I am dictating this brief report only 15 minutes after arriving at our offices here in Auckland following about a 10-hour flying day yesterday from Honolulu, with a refueling stop in Western Samoa. It's a cloudy, rainy day, but the vivid greens and bright colors of New Zealand are striking nevertheless. This is, of course, my very first visit to New Zealand in my life, as it is for my wife and son David. We are to fly this evening to Christchurch on South Island to meet with a group who would have been driving over twolane difficult roads from as far away as 200 miles or more for meetings from 7 to 9 p.m. Then tomorrow night at 8 p.m. in Wellington on North Island, and the following night here in Auckland, and then on to our offices at Burleigh Heads near Brisbane in Australia.
I was able to visit my father again briefly just barely before our departure, and he still appeared to be making very slow but steady progress. I hope you will all encourage your congregations to pray that God will intervene especially in helping him to overcome the current difficulty of his lack of red blood cells, and also the need for his own body to provide him with the energy and strength to gradually increase his walking and exercise so that he can continue to regain his strength. We were able to chat about essential things in the Work, including the recently announced personnel change in discontinuing our need for the services of Professor Osamu Gotoh, and of course the upcoming ministerial conference.
I was very relieved to be able to finish ten more five-minute programs, a column and one T.V. program the last two days prior to my departure. I am now completely ahead in half-hour radio, half-hour T.V., five-minute radio and columns so that I can turn my attention to the speaking, and hopefully creative writing, on this trip.
As I mentioned in my personal in the Worldwide News, I am absolutely elated over the tremendous response from the brethren to my letter offering them a free copy for each head of household of my new book, The Real Jesus. The letter has already broken all records for the percentage of return in the history of the Work:
Will try to keep in touch with you in each Pastor's Report.
Greetings from Auckland, New Zealand!
Worldwide Church of God