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The sobering news this week has been the horrendous damage and suffering caused by the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, and the death and devastation that has followed in its wake. We have yet to make contact with brethren in that part of the world (see Mr. Apartian’s and Mr. Crockett’s reports below). However, we will be making a contribution to service agencies that are providing emergency assistance, and we will continue to explore ways to contact and assist members in the Port-au-Prince area. Here in Charlotte, we are involved in budgetary planning for 2010. Considering the uncertain economic forecasts and other domestic and global dynamics, the coming year could be very interesting and challenging in many ways. Mr. Meredith has been writing and holding meetings. He also taped a new telecast, titled “Is God Unfair?” which offers the booklet Is This The Only Day of Salvation? Mr. Ames also taped a new television program, titled “Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled!” which offers the booklet by the same title. Mr. and Mrs. Crockett had a very pleasant and encouraging visit with congregations in North Florida last weekend. Please keep the brethren in Haiti in your prayers. Mr. John Turner, our elder in St. Joseph, Missouri died this afternoon and your prayers are requested for his family as well.

I have been to Haiti several times during my ministry. But my most memorable trip was the one when I almost didn’t make it back to the USA because of local riots. The Church in Haiti had its beginnings before the late 1970s with the French radio program Le Monde à Venir, but it reallygrew when Mr. and Mrs. Ray Clore were assigned to Port-au-Prince by the State Department in 1977. At its peak, we had about 70 members in Haiti, and one or two local elders who eventually left the impoverished country. Today, attendance ranges between 15-20 people, depending partially on our members’ means. On my last trip there, I gave a public lecture where more than 1,000 people attended, primarily because my subject was, “The World Tomorrow: What Will It Be Like?” (The average income in Haiti is between US$1-2 a day). During the lecture, the electricity went off and the deacon had to shout out my words to the crowd. A little later, when I said, “There will be light in this world when Christ will be on Earth,” the lights suddenly came on. Despite our many efforts to communicate with Haiti this week, we remain cut off from our brethren there. Dr. Wilner Pierre, our Haitian elder residing in Charlotte, has also been unable to reach his relatives in Port-au-Prince. Additionally, we would like to establish contact with our brethren to send them direct help—and we will, as soon as any kind of contact is made (see announcement titled “Disaster Relief for Haiti”).—Dibar Apartian

The incredible devastation in the island nation of Haiti has touched everyone as scenes of massive destruction and human suffering are playing out in all the news media. At present, the situation in the country is chaotic and delivery of aid is going painfully slowly. The Church does have a Disaster Relief Fund and a donation will be made for general relief of the populace through a reputable organization that is equipped to deliver the aid. In addition, as soon as the needs of our members in Haiti can be determined we will do what we can to get financial aid to them. You prayers for this to be accomplished very soon will be appreciated.—Davy Crockett

Mr. Gerald Weston reports: We recently made the decision to assign Michael and Roslyn Elertson to Regina, Saskatchewan to pastor the four congregations in that province, along with Winnipeg, Manitoba. The move should take place sometime this summer. This will leave us short-handed in Ontario but, when all factors are considered, this seems to be the best course of action to take at this time. Modern technologies make it possible for Mr. Elertson to continue helping with letter answering and perhaps even helping out with phone calls requiring a ministerial response. We know the brethren in the prairies will be rejoicing over this decision as they have been without a resident minister since Mr. and Mrs. Frank Best moved to Nova Scotia last November.

Mr. Kinnear Penman reports: We have completed a very successful year of broadcasts on Prime TV. Throughout the year, we averaged 121 responses each week and 57 first-time callers. These were achieved at a broadcasting cost of US$10.65 per response and US$16.70 per first-time caller. The Tomorrow’s World mailing list had 2,975 new subscribers added during the year. The response rate to Mr. Meredith’s semi-annual offer of the 2012: Mystery and Truth DVD at present stands at 38%—our highest ever.

On Tuesday, January 19, Living University classes begin for the Spring Semester. Anyone planning to take courses this semester needs to register for courses by this coming Sunday and Monday. This can be done online. A complete list of Spring Semester courses is available on the Living University website www.livinguniv.com . Those needing to make application to Living University in order to take classes for the first time can also do so on the website. If you have questions, please email Dr. Scott Winnail at swinnail@livinguniv.com, or call 704-844-1966, option 7. For anyone interested in applying for on-campus study at Living University beginning in August 2010, now is also the time to begin your application process. For more details, see our website. If you have specific questions about the on-campus study program, please contact Dr. Scott Winnail.

