Please be sure to read Council Chairman Dr. Don Ward's Passover letter to the Church that focuses on the momentous times in which we live. Liberal thinking prevails and right and wrong are skewed. Your pastor should have forwarded it to you or will make it available at services this Sabbath. It will be available on the UCG members site under "Latest Updates" at https://www.ucg.org/members.

Cyclone Idai

Massive cyclone Idai ravaged Mozambique and destroyed 90% of the port city of Beira. Upwards of 1000 people are reported dead, including about 100 in Malawi. Since Zimbabwe and Malawi are landlocked, Beira is their closest port. Our elders Gracious Mpilangwe in Malawi and Mike Mukarati in Zimbabwe confirm that all United Church of God members are safe. The flooding is massive, covering more ground than New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Boston--combined. Now cholera has broken out in the cyclone-devastated area.

ABC Fundraiser

Ambassador Bible College students raised close to $10,000 this past Sunday, March 24, at their annual charity auction. This year, the project of choice was for the meeting hall and education center being built for the new United Church of God congregation in Haiti.

The completion of that facility will finally provide a meeting place adequate for the nearly 100 members there. By providing education in computer skills and English, it will put participants in the highest percentiles of employability in the country.

As in years past, the charity auction consisted of a silent auction for numerous items, mostly donated by local church members, and of a live auction featuring desserts, also donated for the purpose. As a backdrop, the students presented a lively entertainment program with music and humorous skits.

Caribbean senior pastor Chuck Smith writes this update:

"As we are preparing for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, there is a key word for all of us to learn: 'Humble.' As Senior Pastor for the Caribbean, I am extremely humbled by the generosity of our UCG brethren. The outpouring of care and support for our new congregation in Haiti is so touching and encouraging.

"For the past six months or so, we have been clawing and scratching our way to building a Church meeting hall, which will also serve as a training center and safe haven during hurricanes for our Haitian brethren and the community in Mirebalais.

"I was contacted a few months ago by ABC student Micah Gunn with a proposal to have a fundraiser for the work in Haiti. Victor Kubik had suggested this as a potential project. Micah and I arrived at a goal of $2,000 - $3,000.

"I was humbled, surprised, and a bit choked with emotion when Mr. Kubik called on Wednesday morning to let me know ABC had raised approximately three times the amount we hoped for! Now we will be able to buy and install window security bars and doors for the new meeting hall.

"In addition, because of the gracious giving of brethren from Cincinnati and across the country, we will be able to complete and provide the following: 

• Iron handrail and lighting for the stairway.
• French/Creole Bibles for brethren.
• Gutters for the new building so we can drain into the catchment area for water reserves.
• Publish the first-ever booklet translated to Haitian Creole: 'The Road to Eternal Life.'

"Mary and I cannot adequately express how touched we are by the outpouring of true love for our Haitian family. It is LIFE-CHANGING for them. On behalf of all of our Haitian brethren, we want to thank Victor and Beverly Kubik, the 2019 Class of ABC, and all of UCG for your support and prayers. We will be in Haiti April 3-7. We plan to complete the painting of interior walls, install 10 ceiling fans, and install all the electrical outlets. Check for an update after our return at ucghaiti.blogspot.com. Plenty of new photos will be included there."

International travel for the upcoming Holy Day season

Jorge de Campos, accompanied by Kraig Bledsoe, who completed ABC last year, left Cincinnati this week on a mission trip to Brazil during which they will visit various cities and prospective members, as well as hold the first UCG Sabbath Service in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. They will also hold Sabbath services in Uberlândia and Maloca de Moscou.

After the visits to Brazil, Jorge will proceed to Angola to keep Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread with the Angolan brethren. They are expected back on Tuesday, April 30. Please pray for the success of their trip according to God's will and their health and safety. Jorge will keep a blog of his trip at http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/jorgedecampos/9.

Victor and Beverly Kubik will depart April 3 for a three-country visit. First they will stop in Durban, South Africa, and spend time with pastors Roy Demont as well as Vivien and Cathy Botha from Cape Town. The Sabbath will be spent with the Durban congregation. From there they will travel to Zambia to be with the Lusaka congregation and pastor Nawa Talama and his wife, Felicia.

Then they will continue on to Derrick and Cherry Pringle in the Copperbelt who will take them on an extended drive to the four northwest churches. God-willing they will dedicate the new church building in Manyinga near Angola. Finally, to Malawi to spend time with Nick and Megan Lamoureux who just moved to Lilongwe as well as our leaders Cephas Chapamba and Haiton Thungula. They will then go back into Zambia to visit the Chipata church that was vandalized in January and spend time with Filius and Chosiwe Jere and see the reconstruction work that has been financed by Good Works and LifeNets. Finally, they will rejoice at the wedding of our Church accountant, Daniel Ringo and his bride Caroline in Blantyre before returning back to the United States. You can follow their journey at http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/victorkubik/25.

Beyond Today recording next Wednesday

Our next three programs will be recorded next Wednesday. A least a dozen people from the community have indicated they will come to be part of the studio audience.

We wish you a wonderful Sabbath. Please pray for all those traveling during the upcoming Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread season.