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eNews from Ministerial and Member Services

August 1, 2013 Issue 98

In this issue

From the President

From Ministerial and Member Services

Report from Northwest Camp

Challenger East: Successful First Year

Winter Family Weekend 2013 - Just Around the Corner!

From the President...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greetings to all!

From July 10-22 I visited our Filipino brethren, elders and the national church office in Davao City

on Mindanao with Earl Roemer, Philippines senior pastor. At the end of this journey, I wastremendously inspired because of what I saw God doing in the lives of His people. Through the

years, the Philippines has always been a shining light reflecting God's Spirit in Asia with many

viable congregations. There are 26 churches and Bible Studies in the Philippines, seven elders and

about 500 attending Sabbath services each week.

We started in the southernmost region of Mindanao. There we saw the area where our church has

held a first-class UYC camp every April. Then we saw the largest of our Feast sites at Girl Scouts

Philippines (GSP) nearby where more than 400 brethren come together.

Also, Davao is where our church office is located. I appreciated the tour and learned about the

work of all the employees. From here the Good News is sent out along with all other literature

fulfillment for the Philippines and sections of Asia.

I enjoyed Church services with our lovely brethren and and their children. After church, in the

evening, we had dinner with long-time pastor Ed Macaraeg and his wife Lorna and new elder

Merlito Tonog and his wife Venicia.

Jed Sy and Jong Pilapil

In Mindanao we visited two young people who are members of the United Church of God who

have been sentenced to life imprisonment for being related to those who dealt with drug trafficking.

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Jed Sy

The story is far more than just being in prison. It's

a story of faith and hope and example of what

Christians sometimes must endure because of the

imperfections of man's government and justice

On December 31, 2004, a drug raid was done on

Jed Sy's home. Her husband was involved in drug

trafficking. The raid was done on New Year's eve

so that that any gunfire would be masked as

"fireworks." A fire fight ensued. Six were killed.

Sy's husband was not among those killed and it is

unknown what happened to him. Jed, however,

was seized and charged and sentenced to life

imprisonment by an extremely harsh administration

in this part of the Philippines. She was not

involved in her husband's activities. She hadgrown up in the Church, but married a Chinese

man against the advice of her parents and minister. They were married for four years and had adaughter Tin Tin who is now 12 and is cared for by a relative. Jed has now been imprisoned for

nine years. Her case is under appeal, but those wheels of justice are turning excruciatingly slow. However, there have been hopeful signals that the appeal is "moving" forward.

Her brother Jong was also arrested. He was charged only because he was a relative. In both theircases there was never evidence proving their guilt. In this case they had to "prove" that they were

innocent. Being married to and part of family was the overriding strike against them.

The inspiring side of this story is the faith of both these people who live daily in hope of releaseand are waiting on God to deliver them. For many of us, they have been the object of our

prayers...and even more so as we get to know them and their situation better.

In each of their respective prisons both have risen to a position of respect and trust. Both manageother prisoners and provide hope and counsel for them. Jed, by profession, was a CPA (certifiedpublic accountant). She is extremely competent and articulate. She likes to read and talk about

life. Earl Roemer calls them both "Joseph in Egypt" when he was falsely imprisoned for an allegedrelationship with Potiphar's wife. He sat there for months and months...he had risen to managerial

status. He was ultimately freed and with the tempered character of patience, divine presence (inspite of the immediate situation) became a noted leader in Egypt. My hopes are that these two will

be vindicated.

What really struck me was the lack of deep bitterness about her state. She was hopeful, nothateful. It was a lesson to me about injustices that we feel should be resolved not on our timetable,

but God's, who has a purpose in our enduring injustice. At her brother Jong's prison, the atmosphere was far more austere. There are 5000 inmates

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between these two prisons. Jong is the manager of the 500 of the most maximally incarcerated

inmates. He is greatly liked by both the prisoners and management. He is very engaging inconversation. He has been given great privileges including access to the Internet and his own

Facebook page. This month has been hard for him as he was going through a bout of depressionfrom the unending state of his condition. He's "ok" now, but really cried out in desperation to God

like David did in the Psalms: How LONG, Oh Lord!?

