It is commonly said that travel is one of the best forms of education. In connection with our attending the latest General Conference of Elders, we had the opportunity to gain some valuable biblical insights and information which I would like to share with you.

My wife and I left Manila May 1 on a Philippine Airlines flight direct to Vancouver, Canada. We were met at the airport by my sister (fifth among 14 siblings in our family; we haven’t seen her for seven years), together with her husband (whom we have not seen for nine years), plus of course their two children. She and her husband first met in Toronto more than 15 years ago when both were still working there and later got married.

Insights Into South Africa

Her husband, being of Dutch descent was born and grew up in South Africa and is knowledgeable about the history, culture, and the languages even of the surrounding nations. We talked for several hours. He is familiar even with the tribes whose language include a clicking sound in their palate (as heard in the movie: “The Gods Must Be Crazy”). When I asked how is that sound represented in our Roman alphabet? He said by the letter “x” as in the “Xhosa” tribe of Africa. Unknown to me, that word should be pronounced starting with a clicking sound followed immediately with the two other syllables. Interesting!

Years after their marriage, they went back to South Africa to establish a business. However, they came back to Canada two years ago because of the very high crime rate, and the constant threat especially to white people. There is so much stories to tell in this regard which we barely know about. I could see that the peoples of those nations are in a state of tribulation much earlier than other peoples of this world. Yet there is a need for preaching the gospel to them also. For now, all we can pray is, “Thy kingdom come,” and may it be soon.

While in Vancouver, we also had the opportunity to dine together with a Filipino Church of God family who used to attend the San Pedro, Laguna congregation which I formerly pastored in the ‘80s. They have migrated to Vancouver, Canada a few years ago.

Japheth Shall Dwell in the Tents of Shem

Also unknown to most of us is the fact that Vancouver has a very large Chinese population! From what I have observed in going around, it seems that almost 50 percent are Chinese plus other nationalities. In fact, it is now considered the Hong Kong of Canada! Surprisingly, out of the several hundred passengers in our recent flight to Vancouver, there were just a handful of whites, while the rest were mostly Chinese, and secondly Filipinos. This development seems a fulfillment of the prophecy where it says that “God shall enlarge Japheth (Oriental race), and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem (white race)” (Genesis 9:27).

Technological Superiority of the U.S.

Our next stop was a visit to our daughter Laurie and her husband Jeb in the City of Fond du Lac in Wisconsin. This state is both a manufacturing and a dairy-producing area adjacent to the Great Lakes region. Grain silos are a common sight here, because their cows are mostly grain-fed and kept in barns, rather than out grazing on pasture land.

Jeb works as Internet Marketing Specialist for Sheffield Measurement Corporation; a subsidiary of Hexagon Metrology of North America. Among other products, their company produces great multi-ton computerized precision laser measuring equipment for high-tech products. For example, their giant laser scanners do not travel along the multi-ton polished granite bed on roller bearings (as may be expected), but rather and surprisingly on air-bearings so that there is no surface contact nor vibration and it is so precise!

Jeb’s parents (our in-laws and family) are all UCG members and they live just about 15 miles from them. On the Sabbath of May 7, I was given the privilege and opportunity by Mr. Mike Hanisko, the UCG pastor there, to use both sermonette and sermon time to deliver the messages during that Sabbath to the Oshkosh, Wisconsin congregation. Like in many other congregations, the brethren are warm, and many of them are elderly.

On a more personal note, my wife and I are expecting to be grandparents when Laurie delivers their first child in early November. A recent scan shows that it is a boy. Please help pray for a healthy baby and a safe delivery.

On May 12, we proceeded to Cincinnati for the International Elders’ Meeting scheduled to start the next day. More details concerning the GCE are in other sections of this issue.