Greetings brethren! It is hard to believe that we are already in 2008. It is amazing how fast 2007 passed. I hope that 2007 was a successful and productive year for you. Overall I think this past year has been a good year for the church in Asia. We have faced our challenges with the decline in the value of the US dollar. This decline has been a challenge in areas that receive a subsidy from the Home Office in the US. But we have also experienced growth in the area of Good News subscribers and our church attendance. We are very thankful for this growth.

How about our spiritual growth? Have we grown spiritually as well as physically? Spiritual growth is much more difficult to measure. Spiritual growth within the church also requires the active involvement of each member. Have we grown in grace and knowledge during the past year (2 Peter 3:18)? This is difficult to quantify but Christ did state that a person is known by the fruit they produce in their life (Matthew 7:20). Hopefully individually and collectively we have produced fruit that is pleasing to God. In order to grow spiritually we must be regularly studying the word of God (1 Peter 2:2). The church continues to provide us with wonderful study tools such as the Good News magazine, the Bible Study Course and booklets. Let’s continue to utilize these tools as we study God’s word, the Bible, and produce the growth that is pleasing to God.

During the first part of November I had the pleasure of visiting the Philippines and Hong Kong. We held a very enjoyable and successful ministerial conference in Davao, Philippines on November 1. During the conference we discussed the Feast of Tabernacles and each coordinator gave a brief update on their site. We also discussed the possibility of having one FOT site for the Philippines in 2008. After considering the distribution of our membership, possible sites and transportation costs, it simply isn’t feasible based on our festival budget. Following the discussion on the feast, we also discussed financial reporting, budgets for the 2008-09 fiscal year, summer camp and future needs of the work in the Philippines. After the conference I had the pleasure of spending the Sabbath with our brethren in northern Luzon. We enjoyed a wonderful Sabbath together in Baguio. The Dizons were very gracious in driving me from Manila to Baguio, then to Dagupan to visit some of the brethren and finally back to Manila. It was wonderful to spend time with them but I know they must have been extremely tired after those three days. Unfortunately they returned home to Dagupan to face a typhoon. After spending time with the Siopans in Bacolod and the Evascos in Manila, I traveled to Hong Kong to spend the Sabbath with our brethren. As always it was a wonderful trip visiting our members.

By the time you read this article I will be traveling in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore. I look forward to meeting some of you along the way. Please continue to pray for our scattered brethren in Asia.

© 2007 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas