News From Around the World

• Senior Pastor Travels to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia
• Youth in Zimbabwe Shows "Unwavering Determination"
• Senior Pastor Visits Members and Subscribers in Asia
• UCG–Canada Ends 2006 on Very Positive Note

Members Help Build Hall in Kasumpa, Zambia

Victor Kubik, a member of the Council of Elders and senior pastor for Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, traveled to those areas Jan. 10 to 24. After delivering charitable aid and picking up UCG publications from a Sabbatarian printer we use in Ukraine, he traveled north to Lithuania.

While in Lithuania, on Jan. 17 Mr. Kubik met with Renatas, a man who is interested in the Church. "I really enjoy talking to new people who have enthusiastic questions that demand enthusiastic answers," Mr. Kubik said. He gave Renatas a set of the first four Russian Bible Study Course lessons.

Jan. 19 he traveled by bus to Tartu, Estonia, where Johnnie Lambert, an elder from New York, met him.

Since Mr. Lambert goes to Estonia about four times a year, he has purchased a one-bedroom apartment across from the train station. It's small but has a large combined kitchen/living room that's perfect for church meetings and office functions.

"It was so good to unload my Russian Bible Study Courses that I had been dragging from Ukraine," Mr. Kubik said. The amount of literature he brought will be enough to get a first mailing out from requests the Church has received.

Mr. Lambert is "one of the most dedicated people I know who has done so much to move the preaching of the gospel forward here in Eastern Europe," said Mr. Kubik. "Already the work is bearing fruit as new people are coming along, and more are behind them as we offer literature and study aids in their language!"

The next morning they recorded commercials advertising the Bible Study Course at Pere Raadio. This radio station is part of a network of Christian stations. It broadcasts in both Estonian and Russian. On the AM band, the reach of the Russian programming goes past Moscow to the east and covers all of Belarus and Ukraine. The ads will be aired in Estonian, Russian and Ukrainian.

Then Mr. Kubik and Mr. Lambert went to the Atlantis Club to discuss plans for a larger Feast of Tabernacles this fall.

The Church brethren came over to Mr. Lambert's apartment that evening. "We had a wonderful evening of fellowship and discussion until way past 11 p.m.," said Mr. Kubik. "During the evening we called Imbi Kuuskuulu, a member who just moved from Estonia to Dublin, Ireland, to work. Her leaving is a big loss, as Johnnie Lambert relied so heavily on her to translate for him. She is fluent in English, Estonian and Russian."

For Sabbath services Jan. 20 there were eight people at the apartment plus Toomas Schvaak in Tallinn and Imbi in Dublin, Ireland, connected by Skype.

Mr. Kubik gave the sermon in Russian about "Learning to Live With Joy." "I made sure that I looked up and was conversant with key words," Mr. Kubik said. "I'm okay preaching in English and Ukrainian but Russian challenges me to the full. Language is always a challenge in Estonia …"

Mr. Lambert projected the scriptures in Estonian on a big LCD screen during the sermon along with a handout he printed.

Sunday, Jan. 21, Mr. Kubik flew to Kemi, Finland, near the Arctic Circle.

"What a wonderful visit with Klogay and Margaret Doh," Mr. Kubik said. "Their niece Elsa Doh also lives with them and we all felt like we knew each other for years as we met again."

The Dohs are Karen refugees from Mai La refugee camp in Thailand. "The Dohs are cut off from their families, their homeland and brethren in the Church," Mr. Kubik said. "They have been resettled from the tropics to the arctic. Here it is cold and dark almost 22 hours of the day at this time of year. My heart goes out to them.

"They expressed special gratitude to Peter Hawkins and U.K. office, which has been sending them sermon CDs and literature and periodicals such as United News that give them a sense of community with the Church."

The Dohs stay connected with other members through the Internet. "One of the first items of business when I walked into their apartment was to contact another Church refugee family that has recently moved to Trondheim, Norway." Mr. Kubik talked with Ka Paw Gay and her husband and children using a webcam.

Jan. 22 Mr. Kubik traveled to Sweden, where he delivered copies of the Swedish The Road to Eternal Life, translated primarily by Kira Spenser, and visited a few families before returning to the United States. "Hopefully we can do a two-night seminar in Sweden later this summer," Mr. Kubik said. UN

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Youth in Zimbabwe Shows "Unwavering Determination"

The following letter was passed on by UCG–Southern Africa chairman André van Belkum. He wrote, "The Smith family live under difficult circumstances due to the internal situation in Zimbabwe."

by Maria Smith

In 2005 I was near death when I was taken ill with tick fever just before Passover. I was not interested in Church back then, as I used to attend the Church of God but the split left me so confused.

While I was near death, with all my vital organs affected, I realized I couldn't die. I had to show my family the truth of God! And so I did. My husband turned to the Church, and most of all my son Leon, who is now almost 12, felt very strongly about this truth that I was teaching him. That year at the Feast he gave special music and didn't miss a single day of services.

In 2006 I asked him if he would like to attend the Feast again, and he was so excited! But we had a problem with the Christian school he attended. They refused to let Leon attend the Festival.

Leon had a serious learning disability, including dyslexia. But he promised his teacher that he would be shocked at Leon's performance in his schoolwork if only the teacher would allow Leon to go. Finally he did.

Leon traveled by bus to where my mom lives to go to the Feast with her. Leon took all the necessary work with him, and a friend at the Feast helped him with new methods of learning. As usual Leon didn't miss one day of church and gave special music.

When Leon returned, his teacher could not believe what he was seeing. Leon wrote his exams and got such good results that he has since been changed from B class to A stream for next year. On prize-giving night Leon was awarded a merit certificate for "Unwavering Determination to Please and Improve."

I cried so much for my son and his great determination to please God above all.

Since this is a Christian school, they try to push their beliefs on him, which he has refused so many times. I remember Leon taking The Good News magazine to school and showing the teacher. The teacher took an article on evolution and taught it to the whole class! UN

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Senior Pastor Visits Members and Subscribers in Asia

by David Baker

During the first part of December, I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting some of our members and Good News subscribers in various parts of Asia. On the Sabbath of Dec. 2, I visited the Davao City, Philippines, congregation for the Sabbath service and Bible study.

Philippine Annual Meeting

On Sunday we held a ministerial meeting that also served as our annual meeting of the United Church of God, AIA Pilipinas. Among other things, the ministers discussed a new centralized accounting system for the work in the Philippines and the location of the Philippine national office. It was decided that the office would remain in Davao indefinitely, with the understanding that the location of the national office can change if or when the needs of the Church change.

After the meeting I returned to Manila with Rey and Cynthia Evasco. Monday was spent at the Myanmar embassy in Manila, and thankfully I was able to acquire a visa for Myanmar on that day.

India and Sri Lanka

Tuesday, Dec. 5, I flew from Manila to India. When I arrived in Calcutta late that night, I learned the taxi drivers were on strike. Thankfully, after a bit of persuading, a driver took me to my hotel.

Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of meeting with Tarun Ghosh, a Good News subscriber, and discussing the subject of baptism. I look forward to a future visit to Calcutta to continue baptismal counseling with Tarun.

Wednesday afternoon I flew from Calcutta to Hyderabad and the following morning met with Dr. Ali and her two daughters, Ajumand and Nargis. I first met Dr. Ali and her daughters in 1986. Dr. Ali has been a member of the Church for more than 40 years and is now a part of the United Church of God.

Thursday evening I arrived in Chennai and met with Darwin and Jane Paul. The Pauls are Good News subscribers, and I have corresponded with them for a few years so I was delighted to meet with them for a second time. They shared with me the challenges they face in trying to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days in southern India. They also shared how God has intervened for them in regard to a Sabbath conflict with work.

Friday afternoon I flew to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and spent the Sabbath with our members in Mt. Lavinia. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that has suffered through decades of war and terrorism. Warfare negatively affects the economy, which depends heavily on tourism, and our members suffer from low wages, underemployment and high inflation. The Church recently was able to help a couple of our members through the Good Works Program.

Thailand and Myanmar

Late Sunday night I departed for the airport and arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday morning. Tuesday morning I boarded a plane for Yangon, Myanmar. I was met at the airport by three of our Good News subscribers and taken to their home. We discussed the challenges they must face every day.

Myanmar is a very interesting country, and even though it is blacklisted by many Western nations, there are several projects underway building luxury houses and condos for expatriates. Even the international airport is being enlarged and updated.

Thursday I departed Yangon for Bangkok and visited with a member there, Fil Olimpo. Fil is an editor of several English-language magazines in Thailand. He has been a member of the Church for many years, but due to his job assignments he is often located in areas without a congregation. Each Sabbath he is able to download sermons from the UCG Web site.

Hong Kong and Home

Friday I flew to Hong Kong and spent the Sabbath with our brethren there and guests from Spokane, Washington, Mr. and Mrs. Gail Allwine.

Monday, Dec. 18, I returned to my family in the United States. Please pray for these members and Good News subscribers and the work God has in store for this area of the world. UN

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UCG–Canada Ends 2006 on Very Positive Note

The United Church of God in Canada ended 2006 on a very positive note in many areas. Records were set, others were nearly broken and the trend so far in 2007 is for more of the same.

At the end of 2006, Canada had 446 members, 176 coworkers, 477 donors and 10,335 Good News subscribers on file. We added 6,314 new people to our database, up from 4,369 in 2005.

Sabbath and Holy Day attendance in 2006 were both higher than in 2005. Sabbath attendance averaged 540 in 2006, compared to 519 in 2005, for an increase of 4.1 percent. Holy Day attendance averaged 654 in 2006, up from 620 in 2005, for a 5.4 percent increase.

Incoming mail also set a new record in 2006. Nearly 16,000 pieces of mail were received, including a record 7,450 e-mails. All the incoming mail resulted in an increase of 59.2 percent in the amount of outgoing mail over 2005. The most popular booklet was The Middle East in Bible Prophecy, with just over 2,100 copies distributed. Circulation of The Good News increased by almost 14 percent to 56,670 copies in 2006.

Canada ended 2006 with 972 responses to the Beyond Today television program and beyondtodaytv.ca Web site. (As of Jan. 25, we've now had 1,047 responses in all.) The programs that had the greatest number of responses aired in November and December. The top three programs are:

• "Christmas: Mirth or Myth" (aired Dec. 10-16) – 61 responses (offering the Holidays or Holy Days booklet).

• "The Coming King of the South" (Nov. 5-11) – 52 (The Middle East in Bible Prophecy).

• "Is There Really a Devil?" (Nov. 26-Dec. 2) – 51 (Is There Really a Devil?).

Canadian income for the fiscal year (ending March 31, 2007) is very good. We are currently ahead of our budget projections.

—Edwin van Pelt

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