It is a joy and excitement to see the progress of God’s work in the Philippines, such as the growing numbers of subscribers that surpassed previous records and the first series of Bible lecture in Davao. This past month in the Visayas area, one can describe the atmosphere in the church as continuing to grow in spiritual understanding.

In Tubod, Isabel, a teacher, Cielo M. Diaz, committed herself to follow God and was baptized after counseling by her pastor. Cielo, a mother of three, is the eldest daughter of Nenita and the late Candido Merino of Conalum, Leyte.

One lady, a member of the Church of God International in Manila, who transferred residence to MacArthur, Leyte, is now attending Sabbath services with the brethren in Sabang, Baybay.

For the first time in many years, the Passover service this year was held in Tubod, Isabel for the entire three congregations in Leyte. Attendance for the Passover service in Isabel was 36 while in Bacolod, 19 people attended the service.

The “Night to Be Much Observed”, the following evening, started after the symbolism of the night was thoroughly explained to the members and their families, emphasizing more on the symbolism of leaving from the slavery of sin to live as God’s called people. It was also expounded in its New Testament setting where Christians should struggle to live God’s way of life until Christ’s return to establish His Kingdom.

During the first day of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Bacolod congregation saw the attendance of 36 people plus one visitor, who is a Presbyterian preacher.

The leadership in the Visayas is looking forward to the coming ministerial and leadership meeting with a number of international guests who will come to Davao, the venue of the conference. This conference is one of the highlights for the work of the church in the Philippines being the first time that a number of lecturers are expected. We really appreciate the concern of the church leadership from the Home Office for this important development. We enjoin the entire membership of the church to pray that our loving Father will give success for this endeavor.