"Once the word got out on the internet, the number of visitors to the forgive web site increased one hundred fold."

Forgiveness Update
by Deborah Martinez

"That moment inside
of you where you forgive
what's happened is the
moment when you are
enlightening yourself."
- John-Roger

We've all heard so much in the media lately about the devastation in Kosovo and the violence in Littleton, Colorado. Wouldn't it be wonderful if people all over the world could read John-Roger's quote above about forgiveness, read chapters from his book "Forgiveness: The Key to the Kingdom", and read uplifting stories about how people have changed their lives through choosing forgiveness?

Well, they can and they have—at www.forgive.org! J-R's quote about forgiveness has become quite popular around the world on the internet in the past few months. This quote is featured on the free forgiveness bookmark available at MSIA's forgiveness web site www.forgive.org. On February 27, 1999, forgive.org was discovered by a "freebee" web site called "Your Daily Freebee." This web site hunts around the world wide web looking for free give-aways and then features the web sites with the best "freebees" available. The free forgiveness bookmark offered at forgive.org became a "freebee of the day" at "Your Daily Freebee", and then was featured on at least 3 other "freebee" web sites in the following weeks.

Once the word got out on the internet, the number of visitors to the forgive web site increased one hundred fold. Forgive.org started to receive hundreds of visitors from all over the world each day, and hundreds of requests for the free forgiveness bookmark with John-Roger's quote on it. But, the visitors didn't just request the bookmark. They toured through the site and they shared their comments about the bookmark, about the quote on the bookmark, about the forgive web site, and about forgiveness itself.

In the two months that www.forgive.org was featured on "freebee" web sites, forgive.org has received over 12,000 visitors from around the world, over 6,000 comments from these visitors, and over 6,000 requests for the free forgiveness bookmark. Here are a few highlights from the thousands of comments we received:

"Letting go of bitterness is sometimes very hard to do. You lose so much happiness by holding on and the person you become is a sorry example of what God intended us to be. Forgiveness is a soft cloud that lifts us back to the Heavens."
—C.R., Shadyside, Ohio

"This subject on Forgiveness is one of the most important issues for us to achieve peace within and without."
—D.C., Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

"Thank you, and may the Almighty guide all of Mankind towards being tolerant and forgiving."
—F.C., Mayfair, South Africa

"Without forgiveness there is never a tomorrow."
—R.C., Ontario, Canada

"Wouldn't it be great if we all could forgive and forget!" —R.K., Gardner, North Dakota

"I think this could possibly be the link I needed to make peace with my stepmother—thanks! I've tried everything else."
—K.P., Bluffton, South Carolina

"The Book is useful for many persons. Continue this work."
—V.P., Madurai, India

"Forgiveness is a very important need for everyone, in my opinion."
—S.T., Jakarta, Dki, Indonesia

"I'm happy, 'cause I found YOU! Thanks!"
—Y.P., Vladivostok, Primorsky Region, Russia

"Freedom of religion; freedom of expression; freedom to forgive and forget."
—F.B., Westhill, Aberdeenshire, UK

"I think that this is a very inspiring idea. A little reminder that God is in our life all the time goes a long way."
—M.A., Trinidad, West Indies

"Forgiveness is a necessity! Thank you for bringing it online!!"
—E.W., Triangle, Virginia

"Cool web site, with an even cooler idea—Forgiveness! It's very enlightening, indeed."
—S.L., Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

This powerful experience of reaching out into the world with forgiveness is a great example of how the internet and the world wide web can be tools to make the Teachings of the Traveler available to those who are looking for them. MSIA has a family of web sites available. We encourage you to use them for your own upliftment, learning and growth, and to share them with friends, family, co-workers, and with those who are new to MSIA. And, you can always send the web sites the Light too.

God bless us all.

In loving service,

Deborah Martinez
MSIA webmaster
www.forgive.org
www.tithing.org
www.pts.org
www.msia.org
www.spiritualwarrior.org