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Newsletter   I  AUGUST 2001

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED


Joy and Jean Tiberio at Ancient Pyramids

On June 22 of this year two of our daughters, Joy and Jean, took a trip to Mexico City. They went with a group of eight other friends and chaperones. The reason for their trip was to hand out Christian Literature to the people in that city. Their goal was to pass out 35,000 pamphlets about Jesus to help people understand more about His love and plan of Salvation.

Mexico City boasts a population of 30 million people. Of course as you would expect most of them were Spanish speaking. That made it quite a challenge for them. Even though Mexico is a neighbor of the United States, its culture and way of life are different from what our daughters were used to back home. Of course there were fast food places that were familiar, which is always a comfort when you're hungry. They found the people to be very willing to take the information they had to offer. The most difficult part was not being able to explain further when someone asked them a question. What a frustrating thing it is: all of the many different languages in the world. Maybe you have experienced the same problem yourself.

They arrived home on June 28, tired after their 14 hour drive from Mexico City to Texas and then their airplane trip home to Pittsburgh. They were happy to share everything they had experienced with their family. And by the way they did reach their goal. They gave out all of the 35,000 Spanish tracts that they had hoped to circulate among the people in Mexico.

                                                                                    --Terry Tiberio, ISF Assistant LETTER FROM THE ISF ASSISTANT
 Dear International Friend,

Once again as our Newsletter makes its way into your home we hope you are all well and that you are enjoying your summer. Maybe by now you have taken that well deserved vacation or maybe you are just enjoying the summer weather where you live. Even though you may no longer live in the Pittsburgh area we want you to know that many of you are in our thoughts and prayers and we miss your friendship.

On August 1, 1291 the Republic of Switzerland was founded. It is the oldest such government still in existence. Christopher Columbus set sail in the month of August in 1492 from Spain for the New World. In 1859 during this month the first oil well in the world was dug by Colonel Edwin L. Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania. And in 1896 Chop suey was invented in New York City by the visiting Chinese ambassador's chef while staying at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel..

August is the time for our Annual ISF Picnic. The picnic this year will be on Friday, August 24th, at the large Vietnam Veteran's Pavilion in Schenley Park. The pavilion is open at noon and the main meal will be served at around 6:30 PM. This is always the ultimate summer "family time" and it's all free. So invite your friends to partake of some good old-fashioned American hamburgers, hot dogs and other traditional picnic food. Even if you don't usually eat meat, there will be plenty of other picnic food for you to enjoy. If you like, feel free to bring something from you own country to add to the table.

If you need a ride, the ISF van will be making several trips from the Hillman Library to the park starting at about 6:00 PM.

We look forward to seeing you on August 24th!
                                                                                    --Terry Tiberio, ISF Assistant

INSPIRING QUOTATIONS

 
"YOUR WORD IS A LAMP TO MY FEET AND A LIGHT TO MY PATH."
                                            --PSALMS 119:105

"A child is not likely to find a Father in God unless he finds something of God in his father."
                                              --Austin L. Sorensen

 

JULY ISF MONTHLY GATHERING

155 were present (15 for the first time), from the following 10 countries: Bosnia, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Macedonia, Thailand, Zimbabwe, USA.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are presently 6,800 active languages in the world. Eight countries account for more than half of all these languages.
 
  • Papua New Guinea, 832 languages.
  • Indonesia, 731.
  • Nigeria, 515.
  • India, 400.
  • Mexico, Cameroon and Australia, just under 300 each'
  • Brazil, 234

The 10 most common first languages are:

 
  • Mandarin Chinese, 885 million.
  • Spanish, 332 million.
  • English, 322 million.
  • Arabic, 220 million.
  • Bengali, 189 million.
  • Hindu, 182 million.
  • Portuguese, 170 million.
  • Russian, 170 million.
  • Japanese, 125 million.
  • German, 98 million.

 
Hope to see you at the ISF Picnic on August 24th, at the Vietnam Pavilion in Schenley Park!
 
 
July 2001 Newsletter