I COULD NOT FORGIVE by Kiyoko Tanimoto An eye witness account of te !i"osima atomic bomb I lay there buried alive under our house when the bomb hit our city. The bomb started great fires. The fires came nearer and nearer to us as workers tried to reach us. "Hurry!" they cried to one another as the flames came nearer. At last the workers reached us and pulled me and my mother out from under everything, before the flames reached us. ow later, as I thought of the pilot pil ot of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on our city, I cried, "I hate him. I hate him." The people with marked faces from the effects of the bomb made me cry, c ry, "I hate him." I saw people suffering a terrible, slow death. Again and again I cried, as I saw these people, "I hate that pilot, I hate him!" I !ATED !I# ow some time later I was in A and that pilot appeared in a meeting I attended. As I looked at him, I hated him with a bitter hatred rasa benci. #ut then I listened to what he told us of his e$perience the day when he dropped the bomb on our city. I heard him say, "%hen I flew over the city after we dropped the bomb, I cried, &' (od, what have I done&." I realised he found it difficult to speak of that day. He could hardly speak for tears. As this happened I suddenly realised my hatred of him was wrong. It only made me unhappy also. As I did this, it was as if a heavy load fell off my shoulders. I cried, "(od, help me to forgive him. )lease (od, forgive my wrong feelings towards him. )lease give me *our pirit to control my thoughts." I also told (od, "I am sorry for all my wrong thoughts." I believe +esus hrist died for my sin. As I did this my life was changed. I now help people that suffer from hating other people. I seek to help them to love everyone, as I am now able to do. This tory is available as audio in a "%A-" format. If you would like a copy please click on the following/ the #omb "wav file" format
TRA$$ED IN T!E UNDERGROUND by E%&a"' of A(e"bai)an uddenly all the lights on that crowded underground train went out. Then it stopped in that dark tunnel. %e waited. %e e$pected the lights to come on again soon. s oon. #ut nothing happened. Then I began to smell something. *es, I could smell smoke. o I asked myself, "Is this train on fire0" )eople around me then began to cry out in fear. "The train is on fire!" they cried. Then the woman standing ne$t to me suddenly fell on the floor. I realised she was overcome by the smoke. Then I saw flames appearing. "If something does not happen soon," I said to myself, "I will be burnt alive!" #ut as I stood there in the dark in that crowded burning train, I could see no way to escape. I thought, "o/one can save me from certain death but (od. 'nly (od can make a way for any of us to escape death in this train." I !EARD o I cried, "(od, if it is not my time to die, please help me!" ow as I spoke to (od in this way, something happened. I heard a noise. It was like a door opening. It was on my right hand side. o in the dark, I at once began to push my way forward to where that noise came from. o before the flames reached me, I found the open door and I climbed out of the train into the dark tunnel. Then as 1uickly as I could, I ran from the burning train down the tunnel. ow as I ran I could hear hundreds of people that were locked in that burning train, crying out for help. I knew I could do nothing to help them to escape from the burning train, so I ran on. Then for two hours I kept walking in that dark train tunnel. At last I saw a light in the distance. "Thank (od!" I cried. "(od, you alone saved my life from death!" I said. I asked myself "%hy did (od enable me to escape death0" I decided, "(od must have a purpose for saving s aving my life. He must want me to help other people e$perience what He could do for them."
*!+ *A, I -ORN. by !i"oyuki Isikawa' /a0an
2yishikawa3teledata.m45 I 6oined the alvia 7ind ontrol chool. %hile there it was as if I saw before me people that died long ago. It seemed as if they came up to me to speak to me. In fear, as this happened, I cried out to the gods, ")lease help me! )lease help me!" #ut there was no answer. o I decided, "If the gods will not help me, I will see what yoga can do to help me." However, when I did this, another strange thing happened to me. I began to hear voices in my head. %hen this happened, I feared even to go to bed at night. Another problem that troubled me was the 1uestion, "%hy am I alive0" *ou see I could find no real purpose for living. I then decided, "I will travel the world. In this way, I may find a reason for living." o I travelled to Africa and then to 8urope. #ut I still could find no real answer to the 1uestion "%hy am I alive0" o I thought, "7aybe it would be better for me to kill myself0" *!AT !A$$ENED IN ENGLAND #ut one day in 8ngland, someone said to me, "ome with me to my church." ow at this hristian church, I went to sleep when the leader talked! However I did ask myself there, "%hy do I e$perience such peace of mind when I hear these people sing their hristian songs0" I felt as if I could listen to these songs for ever. Then I thought, "7aybe through this +esus who these people sing about, I can find (od&s help." o I decided, "I will try speaking to (od in the way these people do." ow when I did this, I found the peace of mind that I wanted. I also found a real purpose for living. (od now helps me tell other people how they can be changed. I live in 7o4ambi1ue where I help people understand (od&s purpose for their lives. OL+#$IC *INNER C!ANGE,
K"iss Akabusi te%%s wat a00ene& to im at te E&inbu"1 1ames2
I am sure many people said about me, "He must be the most happy man in the world!" #ut they were wrong. Although I had become famous and now had much money, I was not really happy. I found myself asking, "%hy does all this not give me real happiness0" ewspapers said, "9riss Akabusi is the :;;< 8uropean champion. He has also won an 'lympic bron4e medal." ow before all this happened, I had thought, "If I can become a champion, I will be happy. I will obtain a lot of money and then en6oy life. I will have a good time." %hen I went to the 8dinburgh (ames, in my hotel bedroom I found a book by my bedside. It was called the &(ood ews #ible&. I picked this book up and read some of the things in it. I read what +esus hrist had said. #ut I said to myself, "All these things are too difficult for me to do." A VOICE CALLED TO #E #ut that night I had a dream. I found myself standing by a river. I heard a voice calling to me from the other side of the river. The voice said, "ome to 7e, all you that are tired and finding things difficult, and I will give you rest." =o you know, I found myself shouting "+esus!" at the top of my voice. Then suddenly I awoke. I realised I was different now. I found I had real peace of mind. o I can now tell my friends what I have found. #eing famous with much money never gave me happiness. I now have real happiness. o all I can say to you is this / we are foolish when we think that to be famous and rich will make us happy. I now have a children&s T- programme called >8'>= #>8A98>. I have no worry about what tomorrow will bring. 7y life is in (od&s hands now.
