News From Around the World

• Canadian Council Meets in Abbotsford
• Visiting Interested Group in Gokwe, Zimbabwe
• 50 Young People Experience Camp in Zambia

Canadian Council Meets in Abbotsford

by Linda Wasilkoff

The Canadian National Council met in Abbotsford, British Columbia, June 5 to 7. Tuesday evening included a Canadian National Office update. David Palmer then gave a Media Team update, and Robert Berendt reported on the work of the Ministerial Services Team.

The Canadian Council heard reports of the spring Holy Day across Canada. Robert Berendt shared his impressions of the May Council of Elders' meeting he attended. There was a short discussion regarding the workload of the committees. David Campbell finished off his three-year term the end of March. He was asked to give some parting comments to the Council. He shared the strategies he used and gave some parting suggestions to help new members. The Council presented him a pen as a token of appreciation for his involvement in the Canadian Council.

Wednesday was a productive day as several policies were adopted. They were policies on miscellaneous expense reimbursement, Festival fund-raising, Festival merchandising and literature sent to former members/associates. Some policies were updated or amended, including handling employee complaints, hiring and firing employees, Feast transfer for salaried employees and vacation time for employees.

The Council also approved forms for use whenever there is an individual attending services who has been accused of or convicted of a sexual abuse offense.

On Thursday the Council conducted the annual review of the director of operations and the Council self-evaluation. Dr. Ian Simons was assigned to the Strategic Planning/Finance Committee.

A procedure for dealing with conflict in the congregations had been assigned to the Ministerial Services Team. After much input, they presented and the Council approved the procedure.

Reader's Digest Ad Planned

Anthony Wasilkoff, director of operations, presented a request to use a portion of a bequest left to the Church for a Reader's Digest ad. The Council approved the request.

"Please remember to ask God's blessing on the Reader's Digest ad that we plan to run this fall, advertising our prophetic booklet on the Middle East," said Chairman Rainer Salomaa. The ad will reach about 1 million subscribers.

The dates of the remaining two meetings for the year were confirmed. Sept. 10 will be a teleconference and Nov. 27-29 will be a meeting at the Canadian National Office.

A great deal of business was accomplished during this meeting and the last item on the agenda, a brainstorming session, was also productive. Items of discussion included: How can we build more enthusiasm in the membership? How can we be more effective? What major trends will affect us? UN

[ back to top ]

Visiting Interested Group in Gokwe, Zimbabwe

by Stephen Tshabalala

In May I had the opportunity to visit a member in Gokwe. Gokwe is the largest province in Zimbabwe and is the home of Emmanuel Gorondo and his wife, Matilda. They have four children. The languages spoken there are Tonga, Ndebele and Shona.

What was interesting about this trip was that I was visiting the descendants of a man who in the past had seven wives and 27 children. This man had been receiving The Plain Truth and Good News magazines. Through what he learned he started a church teaching people to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days. He died some years later, and his children are still endeavoring to observe the ways of God.

Between 1995 and 1997 they wrote letters wanting to be affiliated with the Church of God. Ministers from several Church of God groups visited them. Mr. Gorondo and others later requested a visit from a United Church of God representative, and I was asked to travel to Gokwe to visit with them.

I left Bulawayo on May 18 at 5 a.m. I traveled by bus on a road that had not been maintained. We traveled at 70 to 80 kilometers (about 45 to 50 miles) an hour and arrived at Gokwe at about 8.p.m. By this time it was very dark. Fortunately Mr. Gorondo, who had been waiting for five hours for our bus to arrive, was there to meet me. We then walked for four hours to reach his home.

During our discussions, the family members became convinced that the United Church of God was the church their father had spoken about. This area has three groups that want to meet with us. Unfortunately I only met with one of these groups. This group has the largest number of members.

On the Sabbath I gave a Bible study to 20 people on repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. Some of the questions asked were: "What should I do to become a member of the UCGIA?" "Should we speak in tongues?" "Should we prophesy?" "How can a Christian keep God's laws?"

The following day one man and four ladies requested baptism, and I was able to encourage them to read the literature preparing them for baptism. André van Belkum will visit with them and baptize those who are ready at a later stage.

Mr. Gorondo and I left at 6:30 p.m. and my bus arrived at midnight. The following morning I reached home at 11 covered in dust and tired but very appreciative of God's blessing on a successful trip. UN

The author is a leader in the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, congregation.

[ back to top ]

50 Young People Experience Camp in Zambia

The youth camp in Zambia was held from April 26 to May 1 at Nalubanda.

Fifty young people from six congregations, age 13 and up, attended camp. There were 32 boys and 18 girls.

Activities started at 4:45 a.m. with prayer at the playground. That was followed by a 3-kilometer jog for the boys and a 1.5-kilometer jog for the girls. The jog prepared the campers and staff for a cold bath in readiness for breakfast at 7:30.

Topics covered in the lectures included: proof God exists, the purpose of camp, communication skills, the value of education, health laws and dating. We ended lectures with a group discussion and a question-and-answer session.

The lectures ended at 11 a.m., in time for a rigorous physical education program lasting an hour conducted by skilled physical fitness instructors in the Church. By noon the campers were glad to move on to the next activity, enjoying a good game of football or netball, the only games at our camp.

The games finished at 1 p.m. in time for lunch. Lunch and dinner consisted of generous portions of nshima and rice, accompanied by game, goat or chicken and a healthy helping of cabbage with a large drink to rehydrate.

Afternoon activities started at 2 p.m. and included a youth speech club, bricklaying practice and yoking and plowing with animals. The young men also learned how to care for the animals by deworming them and administering vaccines and antibiotics through injections. The girls learned skills like sewing, cooking and house cleaning.

The evenings were occupied by a Bible quiz, a variety show, films and a dance. The campers were extremely pleased to retire to their dorms, pray and crawl into bed by 9 p.m.

The Sabbath was the highlight of the camp for two reasons. Campers got a chance to catch up on much-needed rest, plus they enjoyed the thrill of a combined church service of all the congregations in the Nalubanda area. The fellowship after the service was exceptional.

Camp finished with the presentation of prizes: Best Overall Campers, Sisi Mafhosla and Zere Phiri; Most Helpful Campers, Isaac Chimpepele and Mutinta Moonga; and Most Improved Campers, Owen Kasakabantu and Mwansa Mfula.

It was a day of mixed emotions as campers sorrowfully said their good-byes, but were eager to go home and put what they learned into practice.

Kambani Banda