HomeARC ML 0187
"802 SOUTH"--MO October 23, 1972 NO.187--GP
Copyrighted October, 1973 by The Children of God
P.O.Box 31, London WC2E 7LX, England or GPO Box 3141, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
My dearly beloved Children in the Lord: Greetings in Jesus' Precious Name! Praise be unto God Who always giveth the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord! We are still on the move and going further and growing stronger every day, praise the Lord! The world is hearing the Good News everywhere that the Lord is scattering us throughout all the earth, and souls are being won for His Kingdom and more and more are following Jesus every day, Hallelujah! This is one population explosion they cannot stop, for God is with us and will keep us going to the End! PTL!
2. Six years ago there were only six of us! In 1966! Five years ago there were still only a dozen! Four years ago there were still only about fifty of us, by the end of 1968 in Huntington Beach, California; and by the end of 1969, while we were yet on the road, we still only numbered about 100! By the end of 1970 at TSC in Texas and in L.A. California, we still only had a total of about 300 disciples in a couple colonies or so--maybe half a dozen.--And even by the end of 1971, just a year ago, when about 500 of us were so cruelly and unfairly evicted from the four Soul Clinic properties, we had only grown to about 40 Colonies with about 1600 disciples nearly all of them confined within the U.S alone!
3. Still we had made quite a jump in '71, to over five times as many disciples and about ten times as many colonies as in 1970! Our eviction and the scattering of our disciples had only caused us to begin to truly explode as God wanted us to and to saturate the United States with His Message and our example and to reap the ripened harvest of the ready youth of that great Nation!--And we did, thanks to Jesus!
4. But now, here in the Fall of 1972, only one year later, we have already exploded to a total of 134 Colonies with 2383 disciples in over 40 countries around the world in all six Continents and the islands of the seas! Hallelujah!
5. In 1966, the first year that our little family of six hit the road by faith in only one vehicle, our first mobile Colony, there were only half a dozen of us, and we didn't seem to accomplish very much going from church to church and witnessing scene to witnessing scene through a few States of the U.S. singing, witnessing, winning a few souls and trying to stir up the churches to do the same, but without much success.
6. By the end of 1967, we had toured most of the U.S., worked hard, witnessed hard, studied hard and just about preached and sung our hearts out, but had only doubled our number to a mere dozen who could still all be fitted into our one little camper bus! But this was a 100% growth, and we were learning, hearing from the Lord, and getting the Message out the best we could. We did what we could.
7. In 1968 in California, Grandmother died and we gave up on the churches and began to work independently by faith with youth alone outside of the churches with new and radical methods and approaches as old as Jesus, the Disciples and the Early Church, and the little handful of Teens For Christ became the Revolution for Jesus numbering about 50--more than a 400% growth in our third year of fulltime operation!
8. In 1969, while on the road again with our little Gypsy Caravans wandering across the Nation, we only doubled our number to about a hundred--again, only about 100% increase that year on the road--because it wad a hard life, but it developed some of our best leaders of today! If we were as tough on our disciples now as we were then we'd have more good leaders today!
9. In those days, we adhered rigidly to our rigorous Revolutionary Rules and ideals in a life of extreme hardship on the rough and rugged road, and only the hardiest survived! But I'll tell you, that first hundred were mighty good material, both men and women, and most of them are still our top leaders of today throughout the world!
10. You can only make good soldiers out of good material to begin with, and only the best could qualify and meet our membership requirements of those early days! We didn't just take in anybody and everybody who wanted a free crash pad, or tried to over-persuade a bunch of weak sisters to join us who could never make it when the going got rough!--And the going was always rough in those days!--Only the hardiest and most utterly dedicated stuck it out in those rough tough days when we really died daily!--The life itself nearly killed you!
11. But today, some of you seem to have the idea we're running a bunch of comfortable youth hostels for overnighters or short term vacationers who only come for the loaves and fishes and couldn't care less about witnessing or winning souls or dying for Jesus or their fellowman, or living a life of extreme hardship and sacrifice that others may hear the Good News of the Love of Jesus. A lot of you seem to have lost your love of souls, are no longer much interested in witnessing or winning real disciples, but seem to think that communal living is our main goal, instead of a means to the end of going into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature! God help us!
12. In 1970, the result was the tripling of our numbers to about 300--a 300% increase! Praise the Lord! And in 1971, we were still trying to put quality before quantity, even though we more than quintupled our numbers to about 1600--an over 500% increase!--In one year! However, we had spread out more in about 40 smaller Colonies throughout the U.S and were doing a better job of Saturating the Nation with the Message by both our own witness and an amazing amount of publicity!
13. But we were still only in North America, and mostly in only one country, the U.S., and only just beginning to penetrate Europe. Since then in 1972, although we have not quite doubled the number of our disciples, we have more than tripled the number of our Colonies, and are in at least ten times as many countries as we were last year!" The Great Escape" and "Your Declaration of Independence" and other prods from the Lord are really taking effect and working, so that we now have more Colonies and disciples outside of the U.S. than within it!
