to sit in the living room and come up with the same ideas that the Lord can give us as we go out, get to where the people are, start talking to them and letting the Lord talk to us, as we do the wenting!
We came back very inspired and this showed us and our Home that the Lord wanted us to get busy right away with our Activated program. The Lord told us to present the magazines to everyone and use them in all of our outreach.
The same day Manantial had taken out a briefcase full of videos to show a friend who is a director of a school and loves our materials. It wasn't normal for Manantial to go out selling the tools in this way, but this sweet lady bought everything she had in the briefcase (ten videos and ten tapes), and said that she wanted anything else that she hadn't bought already. This has led to the beginning of a new video ministry, as the director of this school is writing a letter of recommendation for our tools and recommending other schools for us to visit.
You might wonder what that has to do with Activated? We felt like it was like the Lord trying to encourage us and show us what He can do for us as we obey!
Tips on getting subscriptions
Sometimes it is difficult for us to ask someone who has just bought a lot of tools or given a donation to give another 150 pesos (about US$15) for a subscription. So we leave the first mag with them and tell them we will come back in one week to see if they would be interested in a subscription.
Since we started going out more, we realized that we had to have a program to remind ourselves of our promises to people we meet—whether it is simply a prayer request or a return visit for Activated subscriptions or other things. We found that we don't always refer faithfully enough to our notes in our notebooks, to be able to keep all the promises the Lord wanted us to be faithful to keep.
So Servant made a bulletin board for us and we have four different colors of paper that we fill out each day after everyone gets home. One color is for follow-up we need to do, another color for prayer requests, another color for pick-ups, and another color just for notes to remember to do things on certain dates. Each paper contains the information needed and is a reminder that we all can clearly see.
Witnessing daily!
There are a few goals the Lord has given us to help us to get started. One goal is that every day, even if we just have a few people in the Home, we are going to go out and visit someone. We have a local mail ministry of about 500 people whom we have met or who have helped with provisioning. Many are very friendly; others have a spiritual hunger, so the Lord showed us to make of list of the most potential and start to visit them personally.
Planning group meetings with our friends and contacts
The Lord also had us make a questionnaire, and ask these people if they would be interested in attending meetings, seminars, or retreats. The questionnaire will ask what topics they are most interested in, what types of groups they would like to participate in (whether family groups, adult groups, or men's and women's groups separately), and what times would be most convenient for them. From this information we can see what kind of meetings to plan for the type of people we are reaching. So far, talking with people personally and sharing the vision we gained from the Conéctate (Activated) meetings, it seems like many people here in our city would like to attend meetings where there would also be activities planned for their children, which is great for us and something that we'd probably do best.
Also the Lord told us to be sure to consolidate our gains, pray daily for direction, and then do what He shows us to do. He said not to just go out and shoot scattershot like we were using a shotgun, but to really aim and then follow through with the leads we have, and especially to do what we tell people we are going to do so that they don't lose faith in us and in our program.
Distributing Activated books
The first day we took out the Get Activated booklets was when we went to the market for our weekly provisioning pickups. Morningstar and others got out 11, and some of our contacts bought both of the titles we had with us. It's funny, as we wouldn't consider the market contacts some of the people most interested in reading spiritual materials.
Getting the Home ready
To tell you the truth, we are just getting started. This week was the first week that we got out to talk to people about our new Activated program and meetings and started to push the books and subscriptions. We've done so with a very small team out and a small team home caring for the physical needs of the Home, the school, and the children.
One thing that has helped has been a vision that we need to get our Home in order, our schedules working, and people carrying their weight consistently. We seriously worked on that the first week after our Conéctate meeting, as we have had a very unusual summer and there were a lot of loose ends and things were unraveling in many ways. But with the Lord's help and the unity of the Home, in a week's time we were able to make some giant steps of progress with Home organization. I mention this as we felt that without getting our Home in order and running well and well overseen and cared for, we wouldn't really be able to concentrate on the new era of action like we know the Lord wants us to.
So, after a week of reorganization and commitment for all of us to do our jobs better so that we can free others to go out for follow-up, we received the new Letter, Putting Skin on the Era of Action (ML #3301, GN 903). It was so exciting, as even though this counsel was originally directed to WS Homes, we know it's for us as well. We won't be able to fulfill this new vision unless we have greater commitment to all our responsibilities, which means getting our Home running well, with each person carrying his or her weight. It was very encouraging, as when our Home members were asked to do their best so that we could all be more involved in Activated, everyone really pulled together. We've seen progress in these important practical aspects of our Home that we have been trying to attain to for years, praise the Lord!
P.P.S. Update September 2000— excitement from Activated beginnings
The Lord is really the One doing the Activated push. We have prayed for our contacts, and since we started to visit them, miracles are happening in their lives. People we have known for over three years are praying to receive Jesus as a result of opening their hearts about their troubles. The Lord is raising us up to give God's answers in all sorts of ways to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of our contacts.
We have promised the Lord that we will get a team out daily doing follow -up and selling Activated subscriptions, and every day now they have inspiring testimonies to share with the Home. This is the same reaction we are hearing from other Homes on our field. The Lord is doing so many miracles in our personal interaction with our friends and contacts, and the Activated ball is really getting rolling. I really like the Letter, The Way of Pioneers (ML #2448, Vol.18). We read it together recently and can see that this program will gather momentum and nothing will be able to stop it!
Our first seminar—Big Rocks
We just put together our first seminar entitled The things that are most important in life how to make them a priority. This is a topic that many of our contacts are very interested in and we are going to use the illustration in the Reflections, The Big Rocks (Reflections #108, August 2000) to start the meeting. Then we will ask people to write down what they believe to be the big rocks in their lives, and make a plan with them how they can change their schedule and their lives to put those things first. The last big rock we are putting in the jar is salvation, explaining why that should have priority. (Since people are bringing friends, a number of people probably haven't received Jesus.) We put copies of illustrations and stories from Reflections in a seminar package that those attending can take home with them.
It's exciting to see what the Lord is doing, and I'm so happy to be able to be here and be a part of it, praise the Lord!
Tips and Testimonies on Getting Activated
From Jenny, Ghana:
The Activated GN was a life-changer for us. Lord help us, we had never really caught the vision for the Activated program, even after all that had been written when the program first started. This new GN made us all more desperate about implementing this new ministry.