We visited next in the Visayas, the middle islands of the Philippines, spending time with elders RaulVillacote and wife Marita and Jose Campos and Deodit along with other leaders. In 2014 we

hope to add a third national Feast site in the Visayas. Finally our journey ended in Manila, where we got to know Rey and Cynthia Evasco, Benny and

Gloria Lorenzo and Bong and Grace Remo. Services on the Sabbath again were a joy.

I am praying for our brethren in the Philippines every day for God to give them grace and peace.This is only a very small accounting of our travels. You can see more details on a travel blog that I

kept at http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/victorkubik/12/tpod.html.

In Christ's service,

Victor Kubik

From Ministerial and Member Services...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Decisions regarding Festival Assistance applications were sent today to all pastors who submittedrequests. If you notice any discrepancies, please contact Ministerial and Member Services. Only

urgent new requests will be accepted after today.

Additional Space Available at Feast Site in CartagenaWe still have room for 25 additional attendees if any would like to attend the Feast of Tabernacles

2013 in Cartagena, Colombia. Please contact the festival coordinator for this site if you would beinterested at scott_hoefker@ucg.org . Spaces will remain open until August 15.

Feast Activity Update: Bend-RedmondThe family dance originally scheduled for Tuesday, September 24 at the Bend-Redmond festival

site has been canceled due to a schedule conflict regarding the meeting facility.

-- Chris Rowland, Administrator, Ministerial and Member Services

Report from Northwest Camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Beautiful Camp Magruder, located just south of Rockaway Beach, Oregon, hosted the UYC

Northwest Camp for 2013. This was our fourth year using this fantastic facility, which has 160

scenic acres of double beachfront property, located between a scenic beach on the Pacific Oceanand a mile-long private lake to the east.

102 campers were served by 58 staff, making a total of 160 at the camp. Counseling staff arrived

on Friday, July 19th for training, the rest of the staff arrived for Sabbath services on the 20th andstaff training in the evening. Campers arrived on Sunday and camp got underway!

Northwest camp provides lots of "Beach Time" with volleyball, speedaway, skim boarding andboogie board wave riding classes. This year we added a half-day kayak river trip down the scenic

Nehalem River for the older dorms, giving them a chance to explore one of Oregon's rivers,

famous for salmon and wildlife.

The overall theme of the week was Ecclesiastes 12:1, "Remember your Creator in the days of

your youth." Campers and staff were constantly reminded of the theme with a banner in the dining

hall, placards in the dorms, and daily themes for Christian Living classes that illustrated how to put

the theme into practice in everyday life.

On Monday the daily theme of "LOOK to your Creator" was taught at the morning class and then

illustrated in the activities during the day and campfire story at the end of the day. "LISTEN to Hisword" was the theme on Tuesday and focused on the importance of Bible study. Wednesday's

lesson was "LEARN to fear the Lord" and on Thursday classes taught the theme "LIVE

committed to God's way."

On Friday, the day began with a presentation by Mr. David Goethals on the theme of "LEARN to

LEAD" given with all of the campers and staff together in the newly remodeled Sherlock hall. Mr.

Goethals related several accounts of the challenges he experiences as a teacher at a large High

School in Auburn, Washington, and encouraged the campers to resist the pressures of society andbe leaders living the right way of life.

The dance instruction classes have been a huge success over the years. By now most of thecampers know several line and group dances in addition to the traditional waltzes and swings.

Campers have dance opportunities at a casual dance on Tuesday evening and a more formal one

the final night of camp after the traditional banquet.

We had sixteen graduating seniors attending camp this year. At Campfire time each evening

several of them gave a short talk to the campers with their personal stories, goals, and advice to

younger campers. The maturity and level of commitment obvious in these young men and ladies

was an inspiration. Obviously the parents of the campers have worked hard to teach them to liveaccording to God's word as they were growing up. Thank you parents for sending us such a great

group of campers!

