International News at a Glance

• Members Help Spread Gospel in Barbados
• Sabbath Service Held in Sweden
• Pentecost Reports
• British Isles Reports Circulation
• UCG–Australia Enjoys Positive Financial Position
• Printing GN in Australia a Success
• Philippine Camp "Fights the Good Fight!"
• 50 Campers Attend Youth Camp in Zambia

Members Help Spread Gospel in Barbados

Members, led by Jeff Weatherhead, are distributing more than 1,500 Good News magazines on newsstands in Barbados . The stands are usually emptied within a few days.

The newsstand program is now being buttressed by the Good News radio broadcast aired on Gospel 790 AM on Sundays. The program averages around eight or nine new callers, but the highest response was around 18 on the topic of marriage. Sheila Burnett volunteers to answer the calls, and Ann Maycock substitutes when she is not available.

—Excerpted from Caribnews, June 2006.

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Sabbath Service Held in Sweden

Frank Jarvis, an elder from England, wrote: "We enjoyed a Sabbath service in Sweden at the home of Paul and Kira Spenser on the 27th May. Five adults and two children were present. The evening before, 16 people attended the blessing of Paul and Kira's twin boys, Isak and Aaron. This number included Kira's family as well as Solveig Hammer (our other member in Sweden)."

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Pentecost Reports

Services on Pentecost were held in eight locations in the British Isles. The total attendance was 162 (compared to 132 in 2005) and the offering was £4,069 (compared to £3,207 in 2005).

Pentecost Holy Day offerings in Canada were about 2.7 percent higher than last year, with individual offerings still coming in by mail.

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British Isles Reports Circulation

Highlights from the UCG–British Isles circulation report for May, which covers all literature distributed by the Church from Britain, include:

• 1,126 letters and other responses.

• 566 Good News requests.

• 118 Bible Study Course requests.

• 433 requests for 961 further items.

As of May 31, there were:

• 4,253 subscribers to the GN, of which 3,309 are distributed within the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.

• 441 students of the Bible Study Course.

• 318 subscribers to United News.

• 526 subscribers to World News and Prophecy.

• 269 subscribers to Vertical Thought.

A total of 1,362 students have been sent all 12 lessons of the Bible Study Course; 237 of these have returned all 12 test cards (a special service provided by UCG–British Isles).

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UCG–Australia Enjoys Positive Financial Position

The treasurer's report showed that UCG–Australia was on a solid financial footing as they entered the last quarter of the 2005-2006 fiscal year. Income was up, expenses were down and cash balances were at healthy levels.

Net income stood at a surplus of $50,085 (all figures, Australian dollars) compared to a budgeted deficit of $114,197. Actual total income for the first nine months of the year was $799,365 compared to budgeted income of $702,804, producing a positive variance of $96,561.

Actual expenses were $749,278 compared to budgeted expenses of $817,001, producing another positive variance of $67,723. However, the expense variance was to be reduced as the Media Department implemented its promotional plans for the last quarter of the financial year.

—Allan Hambleton

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Printing GN in Australia a Success

Copies of the March/April and May/June issues of The Good News to be distributed in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and South Africa came off the presses at Offset Alpine, a printer in Sydney, Australia, on time, on cost and of a very high quality. Around 36,000 to 38,000 copies were printed in this first of a series of trial runs before a final decision to continue printing in Australia is made by the media management at the home office.

It has also been suggested that the approximately 10,000 Good News magazines distributed in the Philippines be printed at Offset Alpine, subject to the printing and distribution costs being lower than the present U.S. printing and shipping costs.

Offset Alpine also handled the mailing and distribution of the magazine in Australia from the same location as the printers, thus lowering shipping costs. The processing of the magazines for mailing also came in at a more economical price than the previous company.

UCG IA Media and Communications Services manager Peter Eddington said, "Your three March-April 2006 samples of the GN that was printed in Sydney arrived today. They look great!... We're really happy with the way it turned out."

—Bill Eddington

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Philippine Camp "Fights the Good Fight!"

Thirty-two campers and 32 staff members gathered at Eden Nature Park in Davao City from May 14 to 21 for the United Youth Camp 2006. Members of the staff came days earlier for setup and precamp training.

The theme of this year's camp was "God's Special Forces—Fight the Good Fight!" This year's camp was designed to prepare the youths in God's Church to fight the good fight of faith. Like the Rangers or the Navy SEALS, God's Special Forces are few in number and often isolated from one another. Yet they have been called, not only to survive, but to accomplish the mission in hostile territory. All the campers were presented with "The Creed," patterned after the U.S. Special Forces Creed.

Each camper was assigned to one of four dorms—two boys' dorms (1B and 2B) and two girls' dorms (1G and 2G). Each dorm of eight campers (plus the counselor and assistant counselor) stayed in two five-man tents and cooked their own food on two-burner gas stoves.

Each day began at 5 a.m. with "quiet time," an hour of prayer and Bible study. Then at 6 a.m. campers would get ready and prepare breakfast. Like a family, the campers and counselors in each dorm ate together and worked together. At other times, however, dorms would invite one another, help each other prepare meals and join forces in cleaning up afterward.

The first activity of each day was the Interactive Christian Living class. For five mornings, camp director Edmond Macaraeg led discussions on the major issues and problems facing the youths today. He presented the concept of the Special Forces as a metaphor for our calling in this world, battling against a society designed to destroy our faith. He presented various ideas and strategies for overcoming the various booby traps of the enemy.

The other activities consisted of classes and workshops (arts and crafts, carpentry, cooking and baking, first aid, journalism, PA system, public speaking, signaling [International Morse Code], silkscreen printing and song leading) and regular day activities (confidence course, dance, in-line skating, riflery, softball, soccer, swimming and wilderness skills).

We also had a day of hiking and outdoor cooking, followed by a "confidence course." For the evenings we had novelty games, fellowship time, an open forum and a variety show and dance.

On the Sabbath, we had Bible bowl and Sabbath services. David Baker, our senior pastor, and Mr. and Mrs. Rey Evasco, pastor of the Manila congregation, visited us this year. Mr. Baker gave the sermon on leadership principles from the life of Joshua. After the service, we had "Open House," (a.k.a. open tent!) then a pizza and ice cream night.

The next day, we had awards ceremonies and pictorials, capped with a buffet lunch at the Holiday Terraces. It was a very memorable and profitable camp, with a lot of valuable lessons learned.

—Daniel Macaraeg

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50 Campers Attend Youth Camp in Zambia

by Kambani Banda

A youth camp in Zambia was held from Wednesday, April 26, to Thursday, May 4, at Tina Trust School in Lusaka . Fifty young people from age 13 and up attended the camp. There were 32 boys and 18 girls from various parts of Zambia: 19 from Nalubanda, 19 from Kasumpa, four from the Copper Belt area and eight from Lusaka.

Activities started at 5 a.m. with a group prayer in the dorms. That was followed by a 2-kilometer jog, which prepared the campers and staff for a cold shower in readiness for breakfast served at 7:30 a.m.

After breakfast, lectures commenced at 9:30 a.m. The lectures were designed to equip campers with skills to help them live productive and fulfilling lives as they prepare for life in the Kingdom of God . We used lecturers who were experts in their fields. These included a secondary school teacher, a social worker, a businessman and a senior civil servant.

Topics covered included the purpose of camp, proving God exists, communication skills, the value of education, health laws and dating. Lectures ended with a group discussion and a question-and-answer session. These proved to be the most popular and were very effective teaching and learning tools.

The lectures ended at 11 a.m., in time for a rigorous physical education program that lasted for an hour. We hired two professional physical education trainers who stretched the camper's stamina. Then they enjoyed good games of football, net ball and volleyball. We were blessed to have the same expert trainers take this session as well.

The games finished in good time for lunch at 1 p.m. Lunch and dinner consisted of an unlimited helping of starch in the form of nshima, rice or potatoes, accompanied by either fish, beef or chicken and a helping of vegetables with a large drink to make up for the rigorous physical exercise.

Afternoon activities started at 2 p.m. and included a trip into the city, a visit to a township near Tina Trust School, a youth speech club and a moving and emotional visit to an orphanage to see the reality and the effects of HIV/AIDS on innocent children. There was a cookout on the last Wednesday.

The evenings were occupied by a Bible quiz, a variety show, films and a dance. The campers were pleased to retire to their dorms, pray and crawl into bed by 9 p.m.

The Sabbath was a highlight of the camp for two reasons. Campers got a chance to catch up on some much-needed rest, and some parents came to join us for services, learn about camp and visit with the campers. The fellowship after the service was exceptional.

Camp finished on Thursday with presentation of prizes as follows:

Best Overall Camper: boy—Bevin Momba, girl—Mutinta Moonga; Most Helpful Camper: boy—Gideon Ngulube, girl—Mwansa Mfula; Most Improved Camper: boy—Joseph Banda, girl—Sharon Katapya.

Thursday was a very sad day for all of us, because campers were saying their good-byes. All in all, the staff found the experience very valuable and hope that the investment in our youths bears good fruit as the years go by. UN

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