One thing that had been preventing us from getting behind it was the price of the year's subscription. Of course, we all know that our materials are priceless, but still it seemed a lot of money, as the minimum daily wage here is 50 cents and you can rent a room for the equivalent of $US5 a month.
However, we have friends and supporters who have helped with $15 or more in the past. We realized that if they could help with an outright donation of this amount, they could certainly afford the subscription. So we set out with this in mind and started visiting people who we thought might be interested. The response was excellent! Almost everyone we approached in this way has expressed an interest, and within about a week we had signed up as many as we had in the entire previous six months!
From Crystal, Jenny, and Peter, USA:
I have been using the Activated magazines for distribution, and putting the order cards inside, because often people don't necessarily want to subscribe immediately, but rather want to read one first and check it out. Then if they like it, they have the card available to subscribe. I just write our Home number on the card beforehand and then slip the card in the magazine. (Editor's note: Good idea! You can also make a record of those you've given a free issue to and take a morning to phone back all your hot leads. Once they've read it, they will be more likely to request more, and bingo, you've got subscriptions!)
By Maria, Ghana:
When I returned from a trip abroad, we went to follow up on some contacts with the new Activated books and we got most of them out the first day. The potential for the distribution of tools is incredible. We also started activating some of our contacts and we know there will be a great harvest with this new ministry. The Discovering Truth series is just incredible for everyone. We need them here by the thousands and are praying about a way to produce them locally.
From the Space Camp Home, Japan:
Even though we don't have the Activated materials translated into Japanese yet, we have been able to activate many English-speaking foreigners who live or study in Japan. Most of them are Africans. We have received so many inspiring testimonies from many of them after they return to their home country and start receiving the different magazines and booklets.
From Victor and Love, USA:
We are going to be trying something—a flier that the fundraisers who come to New York to hit stoplights can use, along with poster tracts or black-and-white tracts. It's 5.5 x 8.5 inches (half page) and one side tells briefly and honestly what the New York Family Mission is all about and what we do. The other side has usually been a tract like To You with Love. We've gotten some very good responses from these fliers and sometimes distribute up to 10,000 in a week or week and a half.
We've now redesigned the flier so that the flip side is a powerful plug for the Activated mag and a coupon that people can fill out and mail to us to receive their first free issue, along with information on how they can subscribe. We really want to promote Activated and are hoping and praying that this regular contact that we have with the public through the fliers will really work!
From Andrew, Esther, and Charity, India:
Wow! We are so happy to see how the Lord is answering prayer and fulfilling prophecy through the new Get Activated books. Since I am totally sold on them and the sheep see me on fire about them, they just get so convicted that they want to get that same book. Then they in turn get so excited that they want to share it with their friends. It's beautiful to see the prophecies about this material being fulfilled. These tools are a real answer to prayer. There is no way other materials can even come close to comparing to our stuff. It's fantastic, pure Word!
By Joseph (of Heaven), USA:
We use Get Activated books in DTD, personal witnessing, and at parking lots, as we used to do when postering. We have found out it's important to know the contents of the books well to be able to give the sheep what they need. For example, we found that salvation is something many so-called Christians here don't really grasp, and the booklet God's Gifts gives a thorough explanation of what salvation is.
We started using the Activated mag #1 for witnessing, as we used to do when postering. We approach people, asking them to take the mag #1 with a subscription card to subscribe themselves or for someone else who could use it, and then we ask for a donation to help our ministry locally. This way we raise some funds, get the Word out, and we will see how many actually subscribe.
Activated makes us witness more in depth, having to explain more in detail what we are doing and what our goals are. We also systematically ask people if they believe in Jesus (99% here say they do). And then if they say yes, we ask them if they are born again, which brings all kinds of answers and leads to deeper witnessing. Oliver, 11 years old, really enjoys this method of witnessing and uses his memory work in quoting verses to give answers, personally witness, and to win souls. Exciting! Thank You, Jesus, for Activated!
From Ben, Meekness, Sam, and Crystal, Botswana:
This month as a gift to the Lord our Home donated 1,200 Activated mags to people in Botswana. We've been putting the magazines in hotel rooms, next to the Gideon's Bibles at the bedside, as well as following up on our regular friends and contacts with these powerful tools.
From the Space Camp Home, Japan
We have been sponsoring subscriptions each month for the [European Activated Desk's] African Mail Ministry. It is only $13 per subscription, so the whole Home agreed together to keep aside a certain amount of funds per month to use for this purpose.
During the months of April, May, June and July, we were been able to activate 120 people. Thank You Jesus! The Lord has been so good to us since we got involved with the Activated vision and has been supplying abundantly for our Home, plus all of us are so happy to know that we are following the recent moves of the Spirit.
By Claire and Steven, India:
We had some desperate times one month, financially speaking, so the following month we got together and desperately prayed. The Lord encouraged us that He would help us and take care of things. When we heard from the Lord, He told us to meet a contact that runs a shop and also a school director who takes all the new tools. This time we had new tools to offer: Activated!
After prayer, we went to see the school director first, only to find out that she had just had an operation and would not be coming to work for a whole week. I was so disappointed, wondering why the Lord had asked us to visit her if she was not going to be there. So we stopped and sought the Lord again. As always, He didn't fail to show us what to do. He said to send some reading material to her, with a personal note expressing appreciation for her help and telling her we would be praying for her, so we followed these instructions.
We missed the other lady that we wanted to see, too, as she had just left the shop. So, trusting the Lord, we went to see some other people and got them Activated.
We tried four times to see the director of the school, all in vain. Finally one morning we went to her office after desperately praying. She was there and greeted us very cheerfully. Regarding the tools, she said she was not dealing with purchasing anymore and asked us to meet another person. Uh-oh!—We thought she was trying to get rid of us. But she called a man, saying that she was sending someone to see him. This man turned out to be sweet and took all six new TA videos and all the books we had, including the Activated subscription. Praise the Lord!—He never fails!
After a couple of days we were also able to meet the owner of the shop. We spent a lot of time witnessing to her and she also subscribed to the mags and took the whole set of the new GP books we had. The lesson we learned is that when the Lord tells you something, stick to it! Even when you don't see the results right away, keep following His guidance and in His time you will see the fruit. Thank You Jesus!