9riss has written a book called &' *'> 7A>9&. It is a very readable study of the gospel of 7ark 2part of the #ible5.
Can you help him? by the Editor "They killed my father and they also killed my uncle who was the President of USA," says Robert Kennedy Jr. He adds, "And there is something killing me also. I cannot stop myself from drinking too much strong drink. Drinking too much is killing me."
But Robert Kennedy is has decided, "I was born to be like this. So I do not blame myself for this habit of drinking too much. I blame the way I was born. The desire was in my blood to want to drink. There is no way for me to escape from this killing habit." He is wrong. We say to Robert Kennedy, "You are wrong to say that. Thousands of people are escaping from the killing habit of too much strong drink. Thousands of people could tell you, 'God has given me the power to say no to the desire for strong drink. We asked God for forgiveness for our wrong doings God gave us the power of His Sprit when we did this.'" We want to help everyone to realise the truth about their problems We tell them, "Your main problem is the wrong nature with which we are all born. But you should know that God is waiting to help you to experience the power of His Spirit in your life. God wants to deliver all of us from killing desires." It did not kill me by Chen Guangmei, China I did not hear it coming. Suddenly a large goods vehicle hit me. Now as I fell to the ground the wheels of the 8-tonne truck went right over my body. One wheel after the other went over me as I lay there. But to my surprise, I felt no pain! You see, going home that night it was very dark. So the driver of that truck did not seem me before his vehicle hit me. Now as I lay there, I wondered if I could move my body. To my surprise, I found I could move my legs. Then I found I could move my whole body. So slowly I began to move my body from under the truck. Now as I did this, the driver of the truck appeared. He found it difficult to believe what his eyes saw, when he saw me still alive. Then as I began to stand on my two feet, his mouth dropped open in complete surprise. I said to him, "I am not hurt!" But he pointed to the marks of the truck wheels on my shirt. Yes, he could see the truck wheel marks on my shirt. The marks ran from my lower back to my shoulder there on my shirt. Now when we reached home, my friends thought they must find I had suffered in some way. But they found I had suffered no harm. As people began to hear what happened, they came from far and near to see if it was true. Whenever they did this I showed them the wheel marks on my shirt. I then told them why I was not killed. I told them, "God wants to continue to use my life." So I hung my shirt outside my house for everyone to see what God can do for us. I told everyone, "You can also prove what the power of God can do for you."
What do they want? by Sir Lionel Luckhoo, Guyana "What do these North Americans want?" I cried. "We do not want them here in Guyana." You see I had received a paper which invited me to join some North Americans for a meal in a hotel. "They will have to meet together without me", I told myself. But then I received a telephone call. "Are you planning to be with us for the meal at the hotel" they asked. Now for some reason that I cannot understand, I found myself saying, "Yes, I will be there." But I thought, "What do these people think they have got, that I really need? I have my own religion and I am successful as a lawyer. I do not need any help from them. These people are wrong if they think I must believe in what their Jesus Christ did on earth, or else suffer for my wrong doings. They are making a big mistake. I believe every religion can in some way help us." I reminded myself, 21 people thanked me when I acted as their lawyer. I saved them from going to prison and I knew there were people that said about me, "Sir Lionel Luckhoo is the greatest lawyer in the world." Now at that meal at the hotel, I was surprised at what I heard. You see, those people spoke about experiencing real peace of mind and joy, and a new way of living. "I would like to experience what these people are talking about," I told myself. Do you know, it was after that, I realised my life was also changed. Yes, I knew it was then that I received the gift of God's Spirit. So it was after that that I decided, "I do not want to be a member of all the clubs I have belonged to now." I also sold my racehorses. I began to read the Bible every day. Now I travel the world to help people everywhere experience the power of God in their lives. I am able to tell world leaders, "If you speak to God, He will give you the answer to your country's problems." I will shoot you by Pedro, Spain "How can I obtain more drugs?" I cried. "I cannot live without the help of drugs!" You see, I was only 14 years of age when someone said to me, "Here, smoke this! It will make you feel good." so that is how my habit of drug-taking began. Yes, soon I felt I could not live without more and more drugs. So I found I needed more and more money to buy drugs.
So I began to steal things from my family and from shops. Then in the street I pointed my gun at people saying, "Give me your money, or I will shoot you!" I lost all my friends. My family also said, "Get out of this house and never return here!" I then realised the truth - drugs were killing me. "Unless someone told me how to escape from the desire for drugs, I will soon be dead," I said. Then one day, I read in a paper, "We help drug-takers!" I decided, "I will go and see what these people think they can do for me." So I stayed at their meeting place for seven months. But they failed. They did not take the desire for drugs from me. Then one day, I read something in the magazine called 'La Paloma'. I read how people could say, "We could not escape from the desire for drugs. But now we have freedom. God gave us power to escape this desire. God gave us the power of the Spirit when we believed what Jesus Christ obtained for us by dying for us." So I decided, "I will go to this 'Betel' meeting place as reported in 'La Paloma'. I will see if they can help me." Now I found these Betel people never left me alone. Yes, someone was always there with me day and night. Then one day I cried out to God, "Please God, help me!" I know God heard my cry. I found I now had power to escape the desire for drugs. At last I am free from the desire for drugs. I have found real peace of mind. I now enjoy life and helping other people to overcome their drug problem. Why did I agree? by Hao Yanna, China "Why did I agree to come to this crowded city?" I asked myself. You see, I had left my home in a small quiet southern city of China. So after 28 years I had moved to this large city in the middle of China. "I never expected I would experience so much trouble here," I told myself. "I have no friends here to help me. I know no one in this city." Yes, I felt very strange in this big city. The streets were so crowded and there was so much noise. So each day I felt little desire to get out of my bed. When I got to my work-place, I never knew if I had even brushed my hair. "No one seems to understand me in this city," I decided. Again I asked, "Why did I ever agree to come here?"
I found I no longer enjoyed teaching students. I found myself making mistakes. It was as if my mind was filled with other things. "What can I do?" I asked. I had no idea how to overcome the problem But then one day, as I was eating my evening meal, I caught sight of a copy of "SOON". I picked it up, and began to read it. I read one story after another. Yes, the more I read, the happier I became. As I did this, my worries seemed to leave me. I became a different person and I said, "So that is why Jesus Christ came into this world. Go d must have seen this was the only way for us to obtain a new life." I then told myself, "It is my duty, and God's desire, that I should pass on my knowledge to my students." That is how my life was changed. Can this be true? by Anju Jolly, India "Your husband could die any minute. He is a very sick man," my mother heard the doctor say. My mother asked, "if he dies, how can I afford food for my three children?" So we were all afraid of what might happen to us. I asked myself, "Is there a God that cares and wants to help us obtain what we need? I wonder how I can find out?" Now we were a Hindu family living in central India. My grandmother was a practising Sikh. She spent much time three times each day asking the gods to help her. However my parents were different. They said, "Religious actions are not for today. We have no time for anything religious." But my mother changed when she began to suffer with the sickness called arthritis. She then said, "I must be suffering for all the bad things I have done either in this life, or in my past lives on earth." Is it True You see my mother thought, if she suffered now, she could be saved from experiencing the need to live on earth again. "How do you know that this is true?" I asked her. "There is nothing else I can believe," she said to me. This made me ask myself, "Why am I here on earth? Where will I go after this life?" I could find no answers to these questions. Then I met Pam. I could see she did not feel the way I felt. "She speaks to her God about anything," I told my friends. Then I also heard on the radio someone say, "Jesus died and then came back to life again." This makes Jesus Christ different from every other god. I agreed, "No Hindu god ever did this." So I went to a Christian church to find out more about this Jesus Christ. In this way, my life was changed. I found out how to obtain God's gift of His Spirit to live a changed life.
We are sorry
Japan "Please tell people all over the world we are sorry. We are sorry for all the suffering our Japanese armies caused to so many people during the last World War," some Christian people in Japan now say. "We will stop eating food for two days," these Japanese Christian people decided. "We will show in this way how sorry we are for all the suffering our Japanese armies caused during the Second World War!" They also ask us, "Please forgive us for what we forced people to do. We know we forced people to go to our Shinto Temples. We are also sorry for the way we caused people to consider the Emperor of Japan to be a god, and to bend their heads to him." Pearl Harbour They also say, "We remember what our planes we did at Pearl Harbour and what our armies did in many countries of South East Asia. Yes, we are sorry for all the suffering and death our armies caused." They tell us, "We now realise how we Christians failed. We could have spoken against what our government decided when it went to war. But we did not do this. We should have been willing to go to prison for doing this." Obeying God's Spirit within us should always make us speak in this way. We seek now to help everyone obtain this exchange of nature God wants to give us all
*e"e is se. by ,awako ,abata' /a0an "*our grandmother has died. he looks beautiful lying there in the bo$ in which they will bury her," they said to me one day. ow I had never seen a dead person, but when I heard this, I decided, "I will see what my dead grandmother looks like in that bo$." =o you know, after I did this, I could not get out of my mind that look on the face of my dead grandmother. The look I saw on her face would not leave my mind. It remained there all the time. I could not forget it. I asked, "7y grandmother has left her body but where has she gone0" ow my sister one day surprised me when she told me, "I have become a hristian" he also said to me, "I know how you could obtain a position at a hristian college and become a school teacher."
o I decided to get myself baptised as if I was becoming a hristian. I did this so I would be accepted as a student at this hristian ollege. This made people say, "awako abata has become a hristian." No i&ea #ut this was not true / I had no idea how to become a hristian. I was still controlled by my old selfish self/for/self nature. Then later, I heard, "%e have arranged for you to be married!" 7y parents had arranged this for me. o my husband took me to live with his parents. ow I hated every minute that I lived there. *ou see they made me their slave. ow one day I felt so sad I cried out, "%hat am I to do0" Then I remembered how happy my sister was when she become a hristian. o I said, "I will go to my sister&s hristian hurch. I will find out how they can be so happy." ow the speaker at this hristian hurch spoke from a part of the #ible called I orinthians chapter ?. %hat he said made me realise what I needed / a change of spirit. o I spoke to (od and my life was changed. *es, (od gave me His pirit to control my desires. "he is a real hristian now," people began to say about me. 7y father and my whole family have also found true happiness in becoming real hristians. !ow &i& tey know. by te E&ito" "They are coming again," I heard someone shout that day. o I looked and yes I could see the first of the @<<,<<< wildebeest running towards us from 9enya into Tan4ania. omeone asked, "%hy are they coming0" I e$plained, "They are coming to feed on the grass they need here in Tan4ania. These animals know they need this grass for the babies to be born healthy." However we knew thousands of those wildebeest that rushed past us that day would never return to 9enya. %e knew lions would kills some of them, and others would be eaten by crocodiles. ome we knew would drown in rivers they had to cross over. However each year they come from 9enya. !ow %on1. "How long do they stay in Tan4ania0" do you ask0 "ntil the grass dies up here in Tan4ania, these animals will stay. Then they will ravel the :@< miles back to 9enya."
