F ebruary 2008 V oice O f G od R ecordings

WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH PROVER BS 29:18

 In England, Sister Susan proudly tapes a coin worth two British
May men and women tonight pounds to a letter and puts it in the mailbox. These are her first
tithes from her new job, and she is honored that she is able to
catch the vision, understand what have a part in God’s great work. On the note, she proudly
God’s program is for this last day. testifies that she is thankful to have this job, and asks for
prayer that she will be faithful with all that God has
That’s all we need to do, is just get into His entrusted to her.

program, and then the other things will take In Texas, Sister Shirley wakes early in the
morning and turns on her computer.
care for themselves. He taught us that way, and The branham.org website is loaded,
and she begins to read about a
we... He said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and woman in Africa who was
kicked out of her church
His righteousness, all other things shall be added.” for standing against the evils of
63-0120e Just One More Time, Lord the world. The African woman found
herself alone in her beliefs and surrounded by
a sinful generation. When all hope seemed to be lost,
the Lord came on the scene and delivered a Message book

D eep into the jungles of the Congo, a missionary named Alfred Tshibangu rides a
bicycle for miles through the narrow trails of the forest to deliver a precious cargo.
The two baskets attached to his bike are packed full of Message books with titles such
as, Soyez certains de Dieu, La Foi parfait, and L’Absolu. Smiling Congolese run out of their mud huts to
greet him when he enters the village. “What messages of the prophet did you bring us?” they shout with
from a most unlikely source. Tears fill Sister Shirley’s eyes as she
realizes how this sister received her salvation.
In Georgia, Brother David pauses to gather his thoughts before he takes the pulpit. While the congregation is
singing, his mind drifts to a tiny church in Togo. He imagines humble Africans huddled around an MP3 player,
excited to hear the prophet with their own ears. He thinks of the multitudes that are now hearing the Voice of the
great anticipation.
prophet, because his church sponsored the duplication and distribution of thousands of French MP3 CDs and
Seventeen hundred miles to the south, in the city of Harare, an eleven year-old boy named Daniel sits players throughout French-speaking Africa. As he looks over the audience, he sees the people responsible for this
on the bed in his uncle’s inner-city home and pulls out the book: William Branham, A Prophet Visits South great work.
Africa, from a paper bag. As he looks at the cover, his mind drifts to the stories he has been told of a mighty
In Arizona, Brother Ricardo greets his wife and children with a kiss after he walks in the front door. She
prophet who knows even the most guarded secrets of the heart. He eagerly opens the cover to read the
can see that he is tired from working in the sun all day, as he washes the grease off his hands and cleans up for
precious words that lay within.
supper. The stains on his clothes reflect that he had a hard day. The family joins hands, and Brother Ricardo
Thousands of miles to the west, Brother Isaías opens the throttle of his new outboard motor as he races gives thanks to the Lord Jesus for the food He has put on their table and for a great Message that is sweeping
down the remote Orinoco River in Venezuela. His little boat is riding dangerously low in the water because the earth. After the prayer, his wife brings him the latest Catch The Vision newsletter that just arrived in the
of the heavy cargo. The sound of the motor brings excitement to the little village just downstream. In mail. His eyes light up when he reads about how so many people pulled together in support of the Peruvian
Spanish, the villagers shout, “God bless you Brother Isaías! We knew you would come! What new messages brothers and sisters in need. With a smile on his face, he leans back in his chair, points to the picture of the
of the prophet did you bring us?” Brother Isaías surprises them with an odd object: a solar-powered MP3 humble Peruvian family and says, “We helped feed those people.”
player and a book of shiny new CDs. “We can hear the prophet speak with our own ears?” they ask.
On the other side of the earth in China, a dimly lit room begins to fill with people. They look a little
different from the outside world. The women have long hair and are wearing long skirts. They are careful The Machine
to keep the groups small to avoid drawing too much attention to their gatherings. One by one they greet Every gear in God’s great machine is equally important. The parts are made of all shapes and sizes, joined
each other with a humble Asian bow and take their seats. When everyone is present, Brother Paul starts together with a bond that cannot be broken. Each sprocket, lever, and wheel turns in perfect time. Whether it
the projector. A gasp of excitement can be heard as Brother Branham opens the door of his house and the is Brother David in Georgia, Sister Susan in England, or Brother Tshibangu in the jungles of the Congo; none
Chinese translation of Twentieth-Century Prophet begins. of them can function without the others. The machine was engineered and built by the Great Creator, and it is
How is such a great work possible? Brother Branham said, “…catch the vision, understand what God’s fueled by the never-failing power of the Holy Ghost.
program is for this last day.” All the parts work in unison. Each member of the Body of Christ has an equally-important responsibility.