2009 was a record-breaking year for our websites in the U.S. and also around the world. Mr. VG Lardé reports that our French website, www.mondedemain.org, set several new records. The number of visitor sessions exceeded the 200,000-mark for the first time with 222,463 visitor sessions, which represents an increase of 22% over the previous year. The number of articles, booklets, radio broadcasts, sermons, and commentaries downloaded from the website passed the 300,000-mark, with 328,489 items downloaded. From a different perspective, these figures represent more than 600 visits to the website and 900 items downloaded each day! People from 123 different countries visited the Le Monde de Demain website last year. It is exciting indeed to see how God has blessed and multiplied our efforts to deliver His message through the Internet.—J. Charles Ogwyn

Importance of Earnest Prayer: Jesus urged His disciples to “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). David and Daniel prayed three times a day (Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10). Jesus prayed all night before making a major decision (Luke 6:12-13), and when He prayed, He prayed earnestly (Luke 22:44). When Jesus’ disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray,” Jesus gave an outline of a model prayer (Luke 11:1-4). In this model prayer, the focus at the beginning and at the end of the prayer is on God and His coming Kingdom—personal requests are sandwiched in-between. This helps us keep our personal issues in a proper perspective. As we see prophesied earth-shaking events beginning to occur and the suffering that comes with these events, we need to develop the compassion expressed by Jesus as He looked over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37), and pray more earnestly “Thy Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-13, KJV). We see in the New Testament that when the early Church members prayed earnestly, God answered those prayers in dramatic and powerful ways (Acts 4:24-31).

EU Pushes for Palestinian State. The next nation in the rotating six-month EU presidency, Spain, aims to push hard for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. “President Moratinos’ words reflected the urgency the EU sees in dealing with the matter. ‘It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s needed. We need a Palestinian state, the sooner, the better, and that is going to be our objective,’ he said.” Mr. Moratinos also intends to emphasize the following items in his six-month term at the helm of the EU: improving the EU’s economic situation, increasing rights for EU citizens, and increasing the EU’s international influence. Mr. Moratinos is also well-known as a champion of women’s rights and plans to champion them as well (EU Observer, December 21, 2009). Bible prophecy indicates that a political leader linked with a Beast power in Europe will negotiate an end-time treaty involving Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27). This treaty could possibly lead to the resumption of sacrifices on the Temple Mount, before they are abruptly terminated. As the EU attempts to get more involved in the Middle East, especially in issues surrounding Jerusalem, its reputation and influence will grow, if it gains some initial success. Events in the coming months will be worth watching.

The Power of Russian Oil.Last week, Russia opened its newest oil terminal on its east coast, near Vladivostok. The Kosmino terminal will serve the Pacific and, very likely, China. The pipeline that brings oil to the terminal carries 10 million barrels of oil a day, making Russia the largest oil producer. In addition, another 2,700-km oil pipeline just opened and will bring oil to within kilometers of China’s border. The new pipeline will remove the need for Russia to supply Europe with oil. It will allow Russia to send oil east or west, therefore selling to the highest bidder. Russia and China also just signed a 20-year oil deal (Telegraph, December 26, 2009). As balances of power continue to shift around the world, we see increasing regionalization of power in Europe, the Middle East, and between Russia and China. We also see increasing polarization between Russia and the West. Exactly what will transpire in the coming years remains to be seen. However, Bible prophecy reveals that a major force from east of Jerusalem will one day approach the Holy Land with a 200 million-man army to engage the armies of the West (Revelation 9:13-21; Daniel 11:44-45). The growing military and financial ties between Russia and China have the potential to fulfill long-standing Bible prophecies!

Signs of the End of the Age in Haiti. Tuesday afternoon, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the island nation of Haiti. The quake flattened “the president’s palace, the cathedral, hospitals, schools, the main prison and whole neighborhoods. Officials feared thousands—perhaps more than 100,000—may have perished but there was no firm count.” One leading Haitian senator commented that there could be as many as 500,000 dead. Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere and lacks the resources to aid the situation. It was also not architecturally prepared for such an event. Numerous embassies in the nation’s capital were destroyed and many foreign nationals serving in Haiti were killed, including UN international peace keepers. The massive destruction has severed power lines, completely disrupting internal communications in the nation (Yahoo.com, January 13, 2009). Near the end of His earthly ministry, Christ’s disciples asked Him what signs would precede His second coming. In response, Jesus Christ listed numerous events that would signal His impending return, including “earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7). The recent powerful earthquake in Haiti does not mean Christ will return tomorrow. However, it does fit with the signs Christ Himself gave for His impending return. As time goes on, we should expect to see similar events around the globe. These catastrophes are gut-wrenching to watch and should motivate all of us to pray much more fervently for God’s mercy and that His Kingdom come very soon! (Matthew 6:10).—Sue Bennett, John Meakin and Scott Winnail