The annual Pacific Union ASI Convention looks like a miniature version of the national ASI convention: fewer people, fewer exhibits and fewer seminars. But the 300 people who gathered at the Sacramento Radisson Hotel April 26-29 were no less enthusiastic about using their time, talents and money to take the gospel to the world.

Perhaps the most tangible evidence of that commitment was the contributions on Sabbath, totaling $15,000. The money will fund three projects. Though the exact division of funds is somewhat flexible, according to Lorayne Barton, president of the Pacific Union chapter of ASI, about $5,500 will go to youth evangelism based at California State University at Sacramento. Another $6,500 will pay for subscriptions to Creation Illustrated, a magazine published by Tom Ish, an ASI member in Auburn, Calif. The magazines will be mailed to every teacher and library at Seventh-day Adventist elementary and secondary schools in the Pacific Union. And the final $3,000 will pay for the taping and editing of a DVD of all the presentations from the convention (to order a set, go to www.asipacificunion.org). Barton says income from sales of the DVDs will provide additional funds for the youth evangelism project.

But collecting the offering took only five minutes of the three day event. The rest of the time was devoted to attending workshops (Dr. Clarence Ing on health, and Max Ocon on evangelism), visiting the exhibits, and listening to music and preaching. The featured speakers were Herb Larsen, a businessman from Toronto, Canada, who told about witnessing to people he meets everywhere, and Doug Batchelor, speaker/director of Amazing Facts ministry, based in Roseville, Calif.

Batchelor assured those in attendance that the title for his final remarks, "Late Breaking News," had been chosen before plans to merge Amazing Facts and 3ABN were hatched, but that didn't keep him from talking about the merger and inviting everyone to pray for God's guidance and blessing as the details of the merger are worked out.

The national ASI convention will be held in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 1 to 4.