| December, 2022 I am so grateful to you our friends who have so generously supported the ministry of the Ellen G. White Estate. God has given a precious gift of light through the writings of Ellen G. White. There is a transforming power in these inspired messages. I think of these precious words found in The Desire of Ages 25-26 in reference to our Savior. "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. . . . In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite Love."  Through the publication of her writings in print, audio, and more recently online, people are connecting to God in a living and transformational way. During times of trouble people turn to God seeking answers and hope in the Bible and also in the writings of Ellen White. We are living at the end of time and Jesus is soon to come! There is a hunger for truth and hope that only God can answer. So far this year, worldwide reading, listening, and use of Ellen White's writings online is 91 million users.  Today, the White Estate is facing an unprecedented financial challenge. Over the past 15 years we saved substantial costs by outsourcing our software development and server hosting to companies in Ukraine and Russia. Providentially, by the beginning of 2022, we had diversified our Internet cloud servers to multiple regions. But the loss of software engineers and system administrators from eastern Europe has dramatically increased our development and operating costs. This year, due to the current tight tech market, new employee costs have doubled and server hosting has tripled. We need your help like never before. First, we need your prayers. The conflict between good and evil is raging and we are more dependent upon God than ever before. Second, we need donations during this extraordinary time. The General Conference generously supports about 35% of the cost of this ministry. But now with an increase in expenses, we must depend more upon our friends for help. I know that many of you have contributed generously in the past and we thank you. If the Holy Spirit impresses on your heart to again help us at this crucial time it will keep Ellen White's writings freely available worldwide. Let me close with this final thought. When the conflict broke out in Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022, the White Estate online traffic doubled to 22 million search queries and continued to peak higher throughout the weekend. Over a million users went online during those few days to read and study the writings of Ellen White for personal help and to explain current events. God is providing answers through these inspired messages in 137 languages. Can we count on you to help keep EGW Writings operating in 2023? |
Merlin D. Burt, 
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