*ou may ask, "How do they know there is this grass in Tan4ania that they need0" I suggest to you / omeone must have given them the idea. I suggest the only way to e$plain this is to believe that omeone was (od. Why we did it New Zealand "Final Exit"- so read a very large sign by the road-side. Now this sign was so large we could not fail to see it. "But what does it mean?" I asked. "We put that sign up by the roadside to remind people what one day we shall all face - that we all face a final exit from this life into death. We want people to realise there is no way back after we exit this life in death," someone said. They reminded me, "No one has ever returned to this life after leaving life by death, except Jesus Christ." How can I? They added, "We hope this will make people ask questions, such as, 'How can I prepare myself for what will happen when I exit this life in death?'" Now you should know the Christians' holy book, the Bible, tells us how to prepare ourselves for the life we must live after death. Now the Bible makes something clear. It says many people will suffer much trouble after death. "But why will this happen?" do you ask? "Because they did not obtain a new nature to give them new desires in this life," we say. But the Bible helps us to realise how we can obtain this new nature so we can enjoy life after death as well as now. Yes, many more people each day can say, "I know I have the right desires to enjoy the life I shall live after death. God has given me His Spirit to control my life." Can you help him? by the Editor "They killed my father and they also killed my uncle who was the President of USA," says Robert Kennedy Jr. He adds, "And there is something killing me also. I cannot stop myself from drinking too much strong drink. Drinking too much is killing me." But Robert Kennedy is has decided, "I was born to be like this. So I do not blame myself for this habit of drinking too much. I blame the way I was born. The desire was in my blood to want to drink. There is no way for me to escape from this killing habit." He is wrong.
We say to Robert Kennedy, "You are wrong to say that. Thousands of people are escaping from the killing habit of too much strong drink. Thousands of people could tell you, 'God has given me the power to say no to the desire for strong drink. We asked God for forgiveness for our wrong doings God gave us the power of His Sprit when we did this.'" We want to help everyone to realise the truth about their problems We tell them, "Your main problem is the wrong nature with which we are all born. But you should know that God is waiting to help you to experience the power of His Spirit in your life. God wants to deliver all of us from killing desires."
IT WAS HORRIBLE by . ey, Ireland "I hate you," my father shouted at me. He then hit me again and again. This made my mother cry. *es, life in my home in (ermany was terrible. I was afraid of what my father might do to me ne$t. This fear of what might happen to me made me ill. o after I had eaten food it 6ust came back out of my mouth again. 7y head always pained me also. o I said, "7aybe smoking will help me," but that caused my breathing to be troubled.
Then this happened "%e can help you," some people in the atanic church said to me one day. o I 6oined their church. #ut then I became ill and was sent to hospital and stayed there for si$ months. It was after this I said, I will see if the #uddhist religion can help me." o for two years I became a #uddhist. #ut I found the #uddhist religion failed to help me. o I decided, "I will try the Hare 9rishna religion. 7aybe that can help me to find some real meaning for living0" #ut I still found that life continued to be empty of any real purpose for living.
I cannot find it "I have tried everything to find happiness," I said to myself. "I can find nothing to satisfy me. ife has no meaning for me. I might as well die." #ut then one day, I met some people called hristians. They said to me, "%e tried everything to obtain happiness in life. Then we found out something. %e found that (od wanted to be our friend. %e learnt also what our real problem in life was. %e realised our problem was our wrong desires." "Ask (od to forgive you for all your wrong doings," those hristians told me. "Tell (od &I believe the death of +esus hrist was punishment for all my sin.& *ou will then e$perience the power of (od&s pirit in your life. *ou will
become a new person. Then (od will show you what He wants you to do. (od will have a plan for you to help other people. *ou will then e$perience real happiness in life." ow I do not need any medicines / (od has also healed my body.
HE MUST BE DEAD by evison 9ayafa, 7alawi uddenly there was bright flash in the sky. ightning shot across the sky. Then there followed a very loud sound of thunder. ow as this happened, I fell to the ground as I was hit by the lightning. 7y '' lub members rushed up to me. They thought the lightning had killed me, and I was dead. Binding I was not dead, they lifted me up and carried me home. #ut for several months I suffered very much for the way the lightning burnt me.
He heard #ut my '' lub members cried to (od, "(od, please heal evison&s body." I know (od heard their cry for me. lowly I began to get better and I was able to walk around again. Then I said to my '' club members, "As soon as I am able, we will go and tell people what (od has done for me." ow (od could help you to start a '' >eaders lub, and have friends that could help you, as mine have done. *ou can start a '' readers lub when you have obtained four '' #ible ourse certificates.
Whose voice was it? by idal, 7iddle 8ast It was the Beast of >amadan. I had been saying, "Allah, Allah, Allah." *es fifty times I must have said it. Then I heard this voice speaking to me. "*ou cannot be changed by doing this," the voice clearly said to me. Then suddenly something happened to me. I found I could not speak and could not move!
A first as I heard this voice, I thought, "That must be someone from my family speaking." o I opened my eyes to see who it could be. Then I saw a big cross bright and shining! ow when I was a boy, my father had said, "As a good 7uslim, you must pray to (od five times a day." He also told me "*ou must not eat food in the day during the Beast of >amadan."
