He was accompanied by his wife Lorna as well as 15 friends and family members.

Mr. Macaraeg enthusiastically greeted his audience and mentioned the need to learn about the brethren who live on the other side of the world who are also members of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13-14) and about God’s work there (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

The Church there is able to preach the gospel and prepare a people with the guidance and support of the elders, the acting senior pastor for the area, Earl Roemer, and the dedicated office staff. The use of special equipment such as a video camera and a DVD duplicator has been an asset to the work there.

Mr. Macaraeg shared different strategies that the Philippine area uses to preach the Gospel such as mall exhibits, public lectures, radio programs, the Kingdom of God seminars and the promotion of The Good News on the Internet and by including a message on The Good News wrapper for the subscriber to refer the magazine to three of their friends.

The radio program, providentially, was able to obtain a great time slot when one of its listeners, a former subscriber of the German Plain Truth, asked to run the broadcast on his radio program from 9:00-9:30 p.m.

The office handles the distribution of 18,101 magazines, including approximately 6,000 magazines for other Asian countries. Hence, when the cost of mailing was to be tripled due to an increase in pages and weight, a letter was sent to the postmaster general for consideration. The reply received was favorable but had two conditions: that they should receive a copy of every issue of the magazine and that the Philippine post office seal should be printed on the wrapper of the magazine with the inscription “Philippine Post: a partner of The Good News in its mission to spread the gospel worldwide!”

Weekly Sabbath services are provided to 19 church congregations as well as an additional nine video groups. The Philippine Church also provides DVD sermon distribution, United News Philippines, Sabbath school programs for the children, an annual United Youth Camp, leadership programs, Ambassador Club for men, flower arrangement for women and, during the Feast of Tabernacles, Bible studies and forums that give opportunities for scattered members to have their questions answered. There are two Feast of Tabernacles sites—in Davao City and Baguio City—with around 450 and 125 in attendance, respectively.

The Church also helps the brethren and students be excused from their work or school on the Sabbath since these exemptions are provided for in the Philippines Constitution. In addition, the labor code also mandates the following: “However the employer should respect the preference of employees as to their weekly rest day when such preference is based on religious ground”.

This labor code provision was promulgated in the 1970s when Herbert Armstrong requested that his good friend and late secretary of labor, Blas Ople, incorporate it in the labor code to help the brethren in the Philippines.

The legislation was also adopted by the Department of Education, exempting “personnel and students belonging to religious groups where Saturday is their rest or church day,” that they should not be required to attend seminars, examinations, special classes, trainings and other school activities on Saturday.

Two difficulties that the Church has encountered are translation of messages into different dialects during the Feast and transportation due to distance and road conditions. Even visiting some brethren becomes impossible due to road conditions. A vehicle with limited slip differential makes traveling difficult road conditions possible.

In conclusion, Mr. Macaraeg referred to Romans 12:2 to illustrate that we need to pray for one another knowing the trials and challenges each member has in this world.