Baguio Festival Report

Baguio City was once again one of three Feast sites for the United Church of God, IA here in the Philippines. For three consecutive years now, the services for the Feast of Tabernacles were held at the conference hall of Ang Ating Tahanan grounds of the Girl Scout of the Philippines. The hall has a capacity limit of about 150.

The Feast started out with an opening night service on the evening of October 10. We were expecting a maximum attendance of about 110, but we already hit that number in the afternoon of the first day. The attendance grew each day so much so that by the Last Great Day, we almost reached the capacity limit when our highest attendance hit 147! This attendance was even greater than what we had two years ago when Baguio City became the combined Feast site for both our Luzon and our Visayan brethren here in the Philippines (our highest attendance then was 139).

God did not just bless us with good attendance this year, but more so, with equally inspiring messages that focused the feastgoers on seriously making this Feast their most spiritual Feast ever. We were all likewise inspired by the message and the fresh new approach in the Festival video sent from the Home Office. Featuring the experiences of our Mexican brethren in that video really helped us better appreciate how much we share the same sentiments and vision.

Mr. David Baker, our senior pastor for Asia spent the second half of the Feast with us together with his wife, Mrs. Dorrie Baker, and their two children: Hannah and Jonathan. His messages and their presence greatly helped to encourage and inspire all of us in this Feast site.

Various activities were held for the young and old alike as well as for the whole family, where everyone had the opportunity to enjoy fun, food, fellowship and games. Among the activities were the youth day activities for the teens and the preteens, family day, city tour and the seniors dinner. For those who loved to sing, we had a videoke night. The brethren were likewise treated to a Festival Show, where native Filipino songs, folk dances, and a comedy skit were performed by many of the brethren themselves to the delight and enjoyment of everyone present.
The Feast ended with all the brethren feeling inspired, spiritually rejuvenated and eagerly looking forward to the next Feast of Tabernacles—but more so, to what it truly pictures: the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

—Contributed by Rey Evasco

Davao Festival Report

The Davao festival site was attended by more than 300 members and affiliates from the 15 congregations in Mindanao and a few other families from Luzon. We also had guests from the U.S. —the Mortiers from Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Daniel Frayer from Albuquerque, New Mexico; and David Rogers from Denver, Colorado. The highest attendance was 305. Services were held at the Region 11 RELC (Regional Educational Learning Center) compound of the Department of Education in Davao City, where the Davao congregation meets for weekly Sabbath services. The main meeting room was the Diamond Hall (with a seating capacity of 250), while the Pearl room (with a seating capacity of 100) had a video hook-up and a big-screen TV for the rest of the membership who needed to have the services translated into Cebuano, the local dialect.

We had the blessing of good weather, inspiring messages, beautiful flowers, uplifting special music, eight baptisms, two weddings, a 62 percent increase in the holy day offering, and 54 people who attended for the first time during a Good News public Bible lecture held on the second day of the Feast! We also had a colorful variety show, the first Ladies’ Night for the newly-revived Spokesman and Graduate Club, a family day at the beach, and various activities for the kids, teens, singles, and seniors. (Those baptized were: Annaliza Arceo, Josepilar Jr. and Nelia Bermudez, Simplicio Cambare, Eliza Curato, Lorna Dagani, and Ely and Virginia Fernandez. The two couples married were Jeb and Laurie [Macaraeg] Mortier and Daniel and Paulette [Cebrian] Frayer.)

We would like to extend our gratitude to the Home Office and certain of our brethren in the US for their generosity in the form of financial assistance, donated Bibles, used clothing, books, toys, and other gifts. Thank you very much!

—Contributed by Daniel Roy Macaraeg

Iloilo Festival Report

This year’s Feast of Tabernacles for the Visayan brethren of the United Church of God in the Philippines was held in Punta Villa, Iloilo City, the same venue where the Festival was held last year. The Church in the Visayas area continued to have modest growth.

One hundred three of God's people rejoiced this year during the Feast which includes the Last Great Day. The Visayan brethren were privileged to have a number of foreign guests in their midst: four from Canada, six from Sabah, Malaysia, and five from the U.S., including the family of David Baker, our visiting minister and senior pastor of UCG in the Philippines. The family of Mr. Baker spent the first half of the Feast with the brethren in Iloilo. Three congregations were represented in the Feast site this year: Sabang, Baybay Leyte; Tacloban City, Leyte; and Bacolod City.

As in the previous years, the brethren were blessed with the spiritual messages they received from various speakers pointing to the world tomorrow and what to expect when Christ will start to rule the earth together with His saints. The Festival Video presentation, “Being About our Father’s Business,” gave much benefit and excitement to the brethren as they had been updated of how the Church fulfilled its God-given task in preaching the gospel and making them understand the plan of God and their part in ruling the earth. This Festival pictures the time when the Kingdom of God would be established and Christ will rule on earth.

Many brethren, especially those who have attended the Festival for the first time, expressed their positive comments about the Church, the abundance of food they shared together, and the fine accommodation, which they had not experienced before. Many wished that if it were possible, the Festival must not come to an end and that it should be that way until Christ will return.

One touching experience was related to us by six brethren who came from Sabah, Malaysia. They were stranded for one day in Sitangkai Island, their first stop going to the Philippines. The following day, they were able to make the trip to Bongao and Zamboanga City. Adding to the problems and the difficulties of their travel, they lost their cellular phone so there was no way to communicate with us in Bacolod and Iloilo. But asking God in prayers to lead His children to the place where He put His name for the Feast availed much. The Sabah brethren finally arrived in Iloilo after several days of hard travel, during the second day of the Feast.

In the middle of the Festival, one soul was added to the church by way of baptism when Rhodora Boldios of Inopacan, Leyte, a wife and mother of two, committed herself to follow God and His way of life.

The Feast of Tabernacles ended with mixed emotions from the brethren, especially during the departure time when many eyes were wet with tears, not wanting to see their new found friends and brethren go. Promises were made to meet each other again next year at the Feast of Tabernacles 2004.

Our heartfelt thanks and gratefulness goes out, first of all, to our loving Father who showered us His love and concern, and to the Home Office, for helping to make this year's Feast one of the best we had so far!

—Contributed by Florante Siopan