The first stop was Ivory Coast. I visited our brethren in the village of La Mé. I held a Bible study on the topic of prayer, took many Bible questions and counseled several people for baptism. One of our local leaders, Paul Tia, was very ill with a large abscess and had to be hospitalized the day after I left. He underwent an operation and is now recovering well. In Lomé, Togo, we had 3½ days of leadership seminars in our new Good Works-sponsored Church hall. Eight men came to Togo from Ivory Coast, Benin, Cameroon and Rwanda. An additional five men from Togo participated. We spent a great deal of time covering our fundamental beliefs in detail. We also covered how to set priorities in service, wisdom and discernment, organization for the Feast, preparing and delivering "difficult scripture" sermonettes and the importance of living by faith. On the Sabbath, Jean-Marie Mundeli, our elder in Rwanda, joined me in ordaining Kossi Fiaboé as an elder. Mr. Fiaboé has been a pillar in the Church in Togo for many years. We also ordained Pierre Kloutsé, also of Lomé, a deacon. After a 36-hour trip, I arrived in Bujumbura, Burundi, to visit several congregations of Sabbath-keepers. The elder who cares for them, Nathan Mokeshimana, was ordained by the Church of God (Seventh Day). He is sometimes assisted by Moïse Ntigirinzigo. These men found UCG on the Internet; we've been corresponding for several years, but this was my first visit. Burundi is in the aftermath of a civil war that split the country along tribal lines. There are still occasional outbreaks of violence. A few days before, a French aid worker was ambushed and killed. I told Nathan and Moïse that I wanted to check with the U.S. embassy before deciding if I would travel into their rural area. They told me I didn't have anything to worry about—we were Christians! I smiled and reminded them that Jesus said we shouldn't tempt God. The embassy security officer told me that their personnel did not go to that province, but there hadn't been any recent reports of trouble there. He said if I did go, it was vital that I be back before dark. The first day I met with members from three congregations. My sermon each time was based on Revelation 17:14: Those who will be with Christ at His return will be "called, chosen and faithful." On the second day I met for seven hours with 15 congregational leaders. We went through our fundamental beliefs booklet, and I answered their questions. I found there are a few issues that will need further study for them: They use grape juice for the Passover and don't understand about all the annual Holy Days. They urgently requested another visit soon. From Burundi I flew to Nairobi, Kenya, where I had to spend one night. It was sad to see people in beautiful Kenya so upset and afraid because of the post-election violence. At least 1,000 people had been killed, women and children even burned alive in their homes. The tourist hotels were empty, and the taxi driver told me that even a few days earlier we could not have driven into town from the airport: the car would have been stoned, he said, and the police were shooting rather indiscriminately at crowds to try to restore order. My next stop was the beautiful Indian Ocean nation of the Seychelles. We have a number of French and English subscribers there, and we had received several visit requests. I met with three people and had a phone conversation with a fourth. Two of the visits seemed very promising. After the flight to Paris, I drove to Belgium, where I had been invited to speak to an independent congregation with an attendance of around 100. On the Sabbath I was able to have an hour's visit with the pastor, Jean Carion, whom I have known for many years. He was 84 years old. Sadly, Mr. Carion died the following Friday. My visit was warmly received. Time will tell how our relationship with this congregation will develop, but it was pleasant to see old friends after 15 years. Thank you for your prayers for guidance and protection both for our brethren in such far-flung areas and for those who travel to serve them. UN