By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Tracey Bridcutt)

Traffic in the main street of Nukuʻalofa, Tonga’s capital, came to a halt as a parade, on April 18, involving 600 Seventh-day Adventist women from around the Pacific made its way to the Royal Palace.
Led by the Tongan Police band, the parade was the focal point of the day’s activities for the 2019 Trans Pacific Union Mission (TPUM) Women’s Congress, which opened the night before. Wearing colorful traditional dress and waving the flags of their nations, the women carried banners and posters…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Maranatha Volunteers International)

In late March 2019, 106 volunteers from 11 separate groups joined together in Costa Rica for Maranatha’s annual “Multiple Group” mission trip, focusing on work sites near the town of Guayabo, in Guanacaste province.
Volunteers helped construct a kindergarten classroom for the Guayabo Adventist School, where Maranatha had previously built a large school building in 2000. They painted the Agua Claras and Bagaces Seventh-day Adventist churches, provided children’s programs in the community near…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Victor Hulbert, communication director, Trans-European)

In celebration of Earth day, 22 April 2019
How do you heat a redbrick Jacobethan mansion built in 1864. That was the challenging question facing Governors at Newbold College of Higher Education. The boilers were ageing and running on a crude, thick black heating oil.
I know, I used to clean them when I was a cash-strapped Theology student earning my fees back in the 1970s! So dirty was the job that I got paid time-and-a-half for taking on a task that few wanted to do. And it wasn’t just the…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Southern Asia-Pacific Division)

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Southern Asia-Pacific expresses its deepest sympathies to the families and friends troubled by the horrifying incident in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019. 290 were reported killed and more than 450 individuals injured as random blasts destroyed four hotels and three churches around Sri Lanka’s city’s capital. While the number of casualties continue to rise, our hearts and prayers go out to the families who lost their love ones, and to…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Ted N.C. Wilson, President, Seventh-day Adventist World Church)

Our hearts go out to the grieving families of those killed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in a terrible, senseless tragedy of killing this morning. Churches and other areas were targeted. Let us pray for the families and for the Prince of Peace to reign in the hearts of all including those who perpetrate such horrific acts. They need the grace and love of God in their hearts to bring them to Christ and His forgiveness. Soon Jesus will come to take us to heaven where there will be no more pain,…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Kimi-Roux James, ADRA International)

In the month of March, numerous disasters occurred, including the worst tropical storm on record to affect the southern African regions of Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. During that same month, Nepal and Indonesia were also hardest hit by heavy rain and floods.
With these countries combined, thousands of lives were lost and hundreds of thousands more were displaced and forced to seek refuge in shelters. Ongoing needs assessments are being put in place by ADRA to help all people affected,…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Victoria Turrentine, Adventist News Network)

The Steward Department of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church is launching a video series targeted at millennials. The series is part of a broader initiative entitled “GodFirst” which aims to help members understand the principles of tithe and offering. “The act of tithing develops allegiance, commitment, love, and relationship with God”, says Marcos Bomfim, Stewardship Department director, “If you put your treasure with God, your heart will also be there.”
A desire to reach out to members…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Record Staff)

A mini-road trip of its own marked the launch of a story of a trip through the Holy Land.
Of Falafels and Following Jesus tells the story of a tour through Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories that the authors—Nathan Brown with Michelle Villis and Brenton Stacey—took in October last year.
“I had the idea for this book while visiting Israel in 2015,” said Mr Brown. “I was trying to work out why we take trips like that, and then had a growing interest in how I might be able share some…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Sheann Brandon)

Doctors at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital recently conducted the institution’s first stem cell transplant in a sickle cell disease patient, effectively curing her of the inherited blood disease. The successful procedure offers hope and accessible treatment to those suffering from the disease in the Inland Empire and surrounding regions.
Children’s Hospital doctors had worked for nearly a year to build a program focused on helping hematology patients, specifically hemophilia and…

Source:: sda website

By AdventistNews@gc.adventist.org (Damian Chambers/JAMU/IAD News Staff)

Twenty students received grants as part of the overall free medical and physical work undertaken by approximately 5,000 young people during the annual Operation Save-a-Youth (OSAY) held on March 17, 2019, in Manchester, Jamaica. OSAY is a youth empowerment ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Central Jamaica region.
The main feature of this year’s OSAY was the community outreach projects where the youth assisted in the construction and beautification of homes in communities such…

Source:: sda website