Greetings for a new year and a new millennium (at least by the Roman calendar and computation). I hope that the year 2000 was good for each of you, though it was a year of trial for many of you. We experienced so many examples of God's protection of His people from the giant fires of the Mountain States in North America. And in South Africa, Colombia, and the Philippines our brethren have been spared from political violence and personal crime. I marvel at His mercy and greatness.
Here in San Diego we have begun the year with a serious fire that has burned over thousands of acres and numerous buildings including some homes. The current drought in San Diego County is approaching record proportions, so we appreciate knowing that we have God's protection.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE:
Mr. Meredith has used the break from recording Tomorrow's World TV programs to prepare and record presentations to post on the Internet. Bonnie Miller (Mr. Meredith's secretary since 1994) has accepted a new position offered back in Tennessee (a marriage proposal!) so Mr. Meredith is coping with change in that department.
MEDIA:
Mr. Richard Ames went to Arizona for a few days to visit family and brethren there — and re-injured his back. I expect to see him back in the office tomorrow, but I cannot predict his physical condition.
End-of-the year statistics are in for the Church's www.lcg.org and www.tomorrowsworld.org Web sites. The following is a summary of statistics prepared by Mr. William Bowmer.
In 2000, there were 64,091 downloads of the Tomorrow's World program from
the Church Web site — 34,135 in video format and 29,956 in audio. That is
in addition to the many who watch the program online. The most frequently
downloaded Tomorrow's World program in both audio and video formats was Dr.
Meredith's "Who Is the Antichrist?"
There were 46,427 sermon audios downloaded from www.lcg.org during
2000 — a little less than 900 per week. The most downloaded sermon was Dr.
Meredith's message, "Prepare for Tough Times Ahead," followed by his
messages "How Easily Can You Be Deceived?" and "Seeking God."
Some of you must really like getting your news online; 13,839 copies of the
Living Church News were downloaded in .PDF format during 2000.
From January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000, more than 373 gigabytes of
data — mostly in RealPlayer and .PDF formats — were downloaded from the
Church Web sites. Download activity more than tripled from 1999 to 2000.
Since the sites' inception in early 1999, users from at least 113 known
countries have downloaded more than 485 gigabytes of material.
INTERNATIONAL:
We are still waiting for resolution of the problem holding up Mr. Douglas Winnail's move to the United Kingdom. Your prayers for a positive resolution of this matter would be appreciated by the brethren in the UK.
Mr. Jonathan McNair returns tomorrow from a trip to Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Jamaica. We received a preliminary report from him today indicating that the brethren are doing well. In Barbados, a wedding was planned for last Sunday but emergency surgery for appendicitis caused a postponement. We offer our condolences to the bride and groom, but a March wedding is a small delay in comparison to loss of life.
CONCLUSION:
The terrible ice storm in the mid south has wreaked havoc in Arkansas, Oklahoma and neighboring states. Your prayers for the brethren there are certainly appreciated. I have received no reports of our members having suffered serious personal economic loss or damage to health. Let us not let down in our supplications for one another.
I will conclude with a story that I found humorous. I cannot recall who sent it to me, but I hope you enjoy it too.
A Protestant was taken into a hospital staffed by Catholic nuns. After emergency coronary surgery, a "Sister of Mercy" comforted him, assuring him that he was going to be just fine. "We need to know, however, how you intend to pay for your stay here. Are you covered by insurance, she asked? "
"No, I am not," he whispered quietly.
"Can you pay in cash?" asked the nun.
"I am afraid I cannot, Sister," he replied.
"Well, do you have any close relatives," the nun asked.
"Just my sister in California, but she is a humble spinster nun," he answered.
"Oh, I must correct you, sir. Nuns are not 'Spinsters.' They are married to God," asserted the Sister.
"Wonderful" the man replied. "In that case, please send the bill to my brother in law!"
Jesus promised His peace to His disciples as He was departing this life. Strangely, His peace sustains us through troublous times because we have a vision of His Kingdom of Peace.
I hope you have a great Sabbath, and peace through what promises to be a turbulent new year.
Carl E. McNair