Greetings from Charlotte,
Inclement weather and disasters made headlines again this week as floods inundated areas of the American Midwest, a major earthquake killed hundreds in China and a building containing some 5,000 workers collapsed in Bangladesh. Prophecies in Matthew 24 have long warned that such events would mark the approaching end of the age. Here in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith has been writing and holding meetings. Plans are proceeding for summer camps and the Feast of Tabernacles. We are in the final stages of office renovations here in Charlotte so everyone is getting back to more normal routines. Mr. Rod McNair reports that the Tomorrow's World Presentations went well in Appleton and Green Bay, Wisconsin with more than 50 people responding to invitations. Mr. Phil West will make follow-up presentations this coming weekend. Mr. Hernandez and I are back in Charlotte after visiting with brethren in several South American countries and holding a very positive conference in Medellin, Colombia. It was very inspiring to see the dedication and experience the warmth of our brethren and leaders in that part of the world. It was also very encouraging to see that we had a worldwide average attendance of about 8,460 in March, which was up about 3.1 percent over March 2012. Please note there are several updates below regarding Feast sites around the world.—DSW
Church Administration
Tomorrow's World Presents in Menasha and Green Bay, Wisconsin
We were very excited to see an enthusiastic response to the Tomorrow's World presentations last week in Wisconsin, with a combined figure of 6.5 percent response from the subscriber list. On Saturday, April 20, twenty-five visitors joined more than twenty brethren for "The Gathering Storm" presentation in Menasha, Wisconsin. Twenty-eight other visitors joined fifteen brethren for the next day's presentation in Green Bay, Wisconsin, just 30 minutes up the road. Guests we spoke with from this conservative part of the country are clearly disturbed by events transpiring in America today. They were quite eager to hear what the Bible says about their future. Pastor Phil West, his wife and the local brethren—and some who came from hours away—did an outstanding job of providing a friendly and welcoming environment for our visitors. We are looking forward to see the fruit borne from Mr. West's follow-up messages this Sabbath.—Rod McNair
Visit to Peru
On March 13, Mr. Armando Orrego and his wife, Juliana, arrived in Lima to make preparations for holding the Feast in Peru this year. On Friday at midday we were able to reach a good agreement with a hotel in Cuzco. We will also research the area for activities and to negotiate prices and we hope to schedule some visits to archaeological sites.
On Sabbath morning we travelled back to Lima for services. The brethren there expressed much gladness for Mr. and Mrs. Orrego's visit and for the news of the Feast site. We also had counseling sessions and discussed prophecy. In the evening hours, two people who have been attending with us for about a year were baptized in the Pacific Ocean. It was a joy for all of us and we wish God's blessing on them.
On Sunday morning, March 17, Mr. and Mrs. Orrego returned to Colombia.—Eden Hurtado
Carolina Singles Weekend 2013—Repeat Announcement
Registration is open for Carolina Singles Weekend 2013! You can register on our Charlotte congregation page, charlottelcg.org (not an official Church Web site), as well as see the full schedule. The dates are Friday, May 24 to Monday, May 27. We will be having lots of wonderful messages, exciting activities, great fellowship and delicious food. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Darren Brinson at [email protected]. We hope to see y'all there!—Darren Brinson
Living Youth Programs
Online Teen Bible Study—Friday Evening
The Bible Study on Friday evening, May 3, will be on "The Law of God" and will be presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for the online Bible Studies yet, I encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful way to start the Sabbath Day.
The chat room is open at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) and the Bible Study runs from 8:00-9:00 p.m. You can access this Bible Study at livingyouth.org. We hope as many of our youth as possible will join us for this wonderful opportunity for godly fellowship and learning. For those of you who are unable to make it to the study, archives of previous Living Youth Bible Studies, including last evening's on "Healing," can also be found on the Living Youth Web site.—Josh Penman
LYC Teen Camp 2013—Camp Lazarus, Delaware, Ohio—Repeat Announcement
This camp is filling up fast! Please send in your applications as soon as possible if you would like to attend.—Sheldon Monson
Texas Pre-Teen Camp Two Months Away!—Repeat Announcement
Important: If you are planning to apply for the Texas Pre-Teen Camp, please do so soon! Since camp starts in two months, camper and staff positions need to be determined as soon as possible.