8very day o I did as my father told me. I also read the Cu&ran every day, and I could repeat parts of the Cu&ran from memory. I was very proud to receive my education in one of our best Islamic chools. Then I studied at one of our Islamic universities and I made my studies in haria / Islamic aw. ater I obtained a 6ob with an Islamic society and collected money for poor people. However after that e$perience when that voice spoke to me, I decided, "I must find out what the hristians& holy book says." o I studied the #ible for one and a half years. ow when some people heard about this, they hated me. However I decided, "I must prove if what the #ible says is true." o I said to (od, "I am sorry for all my wrong doings. If +esus hrist died as punishment for my sin, please give me the power of your pirit to refuse to obey wrong desires." That is how my life was changed. ince that day I have travelled to many countries. I tell people what (od did for me. I tell them what they can receive from (od because +esus hrist died for them on the ross. I say, "*ou can also e$perience a changed life."
I FIND THE ANSWERS by Thomas )aulson, (ermany "%e are building a new, better society called ommunism," I told everyone. "%e must guard 8ast (ermany from the wrong ideas of %estern nations." o in :;DE I 6oined our 8ast (erman army to train as an army officer. "%e will prove to the world that ommunism is the way to overcome the problems that every country faces. %e will show the way to stop greedy people obtaining more than their fair share of things," I told people. Then
one day, when an army officer asked me about my family, I said, "I have a relative who cares for a hristian hurch." He then said to me, "He must be mad." Then >ussia began to change, and I became interested in &perestroika&. o I decided to leave our 8ast (erman army. That meant I was turned out of our 8ast (erman ommunist )arty. I then managed to get a 6ob in a power station, but my life seemed empty of all meaning. Then one day I visited my aunt in 8ast #erlin. he told me, "I have found some people that say they are proving what (od can do for us. They see people healed of diseases." ow one day when I met some of these people, I said to myself, "I wonder why these people seem so happy0" o I asked them, ")lease e$plain to me how you find happiness." They said, "The reason why we used to find it difficult to be happy is because the first man Adam pleased himself, and a selfish spirit took control of his life. That is the reason why we are all born with the wrong selfish nature that makes it difficult for us to be happy." o I spoke to (od in the way they told me. I can now truly say that I am really happy.
I WILL KILL THEM by 7asai 9ahindi, 9enya "I will kill anyone that believes in +esus hrist." I told all my 7uslim friends. *ou see, my father&s brothers were teachers of Islam. I could also remember much of the Holy Cu&ran as a boy at school. I told people, "I cannot understand how hristian people can say, &+esus hrist was the on of (od.& +esus was only one of the prophets." I also said, "I hate anyone who tells me, &Through believing in the death of +esus hrist, (od has given me forgiveness of my sin.&" "hristians are mad," I told my friends, "They do not know what they are talking about. They believe that there are three gods instead of one god." o I formed a gang. "%e will stone all hristians we find speaking about +esus hrist," we said. ow I won a place to study at an Agricultural ollege. I found that at the college there was an Islamic nion, which I 6oined. #ut I also found there was a strong hristian tudents nion.
%e decided 'ne day this tudent hristian nion said, "%e are showing a film on the life of +esus hrist." o as members of our Islamic tudent nion we decided, "%e will go and see this film. %e will ask them, &%hy do you believe in three gods.&" This film showed +esus hrist raising a girl from the dead. %hen we saw this, we shouted, "#lasphemy," 2meaning falseFnot true!5. %e then broke everything up in that room. ater when we saw a man telling @<< people about +esus hrist, we shouted and laughed at him. #ut it was that night as I lay on my bed I saw a bright light in my room Then I heard a voice that said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. o man comes to the Bather but by me." I at once remembered all the wrong things I had done. As I did this, I heard the voice say, "I can forgive you." I then said, "If you are the +esus I saw in that film, I want you to come into my life." =o you know, I at once e$perienced real peace of mind and real 6oy. o I now seek to help people everywhere to find this same peace of mind and 6oy.
SHOOT THEM by =avid 'kello, ganda "(o and shoot them!" they cried at me, "'r we will shoot you!" *ou see I had been caught by armed rebels that day. They put a gun into my hands. "(o and shoot the people in the village if you want to live," they said. ow I was only :G years old when this happened to me. o I went to the village and I took the people they told me to shoot, to a lonely place. #ut instead of shooting them, I fired my gun into the air. Then I let the people go. ow as a baby I was left by my unmarried mother. he had fled into the udan.. o I lived with my drunken father. #ut my grandfather was a hristian and he told me about (od. "(od can change your life," he told me. I aske& o as a boy, I spoke to (od in the way he told me. I asked (od, ")lease forgive my wrong doings. I am sorry for all I have done wrong. I believe +esus hrist allowed those men to kill him as punishment for all my sin."
ow when I did this, I realised (od had given me the power of His pirit. I could now refuse wrong desires. I found I now had a real concern to meet the needs of other people. I believed (od would meet my needs as I did this. I am now the operations manager of the -ictory entre chool. %e have :@<< orphans and destitute children in our care.
THEY ARE DEAD by +ensen 9abilo, 7alawi #lood! *es there was blood all around me! It was gushing out of the dead bodies there beside me on the ground. *ou can imagine the strong smell of blood that there was in the air. *ou see, we had been travelling that day in a lorry packed with people when suddenly the accident happened. ow as I sat there, it was difficult to recognise the lorry, it was so badly smashed. 8verything was deadly 1uiet. othing moved. "Am I the only one left alive0" I asked myself.
o )ain ow as I sat there, I realised something / I could feel no pain. Then I saw some people coming towards me. I saw they were policemen. They looked at all the dead bodies. Then I could see they were surprised to see that I was alive. o they helped me to a hospital car. ow the people at the hospital said to me, "%e cannot understand how you escaped from suffering harm in that accident!" They found I was not harmed in any way. o I asked myself, "%hy was I the only one that did not die in that accident0 (od must have saved my life from death for a purpose." o I asked (od, ")lease show me how you wish me to live."
