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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 21, 1986
Recent Ordinations The following individuals were ordained to Preaching
Elder rank: Anthony Goudie, of the Dublin and Galway, Ireland, congrega
tions, was ordained by Mr. Frank Brown on February 23, 1986. Gary Smith,
of the St. Louis, Missouri, congregations, was ordained by Mr. Robert
�pence on March 8, 1986.
Ordained to the rank of Local Elder was Philip Gray, of the London,
England, congregation, by Mr. Frank Brown on February 23, 1986.
International News
From Germany
Karlson and
Coordinators'
and essential
Towards the beginning of this month, Office Manager John
I flew to the States to participate in the Festival
Meetings. Upon our return, we both commented on how valuable
these meetings are.
This month the congregations in the German-speaking area were able to see
the video of the funeral of Mr. Armstrong and the message from Mr. Tkach,
something the brethren appreciated very much.
Paul Kieffer, who pastors the churches in northern Germany, reported that
in February a member's 5-year-old child was miraculously spared serious
injury when she fell down a 12-foot deep hole.
The little girl was
sledding when her sled hit a snow-covered man-hole, jarring its cover.
The girl fell down the 12-foot deep hole and landed on her back between a
pipe that jutted upwards and the side of the ditch. She was taken to the
hospital but nothing was found to be wrong with her and the next day she
was out sledding again, this time at a different location.
Tom Lapacka, who pastors the Stuttgart, West Germany, and Zurich and
Basel, Switzerland, churches, writes: "Some of the brethren said they were
amazed at Mr. Tkach's dynamic and sure approach. The response was over
whelmingly positive."
Also in Mr. Lapacka's area God answered a faithful member's financial
prayers. "This man is relatively new in the faith and has faithfully paid
the tithes despite resistance from his wife and having to cut his living
standard to the bare minimum.
After over a year of scratching to make
ends meet, yet all the while keeping a faithful and positive attitude, he
took the matter to God in a fast. While praying, the thought came to him,
'Go talk to your boss.' Well, he did, expecting the absolute maximum of
DM 200 (approximately $90) per month pay raise.
The unthinkable
occurred--he was given OM 600 (approximately $280) per month!
This was
enough to move him out of the 'crisis management' situation that he had
been in so long."
Winfried Fritz, who pastors the Munich and Nuremberg, West Germany, and
Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, churches, also takes care of our members in
East Germany.
They unfortunately are not allowed to see video presen
tations.
However, Mr. Fritz was able to visit them and report on the
success of the telecasts.
We are very grateful to Mr. Tom Root, who teaches German at the college in
Pasadena, as well as the Television Department, for enabling our members
to hear the cassettes or videos in the German language. When we receive a