Untitled Document

Winter weather seems to be hitting hard many parts of the northern hemisphere. Here in Charlotte, the year is off to a busy start. Mr. Meredith has been writing, conducting meetings and preparing to film another television program next week. Mr. Gerald Weston, Canadian Regional Director, is here this week to film a special presentation and meet with representatives from the Vision television network and their local agents. Dr. Germano was also here for several days of Living University meetings and to record lectures for this semester’s classes. Dr. Scott Winnail and Mr. and Mrs. Fitzroy Greeman are due to return tomorrow to Trinidad from their trip to visit brethren in Guyana and Brazil (see report below). Last weekend, my wife and I had a very encouraging visit to Kansas City, where more than 500 brethren gathered for services, several Bible studies, a dance and recreational activities. In spite of the snow and freezing temperatures, there was nothing “lukewarm” about the brethren gathered in Kansas City!

Dr. Scott Winnail reports on his and Mr. and Mrs. Greeman’s visit to the hinterlands of Guyana and to Brazil: The brethren in Awarewaunau village, Guyana, are doing well and are extremely warm and friendly. They were very thankful for a ministerial visit—which they only receive once a year. On the Sabbath, we had 63 in attendance, 35 of whom were children—we had a number of visitors present and a couple who will soon begin baptismal counseling.

On Monday, we arrived at the village of Moscou, Brazil, a little after 9:00 a.m. and continued baptismal counseling until about 10:30 a.m. Then, we made the 1.5-mile walk to the stream where we baptized 15 people. Mr. Greeman, Mr. Alfred and I each baptized and led the prayer over five individuals. Some spoke English, but most needed translation into Wapichana and two into Portuguese. We also anointed 15 people. Following the hike back to our host’s home (Mr. Elmo Da Silva Souza), we all had a wonderful lunch and then headed back to the church hall (the church in the wilderness). There, we conducted the blessing of little children for 23 children up to age 12. Mr. Greeman and Mr. Alfred worked as a team and I had Mr. Juan translate for me. After the blessing of the little children, we then conducted three wedding ceremonies. Mr. Greeman performed two and I performed one. Mr. Alfred translated into Wapichana. In the marriage at which I officiated, Mr. Alfred translated into Wapichana for the bride and she in turn translated into Portuguese for the groom. After fellowshipping for a half hour more, we headed back to the hotel. The brethren are all very friendly and loving. They are so very appreciative of our visit. They have very little and the drought has really impacted their food supplies, but they provided in abundance for us. The brethren in Moscou and also in Awarewaunau, Guyana, need our prayers that God will bless them with rain. They are all subsistence farmers and the extreme dry season this year has really reduced their yields.

Mr. Lascelles Fraser, Jamaica Area Pastor, reports that the venues for the planned Tomorrow’s World Bible Lectures in Kingston on February 7 (presented by Mr. Richard Ames) and its follow-up on February 21 (presented by Dr. Scott Winnail) have been finalized. Invitations to approximately 2,300 subscribers should be in the mail during the second week of January. Your prayers for the presentations’ success are appreciated.

Mr. Adrian Kaefer reports that while we had fewer visitors to our German-language website www.weltvonmorgen.org in 2009 (-12.6%), “the quality of these visitors significantly increased with more pages viewed and more documents downloaded per visitor, giving an overall increase in literature distribution of +14% for 2009.”

Mr. Paul Shumway reports: After we had canceled services at all four area congregations on December 19, due to a large snowstorm, God intervened in a powerful way the following week. The weather forecast was for another large snowstorm. Then, at the end of the week, the forecast changed to freezing rain. We had asked all the members to pray fervently about the weather so we could have our special weekend as planned. Sabbath Services, Gourmet Buffet and Living Leadership Course followed by a variety show and dance (Bluefield-Bristol) were scheduled for Saturday, as well as a Sermonette-Songleading Seminar on Sunday (all four area congregations). We prayed not just for a marginal day, but for a nice, sunny day so that the elderly and those living in the mountains could attend... and that’s just what God gave us! Our 96-year old widow made it along with our mountain top dwellers. There was a buzz of excitement and everyone was talking about God’s intervention. The variety show and dance were a big success. (We got virtually everyone up on the dance floor and it was a real joy seeing four generations mixing together.) Sunday was another beautiful day with 16 men in attendance at the seminar in our home. Each one gave a mini-sermonette. God really blessed the entire weekend! On Monday, the clouds and snow came back.