Registration is now open for summer fun at LYC Texas Pre-Teen Camp, June 16–21 at Camp Whispering Cedars in Dallas—six days of recreation, fellowship, sports and adventure for pre-teens and their families.
Campers ages 7–12 will participate in full days of challenging activities while making friendships that will last a lifetime. Mini campers ages 6 and under will take part in many of the activities their older siblings do, but with more unstructured time for games, crafts, and play. Older siblings, campers ages 13 and 14, will be a part of our camper/staff training program and have an opportunity to learn and practice skills needed to be an effective camp staff member while also partaking in many of the activities provided for the campers. Parents are always needed to fill our staff positions, and more importantly, to create the family atmosphere that has always been a big part of LYC Texas Pre-Teen Camp. We encourage all who are interested in attending to register by filling out the applications online at lyc.lcg.org. If you are unable to apply online, you may receive a paper copy of the application by calling Jenny Penman at 704-844-1960, ext. 2283. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Camp Director, Mr. Phil Sena, by phone at 512-535-6771, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Youth Fund—Please Announce
The Living Church of God is striving to have the best summer camps possible! We seek to have excellent programs offering a variety of exciting and challenging activities at all of our camps. It is our goal to keep the cost of tuition low enough that our young people can afford to attend and offer scholarships to deserving young people. The Living Church of God has allotted some resources to help make this possible. However, in our quest to "raise the bar" we would like to purchase additional equipment (i.e. water polo goals, a backstop for softball, some new mattresses, etc.) for the Teen Camp in Ohio, as well as purchase five additional bungalows (small 10ft x 10ft buildings) for staff housing. We also would like to continue to offer an outstanding Adventure Camp and quality pre-teen camps in Texas, Missouri, and West Virginia.
In order to keep the tuition costs low, we could use your donations. If you would like to donate to the Youth Fund to offset program costs that are above and beyond the monies we collect for tuition, you can send a check to Living Church of God and designate the check for the "Youth Program." Your donations will be greatly appreciated. This is considered a charitable donation and you will receive a receipt at the end of the year for tax purposes.—Jerry Ruddlesden and Sheldon Monson
Feast of Tabernacles
Cuzco, Peru
We are pleased to announce that English language translation will be available at the festival site in Cuzco, Peru. Cuzco is located in a valley surrounded by scenic mountains and is situated at an elevation of about 11,000 feet above sea level. It was the capital of the Inca Empire and is near many interesting archaeological sites. We will have room for a number of international transfers. For more information, contact Christian Orrego at [email protected].
New Vanuatu Feast Site
The new Feast site in Vanuatu still has places available for overseas visitors. This year the Feast will be held in Luganville which is on the island of Espiritu Santo. Luganville has many restaurant and accommodation facilities.
The island has an abundance of beautiful, almost deserted sandy beaches. There are "blue holes," which are large, natural, fresh water springs in the jungle. These are encrusted with coral and are wonderful for swimming or snorkeling. There are many ocean sites for snorkeling or scuba diving over WWII wrecks or coral reefs. The sea around the island is a fisherman's paradise. For those who enjoy hiking, there are many bush trails over a variety of terrains. Espiritu Santo was home to the stone-age Lapita people and there are archaeological sites relating to them and to Spanish occupation. There are also rich sites relating to American/Japanese action during WWII.