By Praise (sorry, location not given):
The Activated program is just fantastic and I'm so thankful for it. A close friend whom we visit regularly is really growing in the Word, but was having difficulty receiving prophecies, so we gave her the Hearing from Heaven booklet. She went through it step by step and the next time we saw her she was so excited! She told us how she's been getting beautiful prophecies. She said, I turn on my computer and pray and wait and the Lord's been showing me wonderful things, including correction. I've been doing this every day now. It was so inspiring to hear how excited she was and how the Lord was speaking to her so clearly. She showed us her prophecies and they were beautiful.
From Mary Dear (FGA), India:
The Lord really inspired us this month on a very simple follow-up visit. We had been given the address of a secretary in our city to go and meet—Merlyn, a very precious woman who really touched our hearts with her love for Jesus. She had been given our GP Daily Might book about five years ago and still reads it every day. She had so many markings on the book you could hardly read it.—She just loves it. For us it was something new to meet someone we didn't know about, yet who avidly reads our literature and had it virtually memorized.
Well, she signed up for the Activated mag right away, along with our other friend who is a secretary. When she saw that I had another book in my bag called From Jesus with Love, she insisted I give it to her. She was super hungry for the Word; it was amazing. She shared some miracles that have happened to her ever since she met Jesus. I asked her to write them up, as they are truly inspired.
A couple we followed up on, Mr. and Mrs. D., are wealthy jewelers and are Hindus. We had not been as faithful as we wanted to be with this couple, and though they had invited us over many times we could never make it for some reason. Well, the Lord was definitely convicting us to do something with them when they called us up and once again invited us to a small party they were having. They had invited a number of guests, all of whom happened to be Hindus.
Well, we walked in and Mrs. D. jumped up and greeted us very warmly. In front of everybody, she loudly exclaimed, Those Activated mags you're sending me are simply great! They are teaching me all about Jesus! It was quite something at this little party. Ha!
We were introduced to some very sweet people, all of whom seemed to want to get to know us and help us. It was such an encouragement for us as we had been dragging our feet on following up this particular couple. It showed us that even though we are not always available, these mags are doing the job for us.
It's such a super answer to prayer having Activated to give to the sheep, as we could never do justice to all these hungry souls, to be able to feed them enough.
From John W., Guinea:
On the Activated program: I'm so thankful for more emphasis on follow-up nowadays. Although we don't have much in the language we need, I feel the most important thing is to be faithful with following up on those precious sheep the Lord brings our way. I only get to send one prayer letter every three to four months, and get to see most of our mail ministry sheep only once a year. Some I only get to phone once a year, as they live too far away. They feel part of our work, though, keep supporting us, and look to us for inspiration and for something useful to do and invest in.
Granted, it is a fight to keep up records in the computer, write prayer letters, arrange to see the sheep, etc., but they look forward to hearing from us. They do draw closer to the Lord that way and they help us to do His work by praying for us and supporting us. I can testify to the fruitfulness of this ministry: It feeds the sheep spiritually, and us physically and inspirationally.
Once we've won them to the Lord and they are in any way open to our work and want to help us, we shouldn't hesitate to ask them to stay in touch with us, support our work, or sign up for Activated. We remember the quote: Don't forget them and don't let them forget you. We pray to be faithful to keep them on the line. Once we have more Activated materials available in their language, we can feed them even more, but in the meantime we keep them on the line and they help keep our work going.
Over the last five years, our Home and our entire work were supported this way. The Lord helped it to grow by adding more people to our list, even without us meeting a lot of them personally, as our friends introduced them to us. The CTP shipments we worked on grew from a few banana boxes to one orphanage in Slovakia to 10 tons to the Ukraine and now our first 40-foot container to Africa.
This is a ministry of not just raising support, but supporters. It has even enabled us to move fields without having to take out extra time to raise funds, as those sheep are supporting us as we go. Praise the Lord! It really works! Just try it! Be faithful with each contact, and the Lord will use them to do His work. You must win, feed, and cultivate, for in the days and years ahead you will have need of those who can help you do the job (ML #3298:151).
(Editor's note: This is a good example of how you don't have to have the Activated magazine or the new books in your local language in order to get activated! You should use the Activated mags and the new GP books if you have them, as they're tremendous feeding material. But if you don't, use what you do have in your local language and activate your sheep just the same by feeding them the Word and following up on them.)
From Praise, Tim, and Mercy, India:
Thank the Lord for this new Activated vision! We're just getting started, but the Lord's already been doing so much for us. We've found that instead of it taking away from our normal outreach, it's actually increased our tool distribution. We're cracking a whole new side of witnessing and soul-winning, teaching Bible classes, etc. It's quite inspiring, and it's even good for the kids as they too are getting behind it.
We've also been able to start having Church of Love again on a weekly basis, which a lot of our friends have been very appreciative of, as they need that regular fellowship and break from their day-to-day activities. It's bringing them a lot closer and it's been inspiring for us too.
From Lily Fighter (SGA), Nepal:
The new Activated Future GN was so exciting, challenging, and wonderful! To say the least! It's so rewarding to see all that the Lord has taught us and how all of the purging that He's been putting us through has led to this. It was definitely worth it all. I've longed for this for a long time, for a greater reaping, winning of new disciples, and greater witness. And then shall the End come! (Mat.24:24).
It's really encouraging and challenging to see that the Lord still has faith in us despite all our problems, and to see how the Lord is going to use the Activated program and this greater emphasis on witnessing to fulfill all that He has promised for the Family over the years. I'm so excited and can't wait to see what He has in store. I'm really feeling more and more that there's never been a more exciting time to be in the Family. The part about going back to our roots and living for witnessing and the sheep was especially encouraging, as in the past I've often thought—as maybe other young people have—that the early days were definitely a cooler time to be in the Family, with so much more dedication, faith, miracles, and fruits. That's why I was so glad for the opportunity after the Charter to get in a pioneer situation and see it work, but this is even more thrilling! All I can say is—Amen! I can't wait!
I love you so much, Mama and Peter, and am so thankful for your faithfulness to pour out the Word, tell it like it is, give us correction when we need it, and keep the Family pure. God bless you for doing that, despite the obstacles. We want to be a Gideon's band that accomplishes all that the Lord has ordained us to be, with His divine anointing and help. Thanks for always giving us the Word, and having the faith in the Lord for the results. I'm ready to follow right behind you, and I know lots of other young folks who are completely sold out and on board. We don't want to be left behind, and we're doing all wepossibly can to prepare for this exciting Activated future. Praise the Lord! I love you so much!
From Faith, Brazil:
When the first Activated GN came out, I couldn't stop crying as I read it and saw the fulfillment of all we believed and hoped the Lord would do! It's here and it's very, very exciting. We already live it here in Rio, and it's a real explosion, but it'll keep growing beyond our wildest dreams! We already have many on-fire live-out disciples who love the Lord and the Family and want to serve the Lord to the best of their ability with us. They love to witness, teach Bible classes, and win others like them to help us do the job! They love prophecy and flip out over the New Wine, love the Lord, and the new weapons and are open and receptive to the spirit of David!
From Stephen, Andrew, Lisa, and Jewel, India:
It's been inspiring to get behind the Activated program as a city, and make a push. In our last Action Committee Meeting, we set goals and had prayer. We as a Home also had desperate prayer and took time to hear from the Lord about how we could do better and overcome any hindrances. We just weren't making any progress, in spite of our efforts.
The Lord really punched through. As we did our part and sent the teams out with our focus mainly on Activating and the home team praying, we reached our goal of 15 Activated subscriptions in two weeks, compared to the 15 we had since the initiation of the Activated program.
From Andrew, Esther, and Charity, India:
As a city we had a meeting to see how we are doing, and realized, Lord help us, that we had been lagging somewhere way behind. But when we set goals as a Home and a city, it not only brought unity between the Homes (because we started working together with a sister Home), but it also got the engine in motion and the vehicle rolling.
It's a juggling act in all directions, but just being obedient and doing what our dear Husband asks of us is so inspiring. God bless dear Cephas CRO who is behind us to get the job done.
From Mexican Josué and French Phoebe (at the Conéctate desk, Mexico):
We went to Houston to pick up our first big shipment of books and magazines. The Lord miraculously opened all the doors, and we were able to take care of all the business in a couple of days, instead of the week we had originally estimated. The Homes in Houston were very helpful to us, and it was so inspiring to see the brethren so turned on by the Activated vision, and eager to help.
Before we got there, David (of Claire) had already worked out everything in Houston with a customs broker, provisioning a big discount on the fee and clearing the whole shipment from customs for us. God bless him!
When the three of us went to retrieve our two tons of Conéctate! material from the warehouse, the Lord did something special. As we told the office and maintenance workers that we were missionaries picking up these pubs to bring back to Mexico to feed the Latin world spiritually, one of them, a young black lady asked us shyly to keep her in our prayers. When we suggested that we could pray for her right there, she told us that she needed prayer for her finances.
Then another office lady piped up, a tough white woman, chain-smoker with a face that appeared marred by alcohol abuse. Up until then she had not given us the time of the day, but she chimed in, You should also pray for her mother! And she joined us, spontaneously kneeling on the floor of their office, as we all joined hands and prayed together. It was so touching!
Afterwards the same lady said, You should also go and pray for Sandy outside. She is not feeling well! So out we went to find Sandy and we prayed for her.
While this praying was taking place, the warehouse supervisor, a large black fellow named Sam with whom we had made friends earlier on, had taken it upon himself to load up our truck with Josué, without even asking us for the required clearance papers. When we finally went to see him with the papers in hand, he flashed a broad, satisfied smile and told us that everything was under control, and all the books were already in the truck! Then we asked him if he was going to Heaven, and he prayed right there to receive Jesus with us! That visit was definitely the highlight of our trip! Praise the Lord!
Through all these events the Lord helped us get the magazines and books to fill the Spanish Conéctate orders. Keep them coming!
From Hosanna, MaryAnn, Andrew, Rejoice, and Timothy, India:
The Lord has been emphasizing to us the importance of putting Him first and keeping a priority on obeying the latest wine, especially the Activated vision. One of our mindsets and apprehensions in obeying the Activated vision has been When we offer the Activated, does that mean that the people will go for the cheaper Activated subscription and not take the other tools? Will it not then be harder for us to get out these tools?
This month the Lord helped us step out by faith to give out the Activated mag and the books and the Lord did His part by helping the books, Activated and the tools to go out. Thank You Jesus! All three of our road teams did well and the Lord helped us reach our budget one week in advance! And all this the Lord did even as four people from our Home went on a big relief work trip to a faraway state for three weeks. God bless the home team that held the fort even when things were very tight, and who prayed fervently for the outreach teams. The Lord is so good to us! Thank You Jesus!
From Samuel, Mamta, Joy, David, Kathy, and Jonathan, India:
Answering the call from Mama and Peter to take up the Activated torch, the Lord enabled us to get 44 subscriptions just in one month! What an answer to prayer! Praise the Lord!
The Lord did a miracle this month in helping us to raise our budget. We had grown pretty accustomed to receiving a bulk amount from the various concerts and programs that our band performs monthly, which brings in a fair amount for our budget. This month, for some reason or another, the band didn't receive any engagements, but in spite of this the Lord still came through and miraculously supplied our every need.
From Abel and Angel, Japan:
After many months and even years of talking about it, but usually only getting together for special events or fellowships, we just began a very fruitful weekly GP meeting for our friends, contacts, and sheep. It has resulted in many souls saved, as well as being an effective vehicle to feed our sheep in the area. It promotes unity in our work and is a sample to our own children.
We usually begin with some inspirational and fun songs where everyone sings and sometimes dances together, and then we have a short Bible study or other appropriate reading. During that time some people take the smaller children aside for activities so the adults and young people can concentrate on the Word. After that, we have relaxed personal talking, fellowship, and snack time with all the sheep there, as well as witnessing and sharing the Word, especially with anyone who hasn't gotten saved yet. After about one and a half to two hours, people start heading home, much happier and closer to the Lord and us than before.
This whole experience has shown us the importance of providing a place for the sheep to come on a regular basis and how fruitful and effective it can be. It has also shown us the importance of following through on the things He reveals to us. Sometimes He's just waiting on us to do what He's already instructed us to do. As a final note, we'd like to thank the Home of Paul, Megumi, Matthew, and Faith for giving the area a place to have these meetings and for helping to shepherd them.
By Salomón, Uruapan Home, Mexico
With the inspiration of all the new Word about the era of action and after the recent Conéctate meetings held in Mexico, we couldn't help but start weekly meetings with our local sheep and friends! At our first meeting, 10 people came, all eager to be fed. We sang, danced, and shared the good news that it's now a new day, that we had lots to share with them, and that we were going to see each other a lot more from now on. The reaction has been that the Word came alive all of sudden, with sheep visiting us almost daily and sometimes knocking at our door at unusual hours! Ha! Whoops, we can't stop them anymore! They want more Bible classes and our schedule is, well, thrown out the window!