Sister Shirley, a long-time believer from Texas, is one of those vital gears. By faith, she sent her offering to
Voice Of God Recordings in Jeffersonville. The gears engaged and began to turn. From her offering, ink may
have been purchased to print Message books and tracts. Among these was the tract titled, He Ascended Up
On High And Gave Gifts Unto Men. The tract was boxed and sent in the next container to Cape Town, South
Africa.
The gears are now running in perfect time. Once it arrived at the port, Brother Keith Herne (VGR
Distributor in Cape Town) scheduled the material to be shipped to the Windhoek, Namibia office. The inner
workings of the machine are often a mystery, and this is one of those times. Somehow, one of those tracts fell
into the hands of an unbeliever. Even then we could rest assured that the gears were still running with perfect
precision.
While on the bus with her friends, the unbelieving young woman pulled the tract from her purse and began
to make fun of the teachings within. Yes, the machine was still in motion. A woman named Hilda in a nearby
seat began to listen intently as the girl read. Laughing, the girl read from the tract, “The boys that I would have
associated with would have nothing to do with me because I wouldn’t smoke or drink, and all the girls went to
dances, of which I couldn’t partake either, so it seemed that all through life, I was a black sheep.” She continued
to make fun of these “ridiculous” thoughts. The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
 sword. This Word cut deep into the searching soul. “Give that to me!” office each year. Our best estimates indicate that this enormous amount
Hilda shouted. She grabbed the book and began reading. Soon, tears were of French material is distributed to about 750,000 believers in that country
falling onto the pages. She kept the book with her everywhere she went, alone. And the numbers continue to grow.
drawing strength from every Word. It was not long before she noticed a
The tranquil setting of the Brazil office and lovely spirit of the staff,
man on a park bench reading another one of the prophet’s books. Hilda
along with the comfortable furniture and library, give believers an
introduced herself and the brother pointed her to the nearest VGR library,
opportunity to set aside their doctrinal differences and relax as they hear
where she found treasures beyond her greatest dreams. Tears filled Sister
God’s Voice to this generation. The two full-time translators are diligently
Shirley’s eyes, as she read the testimony. “I am the one responsible for
working to meet the need of the growing population of Portuguese-
that,” she thought to herself.
speaking Message believers throughout the world. Over the years, VGR
Brother Tshibangu has dedicated his life to delivering spiritual Food has printed over seven million Portuguese Message books in 109 different
to the people of the Congo. Over the years, he has walked and ridden his titles, and the brothers in Brazil are hard at work to translate, edit, print,
bicycle miles upon miles through the jungles of Africa while searching and distribute at least 10 more this year.
for lost sheep. Last month, the young people in Jeffersonville decided to
The beautiful European office in Nieuw-Buinen, Netherlands stocks
do something special. They saved their money, $65 each, and purchased a
an incredible 23 different language translations of Brother Branham’s
motorcycle for this brother. When his new transportation is delivered, he
Message and serves 25 individual countries. Three generations of
will be able to travel the narrow trails of the forest, reaching small pockets
Buitenkamps work in the office. The patriarch of the family, Brother
of believers in a fraction of the time. If the Lord tarries, that group of
Heino, and his son Gerald often braved dangerous communist checkpoints
young people will be responsible for thousands of books and tapes delivered throughout the jungles of the
while traveling into the Eastern-European Communist countries before
Congo. Imagine the excitement of the natives when they hear the buzz of Brother Tshibangu’s motorcycle
the fall of the Iron Curtain. Today Brother Heino, Brother Gerald, and
drawing near to their village.
