News From Around the World

• Senior Pastor Visits Laos, Malaysia and Singapore
• Acting Australian National Office Manager Appointed
• Australia Assesses Leadership Training Weekend
• Senior Pastor Visits Members and Readers in India

Senior Pastor Visits Laos, Malaysia and Singapore

by David Baker

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting one of our Good News subscribers in Laos, Ming Oukeobounheuang. I have been corresponding with Ming since 2004 and this was my first opportunity to personally visit him. I arrived in the capital city of Laos, Vientiane, March 26. Ming came by the hotel and we talked for some time. After our discussion Ming took me to his house via motorbike. This was an interesting experience, as I am about twice the size of Ming. Thankfully Ming was an adept cyclist.

After arriving at the house, I met Ming's wife and another gentleman, and we spent the next three hours discussing the Church. Ming was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, so we discussed the similarities and differences between that church and the United Church of God. We also discussed the beliefs of UCG, how we preach the gospel and our plan for preaching the gospel in Asia. I learned that most Christians in Laos only have access to the Lao translation of the New Testament.

The following morning I received an early morning phone call from Ming stating that he was in the lobby of my hotel and would like to speak with me. After frantically dressing, I met Ming in the lobby, and we spent the morning discussing additional questions regarding the Church and the challenges Christians face in Laos, a predominantly Buddhist country. Ming is planning to use some of our literature as he teaches English to his students.

After leaving Laos I traveled to Kajang, Malaysia, to spend the Sabbath and Passover with some of our Malaysian brethren. Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are pastored by Jeff Caudle from New Zealand. Since Mr. Caudle would be in New Zealand for the Spring Holy Days, I volunteered to visit Malaysia and Singapore. This visit was a wonderful opportunity to get to know our Malaysian brethren.

After a memorable Sabbath and Passover with the Malaysian brethren, I traveled to Singapore. All the Singapore brethren were able to gather in a private room at a Thai restaurant for the Night to Be Much Observed. We were also joined by Edward Simanjuntak and his family from Batam, Indonesia. The following day we gathered at the office of Mr. Samuthiran for a wonderful feast of local dishes and the Holy Day service. UN

This article previously appeared in the March/April 2007 issue of United News Asia (www.ucg.org.ph/una).

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Acting Australian National Office Manager Appointed

by Ruth Root

The chairman of the Board for the United Church of God–Australia announced that Torin Archer has accepted the position of acting national office manager.

Some months ago Allan Hambleton submitted his resignation as office manager because of health considerations.

Expressions of interest were requested from the congregations, and the possible candidates were narrowed to Mr. Archer, who has had considerable previous experience serving the Church in the areas required to fill the position.

Since the initial expression of interest, several members of the Board have spoken with Mr. Archer and an agreement has been reached enabling him to fill the position on a part-time basis, for three days per week, until his contract with Lifeline, where he works as a supervisor and counselor, terminates in September.

After graduation from Ambassador College in Bricket Wood, England, Mr. Archer served as office manager for the African and Indian work. He processed mail, handled personal correspondence, helped organize Feasts and accompanied pastors on regional baptizing tours.

When the office was moved to West Africa, Mr. Archer stayed in England and earned a graduate diploma in management, after which he was hired as Scandinavian office manager. He then moved to Pasadena where he served as budget manager for the Church's Publishing Department, coordinating a $15 million dollar annual budget.

In 1984 he moved to the Australian office, where he served as budget coordinator and later assisted Reg Wright in the media department. In this role, Mr. Archer picked up valuable experience, helping with the development of strategic plans and marketing strategies for promoting the Church's magazine.

During all of this, he also managed to find time to raise three children—Rebekah (22) and Jessica (18), who are currently living in England, and David (20), who resides on the Gold Coast.

For the last six years, Mr. Archer has worked at Lifeline as a volunteer telephone counselor, training facilitator and group supervisor. He is currently studying for a master of counseling degree and was recently hired four days a week as shift supervisor with Lifeline, in which he helps support telephone counselors with ongoing appraisal, skills development and debriefing after difficult calls.

Mr. Archer told United News Australia: "I was pleased to be able to renegotiate my contract with Lifeline so I could help the Church as office manager in the interim. I look forward to working closely with the office staff and Board of Directors and am happy to contribute in whatever way I can to further God's work in this part of the world." UN

This and the following article previously appeared in the April-June 2007 issue of United News Australia.

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Australia Assesses Leadership Training Weekend

The first Leadership Training Session in Australia was conducted on the weekend of Jan. 26 to 28, 2007. More than 30 people were invited from the church areas in Australia to attend this weekend as the first session in a training program for the next generation of Church leaders.

Pastors Bill Bradford, Stephen Clark, Bill Eddington, Bruce Dean, Allan Hambleton and Barry Williams delivered a number of addresses relating to the subject of spiritual leadership. Topics included: Concepts of Leadership, Roles of Spiritual Leadership, Family Leadership, Doctrinal Integrity, Structure of UCG IA and UCG-A, Working With Young People, Women's Roles, Personal Integrity, Growth and Development, Example and Credibility, Leadership as Service, Developing Sermonettes and Sermons.

In the Pastoral Committee meeting in March, the effectiveness of the weekend was assessed. All committee members agreed that it had been very profitable, and they noted that positive feedback had been received from all participants. One couple commented: "We came away from the Leadership Weekend feeling overwhelmed and humbled by all the fantastic information that was shared. Every single presentation was interesting and informative and made us realize just how much we didn't really know about the subject of leadership."

The Pastoral Committee decided that the next Leadership Training Seminar would take place in 2009.