A Reaction to The Family's Future and Expansion Program (ML #3308, GN 908)
By Simon Simple, New Delhi, India
I got saved and started serving the Lord 17 years ago. I remember the first time I read Matthew 6:33: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Seeing the Family actually live this verse, I just shook my head in amazement. Today, 17 years later, I still shake my head in amazement at the awesome promise in that verse!—Especially when I see its fulfillment in my daily life!
For the last year or so, our Home has been trying to raise funds for new sound equipment (an amplifier and a set of speakers), as we do a lot of programs and seminars. However, we never quite seemed to save up enough, and I was beginning to get discouraged and wonder whether we would ever get enough funds to buy this!
Then just a week ago, the Lord showed us that we as a Home had begun to slack off on pushing the Activated subscriptions, Lord help us, and so the next day we decided to have one of our two outreach teams just concentrate on personal witnessing, soul winning, and—most important of all—pushing Activated ! We had a great day witnessing and activating!—And we made a commitment that we would have one team out each day just getting out Activated!
Within the next 48 hours (suspense music, goose bumps, and drum roll, please) the Lord supplied close to $1000!! One of our long-time pledgers sent an unexpected donation and a dear friend of ours placed an order for 400 Mottos for Success! You could have knocked me over with a feather! We suddenly had enough to get our sound equipment!
I thought it was incredible proof of the veracity of what Peter said in par. 64 of this GN:
The Activated program is not a financial venture. It's not a means of raising quick money to pay your bills this month. It's obedience to the Lord's commandments to feed the sheep. If we're faithful to do that, we know that He'll take care of us and will provide for us like He always has when we've obeyed Him!
And like I said—I'm still shaking my head in amazement!
This team saw the Activated promises come to pass on their far-flung mission field, as national Christians came to them begging for training.
From Stephen, Lisa, Maria, Joan and kids, in Liberia
On July 1st our Home received part one of the Action series, Our Activated Future! (ML #3298, GN895). We were greatly encouraged by what the Lord had to say to us Homes in far-flung mission fields: The brave pioneers and faithful mission-aries on the far-flung fields can be -every bit as much a part of this mighty move as those in the areas who have Activated desks. These promises apply to all Family members who will get on the band-wagon and step out today to do their part to meet and minister to the hungry of the world, to follow up on My sheep and make disciples of all nations.
Our team first arrived in Liberia in mid-August of '99, yet we are still pioneering ways to get the wonderful Activated tools into this country. The Lord has given us wonderful opportunities to follow up on His sheep and make disciples of this nation. There are many exciting follow-up testimonies we'd love to share, however, what really caused us to catch the fire for Liberia was a group of labor leaders the Lord had us miraculously meet six months after our first prayer to find His will for our team in this country of many churches.
How we met CHEM
Upon arrival in Liberia we were astounded to find many churches. In fact, there were so many we began to wonder why the Lord had brought us here. We soon began a series of Endtime seminars for any church that was willing to host us. Also during this time we began giving personal witnessing classes to anyone who showed interest in preaching the Gospel.
One particular fellow we were giving classes to would go out witnessing, and it was on one of his witnessing adventures that he stumbled on to a group called CHEM (the letters standing for Christ, Humanitarian, and Evangelical Ministry). To this day I still don't know why he said what he said, but he introduced himself to the members of CHEM with the following statement: We [that is, The Family] are looking for people who are not a church, because we want to work with such people.
Their response and the eventual results were incredible. Patrick, one of the three directors of CHEM, came with our Bible class student to meet us, and we eventually agreed to set up a missionary training program for the five members of CHEM. They are all Liberians, ages 20 to 31.
All five members forsook all soon after the training began. They forsook their old organizational structure, they forsook the idea of receiving wages, they forsook all just like Family members would if they were joining full time. Yet these dear folks are not moving into our Home or joining us fulltime in that sense, but are operating as an indigenous church trained by The Family .
CHEM's desperate prayers—answered in the Family
CHEM has a very interesting testimony, which I will include here in their own words:
The Lord by the Holy Spirit began training us about three years ago. He showed us then that He did not want us to become a church and that He also wanted us to live by faith. So we all quit the jobs and college courses we were doing and began following the Lord through visions and Scripture. He showed us that we were to start an office and call it CHEM. We received some training in administration and our original direction of humanitarian work from a visiting UN directress from Uganda. The Lord showed us that we were to preach the message of salvation along with our humanitarian work.
At this point we thought that our training had ended and we were ready to work for Him. This is when we received a vision that our training had not been completed and that the Lord wanted us to wait, as the final part of our training was still to come. So we waited and waited, and in September of 1998 we decided to have a three-day fast and prayer for direction. During this fast we desperately prayed and asked the Lord to send some people to train us. (Note from Stephen and team: We were in Germany in September 1998, and after six months of unsuccessful fundraising, suddenly the Lord supplied over US$9,000 in a two-day period for our team to come to Africa.)
We told the Lord that we didn't care how far He had to look, even if it was across the sea, but He had to find dedicated people whose only desire was to follow the Lord. If we could get people like this, then we knew we would receive the correct training.
We have been waiting three years for The Family to come, and during this time the Lord tested us sorely. We went hungry many days, but the Lord encouraged us to keep on believing because He was going to complete our training.
Many people mocked us because of what we believed and many said to us that it is not possible to live by faith, because those days were for the days of Jesus. But we knew that the Lord had spoken to us and revealed to us that He was making us different. The day that Alex came to us [this is the boy we are giving witnessing classes to], we were holding another fast and prayer begging the Lord for direction.
On the second day Alex knocked on our door. We didn't know him and were wondering where he came from. When he told us about some missionaries in town looking for people that were not a church, we weren't sure, so we told him to come back the next day. Well, the next day the president declared a holiday, so we said, 'We will still go to the office and if this boy comes we will know that it is the Lord's will for us to meet the missionaries.' The boy came and so our director went with him to see The Family.
Since our training has begun we have come to realize that The Family is very anointed by God and that the Endtime message that God has given your founder is true and inspired. We here at CHEM only want to distribute Family material and only want training from The Family. We know that the Family does not support financially, but we really need literature and training material to do the job the Lord has given us to do. We also feel that the Lord wants us to no longer give Liberia [only] the salvation message, but the Endtime message along with salvation.
We feel we have been awakened and must fulfill the calling the Lord has had us wait to receive. We understand now why the Lord has asked us not to be a [formal] church and asked us to never go to worship at a church again, because the Endtime message is something that must be believed in, and to show this belief we must quit our jobs and work fulltime for Jesus and act like we believe that the End is near.
We want to say thank you to the Family missionaries who have shown us the dedication that is required to be a full-time worker for God. We know that God has chosen The Family to carry this message, and so we must follow The Family. The Lord showed us in a vision that we must change our name and approach and old ideas and accept what The Family has to tell us. We feel so privileged to be called for this job.
Training of Liberia's indigenous missionaries
Right from the start the Lord impressed on us the important need to train up a missionary church that would be able to survive the dark days of tribulation. After much prayer it was decided to start the training of CHEM with a full course on the Endtime. So we began with Daniel 2 and followed with Daniel 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12. From there we went through Matthew 24 and finished off with the full Book of Revelation. The Lord showed us to give them as much class and witnessing material as we could gather. For example, we photocopied the image of Daniel 2 from Treasures; we also took different timeline charts from the Endtime Bible series. We also compiled a small 16-page booklet based on the 16 points of the Endtime, with pictures, which we presented to them (and which we also were able to sell at different Endtime seminars that we were doing around the city).
Since completing the Endtime series, the Lord has shown us to photocopy different basic Letters from the list of ninety Babes Letters, give them a class on each one, and then give the class material to them so that they will be able to build their own library of MO Letters.
Quite early in their training, the Lord directed us to give them some very in-depth prophecy studies. It was at this time that the Lord gave us the idea to perform a gift of prophecy ceremony.
The members of CHEM took this ceremony very seriously indeed. In fact, just before we were about to begin, something happened that delayed the ceremony for one day. As we were reading some preparatory Word leading up to the actual ceremony, the Lord showed the director of CHEM that not everyone was fully prepared in heart. Therefore he felt they, as a group, were not ready to accept such an important gift. We then began a very beautiful heart-sharing, followed by a reconfirmation of belief in where the Lord was leading the group. It was very sobering for us and also impressed on us that we were dealing with a very serious group of believers.
The next day we all gathered for the ceremony and the Lord directed us to have the members of CHEM form a circle with Stephen in the center. After a short prayer, Stephen anointed each member with oil and prayed over him or her. When the anointing was over, we all waited and the Lord spoke through different ones in prophecy. Some saw visions and some received small but significant prophecies about what was happening during this time in the spirit world.
Since this time different ones have commented that they try really hard to practice this new gift the Lord has given them. Wherever they are, even walking down the street, they try to keep their spiritual antenna up, listening and waiting for the Lord to speak.
Apart from prophecy we are also giving classes on yieldedness, pride, witnessing, children's ministries, living by faith, and (because they have four of their own kids) home schooling. We often tell them about Dad and how he was chosen as the Endtime prophet, and also about Maria and Peter and how the Lord is leading The Family in a great many ways through prophecy. As far as the Loving Jesus Revelation, we are waiting on the Lord's timing for that; we have dropped some new ideas at different times about treating Jesus as a husband and spending personal time with Him, etc., but nothing deeper as yet.
To be frank, we have never before seen such a hungry, receptive audience as we have found these people to be. It truly is a miracle and very inspiring for each of us. Each time we come back from giving a class to them, there is one more testimony to share with those at home about how thrilled and thankful they are to be getting such feeding Word.
One member commented to Stephen recently: The Lord truly is wonderful and I am so blessed to have been called out to receive this training. No one is receiving training like this in the churches; this truly is a work of God. Thank you for coming to Liberia and having the faith to give this training. It is truly missionary training; we are training to be disciples. We will go into all of Liberia with this training and you will see that your time has not been wasted.
Dreams and visions
The Lord has given the members of CHEM many different dreams and visions. Often these dreams were pertinent to their immediate training and also preparation for the future. We have included three with this article, the first two mainly because they relate to points the Lord has brought out in the Activated GNs and the last one because it was such an encouragement to us that these dear ones are truly hearing from the Lord.
The beer dream: Beatrice, Patrick's wife, had a vision that one day the members of CHEM were invited to our Home. She said, Soon after we arrived we sat down in the living room, and Stephen told someone to get us all a drink of water. But Lisa stood up and went into the kitchen and she came back with a glass of beer for each member of CHEM. We didn't understand this vision at first because we have a rule to not drink alcohol, but the Lord showed us that we were being tested to see if we would take new things even if we didn't understand why we were being given them.
The auditorium dream: Soon after we began training CHEM, one of the members had this dream: The Family missionaries were packing their bags to leave Liberia. I had the definite impression that their work was over. Then the scene changed and I saw a big auditorium filled with Liberians. Up front there was a large raised area and the three directors of CHEM were sitting there. In the front row and surrounded by Liberians were two members of The Family, Stephen and Joan.
What astounded me was that all the Liberians in the very full auditorium were part of The Family and also very active for the Lord. The Lord showed me in the dream that The Family missionaries were going to see a great work grow here in Liberia before their time to leave arrives.
Wildcats or bears of Heaven!: The idea came to bring all the members of CHEM together in one home, and during that time one of the members was concerned about the security of this home. That night he had a dream where he saw a huge cat outside their house. He said that Jesus came to him and said, No, Patrick, it's not a cat! It's a bear!
We were immediately reminded of the wildcat vision, and we decided to read it to them the next day.
There are two Heavenly beings on either side of the Lord. They're awesome-looking, but really gorgeous and strong—like a cross between a lion and a tiger and a bear. They're beautiful and stately looking, and about the size of a large lion or tiger. They have the mouth and the roar of a lion, the front legs of a strong bear, and the fur, hind legs and feet of a beautiful tiger.
(Jesus speaking:) Behold My wildcats of Heaven who stand guard, ready at all times to assist My children of David in battle!—These who are gentle and who eat from My hand in the Heavenlies, yet who I send when necessary to demonstrate great force and power on behalf of My children. Behold these, who when called upon do fight on behalf of Heaven against the wiles of Satan and his puny attacks on My children! In My Holy City they lie down with the lamb. Yet when I send them forth to fight on behalf of My children, they fight and win and conquer, for they are filled with the wild and free spirit of love's power! (End of message from Jesus.) (ML #3151:4-7, Lifelines 24.)
They were thrilled to hear about these amazing cats of the spirit that are somewhat like bears as well. It served to reconfirm their faith in what the Lord is doing in their lives.
Their name and structure changes
The members of CHEM are firm believers in prayer and fasting. This is what they have been taught in the past, and it really works for them, as they do it in a spirit of faith that the Lord is going to answer them. They are very dedicated and it is quite convicting for us to see this dedication in action.
During one three-day prayer and fast, someone received a prophecy that CHEM should change their name to Family Liberia. They also received that they as an organization should accept the rewriting of their constitution by Stephen and that they should embrace The Family's Statement of Faith and use it as their own, by inserting it into their rewritten constitution.
This was a very big step for CHEM, as they are truly their own organization, fully registered as a local NGO [non-governmental organization] with the Liberian government, and up until this time they had a set agenda. But I think it was more of a shock for us than it was for them. The name they said the Lord had given them seemed a little too close to our name, we thought. It was not that I felt they were unwelcome bedfellows, but it was more that we felt they were still untrained and very unfamiliar with our doctrines and beliefs. All the same, we decided to hear what the Lord said about this new name.
(Jesus speaking:) I am raising up a national church here that will far surpass your greatest intentions. Your job is to train them in the ways of The Family. They will wisely use the training given them, so do not fear, for I am in control. If you closely follow My lead, then I will bring to light any weak areas in their ministry, and together we can work on polishing, sanding, and buffing these weak areas into strong areas.
Family Liberia has their own constitution and therefore stand as a separate entity, yet they have the Words of David flowing in their hearts, which will make them like none other. They have the indigenous vision, and a great love for their people. So leave their and your future in My hands; do not fear, for I am with you to deliver you.
The important thing is that the message gets out. If the message is a strong, meaty one, of course it will cause questions and persecution. They have chosen to deliver this message because they know it is My will. When you give them this training and pass over your materials for them to distribute, you're going to have to trust them and trust their connection with Me. Trust that I will lead them and prevent them from doing anything unwise or that would cause undue attention.
I will lead them, for they are yielded and want only to do what I want. Continue to teach them how to hear clearly from Me in prophecy and that will be their best protection.
Open up the windows of your life—someone's passing by! They will receive whatever you have to offer them. You can see the eagerness in their eyes, their reactions and lessons. All of this is to bring them closer to Me and strengthen them for the times ahead, when you won't be here.
Let them call themselves Family Liberia, but it is according to your faith. It could bring bad light on you if they're persecuted for giving out the meat of the Word, no matter what their name. But at least the message is getting out much further and wider than you could ever dream possible.
I will use Family Liberia and I will protect them. I will not allow the Enemy to stir up too much dust before it is My time. Keep training them, keep teaching them to be wise and use the System and not let it use them. They will make the grade, as you are faithful to pour into them. (End of message from Jesus.)
We were amazed to read in the Action series, Part 1 (ML #3298, GN895) where Mama spoke about broadening the base of the Family. We mentioned earlier that Stephen was asked to restructure Family Liberia, and it was at that time that Stephen introduced the Family's Statement of Faith, which Family Liberia embraced wholeheartedly.
We felt a little uncomfortable using the Statement, but it was so well written and offered a solid base of beliefs for their new constitution. Plus, it cut down the work of rewriting a whole constitution considerably, so we felt compelled to use it.
Family Liberia totally love the Words of David, and they are growing in leaps and bounds because of it.
Protection during their time of training
One of our concerns regarding Family Liberia witnessing under The Family umbrella was the possibility of them receiving persecution or at the least being questioned about their new beliefs. They just started full-time witnessing. If they find themselves in a jam because of some unwise witnessing, then we might face the fire with them.
The Lord showed us through the above prophecy that He would keep us from this eventuality, at least until they were more deeply soaked in Family doctrines. We also received the following prophecy from our VSs about Family Liberia, and what the Lord is doing here to prepare them.
(Jesus speaking:) It's falling exactly in line with the things that I'm doing and that I'm going to be producing, the Word that I'm going to be getting out. It's exactly what I want, exactly what I desired, exactly what I hoped for. You'll meet many different Christian organizations that will embrace you like this.
The key is to handle it right, prayerfully, step by step making sure that they do really understand more than just your Bible studies, but actually the Words of David. Only with the real deep waters of David can they be ready for the onslaughts of the Enemy that are to come in the future. And only by them being filled with them and having drunk of the waters of David will they be ready to be as close to you as you'd like. (End of excerpts of message from Jesus.)
Witnessing and prophecy
The day we all had been waiting for finally arrived, when Family Liberia went out witnessing for the first time. One of the first comments the following day was, The gift of prophecy is wonderful! When the Lord showed us to do something, it always worked out! We are beginning to see what a wonderful thing the Lord has given us with this gift.
They also commented how well they were received when they presented themselves as missionaries. This gave them freedom to witness to anyone without being told that the person didn't believe in their particular church or belief. They told us that the lessons on living by faith also helped them to not worry about how they would travel to their witnessing spots or how they were to get food. Family Liberia does not have a whole lot of money, and this is also one good reason we wanted to give them a class on living by faith.
The Lord tested them on this the first day they went witnessing. It was around midday before they were ready to go out, but they had not had anything to eat, or the money to get rice. So the Lord told them to approach a certain business close to their office and ask for a donation. They were so happy when the owner gave them the exact amount of money they asked for. So they cooked their meal and afterwards went out witnessing.
Their vision to live Acts 2:44-45
One trial we had in our work here was the fact that we weren't really doing any CTP program. Our team consists of four adults and nine children, the oldest being 15. We are hard pressed to do all that we need to with the kids each day, train Family Liberia, plus follow up on all our contacts, etc. Well, we believe the Lord answered our desire for this kind of project when Family Liberia presented the idea that the Lord wanted them to all live together like we do! The Lord spoke to the five full-time members of Family Liberia, showing them that it was His will for them to move into one house and live the scriptural example of Acts 2:44-45: And all that believed were together and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need.
When we heard that the Lord had asked Family Liberia to live Acts 2:44-45, He began to reveal to us His greater plan wherein we were to play an even more active role in Family Liberia's training.
The three directors had a 10-year lease on a government housing estate house. The only problem with the house was that it was not complete. In effect what the government did was to build many houses like this one. But with each house, only one bedroom, a bathroom, and kitchen was roofed. The rest of the house—in their case the other three bedrooms, living room and a second bathroom—was up to them to complete.