IT WAS JUST LIKE THAT by )aul Iaine, )oland
A loud knock came on our front door that day. "*ou are arrested," the voice cried when I opened the door. Then I was taken to a death camp. This was during %orld %ar . ow I was born in )oland. 7y parents were +ewish. o that is why I was arrested and found myself in a death camp that day. 8ach day in the camp, names would be read out. ow if your name was read out, you were then marched off to the death/room to be gassed. o each day I spoke to (od. 8ach day I promised (od, "If you get me out of this death camp alive, I will obey you for ever." Then one day it happened. I heard my name called out. #ut then I found it difficult to believe what I heard them say. I heard, "*ou are free to leave this camp." It was 6ust like that! "%e have lost your papers," they told me. "o you are free to go." It was a miracle! I found it difficult to believe.
7iracles ow many times after this, (od must have blinded the eyes of the (estapo 2secret police5. *ou see, they never realised my parents were +ewish. This was another miracle. Then after the war, we went to Australia to live. It was there I remembered what I had promised (od in that death camp. I was reminded that I had told (od, "If you get me out of this death camp alive, I will obey you for ever." ow it was at that time with some friends, we decided "%e will study what the hristian ew Testament says." It was in this way we discovered something new. %e realised that (od wants to give us a change of nature. I said, "It seems (od wants to give us the power of His pirit so we can say &no& to wrong desires." o I asked (od to change my life. ow I say, "Thank *ou for the way *ou have changed my life." I now help other people to e$perience the power of (od in their lives.
HE AN HEL! YOU en arroth, ambodia I was suffering from many problems. "%ho will help me escape from all my troubles0" I cried. "=rink much strong drink,"someone said. "That will make you forget your problems."
o I did as they said. ow I found taking strong drink did cut off my fearful thoughts for a time. #ut I found when I woke up, I began to worry again. The bad things in my life had not gone away. o I said, ")erhaps the #uddhist religion can help me to overcome all the bad things that I suffer0" o I went to the #uddhist temple three or four times a week. I made sacrifices to #uddha. #ut I found this caused nothing to change in my life for the better. Then one day I became very ill. "How can I obtain money for the medicine I need0" I asked myself. o that night I fell asleep crying, because I could see no way out of my problems.
He waits #ut some days later, I heard someone say, "*ou should know +esus hrist is alive. He waits to change your life. He can give you peace of mind, with freedom from all worry. He can supply all your need." o I asked these people many 1uestions. They e$plained to me, "*ou should know we are all born with the wrong selfish nature. This wrong selfish nature is the cause of much of our trouble." o I spoke to (od. ")lease forgive all the wrong things in my life," I said. "I believe +esus hrist allowed those men to kill him as punishment for my sin. )lease give me the power of your pirit to overcome my selfish desires." After two weeks, all my sickness, pain and sorrow had gone. (od delivered me from them. ow as I help other people, (od helps me with all my problems.
"O HOME TO DIE by Tadesse #iru, 8thiopia "(ive Tadesse no more medicine," I heard the hospital doctor say to the nurse. "end Tadesse home to die. He will be dead in a few days." o my friends took me home to die. ow I had heard about people that said, "%e know (od is alive and wants to help every one of us." Then as I lay there on my bed waiting for the sickness to kill me, those people came to see me.
They told me, "*ou need to obtain (od&s forgiveness for your wrong doings. (od wants to give you the power of His pirit. If you receive (od&s pirit, you will en6oy life after death."
%e ask this ow they then began to speak to (od. They said, "(od, please help Tadesse to receive your pirit, also please take his sickness away. )lease heal his body, we ask this in +esus& ame." I then did as they told me. I said, "I thank you (od for sending +esus hrist to earth to be punished by death for my sins. )lease give me your Holy pirit." *es, I know (od heard me. *ou see, I also began to feel better in my body. Then it happened! The sickness began to leave my body. "I am saved from death by the help of (od." I said. I now en6oy living as I seek to help other people find what (od can do for them too.
THE !OLIE TOOK ME by (eorge #ere4a, )eru "all the police," the customs man cried. As he did this, he sei4ed hold of me. *ou see, he had cut open my false arm with his knife and drugs had poured out. o the police came and arrested me. ater the 6udge said, "I sentence you to prison for a long time for carrying drugs to other countries. *ou will stay in prison for a very long time." o at last they had caught me. I had managed to carry drugs to other countries D times in my false arm, but now at last they had caught me. *ou see I lost my arm in an accident, and I this false arm was fitted it its place. I used it each time to carry drugs. I had carried all sorts of drugs without being found out. I obtained much money by doing this. #ut now in prison the guards did not give us all the food we should have received. They sold our food to people outside the prison. They even left us without water at one time
I feared
o we fought one another in that prison to try and obtain some food. ome prisoners used knives and I feared I would be killed #ut one day I was surprised to hear someone ask me to go with them to a #ible tudy in the prison. ow it was in this way I found out what (od can do for us. o I decided to ask (od, ")lease forgive my wrong doing. I believe +esus hrist died as punishment for my sin." That is how my life was changed. Then my mother wrote to &)risoners AbroadJ. These people now write to me in prison, and send me money to obtain food for myself.
