"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone, everywhere," Jesus told His followers. Every day, in over 100 countries, Family missionaries share Jesus' message of hope and love with many thousands. Following are some highlights of their recent activities and experiences.
November 2001
Copyright (c) 2001 by The Family
In the Aftermath of Sept. 11 - Comfort and Support
From Marc and Claire, USA
Like millions of others, we wanted to offer our support to the survivors of the
September 11 terrorist attacks. Members of our Family community had prior
experience in disaster relief work, and since we live in the Washington area,
the need was close to home. However, since this was not a natural disaster but a
national security crisis, we were told it wasn't possible to get involved in the
ways The Family normally does, helping directly with the rescue and relief work
and comforting survivors and the bereaved. We got our chance to help, but it
came in an unexpected way. Some friends of ours, who happen to be
Muslim-Americans, own a gas station where we do occasional car washes to raise
funds for our work. So when the Red Cross asked them about holding a fundraiser
at their station, our friends agreed and then asked us to provide the manpower.
We were more than happy to. In addition to raising $800 for the disaster relief
effort, this event gave us an opportunity to spread a message of comfort and
hope to people who were directly affected by the attack on the Pentagon,
including many workers from the three departments of the government. We gave
each customer/donor a packet containing Reflections on the subject of comfort
and a short message calling people of all faiths to pray for the victims and
their families. Many people read through the material on the spot and thanked us,
some in tears. We found that many people were looking for faith to see them
through this difficult time. We were so thankful for this opportunity to point
them to the One who has the love and reassurance they needed.
Three Days of Joy
From Prem, Sonia, Sharon, David, and Rohit, India
For the
last eight years, we have been working with the children of female inmates,
children under the care of the Spastic Society, and school children from New
Delhi's largest slum. We have found these children to be sweet-spirited, bright,
and tremendously responsive to our educational programs. For a while now we have
wanted to do something special with them, over and above our regular programs.
When we expressed this desire to one of our friends and supporters, she
graciously offered to host a three-day carnival for the children. Here's what
transpired: Day 1: Our children's show troupe, The Fantastic Friends, performed
a lively and meaningful music and drama program for 50 children of the Spastic
Society of Northern India. The highlight of the program was a funny yet
thought-provoking drama called "Trusting?-Or Doubting?" that
demonstrated the importance of having an optimistic attitude. The children in
the audience loved the show, and though it was physically difficult to do so,
many got up and danced along with Bobo the Clown. At the end of the program, we
presented the Spastic Society with 25 Family-produced music tapes for children,
in Hindi-enough for all their classrooms. We also gave each of the children an
abacus, which will be a great aid for their motor development as well as their
schooling. Day 2: It was a memorable day for 55 slum children and 20 children of
inmates. (Here children under five years of age stay with their mothers inside
the jail, but receive nutritious meals and qualified care at a local facility.)
The day began with the kids arriving at the carnival location and tucking into a
delicious meal of homemade chane bhature and gulab jamuns (north Indian
favorites). They then played games like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey,
feed-the-clown, etc., won prizes, and romped around in a huge, inflated rubber
castle. They also went on a toy train ride, and enjoyed ice cream treats and
cold drinks. The day ended with the children participating in an art competition.
Each child was given a box of crayons and a sheet of paper, and asked to draw a
theme-based picture. Ten winners were given toys as prizes, and each of the
children received a gift of a pencil box and stationery items. Day 3: Forty
older children arrived and made themselves comfortable in a large hall that had
been converted into a makeshift movie theatre. They spent the next three hours
watching a hilarious yet meaningful Hindi movie. They were served snacks and
drinks as they watched the movie, and had the time of their lives. At the end of
the day, each received a new school uniform, a pair of shoes, a stationery kit,
and a kite. One of the teachers of the slum children remarked, "You have no
idea what a tremendous impact this will have on the minds and hearts of these
children! Many of them come from broken homes and very unhappy backgrounds. The
love and concern they have felt from you today will stay with them forever!"
Christmas in August
From Maya, USA
Christmas came early for some Houston
children this year. After severe floods devastated parts of the city, three
Family communities teamed up to open a Family Aid Project distribution center.
With the help of a group of Girl Scouts and cheerleaders, they made a lot of
children happy with grab bags, donated toys, and raffle prizes of
Family-produced children's tapes and videos. Two local TV stations covered the
event.
Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!
From Micah, Merry, Richard and Joy, Japan
We recently
received a donation of 18,000 pairs of new children's shoes, to be distributed
in the Family's humanitarian aid projects in developing countries. There was
just one small glitch-all the shoes needed to be re-boxed! We put an ad in the
local paper asking for help with the re-boxing, and a number of people responded.
Two box manufacturers supplied 18,000 new shoeboxes, and we managed to get all
the shoes packed for shipping in one day. A Singaporean company shipped the
shoes to Cambodia for free, where the Family will distribute them in a joint
project with the Cambodian Red Cross.
Building Better Lives
From Kay, Mexico
For over four years, our Family
community has been helping impoverished families in Morelia, Mexico. This
project got started when Rejoice and her husband Stephen began giving classes
and distributing food and clothes to about 40 women for their families. These
people live in very simple makeshift shacks, and in most cases the parents and
their children are illiterate. When the group coming for monthly classes grew to
about 80, we started giving separate classes to the children that many of the
women bring with them-and the classes continued to grow. Now we teach about 160
women and 100 children. The classes focus on simple, practical ways for the
women to improve their families' standard of living. For example, one class on
nutrition was about soybeans and soy products, which are inexpensive and readily
available here, and more healthful than what these families had been eating. At
the end of this class, we gave them soy products to take home and try out.
Another month, Jason and Jessica gave a class on first aid and taught the women
how to prevent accidents. We have needed to teach these women a lot more than
just what is presented in the classes. They also needed to learn to come on
time, to be orderly and considerate, to not steal from each other-and most of
all that God's love is the key to finding solutions to their problems. While the
mothers have their class, Elaina (14) and Elizabeth (9) help lead activities for
the 100 children, usually with a baby on each hip while directing games or
telling stories to the others. Each month we also enlist the help of a group of
students from a local high school. They come the day before to help sort and
package the food and clothes, and the following day help serve the refreshments
and distribute the goods after the class. It's wonderful to see how much these
women are learning and changing. Life by life, we're helping to change their
world, and that's very fulfilling!
Picture Caption 1: Help from our friends. When the classes outgrew our house, we moved to a nearby school. Here a local baker who supports our work teaches the women how to bake bread. He also offered more classes to any who wanted to find jobs in bakeries. At the end of the class, we gave the women all the ingredients they would need to bake a batch of bread when they got home.
Picture Caption 2: Small beginnings. Kay makes announcements at one of the first classes, which were held on the patio of our home.
Picture Caption 3: Cleanliness counts. During a class on cleanliness, Manantial and Timmy demonstrate how to keep clean with only a small amount of water. (Most of these families must haul water from a communal faucet, so every drop counts.) We always encourage the women to apply the things we teach them, so we ended that class by telling them that they and their children need to be clean when they come for classes, and they have ever since.
The Family is a nonprofit, volunteer organization. Each of the activities you have just read about was made possible through donations from businesses, associations, and concerned individuals. If you would like more information about The Family, or if you would like to help sponsor Family volunteers or projects, including those mentioned in this report, please contact us at one of these addresses.
Web: www.thefamily.org
E-mail: family@thefamily.org