During the first part of December, I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting some of our members and Good News subscribers in various parts of Asia. On the Sabbath of December 2, I visited the Davao City congregation for the Sabbath service and Bible study. It is always a joy to spend the Sabbath and fellowship with our Filipino brethren. Mr. and Mrs. Macaraeg were wonderful hosts. Having some of the elders from the other regions of the Philippines join us for the Sabbath added to the joy of the day. On Sunday we held a ministerial meeting which also served as our annual meeting of the United Church of God, AIA Pilipinas. After the meeting I returned to Manila with Rey and Cynthia Evasco. Monday was spent at the Myanmar Embassy in Manila and thankfully I was able to acquire a visa for Myanmar on that day. I had tried to obtain the visa prior to leaving the US but the processing time in the US was three weeks. I enjoyed dinner with the Evascos Monday evening.

Tuesday, December 5, I flew from Manila to Calcutta, India. When I arrived in Calcutta late that night, I learned that the taxi drivers were on strike. Thankfully, after a bit of persuading, a taxi driver was willing to drive me to my hotel. Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of meeting with Tarun Ghosh, a Good News subscriber, and discussing the subject of baptism. I look forward to a future visit to Calcutta to continue baptismal counseling with Tarun. Wednesday afternoon I flew from Calcutta to Hyderabad and the following morning met with Dr. Ali and her two daughters, Ajumand and Nargis. I first met Dr. Ali and her daughters in 1986. Dr. Ali has been a member of the Church for more than 40 years and is now a part of the United Church of God. After a wonderfully delicious lunch at their home, I flew to Chennai. Arriving Chennai Thursday evening, I met with Darwin and Jane Paul. The Pauls are Good News subscribers and I have corresponded with them for a few years so I was delighted to meet with them for a second time. They shared with me the challenges they face in trying to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days in southern India. They also shared how God has intervened for them in regard to a Sabbath conflict with work.

Friday afternoon I flew to Colombo, Sri Lanka and spent the Sabbath with our members in Mt. Lavinia. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that has suffered through decades of war and terrorism. Warfare negatively affects the economy which depends heavily on tourism and our members suffer from low wages, underemployment and high inflation. The Church recently was able to help a couple of our members through the Good Works program. Sunday afternoon I was able to watch one of our members perform as part of a jazz band at a boutique restaurant in Colombo. Late Sunday night I departed for the airport and arrived in Bangkok, Thailand Monday morning.

Tuesday morning I boarded a plane for Yangon, Myanmar. I was met at the airport by three of our Good News subscribers and taken to their home. After enjoying the afternoon and early evening with them, I checked into my hotel. The following day I continued my visit with our subscribers and discussed the challenges they must face each day. Myanmar is a very interesting country and even though it is blacklisted by many western nations there are several projects underway building luxury houses and condos for expatriates. Even the international airport is being enlarged and updated.

Thursday I departed Yangon for Bangkok and visited with our member, Fil Olimpo. Fil is an editor of several English language magazines in Thailand. He has been a member of the Church for many years but due to his job assignments he is often located in areas without a congregation. Each Sabbath he is able to download sermons from the UCG website. Friday I flew to Hong Kong and spent the Sabbath with our brethren and guests from Spokane, WA, Mr. and Mrs. Allwine. Monday, December 18, I returned to my family in the US. This trip was a wonderful opportunity to visit with some of our members and Good News subscribers. Please remember them in your prayers as well as the wonderful work God has in store for this area of the world. Many members do not enjoy the resources or religious freedom that we sometimes take for granted in the US and other western nations.

© 2006 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas