How Hot? What to Wear?

We're just days away from our fantastic time together in the Philippines. What should you expect for weather? Whenever we are in Manila or neighboring areas, expect daytime highs of 85-90F/30-32C and quite humid. It will be a bit cooler when we're in Tagaytay, and evenings can get down to 65-70F/20C. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, so good to have an umbrella.

We encourage respectful attire for conference events, especially when visits are being made to the Filipino people. Shorts for women or men are discouraged for such visits. There will be at least two events for wearing national attire, so please bring something special to represent your part of the world!

See you in the Philippines!

Soccer Coaches?

They look presidential, reverend, warm, and happy, but do they look like soccer coaches? Time will tell! It's with great pleasure that we introduce you to our Pagdiriwang Kopano Cup soccer coaches!

#1 Seed Team Asia Coach - Elizabeth Venegas (upper right). Don't let the smile fool you! "Ate" Beth is determined to keep the Kopano Cup in Asian hands, especially playing on home soil.

#2 Seed Team Africa Coach - Reverend Calisto Odede (lower right). He's got quite a psychological attack - claiming Kenyans only know how to do well in athletics, but Africa wants the Kopano Cup back on African soil and they may even turn to divine intervention to get it there.

#3 Seed Team Latin America/Caribbean Coaches - David and Kathi Cohen (lower left): The Dynamic Duo from Down Under, David and Kathi may have just what it takes to awaken a Latin American/Caribbean squad that has been runner up twice.

#4 Seed Team North America/Europe Coach - Ramon Rocha (upper left): Leave it to the North Americans to recruit the executive, presidential Rocha from his native Philippines to lead them to their first-ever Kopano Cup final and strongly-desired victory.

Stay tuned for live coverage on Wednesday, November 11 to see who takes home the coveted Kopano Cup!

Make Your Region's Day Special!

Can you believe we are just days away from Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus? It is going to be a very special time together!

Virtually every day at Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus will have a regional theme to it - Africa, Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America/Europe. We need YOU to help make the day for your region of the world a very special one.

What can you do?

• Help us lead worship that day! If you love to sing and have some simple choruses you can teach everyone from your part of the world, please sign up!
• Lead us in prayer that day! Evening plenaries will open and close with someone from the region praying for us.
• Tell us what God is doing to extend His kingdom! You know best how God has been at work to extend His kingdom to your part of the world. Prepare and share a 10-minute testimony to give credit to God for His work.

Interested in signing up for any of these? Email us at pagdiriwang@peerservants.org and we'll be in touch with further details. Thanks!

Get Ready for the Kopano Cup!

"Kopano" ("unity" in a couple of the South African languages) and "football" may not be obvious compatriots anywhere but at Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus (and even there, the relationship can be a bit strained!), but the Kopano Cup is certain to be one of many highlights at Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus. Reigning Champ Team Eurasia is now on home soil after winning in both the Peruvian Andes and the New England Lakes Region, but always-talented and deeply-disappointed Team Africa is hungry to take back the inaugural Kopano Cup they won on African soil. Teams Latin America/Caribbean and North America are "in it to win it" as well!

The Kopano Cup will take place Wednesday morning of our Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus week, leaving an optimal time for recruiting top teams before the event and walking with a little swag after the event. Many of the young boys and men in which CCT invests itself will be joining us. It will be the last Cup! May God grant us Kopano as we pursue the ultimate goal!

Submitting Your TEE Application

Many of the microfinance practitioners attending Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus will enjoy TEE (Transformative Economic Empowerment) as their central experience within the week. TEE offers three tracks for further microfinance learning - Microfinance Operations, Governance, and Beyond Microfinance. If you are planning to participate in one of these three TEE tracks, you need to submit an additional application that should have been sent to you shortly after registering. If you are planning to attend one of the TEE tracks and did not receive your TEE application, please contact your sponsoring organization.

Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus Agenda Now Available

We are going to have a fantastic week together at Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus! Click here to check out the current agenda. There will still likely be some small changes, but you'll get a good sense of what our wonderful week together is going to look like. May God's Spirit join us in a powerful way so that we will not only experience much of His kingdom during our time together, but be well-equipped to extend it to others as well.

Meet David and Kathi Cohen

We are so excited to announce that David and Kathi Cohen will be joining us at Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus as our "Pastors in Residence". In that role, they will be leading us in our morning devotions, morning and afternoon prayers, and be available to all Pagdiriwang/TEE Plus attendees for time to pray, seek counsel, and just offer a listening ear.

David and Kathi are co-founders of Moringa Associates, Inc. (see www.moringa.org.au for more info) with a mission to prayerfully serve the church in leadership and peacemaking. They bring a rich history effectively serving churches and organizations around the world. David hails from Australia and Kathi from California and when they are not traveling the world, home finds them in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.

David and Kathi are good friends to CCT and PEER Servants, joining Ate Ruth Callanta as the keynote speakers at the 2007 Ricchari conference in Peru. They are looking forward to meeting many new Christ followers at Pagdiriwang while renewing some old friendships.