Baguio City was once again one of the three Feast of Tabernacles sites for the United Church of God here in the Philippines. For the 15th consecutive time, the United Church of God’s Feast of Tabernacles was again held at the grounds of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines located at the South Drive in Baguio City. We have been privileged to use their newer and improved multipurpose hall for a third time.

The Feast started out our traditional opening night service on the evening of Sept. 27 with the message being delivered by the festival coordinator. We were expecting an attendance of only about 110 this year but were pleasantly surprised to have our highest attendance reach 162 on the seventh day of the Feast, surpassing our expectations by 147 percent! This was even higher than our highest attendance last year of 127. We had a few of our overseas brethren come from Australia and the United States, as well as a good number of prospective members attending the Feast with us for the first time.

Although there was a typhoon during the second half of the Feast that brought in some rain and strong winds, we were still blessed with relatively good weather conditions during most days of the Feast. The city tour, which was scheduled on the day the typhoon hit the city, was only activity we had to cancel during the Feast.

We were privileged to have David and Denise Dobson for the second half of the Feast. The Dobsons spent the first half of the Feast with our brethren in the Visayas in our Leyte site.

The messages were all uplifting, inspiring and encouraging. Although the webcast sermon by Victor Kubik was not downloaded in time during the Feast, we were still able to view his message on the following Sabbath after the Feast.

The festival show this year was held on the fourth day, in time for the arrival of the Dobsons. It featured festive songs and dances from a number of countries from around the world. Featured were native Filipino songs, popular music and classic folk dances, which included the famous Tinikling. Various wholesome activities were prepared for both the young and old, where everyone had the opportunity to enjoy fun, food, fellowship and games. Among the activities were the youth day activities for the pre-teens and teens held on the second day, the family day on the third day, and the seniors dinner on the sixth day hosted by the teens and young adults.

Everyone present seemed to have felt they were so much blessed by our great God with a greater level of joy, unity, love and togetherness during this year’s Feast. This year’s Feast of Tabernacles and Eighth Day will again be remembered as one of the most inspiring and spiritually uplifting Feasts ever.