Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isaiah 60:1–3).

The Pacific Region has grown since the Lord called me to work in this very vast and diverse part of the world. There are three organized unions: the Australasian Union, and the North and South Chinese Unions.

We are thankful to the Lord that Australia has taken a supporting role in the Region. Many countries are looking to Australia for personnel, financial, moral, and spiritual support. The Australasian Union has given much support to the work in the Region and especially in the island missions of the South Pacific. Further, it continues to help as needed in providing training programs and assisting in many situations in these developing missions. Presently, there is one worker and a trainee-worker in New Zealand. There was recently a baptism, and several visitors are also being prepared for baptism. The main line of work is visiting individuals and groups, Bible studies, Bible correspondence courses, and also going from door to door distributing our literature. Another method used is by giving out or letterboxing with the card offering the book or correspondence course. The method seems to be working fine.

The work in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is carried out by the local members. We entered there in 1998, and we thank the Lord that the work is steadily progressing, despite the difficulties that the enemy of souls throws on our way. The country is developing and our fellow believers there are in need. A number of younger brethren are carrying the burden of the work and are looking to extend the work further from home into new areas of PNG where the message has not yet reached. Of 24 provinces, we have already reached nearly half of them.

Thank the Lord our brethren and sisters in Fiji are having good experiences in proclaiming this wonderful message. The work started in 1998—six months before PNG. There was some interest here, and we continued to build on that. Work has steadily progressed since that time, and we thank the Lord that most of the believers are well established in the truth.

The mission field in Samoa consists of two islands: Western, and American Samoa. There are members on both islands, organized into one field. A seminar was recently held there as well as a baptism.

The Lord works in many ways that we do not expect. Testimonies to Ministers, page 300, was experienced on this group of islands. A brother and sister from Australia spent their vacation in Vanuatu, where they encountered a keen interest in our message. Studies followed with two groups here—and as a result, many are now part of God’s church in this archipelago of little islands and few large islands. There are three full-time Bible workers who are actively working for the Lord in proclaiming this precious message. On these islands both English and French are spoken, and we praise the Lord for some younger people who speak both of these languages so the message is carried strongly throughout the islands.

We have also received a donation of land and a church building from a brother who is now our member. By the grace of the Lord we have been able to register our church. One of our Australian brethren runs a school in Vanuatu, and it is a wonderful witness to the community of the message for this time.

We can be thankful to the Lord for the wonderful work that is going on in French Polynesia. The way the brethren are working is by involving all the membership. How do they do that? They grow watermelons to finance the Lord’s cause. I have witnessed them in action. One brother gave some land to plant watermelons. Then the believers all come together to prepare the soil, then another day they plant the seeds, and all take turns watering them. Three months later they can easily sell the beautiful crop. That is how they have now been able to carry the message to every island in the archipelago.

In New Caledonia there are two groups, though no Bible worker. The believers are holding to the truth and are sharing with people around them the message of salvation. They have a lovely church building where they are meeting regularly.

Thanks to the Lord, the work in Japan is steady, and the brethren and sisters are looking to increase their borders. There is new interest in the truth for this time, and it is our hope that some of the interested ones will make their covenant with the Lord. He has been merciful to the members there and protected them in the time of the great natural disaster in this populous country, and we lost none.

The work in Korea continues to grow, and small gains are made. This is a strong Buddhist country, but thanks to the Lord that the work continues to progress steadily from year to year. New souls have been added to the church over time. The brethren and sisters are in good courage and making plans how to carry the work to new places and reach new people. This is a fast developing country and great effort is needed, as people are not used to Christian values.

Mongolia is a large landlocked country in Asia, situated between China on the south and Russia on the north. The capital Ulaanbaatar is growing very fast with capital investments from outside. Since all those that were baptized come from a Buddhist background, they are slow to fully grasp the precious message of Christ. Our way of life—and especially vegetarianism—is hard for the people to understand. The work here is not easy, and to survive one must have a lot of determination and encouragement.

China is the largest country in our Region and the most populous in the world. The message continues to reach new people and places, but still we are really only scratching the surface. Over 1.4 billion people live and work in this country and supply the world’s needs in goods of all descriptions. The work is truly great and the laborers are few, but they continue to press on and reach out to new areas. The brethren and sisters are active and continue to look at ways and means to witness.

Vietnam is the second-to-last country where our message has entered. This is a Communist country, and restrictions are in force. Our Lord has children here also and is calling us to do the work while the day lasts. The membership of Vietnam has grown to be near 90.

Although North Korea is one of the most restricted countries, and we still do not have members there, this wonderful message is nonetheless finding its place in the hearts of a number of people who are studying our Sabbath Bible Lessons.

Contact is also being made with believers in Cambodia and Laos. At present no actual visits are made, but literature is passed on to them. We pray that the Lord will open the way for the message to be shared freely.

Solomon Islands is the most recent country in our Region where the message has been taken. By God’s grace, we now have members there as well.

May the mighty power of our heavenly Father attend this message, and that the name of Jesus may be proclaimed to all the world!