The staff at Camp Magruder provided excellent meals and many compliments. The facility director

told us "Your camp sets the bar for all other camps," and mentioned how much he appreciated

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that we keep the camp free of litter and respect the property.

We are planning to have Northwest Camp 2014 from July 19-27, 2014. Campers and staff whowould like to apply, please begin making plans for another fabulous week of learning God's word

and putting it into practice while enjoying challenging activities, beautiful scenery, and making new

friends.

-- Rex Sexton

Challenger East: Successful First Year~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Wednesday, July 24th, the inaugural Challenger East (CE) program began at Beaver Creek

State Park near East Liverpool, Ohio. The program had 12 participants (since CE is a young adult

program, attendees are no longer called "campers") and 7 staff members. Despite rain on theSabbath, the program was a great success. With a final group visit to Bruster's Ice Cream Shop in

Calcutta, Ohio, Challenger East concluded on Sunday, July 28th.

Activities included: Nature IdentificationClasses and Hikes led by Matthew Smith, a

member in the North Canton, Ohio

congregation and a NE Ohio Regional ScenicRiver Manager, Roving Archery held on a

local course and led by Randy Stiver,

Challenger East Program Director and Dean

of Students of the Ambassador Bible Center,Fly-Fishing taught by Brent Feiock of the

Cambridge, Ohio, congregation and Scott

Hoefker, Pastor in North and South Carolina.

Daily Compass Check Bible studies led by participants Tait Regnier, Lewis VanAusdle and MarkTannert were excellent. Each evening, around the campfire, Poetry Recitation and discussion

helped to infuse the program with a thoughtful, reflective atmosphere.

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Meals at Challenger East were met with rave reviews by staff and participants. Meal planning and

preparation was conducted by Linda Stiver and Gayle Hoefker, assisted by Amanda Stiver.

Participants also had the opportunity to learn about campfire cooking and other basic Camp-Craft

as they pitched in with mealtime duties.

Front row, left to right: Amanda Stiver, Lena VanAusdle, Julia Stewart, Lucy Tannert, Jordan Smith, Matthew

Smith , Gayle Hoefker, Jason Stewart. Back row, left to right: Scott Hoefker, Travis Mez, Lewis VanAusdle,

Mark Tannert, Mark Miller, Nick Hynes, Brent Feiock, Tait Regnier, AJ Feiock, Randy Stiver, Linda Stiver.

The theme at Challenger East is "Ohio Woods, Water and Wisdom." The participants experienced

it all, the beautiful, picturesque Ohio woods and rivers representative of God's creative power, the

water of a rainy Sabbath that brought staff and participants together as they sheltered during thestorm, and the wisdom of God's Word and the application of His way of life. These three elements

helped bring to mind the numerous ways God provides for us now, and how He will provide for

His people in the age to come.

-- Amanda Stiver

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Winter Family Weekend 2013 - Just Around the Corner!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excitement is beginning to build for the Feast of Tabernacles and then there is a brief lull in

activities before the Winter Family Weekend 2013 is here.

This year has a theme of "The Two Great Commandments" for the seminars and Sabbath. Asusual there will be the great swimming pools, family fun and fellowship along with various sporting

venues.

The event will be held at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area from December 20-

24. Most will check in on the 20th in time for Bible Study that evening and check out before 11:00

AM on Tuesday, the 24th on the final day of sporting events. If you wish you may stay on the 24th

evening, as well, if that suits you.

Reservations may be made any time by calling 1-800-913-9653 and asking for the UCG Winter

Family Weekend block of rooms and room rates.

We're very excited to once again host this fun, educational and sporting event for our wonderful

brethren.

Wishing you a wonderful wrap on the summer and we look forward to serving you at the Winter

Family Weekend 2013.

Warmly, in Christ,

Gary Antion, on behalf of the WFW Team

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