A training seminar for elders is planned for Jan. 25 to 28, 2008. UN

Senior Pastor Visits Members and Readers in India

by David Baker

Recently I had the opportunity to visit some of our members in India. I arrived in Hyderabad, India, late at night on March 14. Unfortunately one of my bags was mistakenly picked up by another passenger at the airport, which caused a certain level of stress as I tried to track down its location.

Some of the stress was due to the fact that the bag contained my Bible, sermon notes and various articles of literature for the members in India. (Thankfully I was able to obtain my bag more than a week later, the night before I departed India. A lady took my bag by mistake but would not return my bag to the airline until she received her bag!)

Thursday, March 15, I had a wonderful meeting with Dr. Ali and her two daughters, Arjumand and Nargis. Dr. Ali has been a member of the Church since 1960. After a very enjoyable discussion on several subjects relating to the Church and the Bible, we sang several hymns. Dr. Ali is able to receive sermon CDs, but she really misses the opportunity to fellowship and sing hymns with other members of the Church.

The following day I spent the morning with G.P. Samuel and B. Yohan. These men represent Sabbath-keeping congregations on the eastern coast of Andhra Pradesh. Since Passover was approaching, we discussed the observance of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

It was inspiring to compare our observance of these Holy Days and discover the similarities of worship. This was my third opportunity to visit with Mr. Samuel, and I hope to visit some of the congregations in his area during a future trip to India.

Sabbath in Chennai

Friday afternoon I departed Hyderabad for Chennai. On the Sabbath, March 17, I held a Bible study in my hotel room. During previous visits to Chennai, some of our Good News subscribers asked me to conduct a Sabbath service or Bible study in southern India. So I was able to spend the entire afternoon with Simon Daniel, Darwin Paul, Vivek Raj and his parents, M.J. Kolandai Raj and Molly Philomenh. I conducted a Bible study titled "What Is a True Christian?" that was followed by many questions.

It was a most enjoyable Sabbath and everyone requested that we have regular meetings with the goal of having Sabbath services in the future. The challenge that we face is the manpower and distance involved. Simon Daniel traveled 450 kilometers to reach Chennai and the Raj family traveled 165 kilometers.

Early Sunday morning I flew to Cochin to meet with a prospective member, J.G. Paul. We spent the day discussing conversion and baptism and challenges he faces with his job.

Often many of our prospective members face conflicts between their jobs and the Sabbath. Many employers do not grant a leave of absence for the Sabbath, and our members' faith is often tested in this area. After my visit Mr. Paul informed me that he was offered a job in Djibouti with the assurance that his leave would be granted for the Sabbath, and he is already working at his new job.

Cochin is a fascinating port city with a long history involving the spice trade. In fact some of the most delicious food in India can be found in Cochin. Cochin also contains the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, built in 1568. A tablet in the outer wall bears the inscription from a synagogue built in Cochin in 1344, but the first recorded synagogue built in Cochin dates back to the fourth century.

Monday, March 19, I traveled from Cochin to Pune via Mumbai. I was able to spend Monday evening and Tuesday with members Prakash and Sara Mandora. Sara is completing her master's degree in education and Prakash is developing a marketing business. The Mandoras are able to view video sermons for the Sabbath but would really appreciate regular fellowship with other members. The nearest member lives more than 1,200 kilometers from Pune. Thankfully Prakash and Sara have been able to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in the Philippines and Sri Lanka and have met several members in the Church.

On to Agra

Wednesday, March 21, I traveled to Delhi and arranged transportation to Agra the following morning. In the afternoon Delhi and the surrounding area experienced a hailstorm. Thursday morning I departed for Agra at 7 a.m.

The drive from Delhi to Agra is five hours, so I informed our member, George Samuel, that I would be arriving in Agra by noon. Three hours into the trip, after passing elephants being ridden by their mahouts, camels pulling overloaded wagons of grain, cows chewing their cud in the middle of the road, dancing bears and snake charmers at toll booths and tractors traveling the wrong direction on a divided highway—traffic came to a complete stop. In fact it was backed up for more than 20 kilometers!

Farmers blocked the road demanding that the government provide assistance for their crops damaged by the hail. Three hours later the road was cleared, and we were allowed to pass. I arrived in Agra three hours late and much to my surprise discovered a group of people waiting for me in the hotel lobby. Our member had explained the teachings of the Church to them, and they gather each Sabbath as he teaches them from the articles in The Good News. They had waited three hours at the hotel for my arrival! After a brief discussion, we traveled to Mr. Samuel's home where I conducted a Bible study and answered questions.

Friday morning I left for Delhi, and thankfully the road was not blocked! Sabbath morning, March 24, I left Delhi at 6:30 a.m. and traveled to Moradabad. The scenery was interesting as we passed through the countryside. The road as always was one long obstacle course with construction, wagons loaded with farm produce and sugar cane, cows, bikes and pedestrians.

I arrived in Moradabad at 10:30 a.m. at the home and school of Robinson Yousof and family. The Yousof family was joined by Mr. Dalchand and his extended family. Some of these individuals have been members of the Church since the 1980s. After fellowship and a wonderful lunch, we held a Sabbath service. During the service I had the pleasure of blessing Rex, the son of Eugene Kumar, the son of Mr. Yousof. (In the late 1980s Eugene was a camper at a camp that I helped to conduct in Sri Lanka).

After the service I departed Moradabad for Delhi and arrived at the international airport at 9 p.m. I boarded my flight for Thailand sometime after midnight and arrived in Bangkok by 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 25. Although exhausted, I departed India inspired by the people I met and their desire to live God's way of life. UN

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