The last two months of Church activities in the Visayas continued to show signs of progress in the Work of God in many respects. The Feast of Pentecost, May 27 was observed by the four Visayan congregations and one in Sabah, Malaysia. Summing up the attendance in the five congregations during Pentecost, there were 137 souls who kept the annual celebration.

In Cebu City, the Bible study group which began a month before the Feast of Tabernacles last year and continued until lately has now started having Sabbath services on May 26, 2007. Attendance for this first Sabbath service was 29, eight of whom came from Leyte and Bacolod to help in different responsibilities such as sermonette, song-leading and to provide moral support in welcoming and entertaining people who were present.

The second Sabbath service was held last June 9 and attended by 17 people. We noted a drop in attendance on account of some who can’t leave their jobs on Saturdays. Nevertheless, there were still some who came and kept God’s Sabbath with us. We are praying that God will continue to bless His Work and call more people in this area.

This year we again had the privilege to participate in the United Youth Camp held at Eden Nature Park in Davao. Very noticeable in this year’s camp was the increase in the number of campers. There were 60 youths [campers and counselors] who braved the afternoon’s rigorous activities. Every morning during Compass Check, the camp director, Mr. Edmond Macaraeg guided the campers and the staff, 24 of them, into finding the “True North” representing the kingdom of God, which also became the Camp’s theme this year using the man-made compass representing the Word of God, the Scriptures. It’s a great lesson to learn yet it is the only way that should be taken when one’s goal is to focus on God and His Kingdom.

On June 20-21 the Church leadership in the Philippines benefited from the presence of one of the pillars in the Church, Mr. Jim Franks. [Please see David Baker’s editorial about the Asian leadership conference.] Mr. Franks, together with Mr. Baker and many of the church leaders convened in Manila for the conference. No doubt, the Work of preaching the truth of God in this part of the globe is fast-growing. We give credit to God first of all and to the leadership of His Church.

© 2007 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas