Greetings everyone,
The Council of Elders meetings (August 26-28) opened with a welcoming message by Mr. Meredith on Monday morning, August 26 at 9:30 a.m. He strongly reminded us of our main mission to preach the gospel and to feed the flock (Matthew 28:18-20; John 21:15-17), as he wrote in his latest member co-worker letter, and he gave an overview of the agenda items to be discussed.
The Council of Elders reviewed the relocation project by a thorough presentation from Mr. Meredith and Mr. Bardo. Everyone on the Council is excited about the prospect of moving to an area that will reduce our overhead expense and permit us to allocate more funds to preaching the gospel and to feeding the flock.
Tuesday was devoted to doctrinal questions and administrative matters. We will never run out of questions to review!
Report From the West Indies
My son Jonathan and I have just returned from a visit to the area he oversees in the Caribbean. Here is our overview of the areas we visited.
Guyana
Approximately twenty-five people meet in Georgetown on the Sabbath. The group includes senior citizens who were baptized years ago, and newer members who were called through the recent telecast.
We expect the attendance to be approximately fifty people for the Feast of Tabernacles this year with all from in-country attending.
Trinidad
The telecast in Trinidad continues to generate a tremendous response, averaging approximately 220 responses every week! Last week 270 callers requested the literature offered.
The Associate Pastor, Fitzroy Greeman, directs an enthusiastic Spokesman Club, with about twenty men involved. The club continues to be a key element in preparation for serving future members.
Combined attendance of the two groups (San Fernando and Port of Spain) is approximately eighty-five people.
Barbados
The telecast generates about seventy responses each week, and we now have approximately 3000 people receiving the Tomorrow's World magazine. The television signal from Barbados carries to St. Lucia and other nearby islands. Regular Sabbath attendance (now over forty people) has doubled in the last two years, some just recently baptized members.
Under the leadership of Elder Mr. Hugh Wilson, the church in Jamaica has grown well during the past year. The telecast averages about sixty responses a week.
All of the congregations in the islands total two hundred members, and the average response to the telecast is 350 per week.
News From Nairobi, Kenya
Mr. Ernest Owino reports:
I just arrived back from a physically tiring but very spiritually beneficial trip to Western Kenya. This last Sabbath of August 24, I was able to serve our three congregations in Western Kenya.
My first service was at Got Kojowi, with Sabbath attendance of 26.The services at Got Kojowi started 8:30 a.m. From there, we dashed off to Ndhiwa, arriving around 11:30 a.m. In Ndhiwa, I spoke to over 70 brethren about God's Holy Days, we left about 2:00 for Oyugis (about 70 miles away) for the final Sabbath service of that day. Both Ndhiwa and Got Kojowi hosts accompanied me to Oyugis, and we had 16 people for our late afternoon discussions there.
We left Oyugis for at 9:45 p.m. for a small town called Rongo to the south—about 65 miles away—arriving there just before 11:00 p.m. We booked into a motel and after breakfast in the morning, Sunday, August 25, we left for a small shopping center southwest of Rongo known as Opoya, to visit with a small group of Seventh-Day Adventists who had requested a visit, having read our literature. We were joyfully welcomed into the home of a leading S.D.A. man whom we had visited before but was longing to have discussions with us again.
We drove to Got Kojowi and spent the night, returning to Nairobi on Monday morning.
Arklow, Ireland Feast Site
Dr. Doug Winnail submitted the following directions for those coming to Arklow for this year's Feast.
Having visited the site last May, I urge those of you who plan to attend to print out the directions and put the copy in your Bible!
Driving through Dublin: Leave the airport and follow signs toward Dublin on the M1 motorway. Two miles south of the airport get on the M50 South around the west side of Dublin. At the end of the M50 follow signs to Dundrum and to Dun Laoghaire Ferry Port. This road will eventually dead-end into the N11. Turn right on the N11 and head toward Arklow. Driving time from Dublin airport to Arklow should be about 2 hours. There will be a registration/information table at the Arklow Bay Hotel.
Children's Choir Announcement—Eau Claire, WI Feast Site
Parents of children wishing to participate in the children's festival choir in Eau Claire, WI, please contact Mrs. Val Burgett for practice tapes and lyrics.
Mr. & Mrs. Val Burgett
P. O. Box 61
Narrows, VA 24124
Email: [email protected]
FROM THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT (repeat) For the U.S. Only
October hall vouchers need to be received no later than September 10, 2002 in order for payment to be made before the Feast break. The final check run before the break will be Thursday, September 12, 2002. Hall vouchers received after September 10 will not be able to be paid until Thursday, October 3, 2002.
LAST GREAT DAY SERMON INSTRUCTIONS (repeat)
Mr. Meredith has requested that those preaching on the Last Great Day should cover the meaning of the day, as his videotaped sermon does not cover that subject. Please note that this year's "Behind the Work" tape is 50 minutes long, so whoever has the sermon afterward should plan on speaking at "split-sermon" length.
While it is always inspiring to visit brethren in churches everywhere, it is especially encouraging to me to visit brethren in the far-flung or out-of-the-way areas. What a wonderful Father and Savior, calling people from every ethnic, economic and geographic area around the world! While each of us has a preference for a particular climate and environment, we can appreciate that our brethren in distant lands each love their country for the good things they have.
God loves diversity—He created it—but scientists have proven that the more closely one examines matter, the more one sees unity of design. Have a great Sabbath.
Carl E. McNair