"OD AN HEL! YOU by 8ugen #egu, Albania "ommunism has failed", the world newspapers read that day. "ommunism has fallen in Albania," they told the world. ow I was shocked as I read this news. I feared what might happen ne$t. Inside I also felt unhappy and empty. Then last year you may remember the newspapers read, "-iolence has blown up all over Albania."
%hat it did #ut do you know what this did for our people in Albania0 It caused people to ask, "an (od help us in all this trouble0" 7any people went to hristian churches to see if they could find out if (od could help them. In that way, I myself found out that (od does help people in their trouble I spoke to (od, and found (od can give us his self/for/others pirit. This changed my character, and I do not feel empty inside any more. I thanked (od for sending +esus hrist to this earth to die as punishment for my sin.
HE IS HEALED by tephen 9agoda, ganda "*ou suffer from the AI= sickness," the doctor turned to me and said as I lay there in hospital. I was shocked as he added, "The AI= disease is at an advanced state. *ou cannot live very much longer." "%hat am I to do0" I cried as I suffered the effects of AI=. I had much chest and head pain. I suffered continuous fever in my body. 7y skin was also continually painful. I
could not stop going to the toilet. I suffered much pain in the 6oints of my body. )eople also said, "tephen caused the death of his girlfriends. He gave them AI=."
'n my way home o I told the doctor, "I want to go home to die." #ut on my way home to die, someone spoke to me. They asked me, "%hy not come with us to a meeting where (od is healing people from their diseases." o I decided to go with them. ow at the meeting they said, "If you want (od to heal your body, you must first get your wrong/doing forgiven by (od." o I asked them to speak to (od for me. They then asked (od, ")lease forgive tephen&s sin." I also told (od, "I believe +esus hrist died as punishment for my wrong doings."ow as this was happening, I felt something was happening in my body. *es, I knew (od was healing my body.
YOU KILLED HIM by 8ssential dokpe, igeria "%e arrest you! %e know you killed that man!" the police shouted at me that day. "I did not kill him!" I cried back at them. #ut the police would not listen to what I had to say. "%e know you killed him," the police kept saying. o I found myself in prison. Then later they brought me before a 6udge. "%e accuse this man of murder," the police told the 6udge. And they considered I should be punished by death. Then si$ false witnesses stood up. They said we know 8ssential killed the man. However I was not the only man accused of this murder. Another man was also accused. ow the 6udge, after hearing what I said, turned round and said, "8ssential kep, I find you not guilty. *ou can go home. *ou are free." Then the 6udge turned to the other accused man and said, "I find you guilty of that murder." o they took him away to be hanged.
I was interested
However during the time I stayed in prison, someone gave me a copy of the '' paper to read. ow I was interested to read how the lives of peoples were changed. I read how these people escaped from the control of their bad selfish desires. o I decided, "I will find out more about what these people say (od can do for us." I wrote to '' for the #ible tudy ourse. I then studied what the #ible says (od can do for us. I also spoke to (od. I asked Him, ")lease forgive all my wrong doing. I believe +esus hrist allowed those men to kill him as punishment for my sin." =o you know, I then found (od delivered me from the problem of that angry voice inside me. o I encouraged others in that prison to also study the '' #ible courses. ow when I got out of prison, I arranged a '' >eaders lub. I now en6oy helping other people obtain the forgiveness of their sins and find the power of (od&s pirit to control their lives.
SHOULD !EO!LE BE RIH by the 8ditor "%hy do some people possess more than their fair share of things0 %hy do I suffer need0" do you ask. If there is a (od that cares, why does he allow this0 #ut you should know these rich people that possess more than their fair share of things suffer from a problem. And this problem limits the happiness they can en6oy. To e$perience real happiness, they need to know how to escape from the control of their selfish desires. #ut you should also know K all over the world many people are finding the answer to this problem. "I realised why I was not happy," people are saying. "I asked (od, please forgive me selfish wrong doings. ow when I did this (od&s spirit took control of my life, I found peace of mind and 6oy in living," they say.
Binding real happiness ow a famous man called +ohn %esley said, "I found real happiness when I gave more than a tenth of my weekly income to people in need of help." *es, he decided to give nine tenths of his weekly income to meet the needs of other people. He realised how much happier he could be if he did this. o if you ask many hristian people, "Tell me why you seem to be so happy0" they will tell you, "I do what the #ible says. I give a tenth of my income to people who need my help. After that I also give offerings to them." Then some hristian people will tell you, "I find as I give to people in need, (od
provides me with all that I need. (od leads other hristians to help me." *ou see, the #ible says, "(ive and it will be given to you." o why miss really en6oying life today0 Ask (od, ")lease forgive my sin and give me your spirit."*ou will then find your desires are changed and you will en6oy living as never before.
FAMOUS FOOTBALLER S!EAKS "7ichael +ones is the best >ugby footballer in the world. He is the most successful capped ew Lealand All/#lack player of all time," people say. #ut people tell us, "7ichael +ones is never willing to play a game of football on any unday, even it if means being left out of important international games." 7ichael himself says, "I owe much to my mother. 7y mother told me, &)ut (od first in all you have to decide. If you do that, you will not go in a wrong way. All things work together for good to those that love (od and are called according to His purpose for their lives.&"
I realised 7ichael +ones also tells us, "%hen I was a boy I understood what my real problem in life I was. o I asked (od to forgive my sin. I believe that when +esus hrist allowed men to kill Him, that was punishment for my sin." ow he adds, "I know (od is interested in every part of my daily life. I do what (od re1uires of me. In this way I find real happiness in living." )eople say of 7ichael +ones, "*ou can always trust 7ichael to help you when you need it. He is a real hristian."
