As we traveled and visited with our brethren in Italy this past Sabbath, Bev read to me Psalm 117, the shortest of the Psalms: "Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord" (NIV).

There will come a time when all humanity, all nations, and all people who are made in the image of God will praise and extol Him. It is our privilege NOW to serve those in the various areas around the world where God has called people. We are to serve them as they serve God and His purpose.

It has been a joy for Bev and me to visit the elders and brethren in Italy this past week and become far more acquainted with the work that has been done there in the United Church of God for the past twenty years.

We spent five wonderful days with the Anastasi family. Carmelo Anastasi is pastor and director of the Work here. Elder Angelo Di Vita oversees our congregation in Catania, Sicily. He, along with his wife, Ann Maria, flew up from Sicily to be with us. Also, Carmelo's older brother, Salvatore, who was first called by God, and his wife, Brigida, also came up from Sicily. Carmelo and Antonella were wonderful hosts for the entire time.

Many of our brethren have visited Italy for the Feast of Tabernacles and have become familiar with the people here. The Feast site has been held mostly in the southern part of Italy. The office and the majority of brethren, however, are in the north.

We spent all day last Friday at the Italian office in Bergamo. The church owns the office facility, and it's the place where administrative and editorial work is done. Services are conducted here, as well; however, they alternate with Milan about 45 minutes away.

Carmelo and I talked about how we at the home office could help the Italian Work. We discussed a number of ways that we at the home office can be more helpful to strengthen the reach of the Italian proclamation effort and the viability of the congregations.

Carmelo thoroughly showed us their proclamation operation, which is done in great part through their website. A new venture into short subjects on video has brought new subscribers to http://labuonanotizia.org.

The Italian site is professionally done and nicely laid out. We were impressed by the quality of all the work that the Church produces here in Italy.

The site has on its front page an 8-minute video by Mr. Anastasi which was produced and edited by an outside firm. Future video productions will be made in-house through the work of his daughter, Delia, who is skilled in video editing. The short program has a casual feel and is very warm. It is produced by "Ambassador Bible Studio." The rest of the site contains articles in Italian and a letter from Director/Pastor Anastasi.

There is also a website for the church congregations at https://www.chiesa-di-dio-unita.it/ which, again, is professionally produced. It has a welcome message from pastor Anastasi and contact information for the congregations.

There is a virtual subscription list of about 2500 readers of La Buona Notizia, with 600 subscribers to the paper version of the magazine. Booklets are produced on demand. There is an active Bible Study Course that is managed online that has almost 100 students. Carmelo showed me the e-mail interactions with questions from students. It was encouraging to see all this activity.

We were so pleased to see the development of leaders to serve both congregations and in the preaching of the gospel through media. Speakers are being trained and are already providing sermonettes and more for church services.

Carmelo also showed us a map of Italy and where all the people in Italy are scattered. We also talked about people in neighboring countries who are subscribers. One notable one was a lady in Albania, across the Adriatic Sea, and another in Croatia as well as Bosnia and Romania.

On the Sabbath, services were held at a hotel meeting room in Milan. It is near a main train station where it is more convenient for brethren to come.

The church atmosphere is lovely and loving--kissing is done by all so very naturally. We got accustomed to this quickly. Two quick pecks on both cheeks for both the men and women.

Carmelo translated my sermon. It was webcast to 22 people scattered throughout Italy, France and Albania.

Afterwards, the congregation fellowshipped for two hours. They formed circles of chairs and held group discussions. Then some would move on to another group. It was spontaneous and very natural--a good idea.

Then, 30 of the group walked to a restaurant in a hotel 10 minutes away, where a tasty meal was served through several courses. The event is one we will not forget.

On Sunday and Monday, all 8 of us traveled 2 hours east and spent two very educational and enjoyable days touring the unique canal city of Venice.

For more about our current visit through Italy, Ukraine and Holland please visit our TravelPod blog at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/victorkubik/18/tpod.html.

Personal Appearance Campaign

This coming weekend we are presenting two "America: The Time Is Now!" personal appearance campaigns in Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All three of our Beyond Today presenters, plus a production crew of five, will be leaving the home office on Friday and returning on Tuesday.

Please pray for the success of these important campaigns. We have a vital message to help our readers and viewers make sense of the monumental changes in today's world. The United States continues down a dangerous path as it distances itself farther and farther from God.

More than 200 subscribers have registered to attend. We are very hopeful of a good turnout to hear a most important message about where the world is really headed, what God's purpose for man is, and what we need to be doing now.