JESUS CHRISTIANS NEWSLETTER #121, MARCH, 2010
A New Target Audience
We experimented this month with outreaches to some of those suburbs which we have tended to avoid in the past, mostly the posher suburbs. It has resulted in a dramatic drop in the number of books going out (by about half), but we are hopeful that we will reach more educated people in this way, and that these people will be more likely to actually read what they have received. One interesting side effect is that some of our members are starting to take more interest in such things as their appearance!
The L.A. team in particular has reported that conversations, in general, have been much more interesting as a result. In one instance, Jesse came across a friend of Sheila Johnson (Joe's mother) who maintained that Joe had been kidnapped. When Jesse tried to explain what happened, pointing out that the Johnsons almost killed Reinhard, they answered by saying that they should have killed us all!
Visits With Friends and Family
There was another enjoyable weekend with Grace and some of her new friends, in L.A., a visit with Bobby and Kirstie in the U.K., and a meal with Glenn in Australia. As well, Simon spent time with his family, Ross had several visits with him mother, and Dave and Cherry got to see some of their grandchildren for the first time in about two years. Ross' mother has kindly sewn new seat covers for the bus that Ross and Barry travel in, as well as letting them store books and DVDs at her place in Melbourne.
As this newsletter goes to press, Paul and Ulrike are about to fly off to New Zealand for a visit with Paul's family, whom he has not seen for many years.
Running on Vegetable Oil
While working in Melbourne, Ross and Barry came across a shop that had 200 litres of used veg oil for them, more than enough to get them back to Sydney when they finish this outreach.
Meanwhile, the U.K. team learned an important lesson when they allowed water to get into the veg oil, which, in turn, ruined their engine. Now they are getting a complete engine rebuild to rectify the damage.
Facelift at Takatifu Gardens
All the rooms have a fresh coat of paint thanks to the efforts of some enthusiastic volunteers. Most of the rooms have had their floors painted as well. The garden is looking particularly attractive at the moment, with hundreds of bananas hanging from the trees, in addition to our orange tree blooming with fruit for the first time.
Unfortunately, the fish we introduced into our pond after giving it a new lick of paint all died. Against better judgment we decided to have a fish dinner that evening: thankfully none of us suffered the same fate as the fish!
Big Move for Fran and Kim
The departure of Fran and Kim after four years in Kenya was a great excuse for a pool party and a big feast in our new BBQ area, followed by several rounds of that highly addictive, role-playing game known as "Werewolf".
On arrival in the U.K., Fran and Kim suffered culture shock at the opulence of the West. Fran is continuing to upgrade the new web site, and Kim is still organising the contact mail, although they are both getting right into distributing books and DVDs as well.
Media Links Open on our Site
A whole new section has gone up on our website. It is called "Media" and it includes some of the more controversial things that we have done over the years. It is still incomplete, but there is plenty to get you started in catching up on some of the highlights of our history as a community.
You can access this exciting new section via the following link: [
jesus-teachings.com] or by clicking "MEDIA" on our main menu bar near the top of the page of our website.
A Musical Experience
Jesse and Jeremy were invited by a friend to help with some recording of a musician earlier in the month, and they found the experience pretty rewarding, as they got to meet some pretty good musicians who have played with a number of well known bands in the US.
Volunteers
Volunteers with the teaching program this month came from Finland, Slovakia, Germany, and Kenya. Several made special comments about how good it was to feel part of a "community" when working with us in Kenya. That, along with the fact that we do not make volunteers pay for the privilege of working with us sets us apart from virtually all of the other volunteer programs in the country. Volunteers are such an encouraging cross-section of society, and it is sad to see that there are so many organisations that try to make money at their expense, even after they sacrifice their time to do something for others.
New Articles
We have two new articles this month which can be found on the new articles page: [
jesus-teachings.com]
One which is written by Alf is called "Projection" and the Golden Rule, dealing with how people tend to project their own biases onto others. In the other article, 'Exaggerations' of Jesus, Dave challenges a common argument used to discredit most of what Jesus taught.
The Forum
As usual, there have been a lot of interesting conversations going on which have involved contributors to our forum. Here are a few of them, which you may like to have a look at. (And while you're at it, why not contribute some of your own thoughts!)
What is your opinion of Islam? (started by Damien)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]-
How to be a "great writer" (started by Ross)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
How to recognise sincerity (started by Dave)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Love mean ALWAYS saying sorry (started by Kim)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
"Cash is dead" update (started by Paul)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Satanism (started by Kitty)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
The real Mt. Sinai discovered in Saudi Arabia (started by Ross)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Substitutionary Punishment (started by Joe)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Left-wing Christians and Bible prophecy (started by Ross)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Forsaking All (started by Joy)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Faithful to Whom? (started by Casey)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
"Projection" and the Golden Rule (started by Alf)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Ash Wednesday (started by Ulrike)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
The Golden Rule (started by Karlos)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]
Fathers (started by Paul)
[
www.jesus-teachings.com]