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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, February 22, 1980
Page 2
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Mr. Rader reported that Mr. Armstrong continues to write prodigious
amounts of copy and is presently working on a series of articles for The
PLAIN TRUTH covering the history of the Church, particularly those early
years he remembers so well but which most of us know little about. He will
be going into greater detail than ever before. While in Tucson recently,
Mr. Rader had extended discussions with Mr. Armstrong on a number of
topics including plans for upcoming trips.
Upcoming Trips
As Mr. Armstrong's aide in preparing for his visits to world leaders, Mr.
Rader often will go ahead to make preliminary arrangements on location.
In this capacity, Mr. Rader will be leaving Pasadena this week with a
stopover in Pittsburgh where he will speak to a combined Church service,
during which the TV documentary will also be shown. Then he will fly to
Warsaw where we have already established good relations, and then on to
Moscow to make arrangements for Mr. Armstrong's trip which, it is hoped,
will take place in about the middle of May.
When Mr. Rader leaves Russia, he will return to China where he is scheduled
to speak at the University of Peking on three or more occasions, and then
at five other Chinese universities. He explained how this March trip to
China will further our efforts to initiate a Work in that most populous
nation on earth:
"Hopefully on this trip I may also receive permission,
which I have already requested, to open an office in Peking and maybe even
permission to get our PLAIN TRUTH distributed there. So we're moving
along very, very quickly... So far that [opening an office] is the only
request they have not granted... Naturally there is a heavy demand [for
office space] and there are no vacancies....
"Also, I've been asking for ground level space because the idea that I
had in mind for China would be something, initially, along the nature of
a 'Christian Science Reading Room' where we would have our materials on
display for those who would walk in. We would have Chinese Bibles. (The
Bible has been translated into Chinese and is no longer considered contra
band over there.) We would have some English Bibles available. We'd
have our PLAIN TRUTH magazine in various languages and some of our booklets
which are more fundamental and elemental in value for us and for those
interested, which we could have available first in English and maybe some
other languages. [English language materials are welcomed in China.] That
would be a way of getting in and getting our job done, and then getting
permission, of course, to do what we've done in other countries--have PLAIN
TRUTH reader meetings as well as have meetings of those who are baptized.''
After Mr. Rader's return from China, he will be in Pasadena for only a
very short time before he leaves again. This time he will be accompanying
Mr. Armstrong who plans to speak at a combined Church service in the
Chicago area, just before continuing to Israel where he will spend five
or six days. Afterward he will visit Cairo and then return home again.
After this trip the G-II will undergo its annual 10-day to two-week
inspection.
Then, God willing, on to Moscow where Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Rader will
have discussions with the Minister of Culture, who will be their host,
and with those in the Ministry of Education. It is hoped that Mr. Arm
strong will also be able to have a meeting with one of the two top men in
Russia--either Brezhnev or Kosygin.