HOW TO !LAY FOOTBALL by the 8ditor "He does not know how to play the game of football. He keeps breaking the rules of the game of football." Have you heard this said about the way someone plays the game0 Have you also heard it said about a footballer "He argues with the referee, who is supposed to be in control of the game. He tells the referee that he
does not know the rules. o several times, the referee has sent him off the field." ow we should know football players must suffer if they break the rules of the gamed. %e should also know there is a reason why so many people suffer in this life. It is because they break (od&s rules of living in His world. They may suffer either in their bodies or in their minds. o when people ask you, "%hy do I have to suffer so much trouble in this life," you should ask them, "Have you obeyed (od&s rules for living this life on earth0" *ou can add, "If anyone of us disobeys (od&s rules for living this life, then they will have to suffer." However they may say, "I cannot stop myself from doing wrong things." o say to them, "isten, you can obtain the power of (od to say &o& to selfish desires. *ou will then save yourself from suffering much trouble."
WHAT RUSSIA NEEDS by the 8ditor "7any people in my >ussian ity nave lost their 6obs. They used to build tanks for the army. All that has stopped," says 8lena from >ussia. he adds, "%e need people in >ussia who will start new businesses." However she tells that some people in >ussia are becoming very rich. #ut many people remain very poor. %e agree that 6ust laws should be made and people made to obey them. >ich people should be made to pay more ta$es so that the >ussian (overnment has more money to help poor people. If only rich people thought differently in every country of the world, how different the world would be.
Is there a way0 =o you know why +esus hrist came into this world0 *ou should know what He came to make it possible for us to receive. He saw we all have a problem. He came to help us with this problem *ou may know that (od gave a man called 7oses 6ust laws to help us with our problems. #ut through +esus hrist coming into this world, it is possible for us all to receive more than help. %e can receive a changed nature. The life stories in '' tell you how people all over the world are finding this new nature.
A famous man called +ohn %esley obtained a change of his nature. He decided. "I will give nine/tenths of my weekly income to meet the needs of poor people." After that he lived an e$citing live. He saw (od help him to live on one/tenth of his income.
WHY HIS RELI"ION WORKS by the 8ditor =o people ask you, "%hat good does your religion do for you0" I wonder what you tell them0 =o you say, "I find true happiness through my religion0" *ou should know every day more and more people around the world can say, "I find true happiness in life through my religion. I have escaped from the angry voice inside me. I seek to help everyone to e$perience true happiness in life."
I have escaped They add, "*es, I have escaped the control of wrong sinful desires. I spoke to (od, I asked (od, &)lease forgive my wrong doings. I believe +esus hrist did no sin, and allowed those men to kill Him as punishment for our sin.& I asked (od To give me the power of His pirit.&" "o I now en6oy life as I help other people find the way of escape from the control of their sinful ways. I went on to take four '' #ible courses. %hen I had obtained four #ible ourse ertificates, I formed a '' >eaders lub." ow we knew some lubs have become churches with as many as :<<< members. %e know in some countries there are many '' readers lubs and hristian Bellowships. o we ask you, "=oes your religion make you happy0 o does your religion work0" Livemocha is an exciting e-learning Web 2.0 startup founded by a group of experienced and successful entrepreneurs based in the Seattle area. Livemocha addresses a $20 billion worldwide language learning maret fueled by rapid globali!ation" immigration and travel. Livemocha is a first of its ind web based language learning solution integrating online instructional content with a global community of language learners. Livemocha is a venture funded company baced by #averon" a leading Seattle based venture firm with tremendous consumer and e-learning expertise.
We started Live#ocha to ride one of the greatest macro economic trends of our time globali!ation. ccording to %oldman Sachs" by 202&" the '()* e conomies will account for more
than half the %+, of the % economies and by 20&0" they will be larger than the % economies. long with globali!ation" we have seen a tremendous boom in immigration and travel between various countries. )n 2000" over & million people immigrated to other countries. )nternational arrivals are pro/ected to grow from million to 1. billion by 2020 with ast sia and the ,acific expected to record the highest growth rates. (apid globali!ation has created a tremendous need for people all over the world to better understand and interface with different cultures in the course of their wor an d travels. 3oreign language learning" therefore" has emerged as a pressing need that4s critical to the success of emerging economies and global trade. )nterest in nglish language learning has syroceted especially in the '()* countries with government mandated programs in many countries to ensure nglish language literacy. 5owever" business people in developing economies are also increasing appreciating that they cannot rely solely on nglish to conduct and win business in these emerging economies. s a result" languages such as Spanish" #andarin *hinese" ,ortuguese" (ussian etc. has seen a commensurate level of interest. While globali!ation has increased the interest in language learning in the 21st century" solutions from existing vendors remain stuc in the 0s relying on outdated *+ (6# technology. 7he internet today with increasing broadband penetration and 86), adoption offers the perfect platform to create a compelling online language learning solution. Lie many other Web 2.0 companies" we believe we can significantly disrupt the maret and deliver significant new value by leveraging the latest trends in social networing to connect people in new and exciting ways and leverage their collective intelligence. Livemocha is available today with support for six popular languages 9 nglish" Spanish" 3rench" 5indi" %erman" and #andarin *hinese. :ey elements of Livemocha4s learning approach include;
Dynamic lesson content 9 Lesson plans include over 10 hours of beginner and intermediate level content teaching everyday conversational language along with a full range of practical reading" listening" writing and speaing exercises. Livemocha also leverages the native language expertise of its members by allowing them to enhance the content with grammar tips" alternative phrases and collo
1> 7onton +8+ dalam bahasa inggris. ,asang uping dan matamu untu mendengaran pelafalan dari para pemeran di film dan untu membaca tesnya.
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