We have recently passed a major milestone with more than two million views of our videos posted on YouTube. We currently have 560 videos on our YouTube channel. Dylan King updates our YouTube channel and first began posting the Tomorrow’s World telecast videos to YouTube back in March of 2007. We now have more than 1,800 subscribers to our channel who receive an e-mail notification each time a new video is added.

Take Time to Think! The pace of life today continues to quicken. Daily commutes, deadlines, e-mails, cell phones, text messages, computer games, iPods and headsets bombard us with information that can totally occupy our minds and thoughts. Long ago, the prophet Daniel foresaw that, at the end of the age, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). Jesus also warned that “the cares of this world” could “choke the word” and cause many to miss out on the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:22). As a new year begins, it would be good to remember that one of the biggest challenges Christians face is the battle for what goes on in our minds—what we think about—which then determines our actions. Solomon wrote, as a person “thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). David observed that a wicked person is proud, does not seek God and “God is in none of his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4). Yet, David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) because he meditated on God’s law daily (Psalm 119:97). In Psalm 23 we read that God allowed David to “lie down in green pastures… beside the still waters.” Such places are conducive to thinking and reflecting on the handiwork of God and on His plan and purpose for our lives. If we want to grow and be prepared for the coming Kingdom of God, we need to take time to think and meditate on the word of God. Read a Psalm every morning or a chapter in Proverbs every evening, and meditate on the subjects mentioned in Philippians 4:8. We can develop the mind of God—if we think on these things!

Hydra-Headed Beast with Global Ambitions. In Greek mythology the hydra was a many-headed serpent monster that grew new heads if one was cut off. In Europe, the EU begins a new decade with at least four heads who appear to be jockeying for positions of influence: the newly appointed European President, Belgian Herman Van Rompuy; the newly appointed High Representative (Foreign Minister), British Lady Ashton; the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who will serve in the six-month rotating presidency (a perceived weakness that was retained under the Lisbon Treaty); and former Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Barroso, who has a five-year term as the President of the European Commission (Daily Telegraph, December 29, 2009). Given that there are “no rules” as to how each “head” is to function, some anticipate that turf wars could develop among the EU leaders (Times Online, January 4, 2010). Belgian lawyer and historian, Paul Belain (author of A Throne in Brussels) writes that Mr. Van Rompuy is not a weak and harmless figure, but a proponent of the idea that the Belgian socialist welfare state run by unrepresentative corporate interests is a model for Europe and for a global government. Mr. Belain warns, “Make no mistake, the EU is an empire with global ambitions” (Mail Online, January 2, 2010). Bible prophecies refer to a Beast that will play a major role in end-time events which will impact the whole world—but that it is made up of iron and clay—materials that will not mix well together (see Daniel 2:40-43; Revelation 13:1). We appear to be witnessing the emergence of this Beast.

Busy Year Ahead for Pope Benedict. In the coming year, Pope Benedict (soon to be 83 years old) will visit four countries, preside over a synod in Rome and travel throughout Italy—promoting Christian unity and unity with other religions (zenith.org, January 5, 2010). He will visit the island of Cyprus to promote ecumenical efforts between the Orthodox Church and Muslims. He will visit Malta to mark the 1950th anniversary of the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck on that Mediterranean island. He will visit Portugal to worship at a Marian shrine and also the United Kingdom to proclaim John Henry Newman a “saint.” Newman converted from the Anglican Church to become a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church in the 1800s. This event will have ecumenical repercussions in England as a result of last year’s invitation by the Pope for frustrated Anglicans to return to the Catholic faith of the mother Church in Rome. Pope Benedict will also preside over a synod in Rome that will discuss the problems of the Middle East—which will also be a focus of the six-month Spanish presidency of the EU. Bible prophecies have long foretold the emergence of an influential religious leader at the end of the age who will promote an ecumenical agenda and strive to influence the political events of the world (see Revelation 13:11-18; 17:1-6; Daniel 7:15-25; Isaiah 47).—Sue Bennett and Douglas Winnail