We visited the house one day and were shocked to see a family of four kids and three adults living in one small, dark bedroom. Actually the husband was sleeping on the couch outside the bedroom (he gets eaten alive by mosquitoes), because his wife, the kids, and also a single sister were taking up all the space in the small bedroom. The part of the house that didn't have a roof was exposed to the weather. Rainy season had started and life was miserable.
Well, we saw this as an opportunity to start our first CTP project. We were so happy to be given this chance to help Family Liberia live Acts 2:44 and 45. About three days after visiting their house the Lord supplied 60 sheets of corrugated tin roofing and US$100, which we donated to the housing project!
Now this may seem like no big deal to most Family Homes, but it is important to remember Liberia is desperately poor, having just come out of a 10-year civil war and is now facing sanctions by the U.S. To be frank, business is bad and getting worse by the week. But praise the Lord, nothing is impossible for Him.
The Lord began speaking to our hearts when one member of Family Liberia, Patrick, came by our Home after spending most of the day out witnessing and soliciting money for food for their home. He was so discouraged and disheartened by the lack of response to his pleas for help. The Lord showed us that it was an attack on their attempt to live by faith and follow Acts 2:44,45. So Stephen gave Patrick a small bag of rice and promised that we would give them one of the 50-kg bags of provisioned rice we would have the following day.
Right at that time Lisa was walking by and heard the conversation. The Lord began speaking to her heart, telling her that she should give more than that. After all, how could we expect Patrick and Family Liberia to eat only plain rice? So she went to the freezer and pulled out a couple of frozen mackerel that had been given us a week or two previously and threw them into a bag to give to Patrick, too.
That night the idea was born to invest as heavily as possible in getting Family Liberia on their feet. He reminded us of a message He'd given us about Liberia back in 1998:
The pearl diver has to forsake the world on the surface to go down beneath the waves, to another different, very strange, but very interesting world at the bottom of the ocean. Liberia is like that, but there are many treasures there, and it will be worth it. So know this, My children: I send you to a very difficult field. The waters have the potential of being very turbulent; there are many dangers. But remember My hand is upon you, and I will fulfill all the promises that I have given you. If you will but follow Me I will make you fishers of men. And you shall be given this pearl of great price.
The Lord spoke to us in prophecy telling us that investing in the Liberian pearl would receive His seal of approval and that He would supply Family Liberia's needs and ours.
Missionaries for the towns and villages
A short while ago a friend of ours who is a printer, donated the printing of 16,000 poster tracts! We were elated, as we have been trying unsuccessfully since our arrival in Liberia to get tools in bulk into the country. Our satellite home of Liberian missionaries (formerly CHEM) has been chomping at the bit to get out on to the mission field in other parts of the country with real Family literature. They have the Endtime vision and desperately want to see their fellow Liberians get the full message before it's too late.
One very inspiring thing about Family Liberia is their great desire to reach all areas of Liberia. Within their ranks are five different language groups; this will enable them to reach a very large area of rural Liberia without the need of a translator. Reaching the tribes and villages of rural Liberia is something we really wanted to do, but we knew full well that it would be impossible on our own.
The Word and spiritual training paramount
We are at present giving Family Liberia three two-hour classes per week, besides printing out and giving them as many old foundation Letters as we can. Patrick continually asks that we leave no stone unturned in their training program.
Family Liberia wants to style their home after a Family Home, so we decided to suggest a change in their leadership structure. Everyone wholeheartedly agreed to hold their first-ever Home teamwork elections. So now there are three on-fire teamworkers in their little home of five adults and four children. Stephen is also working on a very basic Charter of Responsibility to help guide this fledgling Home of dedicated outside witnessers. We are really excited for them, as well as desperately praying that the Lord will lead these dear Liberians in what everyone agrees is a very different lifestyle for them.
Since the war, as we mentioned earlier, the economy has been very slow, and by all outward appearance is still declining. So it's not surprising that many parents here cannot afford to send their children to school, and Family Liberia is no exception. To compensate for this lack, the Lord has shown us to establish a home schooling program for Family Liberia. So Maria has been called off her other duties once a week to give a childcare/teaching class to Family Liberia. The Lord has also shown us to use the tithe they give us for photocopying Family childcare material for their new school program. Since holding the teamwork elections, some classes (like the ones on childcare) hold much more meaning for them, because now there is a teamworker responsible to make sure the training program has some landing gear.
Leadership training and teaching others to teach others
The most exciting development recently is a two-month basic training program and three-month discipleship training program that the Lord directed us to set up at the office of Family Liberia. The idea for the whole program came in prophecy and it basically entails the training of folks that are met during Family Liberia's and our witnessing adventures.
The two-month basic training program is completely run by Family Liberia using Family material: They teach incoming students the basics of witnessing, soul winning, Holy Ghost power, Endtime Bible, and hearing from the Lord in prophecy. There are eight two-hour classes and two on-the-field, clinical-method witnessing classes in which members of Family Liberia take the students out witnessing. The classes are free, but the students pay for the photocopied MO Letters we use for classes.
So far nine of their sheep have taken part in this training course, and we believe the Lord will build an army of outside witnessers through this two-month course. At the end of the two-month course, we'll have a certificate presentation ceremony and an introductory class to discipleship. This is designed to introduce the student to the next three-month course, which will be conducted by Stephen and one member of Family Liberia. If the student passes through this discipleship course, then he or she is considered a candidate for joining Family Liberia full time.
We are thrilled that our nationals are so upfront and involved in all that the Lord is doing here, because we have found that the Liberian people can tend to get the wrong idea when they see white missionaries. They often look at us as a means of support or as a job opportunity, and it can be quite difficult for them to accept what we are trying to teach them about discipleship. This makes members of Family Liberia more unique, as they have totally dropped out of their old life, having the desire to serve the Lord by faith like we do in the Family.
Conclusion
There could only be one ending to this testimony, and that is thanking the One Who really did it all for us, our beautiful, powerful, ever-present-in-good-and-bad-weather Friend, Lover and Husband, Jesus. Thank You for such precious fruit that will remain long after we're gone. It truly is the Lord's doing, as right from the start CHEM was led to us. We really didn't know what the Lord was trying to do with us, and in fact, were quite discouraged, having left Russia for a mission field that was so full of churches and church groups. But the Lord knew and we even received a prophecy from Dad telling us that he had played a part in getting us assigned to Liberia. So all we can say is, It's only Jesus! We love you!