14. As of this month of October, 1972, of our total of 134 colonies and 2383 disciples, we now have 81 Colonies and 1399 disciples in nearly 40 countries outside the U.S., as compared to only 53 Colonies and 983 disciples still in the U.S. alone. This means we have over 50% more Colonies and disciples outside than inside the U.S.
15. That's quite a move in one year, Brothers and Sisters and the most massive migration of missionaries of one single religious group that I have ever heard of in modern times!--About the biggest movement of fulltime Christian workers from their home base to all the world since the days of the Early Church! Hallelujah! We're making it!
16. To show you the direction of our progress thus far, before "The Great Escape" last April of this year, 1972, we had about 150 Colonies with about 2500 disciples, mostly within the United States, which was our population peak as far as numbers go thus far. after three months of escaping and "Your Declaration of Independence", we dropped to 111 colonies and 2000 disciples as many hit the roads out.
17. But in those three months, from April to July, 1972, our population outside the U.S. rose from only 32 Colonies with 458 disciples to 41 Colonies with 714 disciples! And in the three months since then, that total number of Colonies outside the U.S has doubled to 81, and their number of disciples doubled also to about 1400!--in only three months! Beloved, that is quite an accomplishment, when you consider that most of the people in the U.S have hardly travelled outside of their own State, much less their Nation, and certainly not as far as we have gone! That's an amazing modern missionary movement! Hallelujah!
18. I'll bet not one of those hundreds of denominations with their hundreds of thousands of churches, millions of members and billions of dollars has made such a missionary move in all history, moving most of their members to the far flung foreign fields of the future! They're too weighted down with their buildings and too beset by their selfish sins to run more than a few blocks to their little local church once a week on Sunday to ever get off their comfortable pads to do what Jesus called them for!
19. But we're doing it, Brothers and Sisters, and they haven't been able to stop us with all their excuses, saying it couldn't be done, and despite all their opposition, saying we shouldn't do it this way! They can't deny we're doing it, because we have the facts and figures and testimonies to prove it, and they can't stop us no matter how hard they try, because Jesus just won't let them! Praise God! Hallelujah!--And they're certainly not doing it, and never will, at the rate they're going! God has chosen you and me, the weak things of this world, to confound the mighty, and us foolish things to bring to naught the wisdom of the wise, and has not revealed these things unto the wise and prudent, but unto us mere babes! Praise His Holy Wisdom forever! Amen!
20. Where have all the Children gone?--Into all the world, Brother, just like Jesus said! Mostly we've gone into Europe with 31 Colonies and 694 disciples; Canada with 21 colonies and 316 disciples; and Latin America and the Caribbean with 16 Colonies and 263 disciples; and Asia, Africa and the Pacific with 13 Colonies and 126 disciples! Hallelujah!
21. However, North America still has 74 Colonies with 1300 disciples in the U.S and Canada, while Latin America and the Caribbean only have 16 Colonies with a mere 263 disciples!--although the population of Latin America and the Caribbean is 20% greater, with 278 million to the U.S and Canada's 225 million and although Europe has nearly three times the population of the U.S. and Canada, we have about half as many Colonies and disciples there!
22. Not only that, while Asia, Africa, Australia and the islands have about four times the population of Europe we have nearly five times as many workers in Europe as we do in these other three great Continents and islands of the Eastern Hemisphere!
23. This means that while about half of us are witnessing to only 225 million people in the U.S. and Canada, the other half of us are trying to witness to the other three billion 348 million of the rest of the world's population--over 16 times as many! In other words, while you folks in the U.S. and Canada, with 50% of our population are still witnessing to only 6% of the world's population, the other half of us are trying to witness to the other 94% of the world's population! Don't you think that's a little unfair?
24. I realise that you all in the U.S. and Canada are doing a great deal to try to support the other half of us throughout all the rest of the world. But wouldn't it be better if you'd just come over and help us? I know a lot of you would like to but maybe can't so we're going to try to make a few suggestions on how you might help to even the witnessing score and help carry this tremendous burden of reaching the souls of the rest of the world with the Good News of His Love!
25. We now have 105 Colonies and 1940 workers in the cold, Northern countries of the U.S., Canada and Europe, which will be freezing and hard to witness in this Winter to only a third of the world's population. Whereas, the warm, sunny, Southern climes of Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the tropical islands of the South Seas only have 29 of our Colonies and a mere 389 of our workers, and are begging for more to help them witness to the other two thirds of the world's population!
26. While you folks are freezing in those frozen North lands of the U.S., Canada and Northern Europe this Winter, the dear little handfuls of the faithful few pioneers of the lovely, balmy, Caribbean, Mediterranean, tropical, and Southern Hemisphere areas of Mexico, Central and South America, Southern Europe, the Mideast, Africa, India, Southern Asia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and the South Sea islands will be basking in the warm summery sunshine of those beautiful and exotic lands with their friendly Southern peoples!
