My wife and I made a trip to Sabah in East Malaysia last June 26, a day after the Sabbath services in Isabel, Leyte. After three days—from Cebu to Dipolog, Dumaguete and Zamboanga—we finally reached the brethren in Semporna.

In Sabah, we had 24 people in attendance for the Sabbath service on July 2. In the evening of the same day, I officiated the wedding ceremony of Glory Ann and Ireneo Suaner. Glory Ann is the daughter of Ruperta Betoy, a member in Semporna, Sabah. The wedding was held at Seafest Hotel and was attended by about a hundred people.

The following day, three people who committed to follow God for the rest of their lives were baptized in a nearby beach resort. They were Edmond and Grace Diaz and Ketchel Betoy.

Barely two weeks after arriving home from Sabah, Candido Merino, a deacon in Sabang congregation, died of a stroke in his residence in Conalum, Inopacan, Leyte at 2:00 am. He was brought to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Candido is survived by his wife Nenita; his children Cielo, Cherry, and Joseph; and by his brother, sisters, and widowed mother.