Christmas Sheep Meeting

By Dawn, England

We had a special "Christmas Sheep Meeting." Several Homes cooperated to put together a program in a rented hall, and we invited our friends to join us for a Christmas event. It was a blessing to have the help of several Homes, as everyone added something special and helped make the evening possible.

Lily located the hall room, initiated and pushed through the whole program. John, Paul, and David added the inspiration with lively songs. Paul also brought four of his children who performed Christmas songs. Their smiles and candor touched everyone's hearts and added a real family spirit. The young people from the Oasis Home performed a special Christmas skit, which one of the teens had received in prophecy. The young people were also an integral part in decorating the room and setting out the refreshments. Jason and Cathy's Home contributed refreshments.

 Our friends and sheep thoroughly enjoyed themselves and received a wonderful witness and infilling of the Spirit. Several of them had prayer requests and want to visit our Home for more Bible classes. It also was an inspiration for the brethren from the six different Homes represented to get a chance to see each other and to have a little time of fellowship during the Christmas season.

The Undeniable Aura

Linda, the Balkans

I was invited to the birthday party of one of my old friends who is no longer in the Family. We would be getting together at her parents' place for some champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Because of the recent persecution, I was wondering what kind of questions would come up as the evening unfolded.

About an hour after arriving, my friend's father called me aside, as he said he had something to tell me. I figured it had to be about the slander program that was due to be aired the very next day.

What he said took me by surprise. "You know, Linda," he began, "I saw something now that I felt I had to tell you. I was rubbing my eyes, as if trying to focus while you all were sitting around the table talking. After you sat down it seemed as if the entire room dimmed, and I saw everyone only by their contours as gray shadows. But you stuck out from the crowd and were surrounded by a bright aura, and it was such a strong contrast that it blinded my eyes and I had a hard time focusing. Then I heard a voice say: ‘A woman who loves the Lord is more precious than rubies.'"

I was enraptured for the rest of that evening. Jesus, my wonderful Lover, had made my day!

The Winter Coat

Anna, England

I had been looking for a good winter coat. As it was winter, winter items were very expensive. I'd saved up 30 pounds towards a good-quality coat that would last for years to come. But everywhere I looked, the price for a good coat was two or three times more than I had. Finally, I decided that maybe the Lord felt that my old summer coat was good enough. Thankfully, it proved warm enough during Christmas outreach, but with January approaching, I knew I would be doing a lot more "on the street" witnessing and needed something warmer. I prayed desperately that the Lord would supply one.

One day after outreach, I went into a shop just before closing time. There on the stand in front of me was a long, warm winter coat. It was the only one on the rack, and amazingly enough, it was just my size. I checked for the price and saw that it was marked down from 50 to 30 pounds. It seemed too good to be true! I tried it on, and it fit perfectly but there was a button missing. I went to the desk to ask about the price and the lady looked it up and told me the coat was actually only 20 pounds. When I mentioned the missing button, she called the manager and he said that I could have it for 15! Wow! Still amazed, I took it home. When I showed it to one of the girls, she tried it on and when she reached into the pocket she pulled out the missing button! What a miracle! The Lord not only supplied my need, but He supplied just the size and style I wanted as well.

Exceptional STEPs

Pearl, South Africa 

While out witnessing with the *STEPs program, one of the first schools we were referred to was a little rundown school near Somerset West. We spoke with the principal, told him we were missionaries and were interested in showing him a program to boost both the faith and the character of the children. (*The STEPS curriculum is a life-skills learning program intended for use at home, camp, or classroom, by parents, counselors, caregivers, and teachers.)

He and one of the teachers were completely turned on about the program. They were looking into a new curriculum, and said that this was just what they were looking for.

Unfortunately, the principal told us that they didn't have much money in their budget and he apologized for not being able to take one. The teacher then stated that she was willing to pay for them from her own pocket! We were pleasantly surprised, yet a bit taken aback because she didn't look like she had much money, being a teacher in this poor school. "You don't come across something like this every day," she reasoned, and went on to purchase both sets—Foundations of Faith and Character Building.

It was inspiring for us, and a simple reminder that God is not limited by looks or appearance and He can touch anyone's heart, no matter how impossible the circumstances.

The Family is still leading with the wonderful material that gets worked on and published for children! People go crazy out there trying to find something worthwhile to teach their children, while in the meantime we have excellent teaching aids!

For Little Spirits

Eva, South Africa

We went on a faith trip to the coast to visit the schools and preschools in the area. We showed the STEPs to every school and teacher. We received very positive reactions from almost every principal and teacher with promises of orders for the new year.

One lady went through some books from the "Character Building" STEPS curriculum, and delightfully exclaimed, "These are an answer to prayer! Such wonderful stories, and with teacher friendly pages that we can photocopy! Thank God for answering our prayers for good Christian stories for our children!"