If you have never experienced Melanesian culture, food and hospitality, come to Luganville for a memorable Feast of Tabernacles.—Kinnear Penman
Registration for 2014 Israel Feast Tour
We will be opening up registration for the 2014 Feast Tour on May 5 at 12 noon, Eastern time. Registration will only be open for a few weeks, so if you are interested in going on this trip to the Holy Land, make sure you sign up early. The tour for 2014 will be very similar to the 2013 Feast tour. You can see the information regarding this year's trip on the Jerusalem, Israel page of the fot2013.lcg.org Web site. A more complete and downloadable description including this year's costs for the tour are on the My LCG section of the cogl.org Web site. If you can afford the time and money to go on this tour of a lifetime, get ready to sign up.—Jim Meredith
Internet
Last week we launched our new, monthly video report titled "Around the World," which gives a summary of some of the highlights of the past month from our Regional Offices. Last week we published three Internet commentaries: "Why Do We Pay Taxes?" by Roger Meyer (1,517 pageviews), "What the World Needs Now" by Richard Wilson (1,924 pageviews) and "A Pale Horse" by Davy Crockett (2,939 pageviews). Currently, the TomorrowsWorld Twitter account is very active and supports more than 30,000 unique followers.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Comments
Are You in Satan's Crosshairs? The Bible contains numerous warnings about Satan and how he operates to deceive, divide and destroy people. Satan moves like a hunting lion, carefully stalking his unsuspecting prey (1 Peter 5:8). He is a dangerous adversary always searching for vulnerable individuals (1 Timothy 5:14-15). Satan does not hunt using claws or bullets, but instead spreads gossip, rumors and lies about other people (1 Timothy 5:13; Leviticus 19:16; John 8:44). He encourages sharing confidential information to discredit others (Proverbs 11:13; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13). He will also use anyone—members and ministers—to sow doubts, discord and do his work (2 Corinthians 11:11-15). Satan zeros in on people who have doubts, hurts and resentments or who feel wronged or overlooked or whose ideas, opinions or ambitions are denied. He uses individuals to criticize, lash out and undermine others. We are warned not to be ignorant of Satan's devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). We must also be able to recognize and resist Satan's attempts to deceive and divide (1 Peter 5:9) so we do not become unsuspecting victims of negative attitudes that he beams at those in his crosshairs (Ephesians 2:2).
Have a profitable Sabbath!
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—April 25, 2013
Highways Desolate: Bible prophecies warn of curses to come on the Israelite-descended nations because of their outright rejection of God and His laws. One of God's punishments for disobedience will be "your highways shall be desolate" (Leviticus 26:22). Recent events in the United States and Canada reveal how this prophecy might be fulfilled. Last week in Boston, during a manhunt for a bombing suspect, the city mandated that residents remain in their homes. Businesses were closed, children could not play out of doors, and only police cars and armored vehicles were allowed on streets—the roads and highways were desolate (The New Yorker, April 19, 2013). Concurrently, a portion of the U.S.'s largest "highway"—the Mississippi River—also came to a grinding halt. "Barge shipping on the Illinois River and parts of the Mississippi River will remain impeded until at least early next week as the flood-swollen waterways slowly recede from record- or near-record-high crests" (Reuters, April 23, 2013; Reuters, April 22, 2013). This followed a partial shut-down of river traffic in both August and December of last year, due to low water levels in the river system (Reuters, August 20, 2012; Reuters, December 26, 2012). Also this week, many major U.S. airports experienced significant flight delays due to budgetary furloughs of air traffic controllers (The New York Times, April 23, 2013). In Canada, a plot targeting an international railway train—another highway—was foiled this week (National Post, April 22, 2013). These sobering events provide a glimpse of things to come if our nations fail to return to God.
Earthquakes Continue in Various Places: In recent weeks, two earthquakes in Iran have caused significant damage and death. "A powerful earthquake struck a border area of southeast Iran on Tuesday killing at least 35 people in neighboring Pakistan, destroying hundreds of houses and shaking buildings as far away as India and Gulf Arab states… It was the second big quake to hit Iran in a week. On April 9, a powerful 6.3 magnitude quake struck close to the Bushehr nuclear power station, killing 37 people, injuring 850 and devastating two villages… Iran sits on major geological fault-lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 that flattened the city of Bam, in Iran's far southeast, killing more than 25,000 people" (Reuters, April 16, 2013). Another powerful earthquake recently struck Papua New Guinea, near where the devastating 1998 tsunami also struck (Al Jazeera, April 17, 2013). And this week, a powerful, 6.6 quake struck China's Sichuan province, killing 200 people and leaving over 100,000 homeless (The Guardian, April 21, 2013). Jesus Christ warned that prior to His return, "earthquakes" and "great earthquakes" will occur in "various places" around the world (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11). As these events occur, we need to remember that the "kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:31). For more on sobering end-time events, view our telecast, "How To Know When Christ Will Return!"—Scott Winnail, Michael Tyler and Justin Ridgeway