Brother Gerald’s sons Timothy, Matthew, and Benjamin are dedicated
Even when the gears of to distributing the Message throughout Europe. The Buitenkamp family
the machine seem to get old works closely with Brother Petru Muntean at the Romanian Office. This
and worn out, everything East-European lighthouse, built in 2004, illuminates the surrounding
is still running just as God countries with Romanian, Serbian, and Hungarian books and tapes.
has planned. The trusty boat
Brother Matti Honkanen, manager of our Finland Office, risked his life
made from a hollowed-out
on many occasions while bringing the Message across the Soviet border
tree that Brother Isaías has
into Russia. The precious few Message books that he was able to get
used over the years to travel
across the border planted a seed that has grown into thousands of Russian
up and down the rivers of
Message believers. He is currently working with our St. Petersburg Office,
the Amazon Basin was in
Ukraine Office, and Lithuanian Office in delivering the Message across
desperate need of a new
vast expanses of the continent. From the frozen reaches of Siberia to the staunch Muslim countries of
motor. Brother Ebrain,
Western Asia, these distribution centers are doing that which was once thought impossible.
VGR Office Manager
in Venezuela, has always Brother Branham traveled to Bombay India in September, 1954. There he planted a seed that would
provided every piece of lead to the conversion of thousands of idol worshippers in that country. Today, the office in Madras is
Message material Brother one of our busiest foreign offices. From this office, Brother Joel Paramanadam oversees the translation
Isaías has asked for. From of the Message into 14 local languages. When he is not working on translations, Brother Joel is
cassette tapes, to Spanish books, to MP3 players and CDs; everything he has ever needed was just a phone coordinating the massive printing and distribution effort in the second most populated country in the
call away. Asking for Message material is one thing, but a new motor is definitely not “Message material.” world.
His motor was simply too weak and unreliable to push the heavy boat through the perilous waters. Would
These outposts are just parts within the machine that are relying
the blessings of bringing the Message to his own people stop because of that old motor? Word came to
on other gears to turn them. They provide the Bride of Christ
Brother Ebrain that this missionary brother was in need. Instead of the machine slowing down, it sped up!
a local place to receive their spiritual Food, as well as fellow
After an email to the VGR headquarters from Brother Ebrain, Brother Isaías would soon be bolting his new
countrymen to watch over their wellbeing. All of these office
motor to his missionary boat.
managers take great care to interact and stay close with the
local pastors and congregations, so they can meet each need
The Gears as it arises. However, these offices would be forced to close
their doors if it was not for the support of believers from
The machine has grown over the years. Voice Of God Recordings now has 44 foreign offices with 150 around the world.
foreign employees, and numerous volunteers to assist in spreading the Gospel. The offices range in size from
the basement of a church in Honduras, to a sprawling six-building complex in Harare, Zimbabwe. These
lighthouses are placed in strategic locations, illuminating vast areas with the Message of the hour and giving
believers a place of refuge to hear the Voice that they hold so dear.
In Perfect Time
Brother Branham said, And that’s the sole purpose of my
The Zimbabwe office was recently equipped with a state-of-the-art recording studio that is used to record ministry, is to see God’s Church welded together. From Brother
translations in three different African languages. Along with a fully-stocked Message library, listening areas, Ricardo in Arizona, to Voice Of God headquarters in
meeting hall, administration building, and memorial room, this office provides a refuge for believers to put Jeffersonville, to Brother Gerald in Holland, to Sister
away the cares of the world and gather under one common Voice. This is where young Daniel was given his Hilda in Namibia; God’s great machine runs in perfect
William Branham, A Prophet Visits South Africa book, and where he often goes to fellowship with his friends. time. It may be the prayers of Sister Susan in England that
cause a woman in Brazil to accept the Message. It may be
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the five-member staff of the Kinshasa office currently supplies 57
words of encouragement from Brother David that cause a
distribution centers, which in turn supply up to 10 libraries each. This office is where Brother Tshibangu gets
young man in Georgia to live for the Lord, and then that
his material. An average of five, 20-foot containers are sent from the Jeffersonville office to the Kinshasa
young man may bring the Gospel to another
young man. Soon, hundreds have come from that single
believer. One mechanism engages another, until an entire unit
of the machine that was never thought to exist, springs
to life.
Not only does one gear perfectly mesh with the other
gears, but if one gear wobbles, it could cause the entire
machine to falter. We are each responsible to keep our
sprocket, lever, or wheel running in time with the rest of
the machine. How is the timing set? The timing is set every
day by hearing the Voice of the Seventh Angel Messenger.
Each of the gears is honed to perfection through hours of
prayer, and lubricated with the Oil of the Holy Spirit.
As your eyes read across these words, you can rest
assured that you are a gear in God’s machine, and you
have a great responsibility. No part is more important Notable facts
than another part. They all work in perfect unison 1. The first VGR international office was established in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1985.
and are powered by the mighty Dynamo; the Holy 2. Outside of the Jeffersonville office, Zimbabwe has the largest VGR facility.  
Spirit. And we know that all things work together
3. The Kinshasa office in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the largest distribution center in
for good to them that love God, to them who are
the world, outside of Jeffersonville. More material has been shipped to that office than any other location,
the called according to his purpose. God has a receiving over 15,575,000 Message books from the VGR headquarters.
purpose for each one of us. Without you
and your purpose, God’s great machine 4. VGR’s work in DRC started with about 10 distribution centers established throughout the country, with
about 10,000 believers. Now, VGR has 57 distribution centers serving about 750,000 believers. Some
would grind to a halt.
individual churches have more than 10,000 believers. The Message has been able to reach the jungles of the
equatorial forest, and there are even Pygmy preachers preaching the Message to their fellow Pygmies.
5. The European office ships material to the Muslim countries of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, and
Mauritania.
6. The India office in Madras supplies Message material to more than 900 different libraries strategically located
throughout the country. This office serves about 100,000 people.
7. The Russian office currently ships to over 6,000 mailing addresses in the 15 countries it serves.
8. There are more than 2,000 seed libraries in South America alone.
9. The Brazil office, our largest shipping hub in South America, serves more libraries and people than anywhere
else on the continent. It is located just north of São Paulo, one of the largest cities in the world.
10. The Kenya office serves nearly 100,000 believers in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Established in 1985,
VGR’s first lending library was in Kenya. The Nairobi office was established soon after.
11. The Montreal office works closely with our office in Jeffersonville in providing over a million French-speaking
believers with the Message. One part-time and four full-time staff members work diligently to translate and
help coordinate the massive distribution of the French Message.
12. When VGR started sending material to Ivory Coast (Western Africa) in 1989, there were only two known
Message churches. One of these churches refused to receive Message tapes and books. By 1993 there were six
Message churches. During that year, VGR sent a representative to establish our first distribution center, and
today, there are about 180 Message churches in that country.
13. Brother German Calva, VGR Office Manager in Mexico City, travels 4,000 miles to distribute each large
shipment to the 283 churches in southern Mexico. There are 32 churches in the metropolitan area of Mexico
City alone.
14. From the office in Nelspruit South Africa, Brother Des de Fortier routinely travels thousands of miles
through the neighboring country of Mozambique delivering precious material such as Message books, tapes,
MP3 players, and Bibles. With Brother Des’ help, we now serve more than 700 Message assemblies in this
portion of southeast Africa with languages including English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Northern Sotho, Southern
Sotho, Tsonga, Xhosa, French, Shona, Chewa, and Portuguese. Brother Des’ reports of his missionary trips
are often reported on the branham.org website.
15. Our office in the tiny country of Togo (West Africa) serves over 12,000 believers.
16. Regarding this issue of Catch The Vision:
a. While the stories written in this article are about actual people, each story represents hundreds of
different believers. We can all probably identify with at least one of the people listed in this article.
b. All the machine pictures were taken inside the VGR building, and each picture is of an actual
machine that is used to duplicate the Message. The cover is a picture of the perf-cylinder gears on
the web press.
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OF GOD RECORDINGS, INC.

Jeffersonville, IN
God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:7
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of

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How thankful I am for God’s great pinion gears, large cams, and giant springs. But
there is also a very small part, which might look
machine, and that He has let each of us be insignificant in comparison to the large gears,
a part of getting His Word to His children
but it plays such an important role, for without
around the world.
it, this great machine could not run. These
Sometimes we feel so insignificant and wonder parts are called shear pins.
what part we are in this great machine.
These are just little brass pins that are placed
When we look at this machine we think, “I do into one of the large gears. This little pin helps
so little compared to what the Lord has done carry ALL the load of this great machine, for
for me. I would like to play a greater role.” if the machine comes under a great load or
In this great mechanism, we see many parts. something gets jammed, the little pin takes all
There are huge drive gears connected to spider the pressure and breaks, thus saving the gears
gears, long shafts with ring gears connected to so they will not be destroyed.
So when the enemy says, “You are so
insignificant. You play such a small part, they
don’t need you,” just remind him, “I might only
be a shear pin, but I’m carrying the load to keep
His great machine running.”
May the Lord’s richest blessing be with each of
you for all that you do for His Kingdom.