What a winter the Carolinas is experiencing. As I write this the mountain region of our Conference is being covered with up to an additional foot of snow. Boone and Banner Elk in particular have experienced a severe winter. It seems the storms have often arrived on Friday or Sabbath forcing the closure of many of our churches. Let's hope the worst of the winter season will soon be behind us.

This past Sabbath was very special as it was my privilege to meet with the Karen groups who are forming in our territory. The Karen people are from near Burma. It is currently estimated that over 500 have immigrated to the Carolinas. We currently have groups that are meeting in Durham, High Point, and New Bern. This past Sabbath all the groups came together to worship at the Durham Five Oaks Church. There were approximately 60-70 in attendance. Pastor Jimmy Schwe, a former pastor from Burma, is shepherding the groups. He just told me that there is also a population in Charlotte and he hopes soon to plant a group there as well. What a joy it was to meet with these folks and witness their enthusiasm for Jesus. We are thankful the Lord is making it possible to open up a work for this new people group in the Carolinas.

Sabbath afternoon saw the first of the six rallies to be held across the Conference in the next few months. Even though the weather was cold with the threat of snow the attendance was good and many of the area churches were represented. One of the folks who was introduced at the rally was a man from the Rocky Mount/Roanoke Valley district. He had recently been baptized after receiving an enrollment card for Bible Studies in the mail. This card was part of the mass mailing the Conference has been doing for the last several years. When he received the card he sent it in, finished the course and joined the church. What makes his story unique is that for many years he had been a member of the LDS church, or a Mormon. He said as he studied he realized that this was the truth for this time. We all rejoiced together as he provided his testimony of how God had led. The entire afternoon was a wonderful time to share the tremendous things that He is doing across our two states. I look forward to our next Rally to be held at the Fletcher church at 3:30 pm, March 20. If you are in this area I hope you will plan now to be with us.

Yesterday, I gave the devotional for our teachers at their Teachers Convention. What a dedicated group of teachers God has blessed Carolina with. The joy, commitment, and passion for Adventist education was so evident as I met with these folks. I can tell you they have a real desire to share Jesus with their young people.

Next week I will share with you how God has performed a miracle for one of our churches in securing for them their own church building to worship in. See you then. May God bless.

Your friend,
Jim