27. It just doesn't seem fair that only 29 of our Colonies and a mere 389 of our members should be enjoying such lovely, warm, and pleasurable climates with need of very little housing, clothing or food and with so many people to witness to in such warm, wonderful climates where you can virtually live outdoors, while the rest of you poor folks are shivering, chattering, starving and trying to pay for those huge heating bills and expensive, heavily winterised houses and transportation and absolutely essential heavy, warm, Winter clothing and costly, but necessarily indoors, coffeehouses, clubs, etc., in order to witness throughout the Winter and manage to survive in the cold, frozen North! Why freeze in the snow when you can fun in the sun!
28. So I suggest about half of you in those cold Northern lands of the U.S Canada and Northern Europe take off as soon as you can for those Southern, sunny climes mentioned above! Why send any more Americans and Canadians to those cold and huddling Colonies shivering in Northern Europe this Winter with so few places you can witness in the cold, when the warm hospitality of the Caribbean and Latin America are awaiting you and pleading for your help to staff the villas, haciendas, hospitals, hotels, beach houses, walled mansions, printshops, compounds, coffeehouses, and other commodious housing which the Lord has given them for their use in preparation for this Southward migration into these predominantly tropical and Catholic countries!
29. And why should you poor Northern Europeans shiver around your fires or struggle through the snows of your frozen Colones, freezing your nose, fingers and toes every time you thrust them out of doors, when you could be enjoying that lovely California climate of Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East, or the tropical beauties of Africa, India, Indo-China, Indonesia and the South Seas, or the warm summer days of Australia and New Zealand, where there's swimming on their beaches in their summertime, while you're suffering your Wintertime in the North!
30. Go South, young man, go South, and warm up with the country! Why suffer the cold and the colds in those hard, frozen areas where we've already done so much witnessing, when there are three times as many people to witness to in these lovely, inexpensive Southern climes of the Tropics, Southern Hemisphere, Caribbean, and Mediterranean! Amen?
31. We were thinking about this the other day, but I as yet had had no confirmation from the Lord other than His wisdom, leadings, call and open doors and the testimony of many witnesses. But the other night I had one of those dreams! We were travelling along at night in one of those Southern, Catholic countries like Mexico, Spain, Italy, or South America, when we came to this typical little village sound asleep in the dark.
32. So far, all the highway signs I was following had always pointed to the left each one saying "802 South". But now as we watchfully rounded the town square in the silent darkness, all these signs began to point to the right. They led up a well worn trail, up a steep hill, to a large dark and empty Catholic shrine and it seemed I could imagine the way thronged with thousands of pilgrims in the daytime, but on top of this high hill by this huge Catholic shrine, it was now just beginning to dawn and no one was yet in sight but us, you and me, and the shrine was empty.
33. From there, the road led down into a valley, but wound high up over another hill on which stood one of those giant radio antennae supported by many guy wires leading out in all direction forming a gigantic web of steel cables. Someone shouted, "Don't get tangled up with him! He's the biggest crook in South America!" As we approached the tower, a high-pitched electronic whine grew louder and louder until it nearly deafened us as we passed by, wending our way watchfully through the wires, until, as we passed safely on, the terrible whine faded into the distance, and we were greatly relieved!
34. Now I noticed that we were following a river which wound along across a burning desert. Although the heat of the scorching sun became intense and we were hot and weary. we were constantly refreshed by this wonderful river of cool, crystal water which we followed closely.
35. Suddenly I awoke, and the dream was still as vivid as it yet is to me to this very day! As I prayed, the interpretation began to come: So far, in our journey, in the pilgrimage of our Revolution for Jesus, we have been continually led toward the Left, until now, while passing through the sleepy town of this world's System, we are suddenly being guided toward the Right and the Catholic Church and the Catholic countries of the world that we might have their help in reaching their young people with the Love of Jesus! Because of this, we will be hounded by the horrible static of the Pharisaical fundamentalist, evangelical Protestants, who will attempt to catch and entangle us in their theological web of lies while screaming their protests and propaganda against us! But we will proceed steadily on in spite of everything, following the refreshing river of God's will as we seek the driest places of the earth who need His life-giving Living Waters of Life, despite the scorching heat of persecution! Hallelujah! Thanks be unto God who giveth victory!
36. Then it began to dawn on me what that brilliant white lettering on those bright shining green signs must mean! It is obvious that according to our present direction toward the Catholic countries we are certainly headed south! But what could the 802 mean? I've never seen a highway with number that high! but as I was working on these statistics today which show our various locations and the general direction and amount of our moves, realising by the trends and all signs and indications that God is leading us Southward this Winter into the heat of drier, thirstier and Catholic lands, I was figuring we could move about half of our Colonies and disciples South, about 500 from the U.S. and Canada and about 300 from Northern Europe, or a total of about 800 South, When it suddenly began to dawn on me that this could be the "802 South"! Hallelujah?
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family}
